On the Dedication of the Church

On the Dedication of the Church A Memra, Twenty-Third Again, on the Dedication of the Church A Discourse The Church of the peoples bowed down to the Messiah, who planted you on earth and inscribed you in heaven. The great mystery did the Son of God make for his Church, and all the peoples sing and call to the day of her wedding. After the darknesses, the sun of righteousness set her, and his fair beauty and light shone upon her face for her adornment. After the poor, the rich one who cannot be impoverished loved, and his great wealth he placed in her hands, that through it she might be exalted. The bridegroom Messiah, in his great love, lowered his height, and for the mortals he desired and descended, and exalted them. The Lord of height lowered his height toward the lowly, and became a bridegroom for the peoples, and purified and sanctified them. The Church of the peoples, the bridegroom, the Son of the Most High, set her, and joined her to himself in his love, and raised her head among her rivals. One despised, rejected, and humiliated appearance became after the rock, for the son of the height dwelt in the heights. One darkness, covered with the gloom of the fear of demons, her light loved and called him to herself, and was filled with light. To the barren and the shame of the desolate places, the Son of God called and gathered, and made her his own. To this wandering one, after the idols, the lover of all loved, and gathered her to himself, and sowed in her members the teaching of life.

To that lost one, which was lost among the forces of error, He found a way, and brought her into the fold of life. To the harlot and the courtesan, a weighty priest came, And covered her with his light, and hid her shame with the stole of his glory. The holy one chose the companion of demons and the handmaid of devils, And loved her with his love, and washed from her her great iniquity. He saw her blackness and her foul filth, and was amazed at her appearance, And brought her to the water, and cleansed her stain from her impurity. A baptism of the fullness of life was established for her, And he washed and cleansed her, and purified her face from the stains. With the waters of life he washed the impurity of the sealed one, And the oil of sanctity he poured upon her head, and made her face shine. With oil and water he washed her body, and purified her soul, And he gave her a name: the Holy Church, full of beauties. He cast off from her the name of her error along with her faults, And clothed her in beauty, and set her name as the chosen Church. By the beautiful name which the prophets gave her in their revelations, That glorious bride was called on the day of her baptism. The prophets of the Spirit called her Church in their words, And in her they sang praise to her Lord from all peoples. The sorrowful prophets set the great Church as her name, And the bride came and confirmed her name in baptism.

With water he washed her, with oil he anointed her, with love he adorned her. And he took the stole of light and clothed her in holiness. In the name of the Living One and in the name of his Father and of the Holy Spirit, he sealed the bride and completed her spiritual beauty. He placed a crown of light on the head of the adorned one. His body he cut for her, his blood he mixed for her, and he gladdened her heart. By his suffering he confirmed her, by his death he redeemed her, by his murder he sacrificed her, and by his resurrection he adorned her with spiritual life. He bound a girdle for her from the rays of his Father's light, and he summoned worlds and generations to her bridal chamber, the living feast. The Church, the bride of the Crucified, clothed in light, and from her rays her beloved ones shone in the bosom of her inheritance. The love of the sinner is not exhausted by words, and the affections of the bride are not inscribed in writings. The love of the sinner for the bride is hidden in the wood, and the affections of the bride pursue the sinner who is crucified. Who is the sinner who, because of the bride, endured crucifixion? It is Christ, whose love is too great to be spoken. And what is the bride who loved the sinner who hung on the wood? It is the Church, whose story is too high for words. Because the Church died for the Crucified, the Son of God, and because of his death she loved him, the Church was bound to him.

