First Encomium on Saint Stephen (complete)
Greek text: PG 46 (OCR by the Internet Archive; lines extracted for this site).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 701
701PG 46:701–702
Ὡς καλὴ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἡ ἀκολουθία! ὡς γλυκεῖα τῆς εὐφροσύνης ἡ διαδοχή Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἑορτὴν ἐξ ἑορτῆς, καὶ χάριν ἀντιλαμβάνομεν χάριτος. Χθὲς ἡμᾶς ὁ τοῦ παντὸς Δεσπότης εἰστίασε, σήμερον, ὁ
Hōs kalē tōn agathōn hē akolouthia! hōs glykeia tēs euphrosynēs hē diadochē Idou gar heortēn ex heortēs, kai charin antilambanomen charitos. Chthes hēmas ho tou pantos Despotēs eistiase, sēmeron, ho
How fair is the sequence of good things! How sweet the succession of gladness! See, we receive feast upon feast, and grace upon grace. Yesterday the Master of the universe feasted us; today, the …
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
John 1:16 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Gregory opens the feast of Stephen, which follows the Nativity, as one grace following another.
- The sermon was preached on the day after Christmas, Stephen’s feast. The page ends in mid-sentence and the following lines are lost in the digitized text; the next page continues the comparison of Christ and Stephen. “Grace upon grace”: John 1:16.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 701 (PG 46:701–702; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/701). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/701
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 703
703PG 46:703–704
Ἐκεῖνος, τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐνδυσάμενος, οὗτος, τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου ἀποδυσάμενος. Ἐκεῖνος, τὸ τοῦ βίου σπήλαιον δι' ἡμᾶς ὑπερχόμενος, οὗτος, τοῦ σπηλαίου δι' ἐκεῖνον ὑπεξερχόμενος. Ἐκεῖνος, ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν σπαργανούμενος, οὗτος, ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου καταλιθούμενος. Ἐκεῖνος ἀναιρῶν τὸν θάνατον, οὗτος ἐπεμβαίνων τῷ θανάτῳ κειμένῳ. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ συνδράμωμεν, ἀδελφοὶ, καὶ ἡμεῖς τῷ λόγῳ πρὸς τὸ θέατρον, ὡς ὁ ἀθλητὴς ὁ μέγας ἐναγωνίσηται, πρὸς τὸν πονηρὸν ἀντίπαλον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς ἐν τῷ σταδίῳ τῆς ὁμολογίας ἀποδυόμενος. Ἀληθῶς γὰρ, κατὰ τὴν Παύλου φωνὴν, θέατρον ἐγενήθη τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ ἀγγέλοις καὶ ἀνθρώποις ὁ μέγας Στέφανος, πρῶτος τὸν στέφανον τῆς ὁμολογίας ἀναδησάμενος, πρῶτος τῷ χορῷ τῶν μαρτύρων ὁδοποιήσας τὴν εἴσοδον, πρῶτος ἀντικαταστὰς πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν μέχρις αἷματος. Καί μοι δοκεῖ πᾶσα τῶν ὑπερκοσμίων ἡ στρατιά, καὶ πᾶσαι τῶν ἀγγέλων αἱ μυριάδες τῶν τε λειτουργούντων καὶ τῶν παρεστηκότων, καὶ εἴ τι κατὰ τὴν ἄνω λῆξιν τῶν τιμίων ἀκούομεν, ἐν ἀρχαῖς τε καὶ δυνάμεσι καὶ θρόνοις καὶ ἐξουσίαις καὶ κυριότησι, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ οὐρανία πανήγυρις, θέαμα ποιεῖσθαι τότε τὸν ἀθλητὴν, τῷ ἀνταγωνιστῇ συμπλεκόμενον. Ἐφηπλώσατο μὲν γὰρ οἷόν τι στάδιον τοῖς ἀνταγωνιζομένοις ὁ ἀνθρώπινος βίος ἀντεφώρμων δὲ ἀλλήλοις ἀμφότεροι ὅ τε πονηρὸς ἀντίπαλος τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ πτώματος τῶν πρωτοπλάστων μέχρι τῶν κατὰ Στέφανον χρόνων τῇ κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγγυμνασάμενος νίκῃ, καὶ ὁ μέγας τῆς πίστεως ἀγωνιστὴς, μιμητὴς τοῦ Δεσπότου, ἀντ᾿ οὐδενὸς κρίνων τοῦ ἀντιπάλου τὴν ἔφοδον. Ὅπλα δὲ κατ' ἀλλήλων ἀμφοτέροις ἦν, τῷ μὲν εὑρετῇ τοῦ θανάτου ἀπειλὴ, τῷ δὲ μαθητῇ τῆς ζωῆς, ἡ ὁμολογία τῆς πίστεως. Τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἠγάσθη τὸ καινὸν τοῦτο τῆς ἀγωνίας εἶδος, ὅτε