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In sanctum pascha (sermo 3) [Sp.] (fort. auctore Apollinare Laodicense)

1 The Paschal victim, along with the unblemished, indicated the holiness of Christ; and the salvation of men in the passion of Christ was indicated by the salvation of the firstborn given through the Paschal sacrifice; and the eating, sanctification, and these things have already been said to us beforehand. Now from the remainder of the legislation we must consider how the one who is to be sanctified must be prepared, how he must approach the communion of holiness, and what kind of life he must lead after becoming a partaker and communicant of the holy.

2 The lawgiver, therefore, showed us through circumcision the preparation which he who is to partake of Christ must make, saying in a typical manner: "This is the law of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it, and every slave of someone and one bought with silver, you shall circumcise 3 him and then he shall eat of it." But circumcision at that time was partial and did not show its benefit in itself, for a man was shown to be no better from circumcision than the uncircumcised, but it was also a reproach from God to the Israelites that, "All the nations," he says, "are uncircumcised in flesh, but the house of Israel is uncircumcised in their hearts." But the true circumcision is of the whole flesh, and it shows the one circumcised in heart and who has removed the carnal veil to be a friend and familiar to God, which the law foreshowed, we having it from the succession of our fathers and needing it to be removed, by circumcising the generative parts, thereby making symbols of generation and of the veil 4 that follows us by generation.

No one, therefore, who is not circumcised in the carnal way will arrive at the proper communion of Christ, but "we are the circumcision," he says, who are partakers of Christ, "who worship by the Spirit of God and do not trust in the flesh"; for the heart, bare of everything carnal, is able to truly worship God and to be mingled with the Spirit of Christ.

5 Of this circumcision the passion of the Lord is the beginning, who laid aside the flesh for us and undertook circumcision itself for our sake, and the mystery is imprinted on us in baptism and is perfected in the life according to Christ. For he says, "You were circumcised with a circumcision not made by hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him 6 in baptism." As long, therefore, as you do not put off the carnal character, you are a foreigner and a stranger, you have no part and no communion with the holy Christ present from heaven; for he who will approach the heavenly one must become heavenly, and no one could become heavenly without taking away earthly things.

7 Thus, indeed, having first put off the old man in the grace of baptism and with zeal for spiritual deeds, you will approach and partake of Christ. Secondly, it is possible to see what sort of people all those who partake of the Passover are prepared to be by the law, so that we may recognize what sort of people we who partake of Christ ought to be. "Thus," he says, "you shall eat it: your loins girded, and your sandals on your feet, and your 8 staffs in your hands." The attire of a traveler shows one well-ordered and well-girded and ready to run to the promises of God, just as Israel was then equipped as a traveler for the promise of the good land. But consider, I pray, how great a superiority the spiritual traveler has over that one, not hastening to the promise of the land below, not pursuing temporary goods, not exchanging land for land, Judea for Egypt, but what does such a traveler say about his own journey? "Forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call."

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In sanctum pascha (sermo 3) [Sp.] (fort. auctore Apollinare Laodicense)

1 Τὴν μὲν ἁγιότητα τὴν Χριστοῦ τὸ θῦμα τοῦ πάσχα μετὰ τοῦ ἀμώμου ὑπεδείκνυε, τὴν δὲ ἐν τῷ πάθει Χριστοῦ σωτηρίαν ἀνθρώπων ἡ τῶν πρωτοτόκων σωτηρία διὰ τῆς θυσίας τοῦ πάσχα δοθεῖσα, τὸν δὲ ἁγιασμὸν ἡ βρῶσις, καὶ ταῦτα ἡμῖν ἤδη προείρηται· νῦν ἐκ τῶν ὑπολοίπων τῆς νομοθεσίας ἐπισκεπτέον ὅπως μὲν δεῖ παρασκευάζεσθαι τὸν ἁγιασθησόμενον, ὅπως δὲ προσιέναι πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἁγιότητος κοινωνίαν, οἷον δὲ τὸν βίον διάγειν μετὰ τὸ γενέσθαι τοῦ ἁγίου μέτοχόν τε καὶ κοινωνόν.