The sinful one, the slain one, and the bride, the saved one, were joined together. And behold, at their wedding feast, generations with lineages rejoice. The sinful one placed his bride on a high throne, and her beauty was revealed to the heavenly and earthly ones. The generations summoned the lineages to the wedding feast of life. And they set a sign before the daughter of the king, the bride of holiness. The prophets, the priests, the apostles, the martyrs, the priests, and the kings summoned to her wedding feast, that of the holy Church. The great wedding feast: the sinful one is Christ, the bride is the Church. The apostles, the prophets, the martyrs, the priests, and the kings are bound together. All the peoples, the worlds, and the generations are mingled in her fragrance. And all rejoice in the body and blood of the sinful one, the anointed one. The body of the sinful one is the living altar at the wedding feast of his Church, and his blood is the spiritual drink at his banquet. It is the great wedding feast in which all the worlds are established, and by it the thrones of the heights are exalted for service. It is the living foundation of life that moves among his orders, and his foundations drink new life that the sinful one mixes. The song of the Spirit, behold, raises its voice at the wedding feast of life, and in ineffable unity its fragrance spreads. The beauty of the sinful one is sung by the established ones without satiety, and they adorn him for the crown of holiness with their praises. The voices of the sons of men and of angels are mingled, and the house of the banquet is filled with the songs of the Spirit.

The head of the songs of David, the king who erred, tuned his cithara and plucked, singing the beatitudes of the Church and the beauty of the bridegroom. The bridegroom is Christ, and the bride is the Church, upon his lips; and behold, at his song, the sealed ones delight spiritually. Listen, O Church, bride of light, mother of David, and let the beauty of the bridegroom who loves your heart be recounted to you. Fair in his appearance is Christ the bridegroom, more than the sons of men, and mercies are poured out upon his holy lips. Blessed is he forever, whose splendor and glory conquer the tyrants; his limbs are shattered, and his enemies he slew with his victory. The sinful one, death, and also Satan, he cast down in their death, and with victory he turned from battle and raised his bow. His throne is established from the right hand of his father, who raises it, and righteousness is woven into his authority and is not changed. With the good oil of his divinity he anointed his humanity, and with unity he made his body shine, the living one who subdues. With good fragrance he perfumes the garments of his incarnation, and from the right hand of his father, hidden, he dwells in the heights. My Lord is the bridegroom, and my Lord is called, who sits from my right hand until all your helpers are placed, subduing your feet. He is the priest and the living sacrifice, covering sins, and he is not changed from his priesthood and from his sacrifice. In the splendor of holiness he was born from his father, above sacrifices, and in his humanity he was born from Mary, holily.

All the kings bow to him in their offerings, and all the peoples serve him in perpetual servitude. His holy name is established forever along with his dominion, and before the sun his name existed and is unchangeable. In him all the peoples are blessed and praise him, for from him is the holy Church, the bride of light. David marveled at the beauty of the bridegroom, which is beyond description, and began to sing his lofty praise with the children. He saw him on earth clothed in flesh and was amazed at him, and began to cry out and proclaim his praise and his dominion. And the Lord, the Master, how shall I praise your name throughout the earth, for in heaven your praise resounds from the heights? These sounds that fill the air, David sang them to the holy Church, the betrothed of the sun of righteousness. The beauties of the bridegroom fill the hearing of the bride of light, and the fire of her love kindles a spark within her thought. Isaiah arose and began to cry out in the festival of life, that Emmanuel is the bridegroom of the Church, beloved. Above the order, the virgin gave birth to him without marriage, and he became the Lord, the mighty hero, unchangeable. Peace and tranquility have spread his dominion over all peoples, and there is no limit to his great tranquility and his kingdom. James the Elder gave a response in the midst of the melody: that this bridegroom, for him all the priests have been ordained.

