Fragments on Acts and the Catholic Epistles

2He was about at once to be burned up with the cities and himself the ill-famed temple; houses too to be smoked, shaken by earthquakes.

That moreover before the day of the great and manifest one, in which to all the divine judgment-seat of Christ giving to each according to his works will be set forth, these things will happen to the Jews, he foretold saying: Before the coming of the day of the Lord the great and manifest.

Moreover also my flesh will encamp upon hope.

Of Cyril. For he rose again three-day, because it was not possible for life existing according to nature him to be held fast by the bonds of death.

And again: Not indeed it is lawful to say corruption to be able ever to hold fast the flesh united to the Word, and to be a dwelling place of them the gates of Hades the divine to become soul.

For he was not left in Hades, as also the blessed Peter said: That you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you give your holy one to see corruption.

Of Cyril. For he rose again having spoiled Hades, and to those in bonds saying: Come forth; and to those in darkness: Be revealed.

He made known to me ways of life.

and as upon us the first calling beautiful.

3The participation in heavenly goods is a gift that has been added to human nature, and somehow, human poverty has enriched us.

God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and he has been presented before you in a state of health.

It is clear that the Father's act of raising Jesus Christ from the dead refers to his flesh, and no one would doubt this, since Jesus himself, as the life-giving and active power of the Father, gives life to his own body, as he said, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it' (John 2:19).

The body that Jesus vivifies is not foreign to him, but his own, which is the body of the Word.

I urge you, men, brothers, and fathers, to listen to me and prepare yourselves for the benevolent, by bending your ear to understand the subtle power of divine words, as it is written, 'Go out from your land and from your kin' (Genesis 12:1).

It is evident that those who follow God completely and in every way, making hope in him second to their fleshly and worldly desires, will richly receive the blessing from above.

Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in his words and deeds, and when he was forty years old, he was prepared to fulfill God's plan.

Jesus said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel' (Matthew 15:24), because the promises were made to them, and their fathers were the recipients of these promises.

We do not deny that the Word from God the Father, who became a man, has come among us, and we acknowledge that, being rich, he became poor and emptied himself.

However, the one who does injustice to his neighbor pushed Jesus away, saying, 'Who appointed you as ruler and judge over us? Do you want to destroy me as you destroyed the Egyptian yesterday?'

The Israelites could not endure the divine glory of the Son, who was showing himself and bringing knowledge, and this would be a sign for us that they could not bear his glory.

As Jesus said, he did not come to destroy, but the one who does injustice to his neighbor said, 'Who appointed you as ruler and judge over us?'

Jesus said, 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' (Exodus 3:6).

The divine Moses was called as the one who took away the Egyptian, although the Egyptian was oppressing and being insolent, but Jesus, casting out evil demons as into an abyss, and not willingly changing the tyranny over us, was said to cast them out through the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of demons.

The God of all things reveals himself, but when he reveals himself, Moses turns away his face, and this would be a sign for us that the Israelites could not endure the divine glory of the Son, who was showing himself and bringing knowledge.

Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in his words and deeds, and when he was forty years old, he was prepared to fulfill God's plan, and thus, the blessing from above will richly abound for those who follow God completely and in every way, and who have made hope in him second to their fleshly and worldly desires.

5The author demonstrates a great sign of love for God, just as one who is cursed by their persecutor shows they are not overly joyful about suffering for Christ, but one who blesses shows great love toward them.

If they repented, their sin was forgiven, as he says; indeed, Paul, who threw many stones with his hands and persecuted the Church, became a leader of the Church.

The passage of Scripture he was reading was: 'As a sheep led to slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he does not open his mouth'.

The mind of the preceding words is very clear; for sheep are led to be sheared at the right time, and shepherds bring knives to shear them, yet although they suffer, those who do this do not provoke them to leap; similarly, Christ, when insulted, did not retaliate with insult; when suffering, He did not threaten.

Because of this he says, 'Who shall declare His generation?' since His life is taken from the earth, but rather, His life is lifted up and is higher than those on earth, that is, His citizenship; His life is also taken away in another way, and is above all, that is, the existence of the Only-Begotten; when He was outside the flesh and not yet according to us.

