Fragments on the first epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians OF THE SAME SAINT CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA
SOME FEW FRAGMENTS ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.
OF CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, SOME FEW FRAGMENTS ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.
Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ. The divine Paul says he was SENT from Christ, by the good pleasure of God the
Father; for I think this is what is meant by 'Through the will of God'; for since the will and the working of the Father is through the Son, through Him again we say the saints have been appointed to apostleship. And Sosthenes the brother etc. That the power of the preachings will benefit not only the Corinthians, but also all those called in Christ to sanctification through faith, he makes clear, saying 'To those sanctified in Christ in every place, both theirs and ours'; for the law did not command this to be done in every place, but to come to the divine 250 temple itself in Jerusalem; for it feared, as is likely, the fickleness of their mind, lest perhaps, having been commanded to worship or sacrifice in every place, they [might have] the law as a pretext for turning to baser things, and worship graven images, setting up for themselves temples and altars; but since we from the nations have now been called through faith in Christ into fellowship with God, and have been enriched with the security that is through the Holy Spirit, we are ordered to worship not all in Jerusalem, but in every place; and this was what was said through the prophets, "And they shall worship the Lord, each from his "place." He writes, therefore, with Sosthenes to the church of God, which Christ Himself presented to Himself; and who was she seen to be? all those sanctified and called through Christ to justification, and calling upon His name in every place, both theirs and ours, that is, whether in the land of the Jews, or in the cities and countries of the Gentiles. And he proclaims Christ to be God by nature, and with Him and through Him he achieves glory for God the Father; for he calls the sanctified the church of God, but again he assigns them to Christ, saying, "But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, "he is not His." Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He crowns with grace those who have believed in that which is from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; for through Him and in Him are all things from God the Father, and He is co-giver and co-supplier with the one who begot Him of the good things from above, and distributor of the gifts from heaven, and He Himself is the peace of all, illuminating with the grace from Himself 251 principalities, thrones, and authorities, and simply put, every rational creature. But that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. That it was necessary and at the same time wise to persuade them that they ought to be glorified in the Lord's name, He Himself says through one of the holy prophets, "'But to those who serve me shall be called "a new name, which shall be blessed upon the earth';" for we have been named Christians, and we have been enriched with the new name, of which some have been justly deprived who depart from the orthodox teachings of the Church; and adhering to deceitful spirits and the monstrous teachings of certain unholy false teachers, they have taken their name, and very rightly so; for they are not Christ's, having divided among themselves the blasphemy against Him, and being rent into different opinions and judgments, although
Fragmenta in sancti Pauli epistulam i ad Corinthios ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΚΥΡΙΛΛΟΥ ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΑΛΕΞΑΝ∆ΡΕΙΑΣ
ΑΠΟΣΠΑΣΜΑΤΑ ΟΛΙΓΑ ΤΙΝΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗΝ Α.
ΚΥΡΙΛΛΟΥ ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΑΛΕΞΑΝ∆ΡΕΙΑΣ ΑΠΟΣΠΑΣΜΑΤΑ ΟΛΙΓΑ ΤΙΝΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗΝ Α.
Παῦλος κλητὸς ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. ἈΠΕΣΤΑΛΘΑΙ φησὶν ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος παρὰ Χριστοῦ, εὐδοκίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ
Πατρός· τοῦτο γὰρ οἶμαί ἐστι τό ∆ιὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δι' Υἱοῦ τὸ θέλειν καὶ τὸ ἐνεργεῖν ἐστι τοῦ Πατρὸς, δι' αὐτοῦ πάλιν τοὺς ἁγίους εἰς ἀποστολὴν προκεχειρῆσθαί φαμεν. Καὶ Σωσθένης ὁ ἀδελφὸς κ.τ.λ. Ὅτι ὀνήσει τῶν κηρυγμάτων ἡ δύναμις οὐ μόνον Κορινθίους, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐν Χριστῷ κεκλημένους εἰς τὸν διὰ πίστεως ἁγιασμὸν, διατρανοῖ λέγων Ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ αὐτῶν τε καὶ ἡμῶν· ὁ μὲν γὰρ νόμος οὐκ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ κεκέλευκε τοῦτο δρᾶν, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸν θεῖον 250 αὐτὸν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις νεὼν ἀφικέσθαι· ἐδεδίει γὰρ τῆς παρ' αὐτοῖς διανοίας ὡς εἰκὸς τὸ εὐμετακόμιστον, μὴ ἄρα πως προσκυνεῖν ἢ θύειν ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ κεκελευσμένοι, πρόφασιν τῆς εἰς τὰ αἰσχίω μεταβολῆς [ἔχοιεν] τὸν νόμον, καὶ προσκυνήσειαν τοῖς γλυπτοῖς, ναοὺς ἑαυτοῖς ἱστῶντες καὶ βωμούς· ἐπειδὴ δὲ κεκλήμεθα λοιπὸν οἱ ἐξ ἐθνῶν διὰ πίστεως τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν εἰς οἰκειότητα τὴν ὡς πρὸς Θεὸν, καὶ τὴν διὰ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἀσφάλειαν πεπλουτήκαμεν, προσκυνεῖν τετάγμεθα οὐκ ἔν γε τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις ἅπαντες, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ· καὶ τοῦτο ἦν ἄρα τὸ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν λεγόμενον "Καὶ προσκυνήσουσι τῷ Κυρίῳ ἕκαστος ἐκ τοῦ "τόπου αὐτοῦ." Ἐπιστέλλει δὴ οὖν ἅμα Σωσθένει τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἣν αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ παρέστησεν ὁ Χριστός· καὶ τίς αὐτὴν ὦπτο; πάντες οἱ ἡγιασμένοι καὶ κεκλημένοι διὰ Χριστοῦ πρὸς δικαίωσιν, ἐπικαλούμενοί τε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ αὐτῶν τε καὶ ἡμῶν, τουτέστιν εἴτε ἐν τῇ τῶν Ἰουδαίων γῇ, εἴτ' οὖν ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν πόλεσί τε καὶ χώραις. Θεὸν δὲ κατὰ φύσιν διακηρύττει Χριστὸν, καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τε καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ τὴν δόξαν πραγματεύεται· Θεοῦ μὲν γὰρ ἐκκλησίαν ὀνομάζει τοὺς ἡγιασμένους, Χριστῷ δὲ πάλιν αὐτοὺς προσνέμει λέγων "Εἰ δέ τις Πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ "οὐκ ἔχει, οὗτος οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῦ." Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Χάριτι στεφανοῖ τοὺς πεπιστευκότας τῇ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· δι' αὐτοῦ γὰρ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς, συνδοτήρ τε ἐστὶ καὶ συνχορηγὸς τῷ γεγεννηκότι τῶν ἄνωθεν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ διανομεὺς τῶν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ χαρισμάτων, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ πάντων εἰρήνη, τῇ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ χάριτι καταλαμπρύνων 251 ἀρχὰς, θρόνους τε καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς εἰπεῖν πᾶσαν κτίσιν λογικήν. Ἦτε δὲ κατηρτισμένοι ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ νοῒ καὶ ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ γνώμῃ. Ὅτι ὀνόματι τῷ δεσποτικῷ κατασεμνύνεσθαι δεῖν, ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ἅμα καὶ σοφὸν ἀναπεῖσαι, λέγων αὐτὸς δι' ἑνὸς τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν "Τοῖς δὲ δουλεύουσί μοι κληθήσεται "ὄνομα καινὸν, ὃ εὐλογηθήσεται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς·" χριστιανοὶ γὰρ ὠνομάσμεθα, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ καινὸν πεπλουτήκαμεν, οὗ δικαίως ἐστέρηνταί τινες τῶν ὀρθῶν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀποφοιτῶντες· καὶ προσκείμενοι πνεύμασι πλάνοις καὶ ἀνοσίων τινῶν ψευδοδιδασκάλων τερατισμοῖς, τὸ αὐτῶν ἐσχήκασιν ὄνομα, καὶ μάλα εἰκότως· οὐ γὰρ εἰσὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὴν κατ' αὐτοῦ δυσφημίαν μερισάμενοι, καὶ εἰς διαφόρους δόξας τε καὶ γνώμας κατεσχισμένοι, καίτοι