Holy anointing oil = Spirit in Christ; only God sanctifies; priests beyond flesh
Cyril: …two hundred fifty, and of iris five hundred shekels of the holy, and oil from olives will be, and you will make it oil—a holy anointing, a myrrh-working myrrh by craft of a myrrh-worker. It will be oil of holy anointing. And you will anoint from it the tent of the testimony, and the ark… and Aaron and his sons you will anoint, and you will sanctify them to priest for me… Upon flesh of a human it will not be anointed, and according to this composition you will not make likewise for yourselves… Whoever should make likewise, and whoever should give from it to an other-born, will be utterly destroyed from his people.’ So then of quality, and indeed also of composition, and again of inequality unto weight, I mean, of the named kinds, I would have nothing to say; for truth is dear to those accustomed to think well. And oil mixed with myrrhs would mark, as I at least think, the sanctification in Christ through Spirit supplied to those who have been pitied. According at least to the, ‘You fattened my head with oil.’ And the tent is anointed, and all the things in it, for a place also would share sanctification through the one dwelling in it. And the vessels are also sanctified, according at least to the manner fitting for them, because useful for God’s liturgies, and the one touching them will be sanctified. So then untouchable for those still profane are the holy and sacred things; ‘For what communion of light toward darkness?’ according to what has been written. And he altogether forbids needing to make for yourselves the like construction of oil. For sanctifying is private of God alone, and as truly exceptional the matter will lie up for him, and for a generated and made nature—how would being able to sanctify others ever hold? For it is scarcely enriched with the sanctification from a share from above. And it would be fitting for it to be called upon through a voice of the holy ones. ‘For what do you have which you did not receive?’ And John also says concerning the Only-begotten that ‘From his fullness we all received.’ And, ‘He does not give the Spirit from measure,’ but rather existing himself as a spring of sanctification, he measures out the Spirit to the worthy, and sanctifies the rational creation; ‘And upon flesh of a human,’ he says, ‘it will not be anointed,’ though having commanded Aaron and those priesting with him needing to be anointed from it. So then already beyond human is the holy race, inasmuch as also a sharer of Christ who is beyond the creation. Therefore also leading us up toward the dignity beyond nature, and as cutting us off from the earthly, he assigns us to the upper; ‘Father,’ he says,
Greek
μου εὐώδους διακοσίους πεντήκοντα, καὶ ἴρεως πεντακοσίους σίκλους τοῦ ἁγίου, καὶ ἔλαιον ἐξ ἐλαιῶν ἔσται, καὶ ποιήσεις αὐτὸ ἔλαιον χρίσμα ἅγιον μύρον μυρεψικὸν τέχνῃ μυρεψοῦ. Ἔλαιον χρίσμα ἅγιον ἔσται. Καὶ χρίσεις ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὴν σκηνὴν τοῦ μαρτυρίου, καὶ τὴν κιβωτὸν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη αὐτῆς, καὶ τὴν λυχνίαν καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη αὐτῆς, καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τοῦ θυμιάματος, καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τῶν ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ πάντα