GREGORY the Theologian
On Pentecost
[Extracts from Browne-Swallow translation]
I. Let us reason a little about the Festival, that we may keep it
spiritually. For different persons have different ways of keeping Festival;
but to the worshipper of the Word a discourse seems best; and of discourses,
that which is best adapted to the occasion. And of all beautiful things none
gives so much joy to the lover of the beautiful, as that the lover of
festivals should keep them spiritually. Let us look into the matter thus. The
Jew keeps festival as well as we, but only in the letter. For while following
after the bodily Law, he has not attained to the spiritual Law. The Greek too
keeps festival, but only in the body, and in honour of his own gods and
demons, some of whom are creators of passion by their own admission, and
others were honoured out of passion. Therefore even their manner of keeping
festival is passionate, as though their very sin were an honour to God, in
Whom their passion takes refuge as a thing to be proud of.(a)
We too keep festival, but we keep it as is pleasing to the Spirit. And it is
pleasing to Him that we should keep it by discharging some duty, either of
action or speech. This then is our manner of keeping festival, to treasure up
in our soul some of those things which are permanent and will cleave 'to it,
not of those which will forsake us and be destroyed, and which only tickle our senses for a little while; whereas they are for the most part, m my judgment at least, harmful and ruinous. For sufficient unto the body is the evil thereof. What need has that fire of further fuel, or that beast of more
plentiful food, to make it more uncontrollable, and too violent for reason?
II. Wherefore we must keep the feast spiritually. And this is the beginning
of our discourse; for we must speak, even if our speech do seem a little too
discursive; and we must be diligent for the sake of those who love
learning, that we may as it were mix up some seasoning with our solemn
festival. The children of the Hebrews do honour to the number Seven, according
to the legislation of Moses (as did the Pythagoreans in later days to the
number Four, by which indeed they were in the habit of
swearing(a) as the Simonians and Marcionites(b)
do by the number Eight and the number Thirty, inasmuch as they have given
names to and reverence a system of Aeons of these numbers); I cannot say by
what rules of analogy, or in consequence of what power of this number; anyhow
they do honour to it. One thing indeed is evident, that God, having in six
days created matter, and given it form, and having arranged it in all kinds of
shapes and mixtures, and having made this present visible world, on the
seventh day rested from all His works, as is shewn by the very name of the
Sabbath, which in Hebrew means Rest. If there be, however, any more lofty
reason than this, let others discuss it. But this honour which they pay to it
is not confined to days alone, but also extends to years. That belonging to
days the Sabbath proves, because it is continually observed among them; and in
accordance with this the removal of leaven is for that number of
days.(g) And that belonging to years is shewn by the seventh
year, the year of Release;(d) and it consists not only of
Hebdomads, but of Hebdomads of Hebdomads, alike in days and years. The
Hebdomads of days give birth to Pentecost, a day called holy among them; and
those of years to what they call the Jubilee, which also has a release of
land, and a manumission of slaves, and a release of possessions bought. For
this nation consecrates to God, not only the firstfruits of offspring, or of
firstborn, but also those of days and years. Thus the veneration paid to the
number Seven gave rise also to the veneration of Pentecost. For seven being
multiplied by seven generates fifty all but one day, which we borrow from the
world to come, at once the Eighth and the first, or rather one and
indestructible. For the present sabbatism of our souls can find its cessation
there, that a portion may be given to seven and also to
eight(a) (so some of our predecessors have interpreted this
passage of Solomon).
III. As to the honour paid to Seven there are many testimonies, but we will
be content with a few out of the many. For instance, seven precious spirits
are named; for I think Isaiah(b) loves to call the activities
of the Spirit spirits; and the Oracles of the Lord are purified seven times
according to David,(g) and the just is delivered from six
troubles and in the seventh is not smitten.(d) But the sinner
is pardoned not seven times, but seventy times seven.(e) And we
may see it by the contrary also (for the punishment of wickedness is to be
praised), Cain being avenged seven times, that is, punishment being exacted
from him for his fratricide, and Lamech seventy times seven,(z)
because he was a murderer after the law and the
condemnation.(h) And wicked neighbours receive sevenfold into their bosom;(a) and the House of Wisdom
rests on seven pillars(b) and the Stone of Zerubbabel is
adorned with seven eyes;(g) and God is praised seven times a
day.(d) And again the barren beareth seven,(e)
the perfect number, she who is contrasted with her who is imperfect in her
children."(z)
IV. And if we must also look at ancient history, I perceive that
Enoch,(h) the seventh among our ancestors, was honoured by
translation. I perceive also that the twenty-first, Abraham,(q)
was given the glory of the Patriarchate, by the addition of a greater mystery.
