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In laudem sancti Joannis theologi (homilia 2) [Sp.]

To Saint John the apostle and evangelist, the Theologian.

61.719 Again our John, O Ephesians, or rather, the teacher of the whole world, has spread out the spiritual net, and has gathered all of us from different places, not so that we may honor him with crowns of roses, but so that we may exalt him with good and just works. Again he has drawn upon his spiritual springs, not to give drink to the idle and thirsty, but to strengthen peoples who are weary; again he has gone up to the temple, the second after Peter, not to heal one lame man and make him leap, but having strengthened all of us in piety, to prepare us to have our citizenship in heaven. He no longer reclines upon the Lord's breast, but reclining upon each one of us, having received all of us as equals, he might offer a personal gain to God, and so he cries out, saying: Behold, I and the children, whom God has given me. What children? Those whom grace brought forth, and showed to be heirs of the kingdom of heaven.

As many as Artemis once carried off as prey, the apostle gathers more than these. She, feeding her hounds, hunting, sowed error; John, caring for the poor and assembling peoples, sowed the knowledge of God; she with processions of idols darkened the air, John with the memories of saints enlightened Asia; Egypt remembers the miracles of Moses, Ephesus proclaims the good deeds of John; Moses scourged Egypt with ten plagues, but John adorned Ephesus with the divinely inspired Gospel, or 61.720 rather, he also had mercy on all; Moses split the sea by his rod, John overthrew Artemis by the cross; when the sea was split, Pharaoh and his chariots were drowned; when Artemis fell, her priest and abominations were shattered. David recounts and says, The sea saw and fled; today the Church cries out in the same way and says, Artemis saw and fell. She saw the theologian and herald of God, she saw the God-bearer, and she fell, the sinner, the worthless one, to the ground.

She saw him whom Jesus loved, and did not have the strength to remain. What is it to you, Artemis, that you have fallen? I saw the son of thunder, and my temple of intercession was shattered; I saw the divine friend, and I was dissolved; I saw the one who reclined on the divine breast, and I was brought down upon my idolatrous breast. Wonderful is Elijah, beloved, because he overthrew Baal; more wonderful is John, because he exiled Artemis. Elijah killed four hundred and fifty; John, the priest who was killed by the pillar, having made him alive, raised him up in Christ. O the wonder! A stone pillar killed the stone-like priest, whom John raised up through grace. For having lifted up his body, it says, carrying it they brought it, placing it at the door of John; and he whom he did not wish to behold while living, this one, having died, he sought, asking for life and faith. Thus once did the all-wicked Jews also do; they denied Christ while He was living, 61.721 and confessed Him as Son of God when He had died; they denied him in the case of the blind man, saying, We are disciples of Moses; but as for this man, we do not know where he is from. The blind man received his sight, and the foolish people were darkened. They confessed him as Son of God at the cross, when, having bowed his head, he gave up the spirit, and with a spear they pierced his glorious side, and there came out a great amount of blood and water; and the children of the Jews cried out with a loud voice, and said,

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In laudem sancti Joannis theologi (homilia 2) [Sp.]

Εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀπόστολον καὶ εὐαγγελιστὴν τὸν Θεολόγον.

61.719 Πάλιν ὁ ἡμέτερος Ἰωάννης, ὦ Ἐφέσιοι, μᾶλλον δὲ πάσης τῆς οἰκουμένης

διδάσκαλος, τὴν πνευματικὴν σαγήνην ἐξήπλωσε, καὶ πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐκ διαφόρων τόπων συνήγαγεν, οὐχ ἵνα αὐτὸν στεφάνοις ῥόδων τιμήσωμεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα αὐτὸν ἀγαθοῖς ἔργοις καὶ δικαίοις σεμνύνωμεν. Πάλιν τὰς πνευματικὰς αὐτοῦ πηγὰς ἐπεσπάσατο, οὐχ ἵνα ἀργοὺς διψῶντας ποτίσῃ, ἀλλ' ἵνα λαοὺς κοπιῶντας στηρίξῃ· πάλιν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἀναβέβηκεν ὁ δεύτερος μετὰ Πέτρον, οὐχ ἵνα ἕνα χωλὸν θεραπεύσας ἐξάλλεσθαι ποιήσῃ, ἀλλ' ἵνα πάντας ἡμᾶς τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ ἐπιῤῥώσας, εἰς οὐρανοὺς τὸ πολίτευμα ἔχειν παρασκευάσῃ. Οὐκ ἔτι ἐπὶ τὸ κυριακὸν στῆθος ἀνάκειται, ἀλλ' εἰς ἕνα ἕκαστον ἡμῶν ἀνακλίνας, ἅπαντας ἡμᾶς ἰσοτίμους δεξάμενος, κέρδος ἴδιον τῷ Θεῷ προσενέγκει, καὶ οὕτω κέκραγε λέγων· Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία, ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεός. Παιδία, ποῖα; Ἃ ἡ χάρις ἐβλάστησε, καὶ τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας κληρονόμους ἀπέδειξεν.

