Commentary on Luke (Greek fragments) 10.34–11.11
Greek text: PG 72.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Commentary 10
10.34PG 72 72:681
Ἐπιβιβάσας δὲ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον κτῆνος, κ. τ. λ. ἐπειδὴ, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, «῎Ανθρωπος ἐν τιμῇ ὢν οὐ συνῆκεν, ἀλλὰ παρασυνεβλήθη τοῖς κτήνεσι τοῖς ἀνοήτοις καὶ ὡμοιώθη αὐτοῖς, » καὶ πᾶσαν μὲν ἐπιθυμίαν βοσκηματώδη καὶ ἀκόλαστον κατηῤῥώστησεν· ἀπαρχὴ γενόμενος τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν ὁ Χριστὸς, ὁ μὴ εἰδὼς ἁμαρτίαν, ἐν ἑαυτῷ πρῶτον ἔδειξε τούτων τῶν κτηνωδῶν παθῶν ὑπεραναβάντας ἡμᾶς· αὐτὸς γὰρ τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν ἔλαβε, καὶ τὰς νόσους ἐβάστασε. Διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν, ὅτι τὸν τυχόντα τῆς θεραπείας ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον ὑποζύγιον ἀνεβίβασεν· ἐν ἑαυτῷ γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἔφερεν, ὅτι ἐσμὲν μέλη τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ. Ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ εἰς πανδοχεῖον ἀπήγαγε · πανδοχεῖον δὲ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν καλεῖ, τὴν πάντων γενομένην δεκτικὴν καὶ χωρητικήν. Οὐκέτι γὰρ κατὰ τὸ στενὸν τῆς νομικῆς σκιᾶς καὶ τῆς ἐν τύποις λατρείας ἀκούσομεν· « Οὐκ εἰσελεύσεται Αμμανίτης καὶ Μωαβίτης εἰς ἐκκλησίαν Θεοῦ ·· ἀλλά· « Πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. » Καί· « Ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον καὶ ἐργαζό μενος δικαιοσύνην, δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστι. » Καὶ ἀπαγαγὼν, μείζονος ἐπιμελείας ἠξίωσε. Καὶ γὰρ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας συλλεγείσης ἐκ τῶν τῇ πολυθεῖᾳ νενεκρωμένων ἐθνῶν, αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν αὐτῇ, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, οἰκῶν καὶ ἐμπεριπατῶν, καὶ πᾶσαν πνευματικὴν δωρούμενος χάριν. "Όθεν καὶ τῷ προεστῶτι τοῦ πανδοχείου (νοηθείη δ' ἂν οὗτος τύπον ἐπέχειν τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν μετ' αὐτοὺς ποιμένων καὶ διδασκάλων) εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνιὼν ἔδωκε δύο δηνάρια, προνοεῖν ἐπιμελῶς τοῦ ἡρρωστηκότος. Καὶ προσθεὶς, ὡς Ἐάν τι προσδαπανήσῃς, ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ ἐπανέρχεσθαί με ἀποδώσω σοι. Δύο δηνάρια, τὰς δύο Διαθήκας φησὶ, τὴν τε διὰ τοῦ νόμου Μωϋσέως καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, τὴν τε διὰ τῶν Εὐαγγελίων δοθεῖσαν καὶ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν διατάξεων· καὶ ἀμφοτέρας ἑνὸς οὔσας Θεοῦ, καὶ μίαν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἄνω καὶ ἑνὸς βασιλέως φερούσας, ὡς τὰ δηνάρια, καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν μὲν χαρακτῆρα ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν διὰ τῶν ἱερῶν λογίων ἐνσφραγιζομένας καὶ ἐντυπούσας, ἐπείπερ καὶ ἐν αὐτὰς καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα λελάληκεν. Ἐῤῥέτω γὰρ Μάνης, καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ Μαρκίων, οἱ ἀθεώτατοι, διαφόροις θεοῖς ταύτας μερίζοντες ἑνὸς γὰρ βασιλέως ἐστὶ τὰ δύο δηνάρια, καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὸν καὶ ὁμοτίμως δοθέντα τῷ προεστῶτι τοῦ πανδοχείου παρὰ Χριστοῦ· ἃ δὴ καὶ λαβόντες οἱ τῶν ἁγιωτάτων ἐκκλησιῶν ποιμένες, καὶ μετὰ πόνων καὶ ἱδρώτων ταῖς διδασκαλίαις πλατύναντες, καὶ οἴκοθεν προσδαπανήσαντες, καὶ διὰ τῆς δαπάνης μᾶλλον αὐξήσαντες (τοιοῦτον γὰρ τὸ νοητὸν ἀργύριον ἐξ ὧν δαπανᾶται, μὴ μειούμενον ἀλλ᾿ αὐξόμενον, ὅπερ ὁ τῆς διδασκαλίας λόγος ἐστὶν), ἐπανερχομένῳ τῷ Δεσπότῃ κατὰ τὴν τελευταίαν ἡμέραν, ἐροῦσιν ἔκαστος· Κύριε, δύο δηνάρια δέδωκάς μοι· ἰδοὺ προσδαπανήσας οἴκοθεν, ἕτερα δύο κεκέρδηκα, δι' ὧν τὸ ποίμνιον ηὔξησα. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ἐρεῖ · « Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστὲ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ἧς πιστὸς, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε καταστήσω· εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ Κυρίου Τις οὖν τούτων τῶν τριῶν δοκεῖ σοι πλησίον γεγονέναι τοῦ ἐμπεσόντος εἰς τοὺς λῃστάς; Εἰκότως ὁ Κύριος ἤρετο, τίνα τῶν τριῶν πλησίον γενέσθαι νενόμικε τοῦ πεπονθότος; Ὁ δὲ· Ὁ ποιήσας, φησὶ, τὸ ἔλεος μετ' αὐτοῦ. Οὔτε γὰρ ὁ ἱερεὺς, οὔτε ὁ Λευΐτης πλησίον γέγονε τοῦ πεπονθότος, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ οἰκτισάμενος. Καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα Χριστός· « Πορεύου, καὶ σὺ ποίει ὁμοίως.» Ἀνόνητον γὰρ τὸ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἀξίωμα, τοῖς λαχοῦσιν αὐτὸ, καὶ τοῖς δοκοῦσιν εἶναι νομομαθέσι, τὸ ὠνομάσθαι νομομαθεῖς, εἰ μὴ δι᾿ αὐτῶν εὐδοκιμοῦσι τῶν ἔργων. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ πέπλεκται τῆς ἀγάπης ὁ στέφανος τῷ τὸν πλησίον ἠγαπηκότι· Σαμαρείτης οὗτος ἦν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπόβλητος. Διὰ τοῦτο μεμαρτύρηκεν ὁ πρῶτος ἐν μαθηταῖς, τουτέστιν ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος, ὧδέ πως φήσας· « Ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας καταλαμβάνομεν ὅτι οὐκέτι προσωπολήπτης ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει ὁ φοβούμενος αὐτὸν καὶ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην, δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστι. » Προσίεται γὰρ ἅπαντας τοὺς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἐραστὰς ὁ φιλάρετος Κύριος, καὶ ἀσπάζεται, καὶ γνησίους τίθησι, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἀξιοῖ ἀγαθῶν.
Epibibasas de auton epi to idion ktēnos, k. t. l. epeidē, kata to gegrammenon, «᾿Anthrōpos en timę̄ ōn ou synēken, alla parasyneblēthē tois ktēnesi tois anoētois kai hōmoiōthē autois, » kai pasan men epithymian boskēmatōdē kai akolaston katērrhōstēsen; aparchē genomenos tou genous hēmōn ho Christos, ho mē eidōs hamartian, en heautǭ prōton edeixe toutōn tōn ktēnōdōn pathōn hyperanabantas hēmas; autos gar tas astheneias hēmōn elabe, kai tas nosous ebastase. Dia touto eipen, hoti ton tychonta tēs therapeias epi to idion hypozygion anebibasen; en heautǭ gar hēmas epheren, hoti esmen melē tou sōmatos autou. Alla mēn kai eis pandocheion apēgage ; pandocheion de tēn Ekklēsian kalei, tēn pantōn genomenēn dektikēn kai chōrētikēn. Ouketi gar kata to stenon tēs nomikēs skias kai tēs en typois latreias akousomen; « Ouk eiseleusetai Ammanitēs kai Mōabitēs eis ekklēsian Theou ;; alla; « Poreuthentes mathēteusate panta ta ethnē. » Kai; « En panti ethnei ho phoboumenos ton Kyrion kai ergazo menos dikaiosynēn, dektos autǭ esti. » Kai apagagōn, meizonos epimeleias ēxiōse. Kai gar tēs Ekklēsias syllegeisēs ek tōn tę̄ polytheią nenekrōmenōn ethnōn, autos ēn ho Christos en autę̄, kata to gegrammenon, oikōn kai emperipatōn, kai pasan pneumatikēn dōroumenos charin. "Othen kai tǭ proestōti tou pandocheiou (noētheiē d' an houtos typon epechein tōn apostolōn kai tōn met' autous poimenōn kai didaskalōn) eis ouranous aniōn edōke dyo dēnaria, pronoein epimelōs tou hērrōstēkotos. Kai prostheis, hōs Ean ti prosdapanēsę̄s, egō en tǭ epanerchesthai me apodōsō soi. Dyo dēnaria, tas dyo Diathēkas phēsi, tēn te dia tou nomou Mōÿseōs kai tōn prophētōn, tēn te dia tōn Euangeliōn dotheisan kai tōn apostolikōn diataxeōn; kai amphoteras henos ousas Theou, kai mian eikona tou anō kai henos basileōs pherousas, hōs ta dēnaria, kai ton auton men charaktēra tais kardiais hēmōn dia tōn hierōn logiōn ensphragizomenas kai entypousas, epeiper kai en autas kai to auto Pneuma lelalēken. Errhetō gar Manēs, kai pro autou Markiōn, hoi atheōtatoi, diaphorois theois tautas merizontes henos gar basileōs esti ta dyo dēnaria, kai kata tauton kai homotimōs dothenta tǭ proestōti tou pandocheiou para Christou; ha dē kai labontes hoi tōn hagiōtatōn ekklēsiōn poimenes, kai meta ponōn kai hidrōtōn tais didaskaliais platynantes, kai oikothen prosdapanēsantes, kai dia tēs dapanēs mallon auxēsantes (toiouton gar to noēton argyrion ex hōn dapanatai, mē meioumenon all᾿ auxomenon, hoper ho tēs didaskalias logos estin), epanerchomenǭ tǭ Despotę̄ kata tēn teleutaian hēmeran, erousin ekastos; Kyrie, dyo dēnaria dedōkas moi; idou prosdapanēsas oikothen, hetera dyo kekerdēka, di' hōn to poimnion ēuxēsa. Kai apokritheis erei ; « Eu, doule agathe kai piste, epi oliga hēs pistos, epi pollōn se katastēsō; eiselthe eis tēn charan tou Kyriou Tis oun toutōn tōn triōn dokei soi plēsion gegonenai tou empesontos eis tous lę̄stas? Eikotōs ho Kyrios ēreto, tina tōn triōn plēsion genesthai nenomike tou peponthotos? Ho de; Ho poiēsas, phēsi, to eleos met' autou. Oute gar ho hiereus, oute ho Leuïtēs plēsion gegone tou peponthotos, all᾽ ho oiktisamenos. Kai pros tauta Christos; « Poreuou, kai sy poiei homoiōs.» Anonēton gar to tēs hierōsynēs axiōma, tois lachousin auto, kai tois dokousin einai nomomathesi, to ōnomasthai nomomatheis, ei mē di᾿ autōn eudokimousi tōn ergōn. Idou gar peplektai tēs agapēs ho stephanos tǭ ton plēsion ēgapēkoti; Samareitēs houtos ēn, all' ouk apoblētos. Dia touto memartyrēken ho prōtos en mathētais, toutestin ho makarios Petros, hōde pōs phēsas; « Ep᾿ alētheias katalambanomen hoti ouketi prosōpolēptēs ho Theos, all' en panti ethnei ho phoboumenos auton kai poiōn dikaiosynēn, dektos autǭ esti. » Prosietai gar hapantas tous tōn agathōn epitēdeumatōn erastas ho philaretos Kyrios, kai aspazetai, kai gnēsious tithēsi, kai tōn mellontōn axioi agathōn.