For the Hebdomad thrice repeated brings out this number. And one who is very
bold might venture even to come to the New Adam, my God and Lord Jesus Christ,
Who is counted the Seventy-seventh from the old Adam who fell under sin, in
the backward genealogy according to Luke.(k) And I think of the
seven trumpets of Jesus, the son of Nave, and the same number of circuits and
days and priests, by which the walls of Jericho were shaken down. And so too
the seven compassings of the City; in the same way as there is a mystery in
the threefold breathings of Elias, the Prophet, by which he breathed life into
the son of the Sareptan widow,(l) and the same number of his
floodings of the wood,(n) when he consumed the sacrifice with
fire sent from God, and condemned the prophets of shame who could not do the
like at his challenge. And the sevenfold looking for the cloud imposed upon
the young servant; and Elissaaeus stretching himself that number of times upon
the child of the Shunammite, by which stretching the breath of life was
restored.(x) To the same doctrine belongs, I think (if I may
omit the seven-stemmed and seven-lamped candlestick of the
Temple(a)) that the ceremony of the Priests' consecration
lasted seven days;(b) and seven that of the purifying of a
leper,(g) and that of the Dedication of the Temples the same
number, and that in the seventieth year the people returned from the
Captivity;(e) that whatever is in Units may appear also in
Decads, and the mystery of the Hebdomad be reverenced in a more perfect
number. But why do I speak of the distant past? Jesus Himself who is pure
perfection, could in the desert and with five loaves feed five thousand, and
again with seven loaves four thousand. And the leavings after they were
satisfied were in the first case twelve baskets full, and in the other seven
baskets;(z) neither, I imagine, without a reason or unworthy of
the Spirit. And if you read for yourself you may take note of many numbers
which contain a meaning deeper than appears on the surface. But to come to an
instance which is most useful to us on the present occasion, not that for
these reasons or others very similar or yet more divine, the Hebrews honour
the Day of Pentecost, m@d we also honour it; just as there are other rites of
the Hebrews which we observe ... they were typically observed by them, and by
us they are sacramentally reinstated. And now having said so much by way of
preface about the Day, let us proceed to what we have to say further.
V. We are keeping the feast of Pentecost and of the Coming of the Spirit,
and the appointed time of the Promise, and the fulfilment of our hope. And how
great, how august, is the Mystery. The dispensations of the Body of Christ are
ended; or rather, what belongs to His Bodily Advent (for I hesitate to say the
Dispensation of His Body, as long as no discourse persuades me that it is
better to have put off the body(h)), and that of the Spirit is
beginning. And what were the things pertaining to the Christ? The Virgin, the
Birth, the Manger, the Swaddling, the Angels glorifying Him, the Shepherds
running to Him, the course of the Star, the Magi worshipping Him and bringing
Gifts, Herod's murder of the children, the Flight of Jesus into Egypt, the Return from Egypt,
the Circumcision, the Baptism, the Witness from Heaven, the Temptation, the
Stoning for our sake (because He had to be given as an Example to us of
enduring affliction for the Word), the Betrayal, the Nailing, the Burial, the
Resurrection, the Ascension; and of these even now He suffers many dishonours
at the hands of the enemies of Christ; and He bears them, for He is
longsuffering. But from those who love Him He receives all that is honourable.