ζωῇ καὶ θανάτῳ ἡ ἀλήθεια διεκρίνετο, καὶ ἀπόδειξις ἐγίνετο τῆς ἀληθείας ὁ θάνατος; Ὁ γὰρ κήρυξ τῆς κεκρυμμένης πίστεως καὶ ἀγνοουμένης ζωῆς, ἔργῳ διήγγελλε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὸ κήρυγμα τὸ γὰρ ἐτοίμως τοῦτον καταλιπεῖν τὸν βίον, ἀπόδειξις ἐς το τοῖς ὀρθῶς κρίνουσιν ἦν, τοῦ τὴν προτιμοτέραν ζωὴν ἀντὶ τῆς καταλειπομένης ἀλλάξασθαι. Ἀλλὰ καλὸν ἂν εἴη καθάπερ ἐπὶ πίνακος ἀκριβῶς τῷ λόγῳ διαζωγραφῆσαι τὴν ἄθλησιν, ὡς ἂν καθ᾽ ὁδὸν ἡμῖν διὰ τῆς τῶν γεγονότων ἀκολουθίας ἡ τῶν θαυμάτων τάξις ἐπιδεικνύηται. "Αρτι μὲν γὰρ ἡ ἄνωθεν βιαία πνοή, πᾶσαν τὴν ἐναέριον καὶ ἀπατηλὴν τῶν δαιμόνων διασκεδάσασα δύναμιν, ἐπλήρωσε τῶν ἀποστόλων τὸν οἶκον καὶ πυροειδῶς εἰς γλώσσας διαμερισθὲν τὸ Πνεῦμα, κατὰ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν δεχομένων τὴν χάριν ἐν ἑκαστῳ ἐγίνετο. Ἤδη δὲ, πρὸς τὸ παράδοξον τοῦ κατὰ τὴν φωνὴν καὶ τὴν γλῶσσαν θαύματος, τοὺς ἐκ παντὸς ἔθνους Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐπιδημοῦντας, ἔκπληξίς τε κατειλήφει καὶ σύγχυσις· τῶν εἰς ποικίλας τε καὶ διαφόρους γλωσσῶν ἰδέας διεσχισμένων, πάντων ἀθρόως ὁμογλώσσων τοῖς μαθηταῖς γεγενημένων ὅτε οὐκ ἐκ προπαιδεύσεως καὶ μελέτης τινὸς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἐπιπνοίας
Ekeinos, ton anthrōpon hyper hēmōn endysamenos, houtos, ton anthrōpon hyper ekeinou apodysamenos. Ekeinos, to tou biou spēlaion di' hēmas hyperchomenos, houtos, tou spēlaiou di' ekeinon hypexerchomenos. Ekeinos, hyper hēmōn sparganoumenos, houtos, hyper ekeinou katalithoumenos. Ekeinos anairōn ton thanaton, houtos epembainōn tǭ thanatǭ keimenǭ. Alla gar syndramōmen, adelphoi, kai hēmeis tǭ logǭ pros to theatron, hōs ho athlētēs ho megas enagōnisētai, pros ton ponēron antipalon tēs anthrōpinēs zōēs en tǭ stadiǭ tēs homologias apodyomenos. Alēthōs gar, kata tēn Paulou phōnēn, theatron egenēthē tǭ kosmǭ kai angelois kai anthrōpois ho megas Stephanos, prōtos ton stephanon tēs homologias anadēsamenos, prōtos tǭ chorǭ tōn martyrōn hodopoiēsas tēn eisodon, prōtos antikatastas pros tēn hamartian mechris haimatos. Kai moi dokei pasa tōn hyperkosmiōn hē stratia, kai pasai tōn angelōn hai myriades tōn te leitourgountōn kai tōn parestēkotōn, kai ei ti kata tēn anō lēxin tōn timiōn akouomen, en archais te kai dynamesi kai thronois kai exousiais kai kyriotēsi, kai pasa hē ourania panēgyris, theama poieisthai tote ton athlētēn, tǭ antagōnistę̄ symplekomenon. Ephēplōsato men gar hoion ti stadion tois antagōnizomenois ho anthrōpinos bios antephōrmōn de allēlois amphoteroi ho te ponēros antipalos tēs anthrōpinēs zōēs apo tou ptōmatos tōn prōtoplastōn mechri tōn kata Stephanon chronōn tę̄ kata tōn anthrōpōn engymnasamenos nikę̄, kai ho megas tēs pisteōs agōnistēs, mimētēs tou Despotou, ant᾿ oudenos krinōn tou antipalou tēn ephodon. Hopla de kat' allēlōn amphoterois ēn, tǭ men heuretę̄ tou thanatou apeilē, tǭ de mathētę̄ tēs zōēs, hē homologia tēs pisteōs. Tis gar ouk an ēgasthē to kainon touto tēs agōnias eidos, hote zōę̄ kai thanatǭ hē alētheia diekrineto, kai apodeixis egineto tēs alētheias ho thanatos? Ho gar kēryx tēs kekrymmenēs pisteōs kai agnooumenēs zōēs, ergǭ diēngelle tois anthrōpois to kērygma to gar etoimōs touton katalipein ton bion, apodeixis es to tois orthōs krinousin ēn, tou tēn protimoteran zōēn anti tēs kataleipomenēs allaxasthai. Alla kalon an eiē kathaper epi pinakos akribōs tǭ logǭ diazōgraphēsai tēn athlēsin, hōs an kath᾽ hodon hēmin dia tēs tōn gegonotōn akolouthias hē tōn thaumatōn taxis epideiknyētai. "Arti men gar hē anōthen biaia pnoē, pasan tēn enaerion kai apatēlēn tōn daimonōn diaskedasasa dynamin, eplērōse tōn apostolōn ton oikon kai pyroeidōs eis glōssas diameristhen to Pneuma, kata ton arithmon tōn dechomenōn tēn charin en hekastǭ egineto. Ēdē de, pros to paradoxon tou kata tēn phōnēn kai tēn glōssan thaumatos, tous ek pantos ethnous Hierosolymois epidēmountas, ekplēxis te kateilēphei kai synchysis; tōn eis poikilas te kai diaphorous glōssōn ideas dieschismenōn, pantōn athroōs homoglōssōn tois mathētais gegenēmenōn hote ouk ek propaideuseōs kai meletēs tinos, all᾽ ex epipnoias
