Oration 4
The festival of the Cross, and who would not exult? The proclamation of the Resurrection, and who would not laugh for joy? For the Cross, fixed in the place of the Skull and having the Master of creation Himself nailed to it, tore up “the handwritten document that was against us”¹ and set us free from the bonds of sin—the document that our forefather Adam had signed when he transgressed the commandments of God—and enabled us to “exult” with gladness, “like calves released from their bonds.”² For where sin abounded, the grace of God abounded all the more.³
The commemorations of the Cross have come forth, and who among men would not crucify himself? For He knows as His truest worshipper the one who has crucified himself to the world and shows himself by his deeds to be manifestly a genuine friend of the Cross. The inauguration of the Resurrection has come, and what believer will not be renewed, having cast away every mortification of the passions and clothed himself with the incorruption of the soul? For there is one death assigned to the soul and another known to belong to the body that surrounds it. The former is begotten by sin, as the chief and leader of this see, James the Brother of God, has written,⁶ while the latter is naturally brought about by the dissolution of the elements from which the body essentially consists, and, indeed, by the departure of the immortal soul, even if this does not seem so to the children of physicians, who profess to treat bodies alone, since for man who disobeyed the divine command, this was plainly given to him by the Creator as a penalty.
The Cross is raised on high, and who from the earth would not mystically take wing? For where the Redeemer is lifted up, there also the redeemed goes, hastening onward and longing always to be with the One who saved him and to draw from Him His unfailing help. Today the Resurrection comes forth and brightens all things by its procession; tomorrow the Cross appears and gives its gifts to those who worship it. Today the Resurrection is spread forth, and tomorrow the Cross soars above, the one proclaiming the condemnation of corruption, the other of the ranks of the demons; the one proclaiming through itself that death has truly been put to death, the other announcing to all that every demonic evil-working has been abolished and that every one of their foul and soul-destroying activities has been put to death. And - O the wonder! - I am at a loss for words to express the mystery. In former times the Cross preceded the Resurrection; but now the Cross has acquired the Resurrection as its leader and forerunner.
O, the wondrous exchange! For here too I see the saying of the Savior openly fulfilled in these things: “Behold, the last have become first, and conversely, the first have appeared last.”⁷ And who, then, can say what is the cause of these exchanges and reversals? For it is not that events have followed different courses, with one rushing ahead and the other lagging behind as though it were slow. Why, then, as before, did the divine Cross rise beforehand and shine forth, while the light-bearing Resurrection shone for three days after it? What our forebears knew when they made this exchange, we cannot say with certainty. But we suppose and conjecture that the reason is the delay and precedence of those who come from the ends of the earth for their life-giving veneration, so that, having first celebrated the exceedingly joyful and radiant feast of the Resurrection, and immediately afterward seeing the blessed Elevation of the Cross, they might have its all-powerful companionship as a good and saving provision for their journey: accompanying them on their travels, sailing with them upon the sea, granting salvation everywhere, protecting them from every adversary, and showing us by the facts themselves that the all-powerful strength of the Cross encompasses all the ends of the inhabited world, and that it fills all things and comes everywhere without difficulty, delivering the faithful from hardships, proclaiming salvation to the devout, and bringing to nothing the counsels of all their enemies.
Perhaps there is yet another hidden reason, known and understood by the teachers of this Church who lived in former times, which we, the least of all, are not ashamed now plainly to confess that we do not know. May God grant us knowledge of this also, as we trust beyond words, for the benefit of us who are most faithful alone.
What, then, is higher for us than these blessed feasts? What among these sacred festivals is holier for us than these, or how shall we not rejoice and exult as we celebrate their feasts? The radiance of the Resurrection and the torch-bearing veneration of the Cross. These are the trophies of our complete salvation; these have delivered us from death and passions and from the most evil devastation of the demons, and have brought us back to our Master, quieting the things that are mournful and gloomy and spreading over us the light of things that bring joy. Does not the life-bearing Resurrection bestow upon us, as a gift of life, entrance into immortality? Does not the Cross, when it is raised up, bring forth our deliverance from the passions? For truly these have once again made us partakers of reconciliation with God, for which reason He was also born and has risen upon all of us who are on earth.
