Confession, the death of Christ, and the poor man’s doves
Cyril: …he committed, a female from the flock, a ewe lamb or a she-goat from the goats, for sin; and the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin he committed, and the sin shall be forgiven him’ (Leviticus 5:6). Observe, then, that the law sets in one equal and identical class of offense the man who hears the voice of adjuration and makes nothing at all of the matter, the man liable for other defilements, and, besides these, the man condemned for perjury. For contempt toward God is truly a monstrous defilement, and it rises to the very extreme of evil; and this offense is near and akin to the uncleannesses of the flesh. Or must we not count accursed perjury and contempt for adjuration as equal?
Palladius: Certainly; for in both cases the charges are always, in a way, evenly matched.
Cyril: Then for these also release will follow through confession and through the slaying of a ewe lamb, that is, a sheep. For, it says, ‘Be the first to tell your lawless deeds, that you may be justified’ (Isaiah 43:26). And the divine David also cries out: ‘I said, I will confess my lawlessness against myself to the Lord; and you forgave the ungodliness of my heart’ (Psalm 32:5). Yet confession alone is not enough to wash us completely clean. It is the death of Christ that sets us entirely free, for he suffered for us and put himself under the sins of us all, as in every kind of domestic animal: I mean in the calf, and in the sheep and the goat. And the law, as if to leave those in defilements and uncleannesses no excuse for neglecting sacrifice, urges anyone who has no calf or sheep to give honor with what is at hand and within his means, saying: ‘If his hand is not strong enough to provide a sheep, he shall bring to the Lord for the sin he committed two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for sin and one for a whole burnt offering. And he shall bring them to the priest, and the priest shall offer the one for sin first; and the priest shall pinch off its head from the neck, and shall not divide it. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the wall of the altar, and the rest of the blood he shall drain out at the base of the altar; for it is a sin offering. And the second he shall make a whole burnt offering, as is fitting; and the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin he committed, and it shall be forgiven him’ (Leviticus 5:7–10). We should compare our Lord Jesus Christ, and very fittingly, to the turtledove and the dove, because the one has the sweetest voice and is the most vocal of birds, and the other comes nearest to the height of meekness. Both were in Christ. For he, the turtledove from above and from heaven, charmed the whole world with the preaching of the Gospel, sending forth, as it were, a clear and sweet song, and making plain the will of God the Father. For as the inspired John says: ‘He whom God has sent speaks the words of God’ (John 3:34). And he also called us to imitate the meekness and gentleness that were in him, saying: ‘Take my yoke… (Matthew 11:29)
Greek
τίας ἧς ἥμαρτε, θῆλυ ἀπὸ τῶν προβάτων, ἀμνάδα ἢ χίμαιραν ἐξ αἰγῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ ὁ ἱερεὺς περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ, ἧς ἥμαρτε, καὶ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ ἡ ἁμαρτία.» Ἄθρει δὴ οὖν ὅτι τὸν ὁρκισμοῦ φωνῆς ἐπαΐοντα, καὶ παρ' οὐδὲν ὅλως τὸ πρᾶγμα πεποιημένον, καὶ τὸν ἑτέροις ἔνοχον μολυσμοῖς, καὶ μὴν ἐπὶ τούτῳ, τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ ψευδορκίᾳ κατεγνωσμένον, ἐν ἴσῳ τε καὶ ἀπαραλλάκτῳ τίθησι πλημμελείας τρόπῳ· μολυσμὸς γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἐξαίσιος, καὶ εἰς αὐτό που τὸ λοῖσθον ἀναθρώσκει τῶν κακῶν, ἡ εἰς Θεὸν καταφρόνησις, καὶ ταῖς σαρκικαῖς ἀκαθαρσίαις ἐγγύς τε καὶ ἀδελφὸν τὸ πλημμέλημα, ἢ οὐκ ἐν ἴσῳ θετέον λόγῳ τὴν ἐπάρατον ψευδορκίαν καὶ ὁρκισμοῦ καταφρόνησιν;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Πάνυ μὲν οὖν· ἰσοπαλῆ γάρ πως ἐπ' ἀμφοῖν ἀεὶ τὰ ἐγκλήματα.
