Homily I — The grace of this feast and the duty to speak
You see, fathers and brothers dear to God, the grace of this present day. Do you see the height and majesty of her who is now being praised? Are not her mysteries awe-inspiring? Are they not full of wonder? Blessed are those who see, as it is most fitting to see; blessed are those who have gained the perception of the mind! What flashes of light make this present night bright! What escorts of angels make radiant the falling asleep of the Mother who is the source of life! What God-inspired words of the apostles bless the burial of the God-receiving body! How does the Word of God, who in his compassion was pleased to become her son, receive her holy soul, serving this all-holy and most divine woman with his sovereign hands as his mother?
O good Lawgiver! Though not subject to the law, he fulfils the law which he himself commanded. For it was he who laid down that children should render to their parents what is due: "Honour," he says, "your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12). That this is true is plain, I think, to anyone who has been initiated even a little into the divine oracles of Holy Scripture. For if, as divine Scripture says, "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord" (Wisdom of Solomon 3:1), does she not much more commit her soul into the hands of her Son and God? The word is true, and beyond all dispute.
But, if you are willing, let us go through who she is, and where she came from, and how, granted to this present life, she was given as a gift loftier and dearer than all the gifts of God; and what manner of life she led in this world, and of what mysteries she was found worthy. For if the Greeks, honouring the departed with funeral orations, eagerly brought together everything they saw that might appeal, so that the praise might be complete for the one praised, and for those left behind might be at once a spur to virtue and an encouragement; and if, for the most part, they wove their speech out of myths and endless fictions, since those they praised had no praise of their own; how shall we not incur great ridicule, and meet the same judgement as the one who hid the talent (Matthew 25:25), if we hide in the depths of silence, as the saying goes, things utterly true and worthy of reverence, things that truly bring every blessing and salvation to all? And we shall take care to keep our speech short, so that it may not become an enemy to the ears, as too much food is to the body.
Greek
Ὁρᾶτε, φίλοι Θεῷ Πατέρες καὶ ἀδελφοὶ, τῆς παρούσης ἡμέρας τὴν χάριν. Ὁρᾶτε, τῆς νῦν εὐφημουμένης τὸ ὑψηλὸν καὶ σεβάσμιον; Οὐ φρικώδη τὰ ταύτης μυστήρια; οὐ θαύματος γέμοντα; μακάριοι οἱ ὁρῶντες, ὡς ἰδεῖν πρεπωδέστατον. Μακάριοι οἱ νοερὰν κτησάμενοι αἴσθησιν! Οἷαι φωτὸς ἀστραπαὶ τὴν παροῦσαν νύκτα καταφαιδρύνουσιν! οἷαι ἀγγέλων δορυφορίαι τὴν τῆς ζωαρχικῆς μητρὸς καταγλαΐζουσι κοίμησιν· οἷαι ἀποστόλων θεηγορίαι τὴν κηδείαν τοῦ Θεοδόχου σώματος μακαρίζουσιν! Πῶς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ὁ ταύτης υἱὸς δι' εὐσπλαγχνίαν γενέσθαι καταδεξάμενος, δεσποτικαῖς παλάμαις τῇ παναγίᾳ ταύτῃ καὶ θειοτάτῃ οἷα μητρὶ λειτουργῶν, τὴν ἱερὰν ψυχὴν ὑποδέχεται; Ὢ ἀγαθοῦ νομοθέτου! μὴ ὑποκείμενος νόμῳ, τὸν νόμον πληρῶν, ὃν αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο. Αὐτὸς γὰρ τοῖς γονεῦσι τὴν ὀφειλὴν τοὺς παῖδας νέμειν ἐθεσμοθέτησε. Τίμα, φησὶ, τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου. Ὅτι δὲ ἀληθὲς τοῦτο, παντί που δῆλον, τῷ κἂν μικρὸν γοῦν τῶν θείων τῆς ἁγίας Γραφῆς μεταμεμυημένων λογίων. Εἰ γὰρ, ὥς φησιν ἡ θεία Γραφὴ, ψυχαὶ δικαίων ἐν χειρὶ Κυρίου, οὐχ αὐτὴ μᾶλλον ταῖς χερσὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ αὐτῆς τὴν ψυχὴν παρατίθεται. Ἀληθὴς ὁ λόγος, καὶ πάσης ἀντιλογίας ὑπέρτερος. Ἀλλ' εἰ δοκεῖ, τίς αὕτη, καὶ πόθεν, καὶ πῶς τῷ παρόντι χαρισθεῖσα βίῳ, δῶρον ἁπάντων τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρημάτων ὑψηλότερον ἅμα καὶ προσφιλέστερον δέδοται. Οἵαν τε τὴν ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίῳ διατριβὴν πεποίηται, καὶ οἵων μυστηρίων ἠξίωται, διεξίωμεν. Εἰ γὰρ τοὺς κατοιχομένους ἐπιταφίοις γεραίροντες Ἕλληνες, πᾶν ὅτιπερ ἑώρων ἀγώγιμον, πάσῃ σπουδῇ συνεισέφερον, ὡς ἂν τῷ μὲν εὐφημουμένῳ κατηρτισμένον τὸ ἐγκώμιον γένηται, τοῖς δὲ λειπομένοις, ζῆλος ἅμα πρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ παράκλησις· μύθοις δὲ ὡς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ ἀπείροις πλάσμασι τὸν λόγον ἐξύφαινον, οἴκοθεν μὴ κεκτημένων τῶν ὑμνουμένων ἔπαινον· πῶς ἡμεῖς τὰ λίαν ἀληθῆ καὶ σεβάσμια, καὶ ὄντως ὄντα τοῖς πᾶσιν εὐλογίας ἁπάσης καὶ σωτηρίας πρόξενα, σιγῆς βυθοῖς τὸ τοῦ λόγου καλύψαντες, οὐ πολὺν ὀφλήσομεν γέλωτα, καὶ τῷ κατακρύψαντι τὸ τάλαντον τῆς αὐτῆς δίκης τευξόμεθα; τῆς συντομίας τοῦ λόγου φροντίζοντες, ὡς ἂν μὴ ταῖς ἀκοαῖς πολέμιος γένηται, ὡς τροφὴ τοῖς σώμασιν ὑπερβάλλουσα.