And He defers, as in the former case His wrath, so in ours His kindness; in
their case perhaps to give them the grace of repentance, and in ours to test
our love; whether we do not faint in our tribulations(a) and
conflicts for the true Religion, as was from of old the order of His Divine
Economy, and of his unsearchable judgments, with which He orders wisely all
that concerns us. Such are the mysteries of Christ. And what follows we shall
see to be more glorious; and may we too be seen. As to the things of the
Spirit, may the Spirit be with me, and grant me speech as much as I desire; or
if not that, yet as is in due proportion to the season. Anyhow He will be with
me as my Lord; not in servile guise, nor awaiting a command, a.s some
think.(b) For He bloweth where He wills and on whom He wills,
and to what extent He wills.(g) Thus we are inspired both to
think and to speak of the Spirit.
VI. They who reduce the Holy Spirit to the rank of a creature are
blasphemers and wicked servants, and worst of the wicked. For it is the part
of wicked servants to despise Lordship, and to rebel against dominion, and to
make That which is free their fellow-servant. But they who deem Him God are
inspired by God(d) and are illustrious in their mind; and they
who go further and call Him so, if to well disposed hearers are exalted; if to
the low, are not reserved enough, for they commit pearls to clay, and the
noise of thunder to weak ears, and the sun to feeble eyes, and solid food to
those who are still using milk;(a) whereas they ought to lead
them little by little up to what lies beyond them, and to bring them up to the
higher truth; adding light to light, and supplying truth upon truth. Therefore
we will leave the more mature discourse, for which the time has not yet come,
and will speak with them as follows.
VII. If, my friends, you will not acknowledge the Holy Spirit to be
uncreated, nor yet eternal; clearly such a state of mind is due to the
contrary spirit--forgive me, if in my zeal I speak somewhat over boldly. If,
however, you are sound enough to escape this evident impiety, and to place
outside of slavery Him Who gives freedom to yourselves, then see for
yourselves with the help of the Holy Ghost and of us what follows. For I am
persuaded that you are to some extent partakers of Him, so that I will go into
the question with you as kindred souls. Either shew me some mean between
lordship and servitude, that I may there place the rank of the Spirit; or, if
you shrink from imputing servitude to Him, there is no doubt of the rank in
which you must place the object of your search. But you are dissatisfied with
the syllables, and you stumble at the word, and it is to you a stone of
stumbling and a rock of offence;(b) for so is Christ to some
minds. It is only human after all. Let us meet one another in a spiritual
manner; let us be full rather of brotherly than of self love. Grant us the
Power of the Godhead, and we will give up to you the use of the Name. Confess
the Nature in other words for which you have greater reverence, and we will
heal you as infirm people, filching from you some matters in which you
delight. For it is shameful, yes, shameful and utterly illogical, when you are
sound in soul, to draw petty distinctions about the sound, and to hide the
Treasure, as if you envied it to others, or were afraid lest you should
sanctify your own tongue too. But it is even more shameful for us to be in the
state of which we accuse you, and, while condemning your petty distinctions of
words to make petty distinctions of letters.
VIII. Confess, my friends, the Trinity to be of One Godhead; or if you will,
of One Nature; and we will pray the Spirit to give you this word God. He will
give it to you, I well know, inasmuch as He has already granted you the first
portion and the second;(g) and especially if that about which we are contending is some spiritual cowardice, and not the
devil's objection. Yet more clearly and concisely, let me say, do not you call
us to account for our loftier word (for envy has nothing to do with this
ascent), and we will not find fault with what you have been able to attain,
until by another road you are brought up to the same resting place. For we are
not seeking victory, but to gain brethren, by whose separation from us we are
torn. This we concede to you in whom we do find something of vital truth, who
are sound as to the Son. We admire your life, but we do not altogether approve
your doctrine. Ye who have the things of the Spirit, receive Himself in
addition, that ye may not only strive, but strive lawfully,(a)
which is the condition of your crown. May this reward of your conversation be
granted you, that you may confess the Spirit perfectly and proclaim with us,
aye and before us, all that is His due. Yes, and I will venture even more on
your behalf; I will even utter the Apostle's wish. So much do I cling to you,
and so much do I revere your array, and the colour of your continence, and
those sacred assemblies, and the august Virginity, and purification, and the
Psalmody that lasts all night(b) and your love of the poor, and
of the brethren, and of strangers, that I could consent to be Anathema from
Christ, and even to suffer something as one condemned, if only you might stand
beside us, and we might glorify the Trinity together. For of the others why
should I speak, seeing they are clearly dead (and it is the part of Christ
alone to raise them, Who quickeneth the dead by His own Power), and are
unhappily separated in place as they are bound together by their doctrine; and
who quarrel among themselves as much as a pair of squinting eyes in looking at
the same object, and differ with one another, not in sight but in position--if
indeed we may charge them only with squinting, and not with utter blindness.
