Reference: CPG 5301/8621
Incipit: Ἀφίκοντο μὲν τινὲς κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς
Date: Late 428
Greek Text: ACO 1.1.1:10-23
Latin Text: ACO 1.3:3-16
Other Ancient Versions:
English Translation: FCC: R. Read; FC 76 13-33

By early 429, news of the increasing controversy in Constsantinople over the term theotokos spread to Egypt. Cyril decided he needed to compose a more detailed warning to his clergy, but especially to the monks around his diocese. They seem to have been particularly susceptible to violent emotions on such subjects. Cyril’s letter to the monks (CPG 5301) was the result of his concern. Nestorius is not yet mentioned by name. Instead Cyril warns the monks about “some men” who were going about in Egypt seeking to “destroy your simple faith” by “saying that one must clearly state whether or not the holy Virgin Mary is to be called theotokos” (4). While Cyril goes on to say that he would prefer that discussions of such doctrinal fine points not trouble the life of these monks, he now has to make clear the truth. “If our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how can the Virgin who bore him not be theotokos (mother of God)?” (5). He also cites several examples of his revered predecessor, Athanasius, using that term of Mary (in his Orationes contra Arianos 3.29 and 33).

The Greek text and Latin translation below are adapted from the ACO. The English translation was adapted by R. Read from that of McEnerney in FC 76, and preserves his paragraph numbering.

Letter of the blessed Cyril to the monks. EPISTULA BEATI CYRILLI AD MONACHOS
1. Κύριλλος πρεσβυτέροις καὶ διακόνοις πατράσι μοναχῶν καὶ τοῖς σὺν ὑμῖν τὸν μονήρη βίον ἀσκοῦσιν καὶ ἐν πίστει θεοῦ ἱδρυμένοις ἀγαπητοῖς καὶ ποθεινοτάτοις ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν. Cyril, to the priests and deacons, to the fathers among the monks and to those practicing the solitary life with you who are firm in faith in God, beloved and most dear; greetings in the Lord. 1. Cyrillus presbyteris et diaconibus patribus monachorum et his qui uobiscum solitariam uitam adepti et in dei fide stant collocati, dilectissimis et desiderabilibus in domino salutem.
Ἀφίκοντο μὲν τινὲς κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ τῶν σὺν ὑμῖν· ἐρομένῳ δέ μοι καὶ φιλοπευστοῦντι λίαν εἰ τῆς τῶν πατέρων ἐπιεικείας ἰόντες κατ᾽ ἴχνος καὶ ὑμεῖς αὐτοὶ πίστει μὲν ὀρθῇ τε καὶ ἀμωμήτῳ διαπρέπειν ἐπείγεσθε, πολιτείᾳ δὲ τῇ παγκάλῃ κατασεμνύνεσθε καὶ τοῖς τῆς ἀσκήσεως ἐναβρύνεσθε πόνοις, τρυφὴν ἀληθῶς ἡγούμενοι τὸ ὑπὲρ γε τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τληπαθεῖν ἑλέσθαι γεννικῶς, … 1. Some of your associates, as is customary, arrived in Alexandria. I eagerly asked and inquired whether you also, walking in the footsteps of your fathers’ gentleness, are striving to excel in orthodox and blameless faith, whether you are distinguishing yourselves in that excellent way of life, and whether you highly esteem the toils of your religious training by nobly considering it pure delight to suffer for the sake of what is good. Venerunt quidem aliqui eorum qui uobiscum sunt, secundum consuetudinem in Alexandrinam ciuitatem; me uero requirente et uehementer sciscitante si per uestigia paternae mansuetudinis ambulantes et uos ipsi, in fide recta et inmaculata clarere festinantes conuersationeque praecipua nobilitati, abstinentiae laboribus rigaremini, uera arbitrantes pascua propter bonitatem eligere fortiter decertari, …
ἀπήγγελλον μὲν ἐκεῖνοι ταῦτά γε ὑμῖν οὕτως ἔχειν, προσέθεσαν δὲ ὅτι τοῖς τῶν προλαβόντων ἀνδραγαθήμασιν ἁμιλλᾶσθε φιλοτιμότερον. ἔχαιρον οὖν ἀναγκαίως ἐγὼ καί μοι διεχεῖτο πρὸς εὐθυμίαν ὁ νοῦς τὰς τῶν ἐμῶν τέκνων εὐδοκιμήσεις οἰκειουμένῳ, καὶ σφόδρα εἰκότως. καὶ γάρ ἐστι τῶν ἀτόπων παιδοτρίβας μὲν ταῖς τῶν νέων ἐπιγάνυσθαι ῥώμαις κἂν εἴ τι γένοιτο παρ᾽ αὐτῶν τῶν εἰς ἐπαίνους τελούντων τῇ τέχνῃ, τοῦτο ταῖς σφῶν αὐτῶν οἷά τινα στέφανον ἀνάπτειν κεφαλαῖς καὶ τῆς ἐκείνων ἀνδρείας μερίζεσθαι τὰ αὐχήματα, ἡμᾶς δὲ πατέρας ὄντας πνευματικοὺς καὶ λόγοις ὑμᾶς ἐπαλείφοντας τοῖς εἰς ἀγαθὴν εὐτολμίαν, ἵνα καταθλήσαντες μὲν τῶν τῆς σαρκὸς κινημάτων παραιτούμενοι δὲ τὸ πίπτειν εἰς ἁμαρτίαν καὶ μὴν καὶ ἡττᾶσθαι πειράζοντι τῷ σατανᾷ κομίσησθε τὸ βραβεῖον, μὴ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον ἢ ἐκεῖνοι θεοφιλοῦς, ἀναπίμπλασθαι θυμηδίας. 2. They reported that you are in fact so disposed and added that you are competing zealously with the virtuous deeds of your predecessors. Therefore I of course rejoiced, and my heart was filled with contentment, fittingly claiming as my own the good repute of my children. Indeed, it is not unheard of that gymnastic trainers exult in the strength of the young and, if they achieve anything which brings about praise of their training, the trainers place it on their own heads as a crown and assume the glories of their pupils’ manliness. We, moreover, since we are your spiritual fathers, should indeed be filled with divine gladness more than they, spurring you on with encouraging words so that you may carry off the prize after you have overcome the impulses of the flesh and have refused to fall into sin and be defeated by Satan’s temptations. nuntiauerunt illi haec quidem apud uos sic se habere, adicientes quia priscas uirtutes munificentius augeatis. Necessario itaque ego gaudebam mensque mea magnanimitate laetabatur, suas faciens filiorum uirtutes, et merito. Est enim incongruum nutritores quidem puerorum uirtutibus iuuenum congaudere et si quid ab eis agatur laudabile arte, hoc uelut quandam coronam suis capitibus applicare illorumque fortitudine participari decorem, nos autem cum simus patres spiritales et uos doctrinis ad bona certamina perungamus, ut motus carnis euincentes et respuentes in peccatum incidere et a satana temptatore deuinci palmam percipiatis, non potiore quam illi deo amabili magnanimitate laetantes inpleri.
2. Οὐκοῦν, καθά φησιν τοῦ σωτῆρος ὁ μαθητής, “Σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισενεγκόντες ἐπιχορηγήσατε ἐν τῇ πίστει ὑμῶν τὴν ἀρετήν, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀρετῇ τὴν γνῶσιν, ἐν δὲ τῇ γνώσει τὴν ἐγκράτειαν, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐγκρατείᾳ τὴν ὑπομονήν, ἐν δὲ τῇ ὑπομονῇ τὴν εὐσέβειαν, ἐν δὲ τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ τὴν φιλαδελφίαν, ἐν δὲ τῇ φιλαδελφίᾳ τὴν ἀγάπην. ταῦτα γὰρ ὑμῖν παρόντα καὶ πλεονάζοντα οὐκ ἀργοὺς οὐδὲ ἀκάρπους καθίστησιν εἰς τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπίγνωσιν.” χρῆναι γὰρ ἔγωγε φημὶ τοὺς οἵπερ ἂν ἕλοιντο τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ νοουμένης ζωῆς τὴν εὐκλεᾶ τε καὶ ἀξιέραστον διάιττειν ὁδόν, πρῶτον μὲν ἁπλῇ τε καὶ ἀλωβήτῳ κατασεμνύνεσθαι πίστει, προσεπάγειν δὲ οὕτως αὐτῇ τὴν ἀρετήν, οὗ δὴ γεγονότος πειρᾶσθαι καταπλουτεῖν τοῦ κατὰ Χριστὸν μυστηρίου τὴν γνῶσιν καὶ ἀναφοιτᾶν εὖ μάλα πρὸς τελεωτάτην σύνεσιν. τοῦτο γάρ, οἶμαι, ἐστὶν “τὸ εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον καταντῆσαι καὶ εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας ἐλθεῖν τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ.” νήψει δὴ οὖν τῇ πρεπούσῃ μονασταῖς τὰς ἑαυτῶν ὀσφύας εὖ μάλα διεζωσμένοι κατανδρίζεσθε τῶν παθῶν ψυχικῶν τε ἅμα καὶ σωματικῶν· ἔσεσθε γὰρ οὕτω λαμπροὶ καὶ εὐδόκιμοι καὶ ἐν καλῷ τῆς ἐλπίδος τῆς τοῖς ἁγίοις ηὐτρεπισμένης. ἔστω δὲ ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ πρό γε τῶν ἄλλων ἡ πίστις ὀρθὴ καὶ τὸ ἀνεπίληπτον ἔχουσα παντελῶς. οὕτω γὰρ οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς αὐτοὶ τὴν τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων ἰχνηλατοῦντες εὐσέβειαν ἐναυλισθήσεσθε σὺν αὐτοῖς ταῖς ἄνω μοναῖς καὶ σκηνὰς οἰκήσετε τὰς ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ὧν καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἡσαίας διαμέμνηται λέγων· “Οἵ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὄψονται Ἱερουσαλήμ, πόλις πλουσία, σκηναὶ αἵ οὐ μὴ σεισθῶσιν.” 3. Therefore, as the Savior’s disciple says, “Strive diligently to supply your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with patience, patience with piety, piety with brotherly love, and brotherly love with compassion. For if these virtues are present among you in abundance, they will make you neither inactive nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” [2 Pet. 1:5-8]. I on my part say that those who have chosen to live the glorious and beloved way of life devised by Christ must first be adorned with simple and unblemished faith and then add virtue to it. When this has been done, they must strive to enrich their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and ascend to a most complete understanding of him. This, I think, is “to become mature” and to come “unto the whole measure of his fullness” [Eph. 4:13]. Therefore, with the sobriety proper to monks, be well-prepared to fight dauntlessly against both spiritual and physical passions. Then you will be radiant and glorious with the beauty of the hope which has been prepared for the saints. But above all let the faith be orthodox and completely blameless among you. For in this way you yourselves, by following the pious example of the holy fathers, will dwell with them in the mansions above and reside in the heavenly dwellings. The divine Isaiah reminds us of those dwellings, saying, “Your eyes shall see Jerusalem, a wealthy city whose tents will not be shaken” [Is. 33:20]. 2. Quapropter, sicut ait discipulus saluatoris, “Omne studium conferentes ministrate in fide uestra uirtutem, in uirtute autem scientiam, in scientia uero continentiam, in continentia uero patientiam, in patientia autem pietatem, in pietate uero fraternam dilectionem, in fraterna dilectione caritatem. Haec enim dum uobis praesentia sunt et abundant, non segnes nec infructuosos facient in cognitione Iesu Christi.” Ego namque reor oportere eos qui eligunt intellegibilem in Christo uitae gloriam et sacram perambulare uiam, primum quidem simplici et inuiolata nobilitari fide, deinde ei augendam esse uirtutem, quo facto studere ditari Christianae scientiae sacramentis et ad perfectam scientiam ualde consurgere. Hoc enim arbitror esse quod dictum est “in uirum uenire perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis eius.” Prudentia itaque monachis conueniente uestros accingentes lumbos dimicate contra passiones animarum simul et corporum; sic enim eritis clari atque probabiles et in spei bono quod sanctis est preparatum. Sit autem in uobis prae omnibus aliis recta fides et quae omnino reprehendi non possit. Sic enim uos ipsi pietatis sanctorum patrum uestigia sequentes commorabimini cum eis in mansionibus supernis et in tabernaculis caelestibus habitabitis, de quibus sacratissimus Esaias meminit dicens: “Oculi tui uidebunt Hierusalem; ciuitas diues, tabernacula quae non commouebuntur.”
3. Λαμπρὸς μὲν οὖν ὅτι καὶ ἀξιάγαστος ὑμῖν ὁ βίος ὀρθή τε καὶ ἀκαπήλευτος ἐνίδρυται πίστις, οὐκ ἠγνόηκα, πόθεν; τετάραγμαι δὲ οὐ μετρίως ἀκηκοὼς ὅτι θρύλοι τινὲς εἰς ὑμᾶς ἀφίκοντο χαλεποὶ καὶ περινοστοῦσι τινὲς τὴν ἁπλῆν ὑμῶν παραλύοντες πίστιν καὶ ῥηματίων εἰκαίων ἀποπτύοντες ὄχλον ἀναπυνθανόμενοί τε καὶ λέγοντες τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον πότερόν ποτε θεοτόκον ἢ μὴ κατονομάζεσθαι χρή. καὶ ἦν μὲν ἄμεινον τῶν τοιούτων ὑμᾶς ζητημάτων εἰς ἅπαν ἀποφοιτᾶν καὶ ἃ μόλις ἐστὶν ὡς ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ καὶ αἰνίγματι θεωρούμενα τοῖς ἀρτίοις τὴν φρένα καὶ βεβηκόσι τὸν νοῦν, μηδὲ ἀνορύττειν ὅλως (τὰ γάρ τοι τῶν θεωρημάτων ἰσχνότερα τὸν τῶν ἀκεραιοτέρων ὑπερνήχεται νοῦν)· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἅπαξ οὐκ ἀνήκοοι τῶν τοιούτων μεμενήκατε λόγων καὶ φιλονεικεῖν εἰκὸς ἑλέσθαι τινὰς καὶ τοῖς τὸν νοῦν οὐκ ἐρηρεισμένοις οἷά τινα σκόλοπα τὸ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς δὴ τούτοις ἐμπερονῆσαι βλάβος, δεῖν ᾠήθην ἀναγκαίως ὀλίγ᾽ ἄττα πρὸς ὑμᾶς περὶ τούτων εἰπεῖν, οὐχ ἵνα λογομαχῆτε μᾶλλον, ἀλλ᾽ ἵν᾽ εἴ τινες ὑμῖν ἐπιφύοιντο, ταῖς ἐκείνων εἰκαιολογίαις τὸ ἀληθὲς ἀντεξάγοντες αὐτοί τε διαδιδράσκητε τὴν ἐκ τοῦ πλανᾶσθαι ζημίαν, προσωφελῆτε δὲ καὶ ἑτέρους, τοῖς καθήκουσι λογισμοῖς ὡς ἀδελφοὺς ἀναπείθοντες τὴν ἄνωθεν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων παραδοθεῖσαν πίστιν καθάπερ τινὰ πολύτιμον μαργαρίτην ἐν ἰδίαις ἔχειν ψυχαῖς. 4. How, then, would I not know that your way of life is illustrious and admirable and that your true and sincere faith rests on a secure foundation? But I am more than a little disturbed because I have heard that some dangerous rumors have reached you and that certain men stalk about destroying your simple faith, spitting out a multitude of aimless words, making close inquiries, and asking whether or not the holy virgin ought to be called the mother of God. It would have been better for you to pay no attention at all to such questions, which are contemplated with difficulty and seen as if in a mirror—an enigma for prepared intellects and advanced minds. Otherwise they cannot be considered. For the finer distinctions of speculation transcend the comprehension of the less instructed. But since you have now heard such discussions, and given that some of you seem to have chosen to cause discord, driving this mischief like a stake into those whose minds are not firmly made up, I deemed it necessary to say a few words to you concerning these matters. I do not do this so that you will fight with words more but so that you will not go astray if someone attacks you with his random words, since you yourselves will muster the truth. I also write so that you will help other brothers, persuading them with proper reasoning to keep the faith which the apostles handed down to the churches from above as a priceless pearl in their own souls. 3. Clara igitur quia et dignae continentiae uobis est uita, recta quoque et inuiolata insidet fides, unde non nescio? Conturbatus uero non mediocriter. Sum audiens quia tumultus quidam ad uos pessimi peruenerunt et circumeunt aliqui simplicem uestram soluentes fidem ac uerbis inanibus excitant populum interrogantes atque dicentes sanctam uirginem utrum dei genetricem an non oporteat nominare. Et erat equidem melius a talibus quaestionibus uos modis omnibus abstinere et quae uix possunt uelut in speculo et in aenigmate contemplari sapientia perfecti et mente praecipui, omnino nec tangere (suptiliora namque contemplationum etiam perfectorum transcendunt sensum); sed quia iam semel hi sermones ad uestrum peruenisse probantur auditum et forsitan nituntur aliqui contendere et eis qui non sunt mente robusti, quod attinet ad ipsos, inserere ueluti quodam aculeo laesionem, oportere necessario iudicaui pauca, carissimi, apud uos de his uerba proferre, non ut contendatis, sed potius ut si qui contra uos insurgunt, illorum uanitatibus ueritatem obicientes ipsi erroris dispendia declinetis et aliis sermonibus competentibus prodesse ualeatis tamquam fratribus suadentes ut antiquam fidem ecclesiis a sanctis apostolis traditam in suis animabus habeant sicuti quandam pretiosissimam margaritam.
