Even Years: Gregory of Nyssa, The Christian ideal (PG 46, 254-255)
| Οὐκοῦν
τὸν ἅγιον
Παῦλον πρὸς τὰ
δύο ταῦτα
καθηγεμόνα ποιούμενοι
ἀσφαλεστάτην ἕξομεν ὁδηγίαν
πρὸς τὴν τῶν
ζητουμένων σαφήνειαν.
οὕτος γὰρ
μάλιστα πάντων
ἀκριβῶς καὶ τί ἐστιν
ὁ Χριστὸς
κατενόησε καὶ
οἵον εἶναι
χρὴ τὸν ἐπονομαζόμενον
αὐτῷ δι' ὧν ἐποίησεν
ὑφηγήσατο, οὕτως
ἐναργῶς αὐτὸν
μιμησάμενος, ὡς
ἐν ἑαυτῷ δεῖξαι
τὸν ἑαυτοῦ
δεσπότην μεμορφωμένον,
διὰ τῆς ἀκριβεστάτης
μιμήσεως
μεταβληθέντος
τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ
εἴδους πρὸς
τὸ πρωτότυπον, ὡς
μηκέτι Παῦλον
εἶναι δοκεῖν
τὸν ζῶντά τε καὶ
φθεγγόμενον, ἀλλ'
αὐτὸν τὸν
Χριστὸν ἐν αὐτῷ
ζῆν· καθώς
φησιν ὁ καλῶς τῶν
ἰδίων ἀγαθῶν ἐπαισθόμενος
ὅτι ̓Επεὶ
δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε
τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος
Χριστοῦ, καὶ ὅτι
Ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ,
ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ
Χριστός.
| No one has known Christ better than Paul, nor has anyone surpassed him in the example he gave of what anyone should be who bears Christ's name. So perfectly did he mirror his Master that he became his very image. He was transformed into his model and it seemed to be no longer Paul who lived and spoke, but Christ himself living in Paul. His words Since you seek a proof that it is Christ who speaks in me, and, It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, show his keen awareness of this grace.
| | Οὕτος
οὖν καὶ τοῦ
κατὰ Χριστὸν ὀνόματος
ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν
τὸ
σημαινόμενον εἰπὼν
ὅτι
Χριστός ἐστι
θεοῦ δύναμις
καὶ θεοῦ σοφία·
ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰρήνην
αὐτὸν ἐκάλεσε
καὶ φῶς ἀπρόσιτον,
ἐν ᾧ οἰκεῖ ὁ
θεός, ἁγιασμόν
τε καὶ ἀπολύτρωσιν
ἀρχιερέα τε
μέγαν καὶ
πάσχα, ἱλαστήριον
ψυχῶν, ἀπαύγασμα
δόξης, χαρακτῆρα
ὑποστάσεως καὶ
ποιητὴν αἰώνων,
βρῶμα πνευματικὸν
καὶ πόμα,
πέτραν καὶ ὕδωρ,
θεμέλιον
πίστεως καὶ
γωνίας κεφαλὴν
καὶ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου
εἰκόνα καὶ μέγαν
θεὸν κεφαλήν
τε τοῦ τῆς ἐκκλησίας
σώματος καὶ τῆς
καινῆς
κτίσεως πρωτότοκον
καὶ ἀπαρχὴν τῶν
κεκοιμημένων,
πρωτότοκον ἐκ
νεκρῶν καὶ πρωτότοκον
ἐν πολλοῖς ἀδελφοῖς
καὶ μεσίτην
θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων
καὶ υἱὸν μονογενῆ
δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφανωμένον
καὶ κύριον τῆς
δόξης καὶ ἀρχὴν
τῶν ὄντων,
οὕτως εἰπὼν
περὶ αὐτοῦ· ὅς
ἐστιν ἀρχή,
βασιλέα τε
δικαιοσύνης πρὸς
τούτοις καὶ
βασιλέα εἰρήνης
καὶ βασιλέα τῶν
ἁπάντων ἀπερίγραπτον
ἔχοντα τῆς βασιλείας
τὸ κράτος καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα
πολλά, ὧν οὐκ
ἔστι τὸ πλῆθος
ῥᾳδίως ἐξαριθμήσασθαι·
| Paul teaches us the meaning of Christ's name when he calls him the power and wisdom of God, our peace, the unapproachable light in which God dwells, our sanctification and redemption, our great High Priest, our paschal sacrifice, our expiation; when he declares him to be the reflection of God's glory, the perfect likeness of his nature, the Creator of all ages, our spiritual food and drink, the rock and the water, the foundation of our faith, the cornerstone, the image of the invisible God. He shows what Christ's name means when he says that he is the mighty God, the Head of his Body the Church, the firstborn of the new creation, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, the firstborn from the dead, the eldest of many brethren, and when he tells us that Christ is the mediator between God and man, the only-begotten Son crowned with glory and honour, the Lord of glory, the beginning of all things, the King of justice and of peace, the King of the whole universe, the ruler of a realm that has no boundaries.