Knowing, therefore, the mystical power of these things, how greatly they have benefited us, and what they have become for us, let us celebrate them well and piously, as the things themselves wish to be honored—not with “beds and wantonness,”⁸ which were the symbols of the pagan festivals, nor with “strife and jealousy, nor with acts of plunder and injustice” (and I pass over the remainder of the list in silence). For I dare to say, most genuine brothers, fellow-heirs of our same faith, and those who have shared together in the same spiritual riches as children of the same parents, that the one who wishes to celebrate them in such a manner not only does not see them or accept them, but also turns away from them and abhors them, because he conducts himself toward them improperly and does things that are utterly hateful to them. Therefore I entreat and exhort you to hate and turn away from those things which our holy observances hate, and to love and practice those things which we know to be pleasing to them.
And those things which lead the one who practices them back to salvation and guide him toward eternal life are known to be pleasing and delightful. Has He not bestowed upon us life that does not end, and has He not caused a light that never sets to shine upon us, Christ having shone forth among men? Therefore let us also change our manner of life, casting aside our former conduct as harmful and destructive, and let us walk well in newness of life. Does not the Resurrection grant us the inheritance of life? Has not the Cross crucified our old man?⁹
If, then, we venerate the Resurrection and celebrate its feast, let us also love a newer life, through which we shall not be merely friends of it with our lips, but also its most intimate initiates. And if we also embrace the Cross, why do we not crucify the passions together with our members, so that we too may cry out with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ,” and, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me”?¹⁰ If, then, Christ promises to live in such people—in those who have crucified themselves to the world and put to death their earthly members, as Paul cries out and bears witness—why do we not also do the same and put to death every earthly member: passion, evil desire, and the rest of their enumeration, so that Christ may also live in us and grant us ageless life? Therefore let us pursue peace with all and obtain sanctification together with it; “for without these no one will ever see the Lord,”¹¹ as Paul has again testified to us. And perhaps for this reason Christ is also proclaimed as peace: “For He Himself,” he says, “is our peace,”¹² and He is called “sanctification.” Peace, because He has brought a peaceful harmony, joining the heavenly things with those on earth and making one Church out of both; and sanctification and redemption, for this too is proclaimed in addition to what was mentioned before, because He became our Redeemer when we were captives, and not only redeemed us from demons and passions, but also planted within us divine sanctification.
If you heed my voice in these things, let us pursue them with every earnestness and intention, acquire them and seize them, and through them let us be joined to Christ in the truly beautiful and blessed union. For surely He will not cast outside His goodness and blessedness the one who thus comes to Him. God forbid! Let us therefore hasten to acquire this harmony with Him, than which nothing is more precious, and let us run to make Christ’s living in us our own likeness, than which nothing is more powerful, so that, having acquired this treasure, we may also enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven and find eternal life in Christ Himself, our God and Savior, with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Translator’s Notes
1. “The handwritten document that was against us” renders τὸ καθ᾽ ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον, an allusion to Colossians 2:14, where Christ cancels the χειρόγραφον standing against humanity.
2. “Like calves released from their bonds” preserves the vivid image used by the homilist. The imagery conveys the spontaneous leaping and exultation of those suddenly released from restraint.
3. Romans 5:20.
4. Isaiah 25:8; cf. Revelation 21:4. The homilist combines the prophetic language of Isaiah with its Christian fulfillment.
5. The unusual expression ἀληθῶς ἀδιάδοχος literally carries the sense of something “truly without successor.” The translation retains the unusual formulation rather than replacing it with a smoother but less precise theological paraphrase.
