But are you ashamed to come and kiss the offender? No, it is praise, it is a crown, it is glory, it is a benefit and a treasure full of innumerable blessings; and the enemy himself will approve of you, and all those present will praise you; and even if men condemn you, God will surely crown you. But if you wait for the enemy to come in advance and ask forgiveness, you will not receive such benefit: he will anticipate the reward and gain for himself all the blessing; and when you yourself come, you will not remain inferior to him, but you will conquer anger, overcome passion, show great wisdom by obeying God, and make the next life more pleasant, getting rid of troubles and anxiety. And not only before God, but also before people, it is reprehensible and dangerous to have many enemies. What do I say: many? It is as dangerous to have one and only enemy as it is safe and salutary to have all friends. It is not so much the multiplication of property, not so much weapons and walls, trenches and other innumerable means that can protect us, but sincere friendship. It is a wall, it is a fortress, it is wealth, it is a consolation, it will help us to spend our present life in peace of mind, and it will bring us a future life. Therefore, thinking about all this and imagining the great benefit of it, let us do everything and take all measures to reconcile ourselves with our real enemies, and not to make new enemies, and to make real friends more reliable. The beginning and the end of all virtue is love; enjoying it sincerely and constantly, may we be vouchsafed to receive the kingdom of heaven, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

AGAINST ANOMEE

THE ELEVENTH WORD.

The full title of this word is as follows: "what was said in Constantinople against the Anomoeans, about the incomprehensible, and about the fact that the New Testament agrees with the Old, and about those who are not present in the sacred assemblies."

ONE DAY I talked with you, and from that day I loved you as if I had lived among you from a long time ago and from an early age; Thus I have been united to you in a bond of love, as if for an innumerable time I had enjoyed the most pleasant association with you. This is not because I am particularly inclined to friendship and love, but because you are the most desirable and amiable of all. Who will not be amazed and amazed at your ardent zeal, unfeigned love, respect for teachers, harmony with each other, which are quite enough to attract to you even a soul of stone? Wherefore I also love you no less than the church (of Antioch) in which I was born, raised, and studied; This church is the sister of that one, and you have proved your kinship with her by your deeds. If she is older in time, then this one is more ardent in faith; there is a more numerous assembly and a more solemn spectacle, and here there is more patience and more proofs of courage. Wolves surround the sheep on all sides, but the flock is not destroyed; storm, bad weather, and waves constantly pursue this sacred ship, and swimmers do not drown; the fury of the heretical flame envelops on all sides, and those who are in the midst of the burning furnace enjoy the spiritual dew. To see a church planted in this part of the city is as amazing as to see an olive tree blooming in the midst of a burning furnace, clothed with leaves and burdened with fruit. But if you are so grateful and worthy of innumerable blessings, I will now gladly fulfill the promise I made to you before, when I discoursed before you about the weapons of David and Goliath, and said how the one was protected on all sides by a great multitude of weapons of all kinds, and the other, having no weapons at all, was protected by faith; one shone from the outside with armor and shield, and the other from the inside (shone) with spirit and grace. Therefore, the lad defeated the youth, the unarmed overcame the armed, the shepherd overthrew the soldier, the shepherd's ordinary stone shattered and shattered the enemy's brass armor (1 Samuel, ch. 17). In the same way, I will take in my hands the stone, that is, the cornerstone, the spiritual one. If Paul could have reasoned about the stone that was in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:4), then, of course, no one will reproach me when I use this stone in the same way. As with the Jews, it was not the nature of the visible stone, but the power of the spiritual stone that produced streams of water; so David struck the head of a foreigner not with a material, but with a spiritual stone; Wherefore I also promised you at that time not to say anything for intellectual reasons; "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty by God, we overthrow the schemes 5 and every arrogance that rises up against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Thus, we are commanded to bring down thoughts, and not to exalt them, we are commanded to destroy them, and not to arm ourselves with them. "The thoughts of mortals are unsteady," says the Most Wise One (Wisdom 9:14). What does it mean, "unsteady"? He who is fearful, even if he walks in a safe place, is not bold, but fears and trembles; In the same way, even that which is proved by intellectual considerations, although it be true, does not give the soul complete conviction and sufficient certainty. If such is the weakness of intellectual considerations, then I will now begin to fight against heretics on the basis of the Scriptures. Where should I begin to speak? From wherever you want, from the New or Old Testament; for not only in the Gospel and Apostolic, but also in the prophetic sayings and throughout the Old Testament one can see the glory of the Only-begotten shining with great brilliance. Therefore it seems to me that from there it is possible to throw arrows at these heretics (Anomoeans). By borrowing ideas from there, we shall be able to overcome not only these one, but also many other heretics, Marcion, Manichaeus, Valentinus, and all the Jewish sects. As in the time of David one Goliath fell, and the whole army took to flight, death overtook one body and one head was smitten, but flight and fear were common to the whole army; so it is with us now, when one heresy is defeated and overthrown, there will be a general flight of all these heretics. The Manichaeans, and those who suffer from the same disease as them, seem to recognize the Christ who is preached, but do not revere the prophets and patriarchs who preach about Him; the Jews, on the contrary, seem to accept and respect those who preach about Christ, that is, the prophets and their lawgiver, but do not revere Him whom they preach. If, therefore, by the grace of God, I prove that the glory of the Only-begotten is much foretold in the Old Testament, I shall be able to put to shame all such ungodly lips, and to bridle blasphemous tongues; for if the Old Testament is found to preach about Christ, what excuse will there be for the Manichaeans and their followers, who do not revere the Scriptures, which foretell the common Lord of all? What excuse and forgiveness will there be for the Jews who do not recognize Him of whom the prophets proclaim?

