Even Years: Didymus of Alexandria, Treatise on the Trinity, Book 2:14 (PG 39, 710-718)
| Τὸ γὰρ
αὐθεντικὸν βάπτισμα,
μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Υἱοῦ
καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου
Πνεύματος ἐπιφάνειαν,
καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην
ἡμέραν, μᾶλλον
δὲ ὥραν· ἀληθέστερον
δὲ, ἀδιαλείπτως
καὶ πάντας τοὺς
κατιόντας, καὶ ἀπὸ
πάσης ἁμαρτίας
αἰωνίως ἐλευθεροῖ·
καὶ τῶν πολλῶν
καὶ διαφόρων,
καὶ ἀνωμάλων,
καὶ δυσλύτων
διαθέσεων
ψυχικῶν τε καὶ
σωματικῶν ἡ ἴασις
εὑρίσκεται μία,
καὶ οὐδὲν
καθοτιοῦν ἔτι
παλαιὸν ἕπεται
ἄλγημα τῶν ἐντὸς,
ἢ τῶν ἐκτός. Πρὸς
ἐπὶ τούτοις, πάντας
ἐκ χάριτος ἀδελφοὺς
πρωτοτόκους
καὶ ἀρτιτόκους,
καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς
ἐξήλικας καὶ ἀφήλικας
ἀναδείκνυσι·
καὶ τούτοις αὐτοῖς,
οἷς κατὰ νόμον
κοσμικὸν τὰ γήϊνα
χρήματα, διὰ τὸ ἀνασφαλὲς
τῶν ἐτῶν, ἢ τῶν ὀλίγων,
ἢ τῶν πολλῶν, οὐ
καταπιστεύεται,
ὁ θεῖος ἅπας ὄλβος
ἀσφαλῶς
παρακατατεθεὶς
εὑρίσκεται· ὡς
γεγηθότας ψάλλειν·
Κύριος ποιμαίνει
με, καὶ οὐδέν με
ὑστερήσει· εἰς
τόπον χλόης, ἐκεῖ
με κατεσκήνωσεν·
ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἀναπαύσεως
ἐξέθρεψέ με
| The true Baptism, which was instituted after the manifestation of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, frees from all sin everyone who at any time goes down into the font. [A single remedy is ound for many different, unequal and stubborn dispositions of soul and body, and no old wound whatsoever, whether internal or external, comes back.] Moreover, to all, both old and young, it gives a new birth by grace that makes them newborn and firstborn, whether they are young or old. The whole wealth of heaven is deposited quite safely even with those whom civil law regards as too old or too young to be entrusted with the goods of this world. Therefore they sing with joy, The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. He places me in green pastures, he leads me to still waters;
| | Ἅγιοι
κληθήσονται πάντες
οἱ γραφέντες εἰς
ζωὴν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ·
ὅτι ἐκπλυνεῖ Κύριος
τὸν ῥύπον τῶν υἱῶν
καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων
Σιὼν, καὶ τὸ αἷμα
ἐκκαθαριεῖ ἐκ
μέσου αὐτῶν ἐν
Πνεύματι κρίσεως
καὶ ἐν Πνεύματι
καύσεως. Καὶ ἵνα
δείξῃ Πέτρος ἐν
τῇ πρώτῃ Ἐπιστολῇ,
ὡς, εἰ τὸ γενόμενόν
ποτε ἐν σκιᾷ βάπτισμα
ἔσωζεν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον
τὸ γενόμενον ἐν
ἀληθείᾳ ἀπαθανατοῖ
καὶ ἀποθεοῖ ἡμᾶς,
ἔγραψεν οὕτως·
Ὃ καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀντίτυπον
νῦν σώζει βάπτισμα,
οὐ σαρκὸς ἀπόθεσις
ῥύπου, ἀλλὰ
συνειδήσεως ἀγαθῆς
ἐπερώτημα εἰς
Θεὸν δι' ἀναστάσεως
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅστις
ἐκάθισεν ἐν
δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ
πορευθεὶς εἰς
οὐρανὸν, ὑποταγέντων
αὐτῷ ἀγγέλων, καὶ
ἐξουσιῶν, καὶ
δυνάμεων
| In his first letter, Peter shows that since people were saved in the past by a baptism which was only a type, much more will the true Baptism make us both immortal and divine. The water that saved eight people in the ark was a figure of the Baptism that saves you now. This Baptism is not merely the washing away of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a clear conscience. It saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who, having gone into heaven, sits at God's right hand, ruling over all angels, dominations, and powers.