6. James 1:14–15. The designation “James the Brother of God” (Ἰάκωβος ὁ ἀδελφόθεος) is the traditional Orthodox designation of James, the brother of the Lord.
7. The saying echoes the Gospel teaching that “the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16; cf. Luke 13:30). The homilist applies the reversal specifically to the Cross and Resurrection.
8. The phrase κοίταις καὶ ἀσελγείαις is drawn from Romans 13:13. The term κοίτη literally denotes a bed or lying-down place, while in this context it carries the sense of sexual immorality. The translation retains the concrete wording of the Greek rather than reducing it to a generalized moral category.
9. “Our old man” renders the Pauline expression ὁ παλαιὸς ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος, referring to the fallen mode of existence that is put to death in Christ (cf. Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9).
10. Galatians 2:20.
11. Hebrews 12:14.
12. Ephesians 2:14. The homilist connects Christ's identity as “our peace” with His work of reconciliation and with the sanctification and redemption of humanity.
Σοφρονίου ἀρχιεπισκόπου Ἱεροσολύμων
Σταυροῦ πανήγυρις, καὶ τίς οὐ σκιρτήσειεν; Ἀναστάσεως κήρυξις, καὶ τίς οὐ γελάσειεν; Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τόπῳ Κρανίου παγεὶς καὶ τὸν δεσπότην προσηλωμένον ἔχων τῆς κτίσεως «τὸ καθ᾽ ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον» ἔρρηξε καὶ δεσμῶν ἁμαρτίας ἡμᾶς ἠλευθέρωσεν, ὅπερ ἡμῶν Ἀδὰμ ὁ προπάτωρ ὑπέγραψε, παραβὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ ἐντάλματα, καὶ σὺν θυμηδίᾳ «σκιρτᾶν» παρεσκεύασεν, «ὡς ἐκ δεσμῶν ἀνειμένα μοσχάρια»· ἔνθα γὰρ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐπλεόνασεν, ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπερίσσευσεν. Ἡ δὲ θανάτου τὴν φθορὰν ἐξωστράκισε καὶ τοῦ Ἅιδου τὸν ζόφον ἀπήλασε, καὶ τοὺς τεθνεῶτας τῶν τάφων ἀνέστησε «καὶ προσώπου παντός», προφητικῶς εἰπεῖν, «πᾶν ἀπήλειψε δάκρυον», καὶ τὴν χάριν τὴν ἀληθῶς ἀδιάδοχον ἀνθρώπῳ παντὶ προσκεχάρισται. Οὐ γὰρ μερικὸν τὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως δώρημα, οὐδ᾽ εἰς ὀλίγους τινὰς ἡ ταύτης ἐδείχθη κατόρθωσις. Θεὸς γὰρ ἀπάσης ὑπῆρχε τῆς κτίσεως, ὁ ἀνθρωπείᾳ σαρκὶ τὴν ταφὴν ἐν αὐτῇ ποιησάμενος, μᾶλλον δὲ τὴν ἀνάστασιν (πᾶσι γὰρ παρέσχεν ἀνθρωπείᾳ σαρκὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν), ὃς μερικὰς οὐκ οἶδε παρασχέσθαι χάριτας, οὐδὲ προσωποληψία τίς παρ᾽ αὐτῷ πολιτεύεται. Πάντων γὰρ Θεὸς ἀληθὴς γνωριζόμενος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους τῆς σωτηρίας ἐκτάνει τὸ χάρισμα, εἰκόνος τῆς ἰδίας φειδόμενος καὶ ταύτην ἀνανεῶν τελεώτατα, ἐπεὶ καὶ πᾶς ἐπίγειος ἄνθρωπος ἐν εἰκόνι Θεοῦ πεπλαστούργηται.