4. Τεθαύμακα τοίνυν εἴπερ ὅλως ἐνδοιάζουσι τινὲς πότερόν ποτε θεοτόκος ἢ μὴ λέγοιτ᾽ ἂν ἡ ἁγία παρθένος. εἰ γάρ ἐστι θεὸς ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, πῶς οὐ θεοτόκος ἡ τεκοῦσα παρθένος; ταύτην ἡμῖν παρέδοσαν τὴν πίστιν οἱ θεσπέσιοι μαθηταί, κἂν εἰ μὴ τῆς λέξεως πεποίηνται μνήμην· οὕτω φρονεῖν δεδιδάγμεθα παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων. 5. Therefore, I am amazed that certain people are in any doubt as to whether the holy virgin should be called the mother of God. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how is the virgin who bore him not the mother of God? The divine disciples transmitted this faith to us, even though they have not made mention of the term. The holy fathers have taught us to think this way. 4. Miratus itaque sum si omnino quidam dubitant utrum dei genetrix an non dicenda sit sancta uirgo. Si enim est deus dominus noster Iesus Christus, quomodo non dei genetrix, quae peperit uirgo? Hanc nobis tradiderunt fidem sacri discipuli etsi sermonis memoriam non fecerunt; sic sapere didicimus a patribus sanctis.
καὶ γοῦν ὁ τῆς ἀοιδίμου μνήμης πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἀθανάσιος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων ἐκκλησίας κατακοσμήσας τὸν θρόνον ἐφ᾽ ὅλοις ἔτεσιν τεσσαράκοντα καὶ ἕξ τὸν ἀριθμὸν καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἀνοσίων αἱρετικῶν εὑρεσιλογίαις ἄμαχόν τινα καὶ ἀποστολικὴν ἀντιτάττων σύνεσιν καὶ οἷον εὐοσμοτάτῳ τινὶ μύρῳ τοῖς ἰδίοις συγγράμμασι κατευφραίνων τὴν ὑπ᾽ οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐπ᾽ ὀρθότητι καὶ ἀκριβείᾳ δογμάτων παρὰ πάντων μαρτυρούμενος … 6. Our father Athanasius, of illustrious memory, adorned the throne of the church of Alexandria for forty-six years in all. He set his unconquerable and apostolic knowledge in opposition to the sophistries of the unholy heretics and refreshed the world by his writings as by a most fragrant perfume, and all bear witness to the accuracy and piety of his teachings. Denique laudandae memoriae pater noster Athanasius exornans Alexandrinae ecclesiae sedem in cunctis numero quadraginta et sex annis et contra nefandissimorum haereticorum adinuentiones inexpugnabilem quendam et apostolicum obiciens intellectum et uelut odorifero unguento suis conscriptionibus omnem satians mundum et cui pro rectitudine et integritate dogmatum omnes pariter attestantur, …
τὸ περὶ τῆς ἁγίας ἡμῖν καὶ ὁμοουσίου τριάδος συντιθεὶς βιβλίον, ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ λόγῳ ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω θεοτόκον ἀποκαλεῖ τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον, καὶ χρήσομαι δὲ ἀναγκαίως ταῖς αὐτοῦ φωναῖς, αὐταῖς λέξεσιν ἐχούσαις ὧδε· “Σκοπὸς τοίνυν οὗτος καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς θείας γραφῆς, ὡς πολλάκις εἴπομεν, διπλῆν εἶναι τὴν περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐπαγγελίαν ἐν αὐτῇ, ὅτι τε ἀεὶ θεὸς ἦν καὶ ἐστὶν υἱός, λόγος ὢν καὶ ἀπαύγασμα καὶ σοφία τοῦ πατρός, καὶ ὅτι ὕστερον δι᾿ ἡμᾶς σάρκα λαβὼν ἐκ παρθένου τῆς θεοτόκου Μαρίας ἄνθρωπος γέγονεν.” 7. He composed for us his book concerning the Holy and consubstantial Trinity. In its third discourse, he called the holy virgin the mother of God from the beginning to the end. I shall, of necessity, use his own words, which are as follows: “This, as we have often said, is the purpose and distinctive mark of Holy Scripture: It contains a twofold declaration about the Savior, in the first place, that he has always been God and is the Son—the Word, radiance, and wisdom of the Father—and in the second place, that in recent times he became man for our sake by taking flesh from the Virgin Mary, the mother of God.”1 de sancta et consubstantiali trinitate nobis componens librum, in tertio sermone superius et inferius dei genetricem uocat uirginem sanctam, necessario uero utar eius uoce ipsis sermonibus sic habente: “Intentio igitur haec est et figuratio diuinae scribturae, sicuti saepe diximus, duplicem in ea esse de saluatore annuntiationem et quia semper deus fuit et est filius, uerbum existens et splendor et sapientia patris, et quia nouissime propter nos carnem assumens ex uirgine dei genetrice Maria homo factus est.”
Καὶ μεθ᾽ ἕτερα πάλιν· “Πολλοὶ γοῦν ἅγιοι γεγόνασι καὶ καθαροὶ πάσης ἁμαρτίας· Ἱερεμίας δὲ καὶ ἐκ κοιλίας ἡγιάσθη καὶ Ἰωάννης ἔτι κυοφορούμενος ἐσκίρτησεν ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει ἐπὶ τῇ φωνῇ τῆς θεοτόκου Μαρίας.” 8. After other matters he says again, “There have been many holy people who were even free of all sin. For Jeremiah was sanctified even from the womb, and John leaped with joy in the womb at the voice of Mary, the mother of God.”2 Et post alia rursus: “Plurimi siquidem sancti fuerunt et omni peccato puri; Hieremias autem et ex uentre sanctificatus est et Iohannes dum adhuc in utero portaretur, exultauit in gaudio super uoce dei genetricis Mariae.”
Ἀξιόχρεως μὲν οὖν ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ θαρσεῖσθαι πρέπων ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἔφη τι τῶν ὅσα ἐστὶν τοῖς ἱεροῖς οὐ συμβαίνοντα λόγοις. πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἁμάρτοι τἀληθοῦς ὁ λαμπρὸς οὕτω καὶ διαβόητος καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἁγίᾳ καὶ μεγάλῃ συνόδῳ, τῇ ἐν Νικαίᾳ φημὶ κατὰ καιροὺς συναγηγερμένῃ, πρὸς ἁπάντων τεθαυμασμένος; οὔπω μὲν γὰρ τὸν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς διεῖπε θρόνον, ἐτέλει δὲ μᾶλλον ἐν κληρικοῖς πλὴν ἀγχινοίας ἕνεκα καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἐπιεικείας καὶ ἰσχνῆς ἄγαν καὶ ἀσυγκρίτου φρενὸς παρελήφθη μὲν τὸ τηνικάδε παρὰ τοῦ τῆς μακαρίας μνήμης Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου, συνῆν δὲ τῷ πρεσβύτῃ οἷάπερ υἱὸς πατρί, ποδηγῶν εἰς ἕκαστα τῶν χρησίμων καὶ τὴν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ τῶν πρακτέων ὁδὸν εὖ μάλα παραδεικνύς. 9. This man is worthy of trust and deserves our confidence as one who would not say anything contrary to the sacred texts. For how could such a brilliant and famous man stray from the truth? Even in the holy and great council itself, that is, the one which once gathered at Nicaea, he was admirable to everyone. He did not yet hold the office of bishop but was still a cleric, yet because of his wit, his gentleness, and his exceedingly subtle and incomparable mind, he was, at that time, taken as companion by Alexander, the bishop of blessed memory. He was as close to the old man as a son is to his father, guiding him in everything useful and showing the way well in all things which were to be done. Dignus itaque uir, et confidere oportet quia non diceret aliquid eorum quae sacris non conueniunt libris. Quomodo enim a ueritate frustraretur ita clarus et famosissimus et in ipsa sancta magnaque synodo id est Nicaena per tempus congregata coram omnibus ammirabilis? Nondum quidem episcopatus sede percepta, sed magis inter clericos constitutus, attamen propter sapientiam aliamque mansuetudinem et subtili ualde incomparabilique prudentia tunc quidem assumptus est a beatae memoriae Alexandro episcopo eratque cum sene uelut filius patri ducatum ad utilia quaeque praebens et ad singula uiam quae erant agenda, demonstrans.
5. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τινὰς εἰκὸς δεῖν μὲν οἴεσθαι τὸν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἡμῖν ἐμπεδοῦσθαι λόγον καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς τῆς ἱερᾶς καὶ θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς φάναι τε πρὸς τούτῳ τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκείνην καὶ μεγάλην σύνοδον μήτε θεοτόκον εἰπεῖν τὴν τοῦ κυρίου μητέρα μήτε μὴν ὅλως ὁρίσαι τι τοιοῦτον, φέρε δὴ φέρε καὶ νῦν, ὡς ἔνι, καταδεικνύωμεν τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ νοουμένης οἰκονομίας τὸ μυστήριον τίνα μὲν τρόπον παρὰ τῆς θείας ἡμῖν κεκήρυκται γραφῆς, τί δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ λελαλήκασιν οἱ πατέρες τὸν τῆς ἀμωμήτου πίστεως ὅρον ἐκφέροντες, ἐνηχοῦντος αὐτοῖς τἀληθὲς τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. οὐ γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ λαλοῦντες αὐτοὶ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος φωνήν, “ἀλλὰ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς τὸ λαλοῦν ἐν αὐτοῖς.” ἀποδεδειγμένου γὰρ οὕτως ὅτι θεὸς κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶν ὁ ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου γεγεννημένος, κατοκνήσειν οἶμαι παντελῶς οὐδένα πρός τε τὸ χρῆναι νοεῖν καὶ μὴν καὶ φράσαι ὅτι θεοτόκος ἂν λέγοιτο, καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. 10. But since some likely deem it necessary for us to confirm our statement concerning these matters also from the inspired Holy Scriptures themselves, and assert in addition that the aforementioned holy and great council neither said that the mother of the Lord is the mother of God nor defined any such thing, we will indeed explain as much as possible how Holy Scripture has announced to us the mystery of the plan of salvation in Christ. This is also what the fathers who delineated the standard of blameless faith have themselves spoken, since the Holy Spirit taught them the truth. For according to our Savior’s words, it was not they themselves who spoke, “but the Spirit of God the Father who spoke through them” [Matt. 10:20]. When we have thus proven that the one born of the holy virgin is God according to nature, I think that no one at all will refrain from believing and confessing that she may be called the mother of God, and rightly so. 5. Et quia uerisimile est quosdam se putare ex ipsa scribtura sacra et diuinitus inspirata hunc sermonem refellere et super haec dicere sanctum illum magnumque concilium uideri neque dei genetricem dixisse domini matrem neque omnino tale aliquid definisse, age igitur age, et nunc, prout est possibile, monstremus de intellegendo dispensationis Christi mysterio quo quidem modo a diuina scribtura nobis sit praedicatum, et quid ipsi dixerint patres immaculatae fidei definitionem proferentes, inspirante scilicet eis sancti spiritus ueritate. Non enim erant qui loquebantur, ipsi secundum saluatoris uocem, “sed spiritus dei et patris, qui loquebatur in eis.” Cum enim ita probatur quia deus secundum naturam sit qui ex sancta uirgine natus est, nullum reor omnino segnem ut intellegere dubitet aut loqui quia dei genetrix sit dicenda, sed aperte profiteri, et nimium consequenter.
ἔχει δὲ οὕτως ἡμῖν τὸ τῆς πίστεως σύμβολον· 6. “Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα θεὸν πατέρα παντοκράτορα, πάντων ὁρατῶν τε καὶ ἀοράτων ποιητήν· καὶ εἰς ἕνα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, γεννηθέντα ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς μονογενῆ, τουτέστιν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ, θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ, φῶς ἐκ φωτός, θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, γεννηθέντα, οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρί, δι᾽ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο τά τε ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ γῇ, τὸν δι’ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα σαρκωθέντα ἐνανθρωπήσαντα παθόντα καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανούς, ἐρχόμενον κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς· καὶ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα.” 11. The creed of our faith puts it like so: “We believe in one God, the Father almighty, creator of all things visible and invisible. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten of the Father, that is, of his substance, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father. Through him all things were made, both in heaven and on earth. For us humans and for our salvation he descended, became incarnate, was made man, suffered, rose again on the third day, and ascended into heaven. He will come to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit.”3 Sic uero se habet nostrae fidei symbolum: 6. “Credimus in unum deum patrem omnipotentem, omnium uisibilium inuisibiliumque factorem; et in umum dominum Iesum Christum filium dei, natum ex patre unigenitum, hoc est ex substantia eius, deum ex deo, lumen ex lumine, deum uerum ex deo uero, natum non factum, consubstantialem patri, per quem omnia facta sunt quae in caelo et quae in terra, qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit et incarnatus est et inhumanatus est, passus est et resurrexit tertia die, ascendit in caelos, inde uenturus iudicare uiuos et mortuos; et in spiritu sancto.”
7. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τῶν αἱρέσεων εὑρεταὶ τοὺς τῆς ἀπωλείας σφίσιν τε αὐτοῖς καὶ μὴν καὶ ἐτέροις ὀρύττοντες βόθρους ματαιότητος εἰς τοῦτο κατώλισθον ἐννοιῶν, ὡς οἴεσθαί τε καὶ λέγειν πρόσφατον εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν καὶ ἐν ἴσῳ τοῖς κτίσμασιν παρῆχθαι πρὸς ὕπαρξιν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρός. καὶ τὸν πρὸ παντὸς αἰῶνος καὶ χρόνου, μᾶλλον δὲ τῶν αἰώνων τὸν ποιητὴν τῇ κατὰ χρόνον ἀρχῇ περιγράφοντες οὐκ ἐρυθριῶσιν οἱ δείλαιοι, ὑποβιβάζοντες δέ, κατά γε τὸ αὐτοῖς δοκοῦν, τῆς πρὸς τὸν πατέρα καὶ θεὸν ἰσότητός τε καὶ δόξης, τὸ προὔχειν αὐτῷ τῶν ἄλλων παραχωροῦσι μόλις, μεσίτην δὲ εἶναί φασι θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων οὔτε τῆς εἰς λῆξιν ὑπεροχῆς λαχόντα τὴν δόξαν οὔτε μὴν τοῖς τῆς κτίσεως ἐνιζήσαντα μέτροις. 12. But the inventors of heresies, digging ditches of destruction for themselves and others, have fallen into such foolishness in their ideas as to believe and profess that the Son is recent and was brought into existence by God the Father just like the creatures. The wretches are not ashamed as, with a beginning in time, they enclose him who is before all ages of time, or rather who created the ages. And as it seems good to them, they lower him down from his glory and equality with God the Father. They barely grant him superiority over others. They say that he has an intermediate status between God and humans—he has not fully obtained the glory of transcendence, yet he surpasses the limitations of creation. 7. Haeresium igitur inuentores perditionis sibimet ipsis et aliis foueas fodientes, in tantum sensuum uanitatis lapsi sunt, ut putent et dicant recentem esse filium et sub aequalitate creaturarum, ut subsisteret, esse productum a deo et patre. Et eum qui est ante omne saeculum et tempus, magis autem saeculorum factorem principio temporis circumscribentes fatui non erubescunt, minorantes autem secundum quod eis uidetur, aequalitatem eius et gloriam a patre, eminere eum aliis uix concedunt, mediatorem uero esse dicentes dei et hominum neque summitatem eminentis gloriae sortitum neque creaturarum praesidentem mensuris.
τίς οὖν ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ καὶ τῆς θείας ὑπεροχῆς ἡττώμενος καὶ τῶν τῆς κτίσεως μέτρων ἀνῳκισμένος; ἀδιανόητον παντελῶς τὸ χρῆμά ἐστιν, καὶ τόπος ἢ λόγος οὐδεὶς ὁρᾶται μεταξὺ ποιητοῦ καὶ κτίσματος. κατασύροντες τοίνυν αὐτόν, τό γε ἧκον ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς, τῶν τῆς θεότητος θώκων, υἱὸν καὶ θεὸν ὀνομάζουσιν καὶ προσκυνεῖσθαι δεῖν οἴονται, καίτοι τοῦ νόμου βοῶντος ἀναφανδὸν, “Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις,” καὶ μὴν καὶ διὰ φωνῆς τοῦ Δαυὶδ θεοῦ λέγοντος τοῖς ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, “Οὐκ ἔσται ἐν σοὶ θεὸς πρόσφατος οὐδὲ προσκυνήσεις θεῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ.” 13. Who, then, is this one who falls short of divine transcendence yet surpasses the limitations of creation? The concept is completely unthinkable. No one can find a place or manner of speaking in between creator and creation. Removing him, as far as they are concerned, from his divine seat, they nevertheless call him the Son and God and think that he is to be worshipped even though the law openly proclaims, “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only” [Matt. 4:10, Deut. 6:13], and although God said to the Israelites through David, “There shall be no new god among you, nor shall you worship a foreign god” [Ps. 81:9]. Quis ergo, putas, est qui et diuina excellentia minor et creaturae mensuris praest? Inconsiderata omnino res est et locus aut ratio nulla conspicitur inter creatorem et creaturam. Abstrahentes igitur eum, quantum ad ipsos est, a sede diuinitatis, filium et deum nominant et adorandum existimant, certe palam clamante lege: “Dominum deum tuum adorabis, et ipsi soli seruies,” nec non per uocem quoque Dauid deo dicente Israhelitis: “Non erit in te deus recens neque adorabis deum alienum.”
8. Ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οἷάπερ ἁμαξιτὸν ἀφέντες εὐτριβῆ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἐπὶ βόθρους ἵενται καὶ πέτρας καὶ ᾗ φησιν ὁ Σολομών, “Τοὺς ἄξονας τοῦ ἰδίου γεωργίου πεπλάνηνται καὶ συνάγουσι χερσὶν ἀκαρπίαν·” ἡμεῖς δέ, οἷς τὸ θεῖον εἰς νοῦν ἐνήστραψε φῶς, τῆς ἐκείνων ἀβελτηρίας τὰ ἀσυγκρίτως ἀμείνω φρονεῖν ἡρημένοι καὶ τῇ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων ἑπόμενοι πίστει γεγεννῆσθαι φαμὲν ἀληθῶς ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς οὐσίας τὸν υἱὸν θεοπρεπῶς τε καὶ ἀπορρήτως καὶ ἐν ἰδίᾳ μὲν ὑποστάσει νοεῖσθαι, τῇ δὲ ταυτότητι τῆς οὐσίας ἑνοῦσθαι τῷ γεγεννηκότι καὶ εἶναι μὲν ἐν αὐτῷ, ἔχειν δὲ πάλιν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν πατέρα. ὁμολογοῦμεν δὲ εἶναι φῶς ἐκ φωτός, θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ κατὰ φύσιν ἰσοκλεᾶ τε καὶ ἰσουργὸν χαρακτῆρά τε καὶ ἀπαύγασμα καὶ κατὰ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἰσομέτρως ἔχοντα καὶ κατ᾽ οὐδένα τρόπον μειονεκτούμενον. ἐπαριθμουμένου γὰρ οὕτως τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἣ ἁγία τε καὶ ὁμοούσιος τριὰς εἰς μίαν θεότητος ἑνοῦται φύσιν. 14. But like those that leave the well-worn highway of truth, they hasten into holes and onto rocks and, as Solomon says, “They have wandered from the paths of their own vineyard, and they gather fruitlessness with their hands” [Prov. 9:12 LXX]. But we whose minds the divine light has illuminated have chosen to think that which is incomparably better than their nonsense. Following the faith of the holy fathers, we say that the Son was truly begotten of the substance of God the Father in a divine and ineffable manner, that he must be thought of as his own person yet united with his begetter in the same substance, and that he is in the Father and in turn has the Father in him. We confess that the Son is light from light, God from God according to nature, equal in glory and equal in operation, the image and brightness, being equal in every respect whatsoever and in no way inferior. For thus, with the addition of the Holy Spirit, the Holy and consubstantial Trinity is united in one divine nature. 8. Sed illi quidem tamquam planum iter tritumque ueritatis relinquentes ad foueas petrasque procedunt et, sicut ait Salomon, “Axibus agri sui errauerunt et coaceruant manibus sterilitatem;” nos autem, quibus diuinum lumen in mente coruscauit, ab illorum stultitia recedentes et eligentes sapere incomparabiliter meliora et sanctorum patrum sequentes fidem, natum dicimus uere ex dei et patris substantia filium deodecibiliter et ineffabiliter, et in subsistentia quidem intellegi propria, eadem uero substantia unitum genitori, et esse quidem in eo, habere uero rursus in semet ipso patrem. Confitemur ergo esse lumen ex lumine, deum ex deo secundum naturam aequae pulcritudinis et aequae operationis figuramque et splendorem et per omnia quaeque equalis mensurae habendum et nullo modo imminuendum. Sic enim annumerato spiritu sancto sancta et consubstantialis trinitas in una unitur natura diuinitatis.
9. Ἀλλ᾽ ἡ μὲν θεόπνευστος γραφὴ σάρκα φησὶν γεγενῆσθαι τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον, τουτέστιν ἑνωθῆναι σαρκὶ ψυχὴν ἐχούσῃ τὴν λογικήν· ἑπομένη δὲ τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς κηρύγμασιν ἡ ἁγία καὶ μεγάλη σύνοδος αὐτὸν ἔφη τὸν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς γεγεννημένον μονογενῆ, τὸν δι᾿ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα, δι᾽ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν καταφοιτῆσαι μὲν ἐξ οὐρανῶν, σαρκωθῆναι δὲ καὶ ἐνανθρωπῆσαι παθεῖν τε καὶ ἀναστῆναι καὶ ὅτι κατὰ καιροὺς ἀφίξεται κριτής· ὠνόμαζον δὲ τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον ἕνα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. ἄθρει δὴ οὖν ὅπως ἕνα λέγοντες υἱόν, κύριον δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ὀνομάζοντες, ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς γεγεννῆσθαί φασιν εἶναί τε μονογενῆ καὶ θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ καὶ φῶς ἐκ φωτός, γεννηθέντα καὶ οὐ ποιηθέντα καὶ ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρί. 15. But inspired Scripture says that the Word of God was made flesh, that is, that he was united to flesh which had a rational soul. Following the proclamations of the Gospels, the holy and great council said that he is the only-begotten of the substance of God the Father, through whom and in whom are all things; for us humans and for our salvation he came down from heaven, became incarnate, was made man, suffered, and rose; at the appointed time he will come as judge. They called the Word of God “one Lord Jesus Christ.” Note well, then, how by saying that the Son is one and naming him “Lord” and “Jesus Christ,” they say that he was begotten of God the Father and is the only-begotten, God from God, light from light, begotten not made, and consubstantial with the Father. 9. Sed scribtura quidem diuinitus inspirata carnem dicit factum ex deo uerbum, hoc est unitum carni animam habenti rationalem; sequens autem euangelicas praedicationes sancta et magna synodus dixit ipsum unigenitum, qui ex substantia dei et patris natus est, per quem omnia et in quo omnia, propter nos homines et nostram salutem descendisse quidem de caelis et incarnatum et inhumanatum passum et resurexisse et quia secundum tempora ueniet iudex; nominauerunt autem ex deo uerbum unum dominum Iesum Christum. Contemplandum utique quomodo unum dicentes filium, dominum quoque eum et Christum Iesum nominantes, ex deo et patre natum dicunt atque esse unigenitum et deum ex deo et lumen ex lumine, natum et non factum et consubstantialem patri, …
10. Καίτοι τὸ Χριστός ὄνομα φαίη τις ἂν ὡς ἥρμοσε μὲν οὐ μόνῳ τῷ Ἐμμανουήλ, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ ἐφ᾽ ἑτέρων αὐτὸ τεθειμένον εὑρήσομεν. ἔφη γάρ που θεὸς περὶ τῶν ἐξειλεγμένων καὶ ἡγιασμένων ἐν πνεύματι· “Μὴ ἅπτεσθε τῶν χριστῶν μου καὶ ἐν τοῖς προφήταις μου μὴ πονηρεύεσθε.” καὶ μὴν καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Δαυὶδ κεχρισμένον εἰς βασιλέα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ χειρὸς Σαμουὴλ “χριστὸν κυρίου” τὸν Σαοὺλ ἀποκαλεῖ. καὶ τί τοῦτο λέγω, καίτοι μετὸν εὐκόλως τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν ἰδεῖν τοὺς ἐν πίστει τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ δεδικαιωμένους καὶ ἡγιασμένους ἐν πνεύματι τῇ τοιᾷδε κλήσει τετιμημένους; καὶ γοῦν ὁ προφήτης Ἀμβακοὺμ τὸ ἐπὶ Χριστῷ μυστήριον καὶ τὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ σωτηρίαν προανακέκραγε λέγων· “Ἐξῆλθες εἰς σωτηρίαν λαοῦ σου τοῦ σῶσαι τοὺς χριστούς σου.” 16. Yet someone might say that the name ‘Christ’ is fitting not only for Emmanuel but is also applied to others. For God said somewhere about those chosen and sanctified by the Spirit, “Do not touch my anointed ones, and to my prophets do no wrong” [Ps. 105:15]. Furthermore, the divinely inspired David called Saul, whom God had anointed as king through Samuel, the “Lord’s anointed” [1 Sam. 24:6]. Why do I mention this? It is quite obvious, for those who wish to see, that those who have been justified by faith in Christ and have been sanctified in the Spirit are honored by such a name. Accordingly, the prophet Habakkuk foretold the mystery of Christ and the salvation which comes through him, saying, “You went forth for the salvation of your people, to save your anointed ones” [Hab. 3:13]. 10. cum utique possit dicere quilibet quia Christi nomen aptetur non solum Emmanuhel, sed etiam in aliis hoc positum inueniamus. Ait enim alicubi deus de electis et sanctificatis in spiritu: “Nolite tangere christos meos et in prophetis meis nolite malignari.” Sed etiam sacratissimus Dauid unctum in regem a deo per manum Samuhel “christum domini” Saul appellat. Et quid hoc dicam, cum facile sit considerare uolentibus inspicere eos qui in fide Christi iustificati sunt et sanctificati in spiritu, ista uocatione honoratos. Ambacum denique propheta Christi sacramentum et per eum salutem praeconatus est dicens: “Egressus es ad salutem populi tui, ut saluos facias christos tuos.”
οὐκοῦν τὸ Χριστός ὄνομα πρέποι ἂν οὐχὶ μόνῳ τε καὶ ἰδικῶς, ὡς ἔφην, τῷ Ἐμμανουήλ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν οἵπερ ἂν εἶεν τῇ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος χάριτι κατακεχρισμένοι. πεποίηται γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος ἡ φωνὴ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ κεχρίσθαι χριστοί. ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ τὴν οὕτως εὐκλεᾶ τε καὶ ἀξιόληπτον ἀληθῶς καταπλουτοῦμεν χάριν, ἐμπεδοῖ λέγων ὁ σοφὸς Ἰωάννης· “Καὶ ὑμεῖς χρίσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου.” καὶ πάλιν· “Οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ἵνα τις διδάσκῃ ὑμᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς τὸ αὐτοῦ χρίσμα διδάσκει ὑμᾶς.” γέγραπται δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ· “Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἀπο Ναζαρέτ, ὡς ἔχρισεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεὸς πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ δυνάμει.” καὶ μὴν καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Δαυὶδ πρὸς αὐτόν πού φησιν· “Ἠγάπησας δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἐμίσησας ἀδικίαν· διὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέν σε ὁ θεός, ὁ θεός σου, ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως παρὰ τοὺς μετόχους σου.” τί οὖν ἄν τις ἴδοι τὸ περιττὸν ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ παρθένῳ παρὰ τὰς ἄλλας, κἂν εἰ λέγοιτο τεκεῖν αὐτὴν τὸν Ἐμμανουήλ; ἄτοπον γὰρ οὐδέν, κἂν εἰ ἕλοιτό τις καὶ τὴν ἑκάστου τῶν κεχρισμένων μητέρα Χριστοτόκον ἀποκαλεῖν. 17. Consequently, the name ‘Christ’ would not be applicable exclusively and properly to Emmanuel, as I said, but also to all the rest—whoever has been anointed with the grace of the Holy Spirit. The title originates from an action; the name ‘Christs’ comes from the verb which means ‘to anoint.’ The wise John confirms that we also have the wealth of this wonderful and truly precious grace, saying: “You also have an anointing from the Holy One” [1 John 2:20], and again: “You do not need anyone to teach you, for his anointing teaches you” [1 John 2:27]. But regarding Emmanuel Scripture also records “that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” [Acts 10:38]. The inspired David says to him, “You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions” [Ps. 45:7]. What, then, would be extraordinary about the holy virgin compared with other women, even if you grant that she bore the Emmanuel? For it would not be out of place even if one chose to call the mother of each person who has been thus anointed ‘mother of Christ.’ Ergo Christus nomen conuenit non solo et specialiter, sicuti dixi, Emmanuhel, sed etiam aliis omnibus quicumque sancti spiritus gratia fuerint uncti. Factus namque est ex re sermo et ab unguento uncti, id est a chrismate christi uocantur. Quia uero etiam nos ipsi huiusmodi gloria dignaque quaerere gratia ditati sumus, adfirmat dicens sapientissimus Iohannes: “Et uos unctionem habetis a sancto;” et iterum: “Non opus habetis ut doceat uos aliquis, sed sicut eius unctio docet uos.” Scribtum uero est etiam de Emmanuhel: “Iesum e Nazareth, quia unxit eum deus spiritu sancto et uirtute.” Sed etiam sacratissimus Dauid ad eum alicubi dicit: “Dilexisti iustitiam et odisti iniquitatem; propterea unxit te deus, deus tuus, oleo laetitiae prae consortibus tuis.” Quid ergo uidebit aliquis amplius in sancta uirgine praeter alias, licet peperisse eam dicat Emmanuhel? Nihil enim absurdum est etiam si uoluerit quis matrem uniuscuiusque unctorum Christi nominare genetricem.
11. Ἀλλ᾽ ἔστι πολὺ τὸ μεσολαβοῦν καὶ ἀσυγκρίτοις διαφοραῖς τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εὐκλείας καὶ ὑπεροχῆς ἀποτειχίζον τὰ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς. οἰκέται μὲν γὰρ ἡμεῖς, ὁ δὲ κατὰ φύσιν κύριος καὶ θεός, κἂν εἰ γέγονε μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν καὶ ἐν τοῖς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς οἰκονομικῶς. ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος Χριστὸν αὐτὸν ὠνόμαζε καὶ θεόν, οὕτω λέγων· “Τοῦτο γὰρ ἴστε γινώσκοντες ὅτι πᾶς πόρνος ἢ ἀκάθαρτος ἢ πλεονέκτης, ὅς ἐστιν εἰδωλολάτρης, οὐκ ἔχει κληρονομίαν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ.” οὐκοῦν οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι πάντες, ὡς ἔφην, εἶεν ἂν καὶ μάλα εἰκότως διὰ τὸ κεχρίσθαι χριστοί, μόνος δὲ Χριστὸς καὶ θεὸς ἀληθῶς ὁ Ἐμμανουήλ, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι τἀληθοῦς, εἴ τις ἕλοιτο λέγειν ὡς αἱ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων μητέρες χριστοτόκοι μέν, οὐ μὴν ἔτι καὶ θεοτόκοι, μόνη δὲ παρ᾽ ἐκείνας ἡ ἁγία παρθένος χριστοτόκος τε ὁμοῦ καὶ θεοτόκος νοεῖταί τε καὶ λέγεται. γεγέννηκε γὰρ οὐ ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, σαρκωθέντα δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγον. ὠνομάσμεθα μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ κατὰ χάριν θεοί· πλὴν οὐχ οὕτω θεὸς ὁ υἱός, φύσει δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ἀληθείᾳ, κἂν εἰ γέγονε σάρξ. 18. But a significant distinction separates our condition by irreconcilable differences from the glory and supremacy of our Savior. For we are servants, but he is Lord and God by nature even though he was among us and bore our nature by the incarnation. Therefore the blessed Paul called him “Christ” and “God,” saying, “Know this for certain: No sexually immoral, unclean, or greedy person (such a person is an idolater) has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” [Eph. 5:5]. Consequently, all the others, as I said, may be called ‘Christs’ with good reason because they have been anointed, but Emmanuel is the only Christ who is also true God. One would not stray from the truth if he chose to say that the other mothers were mothers of Christs, but not mothers of gods also. In contrast with them, the holy virgin alone can be called both mother of Christ and mother of God, for she bore not a mere man like us but rather the incarnate Word of God the Father made man. For we too were called ‘gods’ according to grace, but the Son of God is not God in this way; rather, he is God according to nature and in truth, even though he became flesh. 11. Sed multum interest et incomparabilibus differentiis gloriae et eminentiae saluatoris nostri excludens ea quae nostra sunt. Nos enim famuli sumus, ille uero naturaliter dominus et deus, licet factus sit nobiscum et in his quae sunt nostra, dispensatiue. Propterea et beatus Paulus Christum eum nominauit et deum, ita dicens: “Hoc enim estote cognoscentes quia omnis fornicator aut immundus aut auarus, quod est idolorum cultor, non habet hereditatem in regno Christi et dei.” Ergo alii quidem omnes, sicut dixi, erunt utique et nimis consequenter propter quod uncti sunt, christi; solus autem Christus etiam deus uere, qui Emmanuhel est, neque ueritate frustrabitur, si quis uoluerit dicere quoniam aliorum quidem matres Christi quidem genetrices, non tamen etiam dei genetrices, sola uero praeter illas sancta uirgo et Christi genetrix simul et dei genetrix intellegitur ac dicitur. Genuit enim non purum hominem secundum nos, sed incarnatum potius et hominem factum ex deo patre uerbum. Nuncupamur etenim et nos ipsi per gratiam dei, uerumtamen non ita deus filius, sed natura magis et ueritate, licet caro sit factus.