| | Οἱ δὲ
πνευματικοὶ μόνον
οὐχὶ βλέπομεν
καὶ ἀκούομεν, ἀλλὰ
καὶ δωρεὰν ὑπὸ
τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος
φωτιζόμεθα καὶ
ἀπολαύομεν, σώματος
Χριστοῦ μεταλαμβάνοντες
καὶ πηγῆς ἀθανάτου
γευόμενοι.
| We who have become spiritual not only see and hear these things but, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we actually enjoy them. We communicate in the body of Christ, and drink from the fountain of immortality.
|
Odd Years: The Jerusalem Catechesis, 21:1-3 (PG 33, 1087-1091)
| Εἰς Χριστὸν
βεβαπτισμένοι καὶ Χριστὸν ἐνδυσάμενοι σύμμορφοι
γεγόνατε
τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Προορίσας γὰρ
ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς εἰς υἱοθεσίαν, συμμόρφους ἐποίησε
τοῦ σώματος
τῆς δόξης
τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Μέτοχοι
οὖν τοῦ
Χριστοῦ γενόμενοι,
χριστοὶ εἰκότως
καλεῖσθε,
καὶ περὶ ὑμῶν ἔλεγεν ὁ Θεός· "Μὴ ἄπτεσθε
τῶν χριστῶν μου."
| When you were baptized into Christ and clothed yourselves in him, you were transformed into the likeness of the Son of God. Having destined us to be his children by adoption, God gave us a likeness to Christ in his glory, and, living as you do in communion with Christ, you yourselves are rightly called 'christs' or anointed ones. When he said: Do not touch my anointed ones, God was speaking of you.
| | Χριστοὶ δὲ γεγόνατε, τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος τὸ ἀντίτυπον δεξάμενοι, καὶ πάντα εἰκονικῶς ἐφ' ὑμῶν γεγένηται, ἐπειδὴ
εἰκόνες ἐστὲ
Χριστοῦ. Κἀκεῖνος μὲν ἐν Ἰορδάνῃ λουσάμενος
ποταμῷ καὶ τῶν
χρωτῶν τῆς θεότητος
μεταδοὺς τοῖς ὕδασιν,
ἀνέβαινεν
ἐκ τούτων,
καὶ Πνεύματος
ἁγίου οὐσιώδης ἐπιφοίτησις
αὐτῷ ἐγίνετο,
τῷ ὁμοίῳ ἐπαναπαυομένου τοῦ ὁμοίου. Καὶ ὑμῖν ὁμοίως ἀναβεβηκόσιν ἀπὸ τῆς
κολυμβήθρας
τῶν ἱερῶν ναμάτων
χρῖσμα, τὸ ἀντίτυπον
ὃ ἐχρίσθη Χριστός. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ ἅγιον
Πνεῦμα,
περὶ οὗ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ἡσαΐας, ἐν τῇ κατ'
αὐτὸν
προφητείᾳ, ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Κυρίου ἔλεγε· "Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμέ, οὗ εἵνεκεν
ἔχρισέ
με· εὐαγγελίσασθαι
πτωχοῖς ἀπέσταλκέ με."
| You became 'christs' when you received the sign of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, everything took place in you by means of images, because you yourselves are images of Christ. Christ bathed in the river Jordan, imparting to its waters the fragrance of his divinity, and when he came up from them the Holy Spirit descended upon him; like resting upon like. So you also, after coming up from the sacred waters of Baptism, were anointed with chrism, which signifies the Holy Spirit, by whom Christ was anointed and of whom blessed Isaiah prophesied in the name of the Lord: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor.
