The Cross as the Sail of Salvation
A lamb was being slaughtered in place of him, and the Son of God was being carried upon a cross and was being crucified in the flesh for our sake, and while the flesh was suffering, the divinity did not suffer. The sail of the cross stood in the ship of the world and the world remained unsinkable; by this sail of the cross, the one sailing does not know the shipwreck of death, but sails upward toward the heavens.
Eve no longer fears the reproach of Adam, for in Mary the fall of that Adam has been raised up again; Adam no longer fears the serpent, for Christ has crushed the head of the dragon (Rev 12:9); for He says, 'For you have crushed the head of the dragon upon the water' (Ps 118:11), that is, upon baptism. I no longer mourn, I no longer weep saying, 'I have turned into misery by having a thorn enter me' (Ps 118:17); for Christ, having uprooted the thorn of our sins, has placed it upon His own head. My ancient sorrow is loosed, the ancient curse which says, 'Thorns and thistles the earth shall yield to you' (Gen 3:18), is loosed; for the thorns have dried up, the thistle has been uprooted, and a triple crown has been placed upon my head.
Who among Jews and Greeks believes that a tree stood and produced life? And every day among the faithful it is harvested, and the fruit remains inexhaustible; and every tribe and every nation of the faithful ascends this tree by a step of the soul and fills the bosom of the mind with immortal fruit, and the tree carries all and feeds all and seals and enriches all, and after these things propels them toward the heavens. For what did Christ not endure for our sake?
We are not able to enumerate His names, but I venture to say, beloved: door, way, lamb, shepherd, worm, stone, pearl, flower, angel, man, God, light, spring, sun of righteousness. The many-named Christ is one existing; the Son is many-named and being one, not turning, not changing, for the divinity is unchangeable; but fitting Himself to each thing according to the energy, having assigned a proper name to each energy. And let us see, beloved, if we are able to present the energy by each name.
He heard 'Way'; for 'I am the way and the truth' (John 14:6), He says, since He Himself has become the leader of all virtues and of the ascent into the heavens. The same heard 'Door'; for 'I am the door of the sheep' (John 10:7), since through Him, just as through doors, we enter into the kingdom of the heavens. He heard 'Salt,' since He has dispelled the stench of the idolatry of men and has drawn our souls toward the homecoming of piety by faith and has tightened the loosened members of the mind by the truth. He heard 'Lamb'; for 'as a lamb to the slaughter he was led, and as a lamb before the shearer' (Isa 53:7).
Greek
συνεποδίζετο καὶ ἀμνὸς ἀντ' αὐτοῦ ἐσφάζετο, καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ σταυροῦ ἀνεφέρετο καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐσταυροῦτο καὶ πάσχουσα ἡ σὰρξ ἡ θεότης οὐκ ἔπασχεν. Ἔστη τὸ ἱστίον τοῦ σταυροῦ ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ ὁ κόσμος ἀναυάγητος ἔμεινεν· τούτῳ τῷ ἱστίῳ τοῦ σταυροῦ ὁ πλέων ναυάγιον θανάτου οὐκ οἶδεν, ἀλλὰ εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀναπλέει. Οὐκέτι Εὔα φοβεῖται τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν τοῦ Ἀδάμ, ἐν γὰρ Μαρίᾳ τὸ ταύτης πταῖσμα ἀνασέσωσται· οὐκέτι Ἀδὰμ φοβεῖται τὸν ὄφιν, Χριστὸς γὰρ συνέτριψεν τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ δράκοντος· Σὺ γάρ, φησίν, συνέτριψας τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ δράκοντος ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος, τουτέστιν ἐπὶ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Οὐκέτι πενθῶ, οὐκέτι κλαίω λέγων· Ἐστράφην εἰς ταλαιπωρίαν ἐν τῷ ἐμπαγῆναί μοι ἄκανθαν· ἐλθὼν γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς τὴν ἄκανθαν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐκριζώσας τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῇ ἐπέθηκεν. Λέλυταί μου ἡ ἀρχαία λύπη, λέλυται ἡ παλαιὰ ἀρὰ ἡ λέγουσα· Ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι ἡ γῆ· ἐξηράνθησαν γὰρ αἱ ἄκανθαι, ἐξεριζώθη ὁ τρίβολος καὶ τρίπλοκος στέφανος τῇ κεφαλῇ μου ἐπετέθη. Τίς Ἰουδαίων καὶ Ἑλλήνων πιστεύει ὅτι ξύλον ἔστη καὶ ζωὴν ἐξήνθησεν; καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ὑπὸ πιστῶν τρυγᾶται καὶ ὁ καρπὸς ἀδαπάνητος μένει· καὶ πᾶσα φυλὴ καὶ πᾶν ἔθνος πιστῶν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τὸ δένδρον βήματι ψυχῆς ἀναβαίνει καὶ τὸν κόλπον τῆς διανοίας ἀθανάτου καρποῦ πληροῖ, καὶ πάντας βαστάζει τὸ δένδρον καὶ πάντας χορτάζει καὶ σφραγίζει καὶ πλουτίζει καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀκοντίζει. Τί γὰρ δι' ἡμᾶς οὐχ ὑπέμεινεν κληθῆναι Χριστός; Οὐ δυνάμεθα ἐξαριθμήσασθαι αὐτοῦ τὰ ὀνόματα, ἐπιχείρω δὲ λέγειν, ἀγαπητοί· θύρα, ὁδός, πρόβατον, ποιμήν, σκώληξ, λίθος, μαργαρίτης, ἄνθος, ἄγγελος, ἄνθρωπος, θεός, φῶς, πηγή, ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης. Ὁ πολυώνυμος Χριστὸς καὶ εἷς ὑπάρχων, πολυώνυμος ὁ υἱὸς καὶ εἷς ὢν οὐ τρεπόμενος, οὐ μεταβαλλόμενος, ἄτρεπτος γὰρ ἡ θεότης· ἀλλ' ἑκάστῳ πράγματι κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν ἁρμοζόμενος ἴδιον ὄνομα ἑκάστῃ ἐνεργείᾳ τεθεικώς. Καὶ ἴδωμεν, ἀγαπητοί, εἰ δυνάμεθα ἑκάστῳ ὀνόματι τὴν ἐνέργειαν παραστῆσαι. Ὁδὸς ἤκουσεν· Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι, φησίν, ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἀρχηγὸς πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀναβάσεως γέγονεν. Ὁ αὐτὸς θύρα· Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ἡ θύρα τῶν προβάτων, ἐπειδὴ δι' αὐτοῦ καθάπερ διὰ θύρας εἰς τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν εἰσερχόμεθα. Ἅλας ἤκουσεν, ἐπειδὴ τὴν δυσωδίαν τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀπέσμηξεν καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν πρὸς νοστὸν εὐσεβείας τῇ πίστει ἤρτυσεν καὶ τὰ λελυμένα μέλη τῆς διανοίας τῇ ἀληθείᾳ συνέσφιγξεν. Πρόβατον ἤκουσεν· Ὡς γὰρ πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἐναντίον τοῦ κείραντος
About this text
A bishop's vivid sermon on baptism uses springtime and song to explain spiritual rebirth and victory over sin.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 39 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.