On the Denial of Peter

Again of the holy Mār Ya‘qōb. Memrā 21. On the Denial of Simon, at the hour of your trial, sharpen my thought, son of God: Command me to speak of your humility, while I am in fear. Into the house of trial, your thoughts have entered and been troubled. There, grant that I may see the wonder of your humility. In the house of the cross, he pressed upon the air and stood looking at you. Grant him the word of your rich discourse. Hidden and spiritual understanding before the judge: He saw you and marvelled at you, how hastily you stand there. Where even the disciples feared and were scattered from you. The cause of the word will tell the beauty of your humility. Where Simon the rock denied that he knew you. There, a small mouth is needed to confess your trial. Your love, my Lord, has clothed my thought in a distinct manner, And let it speak in the narrative of your beloved trial. Only through love can a mouth speak of you, So that your love may recount your story, and I may feel for your sake. The great sign of the love of the Father is the slaying of his son, That he might show him to the world until he delivered him to his Only One. Behold, how he loved his son, gave him to death and saved us. Through that love, let him speak now concerning our Saviour. Love has a great knot where it is, For there is no power that can overcome it in the face of its adversaries.

How could he have been able to afflict the father, that he might deliver his son? But it is love that is greater than all, as it is written. At this hour, a man draws near to God, for even he drew near to you and was from you. For when can he love, or when is it sufficient that he have mercy on the son in place of his salvation? When, for the sake of his son, he goes to the door and endures sufferings? It is love alone that bound him as he humbled himself. When the crucifiers, in the wrath of murder, pressed upon him, his loved ones abandoned him; in his great love, he stood in the arena. The lambs had fled, and the master of the flock remained alone, so that the sign of his love for his flock might be revealed. At the hour of murder, mercy descended to the generation completely; otherwise, the son would not have been saved from all mercy. The intruders fled, but the shepherd did not flee from his flock, so that by this the flock might learn how he loves her. The truth weighed the love of the son with his disciples, and the disciples went and weighed the love of the Son of God. The head of the disciples denied the Messiah, saying he did not know him; and where is love to be sought except in the son? Come, see Simon as he swore and multiplied curses, and raised his voice, saying he did not know the Son of God. Simon’s denial wove a crown for the love of the son, for he alone endured sufferings for the many.

In that denial, the great apostle taught this: that there is no love that can reach the love of the Son. When he said that he did not know Jesus, many were scandalized. He portrayed his love, which is greater than that of Christ, who is greater than all. And even his denial is a great witness to his proclamation: that for that love of the Son of God, there is no measure. He truly denied the Lord of truth in order to affirm that his love is greater even than the worlds and the creatures. Peter went out from you to meet the Savior. It is evident that there is no love that can be measured. At the time of the trial, Simon came and saw his suffering. But he did not remain; he fled with him, a great burden. He took the Son and confused the order of the apostleship. And sufferings and death fled and went away from the Savior. And when Simon had greatly increased his honor, more than his companions, because he alone saw that his vision was desirous of seeing. And when the dawn awoke to meet him, he turned his back, for that generation, except our Lord, was not sufficient. The disciple looked and saw his master standing, and a wall of flames surrounded him to the west. The master and the servant were confused and could not speak. The great one and the head of the disciples stood at a distance. Wolves surrounded him to say from all sides, and they troubled him that he had come to slaughter in great suffering.

a sharp sword and a standing spear against the Savior; and he drinks in sufferings and endures tremors from many. His hair was plucked, and he endured insult and mockery from the wicked. He was silent and amazed, and he was struck on the left cheek. The mighty one was bound, and he threatened the lowly with his fall. He was angry, humiliated, and silent; he was that one and did not speak. He groaned in pain gently, that disciple; and he raised his voice, being removed from the nails. He trusted the lamb before the shepherd who was being consumed; and he feared to approach because the wolves had surrounded him. He hid himself from the betrayal because of his master; and he was perplexed, and when he saw the people, he could not. He brightened his face while his mind was troubled like the sea; and he showed that he was a stranger to the Savior. He wondered and was amazed while he denied that he had seen him; until his judgment was completed, that of the wild beast, and he also kept his distance. He restrained his tears so that they would not flow toward the outsiders; and their observation of him was from his own weeping. He was silent while he loved, and he stood apart while he loved; and to show his love openly he was unable. He considered his thoughts so that they would not be heard while he groaned; and he also was joined in the judgment of death with the victor. He mingled himself with the nails in artfulness; by which cause he continued and saw all his judgment.