Σταυροῦ προῆλθε μνημόσυνα, καὶ τίς ἀνθρώπων ἑαυτὸν οὐ σταυρώσειε; Τοῦτον γὰρ οἶδε προσκυνητὴν γνησιώτατον, τὸν ἑαυτὸν τῷ κόσμῳ σταυρώσαντα καὶ ἑαυτὸν δεικνύντα τοῖς πράγμασιν, ὡς σταυροῦ φίλος πεφώραται γνήσιος. Ἀναστάσεως τὰ ἐγκαίνια, καὶ τίς πιστὸς οὐκ ἀνακαινισθήσεται, πᾶσαν παθῶν ἀπωσάμενος νέκρωσιν καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν ψυχῆς ἐνδυσάμενος; Ἄλλος γὰρ ψυχῆς διορίζεται θάνατος καὶ ἄλλος τοῦ περὶ αὐτὴν γινώσκεται σώματος· ἐκεῖνον μὲν γὰρ ἁμαρτία κυΐσκει τὸν θάνατον, ὡς ὁ ταύτης τῆς καθέδρας ἀρχηγὸς καὶ ἡγούμενος, ὁ ἀδελφόθεος Ἰάκωβος, γέγραφε, τοῦτον δὲ ἡ τῶν στοιχείων ἀνάλυσις γεννᾶν πέφυκεν, ἐξ ὧν οὐσιωδῶς καὶ συνέστηκε, ναὶ μὴν καὶ τῆς ἀθανάτου ψυχῆς ἀναχώρησις, κἂν ἰατρῶν παισὶ μὴ δοκῇ τοῖς μόνα θεραπεύειν ἐπαγγελλομένοις τὰ σώματα, ἐπειδὴ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῆς θείας ἐντολῆς παρακούσαντι τοῦτ᾽ αὐτῷ πρὸς τοῦ κτίσαντος σαφὲς ἐπιτίμιον δέδοτο.
Σταυρὸς εἰς ὕψος ἐπαίρεται, καὶ τίς ἀπὸ γῆς μυστικῶς οὐ πτερώσειεν; Ἔνθα γὰρ ὁ λυτρωτὴς ὑπεραίρεται, ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ λυτρωθεὶς φοιτᾷ καὶ διάλλεται ποθῶν ἀεὶ συνεῖναι τῷ σώσαντι καὶ τὴν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τρυγᾶν οὐ φθειρομένην ἀντίληψιν. Σήμερον ἡ ἀνάστασις πρόεισι καὶ φαιδρύνει τῇ προόδῳ τὰ σύμπαντα, αὔριον ὁ σταυρὸς ἐμφανίζεται καὶ τοῖς προσκυνηταῖς τὰ δῶρα παρέχεται. Σήμερον ἡ ἀνάστασις ἥπλωται καὶ αὔριον ὁ σταυρὸς ὑπερίπταται, ἡ μὲν τὴν φθορὰν στηλιτεύουσα, ὁ δὲ τῶν δαιμόνων τὰς φάλαγγας, ἡ μὲν δι᾽ ἑαυτῆς προκηρύττουσα, ὡς ἀληθῶς τεθανάτωται θάνατος, ὁ δὲ διαγγέλλων τοῖς ἅπασιν, ὡς πᾶσα κακουργία δαιμόνων κατήργηται καὶ ὡς πᾶσα αὐτῶν ἐκνενέκρωται μιαρὰ καὶ ψυχοφθόρος ἐνέργεια. Καὶ ὦ τοῦ θαύματος, καὶ τί εἰπεῖν ἀπορῶ τὸ μυστήριον. Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ὁ σταυρὸς προηγήσατο, ἄρτι δὲ ἡγεμόνα καὶ πρόδρομον ὁ σταυρὸς τὴν ἀνάστασιν κέκτηται.
