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In illud: In faciem ei restiti

At the previous gathering in the new church, having gathered with the bishop, he said this in the old church on the passage of the Apostle:

"But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face;" and he shows that what happened was not an opposition, but a dispensation.

51.371 1. I was left from you for one day, and as if separated from you for a whole year, so I was continually distressed and vexed. And that these things are true, you know from what you also have suffered. For just as a suckling child torn from its mother's breast, wherever it may be carried, turns around often, looking about for its own mother; so indeed I also, having been carried farther away from my mother's bosom, frequently looked around, everywhere seeking your holy assembly. But still I had sufficient consolation for these things, suffering them in obedience to my loving father, and the reward of obedience drove away the despondency that arose from being away. For this to me is both more brilliant than any 51.372 diadem, and more venerable than a crown, to be led everywhere with him who begot me; this to me is both an ornament, and a security; an ornament, because I so won him over, and drew him to my love, that he could nowhere ever bear to appear without his son; a security, because being present and seeing me struggling, he will certainly also provide for us the alliance of his prayers. And just as the hands of pilots, and rudders, and breaths of the west wind guide a ship to harbor with safety; so indeed also his goodwill, and his love, and the help of his prayers, better than the west wind and a pilot and rudders, directs our discourse. And besides these things, that also consoled me, that you then enjoyed a splendid 51.373 table, and had a generous and magnificent host. And we learned this not only from hearing, but also from experience itself. For there were those who brought us the words spoken, and from the leftovers we conjectured the whole banquet. Therefore, I praised the one who hosted the banquet, and I marveled at his magnificence and richness; and I blessed you for your goodwill, and your exactness, because you retain what was said with such care as to convey it to another. For this reason we also eagerly discourse to your love. For he who casts seeds here does not throw them by the wayside, nor pour them among the thorns, nor sow them on the rock; so fertile and deep-soiled is your field, and receiving all into its own bosom, it multiplies the seeds many times over. But if you ever showed me eagerness and great diligence for the hearing, as indeed you always have, I ask you to grant me this favor today also. For our discourse is not about ordinary things, but about great matters. Therefore, I need eyes that see sharply from every side, an awakened mind, a roused spirit, attentive reasoning, a sleepless and watchful soul. For you all have heard the apostolic reading; and if anyone has paid keen attention to what was read, he knows that great struggles and toils lie before us today. For when Peter came, he says, to Antioch, I opposed him to his face. 2. Does it not, then, disturb each of the listeners, that Paul opposed Peter, that the pillars of the Church clash with each other

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In illud: In faciem ei restiti

Τῇ προτέρᾳ συνάξει ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τῇ καινῇ συναχθεὶς μετὰ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου, ταύτην ἐν τῇ παλαιᾷ εἶπεν εἰς τὴν περικοπὴν τοῦ Ἀποστόλου·

"Ὅτε δὲ ἦλθε Πέτρος εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν, κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῷ ἀντέστην·" καὶ δείκνυσιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀντίστασις ἦν, ἀλλ' οἰκονομία τὰ γινόμενα.

