30. Of the thieves who were crucified with Him, it is said: "And with the wicked they are reckoned" (Isaiah 53:12, Luke 23:32). Before this they were both lawless, and from this time on one is no longer a lawless man. For one remained a lawless man unto death, not accepting salvation. His hands were nailed, and his tongue struck with blasphemy. The passing Jews nodded their heads, cursing at the Crucified One. On them was fulfilled what was written: "Thou hast seen me, thou hast forsaken thy heads" (Psalm 108:23). And this thief blasphemed with them; but the other hushed the blasphemer, and the end of his life was for him the beginning of correction, the surrender of the soul to the receipt of salvation. Calming the first, then he says: "Remember me, O Lord" (Luke 23:42), to Thee I cry. I do not say, remember my deeds, for I am afraid of them. Every man is disposed to his companion; and I accompany Thee to death. Remember Thy companion; but I do not say, "Remember me now, but when thou comest in Thy kingdom" (Luke 23:42).

31. By what power have you been admonished, O thief? Who taught you to worship the despised One and the Crucified One with you? O eternal light, enlightening the darkened! wherefore he justly heard: "Hope, not because thy deeds give thee the right to hope, but because the gracious King is here." There should be a long-term petition; and grace is granted very soon. Amen I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me into paradise (Luke 23:43). (Psalm 74:8). I very soon pronounced a decree against Adam, very soon I forgive you. It was said to him: "In the next day ye shall bear it, ye shall surely die" (Gen. 2:17). Thou hast now submitted to the faith, and now thou hast salvation. He fell, having eaten of the tree; and you are led into paradise by means of the tree. Do not be afraid of the serpent, for it will not vomit you up; for he fell from heaven. I do not say unto thee this day, thou shalt depart, but to-day shalt thou be with Me (Luke 23:43). Hope, you will not be cast out, do not be afraid of the flaming sword: he will be ashamed of the Lord. How great and ineffable is grace! Faithful Abraham has not yet entered where the thief enters. Moses and the prophets have not yet entered, but the wicked thief is entering. Paul was amazed at this even before you, saying: "Where sin abounded, grace abounded" (Romans 5:20). Those who endured the heat had not yet entered, but at the eleventh hour he who came entered. Let no one murmur against the Lord, for He says: "Friend, I will not offend thee" (Matt. 20:13). Do I not have the power to dispose of mine as I will? The robber wants to do good, but death warns. I not only expect works, but also accept faith. Having come to feed in the vineyards, I came to feed also in the caves (Song of Songs 6:1, 2). I have found the lost sheep (Luke 15:4, 5): I take him on my shoulders, for he believes as he himself said: "I have gone astray as a lost sheep; remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest in Thy kingdom. (Psalm 118:176, Luke 23:42).

32. In the songs of the vineyard I myself foretold to my bride, and these words I said to her, "I have entered into the vineyard, my sister, a bride" (Song of Songs 5:1). And where the gate was crucified (John 19:41). What do you find here? Embrace my myrrh (Song of Songs 5:1), when I drank wine and vinegar mixed with myrrh. Having received this, He said: "It is finished" (John 19:30). For the mystery was fulfilled, what was written was fulfilled, sin was destroyed: for Christ came as the Archbishop of the good things to come, with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not sowing creatures, nor with the blood of a goat, lower than a calf, but with His own blood alone entering into the Holy One. For if the blood of a goat, and of a calf, and the ashes of a young man, which sprinkles defiled, sanctifies to purity, how much more is the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:11-14)? And in another place: "Having boldness, 6pamie, enter into the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ, by a new and living way, which He hath renewed unto us with a veil, that is, with His flesh" (Heb. 10:19, 20). And because his veil is that the flesh is dishonored; then the veil of the Church, which prefigures it, was torn asunder, as it is written: "And behold, the veil of the Church was torn in two, from the upper end to the lower one" (Matt. 27:51). And since the Lord said, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:38), the house also was destroyed.

