De Diversibus Appellationibus DN Jesu Christo Convenientibus

SAINT NICETAS, BISHOP OF AQUILEIA, ON THE VARIOUS TITLES WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. i. Many names and many titles are found in the Holy Scriptures which are applicable to our Lord Jesus and Savior. He is called Word, he is called Wisdom, Light, Power, Right Hand, Arm, Angel; he is called Man; he is called Lamb, Sheep, Priest, Way, Truth, Life; he is called Vine, Justice, Redemption; Bread, Stone, Physician, Fountain of Living Water, Peace, Judge; he is called Door. All these things he is called, and you will find many other terms in the Holy Scriptures concerning Christ; although he is one and the same, our God the Son of God, so that the rationale of his power and dispensation may be understood. You have heard the titles; now [hear] the meanings of the titles. He is called Word, either because he was begotten impassibly from God the Father, or because his generation occurred without any diminution of the paternal substance. For a man does not seem to suffer any diminution when he emits a word. Or certainly he is called Word, because through him God the Father has always spoken both to angels and to men. He is called Wisdom, because through him all things were wisely arranged in the beginning. He is called Light, because he both illuminated the primal darkness of the world and put to flight the nights of human minds by his coming. He is called Power, because no creature can overcome him. He is called Right Hand and Arm, because through him all things were created, and by him all things are held together.

He is called the Angel of the Great Council, because he is the messenger of the Father's will. He is called the Son of Man, because he deigned to be born a man for us men. He is called the Lamb, on account of his singular innocence. He is called the Sheep, so that his passion might be demonstrated. He is called the Priest, either because he offered his own body as an oblation and sacrifice to God the Father for us, or because he deigns to be offered by us each day. He is called the Way, because through him we proceed to salvation. He is called the Vine, because, extending the branches of his arms on the cross, he provided the great fruit of sweetness to the age. He is called Justice, because he justifies sinners through faith in his name. He is called Redemption, because he redeemed us, once lost, with the price of his blood. He is called Bread, because he refreshed the hunger of the nations through his Gospel. He is called the Stone, because the serpent made no footprint in him, and he himself provided a bulwark for us. He is called the Physician, because he cured our infirmities and wounds by his visitation. He is called the Fountain of Living Water, because through the laver of regeneration he both washes and gives life to sinners. He is called Peace, because he gathers the dissenting into one, and reconciled them to God the Father. He is called Resurrection, because he himself will raise all bodies from the tombs. He is called the Judge, because he himself will judge both the living and the dead. He is called the Door, because through him the entrance to the kingdom of heaven is opened for the faithful.

Therefore, since the common Lord is called by so many names and titles, have confidence, faithful one, and place your hope entirely in him with all your strength. For if you wish to know the Father, he himself is the Word for you. If you wish to think rightly, seek him, because he is Wisdom. If your senses suffer some darkness, seek Christ, because he is the Light. Are you weak? You have a refuge, because he is both Physician and Strength. Do you wish to know by whom the world was created and by whom all things are held together? Believe in him, because he is called the Arm and the Right Hand. Do you suffer some fear? In all things he will be present to you as an Angel. If it seems difficult for you to approach the great majesty of the Only-begotten, do not despair, because he was also made man, so that humanity might have easy access to him. If you are innocent, he will associate himself with you as a Lamb. If some pagan persecution saddens you, take courage, because he himself was sacrificed as a Sheep; and he, as a Priest, will receive you to be offered to the Father. If you are ignorant of the path of salvation, seek Christ, because he himself is the Way of souls. If you wish to know the truth, listen to him, because he is the Truth. Do not fear death at all, because Christ is the Life of believers. Does the sweetness of the world delight you? Turn rather to the cross of Christ, so that you may be refreshed by the sweetness of his vine, which hung on the cross. Are you a lost sinner? You must hunger for justice, thirst for the Redeemer, which Christ is; for he satisfies, because he is the Bread. If you stumble in some matter, fix your step on him, because he is the Stone.

Be well fortified, and if you are weak and feeble, seek remedy from him, for he is the physician. Are you burning with the sins of the father, or especially if you are a catechumen? Run to the fountain of life, so that your burning may be extinguished, and your soul may attain eternity. If discord torments and agitates you, approach Christ, because he is peace, and you will be reconciled to the Father, and you will love every man as you judge yourself to be loved. If you fear the dryness of the body, and you dread death more than life, remember that he is the resurrection; he can raise up what has fallen. If the pleasure of sin tempts you, and the vices of the flesh provoke you, think beforehand that he is the just judge, the severe examiner, the preparer of eternal fire; and it will never delight you to sin. Finally, brother, if some despair has entered you concerning the reward of justice, concerning the expectation of heavenly grace, presume with a believing mind that he is the door; for through him, once raised from the dead, you will penetrate the secrets of the heavens and obtain the fellowship of the angels. And you will hear that desirable voice: "Well done, good and faithful servant, because you were faithful, enter into the joy of your Lord; take possession of the kingdom which was prepared for you from the foundation of the world," with him granting it, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns through all the ages of ages (Matthew 25:34). Amen.