2 Τὴν μὲν οὖν παρασκευήν, ἣν παρασκευάσασθαι δεῖ τὸν μέλλοντα μετέξειν Χριστοῦ, διὰ περιτομῆς ἐπέδειξεν ἡμῖν ὁ νομοθέτης τυπικῶς λέγων. "Οὗτος ὁ νόμος τοῦ πάσχα. Πᾶς ἀλλογενὴς οὐκ ἔδεται ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντα οἰκέτην τινὸς καὶ ἀργυρώνητον περιτεμεῖς 3 αὐτὸν καὶ τότε φάγεται ἀπ' αὐτοῦ". Περιτομὴ δὲ τότε μὲν ἦν μερικὴ καὶ τὴν ὠφέλειαν αὐτόθεν οὐκ ἐπιδει κνύουσα, οὐδὲν γὰρ καλλίων ἐκ τῆς περιτομῆς ἄνθρωπος ἀπεδείκνυτο παρὰ τὸν ἀκρόβυστον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὄνειδος παρὰ θεοῦ τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις ἦν ὅτι "Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη" φησὶν "ἀπερίτμητα σαρκί, ὁ δὲ οἶκος Ἰσραὴλ ἀπερίτμητος καρδίαις αὐτῶν"· ἡ δὲ ἀληθὴς περιτομὴ καθ' ὅλης ἐστὶ σαρκός, φίλον τε καὶ οἰκεῖον ἀποδείκνυσι θεῷ τὸν περιτετμημένον τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ περιῃ ρημένον τὸ κάλυμμα τὸ σαρκικόν, ὅπερ ἐκ διαδοχῆς πατέρων ἔχοντας ἡμᾶς καὶ περιαιρεθῆναι χρῄζοντας ἡμᾶς αὐτὸ προϋπέδειξεν ὁ νόμος τὰ γεννητικὰ περιτέμνων μόρια, τῆς γεννήσεως τὰ σύμβολα ποιῶν διὰ τούτου καὶ τοῦ καλύμματος 4 τοῦ κατὰ γέννησιν ἡμῖν ἀκολουθοῦντος.

Οὐδεὶς οὖν μὴ περιτεμνόμενος τὸν σαρκικὸν τρόπον ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀφίξεται κοινωνίαν Χριστοῦ, ἀλλ' "ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν ἡ περιτομή", φησίν, οἱ Χριστοῦ μέτοχοι, "οἱ πνεύματι θεοῦ λατρεύοντες καὶ μὴ πεποιθότες ἐν σαρκί"· γυμνὴ γὰρ ἡ καρδία παντὸς σαρκικοῦ λατρεύειν ἀληθινῶς θεῷ δύναται καὶ τῷ Χριστῷ συγκιρνᾶσθαι πνεύματι.

5 Ταύτης τῆς περιτομῆς κατάρχει μὲν τὸ τοῦ κυρίου πάθος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀποθεμένου τὴν σάρκα καὶ τὴν περιτομὴν αὐτὴν δι' ἡμᾶς ἀναδεξαμένου, ἐκτυποῦται δὲ τὸ μυστήριον εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐν βαπτίσματι καὶ τελεῖται τῷ βίῳ τῷ κατὰ Χριστόν· "Περιετμήθητε" γάρ φησι "περιτομῇ ἀχειρο ποιήτῳ ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει τοῦ σώματος τῆς σαρκὸς ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, συνταφέντες αὐτῷ 6 ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι". Ἕως οὖν οὐκ ἀποτίθεσαι τὸ σαρκικὸν ἦθος, ἀλλογενὴς εἶ καὶ ξένος, ἀμέτοχά σοι καὶ ἀκοινώνητα πρὸς τὸν ἅγιον τὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ παρόντα Χριστόν· οὐράνιον γὰρ γενέσθαι δεῖ τὸν τῷ οὐρανίῳ προσελευσόμενον, οὐράνιος δὲ οὐδεὶς ἂν γένοιτο μὴ τὰ γήϊνα περιελών.

7 Οὕτω μὲν δὴ προαποθέμενος τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐν τῇ χάριτι τοῦ βαπτισμοῦ καὶ τῇ προθυμίᾳ τῶν πνευματικῶν πράξεων προσελεύσει καὶ μεθέξεις Χριστοῦ· δεύτερον δὲ ἰδεῖν ἔστιν ὁποῖοί τινες ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου στέλλονται πάντες οἱ τοῦ πάσχα μεταλαμβάνοντες, ἵνα καὶ ὁποίους ἡμᾶς εἶναι δεῖ Χριστοῦ μεταλαμβάνοντας ἐπιγνῶμεν· "Οὕτω" φησὶ "φάγεσθε αὐτό· αἱ ὀσφύες ὑμῶν περιεζωσμέναι καὶ τὰ ὑποδήματα ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ 8 βακτηρίαι ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ὑμῶν". Ὁδοιπορικὸν τὸ σχῆμα εὐσταλῆ καὶ εὔζωνον ὑποδείκνυσι καὶ ἕτοιμον τρέχειν εἰς ἐπαγγελίας θεοῦ, ὥσπερ ὁ Ἰσραὴλ τότε πρὸς τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τῆς γῆς τῆς ἀγαθῆς ὁδίτης ἐστέλλετο· σκόπει δέ μοι τὸν πνευματικὸν ὁδοιπόρον παρ' ἐκεῖνον ὅσην ἔχει τὴν ὑπεροχήν, οὐκ ἐπὶ τὴν κάτω σπεύδων γῆς ἐπαγγελίαν, οὐ τὰ πρόσκαιρα μεταδιώκων καλά, οὐ γῆν ἀντὶ γῆς ἀλλαττόμενος, Ἰουδαίαν ἀντ' Αἰγύπτου, ἀλλὰ τί φησιν ὁ τοιοῦτος ὁδοιπόρος περὶ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας τῆς ἑαυτοῦ; "Τῶν ὄπισθεν ἐπιλανθανόμενος, τοῖς δὲ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτεινόμενος, κατὰ σκοπὸν διώκων ἐπὶ τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως".