K. Urging the ancients to gain glory for themselves not in any one kind of virtue, but to adorn themselves with all kinds of it and to act as best as possible, "that the man of God may be perfect, prepared for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:17), the law and marriage unions agree with the requirements of honesty and clearly decree how they should be performed in order to be blameless before God and man. For this reason he spews out fornication and uncleanness completely, and removes sodomy and adultery as far as possible, saying in the book of Leviticus: "And thou shalt not lie with thy neighbor's wife, that thou mayest pour out semen, and be defiled with her. Do not lie with a man as with a woman: it is an abomination" (Lev. 18:20 and 22). That such shameful deeds, he says, have their own condemnation in themselves, and that there is much stinking in them, this can be easily seen, and many words are not needed to rebuke people who have come to such an abomination for having such a shameful and absurd fame from themselves, and accusation from their very nature. Therefore, having omitted this, he examines what is done lawfully and not contrary to reason, saying in Deuteronomy: "If a man takes a wife and becomes her husband, and she does not find favor in his eyes, because he finds something abominable in her, and writes her a bill of divorce, and gives it to her, and sends her out of his house, and she goes out of his house, If she goes and marries another husband, and the last husband hates her, and writes her a bill of divorce, and gives her into her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if her last husband, who took her to be his wife, dies, then her first husband, who sent her away, cannot take her to wife again, after she has been defiled; for this is an abomination to the Lord, and thou shalt not profane the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance" (Deuteronomy 24:1-4): for it is not safe to make one who has separated from her husband through a blessed fault, and has suffered disgrace from another, a lawful concubine, and even more, it is completely insane; for "Thou shalt hold," it is said, "the adulterer foolish and ungodly" (Proverbs 18:23). And just as it forbids to delight in what is manifestly shameful and indisputably condemned, so, on the other hand, it does not permit the honest to be slandered as dishonorable: for it is equally sinful to vouchsafe tender love that which it would be better to avoid, and to deprive oneself of one's favor that which is shameful to withdraw: for "woe," it is said, "to those who call evil good, and good evil, they esteem darkness light, and light darkness; bitter things are considered sweet, and sweet things are bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20). Thus, he does not allow the absolution to be received again, but, on the other hand, he does not allow harm by word to be done to the one who has not yet been exposed. And he said this: "If a man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and hates her, and brings evil deeds against her, and makes evil reports about her, and says, 'I took this woman, and went in to her, and found no virginity with her,' then the father of the maiden and her mother shall take and bring [the signs] of the virginity of the maiden to the elders of the city, to the gate; And the father of the maiden shall say unto the elders, I have given my daughter to this man to wife, and he hath hated her, and behold, he hath brought evil deeds against her, saying, I have not found thy daughter's virginity. but these are the signs of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread their garments before the elders of the city. Then the elders of that city shall take the man and punish him, and shall put a fine of a hundred [shekels] of silver upon him, and shall give him to the father of the maiden, because he has spread evil reports about the maiden of Israel; but she shall remain his wife, and he shall not divorce her all his life" (Deuteronomy 22:13-19). Do you understand, then, that he commanded those who were not entirely unpunished to release from the judgment seat those who had unjustly despised those who had not yet been exposed: because, I think, one should respect the good above all things, and not pursue, in satiation, what one likes, when deciding to slander the honest as dishonest; but on the contrary, to try with all his might to be diligent in all that is beautiful and to love cohabitation with the most excellent in good reputation. For he who does not allow neglect in his actions perfectly achieves the goal of his actions. And that we ought to be such, the law also showed this, declaring: "If thou shalt build a new house, thou shalt make a railing near thy roof, lest thou bring blood upon thy house when any man shall fall from it" (Deuteronomy 22:8): for just as a house is ugly when it is devoid of a cornice and a roof railing brought to it, so also, I think, every good deed of ours is quite wrong; if it is not carried to its proper end; And this is not the only thing, but danger threatens the negligent. This, I think, means the fall of someone from home: for woe, it is said, to those who do "the work of the Lord with negligence" (Jeremiah 48:10). And so, in what innumerable ways does the law lead us to what is useful! And yet it does not offer food befitting men and more firm, but nourishes the ancients with milk, as if they were infants, leading them little by little to the mystery of Christ: for the law is spiritual, and from the point of view of shadow and images, as it were, it is not edible and useful for spiritual food, but will be so if it is applied to the contemplation of the Gospel and to the mystery of Christ, this you will clearly understand from what is written about this by the all-wise Moses. He said in the book of Leviticus: "When you come to the land [which the Lord God will give you] and plant any fruit tree, you shall count its fruit as uncircumcised: three years you shall count it as uncircumcised, you shall not eat it; and in the fourth year all its fruits shall be consecrated for the feasts of the Lord; but in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, and gather up for yourselves all its produce. I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 19:23-25): for the writings of Moses seem to us to be like the most fruitful gardens, containing in themselves various plants of commandments and being adorned, as it were, with trees, laws for each occasion. But on each tree, it is said, cleanse its impurity, that is, cut off the uselessness of history, and remove as it were the wood of the letter and reach the very heart of the plant, that is, carefully examine the inner fruit of what is commanded, and use it for food. But "its fruit," it is said, "shall be considered uncircumcised for three years, and they shall not be eaten." A year is set here instead of a long period, because there were three first periods in which the law was still impure, weighed down by the thickness of history and, as it were, covered with hay. And there were three times, I say: the time of Moses, Joshua, and the Judges; The fourth time after them was the fourth, in which the radiant face of the holy prophets appeared. Then the fruit of the law became "holy and praiseworthy": for with the holy prophets began the abolition of what is contained in the law, and even the naming of what is contained as it were in a canopy, but the open preaching of the truth and the praise of the mystery of Christ's coming. After them appeared the Forerunner, crying out and saying: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2). Thus, in the fourth time, the beginning was laid for the purification of that which is contained in the law, and was already as it were holy fruit. However, it became fit for eating only in the fifth time – the time of the coming of Christ, attested by the law and the prophets. Therefore it is said, His fruit shall be an increase unto you; for, in addition to the preaching of the Gospel, instruction in the law, which is brought to spiritual contemplation, is very useful for inquisitive people; so the Saviour said: "The scribe who has been taught the Kingdom of Heaven is like a master who brings out of his treasury the new and the old" (Matt. 13:52), calling the Gospel new, and the old that which is contained in the law and does not aggruously give us knowledge in Christ. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

BOOK 9. About the holy tabernacle, that it was an image of the Church of Christ

Thus, the praises of love for the brethren are very obvious, and through both the law is fulfilled. And everyone who has attained such glory will be bright and worthy of wonder, and will be among those who are most faithful to God, when Christ calls out and says: "Well done, good and faithful servant! in a few things you have been faithful, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of thy lord" (Matt. 25:21): for he will truly ascend, and very easily, to the heavenly Jerusalem and will live in the heavenly abodes, enjoying blessings that surpass the mind and the word. The prophet Isaiah says the same thing: "Thy eyes shall see Jerusalem, a dwelling place of peace, a tabernacle that cannot be shaken; its pillars shall never be torn out, and not a cord thereof shall be broken" (Isaiah 33:20): "the image of this world passes away," according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 7:31). The hope for the future is very, absolutely unshakable. But "to all who are ruined," as the disciple of the Savior also affirmed, "it behooves us" (2 Pet. 3:11) to be holy and blameless before Him, honoring Him with spiritual sacrifices, as the Savior and Redeemer, and leading a holy and excellent life in accordance with the laws of the Gospel? Without a doubt, this life, so honest and worthy of wonder, was written by the ancient law, commanding the sacrifice of flocks, the making of blood offerings, the dedication of tithes and firstfruits to God, and also sacrifices of thanksgiving. But he only decreed that all this should not be done outside the holy tabernacle. But the chosen generation of the Levites dedicated to God, presenting to us in this an image of ourselves: for we also are called in the Divine Scriptures: "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people taken as an inheritance" (1 Pet. 2:9). Let us also enter into the truest tabernacle, "which the Lord hath raised, and not man" (Heb. 8:2), that is, into the Church, not propitiating the Creator of all things with bulls and goats, but adorning ourselves with upright and blameless faith, and mentally burning spiritual offerings of fruit into the stench of fragrance: "For such sacrifices are pleasing to God" (Heb. 13:16), and: "And they that worship Him shall worship in spirit and truth," according to the word of the Saviour (John 4:24).

Palladium. You said it right. That we ought to gain glory for ourselves by sacrifices more excellent than those of the law, I also affirm, for I agree with thee. Only tell me, was it not in the prototype of the Church of the Gentiles that an ancient tabernacle was erected in the wilderness, revealing as it were the hitherto obscure beauty of the true tabernacle?

Cyril. Exactly. I also said recently that in the correct election of those who were descended from the blood of Levi for the priesthood there was again the image of those who were called in the faith to a holy and blameless life, that is, life in Christ.

P. Do you wish, then, to say a little about the holy tabernacle and about the lawful priesthood, so that our word may examine what is sacredly ordained on both subjects?

K. This is not an easy matter, because, I think, we will need a long work and podvig in order to be able to understand it and expound it. But if you wish, let us approach, with God's help; For thou hast heard Him plainly saying, Who hath given mouth to man? Who makes dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Am I not the Lord? therefore go, and I will be at your mouth" (Exodus 4:11-12).

