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Greek · Homilies ·

Sermo in illud Hic est filius meus dilectus

Gregory of Nyssa · khazarzar

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 397 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

This homily, attributed to Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–c. 395), interprets the biblical phrase 'Hic est filius meus dilectus' (This is my beloved son). It engages with the Arian controversy, arguing against doctrinal hair-splitting and emphasizing true faith (πίστις) over technical analysis (τεχνολογοῦμεν). Gregory employs standard epithets for the devil and appeals to tradition ('as our fathers handed down') to counter Arian innovation. The homily survives in multiple Greek manuscripts but lacks a critical edition; its liturgical use was limited. The English translation occasionally paraphrases, so comparison with the Greek is advised for precise argumentation.

This homily matters as a witness to late 4th-century Trinitarian theology and homiletic practice. It illustrates Gregory's rhetorical strategies against Arianism, including appeals to tradition and critiques of doctrinal hair-splitting. The work relates to the broader Cappadocian corpus and was later cited in conciliar debates, underscoring its role in shaping orthodox Christology.

Historical context

The homily is set in the late 4th century, during the Arian controversy that divided the Christian East. Gregory of Nyssa, a Cappadocian Father, wrote in Greek for a community engaged in Trinitarian debates. The work's genre is a homily, likely delivered in a liturgical setting, though it was not included in major Byzantine lectionaries, suggesting limited liturgical use. The text survives in multiple manuscripts, but the source edition (khazarzar) is a digital compilation without critical apparatus, obscuring its stemmatic basis. The homily reflects Gregory's anti-Arian polemic, echoing themes from his other works and those of Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus. Its transmission is uncertain, with no manuscript sigla or collation data available.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 3 scripture2 sense2 background2 structure1 term1 reception1 caution 0 derived notes 2 open questions 2 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: homily in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 2 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-sermo-in-illud-hic-est-filius-meus-dilectus:1 · narrativehigh
Source
Τί τὸ πιστεύειν ἀφέντες, τεχνολογοῦμεν τὴν πίστιν, καὶ πληροῦμεν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τοῦ κοινοῦ δυσμενοῦς; Λογισάμενος γὰρ ὁ διάβολος, ὁ κοινὸς τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος λυμεὼν, ὅτι γαλήνης ἐν ἡμῖν πολιτευομένης, τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀνθεῖ, τῆς πίστεως δὲ κρατούσης, εὐζωΐα κρατεῖ, φίλοι τε τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ γινόμεθα, ἵνα μὴ ἐπέλθωμεν, ὅθεν ἐκεῖνος ἐξέπεσεν, ὁρᾶτε τί πεποίηκε, καὶ πῶς πανούργως τὸν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐῤῥαψῴδηκε πόλεμον. Ὁ μηχανοῤῥάφος τῶν κακῶν, καὶ σοφὸς ἐν ἀπάταις, καὶ ποικίλος ἐν ἐπιβουλαῖς, καὶ πλούσιος ἐν τοῖς κακοῖς μηχανήμασι, παρασκευάζει τινὰς ἐν προσχήματι τῆς εὐσεβείας στρατεύσασθαι κατὰ τῆς πίστεως, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς εὐσεβέσι δι' αὐτῶν ἄκαιρον φιλονεικίαν, καὶ ψυχοφθόρον ἐνέβαλε πόλεμον, καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὰ μέλη κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐστράτευσε. Στρέψωμεν τοίνυν κατὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ κεφαλῆς τοῦτο δὴ τὸ σοφὸν, καὶ τὴν εὐφροσύνην αὐτοῦ μεταβάλωμεν εἰς ὀδύνην, καὶ πένθος ἀπαρηγόρητον. Πενθήσωμεν τὴν εἰρήνην, ἣν ἐκεῖνος μισεῖ, Καταλείψωμεν τὸ ζυγομαχεῖν, καὶ σταθμίζειν τὰς λέξεις τοῦ δόγματος. Παυσώμεθα τοῦ θέλειν εἶναι τῶν διδασκάλων διδάσκαλοι. Μισήσωμεν τὸ λογομαχεῖν ἐπὶ καταστροφῇ τῶν ἀκουόντων. Πιστεύσωμεν ὡς οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν παραδέδωκαν. Οὐκ ἐσμὲν τῶν πατέρων σοφώτεροι· οὐκ ἐσμὲν τῶν διδασκάλων ἀκριβέστεροι. Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς, οὐκ ἐν μάχῃ. Ὡς ἐκλήθημεν, οὕτως προσμείνωμεν τῇ μυστικῇ τραπέζῃ, ἐν ᾗ τῶν οὐρανίων μεταλαμβάνομεν. Μὴ γινώμεθα κατὰ ταυτὸν ὁμοτράπεζοι, καὶ ἀλλήλων ἐπίβουλοι· μὴ ἐνταῦθα κοινωνικοὶ, καὶ ἔξω ἐπίβουλοι.