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἕψεται δὴ οὖν καὶ τούτοις ἡ λύσις δι' ἐξαγορεύσεώς τε καὶ μὴν καὶ ἀμνάδος, ἤτοι προβάτου σφαγῆς· «Λέγε γὰρ σὺ τὰς ἀνομίας σου πρῶτος,» φησὶν, «ἵνα δικαιωθῇς.» Καὶ μὴν καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἀναφωνεῖ Δαβίδ· «Εἶπα· Ἐξαγορεύσω κατ' ἐμοῦ τὴν ἀνομίαν μου τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ σὺ ἀφῆκας τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῆς καρδίας μου.» Πλὴν, οὐκ ἀπόχρη εἰς τὴν τελείαν ἀπόνιψιν τὸ ἐξαγορεῦσαι μόνον, ἀπαλλάττει δὲ παντελῶς ὁ Χριστοῦ θάνατος, παθόντος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, καὶ ταῖς ἁπάντων ἡμῶν ἁμαρτίαις ἑαυτὸν ὑποφέροντος ὡς ἐν εἴδει παντὶ τῶν ἡμέρων ζώων· ἐν μόσχῳ δὴ λέγω, καὶ μὴν καὶ προβάτῳ καὶ αἰγί. Ἀπροφάσιστον δὲ ὥσπερ καθιστὰς ὁ νόμος τὸ ῥᾴθυμον εἰς θυσίαν, τοῖς ἐν μολυσμοῖς καὶ ἀκαθαρσίαις, εἰ μὴ μόσχον τις ἔχοι καὶ πρόβατον, τοῖς κατὰ χεῖρα καὶ ἐν ἰσχύϊ τιμᾷν ἀναπείθει, λέγων· «Ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἰσχύῃ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἱκανὸν εἰς τὸ πρόβατον, οἴσει περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ, ἧς ἥμαρτε, δύο τρυγόνας, ἢ δύο νοσσοὺς περιστερῶν Κυρίῳ, ἕνα περὶ ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ἕνα εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα, καὶ οἴσει αὐτὰ πρὸς τὸν ἱερέα, καὶ προσάξει ὁ ἱερεὺς τὸ περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πρότερον, καὶ ἀποκνίσει ὁ ἱερεὺς τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ σφονδύλου, καὶ οὐ διελεῖ, καὶ ῥανεῖ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἐπὶ τὸν τοῖχον τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου. Τὸ δὲ κατάλοιπον τοῦ αἵματος καταστραγγιεῖ ἐπὶ τὴν βάσιν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου. Ἁμαρτίας γάρ ἐστι, καὶ τὸ δεύτερον ποιήσει ὁλοκαύτωμα ὡς καθήκει· καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ ὁ ἱερεὺς περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἧς ἥμαρτε, καὶ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ.» Τρυγόνι μὲν δὴ καὶ περιστερᾷ παρεικαστέον εὖ μάλα τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστὸν, ὅτι τὸ μέν ἐστιν εὐφωνότατόν τε καὶ λαλίστατον ἐν στρουθίοις, τὸ δὲ ὅτι μάλιστα πρὸς ἄκρον ἥκει πραότητος. Ἄμφω δὲ ἦν ἐν Χριστῷ. Πᾶσαν μὲν γὰρ κατεκήλησε τὴν οἰκουμένην τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς κηρύγμασι, τρυγὼν ἡ ἄνωθέν τε καὶ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, λιγυρὸν ὥσπερ ἐνιεῖσα μέλος, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς κατατρανοῦσα θέλησιν. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἰωάννης φησὶν, «Ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς, τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ λαλεῖ.» Ἐκάλει δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς πρὸς μίμησιν τῆς ἐνούσης αὐτῷ πραότητός τε καὶ ἡμερότητος, οὕτω λέγων· «Ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου