In illud: in principium erat verbum

On the text “In the beginning was the Word,” and that the Spirit searches the depths of God. Yesterday our discourse concluded with the contemplation of the great eagle—the truly great eagle, which in spirit surpassed the heaven and rose above the supramundane powers, and began from the very summit of all things. For John proclaimed to us an eagle, showing him become higher than all creation and philosophizing about the uncreated nature; he surpassed all creation beyond every eagle’s nature, and also surpassed the sound of every thunder, alone proclaiming the higher and supramundane philosophy. For thunder, beloved, both frightens and waters: it waters through the clouds, and frightens and terrifies through its voice. So too the voice of John is divided, watering the Church and terrifying the assembly of heretics. For when they speak vain things, when, knowing what exists, they dare to say it does not exist, when they marshal human speech against divine Scripture—then John cries out: “He was before He was not; in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” terrifying the opponents with his voice, while David bears witness and says: “At your rebuke they will flee; at the sound of your thunder they will be afraid.” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Since the generation of the Word is impassible, he says “Word,” so that from things pertaining to you and things above you he may teach you that just as the mind, generating the word, does not generate with passion, is not cut, does not flow, nor undergoes any other bodily experience, so also the divine and impassible generation is ineffable and incomprehensible, not cut, not divided, but cut wickedly by the impious, unbelieving heretics, and united well by piety. Why did the evangelist avoid this and not say “In the beginning was the Son”? So that the appellation “Son” might not introduce a generation involving passion; but he calls him “Word,” to represent the impassibility of the generation. And lest you think it is the uttered word, he added: “and the Word was God,” so that from the “Word” you may understand the impassibility, and from “God” the dignity. Then, after introducing the matters of his generation, he also introduces the power of the creative office: “All things came to be through him”—all things that have come into being, not as the children of the heretics dare to include the worshipful Spirit along with this phrase which says: “All things came to be through him, and without him not one thing came to be which has come to be in him.” Therefore, if something has come to be in him, it is not the uncreated nature of the Spirit. But they say, “It says ‘all things.’” Yet the word “all things” does not encompass the uncreated nature together with the created. But if, attending to the word “all things,” you have dared against the holy nature, when you hear the Lord saying, “All who came before me were thieves and robbers,” what would you say? Would you call Moses a robber and the prophets thieves? For he says, “All who came before me.

But the concept distinguishes both about what things the discourse is and to whom it is addressed. And now the discourse is about creation, and it says that creation has come to be through him, not the substance of the Spirit, which makes known the things of God in the same way as the spirit of a man makes known the things in him, as Paul says: No one knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man dwelling in him. If, then, my spirit is foreign to my own nature, the Spirit of God is also foreign to the nature of God; for it says the Spirit searches out all things, even the depths of God. But the heretic hears "searches out" and misinterprets the meaning. For if the Spirit knew the things in God, he says, it would not search; for the search bears witness to its ignorance. If, then, the Holy Spirit searches the depths of God, does it bring a charge of ignorance against him? When you see God searching the hearts of men, do you vote for his ignorance? Listen, then, to Paul saying, who concerning the Spirit said: The Spirit searches out all things, even the depths of God; and likewise philosophizing about God, Paul says: He who searches hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is. If, then, God searches in ignorance, the Spirit also searches in ignorance. But that you may learn that searching is not characteristic of one who is ignorant, but of one who knows, he added: Thus no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God; and he ascribes knowledge to the Spirit, not the comprehension derived from nature, but the recognition derived from nature.

Therefore, do not divide the indivisible nature, do not cut the undivided substance; recognize the power by which the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are named. For concerning the Father, the Son says: "When you see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the power." And having said "power," he established the glory, so that you might marvel at the concept. Having called God himself "power," while speaking to Caiaphas: "When you see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the power." Therefore, the Father is power, and the Son is also power; Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; and the Holy Spirit is power. So the Savior says to the disciples: "Remain in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high." Knowing, then, this similar power, keep your faith unshaken; do not divide the incomprehensible glory; recognize the covenants of illumination; see the sons of grace flourishing through the great high priest; see the children of light running to the heralds of light. For those reborn from illumination must run to those who have reborn the world. Let us also say with the prophet and the apostles: "Lift up your eyes, and see your children gathered together; I live, says the Lord, that I will clothe them all as the adornment of a bride." Isaiah stands today saying to the multitudes of the illuminated, those born from the Holy Spirit, those suddenly renewed, those transformed in an instant, those changed from an earthly state into a heavenly image; for Isaiah is amazed, saying:

Who has seen such things, who has heard such things, that the earth bore her children in a single day, that the earth gave birth to her offspring in a single day, and a nation was born all at once? For the regeneration of the Spirit is swift; it does not wait for time, it is not enslaved to seasons and generations, but as soon as it wills, the one being regenerated is born at once. It was fitting for the sons of light to parade through the entire marketplace and to acclaim that one who came down for their sake, so that he might lead the whole inhabited world up to himself above. Christ came down from the heavens; he came down without departing from the heavens; he ascended without departing from the earth; for neither when he came down did he leave the heavens empty, nor when he ascended did he leave the earth bereft of his own oversight. It was fitting for the sons of light to carry the torch of the grace of the Word through the marketplaces; the mystery was not insulted, the character of truth of the newly illumined was not dishonored. It was fitting for them also to sing hymns in the broad streets; for wisdom is hymned in the thoroughfares, it exercises freedom in the broad streets, and it is proclaimed from the tops of walls. Let us purify the air, which the licentious songs defiled, as we speak, and which the shouts of the impious and the wailings of those performing the abominations of the demons once stained. The air and the earth and the heaven were purified by the Word of light. For just as both heaven and earth groan at the wickedness of the impious, so again they rejoice at the righteousness of those who do right; for when a man sins, heaven is indignant, and earth is also indignant, as Jeremiah says: "Heaven was astounded at this, and earth shuddered, because the people did two evil things.

Do you see how heaven and earth shudder when men sin? But when they transform themselves to piety, hear the prophet saying: Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult; let the mountains burst forth with gladness, because God has taken pity on his people. And let the Church, teeming with such a multitude and people, say: I was once left alone, but where were these for me? I was childless and a widow, but who bore these for me? And let the children of the Church, crowded together in the multitude, raise to God the voice of the prophets: The place is too narrow for me; make room for me, that I may dwell. For when the heresy was at its height, when the pasture of heresy was devouring this city, the children of the Church were consumed; and just as a locust coming upon the region under heaven consumes its fruits, so the destructive teaching consumed the fruits of the true teaching and of piety. But today the destructive teaching has been cast out, and the saving grace has entered, regenerating the people, and saying to them: Now I will repay for the times which the caterpillar and the locust and the blight devoured. Why do you contend, heretic, to hide the glory of the Only-begotten along with the Jews? They hid the resurrection, as far as they could; but you hide the divinity, as far as you can. But they—they inscribe the truth, and you have not understood piety. Hear then the prophet saying: His virtue covered the heavens; and the earth is full of his praise. Of praise, not of comprehension; of faith, not of examination; of love, not of inquiry.

We were not taught to seek, but we were trained to believe; by believing we are illuminated, not by meddling are we baptized. Let not the systems of the heretics deceive you; for they have baptism, not illumination; and they are baptized in body but are not illuminated in soul. For just as Simon was baptized but not illuminated, so also they are found accordingly. Let the spirits of the apostles rejoice, who with the spiritual net have netted this great multitude through the Holy Spirit. Now the prophetic voice is fulfilled before our eyes: In the last days, says God, they shall no longer say, Behold the ark of the covenant of holy Israel—that is, the old worship—nor shall the covenant of the ark enter into their hearts. Why? Because behold, I send many hunters and fishers. He circumscribed the old ark and introduced the ark of the church, which does not perish. I send many hunters and fishers. O strange fishing! The one who was fished yesterday fishes today; for the earth has been filled with the glory of Christ, and the ends of the inhabited world are filled with faith. Do not, therefore, insult the dignity because of the economy. Among the Jews the report went out that the resurrection was sold, and the report went out that his disciples stole him. They, then, pronounced death against the body, while the others, as far as they could, sounded forth theology. But among them error holds sway, while in the church life is proclaimed. And you have an ancient image.

Just as when the brothers conspired against Joseph, Jacob and his household mourned him deeply, but Egypt had him alive and reigning; he was mourned as dead by Jacob, but in Egypt he reigned alive. So also now, he is dead to the synagogue and to the madness of the heretics—for they kill theology, those who abolish faith and introduce inquiry—but among us he reigns alive and is worshipped worthily. But the Word of God is strong, and the teaching of the apostles is invincible; so Paul’s voice, having pleaded, does not labor in vain. Speak, Paul, moved for the truth, be indignant for the faith, and in your indignation say to the heretics: From where did you learn the Aristotelian things? Who preferred Plato to the Gospels? Who cast out the proclamation of faith and introduced faithless inquiry? Where did you learn “unbegotten” and “begotten”? You abandoned, you spat upon the title of the Son, you deemed the dignity of the Spirit unworthy, you turn to human words. Jeremiah spoke well: “Faith has perished from their mouth.” What did Peter say and for which he was blessed? “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” He did not say, “You are the offspring of the unbegotten.” When the Father revealed wisdom to him, did he not know how to comprehend? When Jesus commanded to baptize, could he not say, “Go, baptize them in the name of the unbegotten and the begotten”? But he found a name wiser than the mystical traditions. You circumscribe the divine, you abolish faith and introduce inquiry; but fear, enemy: Peter holds the keys.