He cast down his head and sat in silence with the evildoers, because he saw the end and would have withdrawn from the house of judgment. And when it was thus good in all the moments, he turned aside and went. They knew him, that he was silent and wept and shed tears, but where was he? For they were saying, "You too, are you a man from among them? The Galilean also, his speech is very similar." He set up a false accusation against the true one and divided him. And like a sailor he sank in the harbor of the place of crosses. The scribes struck him more than the waves that were in turmoil, and they submerged the ship in the midst of the storm of denial. The priests were shouting like whirlwinds in their threats, and Simon feared and abandoned himself to be submerged. They were saying to him, "You too are a man from among them, you are from his own." And with this he ran to the harbor quickly. He began to say, "I do not know this man." He did not succeed in what he did not perceive wickedly, because he saw that judgment had come here with many, while he did not truly know the man. He concealed himself in falsehood and spread himself out, and he fled from him the threat that he might be stirred up to be consumed by it. His soul was hidden in iniquity, so that it was not revealed, for the great outcry that denies the Son whom he does not know.

He cast the covering of sin over his mind, so that he did not see that he was denying the Lord when he denied him. The cause of his error seized and held his entire soul. And he was not deceiving himself when he was swearing; the place of truth was filled in him with falsehood. And without deceit he was looking on when he was anathematizing. He was erring that the Lord was Jesus when he denied him, and truly he was also swearing that he did not know him. The eye of his soul was darkened by the tumult, and he did not know that he was denying Jesus when he denied him. He bent down in the storm and clearly did not see, and he denied the Son, and did not know who the Lord was. He multiplied the swearing that he did not know, and it was true that at that hour he did not know that he was erring about him. He feared death until he became unknowing; he trembled from the pain, and to become reconciled he set his face. Death drove him and he fled on the path of falsehood, and his error led the Son astray by the trembling of his heart, and he stood denying him. And when the trial was far from him, behold, it revealed him; another trial, bitter, was awakened against him. A woman saw him from the windows and said to that one, that this one also is truly from among them.

And when the crosses were set up opposite Simon, and again he placed his face as if at the beginning, he began to deny, as if he did not know him. And he closed his eye as if he had never seen Christ at all. He set up a lie against him, the lie of the two (and again his hand). And when he was immersed in falsehood, he was again immersed. O now, I do not know this man. And when I did not see him, I do not accept from him the blame for death. Woe is me, pitifully, do not condemn me when I have not sinned. I do not know what man you are speaking of. The cause, my daughter, let me enter and see what death I will die. Cursed am I, that I know him as you said. For I did not see him, and I will grieve for his sake. In the great abyss of falsehood, Simon was immersed. And the more he ascended from it, the more he descended below. The abyss of denial surrounded that truthful one. And he was hidden by the troubled waves of his mind, the lover of truth denied his beloved without knowing him. The sword of power struck him there and confused his mind. The good servant saw his Lord being mocked, and he was afraid to show himself, lest he be swallowed.

The disciple trembled when he saw his Lord being mocked. And he turned away his face so that he would not even be recognized by him. Simon deceived the world and denied the Son of God. Openly he denied him, saying, "I do not know this man." Fathers, brothers, and acquaintances he left, for he had commanded him. And he went after him, and when he stood before Caesar, he denied him and fled. He mounted the pyre and cast a net over that union. And he exchanged love for denial, a net for renunciation. And when he was victorious in the deceit of not knowing him, he was again accused by the witnesses that he was his disciple. In three nets he fell a little and was entangled. And the three nets were set for him when he entered. His body was spared, even the first and second. And again he was caught in the third, like his companions. The deceit was woven around him and his shame. And he turned and denied a third time, while he declared that he did not know him. He put on the armor of renunciation against the crosses. And with oaths he opened his mouth to speak. The third time, even more firmly, he denied truly, while he declared that he did not know this man at all. He was immersed in the great sea of deceit, and his face was filled with the troubled waves of renunciation. His soul was dyed in iniquity, full of bitterness, until he became a vessel of injustice.