2. If, then, we are to have such a great victory, let us turn to the ancient books and to the oldest of all the ancients, that is, the book of Genesis, and in the King of Genesis itself let us turn to its beginning. That Moses said much about Christ, listen to how Christ Himself says: "For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me also, because he wrote about Me" (John 5:46). Where did Moses write about Him? This is what I will try to show now.

e. man. God, intending to create him, said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). Who is He talking to? Obviously, with His Only-begotten Son. He did not say, "Create," so that you would not take these words for a command to a servant, but, "Let us do," so that under the guise of verbal counsel you might reveal the equality of honor (with Him and the Son). Thus, it is sometimes said that God has a counselor, and sometimes it is said that He does not; and yet Scripture does not contradict itself, but through both reveals to us mysterious dogmas. When it wants to imagine that God needs nothing, it says that He has no counselor; and when he wishes to show the equality of honor between Him and the Only-begotten, then he calls the Son of God His counselor. And in order that you may be convinced of both, both that the prophets call the Son God's counselor, not because the Father has need of counsel, but in order that we may know the honor of the Only-begotten, and that God has no need of counselor, listen to the words of Paul: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies, and how unsearchable are His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who was His counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34)? He depicts that God has no need of anything; and Isaiah, on the other hand, testifying of the Only-begotten Son of God, says thus: "They shall be given to be burned, as food for the fire. For unto us a child is born, a Son is given unto us; and they shall call his name Wonderful, Counselor" (Isaiah 9:5-6). If the Son is a "wonderful counselor," then why does Paul say, "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who was His counsellor?" Because Paul, as I said above, wants to show that the Father has need of nothing, and the prophet shows that He has equality of honor with the Only-begotten. Wherefore here also God did not say, "Create," but, "Let us create," because the word "create" signifies a command given to a servant, as may be seen from the following. One day a centurion came up to Jesus and said: "Lord! my servant lies at home in paralysis, and suffers terribly." What about Christ? "I will come," He said, "and I will heal him" (Matt. 8:6-7). The centurion did not dare to lead the Physician to his house; but the Providence and Lover of mankind himself promised to go to him in order to provide an opportunity and an occasion to show us his virtue; for Christ, knowing what the centurion intended to say, promised to come, that thou mayest know the piety of this man. What does the centurion say? "Lord! I am not worthy that you should come under my roof" (Matt. 8:8). Even the severity of illness and calamity did not suppress his reverence, but even in misfortune he recognized the greatness of the Lord; Wherefore he says, "But speak only the word, and my servant shall recover; For I am also a subject man, but having soldiers under me, I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and come; and to my servant, Do this, and he does" (Matt. 8:8-9). Do you see that the word "create" is characteristic of a master who speaks to a servant? And the word "we will create" is characteristic of a person who has equal honor. Thus, when the master addresses the servant, he says, "Create," and when the Father converses with the Son, he says, "Let us do." What, it will be said, if the centurion thought so, but in fact it was not so? Was the centurion an apostle? Was he a disciple (of Christ) that I should receive his words? He could have been mistaken, they will say (heretics). Ok; But what do we see next? Did Christ correct his words? Did He denounce him as erring and expressing wrong teaching? Did he say to him, 'What are you doing, O man?' Thou hast a higher opinion of Me than thou should; you ascribe to Me more than what is proper; you think that I can rule autocratically, whereas I have no such authority. Did Christ say anything like that to him? No; He even confirmed the centurion's opinion and said to those who followed Him: "Verily I say to you, even in Israel I have not found such faith" (Matt. 8:10). Thus, the approval from the Lord serves as a confirmation of the centurion's words; and therefore these are no longer the words of the centurion, but the proclamation of the Lord; if He Himself praised the words spoken and spoke of them as words spoken well, then I take them for a divine saying; for they have received confirmation from above in the answer of Christ.