Who was I to hinder God?

A certain economy occurred because of the great distinction of those from circumcision who believed before baptism, so that those around Cornelius were deemed worthy of the Spirit, in order to stop the murmuring of the discontented.

Having heard they became silent, as John completed his course he said, 'What do you suppose me to be? I am not, but behold, one coming after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals'.

For it is the work of the all-surpassing substance alone and specifically to enable those who approach it to partake of the Holy Spirit and divine nature, this exists in Christ not by participation or sharing from another, but inherently and substantially, for He baptizes in the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, the incarnate Word is God and fruit of God and Father, and when He became man, He exists as one Son with flesh inseparably and incomprehensibly united to Him.

For the blessed Baptist, having declared that he is not worthy to bend and untie the strap of His sandals, immediately added: 'This one will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire'; and obviously having feet and wearing sandals, for no one would say that the Word, being incorporeal and not yet become according to us, has feet and sandals, but when He became man, since being God He did not lose His divinity.

6The Spirit worked again, and it did so in a divinely fitting manner, giving itself to those who believe in Him.

In this, God and man were the same person, and the one who acknowledges the sandal is not worthy to untie it, let alone be compared to the divine essence.

As it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son; I have today begotten you' (Psalm 2:7).

Cyril explains that the Son, who alone knows the Father and is known by the Father alone, is the Wisdom and the Word of God, and the Angel of the great counsel, and that He clearly explains to us the mystery of the economy with flesh through the voice of the prophet.

The Son, being by nature and truly the Son of God, and having taken on the essence of God and the Father, became flesh, that is, man, according to the voice of John, and He has become a brother to those on earth, having undergone birth according to the flesh with us.

Although He is eternal and has always co-existed with the Father, He became flesh, and as the unique Son, He is seen by the Father, who says, 'You are my Son; I have today begotten you.'

This statement shows the manifest confession, namely the exaltation, and the phrase 'You are my Son' establishes His eternal nature, while the phrase 'I have today begotten you' reveals His birth according to the flesh, which He willingly underwent through the Holy Virgin; and for this reason she is named Theotokos.

We must beware, lest what is said in the prophets comes upon us: 'Behold, the scorners, and marvel, and be vanished…'

Cyril says, 'Behold, the scorners, and look upon; and how the rough thing is cut off.'

The Lord warns us that what was said to others should not come upon us.

For the Lord has commanded us, 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you might be for salvation unto the ends of the earth' (Acts 13:47).

Christ shone upon the Gentiles, leaving under the heavens a light infused with divinity, so that the divine nature and the higher realms might be beheld by eyes of pure intellect, and the ways of spiritual worship might be established.

When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their garments and leaped into the crowd, shouting and crying out.

It is the custom of the Jews to tear their garments at blasphemies against God, as Caiaphas did when Christ called Himself the Son of God, shouting aloud and saying, 'He has blasphemed!'!

The godly disciples Paul and Barnabas also did this in Lycaonia, where they became known; for some had wandered from the passion, and the matter was paradoxical to those watching, and the observers desired to offer sacrifices to them as signs of divinity, saying, 'The gods, having been made like unto men, have come to us.'

They called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was, as they said, the leader of the word.

7Since the action undertaken was regarded as a kind of disgrace, they tore their garments, following Jewish traditions and written customs. Moreover, the custom itself is slandered as not deriving from the law and being altogether lawless. Indeed, the God of all things spoke to those who were shaping such practices and turning far from true piety, saying to the Jews: 'Return to me with all your heart, in fasting and weeping and lamentation; tear your hearts, and not your garments.'

Now then, what are you trying to do, placing a yoke upon the neck of the disciples?... Cyril. Furthermore, since the law is burdensome and hard to bear, the godly disciples have truly confessed this, reproaching certain forms of ignorance. For they said: 'Now then, what are you trying? And the following things.' This is the same point: the law is admittedly burdensome to those of Israel, and the godly disciples agreed to this as well. The Savior himself taught us this, saying: 'Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.' Yet he describes those who labor and are burdened under the law as such, while he himself calls himself gentle, not claiming this quality comes from the law. As it is written, after these things I will return and rebuild the tent of David that has fallen.... Cyril. The tent of David signifies the race of the Jews.