12. Ἀλλ᾽ ἴσως ἐκεῖνο ἐρεῖς· “ἄρ᾽ οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, θεότητος μήτηρ γέγονεν ἡ παρθένος;” καὶ πρός γε τοῦτό φαμεν ὅτι γεγέννηται μὲν ὁμολογουμένως ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ὁ ζῶν τε καὶ ἐνυπόστατος αὐτοῦ λόγος καὶ ἄναρχον ἐν χρόνῳ τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἔχει, ἀεὶ συνυφεστηκὼς τῷ γεγεννηκότι ἐν αὐτῷ τε καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ καὶ ὑπάρχων καὶ νοούμενος· ἐν ἐσχάτοις δὲ τοῦ αἰῶνος καιροῖς, ἐπειδὴ γέγονε σάρξ, τουτέστιν ἡνώθη σαρκὶ ψυχὴν ἐχούσῃ τὴν λογικήν, γεγεννῆσθαι λέγεται καὶ σαρκικῶς διὰ γυναικός. 19. But perhaps you will respond, “Tell me, then, is the virgin the mother of his divine nature?” To this we say that the living and substantial Word was begotten, as we confess, from the very substance of God the Father and exists without a beginning in time, eternally coexisting with his begetter. He exists in him and with him. In these last times of the present age, when he became flesh (that is, when he was united with flesh possessing a rational soul), it is also reported that he was born of a woman according to the flesh. 12. Sed forsitan illud ais: “dic mihi, putasne diuinitatis mater facta est uirgo?” Et ad haec quoque dicimus quia natum quidem est indubitanter ex ipsa substantia dei et patris uiuens atque subsistens eius uerbum et sine principio in tempore existentiam habet, semper coexistens genitori et in eo et cum eo et existens et intellegendus, in nouissimis autem saeculi temporibus, quoniam caro factum est, hoc est unitum est carni animam habenti rationalem, natum dicitur etiam carnaliter per mulierem.
ἔοικε δέ πως τῷ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς τόκῳ τὸ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ μυστήριον. αἱ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς μητέρες ὑπηρετοῦσαι τῇ φύσει πρὸς γένεσιν, ἔχουσι μὲν ἐν μήτρᾳ πηγνυμένην κατὰ βραχὺ τὴν σάρκα καὶ ἀφράστοις τισὶν ἐνεργείαις θεοῦ προιοῦσάν τε καὶ τελειουμένην εἰς εἶδος τὸ ἀνθρώπινον· ἐνίησι δὲ τῷ ζῴῳ τὸ πνεῦμα ὁ θεὸς καθ᾽ ὃν οἶδεν τρόπον. “Πλάττει γὰρ πνεῦμα ἀνθρώπου ἐν αὐτῷ” κατὰ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνήν. ἕτερος δὲ σαρκὸς καὶ ὁμοίως ἕτερος ὁ ψυχῆς ἐστι λόγος. ἀλλ᾽ εἰ καὶ γεγόνασι μόνων αὗται τῶν ἀπὸ γῆς σωμάτων μητέρες, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν ὅλον ἀποτεκοῦσαι τὸ ζῷον, τὸ ἐκ ψυχῆς δὴ λέγω καὶ σώματος, οὐχὶ μέρος λέγονται τεκεῖν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἴποι τις, φέρε εἰπεῖν, τὴν Ἐλισάβετ σαρκοτόκον μέν, οὐ μὴν ἔτι καὶ ψυχοτόκον· ἐκτέτοκε γὰρ ψυχωθέντα τὸν βαπτιστὴν καὶ ὡς ἕν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ψυχῆς δὴ λέγω καὶ σώματος. 20. This mystery concerning him is similar in a way to our own birth. Earthly mothers, assisting nature with regard to birth, have flesh implanted in their wombs which grows gradually through unseen operations of God, coming to maturity in the form of a human. God supplies the living being with a spirit in a manner known only to him, for “he forms the spirit of man in him” [Zech. 12:1], as the prophet says. The explanation of the body is different from the explanation of the soul. Yet even if they are the mothers of only the bodies of those on earth, they nevertheless bear a whole living being, consisting of body and soul. No one says they bear only a part of it. No one would say that Elizabeth, for example, was the mother of only a body and not the mother of a soul also. For she bore the Baptist, a man with a soul, as one living being consisting of both soul and body. Assimilatur autem quodam modo natiuitati secundum nos sacramentum eius. Matres etenim terrenorum, ministrantes naturae ad nascendum, habent quidem in uulua coagulatam paulatim carnem et ineffabilibus quibusdam dei operationibus procedentem et perficiendam in specie humana, immittit autem animali spiritum deus quo nouit modo; “Format namque spiritum hominis in eum” secundum prophetae uocem. Altera uero carnis et altera similiter animae ratio est. Sed licet sint istae solummodo ex terra corporum matres, attamen totum parientes animal, dico uero quod ex anima constat et corpore, non partem peperisse dicuntur, neque dicere potest aliquis, ut puta si dicamus Elisabeth carnis quidem genetricem, non tamen iam et animae genetricem; peperit namque animatum baptistam et tamquam unum ex ambobus hominem, anima dico et corpore.
τοιοῦτόν τι πεπρᾶχθαι παραδεξόμεθα καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ γεννήσει τοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ. γεγέννηται μὲν γάρ, ὡς ἔφην, ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς οὐσίας ὁ μονογενὴς αὐτοῦ λόγος· ἐπειδὴ δὲ σάρκα λαβὼν καὶ ἰδίαν αὐτὴν ποιησάμενος κεχρημάτικε καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου καὶ γέγονε καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, οὐδέν, οἶμαι, τὸ ἄτοπον εἰπεῖν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἀναγκαῖον ὁμολογεῖν ὅτι γεγέννηται κατὰ σάρκα διὰ γυναικός, καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχὴ τῷ ἰδίῳ συναπογεννᾶτᾳ σώματι καὶ ὡς ἕν λελόγισται πρὸς αὐτό, καίτοι τὴν φύσιν ἑτέρα παρ᾽ αὐτὸ νοουμένη τε καὶ ὑπάρχουσα κατὰ τὸν ἴδιον λόγον. κἂν εἰ βούλοιτό τις τὴν τοῦ δεῖνος μητέρα λέγειν ὡς ἔστι μὲν σαρκοτόκος, οὐ μὴν ἔτι καὶ ψυχοτόκος, περισσοεπήσει λίαν· τέτοκε γάρ, ὡς ἔφην, συντεθειμένον εὐτεχνῶς ἐξ ἀνομοίων τὸ ζῷον καὶ ἐκ δυοῖν μέν, πλὴν ἄνθρωπον ἕνα, μένοντος μὲν ἑκατέρου τοῦθ᾽ ὅπερ ἐστίν, συνδεδραμηκότων δὲ ὥσπερ εἰς ἑνότητα φυσικὴν καὶ οἷον ἀνακιρνάντων ἀλλήλοιν ὅπερ ἂν ὡς ἴδιον ἑκατέρῳ προσῇ. 21. We see that something like this happened at the birth of the Emmanuel too. The only-begotten Word, as I said, was begotten of the substance of God the Father. But since he assumed flesh and made it his own, he is also called ‘Son of Man’ and became like us. In fact, I think it is not at all absurd but rather necessary to confess that he was born according to the flesh through a woman, just as the soul of a man is of course fashioned together with its own body and together they are considered as one, even though the soul is considered to be different in nature to the body and exists in line with its own explanation. And if anyone wishes to say that any mother is a mother of flesh but not a mother of soul, he is speaking quite superfluously. She gives birth, as I said, to a living being skillfully fashioned out of two dissimilar elements, but one human results. Each element remains what it is, but both have been brought together as into unity of nature and mixed with each other so that each communicates what is proper to it. Tale aliquid gestum percipimus et in generatione Emmanuhel. Natum etenim est, sicuti dixi, ex dei patris substantia unigenitum eius uerbum; quia uero carnem assumens et propriam eam faciens appellatus est etiam filius hominis et factus secundum nos, nihil, reor, absurdum est dicere, magis autem et necessarium confiteri quia natus est secundum carnem per mulierem, sicuti denique et hominis anima cum proprio corpore nascitur et tamquam unum reputatur ad illud, licet altera natura praeter illam intellegatur et sit secundum propriam rationem. Et si uoluerit quispiam cuiusdam matrem dicere quia est quidem genetrix carnis, non tamen etiam animae genetrix, nimis superflue loquitur; peperit enim, sicuti dixi, bona arte compositum ex dissimilibus animal et ex duabus quidem, uerumtamen hominem unum, manente quidem utroque hoc quod est, concurrentibus autem uelut ad unitatem naturalem et quasi contemperantibus ad inuicem quidquid uelut proprium utriusque est.
13. Ὅτι δέ ἐστιν ἀναγκαιοτάτη λίαν ἡ ἕνωσις ἐπὶ Χριστοῦ, καταθρῆσαι ῥᾶιον καὶ ἀταλαίπωρον παντελῶς καὶ διὰ πολλῶν ἑτέρων. φέρε γάρ, εἰ δοκεῖ, τὰς τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου πολυπραγμονῶμεν φωνάς, ἀκριβὴ τὸν νοῦν καὶ ὡς ἔνι λεπτῶς ἐνερείδοντες. ἔφη τοίνυν περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς· “Ὃς ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος, καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν.” τίς οὖν ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ ὑπάρχων ἐν μορφῇ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγησάμενος τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ; ἢ τίνα κεκένωται τρόπον, καθῖκται δὲ ὅπως εἰς ταπείνωσιν καὶ ἐν τῇ τοῦ δούλου μορφῇ; 22. It is utterly simple to recognize the fact that Christ’s unity is necessary beyond measure for many other reasons. Let us carefully consider, if you please, the words of blessed Paul, paying attention as meticulously as possible. He said about the only-begotten, “Although he was in the form of God, he did not consider equality with God a prize, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness, and, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself” [Philip. 2:6-8]. Who, then, was in the form of God and did not consider equality with God a prize? How has he emptied himself? How did he descend to humiliation in the form of a servant? 13. Quia uero necessaria nimis est unitio in Christo, considerare facile et omnino sine labore est etiam ex aliis multis. Si enim uidetur, age, beati Pauli perscrutemur uoces, perfectum sensum et, sicuti possibile est, subtiliter adtendentes. Ait enim de unigenito: “Qui cum in forma dei esset, non rapinam arbitratus est esse aequalis deo, sed semet ipsum exinaniuit, formam serui suscipiens, in similitudinem hominum factus, et habitu inuentus ut homo, humiliauit semet ipsum.” Quis igitur est ille qui est in forma dei et rapinam non arbitratus est esse aequalis deo? Aut quomodo exinanitus est et descendit ad humilitatem et formam serui?
εἰ μὲν οὖν εἰς δύο τέμνοντες τὸν ἕνα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, εἴς τε ἄνθρωπον φημὶ καὶ τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγον, τὸν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου φασὶν ὑπομεῖναι τὴν κένωσιν, ἀποδιιστάντες αὐτοῦ τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον, προαποδεικνύντων ὅτι καὶ ἐν μορφῇ καὶ ἰσότητι νοεῖταί τε καὶ ἦν τοῦ πατρός, ἵνα καὶ τὸν τῆς κενώσεως ὑπομείνῃ τρόπον, εἰς ὅπερ οὐκ ἦν, καθιγμένος. ἀλλ᾽ οὐδέν ἐστιν τῶν πεποιημένων, εἰ κατ᾽ ἰδίαν νοοῖτο φύσιν, τὸ ἐν ἰσότητι τοῦ πατρός· πῶς οὖν ἄρα κεκενῶσθαι λέγεται, εἰ τὴν φύσιν ἄνθρωπος ὢν γεγέννηται καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἐκ γυναικός; ἐκ ποίας, εἰπέ μοι, πρεσβυτέρας ὑπεροχῆς τῆς ἀνθρώπου μείζονος εἰς τὸ ἄνθρωπος εἶναι κατέβη; ἢ πῶς ἂν νοοῖτο λαβεῖν, ὡς οὐκ ἔχων ἐν ἀρχῇ, τὴν τοῦ δούλου μορφὴν ὁ φύσει τελῶν ἐν οἰκέταις καὶ ὑπὸ ζυγὰ δουλείας κείμενος; There are some who divide the one Lord Jesus Christ into two—into man and the Word of God the Father. They say that the one born of the holy virgin submitted to emptying after distinguishing the Word of God the Father from him. Let them show that beforehand he was in the form of and equal to the Father in order that he could also submit to emptying to enter a state he did not previously experience. But there is nothing in creation, considered according to its own nature, which is equal to the Father, so how could he have emptied himself if he is man by nature and was born of a woman like us? What sort of higher eminence greater than man is there from which he descended to be man? Or how could he have taken the form of a servant, which he did not have at first, if by nature he was already among the servants and lay under the yoke of slavery? Si quidem in duos diuidentes unum dominum Iesum Christum, id est in hominem et uerbum ex deo patre, eum qui ex sancta uirgine natus est, dicunt sustinuisse exinanitionem, separantes ab eo dei uerbum, praeostendendum est quia et in forma et aequalitate intellegitur et fuit patris sui, ut etiam exinanitionis sustineret modum, in hoc quod non fuit, descendens. Sed nihil creaturarum est, si secundum propriam intellegatur naturam, in patris aequalitate. Quomodo ergo exinanitus dicitur, si natura homo existens natus est secundum nos ex muliere? Dic mihi, ex qua seniori eminentia homine potiore ut esset homo, descendit? Aut quomodo intellegitur assumpsisse, tamquam non habens in principio, serui formam, qui naturaliter conuersatus est inter homines et sub iugo seruitutis positus?
14. Ἀλλὰ ναί, φησίν, ὁ φύσει τε καὶ ἀληθῶς καὶ ἐλεύθερος υἱός, ὁ ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγος, ἐν μορφῇ τοῦ γεγεννηκότος ὑπάρχων καὶ ἴσος ὢν αὐτῷ, κατῴκησεν ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ γεννηθέντι διὰ γυναικός, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ κένωσις καὶ τὸ τῆς ταπεινώσεως χρῆμα καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ τοῦ δούλου καθικέσθαι μορφῇ. εἶτα, ὦ βέλτιστοι, τὸ κατοικῆσαι μόνον ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον ἀρκέσειεν ἂν εἰς κένωσιν αὐτῷ, … 23. But they say, “He who is by nature the truly free Son, the Word of God the Father, although he was in the form of his begetter and equal to him, dwelt in a man born of woman—this is what is meant by emptying and humiliation and coming in the form of a servant.” Then, my dear friends, would the mere fact that the Word of God dwelt in a man really account for his self-emptying? 14. Sed, aiunt, utique qui naturaliter et uere et liber filius ex deo patre uerbum, in forma genitoris et ei aequalis existens, inhabitauit in homine nato per mulierem, et hoc est exinanitio et humilitatis causa et in serui formam humiliatum. Ita, o boni uiri, habitare solum in homine dei uerbum sufficit ei ad exinanitionem, …
καὶ ἀσφαλὲς εἰπεῖν ὅτι τε οὕτως ὑπέδυ τὴν τοῦ δούλου μορφὴν καὶ οὗτος αὐτῷ γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ὁ τῆς ταπεινώσεως τρόπος; καίτοι λέγοντος ἀκούω τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις· “Ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ με, τὸν λόγον μου τηρήσει καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ἀγαπήσει αὐτὸν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλευσόμεθα καὶ μονὴν παρ᾽ αὐτῷ ποιησόμεθα.” ἀκούεις ὅπως ἐν τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτὸν συγκατοικήσειν αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτὸν ἔφη τὸν θεὸν καὶ πατέρα; ἄρ᾽ οὖν καὶ αὐτὸν κεκενῶσθαι δώσομεν καὶ τὴν ὁμοίαν ἀνατλῆναι ταπείνωσιν τῷ υἱῷ καὶ τὴν τοῦ δούλου μορφὴν ἀναλαβεῖν, ὅτι τὰς τῶν ἀγαπώντων αὐτὸν ψυχὰς ἁγίας ποιεῖται μονάς; 24. And can one say with certainty that in this way he put on the form of a servant and experienced humiliation? On the contrary, I hear him saying to the holy apostles, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” [John 14:23]. Do you hear how he said that he and God the Father himself will dwell with those who love him? Should we then concede that the Father also emptied himself and endured humiliation like the Son’s and assumed the form of a servant because he makes his dwelling the holy souls of those who love him? et cautum est dicere quia ita suscepit serui formam et iste eius erit humilitatis modus? Certe audio dicentem sanctis apostolis: “Si quis me diligit, uerbum meum custodit et pater meus diligit eum, et ad eum ueniemus et mansionem apud eum faciemus.” Audis quomodo in eis qui se diligunt, cohabitare sibi et ipsum dixit deum et patrem? Putas ergo ipsum uacuatum dabimus et similem sustinuisse humilitatem filio et serui formam suscepisse, quia diligentium se animas sanctas facit mansiones?