Ὢ τῆς θαυμαστῆς ἀνταμείψεως. Ὁρῶ γὰρ κἀνθάδε τοῦ σωτῆρος τὸ λόγιον ἀναφανδὸν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἐκπληρούμενον· «Ἰδοὺ γὰρ οἱ ἔσχατοι γεγόνασι πρῶτοι, καὶ τούμπαλιν οἱ πρῶτοι πεφήνασιν ἔσχατοι». Καὶ τίς ἄρα φάναι δυνήσεται τουτωνὶ τῶν ἀμοιβῶν καὶ ἀλλαγμάτων τὸ αἴτιον; Οὐ γὰρ δρόμοις τισὶ τὰ πράγματα χρώμενα, ἡ μὲν προπεπήδηκεν, ὁ δὲ ὡς βραδὺς ἐφυστέρησε. Τί γὰρ μή, ὡς καὶ πρότερον, ὁ μὲν θεῖος σταυρὸς προανατείλας ἐξήστραψεν, ἡ δὲ φωτοφόρος ἀνάστασις μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τριήμερος ἔλαμπε; Καὶ τί μὲν συνειδότες ἡμῶν οἱ γεννήτορες τούτων τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἐποιήσαντο, λέγειν ἀναμφιβόλως οὐκ ἔχομεν. Οἰόμεθα δὲ καὶ στοχαζόμεθα τοὺς ἐκ τῶν περάτων ἀφικνουμένους πρὸς τὴν αὐτῶν ζωηφόρον προσκύνησιν τῆς ὑστερήσεως καὶ τῆς προπορεύσεως εἶναι τὸ αἴτιον, ὅπως πρότερον οὗτοι τῆς ἀναστάσεως τὴν περιχαρῆ καὶ λαμπρὰν ἑορτὴν ἑορτάσαντες, μετὰ δὲ ταύτην εὐθὺς σταυροῦ τὴν μακαρίαν ὕψωσιν βλέποντες, ἐφόδιον καλὸν καὶ σωτήριον τὴν αὐτοῦ πανσθενεστάτην συμπόρευσιν ἔχοιεν, ἐν ὁδοιπορίᾳ συνθέουσαν, ἐν πελάγει συμπλέουσαν καὶ τὴν πανταχοῦ σωτηρίαν βραβεύουσαν, καὶ ἐκ πάντων ἐναντίων φυλάττουσαν καὶ αὐτοῖς ἡμῖν δεικνῦσαν τοῖς πράγμασιν, ὡς πάντα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ πέρατα ἡ παναλκεστάτη τοῦ σταυροῦ περιείληφε δύναμις, καὶ ὡς τὰ πάντα πληροῖ καὶ ἀκόπως πανταχοῦ παραγίνεται, τῶν δυσχερῶν τοὺς πιστοὺς διασῴζουσα καὶ σωτηρίαν τοῖς εὐσεβοῦσι πυρσεύουσα, καὶ τὰ πάντων ἐχθρῶν καταργοῦσα βουλεύματα.
Τάχα δέ τις καὶ ἕτερος λόγος ἔνεστι κρύφιος, ὃν ἴσασι καὶ ἐπίστανται οἱ πάλαι γεγονότες ταυτησὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι, ὃν ἡμεῖς οἱ ἐλάχιστοι μὴ εἰδέναι τανῦν σαφῶς ὁμολογεῖν οὐκ αἰδούμεθα. Δοίη δὲ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ τούτου τὴν εἴδησιν, ὡς ἀφράστως πιστεύομεν, διὰ μόνην ἡμῶν τῶν πιστοτάτων ὠφέλειαν. Τί τοίνυν τούτων ἡμῖν τῶν μακαρίων ἑορτῶν ὑψηλότερον; Τί τούτων ἡμῖν τῶν ἱερῶν πανηγύρεων ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐστὶν ἱερώτερον, ἢ πῶς οὐ χαρησόμεθα καὶ σκιρτήσομεν τούτων τὰς ἑορτὰς ἑορτάζοντες; Ἀναστάσεως ἔλλαμψις καὶ σταυροῦ δᾳδοῦχος προσκύνησις. Ταῦτα ἡμῶν τῆς πάσης σωτηρίας τὰ τρόπαια, ταῦτα ἡμᾶς θανάτου καὶ παθῶν λυτρωσάμενα καὶ τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων κακίστης λυμάνσεως, πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην ἡμῶν ἐπανήγαγε, τὰ κατηφῆ καὶ σκυθρωπὰ κατευνάσαντα καὶ τῶν χαροποιῶν ἡμῖν τὴν αὐγὴν ἐκπετάσαντα. Ἢ οὐ ζωῆς ἡμῖν ἡ ζωοτόκος ἀνάστασις δωρεῖται τῆς ἀθανάτου τὴν εἴσοδον; Ἢ οὐ παθῶν ἡμῖν ἀπολύτρωσιν ἐγγεννᾷ καὶ ὁ σταυρὸς ἀνυψούμενος; Καὶ γὰρ ἀληθῶς ταῦτα τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν οἰκειώσεως πάλιν ἡμᾶς μετόχους ἀνέδειξε, δι᾽ ἣν καὶ γεγέννηται καὶ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἀνατέταλκε.
