Eusebius of Caesarea – On the Solemnity of Easter
| CPG: | 3479 |
| Incipit: | Τάχα οὐκ ἄκαιρον |
| Date: | 325? |
| Text: | Migne, PG 24: 693-705. |
| English Translation: | Barnes, Constantine, 186-191. |
| Bibliography: | Timothy D. Barnes, Constantine: Dynasty, Religion and Power in the Later Roman Empire. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2014, esp. 123-126 and 185-191. Averil Cameron and Stuart G. Hall. Eusebius, Life of Constantine.Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999. Daniel P McCarthy, “The Council of Nicaea and the Celebration of the Christian Pasch.” In The Cambridge Companion to The Council of Nicaea, edited by Young Richard Kim, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021, 177–201, especially 190-191. |
T. D. Barnes (Constantine, 2014, 122-126 and 185-191) has brought attention to this little known text that was composed in connection with the discussions on standardizing the celebration of Easter. Barnes points out that the decision at Nicaea to use the western system meant that the ancient calculations used in most of the east, including Caesarea, would have to be abandoned. Since, Eusebius mentions the discussion at the council (§8), the tract is to be dated (in its current form) to after the council. Barnes reasons that Eusebius wrote it “to explain and justify his acceptance of the majority position which the emperor supported” (124). That is why he dates the work to “shortly after the Council” (126). Cameron and Hall, however, in their 1999 translation Eusebius: Life of Constantine, identify this as the work that was sent by the author to Constantine (4.34) and the prompted a thank you note which Eusebius includes at the end of the Vita (4.35). Because of their placement just after Eusebius’s description of his oration before the emperor on the tomb of the Savior, given in 335, Cameron and Hall date the exchange to late that same year (p.326). This would imply a date for the De Pascha of c. 335. Barnes’s dating seems the more likely.
The Greek text below is that found in Migne, PG 24:683-705. Barnes (Constantine 2014) notes that there are numerous mistakes in the text and we have removed the most obvious ones (see his description of the publication history on 185-186). The English translation below is an updated version of Barnes’ in Appendix D of his Constantine (186-191, cited above), used by permission of Wiley Blackwell.
| Migne, PG 24:693-705 | Barnes, Constantine, 186-192 |
| 1. Τάχα οὐκ ἄκαιρον ἂν εἴη καὶ αὖθις περὶ τοῦ Πάσχα διαλαβεῖν, ἄνωθεν Ἑβραίων παισὶν εἰκονικῶς παραδεδομένου. Ὁπηνίκα γοῦν Ἑβραῖοι, σκιὰς μελλόντων ἐπιτελοῦντες, πρῶτοι τὴν τοῦ φασὲκ ἑορτήν ἐτέλουν, θρέμμα μὲν αὐτοῖς ἐξ ἀγέλης ἐλαμβάνετο· τοῦτο δὲ ἦν ἀμνὸς ἢ πρόβατον· εἶτ ‘ αὐτοὶ τοῦτο δι ̓ ἑαυτῶν ἔθυον· κάπειτα τῷ μὲν αἵματι πρῶτον ὑπέρθυρα καὶ φλιὰς ἕκαστος τῶν ἰδίων κατέχριον οἴκων· ταύτῃ πη εἰς ἀνατροπὴν ὀλοθρευτοῦ αἱμάσσοντες οὐδοὺς καὶ μέλαθρα. Σαρξὶ δὲ τοῦ προβάτου τροφῇ χρώμενοι, καὶ τὰς ὀσφῦς ζώνῃ περιδεδεμένοι, τροφῆς τε ἀζύμων ἄρτων μετέσχοντες, και πόας πικρίδων προσφερόμενοι, τόπον ἐκ τόπου διέβαινον, τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς Αἰγυπτίων γῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἔρημον. Ταῦτα γοῦν αὐτοῖς ὁμοῦ τῇ τοῦ προβάτου σφαγῇ τε καὶ τροφῇ πράττειν νενομοθέτητο. Ἔνθεν ἡ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετάβασις τὴν τῶν διαβατηρίων αὐτοῖς ἐπωνυμίαν ἐπλήρου. Ἀλλ᾽ ἐκείνοις μὲν τυπικῶς ταῦτα συνέβαινεν, ἐγράφη δὲ δι ‘ ἡμᾶς. Καί γε διερμηνεύει Παῦλος τῶν παλαιῶν συμβόλων διαφαίνων τὴν ἀλήθειαν δι ̓ ὧν φησι· Καὶ γὰρ τὸ Πάσχα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη Χριστός. Τὸ δὲ αἴτιον τοῦ τυθῆναι αὐτὸν ὁ Βαπτιστής παρίστησιν εἰπών· Ἴδε ὁ Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου. Καὶ γὰρ σφάγιον κακῶν ἁπάντων ἀποτρόπαιον τὸ σῶμα τὸ σωτήριον τῷ θανάτῳ παρεδίδοτο, ὃ δὴ καθαρσίου δίκην τοῦ παντὸς ἀφεῖλε κόσμου τὴν ἁμαρτίαν· κέκραγε γοῦν τηλαυγῶς Ησαΐας· Οὗτος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν φέρει καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται. | (1) Perhaps it would not be inopportune once more to talk about Easter which was long ago symbolically entrusted to the children of the Hebrews [Exod. 12:3]. When the Hebrews, the first to perform mere shadows of what was to be in the future, celebrated the festival of Phasek, a young animal was selected for them from the flock (this was a lamb or baby goat); they then sacrificed it themselves with their own hands; next first each of them anointed the lintels and doorposts of their own houses with the blood, by this means bloodying their thresholds and halls to avert wholesale slaughter; [then], using the flesh of the young animal as food, surrounding their loins with belts, and sharing the food of unleavened bread and adding herbs of the soil, they travelled from place to place, from the land of the Egyptians into the desert. For it had been laid down for them by law to do this together with killing and eating the lamb. Accordingly, the departure from Egypt fulfilled the name that they gave it of ‘the Passover.” However, this happened symbolically to them, but it was for our sake that it was written down. Paul reveals and interprets the truth behind the ancient symbols through his words: “For Christ our Passover was sacrificed” [1Cor. 5:7]. And the Baptist provides the reason for his being sacrificed by saying: “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” [John 1:29]. For the body of the Savior was handed over to death as a sacrificial victim to avert all evils, which atoned for the sin of the whole world like a purifying agent. Isaiah proclaimed loud and clear: “He bears our sins and suffers on our behalf” [Is. 53:4]. |
| 2. Τούτου δὴ τοῦ σωτηρίου θύματος τοῦ τῷ ἰδίῳ αἵματι τὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων γένος ἀνασωσαμένου ταῖς λογικαῖς σαρξὶ τρεφόμενοι, μαθήμασι δηλαδὴ καὶ λόγοις βασιλείας οὐρανῶν καταγγελτικοῖς, τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν εἰκότως τρυφῶμεν τρυφήν.1 Ἀλλὰ καὶ πίστει τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ δὴ λύτρον ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀντιδέδωκε σωτηρίας, τοὺς ψυχῆς οἴκους τὰ σώματα κατασημαινόμενοι, πᾶν γένος δαιμόνων ἐπιβούλων ἐξ ἑαυτῶν ἀπελαύνομεν· καὶ τὴν τῶν διαβατηρίων ἑορτὴν ἐπιτελοῦντες, διαβαίνειν μελετῶμεν ἐπὶ τὰ θεῖα, ὡς πάλαι τῆς Αἰγύπτου μεταβεβηκότες ἐπὶ τὴν ἔρημον. Ταύτῃ γοῦν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀτριβή τινα καὶ ἔρημον τοῖς πολλοῖς στελλόμεθα πορείαν, παλαιὰν ζύμην ἀθέου πλάνης τῆς αὐτῆς ψυχῆς ἐξόριον ποιούμενοι, καὶ τὰς ἀληθεῖς πικρίδας διὰ τῆς πικρᾶς καὶ ἀλγεινῆς διαίτης προσφερόμενοι. Καὶ ὁ καιρὸς δὲ τῆς ἑορτῆς εὔκαιρος, οὐκ ἐν μέσῃ χειμῶνος ὥρᾳ παρηγμένος· στυγνὸς γὰρ οὗτος· ἀλλ ̓οὐδ᾽ ἐν μέσῳ θέρει κατάλληλος ἦν, καθ᾽ ὅν ἡ τροπή φλεγμαίνουσα, τῶν κατ ̓ἀγροὺς σχολαζόντων περιαιρεῖται τὸ κάλλος· πλεονεκτεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν ὡρῶν, οὐκ ἐπαμφοτερίζοντα τῇ ἰσομοιρίᾳ· μετοπώρου γὰρ τροπῆς οὐκ ἐπιτερπὴς ἡ θέα, χηρευούσης μὲν τῆς χώρας, τῶν δ ̓ οἰκείων καρπῶν ὡς ἂν τέκνων ἀπεστερημένης. Ἔαρ δὴ λείπεται τὸ φαιδρὸν, ὃ δὴ τοῦ παντὸς ἔτους κεφαλή τις οἷα σώματος ἡγεῖται, ἡλίου μὲν δὴ ἄρτι τὸ πρῶτον τμῆμα διιππεύοντος, σελήνης δ ̓ ἐκ παραλλήλου πλησιφαεῖ τῷ φωτὶ τὸν τῆς νυκτὸς δρόμον εἰς λαμπρὰν μεθαρμοζομένης ἡμέραν. Τοῦτο λύει μὲν κτύπων χειμερίων φόβητρα, λύει δε μακρὰ διαστήματα, πλημμύρας ὑδάτων μεταβάλλει. Ἤδη δὲ νεαρᾶς ἐπιλαμπούσης αἰθρίας, γαλήνη μὲν τοῖς θαλαττεύουσι καθίστησι τὰ πελάγη, εὔδιον δὲ ἀέρα τοῖς κατὰ γῆν ὁδοιπόροις ἐνδίδωσι. Χῶραι δ ̓ἐν τούτῳ κατ᾿ ἀγροὺς ἐγκύμονες σπερμάτων, καὶ καρπῶν σπαργῶντα φυτὰ τοῖς ἐκ Θεοῦ δώροις ἀγαλλόμενα, γεωργοῖς πόνων τὰς ἀμοιβὰς ἐν εὐλογίαις παρέχει . | (2) Nourished by the logical flesh of this sacrifice of our Savior which rescued the entire human race with his own blood, that is, [nourished] by his teachings and words which clearly announce the kingdom of heaven, we justifiably enjoy the divine delicacy. But through faith in his blood, which he gave as a ransom for our salvation, by designating our bodies as homes of the soul, we also drive out of ourselves the whole race of demons who plot against us; and in celebrating the festival of Passover we prepare to pass over to the divine, just as long ago they passed from Egypt into the desert. In this way, therefore, we too are making a journey along a route that is untrodden and deserted for the vast majority, exiling from our very souls the ancient leaven of godless error and adding the true bitter herbs through a bitter and painful way of life. The season of the festival is most timely. It was not introduced in the time of midwinter since that time is gloomy. But neither was it appropriate in midsummer, when the solstice burns and takes away their beauty from those who spend time in the fields and when the hours are too long, not being divided into two equal parts. The sight of the autumnal equinox is not pleasant because the ground is bereaved and deprived of its own fruits as if of children. Spring remains, the joyful, which commands the whole year as its head as if it were a body, when the sun has just galloped through the first part [of the year] and the moon correspondingly with full light exchanges the course of night for bright day. This removes the terrors of the noises of winter, removes the long expanses [of night] and checks the floods of water. With the young clear daylight shining forth, it makes the seas calm for those who sail and the air clear for travelers on land. The fields at this time in the countryside are pregnant with seeds, and the plants, swelling with fruit and rejoicing in the gifts of God, provide rewards to farmers for their labors with blessings. |
