Homily II — Zion, where she lay
It does not seem out of place to me to sketch in words, as far as I am able, to picture and to outline the wonders that were accomplished for this holy Mother of God, which we have received from of old, son from father, as the saying goes, in modest measure and very briefly. For I picture her, holier than the holy, more sacred than the sacred, more saintly than the saints, the sweet jar of manna (Hebrews 9:4), or rather, to speak more truly, its spring, lying on a pallet in the divine and famous city of David, I mean Zion, renowned and most glorious; where the law of the letter was fulfilled and the name of the spirit was proclaimed; where Christ the Lawgiver completed the Passover that was a figure, and the God of the old and new covenant handed down the true Passover; where the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), initiated his disciples into the mystical supper, sacrificed himself for them like a fatted calf (Luke 15:23), and trod in the winepress the cluster of the true vine (John 15:1); where Christ, risen from the dead, appears to the apostles and assures Thomas (John 20:27–28), and through him the ends of the earth, that he is God and Lord, bearing two natures in himself even after his return to life from the dead, and two operations that answer to them, with wills that are free, enduring into the endless age. This city is the citadel of the Churches; this is the lodging of the disciples; in her the coming of the all-holy Spirit, with many sounds, in many tongues and in the form of fire, was poured out on the apostles (Acts 2:1–4); in her the Theologian took the Mother of God to himself (John 19:27) and ministered to her needs; this mother of the Churches throughout the world became the dwelling of the Mother of God after her Son rose again from the dead. Here, then, the blessed Virgin lay on a thrice-blessed bed.
Greek
Οὐκ ἄτοπον δέ μοι δοκεῖ λόγῳ διαγράψαι ὅσον ἔχει πρὸς δύναμιν, καὶ εἰκάσαι, καὶ τύπῳ σχηματίσαι τὰ ἐπὶ τῇ ἱερᾷ ταύτῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ μητρὶ τετελεσμένα θεάματα, ἃ μετρίως, καὶ λίαν συνοπτικῶς, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, παῖς ἐκ πατρὸς ἄνωθεν παρειλήφαμεν. Δοκῶ γάρ μοι ταύτην τὴν ἁγίων ἁγιωτέραν, καὶ ἱερῶν ἱερωτέραν, καὶ ὁσίων ὁσιωτέραν, τὴν γλυκεῖαν τοῦ μάννα στάμνον, πηγὴν δὲ μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν ἀληθέστερον ἀνακεκλίσθαι ἐπί τινος σκίμποδος ἐν τῇ θείᾳ καὶ περιωνύμῳ πόλει Δαβὶδ, Σιὼν φημὶ τῇ περιόπτῳ καὶ περικλεεστάτῃ, ἐν ᾗ πεπλήρωται μὲν ὁ νόμος τοῦ γράμματος, ὑπηγόρευται δὲ ὄνομα τοῦ πνεύματος· ἐν ᾗ τὸ Πάσχα τὸ τυπικὸν ὁ νομοδότης Χριστὸς ἐκτετέλεκε, καὶ Πάσχα τὸ ἀληθὲς ὁ παλαιᾶς καὶ νέας διαθήκης Θεὸς παραδέδωκεν· ἐν ᾗ τὸ δεῖπνον μυστικὸν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου μεμυσταγώγησε, καὶ τούτοις ἑαυτὸν οἷα μόσχον σιτευτὸν τέθυκε, καὶ τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἀμπέλου τὸν βότρυν ἐληνοβάτησεν· ἐν ᾗ Χριστὸς τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ὀπτάνεται ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνιστάμενος, καὶ Θωμᾶν πιστοῦται, καὶ διὰ τούτου τὰ πέρατα, ὡς εἴη Θεός τε καὶ Κύριος, δύο φύσεις φέρων ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναβίωσιν, καὶ ταύταις καταλλήλους δύο ἐνεργείας, αὐτεξούσιά τε θέσματα, εἰς αἰῶνα τὸν ἄπειρον αἰωνίζοντα. Αὕτη τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν ἡ ἀκρόπολις· αὕτη τῶν μαθητῶν καταγώγιον· ἐν ταύτῃ τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος ἡ πολύηχος, καὶ πολύγλωσσος, καὶ πυρίμορφος ἐπιφοίτησις τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἐκκέχυται· ἐν ταύτῃ ὁ Θεολόγος τὴν Θεοτόκον παρειληφὼς, ἐλειτούργει τὰ δέοντα· αὕτη ἡ μήτηρ τῶν ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην Ἐκκλησιῶν, τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ Μητρὸς ἐνδιαίτημα πέφηνε, μετά γε τὴν τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναφοίτησιν· ἐν ταύτῃ τοίνυν ἡ μακαρία Παρθένος ἐπί τινος τρισολβίου κλίνης κατέκειτο.