He put on man for our sake; Stephen put off the man for his sake. He went down into the cave of this life because of us; Stephen came out of the cave because of him. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes for us; Stephen was stoned for him. He destroyed death; Stephen trampled on death as it lay fallen. But come, brothers, let us too run together with our discourse to the theatre, to see how the great athlete contended, stripping in the stadium of confession against the wicked adversary of human life. For truly, in Paul’s words, the great Stephen became a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men: the first to bind on the crown of confession, the first to make a road for the choir of martyrs to enter, the first to resist sin to the point of blood. And it seems to me that the whole army of the supramundane beings, all the myriads of angels, both those who minister and those who stand by, and whatever we hear of the honoured beings in the realm above, among principalities and powers and thrones and authorities and dominions, and the whole heavenly assembly, made the athlete their spectacle then as he grappled with his opponent. For human life was spread out like a stadium for the contestants, and both rushed upon each other: the wicked adversary of human life, trained by his victories over men from the fall of the first-formed until the times of Stephen, and the great contender of the faith, the imitator of the Master, counting the adversary’s assault as nothing. Each had weapons against the other: the inventor of death, threats; the disciple of life, the confession of faith. Who would not have admired this new kind of contest, in which truth was decided by life and death, and death became the proof of truth? For the herald of the hidden faith and the unknown life proclaimed his message to men by deed; for readiness to leave this life was a proof, to those who judge rightly, that he was taking in exchange a life more precious than the one he left. But it would be good to paint the contest precisely in words, as on a panel, so that the order of the wonders may be shown to us step by step through the sequence of events. Just then the violent wind from above had scattered all the airy and deceitful power of the demons and filled the house of the apostles; and the Spirit, divided in fiery form into tongues, came upon each according to the number of those receiving the grace. And now, at the strangeness of the wonder of voice and tongue, amazement and confusion had seized those from every nation who were staying in Jerusalem, since all, though split into many different kinds of tongues, had suddenly come to share one tongue with the disciples; for not from previous training or any practice, but by the inspiration
Luke 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 4:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 12:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 2:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 2:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 2:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Gregory contrasts Christ’s birth with Stephen’s death, presents Stephen as the first martyr wrestling the devil before the angels, and begins the story with Pentecost.