“And setting him on his own beast,” and so on (10:34). … since, as it is written, “Man, being in honour, did not understand, but was compared to the senseless beasts and became like them,” and he fell sick with every beastlike and unbridled desire, Christ, becoming the firstfruits of our race, he who knew no sin, showed first in himself that we have risen above these beastlike passions; for he took our weaknesses and bore our diseases. Therefore he said that he set the one who received healing on his own beast of burden; for he bore us in himself, since we are members of his body. And moreover he brought him to an inn; and he calls the Church an inn, since it became able to receive and hold all. For we shall no longer hear, according to the narrowness of the shadow of the law and of worship in types, “No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of God,” but “Go and make disciples of all the nations,” and “In every nation whoever fears the Lord and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” And having brought him there, he counted him worthy of greater care. For when the Church had been gathered from the nations that had been dead in polytheism, Christ himself was in it, as it is written, dwelling and walking about, and giving every spiritual grace. Hence to the keeper of the inn (who might be understood to bear the type of the apostles and of the pastors and teachers after them), as he went up into heaven, he gave two denarii, to care diligently for the sick man, adding: “Whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.” By the two denarii he means the two Testaments, the one given through the law of Moses and the prophets, and the one given through the Gospels and the apostolic ordinances; both belonging to one God, and bearing one image of the one King above, like denarii, and sealing and stamping the same imprint on our hearts through the sacred words, since one and the same Spirit spoke in them. Away with Mani, then, and Marcion before him, those most godless men, who divide these between different gods; for the two denarii belong to one King, and were given by Christ to the keeper of the inn at the same time and with equal honour. These the pastors of the most holy churches received, and, having enlarged them by their teaching with toil and sweat, and spending more of their own, and rather increasing them by the spending (for such is the spiritual silver: by what is spent from it, it is not diminished but increased—and this is the word of teaching), they will each say to the Master when he returns on the last day: “Lord, you gave me two denarii; see, spending more of my own, I have gained two others, by which I have increased the flock.” And he will answer and say: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your Lord.” “Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?” (10:36). The Lord rightly asked which of the three he thought had become neighbour to the man who suffered. And he says: “The one who showed mercy on him.” For neither the priest nor the Levite became neighbour to the sufferer, but the one who had pity. And to this Christ says: “Go and do likewise.” For the dignity of the priesthood is of no use to those who obtained it, nor to be called experts in the law to those who seem to be so, unless they win approval by their very works. For see, the crown of love has been woven for the one who loved his neighbour; this man was a Samaritan, yet not rejected. Therefore the first among the disciples, the blessed Peter, bore witness, saying something like this: “Truly I perceive that God is no longer one who shows partiality, but in every nation whoever fears him and does righteousness is acceptable to him.” For the Lord who loves virtue admits all lovers of good pursuits, welcomes them, makes them his own, and counts them worthy of the good things to come.
Luke 10:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:12 (48:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 8:17 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 53:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 5:30 (allusion, high confidence) · Deut 23:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 28:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 10:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 2:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Cor 6:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 10:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 25:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 10:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 10:37 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 10:34 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Allegorically the Samaritan is Christ, who carries fallen humanity in his own body to the inn of the Church open to all nations, leaving the two denarii of the two Testaments, from one God against Mani and Marcion, to the Church’s pastors; literally, mercy, not office or learning, makes one a neighbour.
- Several displaced lines of the scan (in the attack on Mani and Marcion and in the shepherds’ words to the Master) are restored by logged corrections; a few letters remain lost.
- Mani (d. 277) and Marcion (2nd century) ascribed the two Testaments to different gods.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin letter for Greek; OCR letter slip; displaced OCR lines removed here and restored below; displaced OCR lines restored to their places; stray mark; words joined by OCR): τιμῇῶν → τιμῇ ὢν; ἐδάστασε → ἐβάστασε; πάντων “ γενομένην → πάντων γενομένην; Εpῥέτω → Ἐῤῥέτω; οἱ ἀθεώδαπανήσας οἴκοθεν, ἕτερα δύο κεκέρδηκα, δι' ὧν τὸ ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστὲ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ἧς πιστὸς, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σου, ν τατοι, → οἱ ἀθεώτατοι,; ἰδοὺ προσποίμνιον ηὔξησα. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ἐρεῖ · « Εὖ, δοῦλε σε καταστήσω· → ἰδοὺ προσδαπανήσας οἴκοθεν, ἕτερα δύο κεκέρδηκα, δι' ὧν τὸ ποίμνιον ηὔξησα. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ἐρεῖ · « Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστὲ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ἧς πιστὸς, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε καταστήσω·.
Topics: Scripture and canon, Heresy
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 10.34 (PG 72 72:681; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/10-34). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/10-34
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
10.38PG 72 72:683
Γυνὴ δὲ τις ὀνόματι Μάρθα ὑπεδέξατο αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς. Πλὴν, κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν, μέγα τι χρῆμα καὶ ἀξιόκτητον ὁ τῆς φιλοξενίας τρόπος · καὶ μαρτυρήσει λέγων ὁ σοφώτατος Παῦλος· « Τῆς φιλοξενίας μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε. • Τοιαύτη τις ἡ Μάρθα ὑποδεχομένη τὸν Κύριον, ἣν καλὸν καὶ μιμήσασθαι· ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν φιλομαθεστάτην αὐτῆς ἀδελφὴν Μαρίαν, ἢ τοῖς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ποσὶ προσιζήσασα, τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ διδαγμάτων τὴν ἑαυτῆς ἐμπίπλησι φρένα. Ὀνίνησι δὲ πάλιν καὶ διὰ τούτων ὁ Σωτὴρ τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ μαθητὰς, ἵν᾽ εἰδεῖεν, ὅπως τε καὶ τίνα τρόπον ταῖς τῶν ἐπιδεχομένων αὐτοὺς οἰκίαις ἐνδιαιτᾶσθαι χρή. Δεῖ γὰρ εἰσβάλλοντας οὐχ ὑπτιοῦσθαι μᾶλλον εἰς ἀνέσεις, οὔτε μὴν ὅλως δοκεῖν ταύτης ἕνεκα τῆς αἰτίας καταλύειν, παρά τισιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἕνα μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ἐπιμεστώσειαν μαθημάτων θείων καὶ ἱερῶν. Οἱ δὲ τὴν ἐστίαν αὐτοῖς ἀνευρύνοντες, ὑπαντάτωσαν ἱλαροὶ καὶ πρόθυμοι· οὐχ ὡς διδόντες τι μᾶλλον, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς αὐτοὶ ληψόμενοι, κατὰ διττὸν τρόπον· πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ταῖς παρὰ τῶν ξενιζομένων ἐντρυφήσουσι μυσταγωγίαις· εἶτα πρὸς τούτῳ καὶ τὸν τῆς φιλοξενίας κερδανοῦσι μισθόν. Ἐπιδεχόμενοι δὲ εἰς ἑστίαν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς, μὴ περισπάσθωσαν περὶ πολλὴν διακονίαν, μὴ ζητείτωσαν τὰ ὑπὲρ χεῖρα καὶ χρείαν· λυπεῖ γὰρ πανταχοῦ ἐν παντὶ πράγματι τὸ περιττόν· ἐνεργάζεται μὲν γὰρ τοῖς φιλοξενεῖν ἐθέ λουσιν ὄκνον· καμάτου δὲ τοῖς ἑστιωμένοις εὑρίσκεται πρόξενον.
Gynē de tis onomati Martha hypedexato auton eis ton oikon autēs. Plēn, kata tēn historian, mega ti chrēma kai axioktēton ho tēs philoxenias tropos ; kai martyrēsei legōn ho sophōtatos Paulos; « Tēs philoxenias mē epilanthanesthe. • Toiautē tis hē Martha hypodechomenē ton Kyrion, hēn kalon kai mimēsasthai; hōsper kai tēn philomathestatēn autēs adelphēn Marian, ē tois tou Sōtēros posi prosizēsasa, tōn par' autou didagmatōn tēn heautēs empiplēsi phrena. Oninēsi de palin kai dia toutōn ho Sōtēr tous heautou mathētas, hin᾽ eideien, hopōs te kai tina tropon tais tōn epidechomenōn autous oikiais endiaitasthai chrē. Dei gar eisballontas ouch hyptiousthai mallon eis aneseis, oute mēn holōs dokein tautēs heneka tēs aitias katalyein, para tisin, all᾽ hena mallon autous epimestōseian mathēmatōn theiōn kai hierōn. Hoi de tēn estian autois aneurynontes, hypantatōsan hilaroi kai prothymoi; ouch hōs didontes ti mallon, all᾿ hōs autoi lēpsomenoi, kata ditton tropon; prōton men gar tais para tōn xenizomenōn entryphēsousi mystagōgiais; eita pros toutǭ kai ton tēs philoxenias kerdanousi misthon. Epidechomenoi de eis hestian tous adelphous, mē perispasthōsan peri pollēn diakonian, mē zēteitōsan ta hyper cheira kai chreian; lypei gar pantachou en panti pragmati to peritton; energazetai men gar tois philoxenein ethe lousin oknon; kamatou de tois hestiōmenois heurisketai proxenon.
“And a woman named Martha received him into her house” (10:38). According to the history, the practice of hospitality is a great thing and worth acquiring; and the most wise Paul will bear witness, saying: “Do not neglect hospitality.” Such was Martha, receiving the Lord, whom it is good to imitate; as also her sister Mary, most eager to learn, who, sitting at the Saviour’s feet, filled her mind with his teachings. Through these things too the Saviour benefits his disciples, so that they might know how and in what way they ought to live in the houses of those who receive them. For when they come in they should not sprawl into ease, nor seem at all to lodge with people for that reason, but rather to fill them with divine and sacred lessons. And let those who open their hearth to them meet them cheerfully and eagerly, not as giving something but rather as themselves about to receive, in two ways: first, they will delight in the teaching of the mysteries from their guests; then, besides, they will gain the reward of hospitality. But when they receive the brothers at their hearth, let them not be distracted with much serving, nor seek what is beyond their means and need; for excess is everywhere and in everything troublesome: it breeds reluctance in those who wish to be hospitable, and it is found to cause weariness to those being entertained.
Luke 10:38 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 13:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 10:39 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 10:40 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Martha’s hospitality and Mary’s eagerness to learn are both to be imitated; Christ teaches missionaries not to seek ease in their hosts’ houses but to teach, and hosts to receive them gladly without excessive serving.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letter): ἐνδιαιτᾶσθαι Ιχρή → ἐνδιαιτᾶσθαι χρή.
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 10.38 (PG 72 72:683; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/10-38). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/10-38
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam-10-38) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Commentary 11
11.1PG 72 72:685
Ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐν τόπῳ τινὶ προσευχόμε Καί τοι Θεός ἐστιν ἀληθινὸς, καὶ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἐπὶ πάντας Θεοῦ, καὶ διανέμει μὲν αὐτὸς τῇ κτίσει τὰ πάντα, δι᾽ ὧν ἂν εὖ ἔχοι καὶ σώζηται· δεῖται δὲ ὅλως αὐτὸς οὐδενός · πλήρης γάρ ἐστι, φησὶν, αὐτὸς· τίνος οὖν ἐν χρείᾳ καθεστάναι φαίη τις ἂν αὐτὸν, πάντα ἔχοντα φυσικῶς τὰ τοῦ Πατρός; Ἔφη γὰρ ἐναργῶς, ὅτι « Πάντα ὅσα ἔχει ὁ Πατὴρ, ἐμά ἐστιν. » Ἔχει δὲ ὁ Πατὴρ τὸ εἶναι πλήρης ἀγαθοῦ παντὸς καὶ θεοπρεπῶν ἀξιωμάτων. Ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ· καὶ τοῦτο εἰδότες οἱ ἅγιοι λέγουσιν, ὅτι • Ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ πάντες ἡμεῖς ἐλάβομεν.» Τί δῆτα οὖν προσεύχεται, φησὶν, εἰ πλήρης ἐστὶ, καὶ οὐδενὸς ὅλως δεῖται τῶν τοῦ Πατρός; Πρὸς τοῦτό φαμεν ὅτι δίδωσι μὲν αὐτῷ τῆς μετὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίας ὁ τρόπος τὸ εἴπερ ἔλοιτο πληροῦν τὰ ἀνθρώπινα, καιροῦ καλοῦντος εἰς τοῦτο. Εἱ γὰρ ἔφαγε καὶ πέπωκεν, ὕπνου τε μετεσχηκώς εὑρίσκεται, τί τὸ ἄτοπον κἂν εἰ τοῖς καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς συγκαθιστάμενος μέτροις, καὶ ἀνθρωπίνην δικαιοσύνην ἀποπληρῶν, οὐκ ἀνεπιτήδευτον ἐποιεῖτο τὴν προσευχήν; ἵνα ἡμᾶς διδάξῃ μὴ ῥᾳθύμους εἶναι πρὸς τοῦτο· συντείνεσθαι δὲ μᾶλλον λιτὰς, οὐκ ἐν πλατείαις ἑστῶτας μέσαις (ἔδρων γὰρ τοῦτο τῶν Ἰουδαίων τινὲς, Γραμματεῖς δὲ εἰσιν οὗτοι καὶ Φαρισαῖοι, φιλοδοξίας ἀφορμὴν τὸ χρῆμα ποιούμενοι), καταμόνας δὲ μᾶλλον, ἡσυχῇ τε καὶ ἀνακεχωρημένως, καὶ οἷον μόνους μόνῳ λαλοῦντας Θεῷ, καθαρῷ καὶ ἀπερισπάστῳ νῷ. "Εδει γὰρ ἀγαθοῦ παντὸς καὶ ἐπωφελεστάτου πράγματος ἀρχὴν καὶ διδάσκαλον οὐχ ἕτερόν τινα ἡμῖν γενέσθαι μᾶλλον, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν τὸν ἐν πᾶσι πρωτεύοντα καὶ τὰς παρὰ πάντων δεχόμενον λιτάς. Εἶπε δὲ αὐτοῖς· Ὅταν προσεύχησθε, λέγετε·
En tǭ einai auton en topǭ tini proseuchome Kai toi Theos estin alēthinos, kai Huios tou epi pantas Theou, kai dianemei men autos tę̄ ktisei ta panta, di᾽ hōn an eu echoi kai sōzētai; deitai de holōs autos oudenos ; plērēs gar esti, phēsin, autos; tinos oun en chreią kathestanai phaiē tis an auton, panta echonta physikōs ta tou Patros? Ephē gar enargōs, hoti « Panta hosa echei ho Patēr, ema estin. » Echei de ho Patēr to einai plērēs agathou pantos kai theoprepōn axiōmatōn. Esti de touto kai tou Huiou; kai touto eidotes hoi hagioi legousin, hoti • Ek tou plērōmatos autou pantes hēmeis elabomen.» Ti dēta oun proseuchetai, phēsin, ei plērēs esti, kai oudenos holōs deitai tōn tou Patros? Pros touto phamen hoti didōsi men autǭ tēs meta sarkos oikonomias ho tropos to eiper eloito plēroun ta anthrōpina, kairou kalountos eis touto. Hei gar ephage kai pepōken, hypnou te meteschēkōs heurisketai, ti to atopon kan ei tois kath᾿ hēmas synkathistamenos metrois, kai anthrōpinēn dikaiosynēn apoplērōn, ouk anepitēdeuton epoieito tēn proseuchēn? hina hēmas didaxę̄ mē rhąthymous einai pros touto; synteinesthai de mallon litas, ouk en plateiais hestōtas mesais (edrōn gar touto tōn Ioudaiōn tines, Grammateis de eisin houtoi kai Pharisaioi, philodoxias aphormēn to chrēma poioumenoi), katamonas de mallon, hēsychę̄ te kai anakechōrēmenōs, kai hoion monous monǭ lalountas Theǭ, katharǭ kai aperispastǭ nǭ. "Edei gar agathou pantos kai epōphelestatou pragmatos archēn kai didaskalon ouch heteron tina hēmin genesthai mallon, all' auton ton en pasi prōteuonta kai tas para pantōn dechomenon litas. Eipe de autois; Hotan proseuchēsthe, legete;
“As he was praying in a certain place” (11:1). Yet he is true God and Son of the God over all, and he himself distributes to the creation all things by which it may be well and be preserved, while he himself needs nothing at all; for he is full, it says. Of what, then, would anyone say he stands in need, he who has by nature all that is the Father’s? For he said plainly: “All that the Father has is mine.” And the Father has fullness of every good and of the dignities befitting God; and this belongs to the Son too; and knowing this the saints say: “From his fullness we have all received.” “Why, then,” someone says, “does he pray, if he is full and needs nothing at all of what is the Father’s?” To this we say that the manner of the economy in the flesh allows him, if he chooses, to fulfil human things when the occasion calls for it. For if he ate and drank and is found to have slept, what is absurd if, adapting himself to our measures and fulfilling human righteousness, he made his prayer without affectation? So that he might teach us not to be careless in this, but rather to strain ourselves in supplications—not standing in the middle of the streets (for some of the Jews did this, namely the scribes and Pharisees, making the thing an occasion for love of glory), but rather alone, quietly and withdrawn, and as it were speaking alone with God alone, with a pure and undistracted mind. For the beginning and teacher of every good and most profitable thing had to be for us no one else but he who is first in all things and receives the supplications of all. “And he said to them: When you pray, say” (11:2).