3. Do you see how the New Testament agrees with the Old, how both prove the independent authority of Christ? But what of it (it will be said) if He, although He created man, He created Him as a servant? This is an inappropriate verbal debate. When God said, "Let us make man," He did not add, "In thy lesser image," or, "In my greater image," but what? "In our image and likeness," He says, expressing by these words that the Father and the Son have one image. He did not say, "after the types," but, "after our image"; for the Father and the Son have not two unequal, but one and the same image of the Father. Wherefore it is said of the Son that He sits at the right hand of the Father, that you may know that He has the same honor and the same authority as the Father, since the servant does not sit, but stands. And that sitting signifies equal honesty and equality of the power of the Lord, while standing is characteristic of slavery and submission, listen to what Daniel says: "I saw at last that thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat down: thousands of thousands served Him, and thousands of thousands stood before Him" (Dan. 7:9-10). Also Isaiah: "I saw the Lord seated on a throne high and exalted, around Him stood the Seraphim" (Isaiah 6:1-2). And Micah: "I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven stood with Him, on His right hand and on His left" (1 Kings 22:19). Do you see that the higher powers are always present, and He is sitting? Therefore, when you see that the Son also has a seat at the right hand of the Father, do not ascribe to Him a servile and servant dignity, but a sovereign and independent dignity. Wherefore Paul, knowing that it is proper for servants to stand, and for rulers and rulers to sit, see how he distinguishes between the two in the following words: "Of the angels it is said, Thou makest spirits by thy angels, and flaming fire by thy servants. And of the Son, Thy throne, O God, for ever and ever" (Hebrews 1:7-8), representing to us royal power under the image of the "throne." If, therefore, I have proved by all that has been said that the Son has not a servant dignity, but a sovereign dignity, then let us worship Him as a Master and equal to the Father; and He Himself commanded this, saying: "That all may honour the Son as they honour the Father" (John 5:23). With the right confession of dogmas let us also unite the righteousness of life and works, so that we may not accomplish our salvation by half. And nothing can contribute to the righteousness of behavior and purity of life so much as frequent presence here and diligent listening. What is food for the body, so for the soul is the study of the divine prophecies; for "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Therefore, those who do not participate in this meal usually experience hunger. Listen to how God threatens this famine and puts it along with punishment and torment: "I will send upon them," He says, "not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a thirst to hear the words of the Lord" (Amos 8:11). Is it not insane to do everything and take all measures to avoid bodily hunger, and to voluntarily bring spiritual hunger upon oneself, while it is the more severe the greater the harm it causes? No, I beg and urge you, let us not treat ourselves so badly, but let us prefer our stay here to all occupations and cares. Tell me, how much will you gain by leaving the congregation as you will lose for yourself and for the whole house? Even if you could find a whole treasure of gold and leave this collection for its sake, then you will lose more, and as much as spiritual goods are higher than material ones. The latter, even though they are numerous and flock from all sides, will not accompany us into the future life, will not transmigrate with us to heaven and will not stand before the dreadful throne, but often leave us and disappear even before our death; but if they remain to the end, they will certainly be taken away at death. And spiritual treasure is an inalienable acquisition; it follows us everywhere, both on our way and at our departure, and gives us great boldness before the throne of God.