- The swaddling clothes: Luke 2:7; the cave of the Nativity is the traditional birthplace. “A spectacle to the world, to angels and to men”: 1 Cor 4:9. “To the point of blood”: Heb 12:4. The angelic ranks: Col 1:16; Eph 1:21. Pentecost: Acts 2:2–6. Stephen’s name means “crown” (στέφανος), hence “bind on the crown”. In the digitized text the sentence on the two contestants has lines out of order and a stray fragment (“How this one, or how that one”); the order is restored and the fragment removed by logged corrections.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misreading; OCR word division; displaced line restored to its place; stray fragment removed): ὅτε πονηρὸς → ὅ τε πονηρὸς; τῇ κατὰ τῶν μιμητὴς τοῦ Δεσποτου. Πῶς οὗτος, ἢ πῶς ἐκεῖνος ἀνθρώπων ἐγγυμνασάμενος νίκῃ, καὶ ὁ μέγας τῆς πίστεως ἀγωνιστὴς, → τῇ κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγγυμνασάμενος νίκῃ, καὶ ὁ μέγας τῆς πίστεως ἀγωνιστὴς, μιμητὴς τοῦ Δεσπότου,; γεγηνότων → γεγονότων.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 703 (PG 46:703–704; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/703). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/703
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1-703) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 705
705PG 46:705–706
τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἀθρόως τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ταύτης ἐνσχεδασθείσης τῆς χάριτος, ἡ τοῦ φθέγγεσθαι δύναμις προσεγένετο. Ἔδει γὰρ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῇ γηΐνῃ πυργοποιίᾳ τὴν ὁμοφωνίαν λύσαντας, ἐπὶ τῇ πνευματικῇ πάλιν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας οἰκοδομῇ, εἰς ὁμοφωνίαν ἐλθεῖν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καλῶς ἐντεῦθεν ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος οἰκονομία τῆς χάριτος ἄρχεται· ὥστε τὴν κοινὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων εὐεργεσίαν, εἰς πᾶσαν διάνοιαν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης καταμερίσαι φωνῆς, ἵνα μὴ μιᾷ γλώσσῃ μόνῃ τὸ κήρυγμα τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐναποκλειόμενον, ἄπρακτον τοῖς ἀλλογλώσσοις μείνῃ καὶ ἀνενέργητον. ῎Ἤδη τοίνυν τῶν μὲν Φαρισαίων καὶ ταῖς ἰδίαις ἀκοαῖς ἀπιστούντων, καὶ τοὺς ἐκπεπληγμένους τὴν θαυματουργίαν διεσφάλθαι καταχλευαζόντων, ὡς γλεύκους αὐτοῖς τὴν τοιαύτην παραφορὰν ἐμποιήσαντος τοῦ δὲ Πέτρου μιᾷ τοῦ λόγου περιβολῇ τρισχιλίας ψυχὰς τῷ Χριστῷ σαγηνεύσαντος, καὶ καθεξῆς ἀεὶ τῇ προσθήκῃ τῶν σωζομένων τῆς Ἐκκλησίας εἰς πλῆθος ἐπιδιδούσης καὶ τοῦ ἐκ γενετῆς χωλοῦ πάλιν τὴν ὡραίαν τοῦ ἱεροῦ πύλην τοῖς σωζομένοις ἀνοίξαντος, ᾗ προσκαθήμενος τῷ καθ' ἑαυτὸν θαύματι τῆς ἰάσεως, τοὺς κατὰ ψυχὴν χωλεύοντας ἐπὶ τὴν πίστιν ἐχειραγώγησε. Πολλῶν τοίνυν πρὸς τὸ κήρυγμα τῆς πίστεως συῤῥεόντων, καὶ τῆς χρείας πλείονα τὴν πολυχειρίαν ἐπιζητούσης τῶν διακονούντων τῇ χάριτι· τότε καλεῖται πρὸς ἐπικουρίαν τῶν ἀποστόλων ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος ὁ πολὺς τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῇ χάριτι Στέφανος. Καὶ μηδεὶς τῷ τῆς διακονίας ὀνόματι, δευτερεύειν αὐτὸν παρὰ τὴν ἀποστολικὴν ἀξίαν ὑπονοείτω· ἐπεὶ καὶ Παῦλος ἑαυτὸν οἶδε διάκονον μυστηρίων Χριστοῦ, καὶ ὁ τοῦ παντὸς Κύριος, ὁ διὰ σαρκὸς τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην σωτηρίαν οἰκονομῶν, οὐκ ἐπῃσχύνθη τῷ τῆς διακονίας ὀνόματι, εἰπών· ἐν μέσοις εἶναι, ὡς ὁ διακονῶν, ὁ τὰς διαιρέσεις τῶν διακονιῶν ἐνεργῶν, ὡς φησιν ὁ ᾿Απόστολος. Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ πῦρ τῆς ἐπιτηδείας ὕλης δραξάμενον, εἰς ὕψος αἴρει τὴν φλόγα, καὶ περιφανεστέραν τὴν αὐγὴν ἀπεργάζεται οὕτω τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἐν τῇ τοῦ Στεφάνου μεγαλοφυΐα γενόμενον, ἐκδηλοτέρας ἐποίει τὰς ἀκτῖνας τῆς χάριτος. Διὸ πάντες πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφεώρων, ἐν ὅσοις ἦν γνώσεώς τινος μετουσία καὶ παιδεύσεως καὶ κατὰ συστάσεις οἱ τῶν λοιπῶν δοκοῦντες πλέον ἔχειν, οἷον εἰς φάλαγγάς τινας δι' ἀλλήλων καταπυκνούμενοι, οὕτως ὑπομένειν ἐπειρῶντο τοῦ Στεφάνου τὴν προσβολήν. Ὁ δὲ πᾶσιν ἐπίσης ἄμαχος ἦν, καὶ πολλοῖς συμμίσγων κατ' αὐτὸν καὶ ἐλάττοσιν. Ἐν τούτῳ τοίνυν, τὸ μὲν φαινόμενον, ᾿Αλεξανδρεῖς καὶ Λιβερτῖνοι καὶ Κυρηναῖοι καὶ οἱ πανταχόθεν ἦσαν ἄνθρωποι πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀγωνιστὴν συμπλεκόμενοι· ὁ δὲ διὰ τοῦ φαινομένου νοούμενος, ὁ πατὴρ τοῦ ψεύδους ἦν, δι' ἀνθρωπίνων προσώπων πρὸς τὴν ἐν τῷ Στεφάνῳ λαλουμένην ἀλήθειαν ἑαυτὸν ἀντεγείρων. ᾿Αλλ᾿ ἡ μὲν ἀλήθεια κατά τοῦ ψεύδους τροπαιοφόρος ἦν, καλῶς τρεψαμένου τοῦ ἀριστέως πάντας τοὺς προαγωνιστὰς τῆς ἀπάτης· ὁ δὲ δίακονος τῆς ἀληθείας παρὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ
tou Pneumatos, athroōs tois apostolois tautēs enschedastheisēs tēs charitos, hē tou phthengesthai dynamis prosegeneto. Edei gar tous epi tę̄ gēïnę̄ pyrgopoiią tēn homophōnian lysantas, epi tę̄ pneumatikę̄ palin tēs Ekklēsias oikodomę̄, eis homophōnian elthein; kai dia touto kalōs enteuthen hē tou hagiou Pneumatos oikonomia tēs charitos archetai; hōste tēn koinēn tōn anthrōpōn euergesian, eis pasan dianoian tēs anthrōpinēs katamerisai phōnēs, hina mē mią glōssę̄ monę̄ to kērygma tēs eusebeias enapokleiomenon, aprakton tois alloglōssois meinę̄ kai anenergēton. ᾿Ēdē toinyn tōn men Pharisaiōn kai tais idiais akoais apistountōn, kai tous ekpeplēgmenous tēn thaumatourgian diesphalthai katachleuazontōn, hōs gleukous autois tēn toiautēn paraphoran empoiēsantos tou de Petrou mią tou logou peribolę̄ trischilias psychas tǭ Christǭ sagēneusantos, kai kathexēs aei tę̄ prosthēkę̄ tōn sōzomenōn tēs Ekklēsias eis plēthos epididousēs kai tou ek genetēs chōlou palin tēn hōraian tou hierou pylēn tois sōzomenois anoixantos, hę̄ proskathēmenos tǭ kath' heauton thaumati tēs iaseōs, tous kata psychēn chōleuontas epi tēn pistin echeiragōgēse. Pollōn toinyn pros to kērygma tēs pisteōs syrrheontōn, kai tēs chreias pleiona tēn polycheirian epizētousēs tōn diakonountōn tę̄ chariti; tote kaleitai pros epikourian tōn apostolōn hypo tou Pneumatos ho polys tę̄ sophią kai tę̄ chariti Stephanos. Kai mēdeis tǭ tēs diakonias onomati, deutereuein auton para tēn apostolikēn axian hyponoeitō; epei kai Paulos heauton oide diakonon mystēriōn Christou, kai ho tou pantos Kyrios, ho dia sarkos tēn anthrōpinēn sōtērian oikonomōn, ouk epę̄schynthē tǭ tēs diakonias onomati, eipōn; en mesois einai, hōs ho diakonōn, ho tas diaireseis tōn diakoniōn energōn, hōs phēsin ho ᾿Apostolos. Kathaper gar to pyr tēs epitēdeias hylēs draxamenon, eis hypsos airei tēn phloga, kai periphanesteran tēn augēn apergazetai houtō to Pneuma to hagion, en tę̄ tou Stephanou megalophyïa genomenon, ekdēloteras epoiei tas aktinas tēs charitos. Dio pantes pros auton apheōrōn, en hosois ēn gnōseōs tinos metousia kai paideuseōs kai kata systaseis hoi tōn loipōn dokountes pleon echein, hoion eis phalangas tinas di' allēlōn katapyknoumenoi, houtōs hypomenein epeirōnto tou Stephanou tēn prosbolēn. Ho de pasin episēs amachos ēn, kai pollois symmisgōn kat' auton kai elattosin. En toutǭ toinyn, to men phainomenon, ᾿Alexandreis kai Libertinoi kai Kyrēnaioi kai hoi pantachothen ēsan anthrōpoi pros ton tēs alētheias agōnistēn symplekomenoi; ho de dia tou phainomenou nooumenos, ho patēr tou pseudous ēn, di' anthrōpinōn prosōpōn pros tēn en tǭ Stephanǭ laloumenēn alētheian heauton antegeirōn. ᾿All᾿ hē men alētheia kata tou pseudous tropaiophoros ēn, kalōs trepsamenou tou aristeōs pantas tous proagōnistas tēs apatēs; ho de diakonos tēs alētheias para tou echthrou