8The Lord called them fools, saying that those who claim to be wise have become foolish. He knew that after his departure, false teachers would arise, and so the Holy Spirit, keeping us safe, warns us against the ravings of heretics. In the early days, it was customary for ships to have symbols of the Dioscuri, which were considered foreign and possibly idolatrous, as Isaiah says, they will sail in foreign ships, navigating the sea (Isaiah 60:9). 'Let him ask in faith, with no doubting' (James 1:6). Cyril: The one who doubts is plainly insolent. For if you did not believe that he will fulfill your request, you should not have come at all, so as not to be found accusing the Almighty by being double-minded against your will. So we must refuse so shameful a sickness. 'Do you want to know, you empty man, that faith without works is dead? Abraham our father...' (James 2:20–21). Cyril, from the Letter to the Romans: Since the blessed James says that Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar, while Paul says that he was justified by faith, the apparent contradiction is to be understood this way: before he had Isaac he believed, and he received Isaac as the reward of his faith; yet when he offered Isaac on the altar, he not only did the work he was commanded but also did not let go of his faith, reckoning that in Isaac his seed would multiply like the stars, and that God is able even to raise from the dead. Yet Paul makes the blessed David, a man famous for piety, a witness and helper of his own words, and wisely sets forth, as in the Spirit, the forgiveness that comes through faith and announces it to all people; for he knew that it would be present in Christ in due time. 'You see that faith was working together with his works, and by the works faith was made complete' (James 2:22). Cyril: He was bringing the rational sacrifice, bidding the laws of nature farewell, trampling the goad of a father's unyielding love, and setting nothing earthly against his love for God. 'And Abraham believed God' (James 2:23). Cyril: So the one who honors the God and Master of all with faith has righteousness as his prize. 'If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well' (James 3:2).

10The wrath of God is almost upon us, trampling and slaughtering the strong and the fat like rams and bulls.

To the wealthy it is said: Come now, weep and wail over the troubles that are coming upon you.

You have lived in luxury, squandered your wealth on the earth, and nourished your hearts as if it were a day of slaughter.

The leaders of the Jews have become like those who graze in a fertile and spacious land, feeding on the donations from the people.

Having been caught as if by the Lord’s sword, the cowards are urged: therefore, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord.

For if God delays the punishment of sinners, waiting for their repentance, He does not do so because He has changed or because He loves sinners, but because He gives them time to return.

Having declared the punishment of the wicked, He advises those who have been wronged to be patient, awaiting the coming of the Lord.

At the same time, He also forbids taking oaths and encourages diligence in prayer and psalm-singing, and having faith in the priests of God and love towards each other, as also to pray for one another.

The proof of the power of prayer is brought forward in the example of Elijah.

And finally, the reward of sinners who return.

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven nor by earth nor by any other oath.

If someone shameless, not entreating your life, dares to impose an oath on you, let your yes be yes and your no be no, instead of an oath.

This is because swearing by heaven and earth risks giving creation honor above itself, which is to make it godlike.

For those who swear by something greater are, in effect, swearing by that greater thing, as the Apostle says.

If you believe in the one you do not see, you rejoice with inexpressible and glorified joy, obtaining the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9).

How terrible and difficult is unbelief, but how great is faith as a good, a precursor to every salvation.

As it is written: Behold, I place a chosen, precious stone in Zion, and the one who believes in it will not be put to shame (Isaiah 28:16).

Therefore the honor is yours, to those who believe.

This stone is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is called chosen, precious, and honorable, reflecting the glory and excellence of divinity.

He is also called a cornerstone, as He unites the two peoples, from Israel and from the nations, into one spiritual temple through one faith.

And the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.

But observe how He brings relief to the afflicted…

The text breaks off here, leaving the sentence incomplete.