Luke 11:1 (quotation, high confidence) · John 16:15 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:18 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 11:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, full of all that is the Father’s, needed nothing, yet prayed as man by the economy, as he ate and slept, to teach us to pray earnestly, alone and quietly, not for show like the Pharisees.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR letter slip): δεῖται θὲ ὅλως → δεῖται δὲ ὅλως.
Topics: Prayer, Christology
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 11.1 (PG 72 72:685; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam-11-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Commentary 11, chapter 2
11.2.1PG 72 72:685
Πάτερ ἡμῶν, κ. τ. λ. Ὢ πολλῆς ἀφθονίας! ὦ γαληνότητος ἀσυγκρίτου καὶ μόνῳ πρεπούσης αὐτῷ! Τὴν ἰδίαν ἡμῖν χαρίζεται δόξαν, ἀναβιβάζει τὸ δοῦλον εἰς ἐλεύθερον ἀξίωμα, Πατέρα καλεῖν ἐφίησι τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς ἐν υἱῶν τάξει γεγενημένους. Παρ' αὐτοῦ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐσχήκαμεν· καὶ μαρτυρήσει λέγων ὁ σοφὸς Ἰωάννης περὶ αὐτοῦ · « Ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτὸν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι. » Μεμορφώμεθα γὰρ εἰς υἱότητα, διὰ γεννήσεως τῆς πνευματικῆς, τελουμένης ἐν ἡμῖν οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς μᾶλλον, ἀλλὰ διὰ λόγον ζῶντος Θεοῦ καὶ μένοντος, καθὰ γέγραπται · · Βουληθεὶς γὰρ ἀπεκύησεν ἡμᾶς λόγῳ ἀληθείας, εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἀπαρχήν τινα τῶν ἑαυτοῦ κτισμάτων. » Ἔφη γὰρ οὕτω τις τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων. Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ που Χριστὸς, τὴν τοῦ πράγματος ὁδὸν ἐναργῆ καθίστη, λέγων· « Ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ Πνεύματος, οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ. › Μᾶλλον δὲ, δεῖ γὰρ πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ τι τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων εἰπεῖν, αὐτὸς ἡμῖν γέγονε τῆς οὕτω λαμπρᾶς καὶ ἀξιοκτή - του χάριτος ὁδὸς, καὶ θύρα, καὶ ἀφορμὴ, τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμοίωσιν ὑπελθών· ἔλαβε γὰρ δούλου μορφὴν, καίτοι καθ' ὅ νοεῖται καὶ ἔστιν Θεὸς, ἐλεύθερος ὧν, ἵν᾿ ἡμῖν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ χαρίσηται. Μόνος γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν ἐλεύθερος αὐτὸς, ὅτι καὶ μόνος ἐστὶν Υἱὸς τοῦ τὰ πάντα ὑπερκειμένου καὶ κατεξουσιάζοντος τῶν ὅλων, φύσει τε καὶ ἀληθῶς ἐλευθέρου Πατρός· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ παρενεχθὲν εἰς γένεσιν, δοῦλον ὑπέχει τῷ κτίσαντι τὸν αὐχένα. Ψάλλει γοῦν ὁ Μελῳδὸς, καὶ φησι πρὸς αὐτόν· · Ὅτι τὰ σύμπαντα δοῦλά σου. • Ὅτι δὲ τὰ ἡμῶν εἰς ἑαυτὸν μεταθεὶς, οἰκονομικῶς δέδωκεν ἡμῖν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, πιστώσεται γράφων ὁ τῶν αὐτοῦ μυστη ρίων ἱερουργὸς, ὁ πάνσοφος Παῦλος · · Ὅτι πλούσιος ὢν, ἐπτώχευσεν, ἵν᾿ ἡμεῖς τῇ αὐτοῦ πτωχείᾳ πλουτήσωμεν. » Πτωχεία μὲν γὰρ τῷ Θεῷ Λόγῳ, τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς, ἤτοι τὰ ἀνθρώπινα · πλοῦτος δὲ τῇ ἀνθρώπου φύσει, τὸ λαβεῖν τὰ αὐτοῦ· ὧν ἕν ἐστι τὸ ἐλεύθεραν ἀξίωμα, πρέπον ὡς μάλιστα τοῖς εἰς υἱότητα κεκλημένοις. Αὐτοῦ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, ὡς ἔφην, τὸ δῶρον· ἔφη γὰρ πρὸς ἡμᾶς· « Καὶ πατέρα μὴ καλέσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· εἰς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν, ὁ οὐράνιος· πάντες δὲ ὑμεῖς ἀδελφοί ἐστε. · Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ γέγονε καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, διὰ τοῦτο πεπλουτήκαμεν ἡμεῖς τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀδελφότητα. Κελεύει τοίνυν παῤῥησιάζεσθαί τε καὶ λέγειν ἐν προσευχαῖς Πατέρα. Οἰκονομικώτατα δὲ λίαν δίδωσι κἀκεῖνο τοῖς προσευχομένοις ἐννοεῖν· εἰ γὰρ Πατέρα καλοῦμεν τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ τῆς οὕτω λαμ· πρᾶς ἠξιώθημεν τιμῆς, πῶς οὐκ ἀξίως τοῦ τετιμη - κότος πολιτευσόμεθα; Τοῦτό τις ἔφη τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων • « Εἰ Πατέρα ἐπικαλεῖσθε τὸν ἀπροσωπολή - πτως κρίνοντα κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστου ἔργον, ἐν φόβῳ τὸν τῆς παροικίας ὑμῶν χρόνον ἀναστράφητε. »
Pater hēmōn, k. t. l. Ō pollēs aphthonias! ō galēnotētos asynkritou kai monǭ prepousēs autǭ! Tēn idian hēmin charizetai doxan, anabibazei to doulon eis eleutheron axiōma, Patera kalein ephiēsi ton Theon, hōs en huiōn taxei gegenēmenous. Par' autou de kai touto meta tōn allōn eschēkamen; kai martyrēsei legōn ho sophos Iōannēs peri autou ; « Hosoi de elabon auton, edōken autois exousian tekna Theou genesthai. » Memorphōmetha gar eis huiotēta, dia gennēseōs tēs pneumatikēs, teloumenēs en hēmin ouk ek sporas phthartēs mallon, alla dia logon zōntos Theou kai menontos, katha gegraptai ; ; Boulētheis gar apekyēsen hēmas logǭ alētheias, eis to einai hēmas aparchēn tina tōn heautou ktismatōn. » Ephē gar houtō tis tōn hagiōn apostolōn. Kai autos de pou Christos, tēn tou pragmatos hodon enargē kathistē, legōn; « Ean mē tis gennēthę̄ ex hydatos kai Pneumatos, ou dynatai eiselthein eis tēn basileian tou Theou. › Mallon de, dei gar pros hymas kai ti tōn aporrhētōn eipein, autos hēmin gegone tēs houtō lampras kai axioktē - tou charitos hodos, kai thyra, kai aphormē, tēn pros hēmas homoiōsin hypelthōn; elabe gar doulou morphēn, kaitoi kath' ho noeitai kai estin Theos, eleutheros hōn, hin᾿ hēmin ta heautou charisētai. Monos gar kata physin eleutheros autos, hoti kai monos estin Huios tou ta panta hyperkeimenou kai katexousiazontos tōn holōn, physei te kai alēthōs eleutherou Patros; pan gar to parenechthen eis genesin, doulon hypechei tǭ ktisanti ton auchena. Psallei goun ho Melǭdos, kai phēsi pros auton; ; Hoti ta sympanta doula sou. • Hoti de ta hēmōn eis heauton metatheis, oikonomikōs dedōken hēmin ta heautou, pistōsetai graphōn ho tōn autou mystē riōn hierourgos, ho pansophos Paulos ; ; Hoti plousios ōn, eptōcheusen, hin᾿ hēmeis tę̄ autou ptōcheią ploutēsōmen. » Ptōcheia men gar tǭ Theǭ Logǭ, ta kath' hēmas, ētoi ta anthrōpina ; ploutos de tę̄ anthrōpou physei, to labein ta autou; hōn hen esti to eleutheran axiōma, prepon hōs malista tois eis huiotēta keklēmenois. Autou de kai touto, hōs ephēn, to dōron; ephē gar pros hēmas; « Kai patera mē kalesēte epi tēs gēs; eis gar estin ho Patēr hymōn, ho ouranios; pantes de hymeis adelphoi este. ; Epeidē gar gegone kath᾽ hēmas, dia touto peploutēkamen hēmeis tēn pros auton adelphotēta. Keleuei toinyn parrhēsiazesthai te kai legein en proseuchais Patera. Oikonomikōtata de lian didōsi kakeino tois proseuchomenois ennoein; ei gar Patera kaloumen ton Theon, kai tēs houtō lam; pras ēxiōthēmen timēs, pōs ouk axiōs tou tetimē - kotos politeusometha? Touto tis ephē tōn hagiōn apostolōn • « Ei Patera epikaleisthe ton aprosōpolē - ptōs krinonta kata to hekastou ergon, en phobǭ ton tēs paroikias hymōn chronon anastraphēte. »
“Father, our,” and so on (11:2). O great generosity! O incomparable gentleness, befitting him alone! He grants us his own glory, raises the slave to the dignity of the free, allows us to call God Father, as having come to be in the rank of sons. And we have received this too from him, along with the rest; and the wise John will bear witness, saying of him: “But to as many as received him, he gave power to become children of God.” For we have been formed to sonship through the spiritual birth, accomplished in us not from perishable seed but through the word of the living and abiding God, as it is written: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” For one of the holy apostles said so. And Christ himself somewhere made the way of the thing plain, saying: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Or rather—for I must tell you something of the secret things—he himself became for us the way, the door and the occasion of a grace so splendid and worth acquiring, by coming into likeness with us; for he took the form of a servant, though, insofar as he is understood to be and is God, he is free, so that he might grant us what is his own. For he alone is free by nature, since he alone is the Son of the Father who is above all things and has authority over all, free by nature and in truth; for everything that has been brought into being bends its neck as a slave to its Creator. The Singer sings, then, and says to him: “For all things are your servants.” And that, transferring what is ours to himself, he gave us by the economy what is his, the all-wise Paul, the minister of his mysteries, will confirm, writing: “That being rich he became poor, so that we by his poverty might become rich.” For poverty to God the Word is our condition, that is, human things; and wealth to human nature is to receive what is his, of which one is the dignity of freedom, most befitting those called to sonship. And this too, as I said, is his gift; for he said to us: “And call no one father on earth; for one is your Father, the heavenly one; and you are all brothers.” For since he became as we are, for this reason we have been enriched with brotherhood with him. He bids us, then, speak boldly and say “Father” in prayer. And most fittingly he also gives those who pray this to consider: if we call God Father and have been counted worthy of so splendid an honour, how shall we not live worthily of the one who has honoured us? One of the holy apostles said this: “If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your sojourning.”
