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In synaxim archangelorum

For the synaxis of the archangels.

59.755 It is necessary to praise angels. For they themselves, by praising the Creator, render Him gracious and well-disposed towards men. And by angels I mean our allies, those who campaign against the opposing powers, of whom one is the archangel Michael, contending against the devil for the body of Moses, and resisting the prince of the Persians for the freedom of the people; of whom is he who made the ass lie down, and restrained Balaam from his absurd madness; and since the seer did not understand what was happening, the voice of a brute beast brought the rational one to its senses; of whom is he who drew his sword and urged Joshua the son of Nun to engage the enemies; of whom is he who struck down the one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians in one night, and joined death to the sleep of the barbarians; of whom is he who transported the prophet Habakkuk with an airy leap, so that he might give food to the prophet Daniel in the midst of the fasting lions. These, then, and such as these, are against the enemies, who also excel against the passions. Such was also the wondrous and divine Raphael, who through the dissection of one fish healed a demon-possessed maiden, and skillfully restored sight to a blind old man. But neither are those who ministered to the New Testament worthy of silence, of whom a great part is the archangel Gabriel, who delivered the oracle to Zacharias, and exacted silence as the penalty for his unbelief, because he did not believe that the barren woman would conceive for the sake of the coming economy; who announced to the venerable Mary the pangs of a brideless birth; who guided the shepherds to the cave, and revealed the uncontainable one in a manger, the uncircumscribed one in swaddling clothes, sending up to them a harmonious hymn of praise: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Another prevents the magi from returning to the tyrant; and they ministered on earth to the one who created them; another advises the betrothed of the Virgin not to put away the incorrupt one as if she were corrupted; another suggests to him flight and return because of Herod's slaughter of the infants. And though they saw the uncreated one in the flesh, they ministered in the manner of servants. For they marveled at his strength, by which the tempter fell, and according to the voice of David, lifting him up in their hands, they carried him beyond the range of the stones. For, it says, the Jews took up stones to throw at him. Others ran together to the Passion; others after the resurrection, sitting by the empty tomb, said to the faithful women, Why do you seek the living among the dead? And after the ascension they acted as a guard for the disciples, loosing Peter's bonds, alleviating Paul's dangers on land and sea, mediating for the faith of Cornelius, striking the justice-slaying Herod as he was speaking boastfully. Are not they, therefore, worthy of the greatest honor, who direct our life? For not only were angels appointed to guard nations, 59.756 as the oracle proclaims, "When the Most High," it says, "divided the nations, when he scattered the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God;" but also to each person an angel has been allotted.

The saying is not mine, but that of the divine Scripture. For when the maid Rhoda announced to the apostles that Peter, having escaped from Herod's prison, was standing at the door, they, disbelieving, said, "It is his angel." And the Savior also testifies to this, saying concerning the little ones in this life, "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you, that their angels in

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In synaxim archangelorum

Εἰς τὴν σύναξιν τῶν ἀρχαγγέλων.

59.755 Ἀγγέλους ἐγκωμιάζειν χρή. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὶ τὸν ∆ημιουργὸν ὑμνοῦντες, ἵλεων