| | Ἐλαίῳ γὰρ ἢ μύρῳ σωματικῷ Χριστὸς ὑπ' ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἐχρίσθη, ἀλλ' ὁ Πατὴρ αὐτὸν Σωτῆρα
προχειρισάμενος τοῦ παντὸς
κόσμου Πνεύματι ἔχρισεν
ἁγίῳ, ὡς Πέτρος
φησίν· "Ἰησοῦν τὸν Ναζωραῖον, ὃν ἔχρισεν ὁ Θεὸς Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ·" καὶ
Δαβὶδ ὁ προφήτης
ἐβόα λέγων· "Ὁ θρόνος
σου, ὁ θεός, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα
τοῦ αἰῶνος·
ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος
ἡ ῥάβδος
τῆς βασιλείας σου. Ἠγάπησας
δικαιοσύνην
καὶ ἐμίσησας ἀνομίαν·
διὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέ
σε ὁ Θεός, ὁ Θεός σου,
ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως παρὰ τοὺς μετόχους σου."
Καὶ ὥσπερ
Χριστὸς ἀληθῶς ἐσταυροῦτο καὶ ἐθάπτετο
καὶ ἠγείρετο, ὑμεῖς δὲ κατὰ τὸ βάπτισμα ἐν ὁμοιώματι καὶ συσταυρωθῆναι καὶ συνταφῆναι καὶ συναναστῆναι αὐτῷ καταξιοῦσθε, οὕτω
καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ χρίσματος.
| Christ's anointing was not by human hands, nor was it with ordinary oil. On the contrary, having destined him to be the Saviour of the whole world, the Father himself anointed him with the Holy Spirit. The words of Peter bear witness to this: Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit. And David the prophet proclaimed: Your throne, O God, shall endure forever, your royal sceptre is a sceptre of justice. You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above all your fellows. [And as Christ was really crucified and buried and rose, so in Baptism you were found worthy similarly to be crucified, buried and rise with him. The same upon your anointing.
| | Ἐκεῖνος ἐλαίῳ νοητῷ ἀγαλλιάσεως ἐχρίετο, τοῦτ' ἔστι
Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ, ἀγαλλιάσεως
καλουμένῳ ἐλαίῳ, διὰ τὸ αἴτιον
αὐτὸ τῆς
πνευματικῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως τυγχάνειν· ὑμεῖς δὲ μύρῳ ἐχρίσθητε,
κοινωνοὶ καὶ μέτοχοι
τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενόμενοι.
Ἀλλ' ὅρα μὴ ὑπονοήσῃς ἐκεῖνο τὸ μύρον
ψιλὸν εἶναι. Ὥσπερ
γὰρ ὁ ἄρτος τῆς εὐχαριστίας, μετὰ τὴν ἐπίκλησιν
τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, οὐκ ἔτι ἄρτος λιτός, ἀλλὰ σῶμα
Χριστοῦ, οὕτω καὶ
τὸ ἅγιον
τοῦτο μύρον οὐκ ἔτι
ψιλόν, οὐδ' ὡς ἂν εἴποι
τις κοινὸν
μετ' ἐπικλήσεως, ἀλλὰ Χριστοῦ χάρισμα,
καὶ Πνεύματος
ἁγίου
παρουσίας τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος
ἐνεργητικὸν γινόμενον.
Ὅπερ
συμβολικῶς
ἐπὶ μετώπου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων σου χρίεται αἰσθητηρίων. Καὶ
τῷ μὲν
φαινομένῳ μύρῳ τὸ σῶμα χρίεται,
τῷ δὲ ἁγίῳ καὶ ζωοποιῷ Πνεύματι ἡ ψυχὴ ἁγιάζεται.
| The oil of gladness with which Christ was anointed was a spiritual oil; it was in fact the Holy Spirit himself who is called the oil of gladness because he is the source of spiritual joy. But you also have been anointed with oil, and by this anointing you have entered into fellowship with Christ and have received a share in his life. Beware of thinking of this chrism as merely ordinary oil. As the eucharistic bread after the invocation of the Holy Spirit is no longer ordinary bread but the body of Christ, so also the oil after the invocation is no longer plain ordinary oil but Christ's gift which by the presence of his divinity becomes the instrument through which you receive the Holy Spirit. While symbolically, on your foreheads and organs of sense, your bodies are anointed with this oil that we see; your souls are sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit.
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