Our Lord showed great love to the whole world, so that no one loves as he loved his disciples. Until death he gave himself because of love, for where there is love, not even death can separate. Our Lord alone was sufficient for that contest, and no other could be found in his place who was able. When Simon saw him from afar, he denied and anathematized; if he had approached and touched his place, what would he have done? At the cry of the Son, while he was at a distance, he looked and was troubled; if he had stood near him, he would have been crushed by how afraid he was. The voice of mockery cast trembling upon his limbs, so that he who was mocked was how far removed, if it had been required. He heard the roar and denied the Son, not knowing him; if the sparks and the spear had reached him, what would he have done? To these sufferings, however, Our Lord did not consent, and he himself endured all of them because of all. Simon denied and increased the sea of denial, so that no one could enter it, and with oaths he added to the sufferings that he did not endure. And when he had completed the deception, Our Lord looked at him, and remembered himself and repented, his heart upon his transgression. The cock crowed, and Simon remembered the word of the Son, and he seized the remorse of what he had done and was not saved.

He looked from that height of apostleship; he began and fell into the great snare of falsehood. He denied him for the sake of the love of discipleship; he descended to the vile order of falsehood. Upon the tribunal he sat like a judge, and with thoughts like rods he was being scourged. Indeed, from himself he did not desire concealment and covering; it was known from him, and he cast himself into condemnation. Our Lord looked at him when his denial was completed, and without a voice, in silence, he rebuked him wisely. The look of our Lord was full of grace and wisdom, as if with words in silence he reproached the head of the disciples. He looked at Simon, and as if he were saying to him: "So then, Simon, do you deny me in the time of suffering? O my disciple, where is the love of your apostleship? And the head of the disciples, in the time of trial, do you flee from me? When I was giving blessing to all of you, you were first; and when I was filling the thrones, again you were head. You did not flee from me until today, O disciple. In the trial you have left me, and where now do you show that you love me? When, Simon, did you not know me until today? And where have you lost me, except here where I am being mocked?

When the waves of the sea were rushing toward me, I was running; and now that the scribes are wiping my face, behold, I deny. When I turned water into wine, I was near; and now that spittle has been cast upon me, behold, I am far off. When I multiplied the bread in the wilderness, you were commanding; and now that the people have become good, the lords do not see you seeing me. When Elijah and Moses on the mountain, I did not deny you; and upon your remembering me here, behold, I deny. Your love is sweet if among the sacrifices you are changed, for one who loves does not turn him nor is he tested. A lover of truth shows his love in the time of the sword; and you, beloved and head of the lovers, how do you deny? Because distress and contempt assailed me, you did not know me; and because of the pains that reminded me of you, I denied you well. In the hour of your hardness and your gold, the battle, behold, I abandoned you; and again you deny that you do not even know him at all. A sacrifice gave you a hand that you might deny, O true one; and the love that passes over changes is also deficient. Because I saw that a man is humbled among the gallows, your sacrifice seized you so that you also might deny and be saved from him. The silence of the wilderness signified these things to Simon; and also that rock denied the standing of the one who would tell his story.

Do not say that Simon’s denial was predestined, because even our Lord said beforehand, as it were, “I do not know.” It was not because our Lord said it that the denial was real; rather, in this denial, our Lord was looking to what would be. And he knew beforehand what would be, the just one. And it is not for that reason that Simon was not guilty when he denied. If in truth his denial was not a mistake, then his repentance would not have been good either. He erred in that he denied, and it was good that he repented when he wept. He sinned in truth and repented in truth, and not in pretense. And therefore, when he denied, he was a denier; and again, in truth, when he wept, he was a penitent. He did not deny Christ in pretense, as one who did not know him; he plunged into a great falsehood that was unshaken. And therefore he also wept truly, because he saw himself in the great pit of denial. Denial expelled him from the rank of apostleship, and tears brought him back into the measure of discipleship. When he was anathematizing, he was a denier and not a disciple; and after he wept, he was a chosen apostle and not a sinner. And not when he denied was the mark of apostleship in him, nor when he confessed was the scent of denial in him. He denied the Son and was separated from his mixture; and therefore he was agitated by tears of pain.

He saw that the great truth of discipleship was being lost, and he began to weep over the loss of that greatness. The sin that had stood before him fled from him, and his path was illuminated, and he began to come to repentance. The denial, that evil deed, was completed, and he withdrew from it, and repentance followed after him like a pursuer to overtake him. He began to reason with himself separately, and he accused his own standing wisely. "Woe is me, that I fell from that height of the love of the Son, and behold, I stand with the crucifiers in denial." It is a great groan that I denied and erred in my life, and instead of the head of the apostolate, I became a denier. Why did I not confess with him and deny him, for death with him would have been a gain for me from the treasures? It would have been fitting for me, when he was swallowed up, to be swallowed with him, and when he was crucified among the crosses, to be struck with him. Where shall I go to seek my life, which has been lost to me? And with what shall I confess after this, that I denied the Son? Why did I not suffer the pains of death for his sake, and stand in one place, that I might know the feast of the many? It was necessary for me to return, so that I might not deny him, for death with him is a good life without end. Instead of a disciple, I became a denier, and what shall I do? And instead of a companion and a table-companion, I became a companion of the crucifiers.