| | ἅπερ
πάντα
συντεθέντα πρὸς
ἄλληλα, τῆς
ἑκάστης τῶν ἐπωνυμιῶν
διανοίας τὸ
παρ' ἑαυτῆς εἰς ἔνδειξιν τοῦ
σημαινομένου
συνεισφερούσης,
ἔμφασίν
τινα τῆς
σημασίας τοῦ
κατὰ Χριστὸν ὀνόματος
ἡμῖν ἐμποιεῖ, ὅσον χωροῦμεν
τῇ ψυχῇ κατανοῆσαι,
τοσοῦτον τῆς ἀφράστου
μεγαλειότητος ἡμῖν
ἐνδεικνύμενα...
| Paul calls Christ by many other titles too numerous to mention. Their cumulative force when taken together gives some conception of what the name 'Christ' really means, and shows us his inexpressible majesty in so far as our minds can comprehend it.
| | οὐκοῦν
ἐπειδὴ τοῦ
μεγίστου τε καὶ
θειοτάτου καὶ
πρώτου τῶν ὀνομάτων
γέγονε παρὰ τοῦ
ἀγαθοῦ
δεσπότου ἡμῖν ἡ
κοινωνία, ὥστε
τοὺς τῇ ἐπωνυμίᾳ
τοῦ Χριστοῦ
τιμηθέντας
Χριστιανοὺς ὀνομάζεσθαι,
ἀναγκαῖον ἂν
εἶη πάντα τὰ
ἑρμηνευτικὰ τῆς
τοιαύτης φωνῆς
ὀνόματα καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν
καθορᾶσθαι, ὡς
μὴ ψευδώνυμον ἐφ'
ἡμῶν εἶναι
τὴν κλῆσιν, ἀλλ'
ἐκ τοῦ βίου τὴν
μαρτυρίαν ἔχειν.
| Since by the goodness of God we who are called Christians have been granted the honour of sharing this name, the greatest, the highest, the most sublime of all names, each of the titles that explains its meaning should have its reflection in us: if we are not to be false to this name we must bear witness to it by our lives.
|
Odd Years: Augustine of Hippo, Letter 137, 16 (PL 33, 523-524)
| Venit et Christus; complentur in eius ortu, vita, dictis, factis, passionibus, morte,
resurrectione, ascensione, omnia praeconia Prophetarum. Mittit Spiritum
sanctum, implet fideles una in domo congregatos, et hoc ipsum promissum orando atque
desiderando exspectantes.
| In accordance with ancient prediction, he comes: the promised Christ; and in his birth, life, words, and actions, in his Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension, all that the prophets foretold is fulfilled. He sends the Holy Spirit upon the believers as they are all gathered together in one place, waiting with expectant longing for the promised gift.
| | Impleti
autem Spiritu sancto, loquuntur repente linguis omnium gentium, arguunt
fidenter errores, praedicant saluberrimam veritatem, exhortantur ad
poenitentiam praeteritae culpabilis vitae, indulgentiam de divina gratia
pollicentur. Praedicationem pietatis veraeque religionis signa congruentia et
miracula consequuntur. Excitatur adversus eos saeva infidelitas; tolerant
praedicta, sperant promissa, docent praecepta. Numero exigui per mundum
disseminantur, populos facilitate mirabili convertunt, inter inimicos augentur,
persecutionibus crescunt, per afflictionum angustias usque in terrarum extrema
dilatantur. Ex imperitissimis, ex abiectissimis, ex paucissimis illuminantur,
nobilitantur, multiplicantur praeclarissima ingenia, cultissima eloquia; mirabilesque
peritias acutorum, facundorum atque doctorum subiugant Christo, et ad
praedicandum viam pietatis salutisque convertunt.