4. If there is so much benefit from other gatherings, then from these gatherings it is twice as much. Here we receive not only the benefit of watering the soul with divine pronouncements, but also that of bringing great shame to our enemies, and giving great consolation to our brethren. In battle, it is useful to hasten to the aid of that part of the army which is exhausted and in danger. Therefore, everyone should gather here and repel the attacking enemies. But you can't make a long speech and don't have the ability to teach? Just come here, and with it you will fulfill everything. Your bodily presence increases the flock and greatly encourages the diligence of your brethren, and brings shame to your enemies. When someone, having approached this sacred vestibule, sees a small number of those gathered, then the zeal that was in heaven cools down, and he weakens, evades, becomes indifferent and leaves; so little by little all our people become careless and negligent. And if he sees those gathering, zealous, flocking from all sides, then the zeal of others awakens zeal even in the most indifferent and inactive. Stone striking stone often produces sparks: although what can be colder than stone and warmer than fire, and yet continuous blows overcome its nature; and if this happens with a stone, then it can be even more so with souls that are in communion with each other and are warmed by spiritual fire. Have you not heard that our ancestors had only a hundred and twenty believers, and even before the hundred and twenty there were only twelve, and these are not all left, but one of them, Judas, died, and there were only eleven? But out of these eleven there were one hundred and twenty, and out of a hundred and twenty, three thousand, then five thousand, and then they filled the whole universe with the knowledge of God. And the reason for this is that they never ceased to communicate with each other, but all together they constantly spent their days in church, engaged in prayers and reading; For this reason they kindled such a great fire that they never separated, but attracted the whole universe to themselves. Wouldn't it be strange not to show even such care for the church as women show towards their neighbors? When they see a poor and helpless maiden, they all render their services to her, taking the place of relatives, and there is a great deal of noise among those who have gathered for the marriage of such a girl. Some sometimes bring her money, others (do honor) by their presence, and the latter is not unimportant; because their diligence serves as a cover for its poverty; and thus they cover up her poverty with their helpfulness. Do the same in relation to this church. Let us all flock from everywhere and cover up its poverty, or rather, let us put an end to its poverty by our constant presence here. "The husband is the head of the woman" (Ephesians 5:23); and the wife is her husband's helper. Let neither the head dare to cross these sacred thresholds without a body, nor let the body appear without a head, but let the whole man come here, bringing with him his children. If it is pleasant to see a tree having a young plant growing from its root, it is much more pleasant - and even more pleasant than any olive tree - to see a person near whom a child stands, as if a young plant from its root. This is not only pleasant, but also useful, for those who gather here will be, as I said before, a great reward. And we are especially surprised at the farmer, not when he labors over land that has been cultivated many times, but when, having taken fields that are unsown and unplowed, he labors over them with great care. Paul did the same, preferring to preach the gospel not where "the name of Christ was already known" (Rom. 15:20). Let us also imitate Him, both for the increase of the church and for our benefit; We'll flock here to every meeting.

Amen.

AGAINST ANOMEE

THE TWELFTH WORD.

The full title of this word is as follows: "On the paralytic, who was in his paralytic thirty-eight years, and on the words, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17).

BLESSED BE GOD: at every meeting I see that the field is enlarged, the harvest thickens, the threshing floor is filled, the sheaves are multiplied. Not many days have passed since I threw the seed, and now we have grown a rich ear of obedience. From this it can be seen that it is not human power, but Divine grace that cultivates this church. Such is the quality of spiritual sowing: it does not wait for time, it does not require many days, it does not depend on the change of months, seasons, weather, or years, but on the same day when the (spiritual) seeds are sown, it is possible to harvest a whole handful. Those who cultivate sensual land need to work hard and wait a long time; they must harness the oxen to the yoke, make a deep furrow, throw seeds abundantly, level the surface of the earth, cover with earth all that is sown, wait for moderate rains, do many other labors, and wait a long time, and then reach the end. And here it is possible to sow and reap both in summer and in winter, and often both are done on the same day, especially when a fat and fertile soul is cultivated, as can be seen in you. That is why I am so willing to come to you, just as a farmer is more willing to cultivate the field with the fruit of which he has often filled the threshing floor. Since you, too, give me a great gain for my little labor, I am beginning my agriculture with great zeal, and I am addressing you with the remnants of what has been said before. At that time I was speaking of the glory of the Only-begotten Son of God on the basis of the Old Testament; I will do the same and on the same basis now; then I said that Christ said: "For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me also" (John 5:46); and now I say that Moses said: "The Lord thy God shall raise up for thee a prophet from among thee, from among thy brethren, like me, and hear him" (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22). As Christ refers to Moses, in order to draw him to Himself through him; thus Moses hands the disciples over to the Master, commanding them to obey Him in all things. Let us pay attention to everything else that Christ says and does, as well as to what is read to us today about His sign. What kind of sign is this? "There was," it is said, "the feast of the Jews, and Jesus came to Jerusalem: and there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep's [gate] a pool, called in Hebrew Bethesda, at which there were five covered passages" (John 5:1-2). Into it, as the Gospel relates, at a certain time an angel descended, which was recognized by the movement of the water; and the first who entered the font after the water was disturbed, recovered, no matter what disease he suffered. In these porches lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered, waiting for the water to move (John 5:3). Why did Christ often visit Jerusalem and treat the Jews on feast days? Because then a multitude of people gathered, and He chose this place and this time to help the weak; for it was not so much that the sick wished to be delivered from illnesses, as this Physician exerted diligence to heal them of their infirmity. When the assembly was full and the spectacle was completely ready, then He went out openly before everyone and took care of the salvation of their souls. So there lay a multitude of sick people waiting for the water to move, and the first, who came in because the water was disturbed, was healed, but the second was no more; the healing power ceased, the healing power of grace was exhausted, and the water was already left without action, as if the illness of the first descendant completely weakened it; and very rightly, since that grace was slavish.