Luke 11:2 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Pet 1:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Jas 1:18 (quotation, high confidence) · John 3:5 (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:6 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 10:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · Phil 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 119:91 (118:91 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 8:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 23:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 23:8 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Pet 1:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: By letting us call God Father, Christ, the only Son free by nature, raises us slaves to the freedom of sons through rebirth by water and Spirit, having taken our poverty to give us his riches; calling God Father obliges us to live worthily of him.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR accent slip): ὧν ἐν ἐστι → ὧν ἕν ἐστι.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 11.2.1 (PG 72 72:685; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-2-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-2-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
11.2.2PG 72 72:687
᾿Αγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου. ᾿Αρα ἁγιασμοῦ προσθήκην ἐγγενέσθαι παρακαλοῦμεν τῷ παναγίῳ Θεῷ; Καὶ μὴν τοῦτό ἐστιν οὐκ ἄμεμπτον παντελῶς. Πλήρης γάρ ἐστι, καθά φησιν αὐτὸς, ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ παντέλειος, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ χορηγῶν τῇ κτίσει τὸν ἁγιασμὸν ἐξ ἰδίου πληρώματος. Πρὸς δὲ αὖ τούτοις, εὔηθες καὶ καταγέλαστον τὸ νομίζεσθαι τοὺς προσευχομένους οὐχ ὑπέρ γε μᾶλλον ἑαυτῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ποιεῖσθαι τὰς λιτάς. Τί οὖν ἄρα ἐστὶ τὸ, • Ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου; › Φαμὲν, ὅτι οὐχ ἀγιασμοῦ προσθήκην ἐνυπάρξαι παρακαλοῦσι τῷ ἐπὶ πάντας Θεῷ. Τίς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ μείζων αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσδοῦναί τι δυνάμενος; Χωρὶς γὰρ πάσης ἀντιλογίας, τὸ ἔλαττον ὑπὸ τοῦ κρείττονος εὐλογεῖται· ἐκεῖνο δὲ μᾶλλον ἑαυτοῖς τε καὶ πᾶσιν ὑπάρξαι πα-ρακαλοῦσιν. Ὅτε διακείμεθα καὶ πιστεύομεν ὅτι Θεὸς ὁ φύσει καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας, ἅγιος ἁγίων ἐστὶ, τότε τὸν - φόβον αὐτοῦ λαβόντες εἰς νοῦν, ὀρθὴν τε καὶ ἀνεπίληπτον ἐπιτηδεύομεν ζωήν· ἵνα οὕτως ἅγιοι γεγο. νότες, ἐγγὺς εἶναι δυνηθῶμεν τοῦ ἁγίου Θεοῦ. Γέγραπται γὰρ, ὅτι «῞Αγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἀγιός είμι. Ἔφη δή που καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἱεροφάντην Μωϋσέα· • Ἐν τοῖς ἐγγίζουσί μοι ἁγιασθήσομαι. » Οὐκοῦν ἐν ἡμῖν, φησὶν, ἅγιον ἔστω τὸ ὄνομά σου· τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ τὸ ἁγιασθήτω δηλοῖ. Καὶ οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου, τοῦτο παρακαλοῦσιν. Ἐννόησον γὰρ ὅτι παρὰ τοῖς οὔπω τὸ τῆς ἀληθείας πλουτήσασι φῶς, μήτε μὴν τὴν πίστιν παραδεξαμένοις, ἔτι καταπεφρόνηται τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὔπω γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἄγιον εἶναι δοκεῖ, καὶ σεπτὸν καὶ προσκυνητών. Ἐπὰν δὲ τὸ τῆς ἀληθείας αὐτοῖς ἐλλάμψῃ φῶς, καὶ ὡς ἐκ νυκτὸς καὶ σκότους διαγρηγορήσωσι, μόλις τότε μαθόντες τίς τε καὶ ὅσος ἐστὶν, ἅγιον ἁγίων ὁμολογοῦσιν αὐτόν. Ὅτι δὲ τοῦθ᾽ οὕτως ἔχει, συνήσεις ἐντεῦθεν. Ἔφη τις τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν • Κύριον αὐτὸν ἁγιάσατε, καὶ αὐτὸς ἔστα: σοι φόβοςκαὶ ἐὰν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ πεποιθὼς ἧς, ἔσται σοι εἰς ἁγιασμόν. » Ἆρα οὖν ἡμεῖς ἄγιον ἀποτελοῦμεν τὸν Θεὸν, τὸν ἐξ ἰδίου πληρώματος διανέμοντα πλουσίως τῇ κτίσει τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ; ᾿Αλλὰ δῆλον ὡς ἐκεῖνο διδάσκειν φαμὲν αὐτὸν, ὅτι ῞Αγιον εἶναι αὐτὸν πιστεύετε· τότε γὰρ αὐτὸν φοβηθήσεσθε, ἔσται δὲ οὗτος ὑμῖν καὶ εἰς ἁγιασμόν. Γέγραπται δὲ πάλιν περὶ Χριστοῦ· • ᾿Αγιάσατε τὸν φαυλίζοντα τὴν ψυχήν· · τουτέστι, παρ᾿ οὐδὲν αὐτὴν ἡγήσατο· τέθεικε γὰρ αὐτὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. Πλὴν ἁγιαζέσθω, φησὶ, παρ' ὑμῶν, τουτέστιν ὁμολογείσθω ἅγιος. Καὶ γάρ ἐστι τοῦτο κατὰ φύσιν, Θεὸς ὧν ἀληθινὸς, καὶ Υἱὸς Θεοῦ. Τὸ γὰρ ἄγιον οὐσιωδῶς πρέποι ἂν οὐδενὶ μὲν τῶν ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων εἰς. τὸ εἶναι παρενηνεγμένων, μόνῃ δὲ τῇ ἀνωτάτῳ καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα φύσει. Ὅταν οὖν πιστεύωμεν ὅτι κατὰ φύσιν ἅγιός ἐστι, τοῦτο γὰρ ἐστι τὸ « ἁγιάζειν αὐτὸν,» τότε προσομολογοῦμεν ὅτι καὶ Θεός ἐστιν ἀληθινὸς, ἔτι δὲ κεχωρισμένος ἀπὸ τῶν λοιπῶν, καὶ ἐν ὑπεροχῇ μεγίστῃ. Ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου. ᾿Αεί γε μὴν βασιλεύοντος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ κατακρατοῦντος ὅλων, τί δὴ βούλεται τὸ, « Ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου;» Ἐοίκασι τοίνυν ἐπιθυμεῖν οἱ τοῦτο λέγοντες ἐν προσευχαῖς, ἐπιλάμψαντα πάλιν ἰδεῖν ἐν κόσμῳ τὸν τῶν ὅλων Σωτῆρα Χριστόν. "Ηξει γὰρ, ἤξει, καὶ καταβήσεται κριτής, καὶ οὐκ ἐν ὑφέσει τότε τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ' ἐν δόξῃ θεοπρεπεί δορυφορούντων ἀγγέλων, ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον. Απολογίας τοίνυν ὁ τότε καιρὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ δοκιμασίας καὶ ἀνταποδό σεως · πῦρ ηὐτρέπισται τοῖς ἀνόμοις, καὶ δίκη μακρὰ, διηνεκή κολαστήρια. Εἶτα πῶς ἰδεῖν ἐκεῖνον εὔχονται τὸν καιρόν; "Αθρει δή μοι πάλιν τοῦ Σωτῆρος τὸ εὐτεχνὲς, καὶ τὴν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀξιοθαύμαστον οἰκονομίαν. Ἐκέλευσε γὰρ διὰ προσευχῆς αἰτεῖν αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον τὸν ὄντως φρικτὸν ἐπιστῆναι καιρὸν, ἵνα εἰδεῖεν ὅτι διαβιοῦν αὐτοὺς ἀναγκαῖον, οὐ ῥᾳθύμως ἢ παρειμένως, ἁγιοπρεπῶς δὲ μᾶλλον, καὶ κατά γε τὸ αὐτῷ δοκοῦν· ἵνα στεφάνων αὐτοῖς εὑρεθῇ πρόξενος ὁ καιρὸς, καὶ μὴ πυρὸς καὶ δίκης. Τοῖς γὰρ ἀνόμοις καὶ βεβήλοις πρέποι ἂν κατ᾿ οὐδένα τρόπον τὸ λέγειν ἐν προσευχαῖς, « Ἑλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου. » "Ηγουν ἴστωσαν ὡς τοῦτο λέγοντες, μονονουχὶ καταιτιῶνται Θεὸν, ὅτι μὴ θᾶττον αὐτοῖς ὁ τοῦ κολάζεσθαι καιρὸς ἀνίσχει καὶ φαίνεται τούτοις ἐπιφθέγγεταί τις τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν· « Οὐαὶ οἱ ἐπιθυμοῦντες τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου! Ἵνα τί; ὑμῖν αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶ σκότος καὶ οὐ φῶς, καὶ γνόφος οὐκ ἔχων φέγγος. » Οὐκοὖν αἰτοῦσιν οἱ ἅγιοι τὸν τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ὁλοτελοῦς βασιλείας ἐπιστῆναι καιρὸν, ἅτε δὴ πεπονηκότων ἃ δεῖ, καὶ τῶν ἤδη προειργασμένων αὐτοῖς ζητοῦντες τὰς ἀμοιβάς. Τεθαῤῥήκασι γὰρ ὅτι λαμπροὶ παραστήσονται τῷ κριτῇ. Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. ῾Αγιοπρεπὲς δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, καὶ παντὸς ἐπαίνου μεστόν. Τὸ γὰρ ἐν γῇ βούλεσθαι κρατεῖν τὸ ἀγαθὸν θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, τί ἂν ἕτερον εἴη, πλὴν ὅτε τὸ πάντας ἐθέλειν ἁπάσης ἀρετῆς ἀποτελεστὰς εἶναι καὶ ἐπιστήμονας; Οὕτω καὶ διαπρέπειν ἐν οὐρανοῖς τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους φαμέν. Γέγραπται γὰρ περὶ αὐτῶν· « Εὐλογεῖτε τὸν Κύριον, πᾶσαι αἱ δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ, λειτουργοὶ αὐτοῦ, ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα αὐτοῦ. ὁ Ἰσχὺν τοίνυν παρακαλοῦσι δοθῆναι τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς οἱ τοῦτο λέγοντες, ἵνα ποιῶσι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν ἄνω καὶ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀπομιμῶνται πολιτείαν, τὴν παρά γέ φημι τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀγγέλοις · ἵνα, ὡς ὁ Παῦλός φησιν, ἐπὶ γῆς περιπατοῦντες, ἔχωσιν ἐν οὐρανῷ τὸ πολίτευμα. Πρὸς δ' αὖ τούτοις φαμὲν, ὅτι τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν ἀναίρεσιν αἰτοῦσιν ἰδεῖν οἱ λέγοντες· « Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. » Θέλημα γὰρ, ὡς ἔφην, τοῦ ἐπὶ πάντας Θεοῦ, τὸ ἁγίως πολιτεύεσθαι τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς·
᾿Agiasthētō to onoma sou. ᾿Ara hagiasmou prosthēkēn engenesthai parakaloumen tǭ panagiǭ Theǭ? Kai mēn touto estin ouk amempton pantelōs. Plērēs gar esti, katha phēsin autos, ex heautou te kai en heautǭ panteleios, kai autos estin ho chorēgōn tę̄ ktisei ton hagiasmon ex idiou plērōmatos. Pros de au toutois, euēthes kai katagelaston to nomizesthai tous proseuchomenous ouch hyper ge mallon heautōn, all᾽ hyper autou poieisthai tas litas. Ti oun ara esti to, • Hagiasthētō to onoma sou? › Phamen, hoti ouch agiasmou prosthēkēn enyparxai parakalousi tǭ epi pantas Theǭ. Tis gar estin ho meizōn autou, kai prosdounai ti dynamenos? Chōris gar pasēs antilogias, to elatton hypo tou kreittonos eulogeitai; ekeino de mallon heautois te kai pasin hyparxai pa-rakalousin. Hote diakeimetha kai pisteuomen hoti Theos ho physei kai epi pantas, hagios hagiōn esti, tote ton - phobon autou labontes eis noun, orthēn te kai anepilēpton epitēdeuomen zōēn; hina houtōs hagioi gego. notes, engys einai dynēthōmen tou hagiou Theou. Gegraptai gar, hoti «῾Agioi esesthe, hoti egō agios eimi. Ephē dē pou kai pros ton hierophantēn Mōÿsea; • En tois engizousi moi hagiasthēsomai. » Oukoun en hēmin, phēsin, hagion estō to onoma sou; touto gar dē to hagiasthētō dēloi. Kai ouch hyper heautōn monon, alla kai hyper pantos tou kosmou, touto parakalousin. Ennoēson gar hoti para tois oupō to tēs alētheias ploutēsasi phōs, mēte mēn tēn pistin paradexamenois, eti katapephronētai to onoma tou Theou. Oupō gar autois agion einai dokei, kai septon kai proskynētōn. Epan de to tēs alētheias autois ellampsę̄ phōs, kai hōs ek nyktos kai skotous diagrēgorēsōsi, molis tote mathontes tis te kai hosos estin, hagion hagiōn homologousin auton. Hoti de touth᾽ houtōs echei, synēseis enteuthen. Ephē tis tōn hagiōn prophētōn • Kyrion auton hagiasate, kai autos esta: soi phoboskai ean ep᾿ autǭ pepoithōs hēs, estai soi eis hagiasmon. » Ara oun hēmeis agion apoteloumen ton Theon, ton ex idiou plērōmatos dianemonta plousiōs tę̄ ktisei ta par' heautou? ᾿Alla dēlon hōs ekeino didaskein phamen auton, hoti ῾Agion einai auton pisteuete; tote gar auton phobēthēsesthe, estai de houtos hymin kai eis hagiasmon. Gegraptai de palin peri Christou; • ᾿Agiasate ton phaulizonta tēn psychēn; ; toutesti, par᾿ ouden autēn hēgēsato; tetheike gar autēn hyper hēmōn. Plēn hagiazesthō, phēsi, par' hymōn, toutestin homologeisthō hagios. Kai gar esti touto kata physin, Theos hōn alēthinos, kai Huios Theou. To gar agion ousiōdōs prepoi an oudeni men tōn ex ouk ontōn eis. to einai parenēnegmenōn, monę̄ de tę̄ anōtatǭ kai hyper panta physei. Hotan oun pisteuōmen hoti kata physin hagios esti, touto gar esti to « hagiazein auton,» tote prosomologoumen hoti kai Theos estin alēthinos, eti de kechōrismenos apo tōn loipōn, kai en hyperochę̄ megistę̄. Elthetō hē basileia sou. ᾿Aei ge mēn basileuontos tou Theou, kai katakratountos holōn, ti dē bouletai to, « Elthetō hē basileia sou?» Eoikasi toinyn epithymein hoi touto legontes en proseuchais, epilampsanta palin idein en kosmǭ ton tōn holōn Sōtēra Christon. "Ēxei gar, ēxei, kai katabēsetai kritēs, kai ouk en hyphesei tote tę̄ kath' hēmas, all' en doxę̄ theoprepei doryphorountōn angelōn, hina krinę̄ ton kosmon. Apologias toinyn ho tote kairos, mallon de dokimasias kai antapodo seōs ; pyr ēutrepistai tois anomois, kai dikē makra, diēnekē kolastēria. Eita pōs idein ekeinon euchontai ton kairon? "Athrei dē moi palin tou