| And as soon as they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they begin to speak in the languages of every nation, to refute errors boldly, to preach the saving truth of the Gospel, to urge people to repent of their former sinful lives, and to promise them the grace of God's forgiveness. Their proclamation of the true religion and of God's loving kindness is confirmed by signs and wonders. Unbelievers stir up cruel persecution against them. They endure what they have been warned to expect, they hope for what they have been promised, and they teach what they have been commanded. Few in number, they are no sooner dispersed throughout the world than they convert whole peoples with marvellous ease; in the midst of their enemies they grow in strength. Persecution multiplies them; no suffering, no trial can hinder them from spreading to the very ends of the earth. Once a despised handful of ignorant men, they become a noble company of enlightened teachers, brilliantly gifted and of polished speech, who press into Christ's service for the preaching of the Gospel all the skill and experience of the wise, the eloquent, and the learned.
| | Alternis
adversitatibus et prosperitatibus rerum, patientiam et temperantiam vigilanter
exercent: mundo declinante in extrema, fessisque rebus aetatem ultimam
protestante, multo fidentius, quia et hoc praedictum est, aeternam civitatis
coelestis felicitatem exspectant. Atque inter haec omnia, contra Ecclesiam
Christi impiarum gentium infidelitas fremit: evincit illa patiendo, et inconcussam
fidem inter obsistentium saevitiam profitendo. Revelatae veritatis, quae diu
promissis mysticis velabatur, sacrificio succedente, illa sacrificia quibus hoc
figurabatur, templi ipsius eversione tolluntur.
| Now in adversity, now in prosperity, they vigilantly practice patience and self-control, and in the calamities which exhaust the earth and herald the final consummation at the end of the world, they discern the fulfilment of prophecy and so look forward with increased confidence to the eternal happiness of their heavenly country. Although in all these events unbelieving and godless nations continue to rage against the Church of Christ, the Church gains the victory by its endurance and by the profession of a faith unshaken by the cruelty of its adversaries.
For long ages the truth lay hidden behind mysterious prophecies, but now it is revealed in the sacrifice of Christ, and those sacrificial rites which foreshadowed it are abolished by the destruction of the Jewish temple.
| | Reproba
per infidelitatem gens ipsa Iudaeorum a sedibus exstirpata, per mundum
usquequaque dispergitur, ut ubique portet Codices sanctos, ac sic prophetiae
testimonium, qua Christus et Ecclesia praenuntiata est, ne ad tempus a nobis
fictum existimaretur, ab ipsis adversariis proferatur; ubi etiam ipsos
praedictum est non fuisse credituros. Templa et simulacra daemonum, ritusque
sacrilegi paulatim atque alternatim secundum praedicta prophetica subvertuntur.
Haereses adversus nomen Christi, sub velamento tamen nominis Christi, ad
exercendam doctrinam sanctae religionis, sicut praenuntiatae sunt, pullulant.
| The Jewish people, ejected from their home and scattered througout the world because of their unbelief, carry everywhere their holy scrolls, and thus the witness of prophecy, foretelling Christ and the Church, is proclaimed by the Church's adversaries, refuting any accusation that we at one time invented this witness. By degrees the temples of the heathen divinities are also being destroyed together with their images and impious rites, as the prophets foretold. Under cover of Christ's name heresies spring up against his very person. This too was predicted, but by means of such errors the doctrines of our holy faith are developed.
| | Haec
omnia sicut leguntur praedicta, ita cernuntur impleta, atque ex his iam tot et tantis quae restant, exspectantur implenda. Quae tandem mens avida aeternitatis, vitaeque praesentis brevitate permota, contra huius divinae auctoritatis lumen culmenque contendat?
| All these things we now see accomplished in fulfilment of the Scriptures, and from so many important instances of fulfilled prophecy we confidently look forward to the fulfilment of the remainder. Is there anyone, then, longing for eternity and conscious of the shortness of this present life, who can resist such clear and perfect proofs of the divine origin of our faith?
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