of the Spirit, when this grace was poured all at once upon the apostles, the power of speaking came to them. For those who at the building of the earthly tower had broken up their one speech had to come back to one speech at the spiritual building of the Church; and for this reason the economy of the grace of the Holy Spirit fittingly begins here: to distribute the common benefaction of mankind into every kind of human speech, so that the preaching of true religion, shut up in one tongue alone, might not remain fruitless and ineffective for those of other tongues. Now, then, while the Pharisees distrusted even their own ears and mocked those amazed at the wonder as deluded, as though new wine had produced such derangement in them; while Peter with one cast of the net of his word caught three thousand souls for Christ, and the Church kept growing in number by the steady addition of those being saved; and while the man lame from birth again opened the Beautiful Gate of the temple to those being saved, at which he used to sit, and by the wonder of his own healing led by the hand to the faith those lame in soul: since, then, many were flocking to the preaching of the faith, and the need required more hands among those serving the grace, Stephen, great in wisdom and grace, is then called by the Spirit to help the apostles. And let no one suppose from the name of the diaconate that he ranks second to the apostolic dignity; for Paul too knows himself as a deacon of the mysteries of Christ, and the Lord of all, who arranged human salvation through the flesh, was not ashamed of the name of service, when he said that he was among them as one who serves, he who works the varieties of services, as the Apostle says. For as fire, seizing suitable material, raises its flame on high and makes its light more conspicuous, so the Holy Spirit, coming to be in Stephen’s greatness of nature, made the rays of grace more manifest. Therefore all looked to him; and among those who had any share of knowledge and education, those who seemed to surpass the rest, packing themselves together in groups as into phalanxes, tried in this way to withstand Stephen’s attack. But he was equally invincible to all, whether he engaged with many at once or with fewer. In this, then, to outward appearance, it was Alexandrians and Freedmen and Cyrenians and men from every quarter who were grappling with the contender for the truth; but the one perceived through what appeared was the father of lies, raising himself up through human faces against the truth spoken in Stephen. But the truth carried off the trophy over the lie, as the champion nobly routed all the front-line fighters of deceit; and the deacon of the truth was plotted against by the enemy
Gen 11:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 2:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 2:41 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 2:47 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 3:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 6:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 4:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 22:27 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 12:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 6:9 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:44 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Pentecost reverses Babel; amid the Church’s growth Stephen is chosen as deacon, a ministry not inferior to the apostles’, and through him the Spirit overcomes the devil’s disputants.
- The tower: Gen 11:1–9. The mockery: Acts 2:13 (Acts says “others”; Gregory names the Pharisees). Three thousand souls: Acts 2:41; daily additions: Acts 2:47; the lame man at the Beautiful Gate: Acts 3:2–8. The appointment of the seven: Acts 6:1–5. “A deacon of the mysteries of Christ”: Gregory combines 1 Cor 4:1 (“servants and stewards of the mysteries”) with Paul’s calling himself a deacon (2 Cor 3:6; Col 1:23). “As one who serves”: Luke 22:27; “varieties of services”: 1 Cor 12:5–6. The disputants: Acts 6:9–10; “the father of lies”: John 8:44. διάκονος/διακονία is rendered “deacon”/“diaconate” for the office, “service” where Gregory plays on the common sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR split word; repeated syllable): πυργο ποιίᾳ → πυργοποιίᾳ; καταχλευαζόντων των → καταχλευαζόντων; σωζομέ νοις → σωζομένοις.