Sōtēros to eutechnes, kai tēn eph᾽ hekastǭ tōn pragmatōn axiothaumaston oikonomian. Ekeleuse gar dia proseuchēs aitein auton ekeinon ton ontōs phrikton epistēnai kairon, hina eideien hoti diabioun autous anankaion, ou rhąthymōs ē pareimenōs, hagioprepōs de mallon, kai kata ge to autǭ dokoun; hina stephanōn autois heurethę̄ proxenos ho kairos, kai mē pyros kai dikēs. Tois gar anomois kai bebēlois prepoi an kat᾿ oudena tropon to legein en proseuchais, « Helthetō hē basileia sou. » "Ēgoun istōsan hōs touto legontes, mononouchi kataitiōntai Theon, hoti mē thatton autois ho tou kolazesthai kairos anischei kai phainetai toutois epiphthengetai tis tōn hagiōn prophētōn; « Ouai hoi epithymountes tēn hēmeran Kyriou! Hina ti? hymin hautē hē hēmera tou Kyriou, kai hautē esti skotos kai ou phōs, kai gnophos ouk echōn phengos. » Oukoun aitousin hoi hagioi ton tēs tou Sōtēros hēmōn holotelous basileias epistēnai kairon, hate dē peponēkotōn ha dei, kai tōn ēdē proeirgasmenōn autois zētountes tas amoibas. Tetharrhēkasi gar hoti lamproi parastēsontai tǭ kritę̄. Genēthētō to thelēma sou, hōs en ouranǭ kai epi tēs gēs. ῾Agioprepes de kai touto, kai pantos epainou meston. To gar en gę̄ boulesthai kratein to agathon thelēma tou Theou, ti an heteron eiē, plēn hote to pantas ethelein hapasēs aretēs apotelestas einai kai epistēmonas? Houtō kai diaprepein en ouranois tous hagious angelous phamen. Gegraptai gar peri autōn; « Eulogeite ton Kyrion, pasai hai dynameis autou, leitourgoi autou, poiountes ta thelēmata autou. ho Ischyn toinyn parakalousi dothēnai tois epi gēs hoi touto legontes, hina poiōsi to thelēma tou Theou, kai tēn anō kai en ouranois apomimōntai politeian, tēn para ge phēmi tois hagiois angelois ; hina, hōs ho Paulos phēsin, epi gēs peripatountes, echōsin en ouranǭ to politeuma. Pros d' au toutois phamen, hoti tēs hamartias tēn anairesin aitousin idein hoi legontes; « Genēthētō to thelēma sou, hōs en ouranǭ kai epi tēs gēs. » Thelēma gar, hōs ephēn, tou epi pantas Theou, to hagiōs politeuesthai tous epi tēs gēs;
“Hallowed be your name” (11:2). Do we ask, then, that an addition of holiness come to the all-holy God? But this is not at all blameless. For he is full, as he himself says, all-perfect from himself and in himself, and he is the one who supplies holiness to the creation from his own fullness. And besides, it is silly and ridiculous to think that those who pray make their supplications not rather for themselves but for him. What, then, is “Hallowed be your name”? We say that they do not ask that an addition of holiness be in the God over all. For who is greater than he and able to give him anything? For beyond all dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. Rather, they ask that this be in themselves and in all. When we are disposed and believe that God, who is God by nature and over all, is Holy of holies, then, taking his fear into our minds, we pursue a right and blameless life, so that, having so become holy, we may be able to be near the holy God. For it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And he said somewhere to the hierophant Moses: “I will be hallowed among those who draw near to me.” “So let your name be holy in us,” he means; for this is what “hallowed” signifies. And they ask this not for themselves only but for the whole world. For consider that among those who have not yet been enriched with the light of the truth, nor received the faith, the name of God is still despised. For it does not yet seem to them holy, august and worthy of worship. But when the light of the truth shines on them and they awake as from night and darkness, then at last, having learned who and how great he is, they confess him Holy of holies. That this is so you will understand from this. One of the holy prophets said: “Sanctify him as Lord, and he will be your fear; and if you trust in him, he will be to you for sanctification.” Do we, then, make God holy, who distributes richly to the creation from his own fullness what is his? But clearly we say that he teaches this: “Believe that he is holy; for then you will fear him, and he will be to you for sanctification.” And again it is written of Christ: “Sanctify him who makes light of his life,” that is, who counted it as nothing; for he laid it down for us. “Yet let him be sanctified,” he says, “by you,” that is, let him be confessed holy. For he is so by nature, being true God and Son of God. For holiness by essence would befit none of the things brought from non-being into being, but only the nature that is highest and above all. When, then, we believe that he is holy by nature—for this is to “sanctify him”—then we confess besides that he is true God, and moreover separated from the rest and in the greatest pre-eminence. “Your kingdom come.” Since God always reigns and rules all things, what does “Your kingdom come” mean? Those who say this in their prayers seem, then, to desire to see Christ the Saviour of all shining forth again in the world. For he will come, he will come, and will descend as judge, not then in our lowliness but in glory befitting God, with angels as his escort, to judge the world. The time then will be one of giving account, or rather of testing and recompense; fire has been made ready for the lawless, and a long penalty, perpetual punishments. How, then, do they pray to see that time? See again, I pray, the Saviour’s skill and his admirable economy in each thing. For he commanded them to ask in prayer that that truly fearful time should come, so that they might know that they must live not carelessly or slackly but rather in holiness and according to what pleases him, so that the time may prove for them the procurer of crowns, not of fire and penalty. For to the lawless and profane it would in no way be fitting to say in their prayers, “Your kingdom come.” Or let them know that, in saying this, they all but accuse God of not making the time of their punishment dawn and appear sooner. To them one of the holy prophets cries: “Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness and not light, and gloom without brightness.” So the saints ask that the time of the full reign of our Saviour should come, since they have toiled as they should, and they seek the rewards of what they have already accomplished; for they are confident that they will stand bright before the judge. “Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” This too befits saints and is full of all praise. For to wish the good will of God to prevail on earth, what else would it be but to wish that all should be doers and knowers of all virtue? So we say that the holy angels are distinguished in heaven; for it is written of them: “Bless the Lord, all his powers, his ministers, who do his will.” Those who say this, then, ask that strength be given to those on earth to do the will of God and imitate the way of life above and in heaven—that among the holy angels, I mean—so that, as Paul says, walking on earth they may have their citizenship in heaven. And besides we say that those who say “Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth” ask to see the removal of sin. For the will of the God over all, as I said, is that those on earth should live holily.
Luke 11:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 7:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Lev 11:44 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Pet 1:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · Lev 10:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 8:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 8:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 49:7 (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:11 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 25:31 (allusion, high confidence) · Amos 5:18 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 6:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 103:21 (102:21 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 3:20 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “Hallowed be your name” asks not that God become holier but that we and all the world confess his holiness and become holy; “Your kingdom come” is fitting only for those ready to face Christ’s return in judgment; “Your will be done” asks that men on earth live like the angels and that sin be removed.
- “Sanctify him who makes light of his life” is Isa 49:7 in the Septuagint form, read of Christ.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin word from the parallel column; stray mark): ἀληθινὸς,"ctum, ἔτι → ἀληθινὸς, ἔτι; ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ ) καὶ → ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ.
Topics: Prayer, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 11.2.2 (PG 72 72:687; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-2-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-2-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Commentary 11
11.3PG 72 72:691
ἵνα τῆς τῶν πρωτοτόκων Ἐκκλησίας, τῆς ἄνω φημὶ, μίμημα καὶ εἰκὼν ὥσπερ τις, ἡ ἐπὶ γῆς ὁρωμένη, κατευφραίνῃ Χριστόν. Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δίδου ἡμῖν τὸ καθ' ἡμέραν. Οἴονται δὲ ἴσως τινὲς, ἀνάρμοστον εἶναι καὶ ἀπεοικὸς ἁγίοις τὸ αἰτεῖν παρὰ Θεοῦ τὰ σωματικά, καὶ ταύτης ἕνεκα τῆς αἰτίας ἀποφέρουσι τὸ εἰρημένον εἰς πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν· καὶ δὴ καὶ ἄρτον φασὶν αὐτοὺς αἰτεῖν, οὐκ ἐπίγειον, οὐ σωματικὸν, ἐκεῖνον δὲ μᾶλλον, τὸν ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνοντα, καὶ ζωὴν τῷ κόσμῳ παρέχοντα, ἢ, ὥς φασιν, ἀληθεῖ οὐσίᾳ καὶ ἀσωμάτῳ, τουτέστι τῇ ψυχῇ· αὕτη γὰρ, διὰ τὸ μὴ ῥευστὸν, κυρίως οὐσία ἐστίν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ὅτι μὲν ἁγίοις πρέποι ἂν ὅτι μάλιστα τὸ πνευματικῶν χαρισμάτων ἐπείγεσθαι μεταλαχεῖν, φαίην ἂν ἐνδοιάσας οὐδέν · πλὴν ἐκεῖνο ἄξιον ἰδεῖν, ὅτι κἂν ἄρτον αἰτῶσι κοινὸν, καὶ τοῦτο δρᾶν αὐτοῖς προστέταχεν ὁ Σωτήρ, μώμου παντὸς ἐλευθέραν ποιοῦνται τὴν πρόσοδον. ῎Αθρει γὰρ ὁποῖος τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐγκέκρυπται νοῦς. Δι' ὧν γὰρ προστέταχεν ἄρτον αἰτεῖν, ἤτοι τροφὴν τὴν ἐφήμερον, δῆλος ἂν εἴη δήπουθεν, μηδὲν ἔχειν αὐτοῖς ἐφιεὶς, ἁγιοπρεπῆ δὲ μᾶλλον ἐπιτηδεύειν πτωχείαν. Οὐ γὰρ τῶν ἐχόντων τὸ αἰτεῖν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐν σπάνει καθεστηκότων. Ἐπ᾿ ἂν δὲ τις οὐδενὸς ἐν χρείᾳ καθεστηκώς, Θεῷ τῷ πάντα εἰδότι λέγει · Δὸς ἄρτον ἡμῖν τὸν ἐφήμερον, δόξειεν ἂν εἰρωνεύεσθαι μᾶλλον, ἢ γοῦν ἀληθῶς βούλεσθαι λαβεῖν. Ἄρτον δὲ τὸν ἐπιούσιον οἱ μὲν εἶναί φασι τὸν ἥξοντά τε καὶ δοθησόμενον κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τὸν μέλλοντα, ἵνα νοῆται πάλιν πνευματικῶς · οἱ δὲ καὶ εἰς ἑτέρας ἐννοίας ἀποφέρουσι τὴν φωνήν. ᾿Αλλ' εἴπερ ἦν ἀληθὲς ὡς ἄρτου, τοῦ δοθησομένου κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τὸν μέλλοντα μνήμην ποιοῦνται προσευχόμενοι, διὰ τί προσεπάγουσι τὸ, « Δίδου ἡμῖν τὸ καθ' ἡμέραν; › Ἔστι γὰρ ἔτι διὰ τούτων ἰδεῖν, ὅτι τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς ποιοῦνται τὴν αἴτησιν, ὡς ἀκτήμονες δηλονότι. Ἐπιούσιον. δὲ τὸν αὐτάρκη κρεῖσθαι χρή· τέθεικέ που τὴν λέξιν καὶ ὁ μακάριος ᾿Απόστολος, βραχὺ παραλλάξας, ἐπὶ τοῦ πάντων ἡμῶν Σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ· ἔφη γὰρ αὐτὸν ἑαυτῷ κατασκευάσαι λαὸν περιούσιον, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐπιουσίου τὸν περιούσιον εἰπὼν, τουτέστι, τὸν ἀρ κοῦντα, καὶ τοῦ τελείως ἔχειν οὐχ ἡττώμενον. Καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, κ. τ. λ.