And now that I have to some extent laid down your position, come, let us
return again to the subject of the Spirit, and I think you will follow me now.
IX. The Holy Ghost, then, always existed, and exists, and always will exist.
He neither had a beginning, nor will He have an end; but He was everlastingly
ranged with and numbered with the Father and the Son. For it was not ever
fitting that either the Son should be wanting to the Father, or the Spirit to
the Son. For then Deity would be shorn of Its Glory in its greatest respect,
for It would seem to have arrived at the consummation of perfection as if by
an afterthought. Therefore He was ever being partaken, but not partaking;
perfecting, not being perfected; sanctifying, not being sanctified; deifying,
not being deified; Himself ever the same with Himself, and with Those with
Whom He is ranged; invisible, eternal, incomprehensible, unchangeable, without
quality, without quantity, without form, impalpable, self-moving, eternally
moving, with free-will, self-powerful, All-powerful (even though all that is
of the Spirit is referable to the First Cause, just as is all that is of the
Only-begotten); Life and Lifegiver; Light and Lightgiver; absolute Good, and
Spring of Goodness; the Right, the Princely Spirit; the Lord, the Sender, the
Separator; Builder of His own Temple; leading, working as He wills;
distributing His own Gifts; the Spirit of Adoption, of Truth, of Wisdom, of
Understanding, of Knowledge, of Godliness, of Counsel, of Fear (which are
ascribed to Him(a)) by Whom the Father is known and the Son is
glorified; and by Whom alone He is known; one class, one service, worship,
power, perfection, sanctification. Why make a long discourse of it? All that
the Father hath the Son hath also, except the being Unbegotten; and all that
the Son hath the Spirit hath also, except the Generation. And these two
matters do not divide the Substance, as I understand it, but rather are
divisions within the Substance.(b)
X. Are you labouring to bring forth objections? Well, so am I to get on with
my discourse. Honour the Day of the Spirit; restrain your tongue if you can a
little. It is the time to speak of other tongues--reverence them or fear them,
when you see that they are of fire. To-day let us teach dogmatically;
to-morrow we may discuss. To-day let us keep the feast; to-morrow will be time
enough to behave ourselves unseemly--the first mystically, the second
theatrically; the one in the Churches, the other in the marketplace; the one
among the sober, the other among the drunken; the one as befits those who
vehemently desire, the other, as among those who make a joke of the Spirit. Having then put an end to the element that is
foreign to us, let us now thoroughly furnish our own friends.
XI. He wrought first in the heavenly and angelic powers, and such as are
first after God and around God. For from no other source flows their
perfection and their brightness, and the difficulty or impossibility of moving
them to sin, but from the Holy Ghost. And next, in the Patriarchs and
Prophets, of whom the former saw Visions of God, or knew Him, and the latter
also foreknew the future, having their master part moulded by the Spirit, and
being associated with events that were yet future as if present, for such is
the power of the Spirit. And next in the Disciples of Christ (for I omit to
mention Christ Himself, in Whom He dwelt, not as energizing, but as
accompanying His Equal), and that in three ways, as they were able to receive
Him, and on three occasions; before Christ was glorified by the Passion, and
after He was glorified by the Resurrection; and after His Ascension, or
Restoration, or whatever we ought to call it, to Heaven. Now the first of
these manifests Him--the healing of the sick and casting out of evil spirits,
which could not be apart from the Spirit; and so does that breathing upon them
after the Resurrection, which was clearly a divine inspiration; and so too the
present distribution of the fiery tongues, which we are now commemorating. But
the first manifested Him indistinctly, the second more expressly, this present
one more perfectly, since He is no longer present only in energy, but as we
may say, substantially, associating with us, and dwelling in us. For it was
fitting that as the Son had lived with us in bodily form--so the Spirit too
should appear in bodily form; and that after Christ had returned to His own
place, He should have come down to us--Coming because He is the Lord; Sent,
because He is not a rival God. For such words no less manifest the Unanimity
than they mark the separate Individuality.