33. The Saviour endured this, making peace (Col. 1:20) with the blood of the Cross in heaven and on earth. For we were enemies because of sin; and God ordained death for the sinner. Which of the two was to be: was it necessary to kill by justice, or by love of mankind to violate the decree? But note the wisdom of God: He has preserved both the truth of the decree and the power of love for mankind. Christ bore the sins on the body on the tree, that by His death we might live in righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). Not insignificant was the one who died for us; the Lamb was not sensual; he was not an ordinary man; He was not only an angel, but God incarnate. The iniquity of sinners was not so important as the righteousness of him who died for them. We have not so much sinned as He who laid down His life for us has done righteousness; He who put it when he willed, and again when he who received it willed. And do you want to know that He did not end His life by force, and that He did not betray the Spirit against His will? He cried out to the Father, saying: Father, forgive them! in Thy hands I commend My Spirit (Luke 23:46). I give you to receive it; and these rivers, give up the spirit (Matt. 27:50); but not for a long time, for soon he rose again from the dead.

34. The sun was darkened for the sake of the sun of righteousness: the stones were broken up for the sake of the Spiritual stone; the tombs were opened, and the dead were raised for His sake, Who is free in the dead (Psalm 87:6). He sent His prisoners out of the pit, having no water (Zech. 9:11). Therefore, do not be ashamed of the Crucified One, but say with boldness: "This beareth our sins, and grieveth for us, and by His wound we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4, 5). Let us not be ungrateful to the Benefactor. And again, "For the iniquities of my people I am led to death: and I will give the wicked instead of burying Him, and the rich instead of His death" (8:9). For this reason Paul clearly says: "For Christ died for our sin, according to the Scriptures, and as He was buried, and as He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4).

35. Do we want to know exactly where he is buried? Was His tomb made with His hands? Is it higher than the earth, following the example of the royal sepulchers? Is the monument made of stones? And what is entrusted to him? Tell us definitely, Prophets! and about the tomb, where He is laid, and where shall we seek Him? They say: "Look at the hard stone, which is made of severity" (Isaiah 51:1), look and be ashamed. Thou hearest in the Gospel: "In the grave he was hewn, which was hewn out of the stone" (Luke 23:53, Mark 15:46). And what further? What is the door of the coffin? And to this another Prophet says: "Thou hast laid my life in the pit, and hath laid a stone upon me" (Lamentations 3:53). I, the cornerstone, the chosen one, the honest one, lie within the stone, not for a long time; a stumbling block for the Jews, and a saving stone for believers. Therefore the tree of life was planted on the earth so that the cursed earth might be blessed, and that the dead might be set free.

36. Therefore, let us not be ashamed to confess the Crucified One; with boldness let us make the sign of the Cross with our hands on our foreheads and on everything: on the bread that we eat; on the cups from which we drink; let us depict Him at the entrances, at the exits, when we go to bed and get up, when we are on the road and resting. He is a great protection, given to the poor as a gift, and to the weak without difficulty. For this is the grace of God; Banners for the faithful, and fear for evil spirits. Because by means of it He overcame them, bringing them to shame with boldness (Col. 2:15). When they see the Cross, they remember the Crucified One. They are afraid of the dragon that crushed the head. Do not despise this sign, for the reason that it has been given to you freely; but for this all the more revere the Benefactor.

37. And if it happens to you to investigate these things, and you have no proofs, let firm faith abide in you; and having acquired much information, it is better to stop the mouths of the Jews with the Prophets, and the Greeks with their fables. They bow down to those struck by lightning; but the lightning that descends from heaven does not descend without reason (on such). If it is not shameful for them to worship those who hate God, struck by lightning; then will you be ashamed to worship the beloved of God and the Son of God, Who was crucified for you? I am ashamed to speak of the gods whom they call, and I leave it for the brevity of time: but let those who know these things speak. Let the mouths of all heretics be stopped; if anyone says that the Cross is a dream, turn away from it. Hate those who say that His crucifixion was a phantom. For if the crucifixion on the Cross is a phantom, yet salvation is from the Cross, then salvation is also a phantom. If the Cross is a ghost, then the Resurrection is a ghost. But if Christ does not rise, we are still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). If the Cross is a ghost, then the Ascension is also a ghost; and if the Ascension is a phantom, then without a doubt it is a phantom and the Second Coming, and finally nothing will be solid.