51.371 αʹ. Μίαν ὑμῶν ἀπελείφθην ἡμέραν, καὶ ὡς ἐνιαυτὸν ὁλόκληρον ὑμῶν χωρισθεὶς, οὕτως ἀσχάλλων καὶ ἀλύων διετέλουν. Καὶ ὅτι ἀληθῆ ταῦτα, ἴστε ἐξ ὧν καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐπάθετε. Καθάπερ γὰρ παῖς ὑπομάζιος τῆς μητρικῆς θηλῆς ἀποσπασθεὶς, ὅπουπερ ἂν ἀπενεχθῇ, πυκνὰ περιστρέφεται, περιβλεπόμενος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ μητέρα· οὕτω δὴ κἀγὼ τῶν κόλπων τῶν μητρικῶν ἀπενεχθεὶς ποῤῥωτέρω, πυκνὰ περιεσκόπουν, παν ταχοῦ τὴν ἁγίαν ὑμῶν ἐπιζητῶν σύνοδον. Πλὴν ἀλλ' εἶχον ἱκανὴν τούτων παραμυθίαν, τῷ πατρὶ φιλο στόργῳ πειθόμενος ταῦτα πάσχειν, καὶ ὁ τῆς ὑπα κοῆς μισθὸς τὴν ἀκηδίαν τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ ξενισμῷ γινο μένην ἀπεῖργε. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐμοὶ καὶ διαδήματος παν 51.372 τὸς λαμπρότερον, καὶ στεφάνου σεμνότερον, τὸ παν ταχοῦ μετὰ τοῦ γεγεννηκότος περιάγεσθαι· τοῦτο ἐμοὶ καὶ κόσμος, καὶ ἀσφάλεια· κόσμος μὲν, ὅτι οὕ τως αὐτὸν ἐχειρωσάμην, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἔρωτα ἐπεσπα σάμην τὸν ἐμὸν, ὡς μηδαμοῦ μηδέποτε ἀνέχεσθαι χωρὶς τοῦ παιδὸς φαίνεσθαι· ἀσφάλεια δὲ, ὅτι παρὼν καὶ ἀγωνιζόμενον βλέπων, πάντως καὶ τὴν παρὰ τῶν εὐχῶν συμμαχίαν ἡμῖν παρέξει. Καὶ καθάπερ πλοῖον κυβερνητῶν χεῖρες, καὶ οἴακες, καὶ ζεφύρου πνοαὶ μετὰ ἀσφαλείας εἰς λιμένα παραπέμπουσιν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡ εὔνοια τούτου, καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη, καὶ ἡ τῶν εὐχῶν βοήθεια, καὶ ζεφύρου καὶ κυβερνήτου κρεῖτ τον καὶ τῶν οἰάκων κατευθύνει τὸν λόγον ἡμῶν. Ἐμὲ δὲ πρὸς τούτοις κἀκεῖνο παρεμυθεῖτο, τὸ λαμ 51.373 πρᾶς ὑμᾶς ἀπολαῦσαι τότε τραπέζης, καὶ φιλότιμον καὶ πολυτελῆ τὸν ἑστιάτορα σχεῖν. Ἔγνωμεν δὲ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ἀκοῆς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς πείρας. Καὶ γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ διακομίζοντες ἡμῖν τὰ εἰρημένα, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν λειψάνων ὁλόκληρον τὴν εὐωχίαν ἐστο χασάμεθα. Ἐπῄνεσα μὲν οὖν τὸν ἑστιάσαντα, καὶ ἐθαύμασα τῆς πολυτελείας καὶ τοῦ πλούτου· ἐμακά ρισα δὲ καὶ ὑμᾶς τῆς εὐνοίας, καὶ τῆς ἀκριβείας, ὅτι μετὰ τοσαύτης φυλακῆς τὰ εἰρημένα κατέχετε, ὡς καὶ ἑτέρῳ διακομίσαι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην προθύμως διαλεγόμεθα. Ὁ γὰρ καταβάλλων ἐνταῦθα τὰ σπέρματα, οὐ ῥίπτει αὐτὰ παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν, οὐδὲ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας ἐκχεῖ, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν σπείρει· οὕτω λιπαρὰ καὶ βα θύγειος ὑμῶν ἐστιν ἡ ἄρουρα, καὶ πάντα εἰς τοὺς οἰκείους δεχομένη κόλπους, πολυπλασιάζει τὰ σπέρ ματα. Ἀλλ' εἴπερ ποτὲ προθυμίαν μοι παρέσχετε καὶ πολλὴν σπουδὴν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκρόασιν, ὥσπερ οὖν ἀεὶ παρεσχήκατε, ταύτην αἰτῶ καὶ τήμερον ἐμοὶ δοῦναι τὴν χάριν. Οὐδὲ μὲν ὑπὲρ τῶν τυχόντων ἡμῖν ἐστιν ὁ λόγος, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ μεγάλων πραγμάτων. ∆ιόπερ ὀφθαλμῶν δέομαι πανταχόθεν ὀξὺ βλεπόντων, δια νοίας διεγηγερμένης, διανεστηκότος φρονήματος, συντεταμένων λογισμῶν, ψυχῆς ἀγρύπνου καὶ ἐγρη γορυίας. Καὶ γὰρ ἠκούσατε τοῦ ἀναγνώσματος πάν τες τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ· καὶ εἴ τις ὀξέως προσέσχε τοῖς ἀναγνωσθεῖσιν, οἶδεν ὅτι μεγάλοι ἡμῖν ἀγῶνες καὶ ἱδρῶτες πρόκεινται τήμερον. Ὅτε γὰρ ἦλθε Πέ τρος, φησὶν, εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν, κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῷ ἀντέστην. βʹ. Ἆρα οὖν οὐ θορυβεῖ ἕκαστον τῶν ἀκουόντων τοῦτο, ὅτι Παῦλος ἀντέστη τῷ Πέτρῳ, ὅτι οἱ στῦλοι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας συγκρούονται καὶ ἀλλήλοις