I was to the apostles a brother and a head, even the first. And against the crosses I was a helper, (my) great one, and I curse myself. I wept bitterly over my ten companions. For the great pain of my error has come upon me today truly. It would have been better for me if I had fled as they fled. And since I did not flee, I became a denier instead of a fugitive. Thomas wept over the transgression of Simon his brother, when he heard that he had denied in the court before the multitudes. James wailed, and with him Matthew, also Bartholomew, at the evil of the outcry that you made today in the house of the wicked. Come, John, who knows the mysteries, weep over Simon, that like Caiaphas he denied him, the Son, whom he did not know. All my brothers, give me a woe, for what has happened to me? That I was an apostle and now I am mixed with deniers. In the light I denied, and behold I stand in the house of darkness. I sought the day and the night, they sought me from all sides. I cast away life and took death on the left side. What shall I do? What will carry me across to the sea of the west? In these words Simon was being greatly agitated, as he wept in great pain over his transgression. His great error had fled from his mind, and over that which he had done he was being troubled concerning that which had been done. And again he said, What then has given me to grieve with him? And by my pains I have torn up the document of denial.

When I came to the place of judgment, I approached him. And I endured with him scorn, mockery, and persecution. When he gave me to take spittle from his face, and to the threshold I extended my palms for his sake. Simon was strong here and there and what to do: that approaching he feared, and that withdrawing he again grieved. That entering, to take his judgment of the son he was not able. And that he denied him, indeed, and humbled himself, and wept and wailed. He lied and deceived and destroyed both one after the other. And he was like neither the disciples nor the crucifiers. He was not an apostle, and he did not conform to the murderers. He was separated from his companions, and he did not reach the crucifiers. That he might cease in denial, a great groan was his. And that he went toward the disciples, he was cut off from himself. He descended into denial from that rank of perfection, and he remained and ceased in that sin; it was a pain to him. From then on, in truth, and when he had tasted falsehood, he wept and lamented how bitter was the taste he had found. He stood in iniquity and hung himself in righteousness. And in every opportunity, except that he wept, he did not know. And when the time of distress came, it buried him from all his sides. Grace came and spread its wings over his branches.

Come, Simon, and bring tears of repentance. Weep and do not cease; weeping is good for you today. A great flood of tears is needed, many of them, for this pain is not healed except by tears. Come, go to the side of the suffering that has no end for you, and with festivals I will pasture her so that she may hear from me. Take tears for yourself and enter before her; when you enter, immediately all the wrath of her might will be dissolved. Turn weeping into joy, and change festivals into delights, and all anger will be truly dissolved from you. The fire of iniquity is not extinguished except by weeping; cast tears upon the coal that has no end for you. See that you do not approach the cutting off of hope, for that is death; take consolation and seek mercy, and you will be received. Great suffering pursued Simon like a judge, and his fortune, which had been cast down, was set on the great road of repentance. He feared for himself from the grace of the terror that had befallen him, and he began to groan in great suffering over his transgression. I beseech you, my Lord, do not be estranged from your mixture; remove iniquity from me and clothe me in the love of your sweetness. Sin has grieved me and cast me into ruin without remedy; you are wise, bind up the wound that is appointed for me. The waves of iniquity have surrounded me on dry land to be drowned; you, my Lord, who are above me as one who knows me, are from the fonts.