38. May the Cross be your first unshakable foundation, and on it build all the rest of the teaching of the faith. Do not deny Him crucified: for if you deny it, many will rebuke you. Judas the traitor will be the first to denounce you: for having betrayed you, he saw that Jesus had been condemned to death by the bishops and elders. Thirty pieces of silver will testify against you. Gethsemane will testify, where the betrayal took place. I am not talking about the Mount of Olives, on which those who were there at night prayed. The night moon will testify; the day and the darkened sun shall bear witness: for it could not look upon them that consulted iniquity. The fire by which Peter was standing will convict you. If you renounce the Cross, then eternal fire awaits you. I speak cruelly, lest thou be cruelly tempted. Remember the swords of Gethsemane, with which you went against Christ, so that you will not be struck with an everlasting sword. The house of Caiaphas will rebuke you, showing by its present desolation the power of Him Who was then condemned in it. Herod and Pilate will stand against you, as if to say: Why do you deny Him Who was crucified before us by the Jews, and of Whom we know that He sinned in nothing? For I, Pilate, then washed my hands. False witnesses and soldiers will stand against you, who have clothed Him in scarlet, and have put a crown of thorns on Him, and crucified Him on Golgotha, and cast lots for His tunic. Simon of Cyrene, who carried the Cross after Jesus, will rebuke you.

39. От светил обличит тебя померкшее солнце, а от вещей земных вино со смирною смешенное, а от тростей трость оная, от растений иссоп, от морских произращений губа, от дерев древо Крестное. Обличать тебя воины, как сказано, пригвоздившие и метавшие жребий об одежде; воин, прободщий копием ребро Его; жены, бывшая при том; завеса церковная, тогда раздравшаяся; Претория Пилата, запустевшая ныне силою Распятого тогда; cия святая возвышающаяся Голгофа, видимая и до днесь, до ныне показывающая, как распались тогда для Христа камни; вблизи находящаяся гробница, в которой Он положен был, и положенный при входе камень, доселе лежащий при гробнице; Ангелы, бывшие тогда; жены, поклонившиеся Ему после воскресения; Петр и Иоанн, притекшие к гробнице; и Фома, вложивший руку в ребро Его и персты в раны от гвоздей. Ибо он вместе и для нас с толиким тщанием осязал Его. Чего бы ты, не бывши тогда, должен был искать, то он по Божественному смотрению нашел, быв тогда.

40. Свидетели Креста двенадцать Апостолов, видимая вселенная и мир, состоящий из людей верующих в Распятого. Даже то самое, что ты теперь пришел сюда, должно убедить тебя в силе Распятого: Ибо кто ныне привел тебя сюда? Какие воины? Какими узами привлечен ты? Какой суд принудил тебя? Победное, спасительное знамение Креста Иисусова, Крест собрал всех. Оно покорило Персов; укротило Скифов; оно, вместо кошек и собак и многоразличных за6луждений, даровало Египтянам Боговедение. Оно до ныне исцеляет болезни; оно до ныне прогоняет злых духов, и рассеивает обольщения чародеев и волшебников.

41. Оно паки явится с небес со Иисусом. Ибо победное знамя будет предшествовать Царю сему, чтобы увидевши Того, Которого пронзили, и по Кресту узнавши поруганного, иудеи восплакали в раскаянии. Восплачут они, восплачет каждое колено; ибо раскаются тогда, когда не будет им времени для раскаяния. Но мы в восхищении да хвалимся Крестом; покланяясь посланному и распятому за нас Господу, покланяясь и пославшему Его Богу Отцу вместе со Святым Духом. Слава Ему во веки веков. Аминь.

Огласительное поучение четырнадцатое

К готовящимся в Иерусалиме ко просвещению, сказанное без приготовления, на сии слова: И воскресшаго из мертвых в третий день, и восшедшаго на небеса, и седяща одесную Отца; и на слова Апостольские: Сказую же вам, братие, благовествование, еже благовестих вам и проч. Яко воста в третий день по писанием и проч. (1 Кор. 15, 1; 15, 4).