Where did he get such courage? Whence more than from the assurance of the resurrection? Since he had seen Him, conversed with Him, heard His predictions about the future, he exposed himself to danger for Him as for the living, and with such boldness he decided on all disasters, and received such great strength and such great boldness that he died for Him and was crucified on the cross upside down.

If He had not risen and come to life, then the disciples would not have performed greater signs after that than were performed before the cross. Then the disciples also forsook Him; and now the whole world flows to Him, and not only Peter, but also thousands of others, and even more after Peter, those who did not see Him, gave up their souls for Him, gave up their heads to be cut off, and endured an innumerable multitude of calamities, in order to die, keeping their faith in Him intact and inviolable. How is it that he who is dead and abides in the tomb – as you say, Jew –

"Seeing," says the Scriptures, "the Jews "the boldness of Peter and John, and noticing that they were unlettered and simple men, they were amazed" (Acts 4:13), and feared, not because they were unlearned, but because, being unlearned, they overcame all the wise men; "And when they saw the healed man standing with them, they could say nothing contrary to them" (Acts 4:14), whereas before they contradicted when they saw the signs being performed. Why then did they not contradict? Their tongue was restrained by the invisible power of the crucified one; He stopped their mouths; He restrained their audacity; therefore they stood, unable to say anything in spite of it. And when they spoke, see how they showed their fear: "You will," they say, "bring the blood of that man upon us" (Acts 5:28). But if He is a simple man, why do you fear His blood? How many prophets hast thou slain, O Jew, how many righteous men hast thou slain, and hast not feared the blood of any of them: wherefore art thou afraid here? Verily, their conscience has been shaken by the crucified one, and they, unable to conceal their confusion, unwittingly confess their own impotence before their opponents. When they crucified Him on the cross, they cried out: "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matt. 27:25): so they despised His blood! And after the cross, when they see His power shine forth, they are afraid, they are troubled, and say, "You want to bring the blood of that man upon us." If He was a deceiver and an adversary of God, as you lawless Jews say, why do you fear His blood? On the contrary, one should even boast of this murder, if He were really so. But since He was not like that, they tremble.

9. Do you see how everywhere the enemies themselves are confused and afraid? Do you see their confusion? Know also the love of humanity of the crucified. They said: "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matt. 27:25), but Christ did not do so, but, beseeching the Father, said: "Father, forgive them! forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). If His blood had been on them and on their children, then the apostles would not have been from among their children, and three thousand and five thousand would not have suddenly believed. Do you see how cruel and inhuman they were to their children and denied nature itself, and God was more loving than all fathers and more loving than mothers? His blood was on them and on their children, but not on all the children, but only on those who imitated the wickedness and lawlessness of their fathers, and only those who were their sons, not by succession of nature, but by voluntary folly, were subjected to calamities.

Notice also the goodness and love of God for mankind on the other side. He did not immediately bring punishment and calamity upon them, but forty years or more after the cross. The Saviour Himself was crucified under Tiberius, and their city was taken under Vespasian and Titus. Why did He delay so long? He wanted to give them time to repent, so that they would forsake their sins and atone for their crimes. But since they, having received time for repentance, remained incurable, He finally brought punishment and calamity upon them, and, having destroyed the city, expelled and scattered them throughout the whole world, however, showing in this also His love for mankind. He scattered them so that they might see how Christ crucified by them was worshipped throughout the whole world, so that, seeing the worship given to Him from all, and knowing His power, they would realize the excessiveness of their own impiety, and, having realized it, would turn to the truth. Thus the very exile was for them an edification and a punishment of admonition, because if they had remained in the land of Judah, they would not have been convinced of the truth of the prophets. And what did the prophets say? "Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession" (Psalm 2:8).

Therefore, the Jews had to reach the ends of the earth in order to see with their own eyes that Christ also possesses the ends of the earth. Also another prophet says: "And all the islands of the nations shall worship Him, every man from his own place" (Zeph. 2:11). Therefore they had to be scattered to all the places of the earth, that they might see with their own eyes that each one worshipped Him from his own place. And another said: "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14). Therefore, it behooved them to disperse throughout the whole earth, in order to see it filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and the sea, i.e. these spiritual churches, filled with piety. For this purpose, God scattered them throughout the earth, because if they had remained in Judea, they would not have known it. He wants them to be convinced with their own eyes both of the truth of the prophets and of His power, so that they, if they come to their senses, may be led to the truth through this, and if they remain in wickedness, they will have no justification in the dreadful day of judgment. For this reason He scattered them throughout the whole world, so that we also might receive some benefit from it, i.e. seeing the fulfillment of those prophecies about their dispersion and the taking of Jerusalem, which were foretold by Daniel, when he mentioned "the abomination of desolation" (Dan. 9:27), and Malachi, when he said, "It would be better for one of you to shut the doors" (Mal. 1:10), and David, and Isaiah and many other prophets, so that we, seeing those who provoked the anger of the Lord so punished, deprived of the freedom of our country and of all our own laws and patristic traditions, would know His power, which foretold and fulfilled these things, – so that our enemies might see His power from our blessings, and we might know His ineffable love for mankind and power from their punishments, and glorify Him all our lives, that we may receive both eternal and ineffable blessings, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom the Father, together with the Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, has honor and dominion, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CHANGING NAMES