Τούτων τοιγαροῦν τὴν μυστικὴν γινώσκοντες δύναμιν καὶ ὅσον ἡμᾶς εὐηργέτησε καὶ ὅπερ ἡμῖν ταῦτα γέγονε πρόξενα, οὕτως αὐτὰ καλῶς καὶ εὐσεβῶς ἑορτάσωμεν, ὡς αὐτὰ τιμώμενα βούλεται, «μὴ κοίταις καὶ ἀσελγείαις», ἃ τῶν ἐθνικῶν ἑορτῶν ὑπῆρχε τὰ σύμβολα, «μὴ ἔριδι καὶ ζήλῳ, μὴ ἁρπαγαῖς καὶ ἀδικίαις» (καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν σιγῶ τὸν κατάλογον). Τολμῶ γὰρ εἰπεῖν, ἀδελφοὶ γνησιώτατοι καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμῶν πίστεως σύγκληροι, καὶ γονεῖς τὰς αὐτὰς πνευματικὰς συμπλουτήσαντες, ὡς τὸν οὕτως αὐτὰς ἑορτάζειν ἐθέλοντα, οὐ μόνον οὐχ ὁρᾷ, οὐ προσίεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀποστρέφεται καὶ βδελύττεται, ὡς ἀπρεπῶς αὐτοῖς πολιτευόμενον καὶ τὰ μισητὰ πάμπαν αὐτοῖς ἐργαζόμενον. Διὸ παρακαλῶ καὶ προτρέπομαι ταῦτα μισεῖν καὶ ἐκτρέπεσθαι, ἅπερ ἡμῶν μισεῖ τὰ σεβάσμια, κἀκεῖνα φιλεῖν καὶ ἐργάζεσθαι, ἅπερ ἀρέσκειν αὐτοῖς ἐπιστάμεθα.