| 3. Οὗτος ὁ τῆς ἑορτῆς καιρός, Αἰγυπτίοις μὲν ὄλεθρον τοῖς δαιμόνων φίλοις, Ἑβραίοις δὲ ἑορτάζουσι τῷ Θεῷ, κακῶν ἐλευθερίαν προὐξένει· οὗτος ἦν αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος, ὁ δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς πρώτης τοῦ παντὸς κοσμογονίας τετηρημένος, καθ᾽ ὃν ἡ γῆ ἐβλάστησε, καθ᾽ ὃν οἱ φωστῆρες ἐγένοντο, καθ᾽ ὃν οὐρανὸς καὶ γῆ παρήχθησαν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς· κατὰ τοῦτον καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου τὸ τῆς οἰκείας ἑορτῆς ἐξετέλεσε μυστήριον, καὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ὁ μέγας φωστήρ, εὐσεβείας αὐγαῖς κατελάμπρυνε καὶ δὴ γενέθλιον κόσμου ὁ καιρὸς περιέχειν ἔοικε. Κατὰ τοῦτον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν καὶ τύπος ἐτελεῖτο, τὸ παλαιὸν Πάσχα, ὃ καὶ διαβατήριον εἴρηται· ἀλλὰ καὶ προβάτου σφαγῆς σύμβολον ἔφερεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τροφῆς ἀζύμων ἄρτων ᾐνίττετο εἰκόνα. Ταῦτα δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν σωτήριον ἑορτὴν ἅπαντα συνεπληροῦτο· τό τε γὰρ πρόβατον αὐτὸς ἦν καθ᾽ ὅ περιέκειτο σῶμα. Αὐτὸς καὶ ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης, ἔαρος δῆτα θείου καὶ σωτηρίου τροπῆς ἀπὸ χειρόνων ἐπὶ τὰ κρείττω τὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίον διαλαβούσης. Αἰγυπτίων μὲν δαίμοσιν εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν θεήλατοι μάστιγες καταπέμπονται, λαοὶ δὲ πανταχοῦ γῆς οἰκοῦντες τὴν σφῶν ἐλευθερίαν τὴν ἐκ τῆς πολυπλανοῦς ἀθεότητος ἑορτάζουσι. Τῶν λαοπλανῶν δὲ πνευμάτων πεπαυμένων, καὶ χειμῶνος κακῶν, καινῶν καρπῶν εὐφορία διαφόροις χαρίσμασιν ἁγίου Πνεύματος τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ στεφανοῖ· καὶ ἁπλῶς πᾶν γένος ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τὸ ἡμέτερον μεταβέβληται· χῶραι δὲ πᾶσαι, πρὸς τοῦ γεωργοῦ Λόγου τῆς κατὰ ψυχήν γεωργίας τυχοῦσαι, τὰ ὡραῖα τῆς ἀρετῆς ἄνθη βεβλαστήκασιν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν τοῦ σκότους κακῶν ἠλευθερωμένοι, φωτὸς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ Θεοῦ γνώσεως κατηξιώθημεν . | (3) This season of the festival ushered in destruction for the Egyptians who were friends of the demons but freedom from their woes for the Hebrews who were holding a festival for God. This was that very season observed even at the first creation of everything, when the earth began to produce, when the light-givers came into existence, when heaven and earth and everything in them were brought forth. At this season too the Savior of the whole world brought to completion the mystery of his own festival, the great light-giver illuminated the inhabited world with rays of piety and the season seemed to embrace the birthday of the universe. At this season also the type was performed, the ancient Easter, which is also called Passover: it bore the symbol of the slaughter of a lamb, it foreshadowed with the image of the sustenance of unleavened bread. This was all fulfilled at the festival of our Savior, for he himself was the lamb when he put on a body. He himself was also the sun of righteousness, since the equinox of the spring of God and the Savior transfers the life of human beings from worse to the better. Even now god-driven whips are still sent against the demons of the Egyptians, while the peoples who dwell everywhere on earth celebrate their liberation from godlessness which wanders around in error. With the cessation of the spirits that led the people astray and of the woes of winter, the abundance of new fruits crowns the church of God with various gifts of grace from the Holy Spirit. In brief, the whole human race has been changed into ours: all farmlands, receiving spiritual farming from the Word their farmer, have grown the beautiful flowers of virtue, and we, liberated from the evils of darkness, have been deemed worthy of the light of day, the knowledge of God. |
| 4. Τοιαῦτα τὰ καινὰ μαθήματα πάλαι μὲν διὰ συμβόλων ἐπεσκιασμένα, νεωστὶ δὲ εἰς φῶς ἀνακεκαλυμμένα. Καὶ δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸ κεφάλαιον τῆς ἑορτῆς κύκλων περιόδοις καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἔτος ἀναζωπυροῦμεν, προέορτα μὲν προπαρασκευῆς ἕνεκα τὴν τεσσαρακονθήμερον ἄσκησιν παραλαμβάνοντες κατὰ τὸν τῶν ἁγίων ζῆλον Μωϋσέως καὶ Ἡλίου, τὴν δὲ ἑορτὴν αὐτὴν εἰς ἄληστον αἰῶνα ἀνανεούμενοι. Τὴν γοῦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν πορείαν στελλόμενοι, τὰς μὲν ὀσφῦς εὖ μάλα δεσμῷ σωφροσύνης περιδούμεθα, τὰ δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς βαδίσματα ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ φυλάττοντες, ὥσπερ ἐν ὑποδήμασι δὴ τὸν δρόμον τῆς οὐρανίου κλήσεως παρασκευάζομεν· βακτηρίᾳ δὲ λόγου θείου ἐν εὐχῶν δυνάμει πρὸς ἄμυναν ἐχθρῶν χρώμενοι, σὺν πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ διαβαίνομεν τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς φέρουσαν διάβασιν, σπεύδοντες ἀπὸ τῶν τῇδε ἐπὶ τὰ οὐράνια, καὶ ἀπὸ ζωῆς θνητῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀθάνατον· οὕτω γὰρ διαδέξεται ἡμᾶς ἐντεῦθεν τὰ διαβατήρια εὖ καὶ καλῶς διαβεβηκότας άλλη τις μείζων ἑορτή· Πεντηκοστὴν αὐτὴν ἐπίκλην Ἑβραίων παίδες ὀνομάζουσιν, εἰκόνα φέρουσαν τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας. Λέγει γοῦν Μωϋσῆς· Ἀρχοµένου σου δρέπανον ἐπ ̓ἄμητον, ἑπτὰ ἑβδομάδας ἀριθμήσεις σεαυτῷ, καὶ νέους ἄρτους ἐκ νέων ἀμήτων παραθήσεις τῷ Θεῷ. Ἐδήλου δὲ ἄρα προφητικῷ τύπῳ ἄμητον μὲν τῶν ἐθνῶν τὴν κλῆσιν, νέους δὲ ἄρτους τὰς διὰ Χριστοῦ τῷ Θεῷ προσενηνεγμένας ψυχὰς, τάς τε ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίας, ἐφ ̓ αἷς ἑορτὴ μεγίστη τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ συντελεῖται· οἳ ταῖς τῶν ἀποστόλων λογικαῖς δρεπάναις θερισθέντες, καὶ ὥσπερ εἰς ἅλως τὰς ἁπανταχοῦ γῆς Ἐκκλησίας συναχθέντες ὑφ᾽ ἕν, ὁμοφώνῳ τε διαθέσει