Topics: Church office, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 705 (PG 46:705–706; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/705). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/705
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 707
707PG 46:707–708
τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπεβουλεύετο, ὡς οὐχὶ φανερων τὴν οὖσαν, ἀλλὰ ποιῶν τὴν μὴ οὖσαν ἀλήθειαν. Τί ταῦτα συσκευάζῃ κατὰ τοῦ κήρυκος, πρὸς τὸν διάβολον, εἴποιμι ἄν; Εἰ σοἱ τίς ἐστι δύναμις, τὴν ἐν τῷ Στεφάνῳ βλαψον ἀλήθειαν· εἰ δὲ ἐκείνη τῶν σῶν μηχανημάτων ὑψηλοτέρα, τί περὶ τὸ σκεῦος τῆς ἀληθείας ἀπασχολεῖς τὴν κακόνοιαν, καὶ ἀναιρεῖς τὸ περιέχον, καταλιπὼν τὸ ἐγκείμενον; οἷόν τι ποιοῦσιν οἱ κύνες, τοὺς λίθους οἷς βάλλονται περιχαίνοντες, τοῦ βάλλοντος οὐχ ἁπτόμενοι; Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἀπηλέγχθη διὰ τῶν ἀνθισταμένων τὸ ψεῦδος, καὶ οὐκέτι οἷός τε ἦν ὁ Πονηρὸς ἄλλον τινὰ προαγωνιστὴν τῆς ἀπάτης εὑρεῖν, πάντων πρὸς τὴν φανέρωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀποβλεπόντων, ἀναμέμνηται τοῦ ἰδίου παλαίσματος, καὶ καταμερίσας ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἐνέργειαν εἴς τε τοὺς κατηγόρους καὶ τοὺς δικαστάς· καὶ ἐν ἀμφοτέροις γενόμενος, τοὺς μὲν λέγειν τὰ ψευδῆ κατὰ τοῦ Στεφάνου προήγετο, τοὺς δὲ μετ᾿ ὀργῆς τὴν συκοφαντίαν προσδέχεσθαι. Καὶ ποικίλως ἑαυτὸν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐγκατασπείρας, πάντα γίνεται τῷ Στεφάνῳ, καὶ κατήγορος καὶ δικαστὴς, καὶ δήμιος, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ λοιπὴ τοῦ θανάτου ὑπηρεσία οὐκ εἰδὼς οἴῳ πτώματι μετὰ τὴν τοιαύτην ἐπὶ Στεφάνῳ ψῆφον κατενεχθήσεται. Καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ ἔμπειροι τῶν ἀθλητῶν ὑποβάντες τῷ σώματι τῶν προσπαλαιόντων, χαλεπώτερον αὐτοῖς διά τινος τεχνικῆς εὐστροφίας τὸ πτῶμα κατασκευάζουσιν οὕτω καὶ ὁ μέγας Στέφανος, εἰς γῆν κλιθεὶς, τὸ χαλεπὸν σύντριμμα τοῦ ἀντικειμένου εἰργάσατο. Ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ γίνεται τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ὁ δρόμος· αὕτη τῆς πανταχοῦ τοῦ λόγου διαφοιτήσεως ἡ ἀρχή. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ τῇ κατ᾿ ἐκείνου μιαιφονίᾳ ὁ δῆμος τῶν Ἰουδαίων κατὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐμάνη, μόνοις ἂν τάχα Ἱεροσολύμοις ἡ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου χάρις ἐναπεκλείετο νυνὶ δὲ διωχθέντες παρὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἄλλος ἀλλαχὴ τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐθνῶν διεσπάρη, πανταχόθεν τὸν διάβολον διὰ τῆς τῶν μυστηρίων διδασκαλίας ἐξείργοντες. Οὕτω δέχεται τὸν λόγον ἡ Σαμάρεια οὕτως ὁδοῦ πάρεργον ἡ τοῦ εὐνούχου σωτηρία παρὰ τοῦ Φιλίππου γίνεται· οὕτω τὸ μέγα σκεῦος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας Παῦλος, θυμῷ καὶ ἀπειλῇ παρὰ τοῦ διαβόλου καθοπλισθεὶς, ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν τρέπει τὸν ὁπλίτην τὰς ἀκίδας, πάσης αὐτὸν ὑπερορίζων τῆς οἰκουμένης, ὡς μηδένα τόπον καταλιπεῖν τῇ πίστει τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀνεπίβατον. Ἐντεῦθεν Αἰγύπτιοι, Σύροι, Πάρθοι καὶ Μεσοποταμῖται, Ίταλοὶ καὶ Γαλάται, Ἰλλυριοὶ, Μακεδόνες, καὶ τὰ πανταχόθεν ἔθνη προσάγει τῇ πίστει διατρέχων ὁ λόγος. Ὁρᾶς τοῦ Στεφάνου τὴν ἀθλητικὴν ἐπιστήμην; πόσοις συνετρίβη πτώμασιν ὁ ἀντίπαλος, δόξας διὰ τῆς συκοφαντίας ὑπέρτερος τοῦ προσπαλαίοντος γενέσθαι; ᾿Αλλ' ἐπανέλθωμεν πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ στάδιον. Τίσι λόγοις ἀνακινοῦσι τὸν δῆμον οἱ συκοφάνται; Οὐ παύεται, φασὶ, λαλῶν ῥήματα βλάσφημα κατὰ τοῦ τόπου τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου καὶ τοῦ νόμου· ἀκηκόαμεν γὰρ
