The psalmist said, "You have favored, Lord, your land, you have forgiven the "iniquities of your people, you have covered all their sins;" and again, "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, "and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord will "not impute sin;" and yet the blessing in these words is extended both to the circumcision and to those from the Gentiles, says the blessed Paul in the letter to the Romans; for we have been justified in Christ, "Who was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for our justification." Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. For they have been deceived, as it seems, and have laid down their lives for him without reward, if indeed Christ has not been raised; if the hope of the saints is not full of immortality, if they do not expect to reign with him, they have perhaps perished, and for no useful purpose, having endured even death itself, they have the loss of their labors; away with such dreadful ignorance; "for the dead shall be raised, and those in the tombs shall be awakened," according to the voice of the prophet, and to each the distributor weighs out 303 that which is most fitting for him of the crowns, and he will certainly bring punishment upon the ungodly; for he is judge of all, as God. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, he has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, etc.

He accepts, then, as confessed that it is necessary to believe that Christ indeed rose again, and became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, the first of those on earth to have trodden upon death; just as, of course, the forefather Adam also was the first to enter into it, and became the firstfruits of those who have slipped into corruption; and it follows that the resurrection of our Savior is followed by that of the dead, he adds, saying, For as by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. But observe how he again reveals the mystery of the economy in the flesh to be full of divine skill; for it was necessary, it was necessary, he says, that a man on our behalf conquer death; and for this reason the God Word who appeared from God, did not take hold of angels, as he himself says, but of the seed of Abraham, that he might in all things be made like his brethren; for it was necessary, as I said, for what had grown sick to be healed, for what had fallen to be raised up; it was necessary to conquer death through obedience and righteousness that which came under it through transgression and sin; for this reason the Only-begotten Word of God, who knew no sin, became man, so that just as in Adam we were all condemned, human nature having suffered death, so also, being justified in Christ, we might put off along with sin the death that springs from it. 304 And the divine Paul himself will testify, saying, "For as through the one man's disobedience "the many were made sinners." Therefore, just as in Adam all die, nature having been condemned in him, as I said, because of the transgression, so in Christ shall they be made alive, nature being blessed again in him in the same manner because of justification. Therefore the second things are a dissolution of the first things; "For he was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for "our justification;" Since he has been raised, then, we also have been raised with him; for by nature he is life, the Word from God; not indeed bestowing on his own flesh alone the good of his own nature, I mean, life, but transmitting it to the whole of human nature. For Christ has admittedly been raised as the firstfruits, "that in all things he might have the preeminence," as it is written; the rising again of the others will certainly follow in due time, yet, as is fitting, not in confusion, but in order and distinctly and as if at a command. For after the firstfruits, that is, Christ, he says that those who are his will be raised; and it is clear that this means those at the time of his coming, that is, those who have lived after the incarnation, and have fallen asleep in faith. For there were, admittedly, saints from time to time in Israel, of the in

ἔφη μελῳδός "Εὐδόκησας κύριε τὴν γῆν σοῦ, ἀφῆκας τὰς "ἀνομίας τῷ λαῷ σου, ἐκάλυψας πάσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας "αὐτῶν·" καὶ πάλιν "Μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι, "καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι· μακάριος ἀνὴρ ᾧ οὐ "μὴ λογίσηται Κύριος ἁμαρτίαν·" καίτοι τὸν ἔν γε τούτοις μακαρισμὸν ἐπί τε τὴν περιτομὴν καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν κατευρύνεσθαι, φησὶν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους· δεδικαιώμεθα γὰρ ἐν Χριστῷ, "Ὃς παρεδόθη διὰ τὰ παρα"πτώματα ἡμῶν καὶ ἠγέρθη διὰ τὴν δικαίωσιν ἡμῶν." Ἄρα καὶ οἱ κοιμηθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ ἀπώλοντο. Ἠπάτηνται γὰρ ὡς ἔοικεν καὶ ἀμισθὶ τεθείκασιν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν, εἴ γε μὴ ἐγήγερται Χριστός· εἰ μὴ ἀθανασίας ἐστὶ πλήρης τῶν ἁγίων ἡ ἐλπὶς, εἰ μὴ προσδοκῶσι συμβασιλεύειν αὐτῷ, ἀπολώλασι τάχα που, καὶ ἐπ' οὐδενὶ τῶν χρησίμων καὶ αὐτὸν ἀνατλάντες τὸν θάνατον ζημίαν ἔχουσι πόνων· ἄπαγε τῆς οὕτω δεινῆς ἀμαθίας· "ἀναστήσονται "γὰρ οἱ νεκροὶ, καὶ ἐγερθήσονται οἱ ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις," κατὰ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνὴν, καὶ ταλαντεύει ἑκάστῳ τὸ ὅτι 303 μάλιστα πρέπον αὐτῷ τῶν στεφάνων ὁ διανομεὺς, ἐποίσει δὲ πάντως τοῖς δυσσεβοῦσιν τὴν κόλασιν· κρίτης γάρ ἐστιν τῶν ὅλων ὡς Θεός. Νυνὶ δὲ Χριστὸς ἐγήγερται ἐκ νεκρῶν, ἀπαρχὴ τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἐγένετο κ.τ.λ.