πίστεως σωματοποιηθέντες, καὶ ἁλσὶ τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν θείων λόγων μαθήμασιν ἐξαρτυθέντες, δι᾽ ὕδατός τε καὶ πυρὸς ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἀναγεννηθέντες, ἄρτοι τρόφιμοι προσηνεῖς καὶ ἀρεστοὶ τῷ Θεῷ διὰ Χριστοῦ προσφερόμεθα. | (4) Such are the new teachings which were obscured long ago by means of symbols and have recently been uncovered in the light. Indeed we ourselves rekindle the beginning of the festival periodically every year, before the festival receiving for the sake of preparation the training of forty days in imitation of the holy ones, Moses and Elijah, and renewing the festival itself for an unceasing age. Setting out on our journey to God, therefore, we gird our loins very well with the bond of self-control, and carefully guarding the footsteps of our souls as if wearing sandals we set out on the course of our heavenly calling, and using the staff of the divine Word in the power of prayers to ward off our enemies we cross with all eagerness the Passover that leads to heaven, hastening from what is here to the heavenly things and from mortal life to immortality. In this way another greater festival will welcome us when we have well and truly made the crossing of our Passover from here: the children of the Hebrews call it Pentecost by name and it displays the image of the kingdom of heaven. Hence Moses says: “When you set the sickle to harvest, you shall count for yourself seven weeks and you shall set aside for God newly-baked loaves from the new harvest” [Deut. 16:9]. So by prophetic typology he indicated the calling of the gentiles by ‘harvest’ and by ‘new loaves’ the souls won over to God through Christ and the churches of the gentiles, in which the greatest festival is celebrated for God who loves the human race. For we, harvested by the intellectual sickles of the Apostles and gathering together into one as if on to threshing floors the churches everywhere on earth, made one body by the unified expression of a statement of faith, seasoned with the salt of the teachings from the divine words, born again through the water and fire of the Holy Spirit, are offered through Christ as sustaining loaves, suitable and pleasing to God. |
| 5. Ταύτῃ πη τῶν παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ προφητικῶν συμβόλων εἰς ἔργα σεμνοτέροις τοῖς ἀποτελέσμασι χωρούντων, αὐτοί γε μὴν τὴν ἑορτὴν φαιδροτέραν ἄγειν παρειλήφαμεν, ὡς ἂν τῷ Σωτῆρι συναγηγερμένοι, καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἀπολαύοντες. Διὸ οὐκέτι πονεῖσθαι κατὰ τήνδε τὴν ἑορτὴν συγχωρούμεθα, τῆς δ᾽ ἐλπιζομένης ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀναπαύσεως τὴν εἰκόνα φέρειν διδασκόμεθα· ὅθεν οὐδ᾽ ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς γόνυ κλίνομεν, οὐδ᾽ ἀσιτίαις καταπονούμεθα· τοὺς γὰρ τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν ἀναστάσεως ἠξιωμένους οὐκέτ ̓ αὖθις οἷόν τε ἐπὶ γῆς πίπτειν· οὐδὲ τοὺς τῶν παθῶν ἠλευθερωμένους τὰ ἴσα πάσχειν τοῖς καταδεδουλωμένοις. ∆ιὸ μετὰ τὸ Πάσχα τὴν Πεντηκοστὴν ἐν ἑβδομάσιν ἑπτὰ τελείαις ἑορτάζομεν, τὸν μὲν πρότερον αἰῶνα τῆς πρὸ τοῦ Πάσχα τεσσαρακονθημέρου συνασκήσεως ἐν ἓξ ἑβδοµάσιν ἀνδρισάμενοι· πρακτικὴ γὰρ ἡ ἑξὰς καὶ ἐνεργητική· διὸ καὶ ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις ὁ Θεὸς πεποιηκέναι λέγεται τὰ σύμπαντα. Τοὺς δ ̓ ἐν ἐκείνῃ πόνους εἰκότως ή δευτέρα ἑορτὴ ἐν ἑβδομάσιν ἑπτὰ διαδέξεται, πολυπλασιαζομένης ἡμῖν τῆς ἀναπαύσεως, ἧς τὰ σύμβολα ἡ ἑβδομὰς σημαίνειν θέλει. Οὐ μὴν ἐπὶ ταύτας ὁ τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς ἀριθμὸς ἵσταται· ὑπερακοντίσας δὲ τὰς ἑπτὰ ἑβδομάδας, μονάδι τῇ μετὰ ταύτας ὑστάτῃ τὴν πανέορτον ἡμέραν τῆς Χριστοῦ ἀναλήψεως ἐπισφραγίζεται. Εἰκότως ἄρα ἐν ταῖς τῆς ἁγίας Πεντηκοστῆς ἡμέραις τὴν μέλλουσαν ἀνάπαυσιν διαγράφοντες, τὰς ψυχὰς γαννύμεθα, καὶ τὸ σῶμα διαναπαύομεν, ὡς ἂν αὐτῷ συνόντες ἤδη τῷ Νυμφίῳ, καὶ νηστεύειν μὴ δυνάμενοι . | (5) In this way then the prophetic symbols in Moses become real when their fulfillments are more solemn. We ourselves have received the tradition of celebrating the festival in a clearer fashion, as if we are assembled with our Savior and enjoying his kingdom. No longer, therefore, do we agree to be distressed during this festival, but we are taught to present the image of the rest which we hope for in heaven. Hence we do not bend the knee even during prayers or burden ourselves with fasting, since it is no longer possible for those who have been deemed worthy of the resurrection according to God to fall on the ground anew or for those who have been liberated from sufferings to suffer in equal measure with those who are still enslaved. Accordingly, after Easter we celebrate Pentecost in seven complete weeks, having made men of ourselves during the previous period of training the days before Easter in six weeks. The number six is active and full of energy, which is why God is said to have created everything in six days. And it is for good reason that the second festival in seven weeks succeeds the labors in those [six weeks], as our rest, of which the number seven wishes to signify the symbol, is multiplied. Yet the number of Pentecost does not stop at these seven weeks, but, overshoots them and with a single day which is the last after them, it sets the seal upon the special festival day of the Ascension of Christ. For good reason then, delineating the rest that is to come in the days of the holy Pentecost, we rejoice in our souls and give our bodies rest, as if we are already with the Bridegroom and incapable of fasting. |