Ἀρέσκειν δὲ καὶ τέρπειν ἐπίσταται, ὅσα πρὸς σωτηρίαν ἐπανάγει τὸν πράττοντα καὶ ὅσα πρὸς ζωὴν ὁδηγεῖ τὴν αἰώνιον. Ἢ οὐ ζωὴν ἡμῖν μὴ τελευτῶσαν δεδώρηται, καὶ φῶς ἡμῖν οὐ δυόμενον ἤστραψε Χριστόθεν ἀνθρώποις ἐκλάμψαντα; Οὐκοῦν ἀμείψωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὰ ἑαυτῶν πολιτεύματα καὶ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφὴν ἀπωσάμενοι, ὡς βλαβερὰν καὶ ὀλέθριον, ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς εὐδρομήσωμεν. Ἢ οὐ ζωῆς ἡμῖν ἡ ἀνάστασις δωρεῖται τὴν κλήρωσιν, ἢ οὐ τὸν παλαιὸν ἡμῶν ὁ σταυρὸς ἀπεσταύρωσεν ἄνθρωπον;
Εἰ οὖν τὴν ἀνάστασιν σέβομεν καὶ ταύτης τὴν ἑορτὴν ἑορτάζομεν, καὶ καινοτέραν ζωὴν ἀγαπήσωμεν, δι᾽ ἧς οὐκ ἐσόμεθα φίλοι μόνῳ τῷ στόματι, ἀλλὰ καὶ μύσται αὐτῆς οἰκειότατοι. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν σταυρὸν ἀσπαζόμεθα, τί μὴ καὶ τὰ πάθη συσταυροῦμεν τοῖς μέλεσιν, ἵνα Παύλῳ καὶ ἡμεῖς συμβοήσωμεν «Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι» καὶ «ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός»; Εἰ οὖν ἐν τούτοις ζῆν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐπαγγέλλεται, ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ σταυρώσασι καὶ τὰ ἐπίγεια μέλη νεκρώσασιν, ὡς Παῦλος βοᾷ καὶ μαρτύρεται, τί μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐργαζόμεθα καὶ μέλος ἅπαν νεκροῦμεν ἐπίγειον, πάθος, ἐπιθυμίαν κακὴν καὶ τούτων τὴν λοιπὴν συναρίθμησιν, ἵνα καὶ ζήσῃ ἐν ἡμῖν ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ ζωὴν τὴν ἀγήρω δωρήσηται; Οὐκοῦν τὴν μετὰ πάντων εἰρήνην διώκωμεν καὶ τὸν ἀγιασμὸν σὺν αὐτῇ πορισώμεθα· «τούτων γὰρ χωρὶς οὐκ ἂν ποτέ τις τὸν Κύριον ὄψοιτο», ὡς Παῦλος πάλιν ἡμῖν μεμαρτύρηκε. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τάχα καὶ εἰρήνη Χριστὸς καταγγέλλεται· «αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν, φησίν, «ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν» καὶ «ἁγιασμὸς» προσωνόμασται. Εἰρήνη μέν, ὡς εἰρηναίαν κομίσας ὁμόνοιαν ἐνώσας τε τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς τὰ οὐράνια καὶ ἐκκλησίαν μίαν ἄμφω τευξάμενος, ἁγιασμὸς δὲ καὶ ἀπολύτρωσις (πρὸς γὰρ τοῖς προτέροις καὶ τοῦτο κηρύττεται), ὡς λυτρωτὴς ἡμῶν τῶν αἰχμαλώτων γενόμενος καὶ οὐ μόνον ἡμᾶς δαιμόνων καὶ παθῶν λυτρωσάμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγιασμὸν ἡμῖν ἐμφυτεύσας τὸν ἔνθεον.
Ἄπερ, εἰ φωνῆς τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπακούσητε, πάσῃ σπουδῇ καὶ προθέσει διώκωμεν καὶ κτώμεθα καὶ ἁρπάζωμεν, καὶ Χριστῷ δι᾽ αὐτῶν συναπτώμεθα τὴν καλὴν ἀληθῶς καὶ μακαρίαν συνάφειαν. Τὸν γὰρ οὕτω πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικνούμενον οὐ μὴ ἐκβάλῃ ἔξω τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητος καὶ μακαριότητος (Ἄπαγε!). Σπεύσωμεν οὖν ταυτηνὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν συμφωνίαν κτήσασθαι, ἧς οὐκ ἔνεστί τι προτιμότερον, καὶ τὸ ζῆν δὲ Χριστὸν ἐν ἡμῖν ἐξομοιώσαι δράμωμεν, οὗπερ οὐδὲν ἐστι κραταιότερον, ἵνα τοῦτον τὸν πλοῦτον κτησάμενοι καὶ βασιλείας οὐρανῶν ἀπολαύσωμεν καὶ ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον εὕροιμεν ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ σωτῆρι ἡμῶν, μεθ᾽ οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ δόξα σὺν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.