DISCOURSE I

after reading the passage: "Saul was still breathing threats and murder" (Acts 9:1), when everyone was expecting that a discourse would be said at the beginning of Acts 9 – that Paul's calling was a proof of the resurrection

This and the following three discourses have as their common content the question of changing names

1. Can it be demolished? Is it possible to endure? Our meeting is getting smaller every day. The city is full of people, and the church is empty; the square, the theaters and the portico are full, and the house of God is empty. Or better, if the truth is told, the city is empty, and the church is full of people. People should not be called those who are in the square, but you who are in the church; not those who are careless, but you who are zealous; not those who are addicted to worldly things, but you who prefer spiritual things to worldly things. Not the person who has a human body and voice, but the one who has a human soul and a spiritual mood. And nothing testifies to the human soul so much as love for the word of God; nor does anything so show and denounce a beastlike and foolish soul as disdain for the word of God. Do you want to know that those who neglect to hear the word of God, by this negligence, have lost humanity (τό είναι άνθρωποι), and have lost their very natural dignity? I will not tell you my word, but a prophetic utterance, confirming my thought, so that you may see that those who do not love spiritual words cannot be people, so that you may see that our city is depopulated. The loudest Isaiah, that beholder of wondrous visions, who had been vouchsafed to see the seraphim in the flesh and to hear that mysterious song – he, having entered the populous capital of Judah, that is, Jerusalem, standing in the middle of the square, while all the people surrounded him, wishing to show that he who did not listen to the prophetic words was not a man, cried out thus: "When I came, there was no one, and when I called, Did anyone answer?" (Isaiah 50:2). And to prove that he said this, not because of a complete lack of those present, but because of the carelessness of the hearers, after the words; "When I came, there was no one," added, "no one answered," So there were those present, only they were not counted as present, because they did not listen to the prophet. Therefore, when He came, "when I came, there was no one," He called, and "no one answered," He turned His speech to the elements, and said, "Hear, O heavens, and hearken, O earth" (Isaiah 1:2). I, he says, have been sent to men, to men who have understanding; but since they have neither reason nor feeling, I address my words to the elements that have no feeling, in rebuke of those who are endowed with feeling, but do not use this advantage. This is what another prophet, Jeremiah, says. And he, standing in the midst of the multitude of the Jews, in the same city, as if there were no one, cried out thus: "To whom shall I speak, and whom shall I exhort" (Jeremiah 6:10)? What do you say? When you see so many people, you ask, who should you talk to? Yes, he says, there are many bodies, but not people; many bodies that have no hearing. Wherefore he added, "Their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hear." Do you see that all these are non-humans, because they don't hear? This one says, "When I came, there was no one, and when I called, did no one answer?" and this one says, "To whom shall I speak, and whom shall I exhort, for their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot listen." But if the prophets say that they are not human because they have not listened diligently to the words (of the prophets), what shall we say of those who not only do not hear, but do not want to enter this sanctuary, of those who wander outside this sacred flock, who are far from this mother's house, in the crossroads and alleys, like disorderly and lazy children? And these, having left their father's house, wander somewhere outside, and spend whole days in children's games. From this such children often lose both their freedom and their lives, fall into the hands of kidnappers and thieves, and often, as a punishment for their liberty, they are put to death, because they, having taken them and stripped them of their gold ornaments, either drown them in the waves of the river, or, if they wish to deal with them a little more humanely, take them to a foreign land and deprive them of their freedom. The same happens with those who do not come to church. And they, as soon as they turn away from their father's home and stay here, fall into the mouths of heretics and into the tongues of the enemies of the truth, and these, seizing them as thieves, and taking away from them the golden adornment of the faith, immediately kill them, not throwing them into the river, but immersing them in the murky dogmas of wickedness.