XII. And therefore He came after Christ, that a Comforter should not be
lacking unto us; but Another Comforter, that you might acknowledge His
co-equality. For this word Another marks an Alter Ego, a name of equal
Lordship, not of inequality. For Another is not said, I know, of different
kinds, but of things consubstantial. And He came in the form of Tongues
because of His close relation to the Word. And they were of Fire, perhaps
because of His purifying Power (for our Scripture knows of a purifying fire,
as any one who wishes can find out), or else because of His Substance. For our
God is a consuming Fire, and a Fire(a) burning up the
ungodly;(b) though you may again pick a quarrel over these
words, being brought into difficulty by the Consubstantiality. And the tongues
were cloven, because of the diversity of Gifts; and they sat to signify His
Royalty and Rest among the Saints, and because the Cherubim are the Throne of
God. And it took place in an Upper Chamber (I hope I am not seeming to any one
over tedious), because those who should receive it were to ascend and be
raised above the earth; for also certain upper chambers(g) are
covered with Divine Waters,(d) by which the praise of God are
sung. And Jesus Himself in an Upper Chamber gave the Communion of the
Sacrament to those who were being initiated into the higher Mysteries, that
thereby might be shewn on the one hand that God must come down to us, as I
know He did of old to Moses; and on the other that we must go up to Him, and
that so there should come to pass a Communion of God with men, by a coalescing
of the dignity. For as long as either remains on its own footing, the One in
His Glory(e) the other in his lowliness, so long the Goodness
of God cannot mingle with us, and His lovingkindness is incommunicable, and
there is a great gulf between, which cannot be crossed; and which separates
not only the Rich Man from Lazarus and Abraham's Bosom which he longs for, but
also the created and changing natures from that which is eternal and
immutable.
XIII. This was proclaimed by the Prophets in such passages as the
following:--The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;(z) and, There
shall rest upon Him Seven Spirits; and The Spirit of the Lord descended and
led them;(h) and The spirit of Knowledge filling
Bezaleel,(q) the Master-builder of the Tabernacle; and, The
Spirit provoking to anger;(k) and the Spirit carrying away
Elias in a chariot,(l) and sought in double measure by
Elissaeus; and David led and strengthened by the Good and Princely
Spirit.(m) And He was promised by the mouth of Joel first, who
said, And it shall be in the last days that I will pour out of My Spirit upon
all flesh (that is, upon all that believe), and upon your sons and upon your
daughters,(n) and the rest; and then afterwards by Jesus, being glorified by Him, and giving
back glory to Him, as He was glorified by and glorified the
Father.(a) And how abundant was this Promise. He shall abide
for ever, and shall remain with you, whether now with those who in the sphere
of time are worthy, or hereafter with those who are counted worthy of that
world, when we have kept Him altogether by our life here, and not rejected Him
in so far as we sin.
XIV. This Spirit shares with the Son in working both the Creation and the
Resurrection, as you may be shewn by this Scripture; By the Word of the Lord
were the heavens made, and all the power of them by the breath of His
Mouth;(b) and this, The Spirit of God that made me, and the
Breath of the Almighty that teacheth me;(g) and again, Thou
shalt send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created, and Thou shalt renew
the face of the earth.(d) And He is the Author of spiritual
regeneration. Here is your proof:--None can see or enter into the Kingdom,
except he be born again of the Spirit,(e) and be cleansed from
the first birth, which is a mystery of the night, by a remoulding of the day
and of the Light, by which every one singly is created anew. This Spirit, for
He is most wise and most loving,(z) if He takes possession of a
shepherd makes him a Psalmist, subduing evil spirits by his
song,(h) and proclaims him King; if he possess a goatherd and
scraper(q) of sycamore fruit,(k) He makes him a
Prophet. Call to mind David and Amos. If He possess a goodly youth, He makes
him a Judge of Elders,(l) even beyond his years, as Daniel
testifies, who conquered the lions in their den.(m) If He takes
possession of Fishermen, He makes them catch the whole world in the nets of
Christ, taking them up in the meshes of the Word. Look at Peter and Andrew and
the Sons of Thunder, thundering the things of the Spirit. If of Publicans, He
makes gain of them for discipleship, and makes them merchants of souls;
witness Matthew, yesterday a Publican, today an Evangelist. If of zealous
persecutors, He changes the current of their zeal, and makes them Pauls
instead of Sauls, and as full of piety as He found them of wickedness. And He
is the Spirit of Meekness, and yet is provoked by those who sin. Let us
therefore make proof of Him as gentle, not as wrathful, by confessing His
Dignity; and let us not desire to see Him implacably wrathful. He too it is
who has made me today a bold herald to you;--if without rest to myself, God be
thanked; but if with risk, thanks to Him nevertheless; in the one case, that
He may spare those that hate us; in the other, that He may consecrate us, in
receiving this reward of our preaching of the Gospel, to be made perfect by
blood.