hina tēs tōn prōtotokōn Ekklēsias, tēs anō phēmi, mimēma kai eikōn hōsper tis, hē epi gēs horōmenē, kateuphrainę̄ Christon. Ton arton hēmōn ton epiousion didou hēmin to kath' hēmeran. Oiontai de isōs tines, anarmoston einai kai apeoikos hagiois to aitein para Theou ta sōmatika, kai tautēs heneka tēs aitias apopherousi to eirēmenon eis pneumatikēn theōrian; kai dē kai arton phasin autous aitein, ouk epigeion, ou sōmatikon, ekeinon de mallon, ton anōthen kai ex ouranou katabainonta, kai zōēn tǭ kosmǭ parechonta, ē, hōs phasin, alēthei ousią kai asōmatǭ, toutesti tę̄ psychę̄; hautē gar, dia to mē rheuston, kyriōs ousia estin. Egō de hoti men hagiois prepoi an hoti malista to pneumatikōn charismatōn epeigesthai metalachein, phaiēn an endoiasas ouden ; plēn ekeino axion idein, hoti kan arton aitōsi koinon, kai touto dran autois prostetachen ho Sōtēr, mōmou pantos eleutheran poiountai tēn prosodon. ᾿Athrei gar hopoios tois eirēmenois enkekryptai nous. Di' hōn gar prostetachen arton aitein, ētoi trophēn tēn ephēmeron, dēlos an eiē dēpouthen, mēden echein autois ephieis, hagioprepē de mallon epitēdeuein ptōcheian. Ou gar tōn echontōn to aitein, alla tōn en spanei kathestēkotōn. Ep᾿ an de tis oudenos en chreią kathestēkōs, Theǭ tǭ panta eidoti legei ; Dos arton hēmin ton ephēmeron, doxeien an eirōneuesthai mallon, ē goun alēthōs boulesthai labein. Arton de ton epiousion hoi men einai phasi ton hēxonta te kai dothēsomenon kata ton aiōna ton mellonta, hina noētai palin pneumatikōs ; hoi de kai eis heteras ennoias apopherousi tēn phōnēn. ᾿All' eiper ēn alēthes hōs artou, tou dothēsomenou kata ton aiōna ton mellonta mnēmēn poiountai proseuchomenoi, dia ti prosepagousi to, « Didou hēmin to kath' hēmeran? › Esti gar eti dia toutōn idein, hoti tēs ephēmerou trophēs poiountai tēn aitēsin, hōs aktēmones dēlonoti. Epiousion. de ton autarkē kreisthai chrē; tetheike pou tēn lexin kai ho makarios ᾿Apostolos, brachy parallaxas, epi tou pantōn hēmōn Sōtēros Christou; ephē gar auton heautǭ kataskeuasai laon periousion, anti tou epiousiou ton periousion eipōn, toutesti, ton ar kounta, kai tou teleiōs echein ouch hēttōmenon. Kai aphes hēmin tas hamartias hēmōn, k. t. l.
so that the Church seen on earth, as an imitation and image of the Church of the firstborn, the one above, I mean, may gladden Christ. “Give us each day our daily bread” (11:3). Some perhaps think it unfitting and unbecoming for saints to ask bodily things of God, and for this reason they carry the saying over to a spiritual sense; and indeed they say that they ask for bread—not earthly, not bodily, but rather that which comes down from above and from heaven and gives life to the world, or, as they say, for the true and incorporeal substance, that is, the soul; for this, because it is not in flux, is properly a substance. For my part, I would say without any hesitation that it would most befit saints to be eager to share in spiritual gifts; yet this is worth seeing: even if they ask for common bread, and the Saviour commanded them to do this, they make their approach free of all blame. For see what sense lies hidden in what was said. By commanding them to ask for bread, that is, the food for the day, he would surely be evident as permitting them to have nothing, but rather to practise a poverty befitting saints. For to ask belongs not to those who have, but to those who are in want. If someone in need of nothing says to God, who knows all things, “Give us bread for the day,” he would seem to be speaking ironically rather than truly wishing to receive. Some say that the “daily” bread is the bread that is to come and be given in the age to come, so that it is again understood spiritually; and others carry the word over to other meanings. But if it were true that they make mention, in their prayers, of the bread to be given in the age to come, why do they add “Give us each day”? For through this too one can see that they ask for the food of the day, as men without possessions, clearly. “Daily” (ἐπιούσιος) must be taken as meaning “sufficient.” The blessed Apostle too used the word somewhere, with a slight change, of Christ the Saviour of us all; for he said that he prepared for himself a people “for his possession” (περιούσιος), saying περιούσιος instead of ἐπιούσιος, that is, one that is sufficient and falls short in nothing of being complete. “And forgive us our sins,” and so on (11:4).
Heb 12:23 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 11:3 (quotation, high confidence) · John 6:33 (allusion, high confidence) · Titus 2:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 11:4 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Though some read the “daily bread” spiritually, Christ meant real bread for the day, teaching his disciples a holy poverty that asks only for sufficiency; ἐπιούσιος means “sufficient.”
- The opening clause ends the comment on “your will be done on earth” from the previous fragment.
- The view that the bread is the soul as “true substance” plays on οὐσία in ἐπιούσιος; Cyril does not name its holders.
- Cyril compares ἐπιούσιος with περιούσιος in Titus 2:14. A stray repetition of the word ἐπιούσιον is removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray marginal word; stray mark; words joined by OCR): ἢ, ὦ; φασιν → ἢ, ὥς φασιν; οἰδὲ καὶ → οἱ δὲ καὶ; ὁ μακάριος & ᾿Απόστολος → ὁ μακάριος ᾿Απόστολος; οὐχ ἡττώμενον. ἐπιούσιον Καὶ → οὐχ ἡττώμενον. Καὶ.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 11.3 (PG 72 72:691; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam-11-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
11.4PG 72 72:693
Βούλεται χρηστοὺς καὶ ἀμνησικάκους εἶναι τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ μαθητὰς ὁ Κύριος· ὡς ἀνεπιπλήκτως δύνασθαι λέγειν ἐν προσευχαῖς· "Αφες ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἀφήκαμεν. « "Ω βάθος πλούτου καὶ σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως!» Πρῶτον αἰτεῖν ἐπιτάττει τῶν αὐτοῖς ἡμαρτημένων τὴν ἄφεσιν, εἶθ' οὕτως ὁμολογεῖν ὅτι πάντη τε καὶ πάντως ἀφήσουσι καὶ αὐτοί· καὶ ἵνα οὕτως εἴπω, τῆς ἐνούσης αὐτοῖς ἀνεξικακίας μιμητὴν ἐθέλουσι γενέσθαι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἣν ἂν αὐτοὶ παράσχωνται τοῖς ὁμοδούλοις χρηστότητα, ταύτην ἐν ἴσῳ μέτρῳ ζητοῦσι λαβεῖν παρὰ τοῦ τὰ δίκαια νέμοντος, καὶ κατοικτείρειν ἅπαντας εἰδότος Θεοῦ. Καὶ μή τις οἰέσθω τοῖς τυχοῦσιν ἁπλῶς ἐξεῖναι λέγειν· «῞Αφες ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν.» Οὐ γὰρ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν τῷ πλημμελεῖν ἔτι πρέποι ἂν λέγειν τὸ, : Ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν·· ἐκείνοις μᾶλλον οἴπερ ἂν εἶεν ἀποφοιτήσαντες μὲν τῶν ἤδη προεπταισμένων, ἀντεχόμενοι δὲ τοῦ διαζῇν λοιπὸν ἐθέλειν ἁγιοπρεπῶς. Δεῖ τοίνυν αἰτεῖν παρὰ Θεοῦ τῶν ἡμαρτημένων τὴν ἄφεσιν, προαφέντας ἡμᾶς τοῖς κατὰ τι γοῦν προσκεκρουκόσιν, ὅταν εἰς ἡμᾶς καὶ μὴ εἰς αὐτὴν τὴν θείαν καὶ ὑπερτάτην ἁμαρτάνωσι δόξαν· οὐ γὰρ ἐκείνων ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν κύριοι, μόνον δὲ τῶν εἰς ἡμᾶς γεγονότων. Καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν. Μέχρι μὲν τούτου τὴν προσευχὴν ἴστησιν ὁ Λουκᾶς· ὁ δὲ γε Ματθαῖος εὑρίσκεται προσεπενεγκών· « ᾿Αλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ. » Ἔνεστι δὲ τοῖς λόγοις πλείστη τις ἀκολουθία· ἔψέται. γὰρ πάντως τῷ μὴ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς πειρασμὸν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ῥυσθῆναι ἡμᾶς. Ἡ τάχα που, ταὐτὸν εἶναί τις εἰπὼν τὸ ῥυσθῆναι τῷ μὴ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς πειρασμὸν, οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι τἀληθοῦς. Οὐκ ἀνάνδρους δὲ ἡμᾶς οὔτε δειλοὺς εἶναι βούλεται, ταῦτα διδάσκων λέγειν, νεανικοὺς δὲ μᾶλλον, καὶ ἐφ᾽ ἅπασιν εὐτόλω μους τοῖς ἐπαινουμένοις· πρὸς δὲ αὖ τούτοις καὶ μετριόφρονας καὶ πτωχοὺς τῷ πνεύματι, καὶ μὴ νομίζειν ὅτι πάντη τε καὶ πάντως παντὸς περιεσό μεθα πειρασμοῦ. Ἀφόρητον γὰρ ἔσθ' ὅτε κατεμ πίπτει δέος τῆς ἀνθρώπου ψυχῆς, καὶ εὐτολμότατον συνθραύει φρόνημα τοῦ πειρασμοῦ τὸ βάρος. Χρὴ τοίνυν μὴ καταθρασύνεσθαι πειρασμῶν, διαλογίζε σθαι δὲ μᾶλλον τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν διανοίας τὸ ἀσθενές. Οὐκοῦν παραιτώμεθα μὲν τὸ πειράζεσθαι · καιροῦ δὲ καλοῦντος ὡς ἐξ ἀνάγκης εἰς τοῦτο, τότε δὴ, τότε παντὶ σθένει χρωμένους ἀγωνίζεσθαι χρή. Διττὸν δὲ τὸ εἶδος τῶν πειρασμῶν· ἢ γάρ τις ὑπὸ τῶν ἑτεροφρόνων πειράζεται, ἢ ὑπὸ τῶν τῆς ἀτιμίας παθῶν. Δεῖ δὴ οὖν ἄρα τοῖς οὕτω δεινοῖς ἐνομιλοῦντας κακοῖς, ἤγουν οὔπω γεγονότας ἐν αὐτοῖς, προσεύχεσθαί τε καὶ λέγειν · · Μὴ εἰσαγάγῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν. » Ἐπιπηδήσαντος δὲ πειρασμοῦ, τότε γενναίως ἴστασο, ἐπιτίμησον τῇ σαρκὶ, χαλινὸν ἐπίθες τῷ νῷ, αἴτησον ἑπικουρίαν τὴν παρὰ Θεοῦ. Ἐπικουρήσει γὰρ τότε καὶ παρέξει τὸ νικᾶν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Σωτήρ καὶ Κύριος Καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτούς· Τίς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἔξει φίλον; κ. τ. λ.