| 6. Πλὴν ὅτι οἱ ἱεροὶ εὐαγγελισταὶ τὸ σωτήριον πάθος κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ Πάσχα τῶν ἀζύμων ἱστόρησαν γεγονέναι, οὐδεὶς ἂν ἀμφιβάλοι· τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν τοῦ νόμου τοῦ παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ περὶ τοῦ Πάσχα λεγομένου αἴτιον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔμελλεν ὁ Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἄγεσθαι παρ’ αὐτοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ τοῦτο πάσχειν ὑπὲρ τῆς κοινῆς πάντων ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίας, οὐκ ἄλλοτε ἢ κατὰ τὸν δηλούμενον καιρὸν, προλαβὼν τὸ μέλλον ὁ Θεὸς διὰ συμβόλων εἰκονικῶς, κατ ̓ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον τὸν μέλλοντά ποτε κατὰ χρόνων περιόδους ἐπιστήσεσθαι καιρὸν, ἀμνὸν παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις αἰσθητὸν ἐκέλευε θύεσθαι· καὶ τοῦτο αὐτοῖς κατ ̓ ἐνιαυτὸν ἐτελεῖτο, ἕως ἡ ἀλήθεια ἀποπληρωθεῖσα, τὰς παλαιὰς εἰκόνας περιέγραψεν. Ὅθεν ἐξ ἐκείνου παρὰ μὲν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἢ ἀληθὴς τῶν μυστηρίων κεκράτηκεν ἑορτή, παρὰ δὲ Ἰουδαίοις οὐκέτι οὐδ᾽ αὐτῶν ἡ μνήμη τῶν συμβόλων φυλάττεται, περιῃρημένου αὐτῶν τοῦ τόπου ἐν ᾧ τὰ τῆς ἑορτῆς τελείσθαι νενομοθέτητο. Εἰκότως ἄρα ἡ θεία τῶν Εὐαγγελίων γραφὴ κατὰ τὸν χρόνον τῶν Ἰουδαϊκῶν ἀζύμων πεπονθέναι φησὶ τὸν Σωτῆρα· ἐπειδὴ καὶ τότε ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη ταῖς προφητικαῖς ἀκολούθως φωναῖς . | (6) No one would dispute that the holy evangelists record that the suffering of our Savior occurred during the days of the Jewish Passover of the unleavened bread, since this was the reason for the law concerning the Passover spoken by Moses. For since the Lamb of God was going to be led like a sheep to slaughter precisely by the Jews and to suffer this on behalf of the common salvation of all men at no time other than the season indicated, God anticipated the future through symbols figuratively, and ordered an ordinary lamb to be sacrificed by the Jews at that very season when it was going to happen on some occasion during the course of years. And this was performed by them annually until the fulfillment of the truth circumscribed the ancient images. As a result, from that time onwards the true festival of the mysteries has prevailed among the gentiles, while among the Jews not even the memory of the symbols is preserved, since the place where it was laid down by the law that the ceremonies of the festival should be performed has been taken away from them. For good reason then the divine scripture of the gospels says that the Savior suffered at the time of the Jewish [festival of] unleavened bread, since at that time he was led like a lamb to slaughter in accordance with the utterances of the prophets. |
| 7. Καὶ οἱ μὲν κατὰ Μωϋσέα ἅπαξ τοῦ παντὸς ἔτους πρόβατον τοῦ Πάσχα ἔθυον τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ πρώτου μηνός, τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέραν· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκης ἐφ ̓ ἑκάστης Κυριακῆς ἡμέρας τὸ ἑαυτῶν Πάσχα τελοῦντες, ἀεὶ τοῦ σωματος τοῦ σωτηρίου ἐμφορούμεθα, ἀεὶ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ προβάτου μεταλαμβάνομεν.2 ἀεὶ τὰς ὀσφῦς τῆς ἑαυτῶν ψυχῆς ἁγνείᾳ καὶ σωφροσύνῃ περιεζώσμεθα, ἀεὶ τοὺς πόδας παρεσκευάσμεθα ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, ἀεὶ τὰς βακτηρίας ἔχομεν ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ, καὶ τῇ ῥάβδῳ τῇ ἐκ ῥίζης Ἰεσσαὶ προελθούσῃ ἐπαναπαυόμεθα, ἀεὶ τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἀπαλλαττόμεθα, ἀεὶ τὴν ἐρημίαν τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου βίου μεταδιώκομεν, ἀεὶ τὴν πρὸς Θεὸν πορείαν στελλόμεθα, ἀεὶ τὰ διαβατήρια ἑορτάζομεν. Ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα οὐχ ἅπαξ τοῦ ἔτους πράττειν ἡμᾶς, ἀεὶ δὲ καὶ διὰ πάσης ἡμέρας ὁ εὐαγγελικός λόγος βούλεται. Διὸ καὶ καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἑβδομάδα τὴν τοῦ Πάσχα τοῦ ἡμετέρου ἑορτὴν κατὰ τὴν σωτήριον καὶ Κυριακὴν ἡμέραν ἐπιτελοῦμὲν τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ προβάτου, δι ̓ οὗ ἐλυτρώθημεν, τὰ μυστήρια ἀποπληροῦντες· καὶ οὔτε τὸ σῶμα σιδήρῳ περιτέμνομεν, τῆς δὲ ψυχῆς τῷ τμητικῷ λόγῳ πᾶσαν περιαιρούμεν κακίαν· οὔτε σωματικοῖς ἀζύμοις χρώμεθα, μόνοις δὲ τοῖς τῆς εἰλικρινείας καὶ ἀληθείας. Ἡ χάρις γὰρ, ἡμᾶς τῆς γεγηρακυίας ἐλευθερώσασα συνηθείας, τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον παρέδωκεν ἡμῖν τὸν κατὰ Θεὸν κτισθέντα, καὶ τὸν καινὸν νόμον, καινήν τε περιτοµὴν, καινόν τε Πάσχα, καὶ τὸν ἐν κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖον· οὕτω καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν καιρῶν ἐλευθέρους ἡμᾶς ἀφῆκε. | (7) While according to Moses [the Jews] used to sacrifice the Passover lamb once in the