11The chosen stone is placed in the foundations of Zion, and what is the benefit from this? The one believing in him will not be put to shame, because it is essential to control one's tongue, stopping it from evil, as the Bible says that death and life are in the hand of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Those who can control their tongue will eat its fruits, and this restraint is a great virtue, just as not having it is a painful disease. The restraint of the tongue is a crucial aspect of being a perfect person, able to bridle also the whole body, as Scripture says that if someone does not stumble in word, this one is a perfect man, able to bridle also the whole body (James 3:2).

The Only-Begotten, with authority, cried out to the souls who suffered similarly, according to the plan of the economy, saying to those in bonds, 'Come out', and to those in darkness, 'Be revealed'. This was his proclamation to those in Hades, that he might free those who were about to believe, if he had come in the flesh at the time of their life, if the incarnation was indeed profitable. For these also certainly recognized him in Hades, whom the gatekeepers of Hades, upon seeing him, were terrified by, and the bronze gates were broken, and the iron bars were shattered.

For the things beyond our economy are beyond nature and tradition, and just as Christ cried out equally to all on earth through his bodily presence, and those who believed were helped, so also through his descent into Hades, he freed those who believed and recognized him from the bonds of death. The souls of those who lived in idolatry and lawless debauchery were unable to see the rays of the divine appearance, and thus they could not faithfully recognize the one who came to free all, who appeared to those below and proclaimed to all in common, showing both his philanthropic and just nature.

12When we abandon the Creator and God of all, we inevitably serve demonic and misanthropic beings, and live as friends to them.

Christ suffered in the flesh for us, and we should arm ourselves with the same mindset as he did.

The Word of God became flesh and suffered voluntarily, showing us that true strength comes from God.

As we are baptized into Christ's death, we become one with him, impassible in divinity but passible in flesh.

Christ is God, and as such, he is impassible in his divinity, but passible in his flesh.

When we receive brothers at table, we should not be anxious about much service, but rather focus on the encounters with our guests, and gain the reward of hospitality.

In what seems difficult, we should show what is noble.

We did not follow clever myths when we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but rather we became eyewitnesses of his greatness.

For he received honor and glory from God the Father, and a voice was brought to him by the magnificent foot of glory.

The problems of the heretics are indeed myths and human wisdom, which Paul writes to us to avoid, as he says, 'Avoid a heretic after a first and second warning' is not our concern, but rather Paul's warning to avoid heretics (Titus 3:10).

The heretics, not having the truth, are forced to wander in various speeches to defend the falsehood.

But we are not so, for we have seen the truth with our eyes, being with him on the mountain.

We also have the prophets who foretold this truth to us, and thus the word became more confirmed to us through sight than through the prophets.

For what they said, Christ confirmed by being present, and we are witnesses who also heard the testimony.

For not having followed clever myths, we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but having become eyewitnesses of his greatness.

We should not consider it a strange occurrence to us to face narrowness and tribulations and bodily infirmities, but rather show what is noble in such situations.

13The Father’s word is sure. You will do well to obey the prophetic word, for it leads those who are in ignorance as a light-bringer, until the light of the Gospel shines clearly among you, and the intellectual morning star, that is Christ, rises in your hearts, having been testified by the Father.

But those who act like irrational beasts, born for capture and corruption, who in their ignorance blaspheme, will be destroyed in their very corruption, receiving the wages of injustice.

Cyril says: And indeed the glorious Melodus declares that man, though placed in honor, did not understand, but was mingled with the senseless beasts and became like them. For customs of ignorance, woven together like laws, having brought only a little through, appeared as beasts, as I said, which have become only for corruption.

Concerning impious conduct, he says, and the whole life having been corrupted... He showed. The custom of divine Scripture is to take the things according to nature, which are divine, as wild beasts, and present them to men as images and examples, so that from those natural things the things of choice—meaning human movements—may be made evident, and thus either base or just the manner of these is shown.

Upon the base things, if he commands: Do not become as horse and mule, which have no understanding. Or also when, blaming those who have become thus, he says: Man, being in honor, did not understand, was mingled with the senseless beasts, and became like them. And again: Mares, becoming lustful, were made. And the Savior calls Herod a fox, and to the 74.1020 disciples he commanded: Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.