Bouletai chrēstous kai amnēsikakous einai tous heautou mathētas ho Kyrios; hōs anepiplēktōs dynasthai legein en proseuchais; "Aphes hēmin, hoti aphēkamen. « "Ō bathos ploutou kai sophias kai gnōseōs!» Prōton aitein epitattei tōn autois hēmartēmenōn tēn aphesin, eith' houtōs homologein hoti pantē te kai pantōs aphēsousi kai autoi; kai hina houtōs eipō, tēs enousēs autois anexikakias mimētēn ethelousi genesthai ton Theon, kai hēn an autoi paraschōntai tois homodoulois chrēstotēta, tautēn en isǭ metrǭ zētousi labein para tou ta dikaia nemontos, kai katoikteirein hapantas eidotos Theou. Kai mē tis oiesthō tois tychousin haplōs exeinai legein; «῾Aphes hēmin tas hamartias hēmōn.» Ou gar tois ousin en tǭ plēmmelein eti prepoi an legein to, : Aphes hēmin tas hamartias hēmōn;; ekeinois mallon oiper an eien apophoitēsantes men tōn ēdē proeptaismenōn, antechomenoi de tou diazę̄n loipon ethelein hagioprepōs. Dei toinyn aitein para Theou tōn hēmartēmenōn tēn aphesin, proaphentas hēmas tois kata ti goun proskekroukosin, hotan eis hēmas kai mē eis autēn tēn theian kai hypertatēn hamartanōsi doxan; ou gar ekeinōn hēmeis esmen kyrioi, monon de tōn eis hēmas gegonotōn. Kai mē eisenenkę̄s hēmas eis peirasmon. Mechri men toutou tēn proseuchēn istēsin ho Loukas; ho de ge Matthaios heurisketai prosepenenkōn; « ᾿Alla rhysai hēmas apo tou ponērou. » Enesti de tois logois pleistē tis akolouthia; epsetai. gar pantōs tǭ mē eiselthein eis peirasmon, to ek tou ponērou rhysthēnai hēmas. Hē tacha pou, tauton einai tis eipōn to rhysthēnai tǭ mē eiselthein eis peirasmon, ouk an hamartoi talēthous. Ouk anandrous de hēmas oute deilous einai bouletai, tauta didaskōn legein, neanikous de mallon, kai eph᾽ hapasin eutolō mous tois epainoumenois; pros de au toutois kai metriophronas kai ptōchous tǭ pneumati, kai mē nomizein hoti pantē te kai pantōs pantos perieso metha peirasmou. Aphorēton gar esth' hote katem piptei deos tēs anthrōpou psychēs, kai eutolmotaton synthrauei phronēma tou peirasmou to baros. Chrē toinyn mē katathrasynesthai peirasmōn, dialogize sthai de mallon tēs en hēmin dianoias to asthenes. Oukoun paraitōmetha men to peirazesthai ; kairou de kalountos hōs ex anankēs eis touto, tote dē, tote panti sthenei chrōmenous agōnizesthai chrē. Ditton de to eidos tōn peirasmōn; ē gar tis hypo tōn heterophronōn peirazetai, ē hypo tōn tēs atimias pathōn. Dei dē oun ara tois houtō deinois enomilountas kakois, ēgoun oupō gegonotas en autois, proseuchesthai te kai legein ; ; Mē eisagagę̄s hēmas eis peirasmon. » Epipēdēsantos de peirasmou, tote gennaiōs istaso, epitimēson tę̄ sarki, chalinon epithes tǭ nǭ, aitēson hepikourian tēn para Theou. Epikourēsei gar tote kai parexei to nikan ho tōn holōn Sōtēr kai Kyrios Kai eipe pros autous; Tis ex hymōn exei philon? k. t. l.
The Lord wishes his disciples to be kind and forgiving, so that they can say in their prayers without reproach, “Forgive us, for we have forgiven.” “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge!” He bids them first ask forgiveness of their sins, and then confess that they too will in every way forgive; and, so to speak, they wish God to become an imitator of the forbearance in them, and the kindness they show their fellow servants they seek to receive in equal measure from God, who distributes what is just and knows how to have pity on all. And let no one think that just anyone may say, “Forgive us our sins.” For it would not befit those still sinning to say “Forgive us our sins,” but rather those who have withdrawn from their former stumblings and hold fast to the will to live henceforth as befits saints. We must, then, ask God for forgiveness of our sins, having first forgiven those who have offended us in anything—when they sin against us and not against the divine and supreme glory itself; for we are not lords of those offences, but only of those committed against us. “And do not lead us into temptation.” Luke stops the prayer here; but Matthew is found adding, “But deliver us from the evil one.” There is a very close sequence in the words; for being delivered from the evil one certainly follows from not entering into temptation. Or perhaps one who said that being delivered is the same as not entering into temptation would not miss the truth. In teaching us to say this he does not wish us to be unmanly or cowardly, but rather vigorous and bold in all that is praiseworthy, and besides, modest and poor in spirit, not thinking that we shall in every way overcome every temptation. For sometimes an unbearable fear falls upon the human soul, and the weight of temptation shatters the boldest mind. We must not, then, be rash toward temptations, but rather reckon the weakness of our mind. Let us, then, ask not to be tempted; but when the time calls us to it as of necessity, then, then indeed, we must struggle with all our strength. Temptations are of two kinds: one is tempted either by those of other beliefs or by the dishonourable passions. Those who live amid such terrible evils, or who are not yet in them, must pray and say, “Do not lead us into temptation.” But when temptation has leapt upon you, then stand nobly: rebuke the flesh, put a bridle on the mind, ask for help from God. For then the Saviour and Lord of all will help and grant victory. “And he said to them: Which of you will have a friend?” and so on (11:5).
Luke 11:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 6:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 5:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 11:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We may ask forgiveness only having forgiven others and turned from sin; “lead us not into temptation” teaches humility about our weakness, yet when temptation from heretics or passions comes we must fight with God’s help.
- A stray duplicate word with a bracket is removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (duplicate word and bracket; stray mark): μιμητὴν μιμητὰς] → μιμητὴν; προσεύχεσθαί τε & καὶ → προσεύχεσθαί τε καὶ.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 11.4 (PG 72 72:693; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-4
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam-11-4) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
11.5PG 72 72:695
Θαυμαστὴ τῶν ἐννοιῶν ἡ τάξις. Ἐδίδαξε μὲν γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ, τίνα δεῖ προσεύχεσθαι τρόπον, αἰτησάντων τοῦτο τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων. ᾿Αλλ' εἰκὸς τοὺς τὸ σεπτὸν δὴ τοῦτο καὶ σωτήριον ἐσχηκότας μάθημα παρ' αὐτοῦ, ποιεῖσθαι μὲν τὰς λιτὰς κατὰ τὸν δοθέντα τύπον, μὴ ἁψικόρως δὲ τοῦτο δρᾶν μηδὲ ῥᾳθύμω; · εἶτα μὴ ἀκουσθέντας ἐκ πρώτης εὐχῆς, ἤγουν καὶ δευτέρας, ἀνακόψαι τὰς ἱκετείας, ὡς οὐδὲν ἐχούσας τὸ τελοῦν εἰς ὄνησιν. Ἵνα τοίνυν μὴ τοῦτο πάθοιμεν, μήτε μὴν ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης μικροψυχίας ὑποστῶμεν ζημίαν, ἐν τρόπῳ παραβολῆς διαδείκνοσιν ἐναργῶς, ὡς τὸ ῥᾴθυμον μὲν εἰς προσευχὰς ἐπιζήμιον, ἐπωφελεστάτη δὲ λίαν ἡ ἔν γε τούτοις ὑπομονή. Φέρε δή, μεταστήσωμεν τὸ ὡς ἐν τύπῳ παραβολῆς δεικνύμενον εἰς ἀλήθειαν. Ὄχλησον διὰ προσευχῆς, πρόσιθι τῷ φιλαγάθῳ Θεῷ, καὶ μάλα συχνῶς· κἂν ἴδῃς μέλλουσαν τῆς χάριτος τὴν ἐπίδοσιν, μὴ ἀπογνῶς τῶν προσδοκωμένων, μήτε ἀπολισθήσῃς τῆς προκειμένης ἐλπίδος, ἐκεῖνο ίσως λέγων καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἀσυνέτως· Προσῆλθον πολλάκις, δεδάκρυκα, ἐδεήθην, καὶ οὐ προσεδέχθην· οὐ γὰρ ἐκβέβηκε τι πρὸς πέρας, τῶν αἰτηθέντων παρ' ἐμοῦ. Ἐκεῖνο δὲ μᾶλλον ἐννοήσεις κατὰ σαυτόν - Ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς οἶδε τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς ὁ τῶν ὅλων ταμίας αἰτεῖς ἔσθ᾽ ὅτε τὰ τῶν σῶν ἐπέκεινα μέτρων· οἶδεν αὐτὸς ὁ διδοὺς τὸν ταῖς φιλοτιμίαις πρέποντα καιρόν. Χρὴ τοιγαροῦν ἡμᾶς ἐμφρόνως τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἐντόνως τὰς πρὸς Θεὸν ποιεῖσθαι λιτὰς, κἂν εἰ γένοιτό τις τῶν αἰτημάτων ἀνάκλησις. Τὸ γὰρ ἀνιδρωτὶ πορισθὲν καὶ ἐξ ἑτοίμου ληφθὲν, καταφρονεῖσθαι φιλεῖ. Λέγω ὑμῖν, εἰ καὶ οὐ δώσει αὐτῷ ἀναστὰς, κ. τ. λ. Ἐνταῦθα τὸ, λέγω ὑμῖν, ὄρκου δύναμιν ἀποπληροῖ. Οὐ ψεύδεται δὲ Θεὸς, κἂν ὅρκου δίχα γένηται τὸ ἐπηγγελμένον· ἀπροφάσιστον δὲ ἀποφαίνων τὴν ἡμῶν ὀλιγοπιστίαν, ἔσθ᾽ ὅτε ὅρκῳ βεβαιοῖ τοὺς ἀκροωμένους. Τὸ δὲ ζητεῖτε λέγων, τὸ πονεῖν ἐπιτάττει· πόνῳ γὰρ ἀεί πως εὑρίσκεται τὸ ζητούμενον. Ὁ κρούων τῇ χειρὶ προσαράττει τὴν θύραν, ἵνα τὴν τῶν κρουσμάτων ὄχλησιν οὐκ ἐνεγκὼν ὁ τῆς ἑστίας δεσπότης ἀνοίξῃ, καὶ οὐχ ἑκών. Μάθε τοίνυν ἐκ τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς πραγμάτων τοῦ χρησίμου τὴν θήραν· κροῦσον, ὄχλησον, αἴτησον· τοιούτους εἶναι χρὴ τοὺς αἰτοῦντάς τι παρὰ Θεοῦ. Ἐμφρόνως οὖν καὶ εὐτόνως εὔχεσθαι χρή. Κἂν ἀναβολή τις τῶν αἰτημάτων γένηται, μὴ ναρκᾶν μηδὲ ἀφίστασθαι. Γράφει γοῦν ὁ σοφώτατος Παῦλος· « ᾿Αδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε. » Θορυβεῖ μὲν γὰρ ὁ διάβολος οὐ μετρίως, ἀδοκήτοις ἔσθ' ὅτε περιστάσεσιν ἐνιεὶς, καὶ καταφέρων εἰς πολύτροπον ἁμαρτίαν. Εἶτα πρὸς τούτῳ, τῆς ἐμφύτου φιληδονίας ὁ νόμος, ἐμφωλεύει τοῖς μέλεσι τῆς σαρκὸς, ἀντιστρατευόμενος τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοὸς ἡμῶν, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. Ναὶ μὴν, καὶ οἱ τοῖς τῆς ἀληθείας πολεμοῦντες δόγμασιν αἱρετικοί. Χρεία τοίνυν συχνῆς καὶ ἀλλεπαλλήλου προσευχῆς. Τὰ γὰρ ὅπλα ἡμῶν οὐ σαρκικά, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, ἀλλὰ δυνατὰ τῷ Θεῷ. Τίνα δὲ ὑμῶν τὸν πατέρα αἰτήσει ὁ υἱὸς ἄρτον, μὴ λίθον ἐπιδώσει αὐτῷ;
Thaumastē tōn ennoiōn hē taxis. Edidaxe men gar ho Sōtēr, tina dei proseuchesthai tropon, aitēsantōn touto tōn hagiōn apostolōn. ᾿All' eikos tous to septon dē touto kai sōtērion eschēkotas mathēma par' autou, poieisthai men tas litas kata ton dothenta typon, mē hapsikorōs de touto dran mēde rhąthymō? ; eita mē akousthentas ek prōtēs euchēs, ēgoun kai deuteras, anakopsai tas hiketeias, hōs ouden echousas to teloun eis onēsin. Hina toinyn mē touto pathoimen, mēte mēn ek tēs toiautēs mikropsychias hypostōmen zēmian, en tropǭ parabolēs diadeiknosin enargōs, hōs to rhąthymon men eis proseuchas epizēmion, epōphelestatē de lian hē en ge toutois hypomonē. Phere dē, metastēsōmen to hōs en typǭ parabolēs deiknymenon eis alētheian. Ochlēson dia proseuchēs, prosithi tǭ philagathǭ Theǭ, kai mala sychnōs; kan idę̄s mellousan tēs charitos tēn epidosin, mē apognōs tōn prosdokōmenōn, mēte apolisthēsę̄s tēs prokeimenēs elpidos, ekeino isōs legōn kath' heauton asynetōs; Prosēlthon pollakis, dedakryka, edeēthēn, kai ou prosedechthēn; ou gar ekbebēke ti pros peras, tōn aitēthentōn par' emou. Ekeino de mallon ennoēseis kata sauton - Hyper hēmas oide ta kath' hēmas ho tōn holōn tamias aiteis esth᾽ hote ta tōn sōn epekeina metrōn; oiden autos ho didous ton tais philotimiais preponta kairon. Chrē toigaroun hēmas emphronōs te homou kai entonōs tas pros Theon poieisthai litas, kan ei genoito tis tōn aitēmatōn anaklēsis. To gar anidrōti poristhen kai ex hetoimou lēphthen, kataphroneisthai philei. Legō hymin, ei kai ou dōsei autǭ anastas, k. t. l. Entautha to, legō hymin, orkou dynamin apoplēroi. Ou pseudetai de Theos, kan horkou dicha genētai to epēngelmenon; aprophasiston de apophainōn tēn hēmōn oligopistian, esth᾽ hote horkǭ bebaioi tous akroōmenous. To de zēteite legōn, to ponein epitattei; ponǭ gar aei pōs heurisketai to zētoumenon. Ho krouōn tę̄ cheiri prosarattei tēn thyran, hina tēn tōn krousmatōn ochlēsin ouk enenkōn ho tēs hestias despotēs anoixę̄, kai ouch hekōn. Mathe toinyn ek tōn kath᾽ hēmas pragmatōn tou chrēsimou tēn thēran; krouson, ochlēson, aitēson; toioutous einai chrē tous aitountas ti para Theou. Emphronōs oun kai eutonōs euchesthai chrē. Kan anabolē tis tōn aitēmatōn genētai, mē narkan mēde aphistasthai. Graphei goun ho sophōtatos Paulos; « ᾿Adialeiptōs proseuchesthe. » Thorybei men gar ho diabolos ou metriōs, adokētois esth' hote peristasesin enieis, kai katapherōn eis polytropon hamartian. Eita pros toutǭ, tēs emphytou philēdonias ho nomos, emphōleuei tois melesi tēs sarkos, antistrateuomenos tǭ nomǭ tou noos hēmōn, kata to gegrammenon. Nai mēn, kai hoi tois tēs alētheias polemountes dogmasin hairetikoi. Chreia toinyn sychnēs kai allepallēlou proseuchēs. Ta gar hopla hēmōn ou sarkika, kata to gegrammenon, alla dynata tǭ Theǭ. Tina de hymōn ton patera aitēsei ho huios arton, mē lithon epidōsei autǭ?