∆έχεται λοιπὸν ὡς ὁμολογούμενον τὸ χρῆναι πιστεύειν, ὡς ἀνεβίω μὲν Χριστὸς, καὶ γέγονεν ἀπαρχὴ τῶν κεκοιμημένων, πρῶτος τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς πατήσας τὸν θάνατον· καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ ὁ προπάτωρ Ἀδὰμ πρῶτος εἰς αὐτὸν ἐμβέβηκεν, καὶ γέγονεν ἀπαρχὴ τῶν ὠλισθηκότων εἰς φθοράν· ἕψεται δὲ ὅτι τῇ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀναστάσει καὶ ἡ τῶν νεκρῶν, προσεπάγει λέγων Ὥσπερ γὰρ δι' ἀνθρώπου θάνατος καὶ δι' ἀνθρώπου ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν. ἄθρει δὲ ὅπως τῆς μετὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίας τὸ μυστήριον θεοπρεποῦς ἀνάμεστον εὐτεχνίας ἀποφαίνει πάλιν· ἔδει γὰρ ἔδει, φησὶν, ἄνθρωπον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν νικῆσαι τὸν θάνατον· ταύτης τε ἕνεκα τῆς αἰτίας ὁ ἐκ Θεοῦ πεφηνὼς Θεὸς Λόγος, οὐκ ἀγγέλων ἐπελάβετο, καθά φησιν αὐτὸς, ἀλλὰ σπέρματος Ἁβραὰμ, ἵνα κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῇ· ἔδει γὰρ, ὡς ἔφην, θεραπεύεσθαι τὸ ἠῤῥωστηκὸς, ἀναστῆναι τὸ πεπτωκός· ἔδει καταθλῆσαι θανάτου δι' ὑπακοῆς καὶ δικαιοσύνης τὸ ὑπ' αὐτῷ γεγονὸς διὰ παραβάσεως καὶ ἁμαρτίας· ταύτῃ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος οὐκ εἰδὼς ἁμαρτίαν ὁ Μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ἵν' ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ πάντες κατακεκρίμεθα, τῆς ἀνθρώπου φύσεως παθούσης τὸν θάνατον, οὕτω καὶ δικαιωθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ συναποδυσόμεθα τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀναφύντα θάνατον. 304 καὶ μαρτυρήσει λέγων αὐτὸς ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος "Ὥσπερ "γὰρ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατ"εστάθησαν οἱ πολλοί." οὐκοῦν ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ πάντες ἀποθνήσκουσι, καταδεδικασμένης ὡς ἔφην ἐν αὐτῷ τῆς φύσεως διὰ τὴν παράβασιν, οὕτως ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ ζωοποιηθήσονται, πάλιν εὐλογουμένης ἐν αὐτῷ τῆς φύσεως κατὰ τὸν ἴσον τρόπον διὰ τὴν δικαίωσιν. λύσις οὖν ἄρα τῶν πρώτων τὰ δεύτερα· "Παρεδόθη γὰρ διὰ τὰ παραπτώματα ἡμῶν καὶ ἠγέρθη διὰ "τὴν δικαίωσιν ἡμῶν·" ἐγηγερμένῳ δὴ οὖν συνεγηγέρμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς· ζωὴ γάρ ἐστι κατὰ φύσιν ὁ ἐκ Θεοῦ Λόγος· οὐχὶ δήπου μόνῃ τῇ ἰδίᾳ σαρκὶ τὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ φύσεως ἀγαθὸν δωρούμενος, φημὶ δὴ τὴν ζωὴν, ἀλλ' εἰς ὅλην αὐτὸ παραπέμπων τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου φύσιν. ἐγήγερται μὲν γὰρ ὁμολογουμένως ὡς ἀπαρχὴ Χριστὸς, "ἵνα γένηται ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς "πρωτεύων," κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· ἕψεται γεμὴν ἐν καιρῷ τὸ ἀναβιῶναι τοὺς ἄλλους, πλὴν κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς οὐ χύδην, ἀλλ' ἐν κόσμῳ τε καὶ διακεκριμένως καὶ οἷον ἐν κελεύσματι. μετὰ γάρ τοι τὴν ἀπαρχὴν, τουτέστι Χριστὸν, τοὺς αὐτοῦ φησιν ἐγερθήσεσθαι· δῆλον δὲ ὅτι τοὺς ἐν καιρῷ τῆς ἐπιδημίας, ἤγουν γεγονότας μετὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν, καὶ ὡς ἐν πίστει κεκοιμημένους. ἦσαν μὲν γὰρ ὁμολογουμένως ἅγιοι κατὰ καιροὺς ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ, τῆς ἐν