Christ makes the way to God passable; the law builds the Church
union, I mean, in the life lived in the Spirit and in holiness — unless Emmanuel were with him, making what is beyond human reach passable on foot and even on horseback. And this, I think, is what was spoken through the voice of Isaiah: ‘Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and all the crooked places shall become straight, and the rough places smooth roads’ (Isaiah 40:4; Luke 3:5). For in Christ even the steep places are smooth for us, and rough ground can be walked; the hard roads lie clear and level. Indeed, as the prophet himself says again elsewhere: ‘The way of the godly has become straight, and the way of the godly is made ready’ (Isaiah 26:7). So of necessity Joshua goes up with the inspired Moses. For, as I said, the Father is approached through the Son, and he is the Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), who joins us through himself and carries us up to heights beyond nature. Joshua drew up for battle with picked men and defeated Amalek. For Christ chose the saints, whose firstfruits were the inspired disciples, and conquered the ruler of this age. But Moses was the one who gave the command; for the Son came under the law (Galatians 4:4), though as God he is the Lawgiver. And the battle was not fought on the very day on which Moses spoke, but on the next day, that is, it was put off to a later time. For the law foretold what was to come, and, if it is understood spiritually, it contains a splendid account of the Savior’s mighty deeds. This, I think, is also why it was Moses who set up the holy tent. For the training given through the law has its part in the forming of the Church. It leads us as a tutor to Christ (Galatians 3:24), who is the head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18) and its whole structure, ‘the pillar and foundation of the truth,’ as it is written (1 Timothy 3:15). Indeed Christ said to the Jews: ‘If you believed Moses, you would believe me also; for he wrote about me’ (John 5:46). So Moses too, that is, the training given through the law, builds the Church of Christ, showing beforehand, as though still in shadows, the mystery concerning it. The person of Moses sometimes stands for the law given through him, as is rightly said in the parables of the Gospel: ‘They have Moses and the prophets’ (Luke 16:29).
Palladius: You have spoken rightly.
Cyril: And what, in turn, might it mean that the holy tent had to be pitched on one day, at the new moon of the first month, and in the second year? Come, let us explain it, tracking down the truth and what future readers will judge best. The one day points to the saving time for which we prayed so long, in which the Only-begotten became man and by the death of his own flesh won those on earth for God the Father. And this time is one for all. For having died once, he dies no more; death will no longer have dominion over him, as the Scriptures say (Romans 6:9–10). For we shall no longer expect the Son to die for us and for the spirits in Hades, nor yet
Greek