14Our heavenly perfect one is, and he does not mean that we should strive to become like God when he says we should become merciful like the Father, because it is impossible for us to become like the Father, being creatures and having come from non-being, out of that which does not exist.

Rather, we are to look at the good deeds of our heavenly Father and do good things for his sake, not for human recognition, so that we will receive our reward from him, and not from humans, just as we, being one only-begotten Son by nature and true, become sons by grace of the one who called us.

We are called gods by grace, being humans, and not by nature, and we become merciful like God, not by being equal to him, but by imitating his kindness, for it is not our discovery to do good, but God's, and we are to extend kindness to all people, without discriminating, just as God does.

This is the only way we can become imitators of him, and it is by serving each other from him, as also in all his Epistles, speaking about these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand.

For Christ speaks in him, and you, beloved, knowing beforehand, will guard yourselves, so that you will not be led astray by the error of the lawless and fall from your own steadfastness.

You must turn away from those who come to you in the name of Christ but are actually deceivers, for our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a command for our safety and salvation, warning us to beware of those who come to us in sheep's clothing but inside are ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15).

The Lord commands us not to become like a horse and a mule, so that we do not imitate their irrationality, and he says 'Become merciful like the Father', which means we should do good things, looking at his good deeds, and not for human recognition.

By following this command, we will be able to extend kindness to all people, without discriminating, and receive our reward from God, not from humans.

As the apostle Paul says, some things in his Epistles are hard to understand, but it is certain that they are full of wisdom from above, for Christ speaks in him.

Therefore, knowing beforehand, you will guard yourselves, so that you will not be led astray by the error of the lawless and fall from your own steadfastness, and you must turn away from those who come to you in the name of Christ but are actually deceivers.

15We must be careful not to be deceived by anyone, for many will come in my name claiming to be the Christ and will deceive many.

Paul cries out, warning us to beware of those who are evil workers of the faith in the Lord Jesus, referring to them as 'dogs'.

God is light, and there is no darkness in him; in fact, God exists as light in essence.

Those who walk in virtues in him will truly become light, while darkness represents evil, a concept that is also illustrated through the Jews.

The Lord himself taught us about love, saying that 'no one has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends' (John 15:13).

This commandment of love is not new, but rather an old one that we have had from the beginning, and it is the word that we heard from the beginning.

The Lord promised this commandment through the prophets, saying that it is not an elder or an angel, but the Lord himself who saves us because he loves us and cares for them.

I am writing to you, fathers, and to you, young men, and to you, children.

When considering age, it is the inner man that matters, for the evangelist did not write to infants, but rather to those who have come to spiritual maturity.

In this context, young men are those who have come to spiritual manhood, and elders are those who have attained wisdom, while infants are those who have just believed in Christ.

We are instructed not to love the world, nor the things in the world, for if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16The things of this world are either vanity or uselessness, for some people do not preserve them for any useful purpose, but rather act foolishly, as they are seen acting without a purpose.

The present life is marked by superfluous and useless distractions, as well as the filthiness of worldly desires.

The disciple of Christ warns us, saying, 'Do not love the world or the things in the world' (1 John 2:15), and 'if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence towards God' (1 John 3:21).

As long as we are on this path of life, which is a journey taken by all people, we should receive and not disregard the reminder from our conscience.

However, if we disregard and run past our life, our conscience will accuse you before the judge, make you subject to the verdict of the one judging, and subject you to unbearable punishments.

We would not have suffered these things if we had obtained favor towards the opponent by receiving rebukes with favor, as the divine evangelist John also reminds us that if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence towards God (1 John 3:21).

Our faith is the victory that has conquered the world, and it is the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God who conquers the world (1 John 5:5).

Neither Greek, nor Jew, nor heretic can stand against this faith once the victorious works of our faith have been brought forth.

Beloved, making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I had a necessity to write to you, exhorting you to struggle for the faith once delivered to the saints.

While simultaneously safeguarding us and condemning the heretics, the Holy Spirit, through the prophets and apostles, has forewarned us about the rise of heretics, making us more secure in our faith, so that we will not be caught off guard by their clever arguments.

We are not to be distracted by the heretics' deception and wicked faith.