The order of the thoughts is wonderful. The Saviour taught how one must pray, when the holy apostles asked this. But it was likely that those who had received this august and saving lesson from him would make their supplications according to the pattern given, yet not do so tirelessly or carefully, and then, not being heard at the first prayer, or the second, would break off their supplications as accomplishing nothing useful. So that we may not suffer this, nor incur loss from such faint-heartedness, he shows plainly by way of a parable that carelessness in prayer is harmful, while perseverance in it is most profitable. Come, then, let us carry over what is shown in the form of a parable into the truth. Trouble God with prayer, approach God who loves the good, and very often; and if you see the granting of grace delayed, do not despair of what you expect, nor slip from the hope set before you, perhaps saying foolishly to yourself: “I have come often, I have wept, I have entreated, and I have not been heard; for nothing I asked has come to fulfilment.” Rather, think this to yourself: The steward of all knows our affairs better than we; you sometimes ask for things beyond your measure; the giver himself knows the time fitting for his bounties. We must, then, make our supplications to God both sensibly and intently, even if some of our requests are refused. For what is obtained without sweat and received from what is ready to hand is usually despised. “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him,” and so on (11:8). Here “I tell you” has the force of an oath. God does not lie, even if what is promised comes without an oath; but to leave our little faith no excuse, he sometimes confirms his hearers with an oath. By saying “seek” he commands toil; for what is sought is always somehow found by toil. He who knocks beats on the door with his hand, so that the master of the house, unable to bear the trouble of the knocking, may open, even unwillingly. Learn, then, from our own affairs how to hunt for what is useful: knock, trouble, ask; such must those be who ask anything of God. We must pray sensibly and vigorously, then; and if some delay of our requests occurs, we must not grow numb nor desist. The most wise Paul writes, then: “Pray without ceasing.” For the devil troubles us not a little, sometimes bringing in unexpected circumstances and dragging us down into sin of many kinds. Besides this, the law of innate love of pleasure lurks in the members of the flesh, warring against the law of our mind, as it is written. Yes, and the heretics who war against the doctrines of the truth. There is need, then, of frequent and repeated prayer. For our weapons are not fleshly, as it is written, but powerful for God. “What father among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?” (11:11).
Luke 11:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 11:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 11:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 11:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Thess 5:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 7:23 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 10:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 11:11 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The parable of the friend at midnight teaches persevering prayer: God may delay because he knows what and when to give, and what is won without effort is despised; against the devil, our passions and heretics we must pray unceasingly.
- A displaced line of the scan (“to be despised”) is restored by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; displaced OCR line restored to its place): Τὸ γὰρ νεῖσθαι φιλεῖ. ἀνιδρωτὶ πορισθὲν καὶ ἐξ ἑτοίμου ληφθὲν, καταφροΛέγω ὑμῖν → Τὸ γὰρ ἀνιδρωτὶ πορισθὲν καὶ ἐξ ἑτοίμου ληφθὲν, καταφρονεῖσθαι φιλεῖ. Λέγω ὑμῖν; τῆς ἐστία; δεσπότης → τῆς ἑστίας δεσπότης.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 11.5 (PG 72 72:695; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-5
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam-11-5) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
11.11PG 72 72:697
Διδάσκει πάλιν ἡμᾶς ὁ Σωτὴρ ἕτερόν τι τῶν ἀναγκαίων εἰς ὄνησιν. Πρόσιμεν γὰρ ἔσθ᾽ ὅτε τῷ φιλαγάθῳ Θεῷ, τὰς λιτὰς ποιούμενοι, τὰς ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ πράγματι κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστῳ δοκοῦν· ἀλλ᾽ οὐ διακρίνοντες ἔσθ᾽ ὅτε, ἢ βασανίζοντες, τί μὲν ἐστι τὸ ἀληθῶς συμφέρον, καὶ ὅπερ ὀνίνησι δοθὲν παρὰ Θεοῦ· τἱ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἀδικοῦν, εἰ λάβοιμεν· ἀκατασκέπτοις δὲ μᾶλλον θελημάτων ὁρμαῖς, ἐμπίπτομεν εἰς ἐπιθυμίας ὀλέθρου μεστάς. Ὅταν οὖν τι τοιοῦτον αἰτῶμεν παρὰ Θεοῦ, ληψόμεθα μὲν οὐδαμῶς, γέλωτος δὲ μᾶλλον ἀξίαν ποιούμεθα τὴν λιτήν· καὶ ποία τίς ἐστιν ἡ τούτου πρόφασις, παρ' αὐτοῦ μάθωμεν. Τἰς ἔσται ἐξ ὑμῶν ἄνθρωπος, ὃν αἰτήσει ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἄρτον, μὴ λίθον ἐπιδώσει αὐτῷ; Ὡς ἐξ εἰκόνος, φησὶ, ἤτοι παραδείγματος ἐναργοῦς, ἐκ τῶν καθ᾽ ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς, τὴν τῶν παρ' ἐμοῦ λεγομένων δύναμιν ἐννοήσατε. Πατὴρ γέγονας τέκνων, διὰ τρόπου παντὸς ἐκ πολλῆς ἄγαν φιλοστοργίας ὠφελεῖν ἐθέλεις αὐτά. Ὅταν τοίνυν ἄρτον αἰτήσῃ, ἀμελητὶ καὶ χαίρων προσάγεις, εὖ εἰδὼς ὅτι τροφῆς μεταποιεῖται τῆς ἐπωφελοῦς. Ὅταν δὲ διὰ φρενῶν ἔνδειαν τὸ βραχὺ παιδίον, οὕπω διακρίνειν εἰδὸς τὰ ὁρώμενα, αἰτήσῃ λίθον ἵνα φάγῃ, δίδως ἆρα, φησὶν, ἢ μᾶλλον ἀποφέρεις αὐτὸ τῆς εἰς τοῦτο βλαβερᾶς ἐπιθυμίας; Ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς ἔστω λόγος ἐπί τε ὄφεως καὶ ἰχθύος, ὠοῦ καὶ σκορπίου. Ὅτε τοίνυν, φησὶν, ὑμεῖς ὄντες πονηροί, τουτέστι, κακίας δεκτικὴν ἔχοντες τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ οὐ μονότροπον εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν, καθὰ καὶ ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, οἴδατε διδόναι δόματα ἀγαθὰ τοῖς τέκνοις, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος δώσει πνεῦμα ἀγαθὸν τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν αὐτόν; τουτέστι χάριν πνευματικὴν, ἀγαθὴν δὲ πάντως· ἣν εἴπερ τις λάβοι, τρισμακάριος ἔσται. Οὐκοῦν εἴτι τῶν τοιούτων ἐθέλοις λαβεῖν, πρόσιθι χαίρων· κατανεύσει γὰρ ἑτοίμως, φιλάρετος ὢν ὁ ἐν οὐρανοῖς Πατήρ.
Didaskei palin hēmas ho Sōtēr heteron ti tōn anankaiōn eis onēsin. Prosimen gar esth᾽ hote tǭ philagathǭ Theǭ, tas litas poioumenoi, tas eph᾽ hekastǭ pragmati kata to hekastǭ dokoun; all᾽ ou diakrinontes esth᾽ hote, ē basanizontes, ti men esti to alēthōs sympheron, kai hoper oninēsi dothen para Theou; ti de kai to adikoun, ei laboimen; akataskeptois de mallon thelēmatōn hormais, empiptomen eis epithymias olethrou mestas. Hotan oun ti toiouton aitōmen para Theou, lēpsometha men oudamōs, gelōtos de mallon axian poioumetha tēn litēn; kai poia tis estin hē toutou prophasis, par' autou mathōmen. Tis estai ex hymōn anthrōpos, hon aitēsei ho huios autou arton, mē lithon epidōsei autǭ? Hōs ex eikonos, phēsi, ētoi paradeigmatos enargous, ek tōn kath᾽ hymas autous, tēn tōn par' emou legomenōn dynamin ennoēsate. Patēr gegonas teknōn, dia tropou pantos ek pollēs agan philostorgias ōphelein etheleis auta. Hotan toinyn arton aitēsę̄, amelēti kai chairōn prosageis, eu eidōs hoti trophēs metapoieitai tēs epōphelous. Hotan de dia phrenōn endeian to brachy paidion, houpō diakrinein eidos ta horōmena, aitēsę̄ lithon hina phagę̄, didōs ara, phēsin, ē mallon apophereis auto tēs eis touto blaberas epithymias? Ho de autos estō logos epi te opheōs kai ichthyos, ōou kai skorpiou. Hote toinyn, phēsin, hymeis ontes ponēroi, toutesti, kakias dektikēn echontes tēn dianoian, kai ou monotropon eis to agathon, katha kai ho tōn holōn Theos, oidate didonai domata agatha tois teknois, posǭ mallon ho Patēr hymōn ho ouranios dōsei pneuma agathon tois aitousin auton? toutesti charin pneumatikēn, agathēn de pantōs; hēn eiper tis laboi, trismakarios estai. Oukoun eiti tōn toioutōn ethelois labein, prosithi chairōn; kataneusei gar hetoimōs, philaretos ōn ho en ouranois Patēr.
The Saviour again teaches us another thing necessary for our benefit. For sometimes we approach God who loves the good, making supplications about each matter according to what each of us thinks; but sometimes we do not distinguish or test what is truly profitable and benefits us when given by God, and what would harm us if we received it; rather, by unconsidered impulses of the will we fall into desires full of destruction. When, then, we ask anything of this kind from God, we shall by no means receive it, but rather make our supplication worthy of laughter; and what the reason for this is, let us learn from him. “Which of you is the man whose son will ask him for bread, and he will give him a stone?” “As from an image,” he says, “or a plain example drawn from yourselves, understand the force of what I say. You have become a father of children: in every way, out of great affection, you wish to benefit them. When, then, he asks for bread, you give it without delay and gladly, knowing well that he seeks wholesome food. But when, through lack of sense, the little child, not yet knowing how to distinguish what it sees, asks for a stone to eat, do you give it,” he says, “or rather do you draw it away from this harmful desire?” Let the same account hold of the serpent and the fish, the egg and the scorpion. “If, then,” he says, “you who are evil”—that is, having a mind capable of wickedness and not single-formed toward the good, as is the God of all—“know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give a good spirit to those who ask him?”—that is, spiritual grace, and good in every way; and if anyone receives it, he will be thrice blessed. So if you wish to receive anything of this kind, approach gladly; for the Father in heaven, who loves virtue, will readily grant it.
1 Tim 6:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 11:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 11:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 11:13 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God does not grant harmful requests any more than a father gives a stone to a child asking for it, but he gladly gives the good Spirit, that is spiritual grace, to those who ask.
- A displaced line of the scan is restored by logged corrections. Cyril quotes the end of 11:13 as “a good spirit”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (displaced OCR line removed here and restored below; displaced OCR line restored to its place): Πατὴρ γέγονας αὐτόν; τουτέστι χάριν πνευματικὴν, ἀγαθὴν δὲ πάντέκνων, διὰ → Πατὴρ γέγονας τέκνων, διὰ; τοῖς αὐτοῦσιν τως· ἦν εἴπερ → τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν αὐτόν; τουτέστι χάριν πνευματικὴν, ἀγαθὴν δὲ πάντως· ἣν εἴπερ.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luke 11.11 (PG 72 72:697; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam/11-11
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-lucam-11-11) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek catena fragments as printed in Migne PG 72 (Bavarian State Library OCR); each fragment's verse identified from the Greek; no public-domain or FOTC English of this Greek exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.