αφείας, τῆς ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἁγιασμῷ πολιτείας, μὴ οὐχὶ συνόντος τε αὐτῷ τοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ, καὶ τὰ ἀνθρώποις ἀνέφικτα βάσιμα τιθέντος καὶ ἱππήλατα. Καὶ τοῦτο, οἶμαι, ἐστὶ τὸ διὰ φωνῆς Ἡσαΐου εἰρημένον, «Πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται, καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται, καὶ πάντα τὰ σκολιὰ ἔσται εἰς εὐθεῖαν, καὶ αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας.» Ἐν Χριστῷ γὰρ ἡμῖν καὶ τὰ ἀνάντη λεῖα, καὶ βάσιμον τὸ τραχύ· ψιλὰ δὲ καὶ ὕπτια, τὰ δυσπόρευτα. Καὶ γὰρ, ὡς αὐτός που πάλιν φησὶν ὁ προφήτης, «Ὁδὸς εὐσεβῶν. εὐθεῖα ἐγένετο, καὶ παρεσκευασμένη ἡ ὁδὸς τῶν εὐσεβῶν.» Οὐκοῦν ἀναγκαίως συνάνεισιν Ἰησοῦς τῷ θεσπεσίῳ Μωσῇ. Προσιτὸς γὰρ, ὡς ἔφην, ὁ Πατὴρ δι' Υἱοῦ, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ μεσίτης, συνάπτων ἡμᾶς δι' ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ φύσιν ὑψώμασιν ἀνακομίζων. Παρετέτακτο δὲ σὺν ἀπολέκτοις ἀνδράσι, καὶ ἐνίκα τὸν Ἀμαλήκ. Ἐπιλεξάμενος γὰρ τοὺς ἁγίους ὁ Χριστὸς, ὧν ἀπαρχὴ γεγόνασιν οἱ θεσπέσιοι μαθηταὶ, νενίκηκε τὸν ἀρχηγὸν τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου· Μωσῆς δὲ ὁ κελεύων ἦν· γέγονε γὰρ ὑπὸ νόμον ὁ Υἱὸς, καίτοι νομοθέτης ὑπάρχων ὡς Θεός. Καὶ τῆς παρατάξεως ὁ καιρὸς οὐ κατ' αὐτὴν ἐκείνην ἐπράττετο τὴν ἡμέραν, καθ' ἢν οἱ Μωσέως γεγόνασι λόγοι, ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν αὔριον, τοῦτ' ἔστιν, εἰς ὑπέρθεσιν ἑτέρου καιροῦ. Προηγόρευσε γὰρ ὁ νόμος τὰ ἐσόμενα, καὶ τῶν τοῦ Σωτῆρος κατορθωμάτων λαμπρὰν ἔχει τὴν ἀφήγησιν, εἰ νοοῖτο πνευματικῶς. Ταύτῃτοι, καθάπερ ἐγᾦμαι, καὶ τὴν ἁγίαν σκηνὴν ἀνέστησεν ὁ Μωσῆς. Ἔστι γὰρ οὐκ ἀσυντελὴς ἡ διὰ νόμου παίδευσις εἰς τὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας σύστασιν. Παιδαγωγεῖ γὰρ εἰς Χριστὸν, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ ἡ πᾶσα σύστασις, στύλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. Καὶ γοῦν Ἰουδαίοις προσπεφώνηκεν ὁ Χριστός· «Εἰ ἐπιστεύετε Μωσῇ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν καὶ ἐμοί· περὶ γὰρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἔγραψεν.» Οἰκοδομεῖ τοιγαροῦν καὶ ὁ Μωσῆς, τοῦτ' ἔστιν, ἡ διὰ νόμου παίδευσις, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν Χριστοῦ, τὸ ἐπ' αὐτῇ μυστήριον ὡς ἐν σκιαῖς ἔτι προαναφαίνουσα. Πρόσωπον δὲ τὸ Μωσέως ἔσθ' ὅτε τὸν δι' αὐτοῦ παρίστησι νόμον, κατά γε τὸ ἐν εὐαγγελικαῖς παραβολαῖς ὀρθῶς εἰρημένον, «Ἔχουσι Μωσέα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας.»
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Ὀρθῶς ἔφης.
{ΚΥΡ.} Τί δ' ἂν βούλοιτο κατασημῆναι πάλιν τὸ, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ χρῆναι μιᾷ, καὶ μὴν καὶ τὸ, νουμηνίᾳ τοῦ μηνὸς τοῦ πρώτου, καὶ τὸ, ἐν δευτέρῳ ἔτει τὴν ἁγίαν διαπήγνυσθαι σκηνὴν, φέρε δὴ λέγωμεν ἰχνηλατοῦντες τὸ ἀληθὲς, καὶ τὸ ὡς ἄριστα ἔχειν τοῖς ἐντευξομένοις δοκοῦν. Ἡμέρα μὲν γὰρ ἡ μία τὸν πολύευκτον ἡμῖν καὶ σωτήριον ὑποφαίνει καιρὸν, καθ' ὃν ἄνθρωπος γεγονὼς ὁ Μονογενὴς, τῷ θανάτῳ τῆς ἰδίας σαρκὸς κατεκτήσατο τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί. Εἷς δὲ δὴ πάντων ὁ τοῦδε καιρός· ἅπαξ γὰρ ἀποθανὼν, οὐκέτι ἀποθνήσκει· θάνατος αὐτῷ οὐκέτι κυριεύσει, κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς· οὐ γὰρ ἔτι προσδοκήσομεν ὑπέρ τε ἡμῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν ᾅδου πνευμάτων τεθνήξεσθαι τὸν Υἱὸν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