P. Come then, having the Giver of wisdom as your companion in this case.

K. I truly come, and will speak, carefully summarizing the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures: for God the Creator of all came down in the form of fire on Mount Sinai, and gave the laws by which it became possible to direct each of the actions to be right and pure. Then, leading them (the Jews) away from their former error and placing them as far as possible from the false Egyptian ministry, He said to Moses, who was then intermediate: "Thus say," He said, "to the children of Israel, 'You have seen how I spoke to you from heaven; do not make before Me gods of silver, or gods of gold, do not make yourselves" (Exodus 20:22-23): for He did not allow false gods to serve; and commands us to be attached to the One, Who comes from above and from heaven, and who rules over all things in essence, who has glory not in material splendor, but in that which heaven has shown to belong to Him. In some way it was necessary that those who had received the command to depart from ancient impiety and vile service should go directly to another custom, and as if they had taken upon themselves a yoke, the service of Him Who is God by nature: for the unbridled mind is unrestrained, and is very capable of deviating into the most inappropriate things; but when fear and anxiety threaten, he passes without any difficulty to the straight path and inclines to what is useful. Inasmuch as through the Son we come to the Father, for "no one comes to the Father," He says, "except through Me" (John 14:6), it was necessary that He should determine both the very access through the Son and the types of fruitfulness in Him by law, saying: "Make Me an altar of the earth, and offer upon it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; thy sheep and thy oxen; in every place where I put the remembrance of my name, I will come to you and bless you; but if thou shalt make Me an altar of stones, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones, for as soon as thou hast put thy adze upon them, thou shalt defile them" (Exodus 20:24-25). He calls Immanuel the earthen altar; for "the Word was made flesh" (John 1:14). But the earth is of the earth the nature of the flesh (cf. Gen. 2:7; 3:19). Thus in Christ is accomplished every offering of fruit and every bringing to God: for He Himself says: "Without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5): for just as "through Him both have access" (Ephesians 2:18), so every "sacrifice" of those who have received faith through Him is "pleasant" (Phil. 4:18). And He promises His coming and blessing to those who have set up an altar from the earth, saying: "I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee": for to us, who have received the images of truth through the all-wise Moses, the Truth Itself has shone forth in due time, that is, Christ, through Whom and in Whom we have been enriched with a blessing from above and from the Father, sealed to sonship in the Holy Spirit; but this also is done again in Christ (Ephesians 1:5). "But if thou shalt make Me an altar of stones," he says, "thou shalt not build it of hewn stones." He does not allow the stones consecrated to God to be swept with iron, because Christ was the chosen stone, the cornerstone, the honorable one (1 Pet. 2:4 and 6), not wounded by sins, unable to suffer blows from the devil, not divided between God and the world; and although He became flesh, He was wholly holy, undivided, after an ineffable union or communion with the flesh, into God separately and into man in particular, but one and the same God and man remained, for He was by no means "divided," as the all-wise Paul writes (1 Corinthians 1:13).

P. And so, the altar made of earth, as well as the unhewn stones, signify, in the sense you have indicated, Christ?

K. Exactly, for "the law is spiritual," according to the Scriptures (Romans 7:14). When God divinatively foreshadowed the mystery of Christ and access through Him (to the Father), then, and only then, did He intend to foreshadow the image of the Church as well. He called Moses and Jesus with him to Mount Sinai. And understand from this that even the holy prophets themselves are accessible to the Father through the Son; for Moses and Jesus ascend together: for it is written: "And the Lord said to Moses, saying, Tell the children of Israel to make offerings to me; And from every man that hath diligence, receive offerings unto me. These are the offerings which ye shall receive from them: gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goat's, and red ram's skins, and blue skins, and shittim wood... Onyx stone, and set stones for the ephod and for the breastplate. And they shall build me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in their midst; all things as I show you, and the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the vessels thereof; do so" (Exodus 25:1-5 and 7-9). Do you see how He encourages the people willingly, to the best of their ability and disposition, to bring what is useful and very necessary for the organization of the Church? For He did not demand only gold, or that which may be difficult for many to obtain, but also goat's hair and rams' skins, showing that both small and cheap, if he who dares to make an offering has nothing more expensive, is not rejected by God, but is either valued on a par with the most precious, or even more praised; as is well known, Christ did not overlook the widow in Jerusalem, who contributed to the treasure of something small and easily obtained, but perhaps great for those in extreme poverty, to whom, of course, it is a burden to donate even a very cheap thing. And when they have received the firstfruits, "they shall build me a sanctuary," he says, "and I will dwell in the midst of them": for Christ appears in the Church and shines to those who abide in it, according to what is written in the Psalms: "God is the Lord, and He hath appeared unto us" (Psalm 117:27). Consider, then, how He, having descended into the mountain in the form of fire, and appearing to all the people, for it is written, nevertheless, as having not yet appeared, says, "I will dwell in the midst of them," when the sanctuary is erected: for it seems that he almost cries out clearly that these visions were the sepia of the true vision of God. The true testimony is Christ, in whom we have seen the Father Himself. In the same way, the Jews, who thought that they had truly seen on Mount Sinai all kinds of God, foolishly convinced of this, He rebuked, saying: "You have never heard His voice, nor seen His face; and ye have not His word that abides in you, because ye believe not Him whom He hath sent" (John 5:37-38). So, "I will dwell," he says, "in the midst of them," when the sanctuary is erected. And it was a type of the Church, which came in the likeness of the highest, for He says: "All things as I show you, and the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the vessels thereof; so do ye" (Exodus 25:9): for the blessed Moses was shown an image, as I have said, of the holy churches and of Him Himself, in many ways, as if depicted in the shadow, Who was made man for our sake. And about each of the images the discourse could be long and lengthy and full of subtlety. Inasmuch as some things are proper and proper to the arrangement of what was, and others tend to the use of contemplation, let us speak of what is useful for this, omitting the other.