αὐτὸν καὶ εὐμενῆ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις παρέχουσιν. Ἀγγέλους δέ φημι, τοὺς ἡμετέρους συμμάχους, τοὺς κατὰ τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων ἐκστρατεύοντας, ὧν εἷς ἐστιν ὁ ἀρχάγγελος Μιχαὴλ πρὸς μὲν τὸν διάβολον ὑπὲρ Μωϋσέως σώματος ἀντιταττόμενος, πρὸς δὲ τοῦ ἄρχοντος τῶν Περσῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ λαοῦ ἐλευθερίας ἀνθιστάμενος· ὧν ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος ὁ τὴν ὄνον καταστρέφων, καὶ Βαλαὰμ τῆς ἀτόπου μανίας εἴργων· καὶ ἐπείπερ ὁ μάντις οὐκ ἐνενόει τὸ πραττόμενον, ἀλόγου φωνὴ τὸ λογικὸν ἐσωφρόνιζεν· ὧν ἐστιν ὁ τὴν μάχαιραν σπασάμενος, καὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν τοῦ Ναυῆ συμπλέκεσθαι τοῖς πολεμίοις προτρεπόμενος· ὧν ἐστιν ὁ τὰς πέντε καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν χιλιάδας τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἐν μιᾷ νυκτὶ πατάξας, καὶ τῷ ὕπνῳ τῶν βαρβάρων συνάψας τὸν θάνατον· ὧν ἐστιν ὁ τὸν προφήτην Ἀμβακοὺμ ἀερίστῳ μετακοσμήσας πηδήματι, ἵνα τὸν προφήτην ∆ανιὴλ ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀγεύστων λεόντων γεύσῃ τροφῆς. Οὗτοι μὲν οὖν καὶ οἱ τοιοῦτοι κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν εἰσιν, οἳ καὶ κατὰ τῶν παθῶν ἀριστεύουσιν. Ὁποῖος ἦν καὶ ὁ θαυμάσιος καὶ θεσπέσιος Ῥαφαὴλ, δι' ἑνὸς ἰχθύος ἀνατομῆς δαιμονιῶσαν κόρην ἱστάμενος, καὶ γέροντι τυφλῷ τὸ φῶς τεχνινάμενος. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνοι σιωπῆς ἄξιοι οἱ τῇ Νέᾳ ∆ιαθήκῃ διακονήσαντες, ὧν μέγα μέρος ἐστὶν ὁ ἀρχάγγελος Γαβριὴλ, ὁ τῷ Ζαχαρίᾳ χρηματίσας, καὶ σιωπῇ τὴν ἀπιστίαν εἰσπραξάμενος, ὅτι μὴ κύειν τὴν στεῖραν διὰ τὴν μέλλουσαν οἰκονομίαν ἐπίστευσεν· ὁ τῇ σεμνῇ Μαριὰμ τὰς ἀνυμφεύτους ὠδῖνας εὐαγγελισάμενος· ὁ τοὺς ποιμένας ἐπὶ τὸ σπήλαιον ὁδηγῶν, καὶ καταμηνύων τὸν ἀχώρητον ἐν φάτνῃ, ἐν σπαργάνοις τὸν ἀπερίγραπτον, ἐκείνοις σύμφωνον ᾠδὴν δοξολογίας ἀναπέμπων· ∆όξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη, ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία. Ἄλλος τοὺς μάγους κωλύει τῆς ἐπὶ τῶν τυράννων ἀναζεύξεως· οἱ δὲ διηκόνουν ἐπὶ γῆς τῷ κτίσαντι· ἄλλος τὸν μνηστῆρα τῆς Παρθένου νουθετεῖ μὴ ἀπολύειν ὡς διεφθαρμένην τὴν ἄφθορον· ἄλλος αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν Ἡρώδου βρεφοκτονίαν φυγὴν ἐπάνοδον ὑποτίθεται. Καίπερ ἐν σαρκὶ θεωροῦντες τὸν ἄκτιστον, δουλοπρεπῶς διηκόνουν. Ἐθαύμασαν γὰρ τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτοῦ, δι' ἧς ὁ πειράζων κατέπεσε, καὶ κατὰ τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, Ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἄραντες αὐτὸν, ἔξω τῆς βολῆς τῶν λίθων ἐκόμιζον. Ἧραν γὰρ, φησὶν, Ἰουδαῖοι λίθους, ἵνα βάλωσιν ἐπ' αὐτόν. Ἄλλοι τῷ Πάθει συνέτρεχον· ἄλλοι μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τῷ κενῷ τάφῳ συνεδρεύοντες, πισταῖς γυναιξὶν ἔλεγον, Τί ζητεῖτε τὸν ζῶντα μεταξὺ τῶν νεκρῶν; Μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἀνάληψιν ἐδορυφόρουν τοὺς μαθητὰς, τὰ Πέτρου λύοντες δεσμὰ, Παύλου τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς καὶ θαλάττης κινδύνους ἐπικουφίζοντες, τῇ πίστει Κορνηλίου μεσιτεύοντες, τὸν δικαιοκτόνον Ἡρώδην μεγαληγοροῦντα πατάσσοντες. Ἆρ' οὖν οὐ μεγίστης τιμῆς ἄξιοι, οἱ τὴν ἡμετέραν ζωὴν διιθύνοντες; Οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἔθνη φρουρεῖν ἐτάχθησαν 59.756 ἄγγελοι, καθὼς βοᾷ τὸ λόγιον, Ὅτε διεμέριζε, φησὶν, ἔθνη ὁ Ὕψιστος, ὡς διέσπειρεν υἱοὺς Ἀδὰμ, ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων Θεοῦ· ἀλλὰ γὰρ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἑκάστῳ ἔλαχεν ἄγγελος.

Ὁ λόγος οὐκ ἐμὸς, ἀλλὰ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς. Τῆς γὰρ παιδίσκης Ῥόδης ἀπαγγελούσης τοῖς ἀποστόλοις πρὸ θυρῶν ἑστάναι Πέτρον τὸ Ἡρώδου διαδράντα δεσμωτήριον, ἀπιστοῦντες ἔλεγον ἐκεῖνοι, Ὁ ἄγγελος αὐτοῦ ἐστιν. Ἐπιμαρτυρεῖ δὲ καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ τούτοις, περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον σμικρῶν λέγων, Ὁρᾶτε μὴ καταφρονήσητε ἑνὸς τῶν μικρῶν τούτων. Λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν, ὅτι οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτῶν ἐν