These pains are because of evils, see, you bear. Through me, the first, show your sin that covers me. In this judgment on behalf of sinners, see, you stand. To me, the sinner, first you sought from me. I denied, and I am he who now confesses, I. Accept my confession and sign the document of denial. From where can you weep, your sin, except through me? Who more than all have done evil in falsehood. See, the great crown of evil consumes my Lord. Give me your hand, I will ascend from it, lest I perish in it. In the pit I fell, and I am one who cannot ascend. Extend to me, my Lord, mercy from you, that I may be saved. Evil pursues me, and the snare gapes, see, it chokes me. Break, you, the snare, and I will escape from the trap. Shame seeks denial in me, and see, it mocks me. Good physician, apply your medicine to me, I will be healed by it. The mighty one has assailed me and given me denial that I might approach you. Take from me now also the confession that I give to you. Good shepherd, go out at the plea of the sheep that has gone astray, and do not leave me in the hands of the evil one who seeks my life. With these tremors of repentance, Simon was shaken, and with contrite sobs he was heaped up. At the goal of the mercy of his Lord, the son wept as he groaned, that his earnestness might open the door of the house of judgment.

Behold, you show the sign of what has gone up for forgiveness: that even he was bold for the prayer, and behold, he was hidden. Simon's denial was the cause for repentance, so that its path might be revealed and clear before the many. From that chosen one, take the example of how you are reconciled, and groan in bitter pain over your transgression. Weep as he wept, and be received as he was received. Suffer in truth, and behold, you have been truly hidden. Look at Simon as he wept bitterly, for the pain of iniquity was afflicting him distinctly. He pursued from himself the sin that had come upon him, being agitated, for he did not wish it to dwell with him in neighborhood. He saw Gehenna, which was threatening him mightily, and opened a flood of tears and extinguished it, and it was quenched from him. He turned evil aside in the ranks of the living of denial, and stirred up weeping and with lamentations conquered his legions. The wise one saw the mountain of iniquity that was piled up in him, and from the head of his body he opened a spring of tears that washed it away. With the voice of weeping he silenced the thunder of denial, and with confession he paid the bill of injustice. He saw in himself the filth of iniquity, and it became bitter for him, and he cast hot waters and purified it wisely. A stone came out from within his mouth and was shattered in him, and he poured forth tears from his eyes, washed, and was cleansed.

He raved like a fool and turned, he stood like a wise man: that even you might learn how to stand when you have raved. For the debt of the hour was repaid by the eyes of that Parosh. He was indeed master over his limbs, that he might work with them. See the sin that is turned about in him, that it might take a place, and seal it with tears, that it might not turn again upon his thoughts. He saw the cursed glutton that had sunk into him, and behold, it devoured him; and he cast waters that were salty, that he might be awakened. He cleansed himself with the pure waters of repentance, until the whiteness might become a garment for the house of the kingdom. His beauty was lost, and he wept greatly, while seeking him; and he found what was his, and then he ceased from the festivals. A great fullness is given to you, Simon, O repentant one: that he opened for you the door of mercy when you were reconciled. It was also fitting that from Simon the Church should learn: by which door all the repentant enter from him. For without a foundation, a house cannot be built. For Simon, it is fitting that in everything he be first. For this stone, it is fitting that it be likened to a man, in all the examples that exist in the Church from all its sides. He was the head also of the chosen and of the saints, and he again, when he was made the first, for the sake of the repentant.

perfect among the apostles and mixed his company with sinners: that all the orders that exist in the Church are his, and they are astonished. There is in him a companion to the righteous and to the sinners: that by his own hand they all saw him when he looked at him. He made a spectacle even for the penitents and the repentant: that he seized for himself everything that exists in the Church. Perfect in truth and very perfect in denial: perfect when he sinned and more perfect when he repented. Eloquent in denial and like thunder in the voice of confession: rich in tears and first in revelations. He was the first to confess the Son of the Father and the Son of the Father: and he again was the first to deny that he knew him. He was also the first head of repentance: and the Church is well pleased with him in all her changes. For he is the wise son of the builders who laid her foundations: therefore she is built upon Simon from the beginning. The Church is more adorned with repentance than anything: for by it all her sorrows are healed. If a woman in childbirth embraces to enter, also a warrior: without repentance the door would be opened to these. And therefore the Church is well pleased with the denier: that all her examples are without example. When he was able to hide himself from John: that no sin or folly might be seen in him.

The joyful one of the rock, let his error be made known lovingly. And how could it be that he was likened to him without being confounded? In Simon the chosen, it is clear to you that you should look, for he is full of hope: that after he denied, he returned and was accepted truly. In him you learn that there is power in repentance, until it reaches the high rank of perfection. He was first, and after he sinned and returned in truth, he did not descend from the rank of being of the second or the third. He ascended with tears and stood in his place without change. And the keys were placed in his hand, along with the name and the authority. What he had lost through denial, he recovered through tears: so that all who come to repentance may find hope. All the orders that exist in the Church are supported by him, and he is mixed and equal with the heights and the depths. For above him in perfection there is no other, and among the sinners below him there is none who was a denier. When he confessed, even to the Father, he revealed his mysteries; and when he denied, he even cursed, not knowing the Son. He descended into sin (even to the limit of denial), and through repentance he reached the rank of perfection. In one place, where you are the rock, hear from the Lord; in another place, he changes his word, calling them Satan.