Ὅσους ποτὲ ἐσυλαγώγει ἡ Ἄρτεμις, τούτων πλείονας συνάγει ὁ ἀπόστολος. Ἐκείνη κύνας τρέφουσα, θηρεύουσα, τὴν πλάνην κατέσπειρεν· Ἰωάννης πτωχοὺς οἰκονομῶν καὶ λαοὺς συγκροτῶν, τὴν θεογνωσίαν ἐπέσπειρεν· ἐκείνη πομπαῖς εἰδώλων τὸν ἀέρα ἐσκότισεν, Ἰωάννης μνήμαις ἁγίων τὴν Ἀσίαν ἐφώτισεν· Αἴγυπτος μνημονεύει τὰ Μωϋσέως θαύματα, Ἔφεσος ἐξαγγέλλει τὰς Ἰωάννου εὐεργεσίας· Μωϋσῆς δέκα πληγαῖς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἐμαστίγωσεν, Ἰωάννης δὲ τῷ θεοπνεύστῳ Εὐαγγελίῳ Ἔφεσον κατεκόσμησε, μᾶλ 61.720 λον δὲ καὶ πάντας ἠλέησε· Μωϋσῆς διὰ ῥάβδου τὴν θάλασσαν ἔσχισεν, Ἰωάννης διὰ σταυροῦ τὴν Ἄρτεμιν κατέστρεψε· τῆς θαλάσσης σχισθείσης Φαραὼ καὶ τὰ ἅρματα αὐτοῦ κατεποντίσθησαν· τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος καταπεσούσης, ὁ ἱερεὺς αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ βδελύγματα συνετρίβησαν. Ἐκδιηγεῖται ὁ ∆αυῒδ καὶ λέγει, Ἡ θάλασσα εἶδε, καὶ ἔφυγε· σήμερον ἡ Ἐκκλησία τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον βοᾷ καὶ λέγει, ἡ Ἄρτεμις εἶδε καὶ ἔπεσεν. Εἶδε τὸν θεολόγον καὶ θεοκήρυκα, εἶδε τὸν θεοφόρον, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἡ ἁμαρτωλὸς, ἡ ἀλίτιμος, εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος.

Εἶδεν ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς, καὶ μένειν οὐκ ἴσχυσε. Τί σοί ἐστιν, Ἄρτεμις, ὅτι ἔπεσες; Εἶδον τὸν υἱὸν τῆς βροντῆς, καὶ κατεῤῥάγη μου τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς μεσιτείας· εἶδον τὸν θεϊκὸν φίλον, καὶ διελύθην· εἶδον τὸν ἐπὶ τὸ θεϊκὸν στῆθος ἀνακλιθέντα, καὶ κατηνέχθην ἐπὶ τὸ εἰδωλικόν μου στῆθος. Θαυμαστὸς ὁ Ἠλίας, ἀγαπητοὶ, ὅτι τὸν Βάαλ κατέστρεψε· θαυμασιώτερος ὁ Ἰωάννης, ὅτι τὴν Ἄρτεμιν ἐξώρισεν. Ἠλίας τετρακοσίους καὶ πεντήκοντα ἀπέκτεινεν· Ἰωάννης τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ κίονος φονευθέντα ἱερέα ζωοποιήσας ἐν Χριστῷ ἀνέστησεν. Ὢ τοῦ θαύματος! Στῦλος λίθινος τὸν ἰσόλιθον ἐθανάτωσεν ἱερέα, ὃν διὰ τῆς χάριτος ἐξανέστησεν ὁ Ἰωάννης. Ἄραντες γὰρ αὐτοῦ, φησὶ, τὸ σῶμα βαστάζοντες ἤνεγκαν, θέντες πρὸς τὴν θύραν τοῦ Ἰωάννου· καὶ ὃν οὐκ ἤθελε ζῶν θεωρῆσαι, τοῦτον ἀποθανὼν ἐπεζήτει, ζωὴν καὶ πίστιν αἰτούμενος. Οὕτω ποτὲ καὶ οἱ παμπόνηροι Ἰουδαῖοι ἐποίησαν· ζῶντα τὸν Χριστὸν ἀπηρνή 61.721 σαντο, καὶ ἀποθανόντα Υἱὸν Θεοῦ ὡμολόγησαν· ἀπηρνήσαντο αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ τυφλοῦ εἰπόντες, Ἡμεῖς τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἐσμὲν μαθηταί· τοῦτον δὲ οὐκ οἴδαμεν πόθεν ἐστίν. Ἀνέβλεψεν ὁ τυφλὸς, καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ὁ ἀσύνετος λαός. Υἱὸν Θεοῦ ὡμολόγησαν ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ὅτε κλίνας τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀφῆκε τὸ πνεῦμα, καὶ λόγχῃ τὴν ἀοίδιμον αὐτοῦ ἐξεκέντησαν πλευρὰν, καὶ ἐξῆλθε πλῆθος αἵματος καὶ ὕδατος· ἔκραζον δὲ μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ Ἰουδαίων παῖδες, καὶ ἔλεγον,