This is the one who came and abolished the idols and the kings of the people. This is the bridegroom who suffered on the cross for the sake of his church. And with his blood the pure one consecrated the stole of his humanity. This is the bridegroom who is better than milk, whose teeth are white, and who adorns himself entirely with the glory he put on from the Spirit. All the priests, the masters of the houses, stood up in their chanting, and the beauties of the bridegroom filled the hearing of the daughter of light. One cried out, "Behold, the lamb goes forth from the sanctuary, to pasture the people and to save the nations, and to rule over every kingdom." Another cried out, "The signs of the Messiah have come, and death is overcome, and he uproots the root of Zion, and the church rejoices in his crucifixion." Another sang, "Arise, be enlightened, daughter of light, for your great light has come, the Messiah the bridegroom." "Behold, his light has shone and enlightened your eyes, and made your face joyful, and behold, his honor has alighted upon your head and adorns you." "For you the kings of the earth come with their offerings, and the forces of the nations run to you in love." Another wailed, "Rejoice, daughter of the peoples, instead of the daughter of Zion, for the king Messiah has come to you and makes you glad." Righteous, upright, and meek, filled with the love of salvation, and he loves you instead of the Hebrew woman who rejected his strength. The chant was abundant and the voices of the virgins multiplied, at the consecration of the church, the betrothed of Jesus the beautiful bridegroom.

The sound of gladness the bridegroom heard, and he began to cry out: "This is the great star, the bridegroom of the height, the holy church." He is the high head that arose from the seed of the house of Israel, and he became the head of all the peoples from whom he came. David changes the other melodies of his songs and begins to sing the beauty of the bride purchased with blood. Behold, the daughter of the king stands in glory from her right hand, of the glorious bridegroom who came and redeemed her by his standing. O daughter of the king, whose entire glory is from the house of the king, and in her perfection she is adorned with baptism and filled with beauties. Not from without is the beauty of the bride of the king, but from within she is adorned with the beauty of the bridegroom who died upon her face. By the love of her bridegroom, the church is adorned and filled with beauties, and faith and hope and love shine upon her face. She adorns her garment with the good gold of faith, and places upon her head a fitting crown of holiness. The daughter of the peoples of error, along with her people, even the house of her father, she turned her ear to the voice of the bridegroom who died upon her face. The bridegroom saw her burning with true love, and he desired her fitting beauty and made her his own. She worshipped her lord and clung to her redeemer with love, and behold, at the sacrifices the kings of the earth turn their faces.

The perfect love of the bridegroom and the bride saw the son of Jesse, and he added the tones of his songs concerning the church. The great church that from the nations I will crown you, bridegroom, and because of love to the height I will turn her. From before you she is one praise of the great church, and in her the peoples of all the tribes that you saved bow down to you. The foot of the peoples stands in you in uprightness, and within your church they bless you righteously. In your great church I confess you, my Lord, while I rejoice, and among the houses of idols of the erring peoples I will sing to you. I hoped in the righteousness of your yoke, my Lord, in your great church, and my lips did not cease from your salvation and your faith. Not, my Lord, did your righteousness and your faith depart from the house of the peoples; your great church is purchased with your blood. Bow down, bridegroom, for you remembered your church which you established from the beginning. Not, my Lord, does the sea of your love turn away from within your church. Your faith is proclaimed, bridegroom, fittingly, in the great church of the saints; her beauty triumphs. God stands in the great church, the house of the saints, and great and awesome, glorious and exalted above those around him. The supporters in the church praise him in the church, the church of the peoples, to the bridegroom Christ, who redeemed the church of the peoples with his cross.

I confess, my Lord, righteously, with all my heart, In your great church of the Christians, there we shall establish praise. They praised the Lord, one new praise, they said, Behold, his praise in the great church from the righteous. The son of Jesse saw the tones of the peoples in the holy church, And he learned a new song of tones for the wedding of the church. All you peoples, come, strike the palm in the church, I say to you, And sing praise to him who by his mercies redeemed your lives. With these beautiful tones of the church, the son of Jesse sang, In that wedding feast which the son of God made for his church. Behold, resounding in the holy church are glorious tones, Apostolic tones that are sown in her spiritually. The tones of prophecy and apostleship are mingled, And the church is filled with glorious resoundings of the mysteries. Paul the Great, behold, raises his voice like a trumpet, And cries out and proclaims the high beauty of the holy church. On his tongue are woven her spiritual orders, And on his pages are inscribed her beauties full of life. High is the song of the preacher to the peoples in the holy church, And at his proclamations angels and men marvel. All the apostles sing with him in their tongues, In this wedding of the bridegroom Christ for his church. The preaching of the bridegroom resounds life in the wedding of his church, And from her the baptized drink new life from the bridegroom.

