In symbol and truth Leviathan is trodden down by mortals: the baptized, like divers, strip and put on oil, as a symbol if Christ They snatched you and came up: stripped, they seized the soul from his embittered mouth. St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns on Faith, 82.10. We too follow Christ in our baptism. As... Continue Reading →
By His Baptism He Brings Us to Life
"Christ, though immortal by nature, clothed himself in a mortal body; He was baptized-and raised up from the water the treasure of salvation for the race of Adam" St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns on Virginity, 7.10. See Theophany – The Spirit Descended and Remained Upon Him for a more indepth treatment of how Christian theology sees... Continue Reading →
Theophany – The Spirit Descended and Remained Upon Him
In the life of the Church we come to different festal seasons and our attention is directed to various elements and times in the life of the Lord and the life of the Church. After we celebrate the Nativity we soon come upon the liturgical commemoration of the feast of Theophany. For many of... Continue Reading →
We Must Be Born as He is
"It was He who was begotten of Divinity, according to His nature, and of humanity, which was not according to His nature, and of baptism, which was not his habit; so that we might be begotten of humanity, according to our nature, and of Divinity, which is not according to our nature, and of the Spirit, which is not our habit." St. Ephrem the Syrian, Homily on Our Lord, 2.1.
The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his Master’s crib
"Now then I pray you accept His Conception, and leap before Him; if not like John from the womb (Luke 1:41), yet like David, because of the resting of the Ark (2 Samuel 6:14). Revere the enrollment on account of which you were written in heaven, and adore the Birth by which you were loosed from the chains... Continue Reading →
Peace on Earth
"Thus, as peace began to be [established], the angels proclaimed, 'Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth (Luke 2.14).' When lower beings received [peace] from superior beings, they cried, 'Glory on earth and peace in the heavens (Luke 19.38).' At that time when the divinity came down and was clothed in humanity,... Continue Reading →
Being Without a Body, He Came in The Body
"But our physician is the only true God, the unbegotten and unapproachable, the Lord of all, the Father and Begetter of the Only Begotten Son. We have also as a Physician the Lord our God, Jesus the Christ, the Only-Begotten Son and Word, before time began, but who afterwards became also a man, of Mary... Continue Reading →
Bring Your Thoughts Under the Control of Logos
“If reason (logos)... assumes control over such movements [the passions], each of them is transmuted to a form of virtue; for anger produces courage, terror-caution, fear-obedience, hatred-turning away from evil, the power of love the desire for what is truly beautiful; high-mindedness in our character raises our thought above the passions, and keeps it from... Continue Reading →
The Son of Man Came as a Ransom
“Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom [lutron] for... Continue Reading →
Christ’s Descent and The Destruction of Death
"Since death was unable to devour Him without a body, or Sheol to swallow Him without flesh, He came to a virgin to provide Himself with a means to Sheol... And with a body from a virgin He entered Sheol, broke into its vaults, and carried off its treasures... When death came confidently, as usual,... Continue Reading →
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
“ I was not sent, he says, as the teacher Moses was, to condemn the world with the law or to introduce a command to convict people of sin. Nor do I do the ministry of a servant. Rather, I bring the love for humanity that befits the master. As Son and heir of the... Continue Reading →
And The World Did Not Know Him
“The theologian very quickly counters these things by saying, ‘The world did not know him.’ He does not say that he was at fault for being unknown. Let the world blame its own weakness. The Son enlightens, but the creature blunts the grace. The creature was loaned the sight to conceive of the one who... Continue Reading →