τί δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ κατοικοῦν ἐν ἡμῖν; ἆρα καὶ αὐτὸ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως ἀποπληροῖ τὴν οἰκονομίαν, ἣν διὰ μόνου τοῦ υἱοῦ πεπρᾶχθαι φαμὲν τῆς ἁπάντων σωτηρίας ἕνεκα καὶ ζωῆς; ἄπαγε τῆς οὕτω περιττῆς καὶ ἀνονήτου παντελῶς εἰκαιοβουλίας. 25. What about the Holy Spirit dwelling in us? Does he also fulfill the plan of the incarnation which we say was accomplished by the Son alone for the salvation and life of all men? Away with such extravagant and utterly senseless rashness! Quid autem spiritus habitans in nobis? Putas et ipse inhumanationis dispensationem adimplet an certe per solum filium gestum dicimus causa salutis omnium atque uitae? Amoue sic superfluam et uanam omnino sententiam.
15. Τεταπείνωκε τοίνυν ἑαυτὸν ὁ ἐν μορφῇ καὶ ἰσότητι τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ὑπάρχων λόγος, ὅτε γενόμενος σάρξ, καθά φησιν Ἰωάννης, γεγέννηται διὰ γυναικὸς καὶ ὁ γέννησιν ἔχων τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τὴν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ὑπέμεινε παθεῖν δι᾿ ἡμᾶς. ἐπεὶ διδασκόντων αὐτοὶ κατὰ τίνα τρόπον ὁ ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγος Χριστὸς ἂν νοοῖτο καὶ λέγοιτο πρὸς ἡμῶν. εἰ ἀπό γε τοῦ κεχρίσθαι Χριστὸς ὀνομάζεται, τίνα κέχρικεν ὁ πατὴρ τῷ ἐλαίῳ τῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως ἤτοι τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι; εἰ μὲν οὖν ἰδικῶς τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ μόνον γεννηθέντα θεὸν λόγον καὶ τοῦτο εἶναί φασιν ἀληθές, ἀγνοοῦσιν ὅπως καὶ τὴν τοῦ μονογενοῦς ἀδικοῦσι φύσιν καὶ τῆς μετὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίας παρασημαίνουσι τὸ μυστήριον. 26. Therefore the Word who is in the form of and equal to God the Father humbled himself when, as John says, he became flesh and was born of a woman. He has a birth from God the Father and experienced a birth like ours for our sake. Otherwise, let them explain how the Word of God the Father would be known as and called Christ by us. If he is named Christ because he has been anointed, whom has the Father anointed with the oil of gladness, or rather, the Holy Spirit? Since they in fact say that this applies specifically and only to the divine Word begotten of God, they fail to see how they injure the nature of the only-begotten and misinterpret the mystery of the incarnation. 15. Humiliauit igitur semet ipsum illud uerbum quod in forma dei et patris existit, quando factum caro, sicut Iohannes ait, natum est per mulierem, et qui natiuitatem habet ex deo patre, etiam secundum nos sustinuit pati propter nos. Nam doceant ipsi quomodo ex deo patre uerbum Christus intellegatur atque dicatur a nobis. Si ab ungendo Christus nominatur, quem unxit pater oleo exultationis siue sancto spiritu? Si quidem proprie eum qui ex eo et solo natus est, deum uerbum et hoc esse dicunt uerum, ignorant quomodo et unigeniti naturae contumelias inferunt et dispensationis cum carne sacramenta corrumpunt.
εἰ γὰρ κέχρισται τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι θεὸς ὢν ὁ λόγος, ἐπιδεᾶ πάντως ἁγιασμοῦ καὶ οὐχ ἑκόντες ὁμολογήσουσιν κατὰ τοὺς ἄνωθεν ἔτι χρόνους ὑπάρχειν αὐτόν, καθ᾽ οὓς οὔπω κεχρισμένος ἀμέτοχος ἦν ἔτι τῆς ὕστερον αὐτῷ δοθείσης δωρεᾶς. τὸ δὲ ἁγιασμοῦ τητώμενον σεσάλευται κατὰ φύσιν καὶ οὐκ ἂν νοοῖτο παντελῶς ἠμοιρηκὸς ἁμαρτίας ἤτοι τοῦ δύνασθαι πλημμελεῖν· ὑπομεμένηκεν οὖν ἄρα καὶ τροπὴν τὴν εἰς τὰ ἀμείνω τυχὸν ὁ λόγος. 27. For if God the Word has been anointed with the Holy Spirit, they must (unwillingly) confess that he formerly existed as wholly lacking in holiness when he had not yet been anointed, for he did not yet have a share in the gift given to him later. But that which lacks holiness is changeable by nature and would not be considered entirely free from sin or the ability to err. So perhaps the Word has taken a turn for the better. Si enim unctus est sancto spiritu deus existens uerbum, eguisse eum sanctificationem etiam nolentes confitebuntur omni modo secundum superiora adhuc tempora, quibus nondum unctus sine participatione erat adhuc donationis postea ei donatae. Quod uero sanctificatione priuatur, nutat per naturam neque intellegitur omnino inexpertum peccato aut certe a posse delinquere.
πῶς οὖν ὁ αὐτός ἐστι καὶ οὐκ ἠλλοίωται; καὶ εἰ θεὸς ὢν ὁ λόγος καὶ ἐν μορφῇ καὶ ἰσότητι τοῦ πατρὸς ἐχρίετό τε καὶ ἡγιάζετο, φαίη τις ἂν ἴσως ὡς ἀπό γε τοῦ πράγματος εἰς ἐξιτήλους ἐννοίας ἀπενηνεγμένος ὅτι τάχα που καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ πατὴρ δέοιτ᾽ ἂν ἁγιασμοῦ, μάλλον δὲ ἤδη καὶ μείζων αὐτοῦ πέφηνεν ὁ υἱός, εἴπερ ἡγίασται μὲν αὐτός, ἴσος ὢν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν μορφῇ πρὸ ἁγιασμοῦ, ὁ δὲ ἀπομεμένηκεν ἐν οἷς ἦν ἀεὶ καὶ ἔστιν καὶ ἔσται, οὔπω τὴν εἰς τὰ ἀμείνω λαβὼν ἐπίδοσιν διά γε τοῦ ἡγιάσθαι καθ᾽ ὁμοιότητα τοῦ υἱοῦ. How, then, is he ever the same and changeless? And if the Word, although he was God in form and in equality to the Father, was anointed and sanctified, someone might say, as if led away from reality to foolish ideas, that maybe somehow the Father himself also lacked holiness, or rather that the Son now appears greater than him, if in fact the Son has been sanctified. For the Son was equal to the Father and in the form of God before his sanctification, but the Father has remained as he always was, is, and will be, not yet improved through sanctification as the Son has been. Quomodo ergo idem ipse adhuc et non est mutatus? Et si deus existens uerbum et in forma et aequalitate patris ungebatur et sanctificabatur, dicet quilibet forsan uel ex causa ad obscuros intellectus perductus, quia forte et ipse pater eguit sanctificatione, magis autem iam etiam maior ipse apparuit filius, si sanctificatus est quidem ipse aequalis existens ei et in forma ante sanctificationem, at ille permansit in quibus fuit semper et est, nequaquam ad meliora sumens crementum, per sanctificationem uero secundum similitudinem filii.
μεῖζον δὲ ἤδη καὶ ἀμφοῖν ὁρᾶται τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἁγιάζον αὐτούς, εἴπερ ἐστὶν οὐκ ἐνδοιαστὸν ὡς, “Ἁπάσης ἀντιλογίας δίχα τὸ ἔλαττον ὑπὸ τοῦ κρείττονος εὐλογεῖται.” ἀλλ᾽ ἐστὶν ταῦτα λῆρος καὶ τερθρεία καὶ ἀποπληξίας ἐγκλήματα. ἁγία γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν ἡ ὁμοούσιος τριάς, ἅγιος ὁ πατήρ, ἅγιος δὲ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς οὐσιωδῶς κατὰ τὸν ἴσον τρόπον, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα. οὐκοῦν ὅσον εἰς ἰδίαν φύσιν, οὐχ ἡγίασται κατὰ μόνας ὁ ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγος. And the Spirit, which sanctifies them, seems to be better than both if this proves true: “Without a doubt, the lesser is blessed by the greater” [Heb. 7:7]. But these arguments are nonsense, pedantry, and the complaints of madmen. For the consubstantial Trinity is holy by nature. The Father is holy; the Son is equally holy in essence; the Spirit likewise. Surely, then, insofar as his own nature is concerned, the Word of God the Father, considered by himself, has not been sanctified. Maior autem iam et ambobus uidetur spiritus sanctificans eos, si quidem est indubitatum quia, “Absque ulla contradictione quod minus est, a meliore benedicitur.” Sed haec sunt inania et horribilia et magnae anxietatis crimina. Sancta enim est per naturam consubstantialis trinitas, sanctus pater, sanctus autem et filius substantialiter aequali modo, similiter autem et spiritus. Ergo quantum ad propriam naturam, non est sanctificatum solitarie ex patre uerbum.
16. Εἰ δὲ δή τις οἴοιτο τὸν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου γεγεννημένον κεχρίσθαι τε καὶ ἡγιάσθαι μόνον ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ὠνομάσθαι Χριστόν, λεγέτω παρελθὼν εἰ ἀπόχρη τὸ χρίσμα πρὸς τὸ ἀποφῆναι τὸν χριόμενον ἰσοκλεᾶ καὶ ὁμόθρονον τῷ πάντων ἐπέκεινα θεῷ. καὶ εἰ μὲν ἀπόχρη, καὶ τοῦτο ἐροῦσιν ὡς ἐστὶν ἀληθές· κεχρίσμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς, καὶ μαρτυρήσει λέγων ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἰωάννης, “Καὶ ὑμεῖς χρίσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου.” ἐσόμεθα δὴ οὖν ἐν ἴσῳ τάχα που καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ τῷ θεῷ, εἴργει δέ, οἶμαι, παντελῶς οὐδὲν καὶ συνεδρεύειν αὐτῷ, καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Ἐμμανουήλ· εἴρηται γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν· “Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου.” προσκυνείτω καὶ ἡμᾶς ἡ τῶν ἄνω πνευμάτων ἁγία πληθύς· “Ὅταν” γάρ φησιν, “εἰσαγάγῃ τὸν πρωτότοκον εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην, λέγει· καὶ προσκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄγγελοι θεοῦ.” ἀλλ᾽ ἡμεῖς μέν, εἰ καὶ τῷͅ ἁγίῳ κεχρίσμεθα πνεύματι, τὴν μὲν τῆς υἱοθεσίας καταπλουτοῦμεν χάριν, κεκλήμεθα δὲ καὶ θεοί, τό γε μὴν τῆς ἑαυτῶν φύσεως μέτρον οὐκ ἀγνοήσομεν. ἐσμὲν γὰρ ἐκ γῆς καὶ τελοῦμεν ἐν οἰκέταις, ὁ δέ ἐστιν οὐκ ἐν οἷς ἡμεῖς, ἀλλὰ φύσει τε καὶ ἀληθῶς υἱὸς καὶ τῶν ὅλων κύριος καὶ ἐξ οὐρανῶν. 28. But if anyone thinks that the one born of the holy virgin alone was anointed and sanctified and for this reason was called Christ, let him come say whether this anointing is enough to reveal that the one anointed is equally glorious and shares the throne with God who is over all. If it is sufficient (they will say that this is true), we have also been anointed. The divine John testifies to this, saying, “You have an anointing from the Holy One” [1 John 2:20]. It follows that perhaps we ourselves are also equal to God; I can think of absolutely nothing that could keep us from sitting with him just as Emmanuel himself does. For it was said to him, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” [Ps. 110:1]. The holy multitude of spirits above must also worship us. For it says, “When he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him’” [Heb. 1:6]. But even though we have been anointed with the Holy Spirit, are enriched with the grace of adoption, and are even called gods, we are not ignorant of the limitations of our own nature. We are of the earth and belong among the servants. He is not under the same limitations as us, but by nature is truly the Son, the Lord of all, from heaven. 16. Si quis autem putet eum qui ex sancta uirgine natus est, unctum et sanctificatum solum et ideo nominatum Christum, dicat transiens si sufficit unctio ad monstrandum eum qui unctus est, aequae gloriae et aequae sedis deo qui super omnia. Et si quidem sufficit, et hoc dicant quia est uerum: uncti sumus et nos; et testabitur dicens sanctus Iohannes: “Et uos unctionem habetis a sancto.” Erimus ergo sub aequalitate forsan et nos ipsi deo prohibebitque, reor, penitus nihil etiam assidere ei, sicuti denique et ipse Emmanuhel. Dictum est enim ad eum: “Sede a dextris meis, donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.” Adoret etiam nos supernorum spirituum sancta multitudo; “Quando” enim inquit, “introducit primogenitum in orbem terrarum, dicit: et adorent eum omnes angeli dei.” Sed nos quidem, etsi sancto uncti sumus spiritu, adoptionis quidem ditamur gratia uocamurque etiam dei, nostrae uero naturae mensuram non ignorabimus. Sumus enim ex terra et degimus inter seruos; at ille est non in quibus nos, sed natura et uere filius et omnium dominus et de caelis.
17. Καὶ οὐ δήπου φαμὲν ὀρθὰ φρονεῖν ᾑρημένοι σαρκὸς γενέσθαι πατέρα τὸν θεὸν οὐδ᾽ αὖ τὴν τῆς θεότητος φύσιν γεγεννῆσθαι διὰ γυναικός, οὔπω προσλαβοῦσαν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, συνενεγκόντες δὲ μᾶλλον εἰς ἕνωσιν τόν τε ἐκ θεοῦ φύντα λόγον καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου τελείως ἄνθρωπον, ἕνα Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ κύριον προσκυνήσομεν, οὔτε τῶν τῆς θεότητος ὅρων ἔξω τιθέντες διὰ τὴν σάρκα οὔτε μὴν εἰς ἀνθρωπότητα ψιλὴν καταβιβάζοντες διὰ τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμοίωσιν. οὕτω νοήσεις τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ φύντα λόγον τὴν ἑκούσιον ὑπομεῖναι κένωσιν· οὕτω τεταπείνωκεν ἑαυτὸν μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν ὁ κατὰ φύσιν ἰδίαν ἐλεύθερος· οὕτω “σπέρματος Ἁβραὰμ ἐπελάβετο” καὶ “κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός.” εἰ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος νοεῖται ψιλὸς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, πῶς ἑτέρου παρ᾽ αὐτὸν φυσικῶς ἐπελάβετο σπέρματος Ἁβραάμ; πῶς δὲ τῆς ἰδίας σαρκὸς κεκοινωνηκέναι λέγεται, ἵνα “κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῇ”; τὸ γάρ τισιν ὁμοιοῦσθαι λεγόμενον ἐξ ἀνομοίου τινὸς ἐπὶ τὸ δεῖν ὁμοιοῦσθαι τρέχει. 29. Since we have chosen to think rightly, we by no means say that God became the Father of flesh, nor again that the divine nature was born through woman before it assumed humanity. Rather, bringing the Word begotten of God and the man born completely of the holy virgin together into unity, we worship one Lord Jesus Christ. We neither put him outside the bounds of divinity because of his flesh nor bring him down into mere humanity because of his likeness to us. You should understand that the Word begotten of God endured a voluntary emptying. Thus, although free according to his own nature, he humbled himself, taking the form of a servant. This is how he “assumed descent from Abraham” [Heb. 2:16], and “has participated in blood and flesh” [Heb. 2:14]. If we consider him a mere man like us, how did he assume descent from Abraham as a different nature from himself? How could he have participated in his own flesh in order that “he be made like his brothers in all things” [Heb. 2:17]? For when we speak of making one thing similar to another, it implies passing from a state of dissimilarity to similarity. 17. Et nequaquam dicimus, recte sapere eligentes, carnis factum patrem deum neque ipsam deitatis naturam natam per mulierem, nondum assumentem humanitatem; copulantes autem magis ad unitatem et ex deo natum uerbum et ex sancta uirgine perfecte hominem, unum Christum Iesum et dominum adorabimus, neque diuinitatis terminis foris ponentes propter carnem, neque uero in humanitatem puram deponentes propter similitudinem nostram. Sic intelleges ex deo natum uerbum spontaneam sustinuisse exinanitionem; sic humiliauit semet ipsum, formam serui suscipiens, secundum naturam propriam liber; sic “semen Abraham adprehendit” et “communicauit sanguini et carni.” Nam si homo intellegatur purus secundum nos, quomodo aliud naturaliter praeter se adprehendit semen Abraham? Quomodo autem propriae carni communicasse dicitur, ut “per omnia fratribus similis sit”? Quod enim aliquibus assimilari dicitur, ex dissimili quodam ad hoc quod oportet assimilari, currit.