In a single moment the sea swallowed his error, when he was a rock. And after a little, the deep swallowed him because he was divided. There are in him degrees that are very high and very low: all the orders that exist in the Church are arrayed upon him. The perfections that exist in the world, to complete your purity, reach him. And sinners, moreover, seek him out in repentance. There is in him a place for the stranger and the foreigner and the proselyte, and for the righteous and the sinners, all together. For he is the foundation, and all the pillars are stretched out upon him, so that in every division the whole house is built upon him. Look at him in Simon, and arrange yourself according to his request, for everything that you are, you have a place in him, if you wish. If you are righteous, you will resemble his faith; and if you are a sinner, in his tears he will be bitter and in his repentance. If the waves of iniquity surround you to be drowned, cry out like the one who was swallowed, 'My Lord, help me!' and he will lift you up. If a great sin encircles you like a whirlpool, 'My Lord, my Lord of the deep,' call him to the shore, and he will save you. If you are caught in the storm of the impious like a shipwreck, weep like Simon, and in your groanings you will be hidden. If you fall as he fell, rise up like him, for he is a sign to you, and if you look at him, you will be corrected.

His door was open in mercy for him to enter. Blessed is he who called you to repentance, which was hidden in her. (End of the Memra of Mar Jacob the Teacher: On the Denial of Simon Peter, Head of the Apostles. From the Memra of Mar Jacob on Repentance.) On account of the bitterness there was a contest in the soul of Simon, head of the disciples, for the iniquitous one had humbled him and cast his brokenness into denial. And when he was strengthened by repentance and brought tears, Christ anointed him and gave him his former beauty. Until he sinned, he had been made head of the discipleship, and after he denied, he gave him his place through his repentance. It was not that he became one of the five or the three, but he ascended and was set in his former rank. Until he denied, he was master of the house, and he denied and went out, and he repented and entered, and he added and gave him the keys of the flock. He gave him the keys which he had lost when he denied, and he added for him again lambs and kids and flocks. As much beauty as was added to him through repentance, he added for him also authority over the flocks that he found. The Son of God loved his flock and died upon its face, and gave her to Simon, who was trusted to guard her. And this man is her disciple, that of repentance, and she is the one who brought him in, who had gone out, for if not for her, he would not have.

He denied his Lord and swore and cursed, not knowing him. And he became angry and went out from the house, and behold, he had gone. And Repentance ran after him while he was fleeing. And she turned him back upon the threshold of his Lord, the blessed one. And she taught him to bring tears instead of a sacrifice. And he took and brought, as one who had become wise through repentance. And immediately, when Christ looked upon him, it was good. And however much he had denied, he did not deny his companion with him. And after this, all the shame of death upon her face. To him she gave it, as to a beloved who had never sinned at all. And for the repentant, she made an image and a spectacle, so that they might know what the power of repentance is. And in them, the beauty that exists for the pure until they sin. Immediately, when one repents, he enters and stands in the house of God. And at the sinner who repents, even the angels rejoice, because the image of the king, which had been lost, was found. Therefore, O soul, behold, you are trusting and steadfast for me, that it is fitting for you: your beauty comes to you from God. As it was fitting for Simon, the head of the apostles, it is fitting for you, all that beauty of your purity.

He had uprooted and cast down the high temples of idolatry, and he built the Church, and he, the first rock, sought himself in her. He placed his standing as a foundation for the bride of light. And at her beginnings, his companions the apostles, beloved examples, entered. He at the foundation, and his companions in the walls, and he stood in prayer. And Christ came at the head of the corner, being the roof. He placed in her midst the raised altar and the light of the Lord. And it is not possible for the sun to shine in her neighborhood. He opened in her a spiritual font of baptism, which buries the dead and gives birth to life and gives to the Father. He placed in her an altar, a table of the king, which is filled with life, and above it he placed the mystery of body and blood. He broke the bread of life, mixed the cups, called the worthy, and distributed the wealth which his Lord gave him, and he traded with it.