αὐτοῦ τὰ σκεύη, καὶ τὴν τράπεζαν καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη αὐτῆς, καὶ τὸν λουτῆρα, καὶ τὴν βάσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἁγιάσεις αὐτά· καὶ ἔσται Ἅγια τῶν ἀγίων. Πᾶς ὁ ἁπτόμενος αὐτῶν, ἁγιασθήσεται. Καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ χρίσεις, καὶ ἁγιάσεις αὐτοὺς ἱερατεύειν μοι. Καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ λαλήσεις, λέγων· Ἔλαιον ἄλειμμα χρίσεως ἅγιον ἔσται τοῦτο ὑμῖν εἰς τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν· ἐπὶ σάρκα ἀνθρώπου οὐ χρισθήσεται, καὶ κατὰ τὴν σύνθεσιν ταύτην οὐ ποιήσετε ὑμῖν ἑαυτοῖς ὡσαύτως. Ἅγιόν ἐστι, καὶ ἁγίασμα ἔσται ὑμῖν. Ὃς ἂν ποιήσῃ ὡσαύτως, καὶ ὃς ἂν δῷ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἀλλογενεῖ, ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ.» Ποιότητος μὲν οὖνπερ, καὶ μὴν καὶ συνθήκης, ἀνισότητός τε αὖ, τῆς εἰς ὁλκὴν δὴ, λέγω, τῶν ὠνομασμένων εἰδῶν, οὐδὲν ἂν ἔχοιμι φράσαι· φίλη γὰρ ἡ ἀλήθεια τοῖς εὖ φρονεῖν εἰωθόσιν. Ἔλαιον δὲ μύροις ἀνακραθὲν, κατασημήνειεν ἂν, ὥσπερ οὖν ἐγᾦμαι, τὸν ἐν Χριστῷ διὰ Πνεύματος ἁγιασμὸν τοῖς ἠλεημένοις χορηγούμενον. Κατά γε τὸ, «Ἐλίπανας ἐν ἐλαίῳ τὴν κεφαλήν μου.» Καταχρίεται δὲ ἡ σκηνὴ, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ, μετάσχοι γὰρ ἂν ἁγιασμοῦ καὶ τόπος διὰ τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἁγιάζεται δὲ καὶ τὰ σκεύη, κατά γε τὸν αὐτοῖς πρέποντα τρόπον, ὅτι ταῖς Θεοῦ λειτουργίαις χρήσιμα, καὶ ὁ ἁπτόμενος αὐτῶν ἁγιασθήσεται. Ἀνέπαφα δὴ οὖν τοῖς ἔτι βεβήλοις τὰ ἅγιά τε καὶ ἱερά· «Τίς γὰρ κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος;» κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. Ἀποφάσκει δὲ παντελῶς τὸ δεῖν ἑαυτοῖς τὴν ὁμοίαν ἐλαίου ποιεῖσθαι κατασκευήν. Ἴδιον γὰρ μόνου τὸ ἁγιάζειν ἐστὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὡς ἐξαίρετον ἀληθῶς ἀνακείσεται τὸ χρῆμα αὐτῷ, γενητῇ δὲ καὶ πεποιημένῃ φύσει τὸ ἁγιάζειν ἑτέρους δύνασθαι, πῶς ἂν ἔχοι ποτέ; Πλουτεῖ γὰρ μόλις ἐκ μετοχῆς τῆς ἄνωθεν τὸν ἁγιασμόν. Πρέποι δ' ἂν αὐτῇ διὰ τῆς τῶν ἁγίων ἐπιβοᾶσθαι φωνῆς. «Τί γὰρ ἔχεις ὃ οὐκ ἔλαβες;» Καὶ γὰρ Ἰωάννης φησὶ περὶ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς, ὅτι «Ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἐλάβομεν.» Καὶ, «Οὐκ ἐκ μέτρου δίδωσι τὸ Πνεῦμα,» πηγὴ δὲ μᾶλλον ὑπάρχων αὐτὸς ἁγιασμοῦ, ἐπιμετρεῖ τοῖς ἀξίοις τὸ Πνεῦμα, καὶ τὴν λογικὴν ἁγιάζει κτίσιν· «Ἐπὶ σάρκα δὲ ἀνθρώπου, φησὶν, οὐ χρισθήσεται,» καίτοι προστεταχὼς καταχρίεσθαι δεῖν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, τόν τε Ἀαρὼν καὶ τοὺς συνιερατεύοντας. Οὐκοῦν ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπινον τὸ γένος ἤδη τὸ ἱερὸν, ἅτε δὴ καὶ Χριστοῦ μέτοχον τοῦ ὑπὲρ τὴν κτίσιν. Τοιγάρτοι καὶ πρὸς τὸ ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἡμᾶς ἀνακομίζων ἀξίωμα, καὶ οἱονεὶ τῶν ἐπιγείων ἀποτεμὼν, τοῖς ἄνω προσνέμει· «Πατέρα» γὰρ, φησὶ,
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius. Book 9 of a seventeen-book dialogue — not the whole work.
English follows Migne PG 68 (Aubert reprint). The PDF and a cleaned text of the same print were checked against each other. This page is Book 9 of seventeen. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 68 De adoratione Book 5 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 9)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 9)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.