English
Why have we abandoned faith, to make a science of faith, and to fulfill the desire of the common enemy? For the devil, the common corrupter of humanity, reasoned that when calm prevails among us, the things of piety flourish, and when faith holds sway, good living prevails, and we become friends of the Creator, so that we might not go where he fell. See what he has done, and how craftily he has woven war against us. The contriver of evils, skilled in deceptions, varied in plots, and rich in evil machinations, has prepared some, under the pretense of piety, to campaign against faith, and through them has cast untimely contentiousness and soul-destroying war among all the pious, and has set the members of the Church against one another. Let us therefore turn this very cleverness against his own head, and transform his joy into pain and inconsolable grief. Let us mourn the peace which he hates. Let us abandon the strife over words and the weighing of doctrinal terms. Let us cease from wanting to be teachers of teachers. Let us hate word-fighting for the ruin of hearers. Let us believe as our fathers handed down. We are not wiser than the fathers; we are not more precise than the teachers. God called us in peace, not in war. As we were called, so let us remain at the mystical table, where we partake of heavenly things. Let us not be at once table-companions and plotters against one another; let us not be communicants here and plotters outside.
khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-sermo-in-illud-hic-est-filius-meus-dilectus:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Πρωτότοκος ὁ Κύριος ἤκουσεν ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου, οὐχ ὅτι δεύτερόν τινα ὁμοιογενῆ προσεκαλέσατο, ἀλλ' ὅτι πρωτότοκος ἀσυγκρίτως ἐστὶ πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ διὰ τὸ εἰπεῖν ὁ Ἀπόστολος περὶ τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου ἐκ Πατρὸς ἀνάρχου γεννήσεως, Ὅς ἐστι πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, ἤδη καὶ ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Κυρίου συνεγράψατο. Οὐδ' αὖ πάλιν ὁ αὐτὸς, πρωτότοκον ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν καλέσας, ἤδη καὶ ὅμαιμον τοῦ Κυρίου παρεισήγαγε παραπλησίως τὸν ᾅδην πατήσαντα. Ἀλλὰ πρωτότοκος ὁ Κύριος ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου καὶ ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ἵνα διὰ πάντων γνωθῇ τὸ μοναδικὸν τῆς υἱότητος ἀξίωμα. Ἀσύγκριτος γὰρ ὁ δεσποτικὸς τόκος· ὅπου γὰρ ἡ μήτηρ παρθένος, πῶς τόκος ἑρμηνευόμενος;
English
The Lord was called firstborn from the Virgin, not because he summoned some second being of like kind, but because he is incomparably firstborn in relation to the sons of men. For neither when the Apostle spoke of the Lord’s generation from the Father without beginning, saying, “Who is firstborn of all creation,” did he thereby also enroll a brother of the Lord. Nor again, when the same called him firstborn from the dead, did he thereby introduce a blood-relative of the Lord who likewise trod upon Hades. But the Lord is firstborn from the Father, from the Virgin, and from the dead, so that through all these the unique dignity of his sonship might be known. For the Lord’s birth is incomparable; for where the mother is a virgin, how is the birth to be interpreted?
Citation. Tergwame, “Sermo in illud Hic est filius meus dilectus”, khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-sermo-in-illud-hic-est-filius-meus-dilectus:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-sermo-in-illud-hic-est-filius-meus-dilectus#s1
Colophon. Source: khazarzar · licence: Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0015 · generated 2026-11-15.