18. Ἐπελάβετο τοίνυν σπέρματος Ἁβραὰμ καὶ “κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκὸς” ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, ἴδιον ποιησάμενος σῶμα τὸ ἐκ γυναικός, ἵνα μὴ μόνον ὑπάρχων θεός, ἀλλ᾽ ἤδη καὶ ἄνθρωπος γεγονὼς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς νοοῖτο διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν. οὐκοῦν ἐκ δυοῖν μὲν πραγμάτων ὁμολογουμένως, θεότητός τε καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος ὁ Ἐμμανουήλ· πλὴν εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς εἷς τε καὶ ἀληθῶς υἱὸς θεός τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἄνθρωπος θεοποιηθεὶς ἐν ἴσῳ τοῖς κατὰ χάριν, θεὸς δὲ μᾶλλον ἀληθινὸς ἐν ἀνθρωπείᾳ μορφῇ πεφηνὼς δι᾿ ἡμᾶς. πιστώσεται δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο ἡμᾶς καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος λέγων· “Ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον, ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον ἐξαγοράσῃ, ἵνα τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάβωμεν ἡμεῖς.” 30. So the Word of God assumed descent from Abraham and “has participated in blood and flesh” [Heb. 2:14], by making the body born of woman his own so that he might be known by this union as God who has become man like us. Thus, the Emmanuel is admittedly of two entities, namely, divinity and humanity. But there is one Lord Jesus Christ and one true Son, God and man together. He is not a man who has been made divine, equal to those who are made divine according to grace, but rather true God who has appeared in human form for our sake. The divine Paul will confirm this for us, saying, “But when the time fully came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those who were under law, that we might receive adoption as sons” [Gal. 4:4-5]. 18. Adprehendit igitur semen Abraham et “communicauit sanguini et carni” dei uerbum, proprium faciens corpus quod ex muliere est, ut non solum existens deus, sed iam et homo factus secundum nos intellegatur propter unitionem. Quocirca ex duabus quidem rebus indubitanter, diuinitate et humanitate, Emmanuhel est, uerumtamen unus dominus Iesus Christus unusque et uere filius, deus simul et homo, et non homo deus factus sub aequalitate horum qui per gratiam, sed deus potius uerus in humana forma apparens propter nos. Dat nobis autem fidem ad hoc et deiloquus Paulus dicens: “Cum autem uenisset plenitudo temporis, misit deus filium suum factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, ut eos qui erant sub lege, redimeret, ut adoptionem reciperemus nos.”
εἶτα τίς ὁ ἀπεσταλμένος ὑπὸ νόμον τε καὶ ἐκ γυναικός, ὡς ἔφη, γεγεννημένος, πλὴν ὅτι πάλιν αὐτὸς ὁ πέρα μὲν νόμων ὡς θεός, ἐπειδὴ δὲ κεχρημάτικεν ἄνθρωπος, γεγονὼς καὶ ὑπὸ νόμον, ἵνα “κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῇ”; καὶ γοῦν συνετέλει μὲν ὁμοῦ τῷ Πέτρῳ τὸ δίδραγμον κατὰ τὸν Μωσέως νόμον· ὅτι δέ ἐστιν ἐλεύθερος ὡς υἱὸς καὶ νόμου κρείττων ὡς θεός, καὶ εἰ γέγονεν ὑπὸ νόμον ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ἐδίδασκε λέγων· “Οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς ἀπὸ τίνων λαμβάνουσι κῆνσον ἢ τέλη; ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτῶν ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων;” Πέτρου δὲ φάσκοντος “ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων,” ἐπήνεγκεν αὐτός· “Ἄρα γε ἐλεύθεροί εἰσιν οἱ υἱοί.” ὄντος δὴ οὖν ἐναργοῦς ὡς οὐκ ἂν λέγοιτο Χριστὸς ἔξω τε σαρκὸς ὑπάρχων καὶ οἷον εἰ κατὰ μόνας ὁ ἐκ θεοῦ λόγος, πρεπούσης δὲ μᾶλλον αὐτῷ τῆς τοιᾶσδε κλήσεως, ὅτε γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, φέρε δὴ φέρε δεικνύωμεν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἑλόντες τὰς πίστεις τῶν ἱερῶν γραμμάτων ὅτι θεὸς κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶ καὶ εἰς ἑνότητα συνενηνεγμένος, τὴν πρός γε φημὶ τὴν ἰδίαν σάρκα οὗ δὴ πεφηνότος ἀληθοῦς, θεοτόκος ἂν λέγοιτο πρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ σφόδρα εἰκότως ἡ ἁγία παρθένος. Who, then, is the one sent under law and born of a woman, as he said, except he who is above laws as God but, since he was called man, was also under the law in order that “he be made like his brothers in all things” [Heb. 2:17]? Therefore, he paid the two-drachma tax with Peter according to the law of Moses. But because he is free as the Son and superior to the law as God although born under the law as man, he instructed him, saying, “From whom do the kings of the earth receive tribute or customs? From their sons, or from strangers?” [Matt. 17:25]. When Peter replied, “From strangers,” he concluded, “The sons, then, are exempt” [Matt. 17:26]. Now, it is obvious that the Word of God, existing outside the flesh and separately, could not be called Christ. But since such a name is proper for him instead when he has become man, let us demonstrate by taking proofs from the Holy Scriptures themselves that he is God according to nature and has come together into unity, that is, unity with his own flesh. When this has been clearly shown to be true, we may very rightly call the holy virgin the mother of God. Proinde qui est qui missus est sub lege et ex muliere, sicuti dixit, factus, nisi quia rursus ipse qui supra leges quidem est sicut deus, quia uero etiam uocatus est homo, factus et sub lege, ut “per omnia fratribus similis esset”? Denique tributum quidem reddebat simul cum Petro didragmon secundum Moysis legem; quia uero est liber sicut filius et lege superior sicut deus, etsi factus est sub lege sicut homo, docebat dicens: “Reges terrae a quibus accipiunt censum aut tributum, a filiis suis an ab alienis?” Petro autem dicente “ab alienis,” intulit ipse: “Ergo liberi sunt filii.” 19. Cum sit itaque palam quia non dicitur Christus extra carnem existens et uelut solitarie ex deo uerbum, cum deceat eum potius huiusmodi appellatio, quando factus est homo, age nunc, age, monstremus, ex ipsis ostendentes fides sacris litteris, quia deus secundum naturam est et ad unitatem concopulatus, dico uero eam quae est ad propriam carnem; quo uero probato dei genetrix dicetur a nobis, et satis merito, sancta uirgo.
19. Οὐκοῦν ὁ προφήτης Ἡσαίας μόνον οὐχὶ καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα τὸν υἱὸν καὶ ὅσον οὐδέπω παρεσόμενον προκατεδείκνυε λέγων· “Ἰσχύσατε χεῖρες ἀνειμέναι καὶ γόνατα παραλελυμένα· παρακαλέσατε οἱ ὀλιγόψυχοι τῇ διανοίᾳ· ἰσχύσατε, μὴ φοβεῖσθε. ἰδοὺ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κρίσιν ἀνταποδίδωσι καὶ ἀνταποδώσει· αὐτὸς ἥξει καὶ σώσει ἡμᾶς. τότε ἀνοιχθήσονται ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν καὶ ὦτα κωφῶν ἀκούσονται· τότε ἁλεῖται ὡς ἔλαφος ὁ χωλὸς καὶ τρανὴ ἔσται γλῶσσα μογιλάλων.” ἄθρει δὴ οὖν ὅπως καὶ κύριον ἀποκαλεῖ καὶ θεὸν ὀνομάζει καίτοι λαλῶν ἐν πνεύματι, ὅτι μὴ ἄνθρωπον ἁπλῶς θεοφόρον ἠπίστατο τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ οὔτε μὴν ὡς ἐν ὀργάνου τάξει παρειλημμένον, ἀλλὰ θεὸν ἀληθῶς ἐνηνθρωπηκότα. τότε γὰρ τότε καὶ ἀνεῴχθησαν μὲν ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν, ἤκουσαν δὲ καὶ ὦτα κωφῶν, τότε καὶ ἐλάφου δίκην ὁ χωλὸς ἀνεπήδα, γέγονε δὲ καὶ τρανὴ γλῶσσα μογιλάλων. οὕτως αὐτὸν τοῖς ἁγίοις εὐαγγελισταῖς διακηρύττειν ἐκέλευεν τὸ πνεῦμα λέγον· “Ἐπ’ ὄρος ὑψηλὸν ἀνάβηθι, ὁ εὐαγγελιζόμενος Σιών, ὕψωσον τῇ ἰσχύι τὴν φωνήν σου, ὁ εὐαγγελιζόμενος Ἱερουσαλήμ· ὑψώσατε, μὴ φοβεῖσθε. εἰπὸν ταῖς πόλεσιν Ἰούδα· ἰδοὺ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἰδοὺ κύριος μετὰ ἰσχύος ἔρχεται καὶ ὁ βραχίων μετὰ κυρείας, ἰδοὺ ὁ μισθὸς μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἔργον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ. ὡς ποιμὴν ποιμανεῖ τὸ ποίμνιον αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ βραχίονι αὐτοῦ συνάξει ἄρνας.” ἐπέφανε γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ἰσχὺν ἔχων τὴν θεοπρεπῆ καὶ βραχίονα μετὰ κυρείας, τουτέστιν ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ τε καὶ κυριότητι. τοιγάρτοι καὶ ἔφασκε τῷ μὲν λεπρῷ “Θέλω, καθαρίσθητι,” ἥπτετο δὲ τῆς σοροῦ καὶ ἀνίστη τεθνεῶτα τὸν τῆς χήρας υἱόν. 31. To start with, the prophet Isaiah announced beforehand that the Son was not yet incarnate but was about to come, saying, “Be strong, you feeble hands and weak knees; take comfort, you faint of heart; be strong and fear not. Look, our God is rendering judgment and will render it; he himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will hear; then the lame will leap like a stag, and the tongue of the mute will be clear” [Is. 35:3-6]. Observe how he called him Lord and God as he spoke in the Spirit. He understood that the Emmanuel was not simply a man bearing God, nor was he assumed as an instrument, but was truly God incarnate. For it was then that the eyes of the blind were opened, the ears of the deaf heard, the lame leaped like a stag, and the tongue of the mute became clear. The Spirit commanded the holy evangelists to proclaim him in this way, saying, “Go up onto a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion. Raise your voice mightily, you who bring good news to Jerusalem. Lift it up; do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold, the Lord our God is coming in power; his arm has authority. See, his reward is with him and his work is before him. He will guide his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs together in his arm’” [Is. 40:9-11]. Our Lord Jesus Christ showed to us that he has divine strength and his arm has authority, that is, power and dominion. For that very reason he said to the leper, “I am willing; be clean” [Matt. 8:3]. And for that reason he touched the bier and raised up the widow’s dead son. Quapropter propheta Esaias solum quia non etiam inhumanatum filium et cum adhuc nondum adesset, praeostendebat aduenturum, dicens: “Confortamini manus remissae et genua dissoluta; consolamini pusillanimes mente, confortamini, nolite timere. Ecce deus noster iudicium reddit et retribuit; ipse ueniet et saluabit nos. Tunc aperientur oculi caecorum, et aures surdorum audient; tunc exiliet, sicut ceruus, claudus, et clara erit lingua mutorum.” Contemplare igitur quomodo et dominum uocat et deum nominat, cum utique loqueretur in spiritu, quia non hominem simpliciter deiforum sciebat hunc Emmanuhel neque tamquam instrumenti officio assumptum, sed deum uere inhumanatum. Tunc enim, tunc et aperti quidem sunt oculi caecorum, audierunt uero et aures surdorum; tunc etiam instar cerui claudus exiliuit, facta autem est etiam plana uox mutorum. Sic eum sanctis euangelistis praedicare iubebat spiritus dicens: “Super montem excelsum ascende qui euangelizas Sion, exalta in fortitudine uocem tuam euangelizans Hierusalem. Exalta, noli timere; dic ciuitatibus Iuda: ecce deus noster, ecce dominus cum uirtute ueniet et brachium cum dominatione. Ecce merces cum ipso et opus in conspectu eius. Sicut pastor pascet gregem suum et brachio suo congregabit agnos.” Apparuit enim nobis dominus noster Iesus Christus fortitudinem habens deodecibilem et brachium cum dominio, hoc est in potestate et dominatione. Denique etiam dicebat leproso quidem “Volo, mundare,” tetigit autem lectum et suscitauit mortuum uiduae filium.
20. Συνήγαγε δὲ καὶ ἄρνας· ποιμὴν γάρ ἐστιν ἀγαθός, τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ θεὶς ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων. τοιγάρτοι καὶ ἔφασκε· “Καθὼς γινώσκει με ὁ πατήρ, κἀγὼ γινώσκω τὸν πατέρα, καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν μου τίθημι ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων. καὶ ἄλλα πρόβατα ἔχω, ἃ οὔκ ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς αὐλῆς ταύτης· κἀκεῖνά με δεῖ ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούσουσι καὶ γενήσονται μία ποίμνη, εἷς ποιμήν.” ἀρχόμενος δὲ τῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ κηρυγμάτων καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος βαπτιστὴς οὔτε θεότητος ὄργανον οὔτε μὴν ἄνθρωπον ἁπλῶς θεοφοροῦντα κατά τινας, θεὸν δὲ μάλλον μετὰ σαρκὸς ἢ γοῦν ἐνηνθρωπηκότα τοῖς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν εὐηγγελίζετο λέγων· “Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν.” τίνος οὖν ἄρα προστέταχεν ἑτοιμάζεσθαι τὰς ὁδοὺς πλὴν ὅτι Χριστοῦ, τουτέστιν ἐν ἀνθρωπείᾳ μορφῇ πεφηνότος τοῦ λόγου; ἀπόχρη δέ, οἶμαι, πρὸς πίστιν καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος, ἐπιμαρτυρῶν τε καὶ λέγων· “Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; εἰ ὁ θεὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, τίς καθ᾽ ἡμῶν; ὅς γε τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πάντων παρέδωκεν αὐτόν, πῶς οὐχὶ καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα ἡμῖν χαρίσεται;” 32. And he gathered the lambs together, for he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. For this reason, he said, “The Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for my sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd” [John 10:15-16]. When the divine baptist began to preach about him to everyone in Judaea, he did not proclaim him as an instrument of divinity nor simply as a man bearing God, as some say, but rather as God with flesh, that is, God incarnate. For he said, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God” [Matt. 3:3]. Whose ways did he command to be prepared except those of Christ, that is, of the Word revealed in human form? And the divine Paul, in my opinion, also gives sufficient evidence for our faith when he bears witness, saying, “What then shall we say? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, give us all things?” [Rom. 8:31-32]. 20. Congregauit etiam agnos; pastor est enim bonus, animam suam ponens pro ouibus. Unde etiam dicebat: “Sicut cognoscit me pater, et ego cognosco patrem, et animam meam pono pro ouibus. Et alias oues habeo, quae non sunt ex hoc ouili, et illas me oportet adducere, et uocem meam audient, et fiet unus grex et unus pastor.” Inchoans autem praedicationes eius etiam sanctissimus baptista neque diuinitatis instrumentum neque hominem simpliciter deiforum secundum quosdam, sed deum potius cum carne seu inhumanatum omnibus in Iudaea euangelizabat, dicens: “Parate uiam domini, rectas facite semitas dei nostri.” Cuius itaque praecepit parare uias nisi Christi, hoc est in humana forma apparentis uerbi? Sufficit uero, ut arbitror, ad fidem etiam sanctissimus Paulus, qui testatur dicens: “Quid ergo dicimus? Si deus pro nobis, quis contra nos? Qui proprio filio non pepercit, sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit eum, quomodo non etiam cum ipso omnia nobis donabit?”
εἶτα, εἰπέ μοι, πῶς ἂν νοοῖτο θεοῦ καὶ ἴδιος υἱὸς ὁ ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου; ὥσπερ γὰρ ἴδιον ἀνθρώπου καὶ μὴν καὶ ἑκάστου τῶν ἑτέρων ζῴων τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατὰ φύσιν γεγεννημένον, οὕτως ἴδιον θεοῦ τὸ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ νοοῖτ᾽ ἂν εἶναι καὶ λέγοιτο. πῶς οὖν ἴδιος θεοῦ υἱὸς ὠνόμασται ὁ Χριστός, ὃς καὶ δέδοται παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς τῆς ἁπάντων ἕνεκα σωτηρίας καὶ ζωῆς; “Παρεδόθη” γὰρ “διὰ τὰ παραπτώματα ἡμῶν,” καὶ· “Αὐτὸς ἀνομίας πολλῶν ἀνήνεγκεν ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον” κατὰ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνὴν. πρόδηλον οὖν ὅτι τὸ τῆς ἑνώσεως χρῆμα παραληφθὲν ἀναγκαίως ἴδιον υἱὸν ἀποφαίνει τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου. σῶμα γὰρ ἦν οὐχ ἑτέρου τινὸς τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, ἴδιον δὲ μᾶλλον αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὄντος λόγου τὸ γεννηθὲν ἐξ αὐτῆς. Tell me, then, how can the one born of the holy virgin be considered God’s own Son? In just the same way as what is called a man’s own child and, generally, each animal’s own offspring—namely, what is born of it according to nature. So he is considered and is called God’s own Son as that which is of God’s substance. How, then, is Christ, who was delivered up by God the Father for the salvation and life of all, called God’s own Son? For “he was delivered up for our sins” [Rom. 4:25], and “he bore the sins of many in his body on the cross” [1 Pet. 2:24], as the prophet says. It is already evident that the fact of the union, which must be accepted, proves that the child of the holy virgin is God’s own Son. For his body was not of someone else like ours, but rather the body born from her was the proper body of the very Word of the Father. Proinde dic mihi quomodo intellegatur dei et proprius filius, qui ex sancta uirgine. Sicut enim proprium hominis nec non et uniuscuiusque aliorum animalium quod ex eo secundum naturam generatur, ita proprium dei quod ex substantia eius est, intellegetur atque dicetur. Quomodo ergo proprius dei filius nominatus est Christus, qui etiam traditus est a deo et patre causa omnium salutis et uitae? “Traditus” enim “est propter peccata nostra,” et “Ipse iniquitates multorum portauit in corpore suo in ligno” secundum prophetae uocem. Palam ergo est quia unitatis res assumpta necessarie proprium filium declarauit dei id quod ex sancta uirgine est. Corpus enim erat non alterius cuiuspiam secundum nos, sed magis proprium ex patre existentis uerbi, quod est natum ex ea.