Great is the bridal chamber and the feast, the foundation and the sweetening of the drink. One new bride, chaste and pure, and the joy is high. The great priests and priests, the splendid ones, the singers of the church, their mouths are filled with songs of the spirit in the bridal chamber of life. O church, the daughter of the sun of righteousness, behold, your glory is high, and in the house of stars your crown flourishes. Behold, with the generations your bridal chamber flows, filled with joys, and in it the worlds and peoples of all regions rejoice. In the earth is fixed the church of holiness, purchased with blood, and its head is high, behold, in heaven it is the house of God. Every day its great foundation increases with its joys among the peoples who come from all regions to rejoice in it. With the foundation of faith its building is laid, and it is not moved by the blasphemies and words of all its enemies. Kings besieged it and did not move the true one, and behold, in victory its head is crowned, the blessed one. The church of holiness stands before the house of the crucifiers for the impious, and from its right and from its left it has put on glory. It has conquered the teachings and the swords of the men of error, and behold, its head is high and its feet are low, its enemies are cast down. The doors are opened before all who come to be baptized in it, and it is filled with light and resounds with its children in hymns.

Kings and princes, and those who bow down, are terrified of the dust of her feet. And all the peoples are pressed at her gates with offerings. Her walls are high and cannot be hidden from pursuers. And behold, by the gospel the covenant of her great foundation is marked. By a chosen slaughter, at a glorious dawn, the Church of the peoples. And beneath the wings of the cross, light is spread for her beloved ones. Above the rock of faith, the Savior is in her. And the gates of Sheol and the snares of death do not hide her. Upon the confession of the head of the disciples, her building is placed. And her walls are raised with good hope and pure love. Fixed in the earth, and behold, her completion is in heaven. Height and depth are within the dominion of the bride of light. The Church is in the earth, and the Church is in height, and it is one Church. The Church of holiness and the Church of the firstborn, that which is future. For one Church in both worlds, her beauty triumphs. The sin of her bridegroom in both worlds, or the greatness of her name. She triumphs in the earth and subdues the peoples to the house of her mercy. And behold, in heaven her walls are stretched out in the likenesses of fire. In the world that passes, she is for a hundred generations. And in that which is future, the watchers and men are glorified in her. At once, when this course of mortality is completed, her beauty sprouts in the high place of the immortals.

Here her fragrance is sweet in the body and blood of the sinner, her lord. And there, delight is in her radiance, a beautiful garment woven of light. Here, by the sacrifice of her body and blood, the seeker of her petitions is protected. And there, a sign shows the way of her salvation to all her beloved. Here and there, the Church and her petitions are delighted in him. Here, the Spirit thunders on the pages of the Scriptures, which the priests wrote. And there, the one who rejoices in the persons of the wearers of light is glad. Here, the books of prophecy and apostleship, and there, the writings of the persons of the sons of light. Here, they thunder within their pages, within the sanctuary. And when they have considered her, that one falls silent in the place of light. Above, she is exalted by that ineffable praise, and the writings of her petitions are delighted in her, along with the spirits. My mind is amazed at the lofty beauty of the holy Church, and I have no word sufficient to speak of her loveliness. Her account is high above the wise and the eloquent, and she is the crown of all the treasures of the house of God. Light is woven, and light is worn, a garment of light; light shines, and her beautiful light is ineffable. By her, worlds and peoples are adorned from the beginning, and in her, the pages of the Spirit thunder throughout all generations. The Lord of the prophets laid her foundations, established her building, and wrote in her the book of her preaching and her purity.

The apostles spread her petition through their proclamation, full of life. And they died upon her face and raised her walls by their murders. Priests and kings increased the beauty of the mistress of treasures. And all the peoples joined their voices in her hymns. Great is her height and vast her bridal chamber of the king's bride. And her treasures are filled with great wealth that cannot be diminished. In the upper chamber, when she entered the house of God, the sinner cast down his body and blood and his great love. Also the apostles gave her their heights as wedding gifts, the sufferings and deaths which they endured from persecutors upon her face. The prophets cast down their revelations concerning her, and in their books they danced before her spiritually. The martyrs gave her the blood of their necks lovingly. And the priests cast down their ranks in the sanctuary. Kings gave her their authority as a height, and at the carpet for the covering of her feet they bowed rejoicing. Men and women, elders and youths, and all the orders took up and offered to her voices of praise as a height. Great is her wealth, the holy Church of the wilderness, and from her all the orders and ranks of her seekers grow rich. For past, present, and future alike shine in her great beauty, the ranks of their authority.

Her high temples gleam with light, filled with delight. In the house of mercy, adorned with splendor and sanctity. The altar is fixed in her, the mystery of the tomb of the sinful one, the Messiah. And the cross is placed in her, the sign of the death of the one who gives life. Body and blood are distributed in her for the remission of sins. The living sacrifice of that high priest who with his blood consecrated her. The sacrifice is completed; his offering finished, he gave her blessedness. So that the perfection of the blessings of the house of God is not lacking. Priests of the type gave honor to the priests of truth. So that the type might pass and the truth of the holy Church might shine. The silent sacrifices of the law worshiped from afar. Her eloquent sacrifice, the Church, the bride betrothed to the Son. The dead sacrifices received completion through the living sacrifice. Within the holy house of the Church, the mother of truth. The harlot who went out from the market of the sinful one, to whom she was sold, Became the cause of the Church and became the bride of the true one, her love. The harlot was crucified, and the Church of the peoples lived through his crucifixion. And behold, she rejoices in his body and blood, covering sins. Behold, the proclamation of the bride of light is upon her lips. His body and blood, of the living sinful one, the exalted Son. In the four directions, behold, the bride of the king rules. Height and depth are subject to the authority of the glorious one.

Her four sides are turned to the four winds, filled with beauties. With four letters she sets her name, the sinful one, her Lord. Blessed are you, O Church, for your Lord loves you and has redeemed your life. And a great light shines in your paths and in your ways. Blessed are you, O Church, for your Lord loves you, the sun of righteousness. And a glorious light shines in your faces and fills you with praise. Blessed are you, O Church, for your altar is an indestructible light. And it is set upon you in a high height above in heaven. Blessed are you, O Church, for your Lord, the good one, crowns you. And he calls the two worlds to your festivals, which are full of blessings. Blessed are you, O Church, for the Son of God sacrifices himself in his blood for you. And he redeems your life from the servitude of the worship of idols. Blessed are you, O Church, for the Father wills it for you, and the Son crowns you. And the Holy Spirit completes your spiritual beauty. Blessed are you, O Church, for the daughters of kings give you blessings. For your Lord, the sinful one, whose are heaven and earth, loves you. Blessed are you, O Church, for behold, your bridal chamber is set in heaven. And blessings are arranged in it, full and without end. Blessed are you, O Church, for although your body is spread on earth, behold, your beauty is formed in heaven in the house of God. Blessed are you, O Church, for all beauties are heaped upon your head. The Lord of blessings loves you and crowns you and illuminates your name.

Blessed are you, O Church, for your feasts are resplendent in the four directions, and the holy name is exalted in you according to its promise. O bride of blessings, receive my words like a Roman, and beneath your feet preserve my life from the envious. My Lord, grant that I not be separated from that blessing which is yours, O Church, and from your children on the day of your revelation. A greeting to you, O sinful one, sweet one, from your Church, purchased by your blood.