2. It would be your job to take care of the salvation of these brethren and bring them to us, no matter how much they resist, no matter how stubborn, no matter how much they dissuade themselves, no matter how much they are grieved. This stubbornness and negligence are characteristic of the child's soul. But you correct their soul, which is still so imperfect. Your job is to make them be human. Just as we cannot call him a man who abhors human food and eats thorns and grass with cattle, so we cannot call him a man who does not love the true and proper soul of human food, i.e. the word of God, but sits in worldly gatherings and gatherings, where there is always an abyss of depravity, and feeds on impious speech. Man, in our opinion, is not one who only eats bread, but who, preferentially before this food, partakes of divine and spiritual words. And (to make sure) that this is a man, listen to Christ, who says: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Therefore the food (necessary for) our life is twofold: one is worse, the other is better; and it is necessary most of all to accept the latter, in order both to nourish the soul and not to allow it to be tormented by hunger. You should make our city full of people. Since this great and populous city has been depopulated, you should have done this good to your fatherland, by drawing your brethren (here), telling them what you have heard here. In fact, we also certify that we have eaten the table, not when we only praise the table, but when we can also give some of the viands that were at it to those who have not eaten it. Do this now, and then one of two things will certainly happen: either you will persuade them to return to us, or, if they remain obstinate, they will be nourished by your tongue, or rather, they will return (here) without fail. They will not want to feed on alms, while they can rightfully partake of this fatherly meal. I firmly hope and believe that you are doing this, or have already done it, or will do it, because I myself have constantly suggested it, and you are enriched with knowledge and can admonish others also. Now is the time to offer you our meal, of course, insignificant, meagre and very poor, with a beautiful seasoning, with your zeal for listening. It is not only the high cost of food that makes the meal most pleasant, but also the hunger of those who are invited: in this way, a splendid meal is scanty when guests come without hunger, and a poor woman seems rich when hungry people sit down to it. For this reason, another someone, knowing that the dearness of a meal is judged not by the quality of the food, but by the disposition of the guests, says this: "A well-fed soul tramples on even a honeycomb, but to a hungry soul all bitter things are sweet" (Proverbs 27:7), not because the very quality of the food offered changes, but because the disposition of the guests takes away their taste. But if the bitter things of those who are called from hunger seem sweet, how much more does the meagre seem rich. Wherefore we, too, though exceedingly poor, imitate the rich founders of feasts, inviting you to our table in every assembly. And we do this, not relying on our own wealth, but being sure of the abundance of your attention.

3. We have paid you all the debt regarding the inscription, i.e., the inscription of the Acts of the Apostles. It would be better now to take up the beginning of this book and say what it means: "The first book I wrote to you, Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning" (Acts 1:1). But Paul does not allow me to observe this order, who calls our tongue to himself and to his exploits. I want to see him led to Damascus, bound not with an iron chain, but with the voice of the Lord; one would like to see how this great fish was caught, which brought the whole sea to boil, raised thousands of waves on the Church; I want to see it caught, not by milking, but by the word of the Lord. Like a fisherman, sitting on a high rock, and lifting up his rod, he lowers the rod from above into the sea; so our Lord, Who opened the spiritual trap, as if sitting on a high stone of heaven, lowered this voice from above, like a rod, and said: "Saul, Saul! why persecute me?" (Acts 4:4), and thus caught this great fish. And what happened to that fish, which, by the command of the Lord, Peter caught, also happened to this one. And this fish had a stater in its mouth – only an unclean stater, because (Paul) had jealousy, "but not according to reasoning" (Romans 10:2). Therefore, God, having given him (true) knowledge, made this coin real; and what happens to caught fish, so it was with Paul. As soon as they are taken out of the sea, they become blind; so this one, as soon as he took the rod and was extracted, immediately went blind. But this blindness made the whole universe see clearly. I want to see all this. For if war with foreigners befell us, and the enemies, taking up arms, greatly disturbed us; then the leader of the foreigners, who plotted a thousand plots, who threw all our affairs into disorder, who stirred up confusion and agitation everywhere, who threatened to destroy and burn the city itself, and to lead us into captivity, if he were suddenly bound by our king and brought captive into the city, we would all, with our wives and children, run out to such a spectacle. And now, as war began, when the Jews were stirring up and disordering everything, and plotting many plots against the safety of the Church, and the head of the enemy was Paul, who did and spoke more than anyone else, agitated and stirred up everything; and now, as our Lord Jesus Christ our King has bound him,

Thus they rejoiced, not because they saw him blind, but because they thought how many he would lead out of darkness. Go, said the Lord, to the Gentiles, and having freed them from darkness, bring them into the kingdom of Christ's love (Acts 26:17,18). That is why I, having left the beginning (of the book of Acts), hasten to pass to the middle of it. Paul and my love for Paul made me take that leap. Yes, Paul and love for Paul! Forgive me, or better, don't forgive me, but compete with me in this love. Whoever loves with impure love has reason to ask forgiveness; but whoever loves with such love (as I am) must show it off, must make many accomplices of this disposition, and arouse in thousands (people) a similar love of his. Moreover, if it were possible (for us), walking (straight) path and stretching forward in order, to say also what (in the book of Acts is placed) first, and to reach what is in the middle of it, we would not immediately pass to the middle, leaving the beginning; but since the law of the Fathers commands that after Pentecost this book should be laid aside, and with the end of this feast the reading of the book should cease, I feared lest, while we dwell on the explanation of the beginning (of the book), further history might escape our consideration. Therefore, I departed from the beginning of the story, and, holding on to the introduction of the story, as if behind your head, I told you to stop and stand at the beginning of the path. Touching the head of the story, I will boldly consider everything else, although the holiday will pass. No one will then accuse us of being untimely, because the very necessity of consistency will save us from the accusation of inopportuneness. That is why I have passed from the introduction to the middle. And that it was impossible to reach Paul by walking the (straight) path, but that this book (Acts Apostolic) would rather flee from our tongue and shut the doors before us, I will show you from the very introduction, although this is already clear by itself.