XV. They spoke with strange tongues, and not those of their native land; and
the wonder was great, a language spoken by those who had not learnt it. And
the sign is to them that believe not,(a) and not to them that
believe, that it may be an accusation of the unbelievers, as it is written,
With other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people, and not even
so will they listen to Me(b) saith the Lord. But they heard.
Here stop a little and raise a question, how you are to divide the words. For
the expression has an ambiguity, which is to be determined by the punctuation.
Did they each hear in their own dialect(g) so that if I may so
say, one sound was uttered, but many were heard; the air being thus beaten
and, so to speak, sounds being produced more clear than the original sound; or
are we to put the stop after "they Heard," and then to add "them speaking in
their own languages" to what follows, so that it would be speaking in
languages their own to the hearers, which would be foreign to the speakers? I
prefer to put it this latter way; for on the other plan the miracle would be
rather of the hearers than of the speakers; whereas in this it would be on the
speakers' side; and it was they who were reproached for drunkenness, evidently
because they by the Spirit wrought a miracle in the matter of the tongues.
XVI. But as the old Confusion of tongues was laudable, when men who were of
one language in wickedness and impiety, even as some now venture to be, were
building the Tower;(d) for by the confusion of their language
the unity of their intention was broken up, and their undertaking destroyed;
so much more worthy of praise is the present miraculous one. For being poured
from One Spirit upon many men, it brings them again into harmony. And there is
a diversity of Gifts, which stands in need of yet another Gift to discern which is the best, where all are praiseworthy. And that division also
might be called noble of which David says, Drown O Lord and divide their
tongues.(a) Why? Because they loved all words of drowning, the
deceitful tongue.(b) Where he all but expressly arraigns the
tongues of the present day(g) which sever the Godhead. Thus
much upon this point.
XVII. Next, since it was to inhabitants of Jerusalem, most devout Jews,
Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, Egyptians, and Libyans, Cretans too, and
Arabians, and Mesopotamians, and my own Cappadocians, that the tongues spake,
and to Jews (if any one prefer so to understand it), out of every nation under
heaven thither collected; it is worth while to see who these were and of what
captivity. For the captivity in Egypt and Babylon was circumscribed, and
moreover had long since been brought to an end by the Return; and that under
the Romans, which was exacted for their audacity against our Saviour, was not
yet come to pass, though it was in the near future. It remains then to
understand it of the captivity under Antiochus, which happened not so very
long before this time. But if any does not accept this explanation, as being
too elaborate, seeing that this captivity was neither ancient nor widespread
over the world, and is looking for a more reliable--perhaps the best way to
take it would be as follows. The nation was removed many times, as Esdras
related; and some of the Tribes were recovered, and some were left behind; of
whom probably (dispersed as they were among the nations) some would have been
present and shared the miracle.
XVIII. These questions have been examined before by the studious, and
perhaps not without occasion; and whatever else any one may contribute at the
present day, he will be joined with us. But now it is our duty to dissolve
this Assembly, for enough has been said. But the Festival is never to be put
an end to; but kept now indeed with our bodies; but a little later on
altogether spiritually there, where we shall see the reasons of these things
more purely and clearly, in the Word Himself, and God, and our Lord Jesus
Christ, the True Festival and Rejoicing of the Saved--to Whom be the glory and
the worship, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, now and for ever. Amen.
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