whole year on the fourteenth of the first month towards evening, we of the New Testament, celebrating our Passover every Lord’s day, are always filled with the body of our Savior and always partake of the blood of the Lamb, always gird the loins of our souls with holiness and sobriety, always have our feet prepared in readiness for the gospel, always have staffs in our hands and rest upon the rod that came forth from the root of Jesse, are always departing from Egypt, are always seeking solitude in human life, are always journeying towards God, and are always celebrating Passover. For the word of the gospel wishes us to do all this not once a year, but always and every day. Hence we celebrate the festival of our Passover every week on the Lord’s day, the day of our salvation, fulfilling the mysteries of the true Lamb through whom we have been redeemed. We do not circumcise the body with iron, but remove every evil from our souls with the knife of the Word; we do not use material unleavened bread, but only [the unleavened bread] of sincerity and truth [1 Cor. 5:8]. For grace, which has liberated us from senile habits, has entrusted to us the new man established according to God, the new law, a new circumcision, a new Passover and him who is a Jew inwardly [Rom. 2:29]. Thus has he set us free from the ancient times. |
| 8. Πλὴν τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου βασιλέως, μέσου τῆς ἁγίας συνόδου προκαθεζομένου, ὡς ἤχθη εἰς μέσον τὸ περὶ τοῦ Πάσχα ζήτημα, ἐλέγετο μὲν ὅσα και ἐλέγετο· ἐπλεονέκτει δὲ τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἐπισκόπων ἡ τριπλασίων µοῖρα τῆς ὅλης οἰκουμένης ἑτέρωθεν ἀντιτείνουσα τοῖς τῆς ἀνατολῆς· ἀρκτῷα γὰρ ὁμοῦ καὶ μεσημβρινά, καὶ τὰ κατὰ δύοντα ἥλιον ἔθνη, τῇ συµφωνίᾳ φραξάμενα, τὴν ἐναντίαν ἀνθεῖλκε τοῖς τῆς ἑῴας τὴν παλαιὰν διεκδικοῦσι συνήθειαν. Τέλος δὲ λόγου εἶξαν οἱ ἀνατολικοί· καὶ οὕτω μία Χριστοῦ γέγονεν ἑορτή· καὶ οὕτω τῶν μὲν κυριοκτόνων ἀπέστησαν, τοῖς δὲ ὁμοδόξοις συνήφθησαν· ἡ φύσις γὰρ ἕλκει τα ὅμοια πρὸς τὰ ὅμοια. Εἰ δέ τις εἴποι, ὡς ἄρα γέγραπται· Τῇ πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν ἀζύμων προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ εἶπον τῷ Σωτῆρι, Ποῦ θέλεις ἑτοιμάσωμέν σοι φαγεῖν τὸ Πάσχα; Ὁ δὲ πρὸς τὸν δεῖνα ἀπέστειλε, παραγγείλας εἰπεῖν· Πρὸς σὲ ποιῶ τὸ Πάσχα· ἐροῦμεν, ὅτι τοῦτο παράγγελμα οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἱστορία πράγματος συμβεβηκότος κατὰ τὸν τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους καιρόν. Ἕτερον δέ ἐστι τὸ παλαιὰν πρᾶξιν διηγεῖσθαι, καὶ ἕτερον τὸ νομοθετεῖν καὶ τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα παραγγελίας καταλιμπάνειν. | (8) When the question of Easter was brought forward for discussion, the most God-loving emperor sat in the midst of the holy council presiding and a lively debate ensued. But the party of three-quarters of the whole inhabited world prevailed by the large number of their bishops as they opposed the [bishops] of the East. For the nations of the north, of the south and of the setting sun together, gaining strength by agreeing with one another, brought forward a custom opposite to the ancient one which the bishops of the East defended. Finally, the easterners yielded the argument, and thus a single festival of Christ came about: they separated themselves from the murderers of our Lord and adhered to those who shared their beliefs, since nature draws like towards like. If anyone were to say that it is written: ‘On the first day of [the festival of] unleavened bread, the disciples approached our Savior and said “Where do you wish us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”, and that he sent them to someone instructing them to say: “I shall eat Passover in your house” [Matt. 26:17-18],’ then we shall say: This is not an instruction, but the account of an event which happened at the time of our Savior’s passion. It is one thing to narrate an action from long ago, another to legislate and to leave instructions for those who come after. |
| 9. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ οὐ μετὰ Ἰουδαίων ἐπετέλεσε τὸ Πάσχα κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ ἰδίου πάθους. Οὐ γὰρ ὅτε ἔθυον ἐκεῖνοι τὸ πρόβατον, τότε καὶ αὐτὸς μετὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ μαθητῶν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἤγαγε Πάσχα· οἱ μὲν γὰρ κατὰ τὴν Παρασκευὴν, ἐν ᾗ πέπονθεν ὁ Σωτὴρ, τοῦτ ̓ ἔπραττον· ὅθεν οὐδὲ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον, ἀλλ ̓ ὁ Πιλάτος πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἔξεισιν· αὐτὸς δὲ πρὸ ὅλης ἡμέρας τῇ πέμπτῃ τοῦ Σαββάτου τοῖς μαθηταῖς συνανέκειτο, καὶ συνεσθίων αὐτοῖς ἔλεγεν· Επιθυμίᾳ ἐπεθύμησα τοῦτο τὸ Πάσχα φαγεῖν μεθ ̓ ὑμῶν. Ὁρᾷς ὅπως ὁ Σωτὴρ οὐ μετὰ Ἰουδαίων τὸ Πάσχα ἤσθιεν; Ἐπειδὴ καινὸν ἦν ἐκεῖνο καὶ ξενίζον παρὰ τὰ συνήθη καὶ Ἰουδαϊκὰ ἔθη, ἀναγκαίως ἐπέστησεν εἰπών· Ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἐπεθύμησα τοῦτο τὸ Πάσχα φαγεῖν μεθ ̓ ὑμῶν, πρὸ τοῦ με παθεῖν· τὰ μὲν γὰρ παλαιὰ ἤθη ὄντα καὶ πεπαλαιωμένα, ἃ δὴ μετὰ Ἰουδαίων ἤσθιεν, οὐκ ἦν ἐπιθυμητά· τὸ δὲ καινὸν μυστήριον τῆς Καινῆς αὐτοῦ Διαθήκης, ὃ δὴ μετεδίδου τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, ἐπιθυμητὸν ἦν αὐτῷ εἰκότως· ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν τὰ τῆς Νέας Διαθήκης µυστήρια· καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Λόγος, πάντοτε διψῶν τὴν κοινὴν σωτηρίαν, μυστήριον παρεδίδου, δι ̓ οὗ πάντες ἄνθρωποι ἔμελλον ἑορτάζειν, ἐπιθυμητὸν τοῦτο αὐτῷ εἶναι ὡμολόγησε. Τὸ μὲν Μωϋσέως Πάσχα οὐχ ἥρµοζε πᾶσι τοῖς τότε ἔθνεσι· πῶς γάρ; ὁπότε ὑφ᾽ ἕνα τόπον τὸν ἐν τῇ Ἱερουσαλὴμ τελεῖσθαι νενομοθέτητο· διὸ οὐκ ἦν ἐπιθυμητόν· τὸ δὲ σωτήριον μυστήριον τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκης, πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἁρμόζον, εἰκότως αὐτῷ ἐπιθυμητὸν ἦν . | (9) But our Savior did not celebrate Passover with the Jews at the time of his own passion. For it was not when they sacrificed the lamb that he conducted his own Passover [meal] with his own disciples. For the Jews did this on the day of preparation [Friday], on which our Savior suffered, which is why they did not enter the praetorium, but Pilate came out to them [John 18:28-29]. Christ, however, reclined with his disciples a full day before on the fifth day of the week, and eating with them said: “I greatly desired to eat this Passover with you” [Luke 22:15]. You see how our Savior did not eat the Passover with the Jews. Since that [event] was new and alien to normal Jewish customs, it was necessary for him to institute [a new custom] by saying: “I greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer’” [Luke 22:15]. For the ancient and out-of-date customs, which he had [previously] eaten with the Jews, were not desirable: it was the new mystery of his New Testament, which he shared with his disciples, which was desirable to him. Rightly so, since many prophets and righteous men before him had desired to see the mysteries of the New Testament. And the Wordhimself, continually thirsting for universal salvation, was transmitting the mystery by which all men in future would celebrate the festival [and] he confessed that this was desirable to him. The Passover of Moses was not suitable for all nations at any time. How could it be, when it was laid down by the law that it be performed in one place, in Jerusalem? That is why it was not desirable, whereas the Savior’s mystery of the New Testament, which suits all men, was for good reason desirable to him. |
| 10. Ἀλλ’ αὐτὸς μὲν, πρὸ τοῦ παθεῖν, σὺν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς ἔφαγε τὸ Πάσχα, καὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν ἐπετέλεσεν, οὐ μετὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων· ἑορτάσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἑσπέρας, οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ἅμα τῷ προδότῃ ἐπιστάντες, ἐπέβαλον ἐπ ̓ αὐτὸν τὰς χεῖρας· οὐ γὰρ ἤσθιον αὐτοὶ κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν τὸ Πάσχα· ἡ γὰρ ἂν τὴν σχολὴν περὶ αὐτὸν εἶχον· καὶ δῆτα συλλαβόντες ἀπήγαγον εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ Καϊάφα, ἔνθα διανυκτερεύσαντες, ὡς ἡμέρα ἐγένετο, συνήχθησαν, καὶ ἀνακρίνουσιν αὐτὸν πρότερον· εἶτα μετὰ ταῦτα ἀναστάντες ἅμα τῷ πλήθει ἤγαγον αὐτὸν πρὸς Πιλάτον. Καὶ τότε φησὶν ἡ Γραφή, ὅτι μὴ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον, ἵνα δὴ μὴ, ὑπὸ στέγην Ἑλληνικὴν εἰσελθόντες, ὥς γε ᾤοντο, μιανθῶσι, καθαροὶ δὲ μείναντες οἱ παμμίαροι, ἑσπέρας ἐπιστάσης, φάγοιεν τὸ Πάσχα, οἱ τὸν κώνωπα διυλίζοντες, τὴν δὲ κάμηλον καταπίνοντες, οἱ τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτοῖς σώμασι κατὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος µιαιφονίᾳ μεμιαμμένοι, τὸν ὄροφον ἐδεδίεσαν ὑπεισελθεῖν· ἀλλ ̓ οἱ μὲν κατ ̓ αὐτὴν ἐκείνην τοῦ πάθους τὴν ἡμέραν τὸ λυμαντικὴν τῆς ἑαυτῶν ψυχῆς ἔφαγον Πάσχα, τὸ αἷμα τὸ σωτήριον οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν, ἀλλὰ καθ᾿ ἑαυτῶν ἐξαιτησάμενοι. Ὁδ’ ἡμέτερος Σωτὴρ οὐ τότε, πρὸ ἡμέρας δὲ ἀνακείμενος μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν, τὴν ἐπιθυμητικὴν ἑαυτῷ ἑορτὴν ἦγεν. | (10) He ate the Passover and completed the festival with his disciples before his passion, not with the Jews; after he had celebrated it in the evening, the high priests together with his betrayer came after him and set their hands upon him, for they had not eaten the Passover on that evening (if they had, they would not have exerted themselves over him); they arrested him and took him to the house of Caiaphas, where they spent the night; when day came, they first met and condemned him. Then, after this, they rose and together with the mob brought him to Pilate. At that point, says scripture, they did not enter the praetorium so that they should not be defiled, as they thought [John 17:28], by entering under a pagan roof. By remaining “pure,” these utterly detestable men would eat the Passover when evening came on. Straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel [Matt. 23:24], those who had defiled their souls together with their bodies by devising murder against our Savior, were afraid to enter under the roof [of Pilate].Yet, on that very day of the Passion they ate a Passover which destroyed their own souls, requesting the blood of the Savior not for themselves, but against themselves. But our Savior conducted the festival which he found desirable reclining with his disciples not then, but a day earlier. |