Since he said, "You are the Christ, the Son of God," he received the keys. Whomever Peter sees calling him Son, for these he opens the door of the kingdom; but whomever he finds speaking and blaspheming, for these he closes the door of the church. For he did not receive the keys until he said, "You are the Son of God," and hears, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah; to you I will give the keys of the kingdom." After the confession comes the authority, after the faith comes the handing over of the church and the kingdom. But some campaign against the Son, others array themselves against the Spirit; and there is no benefit from those who confess Christ but reject the Holy Spirit, just as there is no benefit from those who confess the Spirit but reject the Son. For even Jews confess the Father, denying the Son, and they do not have eternal life. One who overlooks the glory of the Son is not acceptable to the Father. Pay close attention: for even the friends of Job came together to God, but condemned Job; and God did not accept even those who had spoken in his defense, but says, "Why did you speak against my servant Job?" If he did not accept the friends who spoke against Job while glorifying him, will he ever accept those who reject the Son while confessing him? Not at all. For he who says, "He who hates me hates my father also." Just as a father does not accept honor toward himself when the Son is dishonored, so neither does the Father and Son accept honor when the Holy Spirit is dishonored. Paul, at any rate, found the heretical tares having taken a beginning, but never having received freedom of speech.

In Ephesus of Asia he finds some who had been baptized and says to them: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They replied, "We have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." Then the noble voice: "Into what then were you baptized?" Let Peter teach the church, and let Paul not weave heretical disputations. Whence the ill-named appellation of Eunomius? Whence the heretical seeds? Truth has perished among the impious, and Aristotelian teachings have prevailed. Do you take the definitions of human nature and apply them to the divine and unbegotten, and speak of "begotten"? But you, he says, what do you say? "I say 'unbegotten,' but not as you do; I call the Father unbegotten, since he was not born. But I also call Adam unbegotten, since he was not born, but was formed." Do not perplex the hearers with these fabrications: the Father is unbegotten, and many other things are unbegotten. Now, "unbegotten" is said of everything that is not being born; "unbegotten" is also said of everything that is coming to be but has not yet come to be: the resurrection of the dead is unbegotten now, for it is happening but has not yet happened, and it is unformed, not yet having occurred. "Unbegotten" is also said of that which neither ever comes to be nor ought to come to be, such as many unbegotten things. Since, then, the prophets—and Daniel, for instance, says: "I was watching four beasts coming out of the sea; and the first beast was like a lioness, and its wings like an eagle's." And where did you see a beast of a lioness having its condition so equipped? Where did you see a beast having iron claws and bronze teeth? The prophet fashioned these things for contemplation.

...that beast was not born nor does it come to be, but it is unbegotten, never having come into existence, but only named. What women were there with wings, such as Zechariah saw bearing wings? Where did you see a leopard with wings? All these things the blessed Daniel explains. Or where did you see a statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay, such as Daniel saw? Each of these is unbegotten, for it did not come to be; it was recorded as a fiction and a vision. Do not, therefore, think you are granting something great to the Father by calling him unbegotten, because many other things that have not been born are also called unbegotten. I know the argument is deep, but I have come to these points to refute heretical wickedness. A man is also called unbegotten who was not born. And if he was not born, they say, how is he spoken of? I show you a man who was not born. The Savior says of Judas the traitor: "Woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed; it would have been better for him if he had not been born." And how would it have been better for him? For to one who does not exist, nothing is either beneficial or harmful. And Solomon also calls a man blessed who was not born, saying: "Blessed is the dead more than the living, and beyond both is the one who was not born." And if he was not born, how is he blessed? Observe names that are unbegotten by nature. He spoke of a man who was not born nor created as blessed. So the term "unbegotten" does not signify a divine nature, nor as you say: "unbegotten" indicates substance, nor does it bring honor to the Father, since there are also other names, both unbegotten and begotten, in the prophet, as has been previously demonstrated.

But it shows what has not come into being. But let us say to them with David: "Lawless men recounted idle talk to me, but not as your law, O Lord." Accept the voice of Peter, the teaching of Paul: "Christ according to the flesh, the God over all, blessed." Let the Holy Spirit be worshipped, let it be hymned; we theologize from the divine scriptures, whether the enemies wish it or not. And Paul will bear witness for me, saying: "Do you not know that you are a temple of God? And who is the dweller? And the Spirit of God dwells in you." Therefore, the temple is one thing and the dweller another. Did you not hear Peter saying: "Ananias, why did Satan tempt your heart to make you lie to the Holy Spirit?" And he immediately added: "You did not lie to men, but to God." But the heretics say: He did not call the Spirit God, but because the Spirit was sent from God. "He who insults the Spirit," he says, "insults the God who sent the Spirit." But, foolish and senseless one—for no other title befits the godless man than that of fool—for "the fool said in his heart, 'There is no God'"; he did not say as you understood. For if the insult to the Spirit referred back to God as the sender, he should have said: "You did not lie to the Spirit, but to God." But let this suffice; for we must yield to the apostolic choir the holy Trinity, which the Father proclaims. A triad of apostles, then, witnesses to the heavenly Trinity. Let us dance sincerely, let us say: "Many are the children of the desert rather than of her who has a husband.

May it be, through the prayers and intercessions of our common father and teacher, that we be gathered together with the apostles and martyrs in orthodox faith, in Christ Jesus, to whom is glory for the ages of ages. Amen.