21. Εἰ δὲ δὴ ψιλὴν καὶ μόνην ἀπονέμει τις αὐτῷ τὴν ὀργανικὴν ὑπουργίαν, ἀποπέμψει καὶ οὐχ ἑκὼν καὶ τοῦ εἶναι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν υἱόν. ὑποκείσθω γάρ τις τῷ λόγῳ, φέρε εἰπεῖν, ἄνθρωπος, ἔστω δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ παῖς τὰ εἰς λύραν τεχνίτης ψάλλειν τε ἄριστα μεμελετηκώς· ἆρ᾽ οὖν ὁ τοιοῦτος καταλογιεῖται τὴν λύραν καὶ τὸ τῆς ᾠδῆς ὄργανον ἐν υἱοῦ τάξει σὺν τῷ υἱῷ; καίτοι πῶς οὐκ εὔηθες λίαν τὸ χρῆμά ἐστιν; ἡ μὲν γὰρ εἰς ἔνδειξιν παρελήφθη τῆς τέχνης, ὁ δέ ἐστι καὶ ὀργάνου δίχα τοῦ τεκόντος υἱός. εἰ δὲ δὴ φαῖεν ὅτι παρελήφθη πρὸς ὑπουργίαν ὁ ἐκ γυναικός, ἵνα δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τελῆται τὰ θαύματα καὶ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν θεσπισμάτων ἀναλάμψῃ τὸ κήρυγμα, λεγέσθω καὶ ἕκαστος τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν θεότητος ὄργανον καὶ πρό γε τῶν ἄλλων ὁ ἱεροφάντης Μωυσῆς, ὃς ἀνασχὼν τὴν ῥάβδον μετετίθει μὲν εἰς αἷμα τοὺς ποταμούς, διιστὰς δὲ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν θάλασσαν διὰ μέσων ἰέναι κυμάτων ἐκέλευε τοῖς ἐξ Ἰσραήλ, ἐπιφέρων δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ πέτραις ὑδάτων αὐτὰς ἐποίει μητέρας καὶ πηγὴν ἔδειξε τὴν ἀκρότομον καὶ μεσίτης γέγονε θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων καὶ νόμου διάκονος ἦν καὶ καθηγεῖτο λαῶν. οὐδὲν οὖν ἄρα τὸ περιττὸν ἐν Χριστῷ καὶ πεπλεονέκτηκε μὲν οὐδαμῶς τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ γεγονότας ὡς ἐν ὀργάνων χρείᾳ τε καὶ τάξει κατὰ τὸν ἴσον τρόπον παρειλημμένος, πεφλυάρηκε δὲ κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ὁ θεσπέσιος Δαυὶδ ἐκεῖνο εἰπὼν ὅτι “Τίς ἐν νεφέλαις ἰσωθήσεται τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ τίς ὁμοιωθήσεται τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν υἱοῖς θεοῦ;” 33. But if anyone assigns to him only the mere function of an instrument, he also prevents him from truly being the Son, despite his intent. For argument’s sake, let’s assume there is a man whose son is skilled with the lyre and trained to play the best compositions. Will he classify the lyre, the instrument of song, in the category of son along with his son? This is, of course, preposterous. For he takes up the lyre to demonstrate skill, but he is his father’s son apart from an instrument. But if they should say that he who was born of woman was used as an instrument to perform wonders and to illuminate the message of the inspired evangelists, it follows that each of the holy prophets must also be called an instrument of divinity, including Moses, the greatest teacher of divine mysteries. Lifting up his staff, he turned rivers into blood. He separated the sea itself and had the people of Israel pass through the middle of the waves. Striking rocks with his staff, he caused them to produce water and showed that the rock was a spring. He became a mediator between God and men and was a servant of the law. He led the people. So there was nothing extraordinary about Christ, nor did he surpass those born before him, if he himself is used in the function and manner of an instrument in the same way as Moses. The divine David has seemingly spoken nonsense, saying, “Who among the clouds is equal to the Lord, and who is like the Lord among the sons of God?” [Ps. 89:6]. 21. Si uero puram et solam attribuit aliquis ei instrumenti ministrationem, negabit eam inuitus et esse secundum ueritatem filium. Ponatur enim quis uerbi gratia homo sitque ei et filius circa ea quae pertinent ad lyram, artifex et ad psallendum optime meditatus. Putasne iste talis reputabit lyram et hoc cantilenae instrumentum in filii loco cum filio? Quomodo ergo non est insulsa ualde haec res? Lyra siquidem assumpta est ad ostensionem artis, ille autem est et praeter instrumentum filius genitoris. Si uero dixerint quia adsumptus est ad ministrandum qui ex muliere est, ut per eum fierent miracula et euangelicarum sanctionum praedicatio resplenderet, dicatur etiam unusquisque sanctorum prophetarum deitatis instrumentum et ante alios sacratissimus Moyses, qui extendens uirgam mutauit quidem in sanguinem flumina, diuidens autem etiam ipsum mare per medios ire fluctus iussit filios Israhel, inferens quoque eam petris aquarum eas fecit matres et fontem ostendit lapidem et mediator factus est dei et hominum et legis minister fuit ac populum praecedebat. Nihil ergo plus in Christo et superior quidem in nullo fuit praecedentium, qui uelut instrumentorum opere et officio aequali modo assumpti sunt, inaniterque uerbosatus est forte sanctissimus Dauid illud dicens quoniam “Quis in nubibus aequabitur domino, et quis similis erit deo inter filios dei?”
22. Ἀλλ᾽ ὅ γε σοφώτατος Παῦλος τελοῦντα μὲν ἐν οἰκέταις ἀποφαίνει Μωσέα, θεὸν δὲ καὶ κύριον ἀποκαλεῖ τὸν ἐκ γυναικὸς οἰκονομικῶς γεγονότα, τουτέστι Χριστόν. γέγραφε γὰρ ὡδί· “Ὥστε, ἀδελφοὶ ἅγιοι, κλήσεως ἐπουρανίου μέτοχοι, κατανοήσατε τὸν ἀπόστολον καὶ ἀρχιερέα τῆς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν πιστὸν ὄντα τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν, ὡς καὶ Μωυσῆς ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ. πλείονος γὰρ οὗτος δόξης παρὰ Μωυσῆν ἠξίωται, καθ᾽ ὅσον πλείονα τιμὴν ἔχει τοῦ οἴκου ὁ κατασκευάσας αὐτόν. πᾶς γὰρ οἶκος κατασκευάζεται ὑπό τινος, ὁ δὲ τὰ πάντα κατασκευάσας θεός. καὶ Μωυσῆς μὲν πιστὸς ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ ὡς θεράπων εἰς μαρτύριον τῶν λαληθησομένων· Χριστὸς δὲ ὡς υἱὸς ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, οὗ οἶκος ἐσμὲν ἡμεῖς.” 34. Yet while wise Paul proves that Moses functions among the servants, he calls Christ, who was born of woman according to the divine plan, God and Lord. For he has written as follows: “Therefore, holy brothers who share in the heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. He is faithful to him who made him, as Moses also was in God’s whole house. He was deemed worthy of greater glory than Moses just as the builder of a house has greater glory than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God created everything. Moses was indeed faithful in God’s whole house, a servant to testify to those things that would be spoken, but Christ is faithful as Son over God’s house—and we are his house” [Heb. 3:1-6]. 22. Sed sapientissimus Paulus constitutum quidem inter famulos ostendit Moysen, deum uero et dominum uocat eum qui ex muliere dispensatiue factus est, hoc est Christum. Sic enim scribsit: “Ideoque, fratres sancti, uocationis caelestis participes, considerate apostolum et pontificem confessionis nostrae Iesum fidelem existentem ei qui fecit eum, sicut et Moyses in tota domo eius. Ampliori enim iste gloria quam Moyses dignitatus est pro quanto maiorem honorem habet domus, qui aedificauit eam. Omnis enim domus fabricatur ab aliquo; qui autem omnia fecit, deus est, et Moyses quidem fidelis in tota domo eius, sicut seruus ad testimonium horum quae dicenda erant; Christus autem tamquam filius in domo sua; cuius domus sumus nos.”
ἄθρει δὴ οὖν ὅπως καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος αὐτῷ τετήρηκε μέτρον καὶ τῆς ἀνωτάτω δόξης καὶ θεοπρεποῦς ἀξίας ἀπονέμει τὴν ὑπεροχήν. ἀρχιερέα γὰρ καὶ ἀπόστολον εἰπὼν καὶ μὴν καὶ γενέσθαι πιστὸν τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτὸν εὖ μάλα διαβεβαιούμενος, τετιμῆσθαι μειζόνως ἢ κατὰ Μωσέα φησίν, καθ᾽ ὅσον πλείονα τιμὴν ἔχει τοῦ οἴκου ὁ κατασκευάσας αὐτόν· εἶτα προσεπάγει, “Πᾶς γὰρ οἶκος κατασκευάζεται ὑπό τινος, ὁ δὲ τὰ πάντα κατασκευάσας θεός.” οὐκοῦν τέτακται μὲν ἐν ποιήμασιν καὶ ἐν τοῖς κατεσκευασμένοις ὁ θεσπέσιος Μωυσῆς, κατασκευαστὴς δὲ τῶν ὅλων δέδεικται Χριστός, καίτοι θεοῦ λεγομένου κατασκευάσαι τὰ πάντα. θεὸς οὖν ἄρα καὶ ἀληθινὸς ἀνενδοιάστως ἐστί. καὶ Μωυσῆς μὲν ὡς θεράπων ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ πιστός, Χριστὸς δὲ ὡς υἱὸς ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, οὗ οἶκος ἐσμὲν ἡμεῖς, καίτοι θεοῦ λέγοντος διὰ φωνῆς προφητῶν ὅτι “Ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτῶν θεὸς καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι λαός.” Note, therefore, how he has preserved the limitation of Christ’s humanity and still attributes to him the preeminence of highest glory and of divine dignity. After calling him high priest and apostle and clearly confirming that he is faithful to him who made him, he says that Christ has more honor than Moses just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. Then he continues, “For every house is built by someone, but God created everything” [Heb. 3:4]. So he places the divine Moses among things which are created or built but displays Christ as the creator of everything. God has, most certainly, created everything. Therefore Christ is unquestionably also true God. Moses, indeed, was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, but Christ is faithful as Son over God’s house—and we are his house. Indeed, as God says through the prophets, “I will dwell with them and walk among them; I will be their God, and they will be my people” [2 Cor. 6:16]. Contemplare igitur quomodo et humanitatis ei seruauit mensuram et supernae gloriae et deodecibilis dignitatis attribuit celsitudinem. Pontificem enim et apostolum dicens nec non et factum fidelem ei qui fecit eum, et ualde bene confirmans honoratum potius quam Moysen ait: secundum quod maiorem honorem habet domus, qui fabricauit eam; deinde infert: “Omnis enim domus fabricatur ab aliquo; qui uero omnia fabricauit, deus est.” Ergo statutus quidem est inter facturas et inter ea quae fabricata sunt, sanctissimus Moyses, fabricator autem omnium ostensus est Christus, cum utique deus dicatur fabricare omnia; deus igitur et uerus indubitanter est. Et Moyses quidem tamquam minister in tota domo fidelis, Christus autem tamquam filius in domo sua, cuius domus sumus nos, deo quippe dicente per uocem prophetae quia “Ego inhabitabo in eis et inambulabo et ero eorum deus et ipsi erunt mihi populus.”
23. Ἀλλὰ τίς ἂν νοοῖτο, φαίη τις ἂν ἴσως, “ἡ διαφορὰ Χριστοῦ καὶ Μωυσέως, εἴπερ ἄμφω γεγόνασι διὰ γυναικῶν; πῶς ὁ μὲν οἰκέτης καὶ ὡς ἐν οἴκῳ πιστός, ὁ δὲ καὶ φύσει κύριος ὡς υἱὸς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, τουτέστιν ἡμᾶς;” οἶμαι δὲ ἔγωγε παντί τῳ τὸ χρῆμα ὑπάρχειν ἐναργές, εἴπερ ἐστὶν ἐν καλῷ φρενὸς καὶ νοῦν ἔχει Χριστοῦ κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον. ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἦν ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὑπὸ ζυγὰ δουλείας, ὁ δὲ κατὰ φύσιν ἐλεύθερος ὡς θεὸς καὶ δημιουργὸς τῶν ὅλων καὶ κένωσιν ἀνατλὰς τὴν ἐθελούσιον δι᾽ ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸν τῆς θεοπρεποῦς δόξης ἐξοικιεῖ οὔτε μὴν τῆς ὑπερτάτης καὶ κατὰ πάντων ὑπεροχῆς ἀποσοβήσει· πόθεν; ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡμεῖς τὸ αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα πλουτήσαντες, κατῴκηκε γὰρ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν, τετάγμεθα μὲν ἐν τέκνοις θεοῦ, τό γε μὴν εἶναι τοῦθ᾽ ὅπερ ἐσμέν, οὐκ ἀποβεβλήκαμεν, ἐσμὲν γὰρ ἄνθρωποι κατὰ φύσιν, καίτοι θεῷ λέγοντες “ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ,” οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς οὐσίας ἀπορρήτως ἐκπεφηνὼς θεὸς λόγος προσλαβὼν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τετίμηκε μὲν τὴν φύσιν, οὐ μὴν ἔξω γέγονε τῆς ἰδίας ὑπεροχῆς, μεμένηκε δὲ καὶ ἐν ἀνθρωπότητι θεός. 35. But someone might perhaps say, “What is the difference between Christ and Moses, if both were born through a woman? How is one a servant and faithful in the house, but the other, as Son, is Lord by nature over his house, which we are?” But I think this matter is perfectly clear to everyone who has good sense and shares the mind of Christ, as blessed Paul says. For Moses was human and was under the yoke of servitude, but Christ, as God, was free by nature and creator of everything, and he willingly emptied himself for us. But this does not remove him from his divine glory nor keep him from his most excellent preeminence over all. For we have been enriched with his Spirit (for his Spirit has come to dwell in our hearts) and have taken our place among the children of God without ceasing to be what we are. For we are men by nature, yet we certainly say to God, “Abba! Father!” [Rom. 8:15]. So also God the Word, ineffably begotten of the substance of God the Father, brought honor to humanity by assuming that nature, but he was not separated from his own preeminence; even in humanity he remained God. 23. Sed dicet aliquis forsitan: “Quae differentia Christi et Moysi intellegenda est, si ambo facti sunt per mulieres? Quomodo iste quidem famulus et tamquam in domo fidelis, hic autem etiam naturaliter dominus tamquam filius et in domo sua, hoc est nos?” Arbitror autem ego rem omni esse claram, si tamen boni sensus est et mentem habet Christi secundum beatum Paulum. Ille siquidem erat homo et sub iuga seruitutis, hic autem naturaliter liber tamquam deus et creator omnium, et exinanitionem perpessus uoluntariam propter nos. Sed non hoc eum deodecibili gloria segregabit neque ex sublimissima et super omnia celsitudine remouebit aliquando. Sicut enim nos eodem spiritu ditati, nam inhabitauit in cordibus nostris, constituti quidem sumus inter filios dei, esse tamen hoc quod sumus, non destitimus, sumus enim homines naturaliter, et certe dicentes deo “abba pater,” sic et ipse qui ex dei et patris substantia ineffabiliter apparuit deus uerbum assumens quod est hominis, honorauit quidem naturam, non tamen foris propriam excellentiam factus est, mansit autem et in humanitate deus.