| 11. Ὁρᾷς, ὡς ἐξ ἐκείνου, ὁ μὲν αὐτῶν ἐχωρίζετο καὶ τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς ἀνεχώρει μιαιφονίας, συνήπτετο δὲ τοῖς μαθηταῖς, ἅμα αὐτοῖς τὴν ἐπιθυμητὴν ἑορτὴν πανηγυρίζων; Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἡμῖν τὸ Πάσχα σὺν Χριστῷ βρωτέον, καθαιροῦσι μὲν τῆς ἑαυτῶν διανοίας πᾶσαν ζύμην κακίας καὶ πονηρίας, ἀζύμων δ᾽ ἀληθείας καὶ εἰλικρινείας ἐμπιπλαμένοις, ἔχουσιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔνδον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ τὸν ἐν κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖον καὶ τὴν ἀληθῆ περιτομὴν, καὶ τοῦ τυθέντος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν προβάτου τῷ αἵματι τὰς τῆς διανοίας ἡμῶν φλιὰς περιχρίουσιν εἰς ἀποτροπὴν τοῦ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς ὁλοθρευτοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐ πρὸς μίαν περίοδον τοῦ παντὸς ἔτους, ἀλλὰ καὶ δι ̓ ἑβδομάδος ἁπάσης. Παρασκευὴ μὲν ἡμῖν ἔστω νηστεία, πένθους σύμβολον, τῶν προτέρων ἡμῖν χάριν ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ μνήμης ἕνεκα τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους. | (11) You see that from that time he separated himself from the Jews and withdrew from the bloodthirstiness of the Jews, and joined himself to his disciples, celebrating the festival that he desired with them. We too must therefore eat Passover with Christ, cleansing our minds from all the yeast of evil and villainy, filling them with the unleavened bread of truth and verity, having within ourselves in our souls the hidden Jew [Rom. 2:29] and the true circumcision, and anointing the doorposts of our minds with the blood of the lamb that was sacrificed for us in order to ward off the destruction that threatens us. And [we must do this] not for a single period during the whole year, but every week. Let Friday be a day of fasting, the symbol of suffering, for the sake of our previous sins and for the memory of our Savior’s passion. |
| 12. Ἰουδαίους γε μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀπεσφάλθαι τῆς ἀληθείας φημί, ἐξ οὗπερ αὐτῇ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ἐπιβεβουλεύκασι, τὸν Λόγον τῆς ζωῆς ἐξ ἑαυτῶν ἀπελαύνοντες. Καὶ τοῦτο σαφῶς ἡ τῶν ἱερῶν Εὐαγγελίων παρίστησι γραφή. Τῷ μὲν γὰρ Κυρίῳ ἐπιμαρτυρεῖ τὸ Πάσχα βεβρωκέναι τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν ἀζύμων· μηδ ̓, ὥς φησιν ὁ Λουκᾶς, ἐν ᾗ ἔδει θύεσθαι τὸ Πάσχα ἡμέρᾳ τὸ σύνηθες αὐτοῖς βεβρώκασι Πάσχα, ἀλλὰ τῇ μετ ̓ ἐκείνην ἑξῆς, ἥτις ἦν τῶν μὲν Ἀζύμων δευτέρα, σελήνης δὲ πεντεκαιδεκάτη, ἐν ᾗ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν κρινομένου ὑπὸ Πιλάτου, οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον. Οὐκ ἄρα τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν ἀζύμων, ἐν ᾗ ἔδει θύεσθαι, βεβρώκασιν αὐτὸ κατὰ τὸν νόμον· ἡ γὰρ ἂν μετὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸ Πάσχα πεποιήκεσαν· ἀλλ ̓ ἐξ ἐκείνου ἅμα τῇ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιβουλῇ, πρὸς τῆς αὐτῶν τυφλωθέντες κακίας, καὶ πάσης ἀληθείας ἐσφάλησαν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ αὐτὰ μυστήρια δι ̓ ὅλου τοῦ ἔτους ἄγομεν, ἐν παντὶ μὲν προσαββάτῳ τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους τὴν ἀνάμνησιν ποιούμενοι διὰ νηστείας, ἦν ἐνήστευσαν, ἀρθέντος ἀπ ̓ αὐτῶν τοῦ Νυμφίου, τότε πρῶτον οἱ ἀπόστολοι· διὰ πάσης δὲ Κυριακῆς ἡμέρας τῷ ἡγιασμένῳ σώματι τοῦ αὐτοῦ σωτηρίου Πάσχα ζωοποιούμενοι, καὶ τῷ τιμίῳ αἵματι αὐτοῦ τὰς ψυχὰς κατασφραγιζόμενοι. | (12) I say that the Jews have missed the truth from the start, from the time when they plotted against truth itself, driving the Word of life out of themselves. And the scripture of the holy gospels sets this before our eyes. For it supports the testimony of our Lord that he ate Passover on the first day of [the festival of] unleavened bread, while, as Luke says, they did not eat the Passover customary for them on the day on which the Passover ought to have been sacrificed, but on the day immediately following, which was the second day of [the festival of] unleavened bread, the fifteenth day of the lunar month, on which they did not enter inside the praetorium while our Savior was being tried by Pilate. So they did not eat [the Passover] according to the law on the first day of [the festival of] unleavened bread, on which it ought to have been sacrificed. For [, if they had,] then they too would have made the Passover with our Savior. But from that time together with the plot against our Savior, blinded by their own evil, they have missed all truth. We, however, perform the same mysteries throughout the year, commemorating our Savior’s passion by fasting on every day that precedes a Sabbath – a fast which the apostles observed then for the first time when the Bridegroom was taken away from them. But on every Lord’s day we are enlivened by the sanctified body of the same Passover of our Savior and have our souls sealed by his precious blood. |
Created by JRZ; last updated by JSW 9/3/2024
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