Christ second Adam our head; Father head of the Word; he became poor being rich
let us also wear the image of the heavenly,” (1 Corinthians 15:49) as it is written. So the first head of our race — that is, beginning — was the one of earth and dust. But since Christ has been named second Adam, he has been set as head — that is, beginning — of those being remolded through him toward him into incorruption by sanctification in the Spirit.
So he is our beginning — that is, our head — insofar as he has appeared as human; yet as God by nature he himself has as head the Father in the heavens, for the Word, being God, has been begotten from him by nature. That “head” signifies “beginning” confirms, for minds that doubt, that the man became head of the woman (1 Corinthians 11:3): for she was taken from him.
So there is one Christ and Son and Lord, who as God by nature has the Father in the heavens as head, and who has become head for us because of kinship according to the flesh.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for our sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) See clearly here both the superiority of the divine and unmixed nature and the lowliness of the measures of humanity — and besides these the agreement of both into unity, the Only-begotten having lowered himself into this.
For no word could interpret the riches of the deity, while humanity is exceedingly poor, or rather all that it has is God-given and from above — and before all, even being itself: for it was called by God into existence, not existing before. But the rich…
Greek
φορέσωμεν καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου,» κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. οὐκοῦν πρώτη γέγονεν ἡμῖν κεφαλὴ τοῦ γένους, τουτέστιν ἀρχή, ὁ ἐκ γῆς τε καὶ χοϊκός· ἐπειδὴ δὲ δεύτερος Ἀδὰμ κατωνόμασται ὁ Χριστός, κεφαλὴ τέθειται, τουτέστιν ἀρχή, τῶν δι’ αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀναμορφουμένων εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν δι’ ἁγιασμοῦ ἐν πνεύματι.
οὐκοῦν αὐτὸς μὲν ἡμῶν ἀρχή, τουτέστιν ἡ κεφαλή, καθὸ πέφηνεν ἄνθρωπος· ἔχει γε μὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτὸς ὡς φύσει Θεὸς τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς Πατέρα· γεγέννηται γὰρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατὰ φύσιν Θεὸς ὢν ὁ Λόγος. ὅτι δὲ ἡ κεφαλὴ σημαίνει τὴν ἀρχήν, ἐμπεδοῖ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν τῶν ἐνδοιαζόντων τὸν νοῦν τὸ κεφαλὴν γενέσθαι τὸν ἄνδρα τῆς γυναικός· ἐλήφθη γὰρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ.
εἷς οὖν ἄρα Χριστὸς καὶ Υἱὸς καὶ Κύριος ὁ κεφαλὴν μὲν ἔχων, ὡς Θεὸς κατὰ φύσιν, τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς Πατέρα, γεγονὼς δὲ ἡμῖν κεφαλὴ διά τοι τὸ κατὰ σάρκα συγγενές.
«Γινώσκετε γὰρ τὴν χάριν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅτι δι’ ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσε πλούσιος ὤν, ἵνα ὑμεῖς τῇ ἐκείνου πτωχείᾳ πλουτήσητε.» ἄθρει δή μοι, καὶ μάλα σαφῶς, ἔν γε τούτοις καὶ τῆς θείας τε καὶ ἀκηράτου φύσεως τὴν ὑπεροχὴν καὶ τῶν τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος μέτρων τὸ ὑφειμένον, καὶ προσέτι τούτῳ τὴν ἀμφοῖν εἰς ἑνότητα σύμβασιν, ἑαυτὸν καθέντος εἰς τοῦτο τοῦ Μονογενοῦς.
οὐδεὶς μὲν γὰρ λόγος διερμηνεύσειεν ἂν τὸν τῆς θεότητος πλοῦτον, πτωχὴ δὲ καὶ λίαν ἡ ἀνθρωπότης ἢ πάντα ἐστὶ θεόσδοτά τε καὶ ἄνωθεν, καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ πρὸ πάντων τὸ εἶναι· κέκληται γὰρ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς ὕπαρξιν, οὐκ οὖσα ποτέ. ἀλλ’ ὁ πλοῦ-
About this text
Cyril’s court treatise on right faith for Pulcheria and Eudocia (CPG 5220). One Son who suffers in flesh yet remains impassible as God. English from Pusey’s Greek.
English follows Pusey’s 1877 Greek of De recta fide ad Pulcheriam et Eudociam. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Pusey, De recta fide ad reginas (Oxford, 1877) (Greek · CPG 5220 §§1–48)
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.