οὐκοῦν οὐκ ἐν ὀργάνου τάξει παρειλῆφθαι φαμὲν τὸν ἐκ τῆς παρθένου ναόν, ἑπόμενοι δὲ μᾶλλον τῇ πίστει τῶν ἱερῶν γραμμάτων καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἁγίων φωναῖς σάρκα γεγενῆσθαι τὸν λόγον διακεισόμεθα κατά γε τοὺς ἤδη πλειστάκις ἡμῖν προαποδοθέντας τρόπους. οὕτως καὶ τέθεικεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ἰδίαν ψυχήν. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἦν ὁ θάνατος αὐτοῦ τῷ κόσμῳ σωτήριος, “Ὑπέμεινε σταυρόν, αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας,” καίτοι ζωὴ κατὰ φύσιν ὑπάρχων ὡς θεός. πῶς οὖν ἡ ζωὴ τεθνάναι λέγεται; τῇ ἰδίαι σαρκὶ παθοῦσα τὸν θάνατον, ἵνα φαίνηται ζωή, ζωοποιοῦσα πάλιν αὐτήν. This is why we do not say that the temple born of the virgin was used as an instrument. Rather, following the faith of the Holy Scriptures and the words of the saints, we are certain that the Word became flesh in the ways very often previously explained by us. He also laid down his life for us. For since his death brought about deliverance for the world, he “endured the cross, scorning its shame” [Heb. 12:2], even though as God he is life by nature. How can life die? By suffering death in his own flesh to reveal himself as life when he made his flesh live again. Ergo non instrumenti officio assumptum esse dicimus illum ex uirgine templum, sed sequentes magis fidem sacrarum litterarum sanctorumque uoces carnem factum uerbum asseueramus secundum eos qui iam saepius a nobis approbati sunt, modos. Sic etiam posuit pro nobis suam animam. Quia enim erat mors eius mundo salutaris, “Sustinuit crucem, confusionem contemnens,” cum uita naturaliter existeret tamquam deus. Quomodo ergo uita mortua fuisse dicitur? 24. Propria carne patiens mortem, ut appareret uita uiuificans rursus eam.
24. Φέρε γάρ, εἰ καὶ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ὁ τοῦ θανάτου πολυπραγμονοῖτο τρόπος, οὐχ ἅπας τις οὖν τῶν εὖ φρονούντων ἐρεῖ τοῖς ἀπὸ γῆς σώμασιν οὐ συγκαταφθείρεσθαι τὰς ψυχάς; ἀλλ᾽ οἶμαι τοῦτό ἐστιν οὐδενὶ τῶν ὄντων ἐνδοιαστόν· πλὴν ἀνθρώπου θάνατος τὸ συμβεβηκὸς ὀνομάζεται. οὕτω νοήσεις καὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ. ἦν μὲν γὰρ ὁ λόγος ὡς ἐν ἰδίῳ σώματι τῷ ἐκ γυναικός, ἐδίδου δὲ αὐτὸ τῷ θανάτῳ κατὰ καιρόν, πάσχων μὲν οὐδὲν εἰς ἰδίαν φύσιν αὐτός (ζωὴ γάρ ἐστι καὶ ζωοποιός), οἰκειούμενος δὲ τὰ σαρκός, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοῦ λέγηται τὸ παθεῖν καὶ εἷς ὁ πάντων ἀντάξιος τεθνεὼς ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀγοράσῃ τῷ ἰδίῳ αἵματι τὴν ὑπ᾽ οὐρανὸν καὶ κατακτήσηται τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ τοὺς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. καὶ τοῦτο ὡς ἀληθὲς ὁ μακάριος προφήτης Ἡσαίας διακηρύττει λέγων ἐν πνεύματι· “Διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλοὺς καὶ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῖ σκῦλα, ἀνθ᾽ ὧν παρεδόθη εἰς θάνατον ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνόμοις ἐλογίσθη καὶ αὐτὸς ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν ἀνήνεγκεν καὶ διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν παρεδόθη.” 36. Let us also discuss the manner of our own death. No one in his right mind will say that our souls perish together with our bodies which are made of earth, will he? I do not think anyone doubts this conclusion of mine. But what happens is still called the death of a human. You should also think in this way about Emmanuel himself. For he was the Word in his own body born of woman, and he gave it over to death at the proper time, although he himself suffered nothing in his own nature (for he is life and life-giver). He made the things of the flesh his own so that the suffering might be said to be his also. The same is true of his rising on behalf of all after he had died for all to buy what is under heaven with his own blood and win over for God the Father everyone in the world. The blessed prophet Isaiah proclaims that this is true, saying in the Spirit, “Therefore he will inherit many, and he will divide the spoils of the strong, because his life was delivered unto death, and he was counted among the wicked; he himself bore the sins of many, and he was handed over for their iniquities” [Is. 53:12]. Age enim, etiam in nobis ipsis mortis perscrutetur modus: nonne omnis quilibet bene sapientium dicet cum terrenis corporibus animas non perire? Sed, arbitror, hoc est nulli existentium dubium. Verumtamen hominis mors hoc quod accidit, nominatur. Sic intelleges et in ipso Emmanuhel. Erat siquidem uerbum tamquam in proprio corpore, quod ex muliere est, tradebatque illud morti secundum tempus, patiens quidem nihil in propria ipse natura (uita namque est et uiuificator), sed propria faciens quae carnis sunt, ut etiam ipsius passio diceretur et unus omnium compensatione dignus mortuus pro omnibus redimeret proprio sanguine quicquid sub caelo est, et offerret deo et patri eos qui in omni terra consistunt. Et hoc tamquam uerum beatus propheta Esaias praeconatur dicens in spiritu: “Propterea ipse hereditate possidebit multos et fortium diuidet spolia, pro eo quod tradita est ad mortem anima eius et inter iniquos reputatus est et ipse peccata multorum portauit et propter iniquitates eorum traditus est.”
25. Εἷς οὖν ὁ πάντων ἀξιώτερος τὴν ἰδίαν ὑπὲρ πάντων τέθεικε ψυχήν, καὶ συνεχώρει μὲν οἰκονομικῶς καταβιβάζεσθαι βραχὺ τῷ θανάτῳ τὴν σάρκα, κατήργηκε δὲ πάλιν αὐτὸν ὡς ζωὴ παθεῖν οὐκ ἀνεχομένη τὸ παρὰ φύσιν ἰδίαν, ἵνα καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἁπάντων ἀτονήσῃ σώμασιν ἡ φθορὰ καὶ τὸ τοῦ θανάτου παραλύοιτο κράτος. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ πάντες ἀποθνῄσκομεν, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ πάντες ζωοποιηθησόμεθα. εἰ γὰρ μὴ πέπονθεν ἀνθρωπίνως ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, οὐδὲ ἐνήργηκε θεικῶς τὰ εἰς σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν. λέγεται γὰρ πρότερον μὲν ἀποθανεῖν ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ἀναβιῶναι δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο διά τοι τὸ εἶναι κατὰ φύσιν θεός. εἰ τοίνυν οὐ πέπονθε τὸ τεθνάναι σαρκὶ κατὰ τὰς γραφάς, οὐδὲ ἐζωοποιήθη πνεύματι, τουτέστιν οὐκ ἀνεβίω. καὶ εἰ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές, ματαία ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν· ἔτι ἐσμὲν ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν. βεβαπτίσμεθα γὰρ εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὰς τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου φωνὰς καὶ τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἐσχήκαμεν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ. 37. Therefore he alone who was more worthy than all others laid down his life for all and allowed death to restrain his flesh briefly according to the divine plan. But as life he has in turn destroyed death, not deigning to suffer anything contrary to his nature, in order that decay in the bodies of all might grow weak and the power of death be undone. For just as we all die in Adam, so also in Christ we will all be made alive. For if he had not suffered as man for our sake, he would not have earned our salvation as God. So he died as man first, but he came back to life afterwards because he is God according to nature. But if he has not suffered death in his flesh according to the Scriptures, neither was he made alive in the Spirit, that is, he did not come to life again. If this is true, our faith is futile, and we are still in our sins. For we have been baptized into his death, according to blessed Paul, and we have forgiveness of sins through his blood. 25. Unus ergo omnium dignior suam pro omnibus posuit animam, et permittebat quidem dispensatiue deponi ad modicum carnem morte, destruxit uero rursus eam sicut uita, pati non ferens contra naturam propriam, ut et in omnium corporibus deficeret corruptio et mortis destrueretur imperium. Sicut enim in Adam omnes morimur, sic et in Christo omnes uiuificabimur. Si enim non pateretur humane pro nobis, neque operaretur diuine quae ad salutem sunt nostram; dicitur enim prius quidem mori ut homo, reuiuescere autem postea, eo quod sit naturaliter deus. Si igitur non est passus mori carne secundum scripturas, neque uiuificatur spiritu, hoc est non reuixit; et si hoc est uerum, uana fides nostra, adhuc sumus in peccatis nostris. Baptizati enim sumus in mortem eius secundum beati Pauli uoces, et remissionem peccatorum habuimus per sanguinem eius.
26. Ἀλλ᾽ εἴπερ ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστὸς οὔτε υἱὸς ἀληθῶς οὔτε μὴν φύσει θεός, ἄνθρωπος δὲ ψιλὸς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς καὶ θεότητος ὄργανον, σεσώσμεθα μὲν οὐκ ἐν θεῷ, πόθεν; ἑνὸς δὲ μᾶλλον τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς τεθνεῶτος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν καὶ δυνάμεσιν ἀλλοτρίαις ἐγηγερμένου. πῶς οὖν ἔτι κατηργήθη θάνατος διὰ Χριστοῦ; καίτοι λέγοντος ἀκούω σαφῶς περὶ τῆς ἰδίας ψυχῆς· “Οὐδεὶς αἴρει αὐτὴν ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ τίθημι αὐτὴν ἀπ᾽ ἐμαυτοῦ. ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι αὐτὴν καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν.” κατέβη γὰρ μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν εἰς θάνατον διὰ τῆς ἰδίας σαρκὸς ὁ θάνατον οὐκ εἰδώς, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀναβαίνωμεν σὺν αὐτῷ πρὸς ζωήν. ἀνεβίω γὰρ σκυλεύσας τὸν ᾅδην οὐχ ὡς ἄνθρωπος καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς θεὸς ἐν σαρκὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς. κατεπλούτει δὲ ἡ φύσις ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ δὴ καὶ πρώτῳ τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν καὶ συνετρίβη θάνατος τῷ τῆς ζωῆς σώματι πολεμίου δίκην ἐμβαλών· ὥσπερ γὰρ νενίκηκεν ἐν Ἀδάμ, οὕτω πέπτωκεν ἐν Χριστῷ. καὶ γοῦν ἀναβαίνοντι δι᾽ ἡμᾶς καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πρὸς τὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς πατέρα καὶ θεόν, ἵνα τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς βάσιμον ἀποφήνῃ τὸν οὐρανόν, τὰς ἐπινικίους ᾠδὰς ἀνετίθει λέγων ὁ θεσπέσιος μελῳδός· “Ἀνέβη ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἀλαλαγμῷ, κύριος ἐν φωνῇ σάλπιγγος. ψάλατε τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν, ψάλατε· ψάλατε τῷ βασιλεῖ ἡμῶν, ψάλατε. ψάλατε συνετῶς· ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη.” ἔφη δέ που καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος περὶ αὐτοῦ· “Ὁ καταβὰς αὐτός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα.” 38. But if indeed the Christ is neither truly the Son nor God by nature but mere man like us and an instrument of divinity, we have not been saved by God, but rather by one like us who died for us and was raised up by the powers of someone else. How, then, was death destroyed by Christ? I hear him saying clearly about his own life, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own authority. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” [John 10:18]. For he who did not know death descended to death through his own flesh along with us in order that we might also ascend to life with him. He came back to life after plundering hell, not as a man like us, but as God in flesh among us and for us. Our nature was first enriched with immortality in him, and death was crushed when it assaulted the body of life as an enemy. Just as death conquered in Adam, so it has fallen in Christ. And the divine psalmist dedicated songs of victory to him who ascends for our sake and on our behalf to God the Father in heaven to show that heaven is accessible to those on earth, for he says, “God has ascended with a shout; the Lord with the sound of the trumpet. Sing praises to our God, sing praises; sing praises to our king, sing praises. Sing to him wisely; God reigns over all the nations” [Ps. 47:5-8]. And the blessed Paul said about him somewhere, “He who descended is also he who ascended above the heavens to fulfill all things” [Eph. 4:10]. 26. Sed si est Christus neque filius uere neque naturaliter deus, sed homo purus secundum nos et diuinitatis organum, saluati quidem sumus non in deo quodam modo, sed in uno magis secundum nos, moriente pro nobis et uirtutibus alienis resuscitato. Quomodo ergo destructa est mors per Christum? Cum utique audiam dicentem palam de propria anima: “Nemo aufert eam a me, scd ego pono eam a memet ipso. Potestatem habeo ponere eam, et potestatem habeo rursus sumere eam.” Descendit namque nobiscum in mortem per propriam carnem qui mortem nescit, ut nos resurgeremus cum eo ad uitam. Reuixit enim depopulatus infernum, non tamquam homo secundum nos, sed sicut deus in carne nobiscum et ultra nos. Ditata est autem natura tamquam in eo et primo illa incorruptione, et mors uitae corpori hostis instar congressa contrita est; sicut enim uicit in Adam, ita cecidit in Christo. Ascendenti quoque propter nos et pro nobis ad patrem et deum qui in caelis est, ut eis qui in terra sunt, adibile demonstraret caelum, uictricia cantica consecrauit dicens sanctissimus decantator: “Ascendit deus in iubilatione, dominus in uoce tubae. Psallite deo nostro, psallite; psallite regi nostro, psallite, psallite sapienter; regnauit deus super omnes gentes.” Dixit uero alicubi etiam Paulus de eo: “Qui descendit, ipse est et qui ascendit super caelos, ut impleret omnia.”
27. Ὅτε τοίνυν καὶ θεός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς καὶ βασιλεὺς κατὰ φύσιν, εἴρηται δὲ καὶ τῆς δόξης κύριος ὁ ἐσταυρωμένος, πῶς ἂν ἐνδοιάσειέ τις θεοτόκον εἰπεῖν τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον; προσκύνησον ὡς ἕνα, μὴ διελὼν εἰς δύο μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν· τότε γελάσει μάτην ὁ παράφρων Ἰουδαῖος· τότε κυριοκτόνος ἔσται κατὰ ἀλήθειαν, ἁλώσεται δὲ πεπλημμεληκὼς οὐκ εἰς ἕνα τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν τῶν ὅλων σωτῆρα θεὸν καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀκούσεται· “Οὐαὶ ἔθνος ἁμαρτωλόν, λαὸς πλήρης ἁμαρτιῶν· σπέρμα πονηρόν, υἱοὶ ἄνομοι· ἐγκατελίπατε τὸν κύριον καὶ παρωργίσατε τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραήλ.” Ἑλλήνων δὲ παῖδες κατ᾽ οὐδένα τρόπον τῇ Χριστιανῶν διαμωμήσονται πίστει· λελατρεύκαμεν γὰρ οὐκ ἀνθρώπῳ ψιλῷ, μὴ γένοιτο, θεῷ δὲ μᾶλλον τῷ κατὰ φύσιν, οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντες αὐτοῦ τὴν δόξαν, κἂν εἰ γέγονε καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς μεμενηκὼς ὅπερ ἦν, τουτέστι θεός. 39. So now that the one crucified is truly God and king according to nature and is called the Lord of glory, how could anyone hesitate to call the holy virgin the mother of God? Worship him as one and do not divide him into two after the union. Then the senseless Jew will laugh in vain, will truly be the Lord’s killer, and he will be condemned as one who has sinned not against one like us, but against God himself, the Savior of all. And he will hear, “Woe, sinful nation, people full of sins! Wicked race! Lawless children! You have forsaken the Lord and provoked the Holy One of Israel to wrath” [Is. 1:4]. But the children of the gentiles will in no way ridicule the faith of Christians. For we adore not a mere man (God forbid) but rather him who is God according to nature, since we are not ignorant of his glory. Even though he has become like us, he remains what he was, namely, God. 27. Quando igitur et deus est uere et rex naturaliter, dictus est autem et dominus gloriae crucifixus, quomodo dubitabit quispiam dei genetricem dicere sanctam uirginem? Adora tamquam unum, non diuidens in duos post unitatem. Tunc ridebit frustra insipiens Iudaeus, tunc dominicida erit secundum ueritatem, capietur autem delinquens non in unum secundum nos, sed in ipsum omnium saluatorem deum, et audiet: “Vae gens peccatrix, populus plenus delictis; semen malignum, filii iniqui; reliquistis dominum et ad iracundiam prouocastis sanctum Israhel.” Paganorum uero filii nullo modo Christianorum abominabuntur fidem. Colimus autem non hominem purum, absit, sed deum potius naturaliter, non ignorantes eius gloriam, licet factus sit secundum nos permanens hoc quod erat, id est deus.
δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τε καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ ἡ δόξα σὺν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. 40. Through him and with him be glory to God the Father, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. Per ipsum et cum ipso deo et patri gloria cum sancto spiritu in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

  1. Athanasius, Orationes contra Arianos 3:29.1 (AW 1.3 = PG 26.385–388).
  2. Contra Arianos 3:33.2 (AW 1.3 = PG 26.385–388).
  3. Except for one explanatory phrase (τουτέστιν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ), the text Cyril cites is that of the Nicene Creed (AD 325), but without the final anathemas.

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