tēs alētheias epebouleueto, hōs ouchi phanerōn tēn ousan, alla poiōn tēn mē ousan alētheian. Ti tauta syskeuazę̄ kata tou kērykos, pros ton diabolon, eipoimi an? Ei soi tis esti dynamis, tēn en tǭ Stephanǭ blapson alētheian; ei de ekeinē tōn sōn mēchanēmatōn hypsēlotera, ti peri to skeuos tēs alētheias apascholeis tēn kakonoian, kai anaireis to periechon, katalipōn to enkeimenon? hoion ti poiousin hoi kynes, tous lithous hois ballontai perichainontes, tou ballontos ouch haptomenoi? Epeidē toinyn apēlenchthē dia tōn anthistamenōn to pseudos, kai ouketi hoios te ēn ho Ponēros allon tina proagōnistēn tēs apatēs heurein, pantōn pros tēn phanerōsin tēs alētheias apoblepontōn, anamemnētai tou idiou palaismatos, kai katamerisas heautou tēn energeian eis te tous katēgorous kai tous dikastas; kai en amphoterois genomenos, tous men legein ta pseudē kata tou Stephanou proēgeto, tous de met᾿ orgēs tēn sykophantian prosdechesthai. Kai poikilōs heauton tois Ioudaiois enkataspeiras, panta ginetai tǭ Stephanǭ, kai katēgoros kai dikastēs, kai dēmios, kai pasa hē loipē tou thanatou hypēresia ouk eidōs oiǭ ptōmati meta tēn toiautēn epi Stephanǭ psēphon katenechthēsetai. Kathaper gar hoi empeiroi tōn athlētōn hypobantes tǭ sōmati tōn prospalaiontōn, chalepōteron autois dia tinos technikēs eustrophias to ptōma kataskeuazousin houtō kai ho megas Stephanos, eis gēn klitheis, to chalepon syntrimma tou antikeimenou eirgasato. Enteuthen gar ginetai tois apostolois epi tēn oikoumenēn ho dromos; hautē tēs pantachou tou logou diaphoitēseōs hē archē. Ei gar mē tę̄ kat᾿ ekeinou miaiphonią ho dēmos tōn Ioudaiōn kata tōn apostolōn emanē, monois an tacha Hierosolymois hē tou Euangeliou charis enapekleieto nyni de diōchthentes para tōn Ioudaiōn, allos allachē tōn kata tēn oikoumenēn ethnōn diesparē, pantachothen ton diabolon dia tēs tōn mystēriōn didaskalias exeirgontes. Houtō dechetai ton logon hē Samareia houtōs hodou parergon hē tou eunouchou sōtēria para tou Philippou ginetai; houtō to mega skeuos tēs Ekklēsias Paulos, thymǭ kai apeilę̄ para tou diabolou kathoplistheis, ep᾿ auton trepei ton hoplitēn tas akidas, pasēs auton hyperorizōn tēs oikoumenēs, hōs mēdena topon katalipein tę̄ pistei tou Christou anepibaton. Enteuthen Aigyptioi, Syroi, Parthoi kai Mesopotamitai, Italoi kai Galatai, Illyrioi, Makedones, kai ta pantachothen ethnē prosagei tę̄ pistei diatrechōn ho logos. Horas tou Stephanou tēn athlētikēn epistēmēn? posois synetribē ptōmasin ho antipalos, doxas dia tēs sykophantias hyperteros tou prospalaiontos genesthai? ᾿All' epanelthōmen palin epi to stadion. Tisi logois anakinousi ton dēmon hoi sykophantai? Ou pauetai, phasi, lalōn rhēmata blasphēma kata tou topou tou hagiou toutou kai tou nomou; akēkoamen gar
of the truth, as one who did not reveal the truth that is, but made up a truth that is not. “Why do you contrive these things against the herald?” I might say to the devil. “If you have any power, harm the truth in Stephen; but if it is higher than your devices, why do you busy your malice about the vessel of the truth, destroying the container and leaving what it contains?” It is like what dogs do, snapping at the stones thrown at them and not touching the thrower. When, then, the lie had been refuted through those who opposed Stephen, and the evil one could no longer find another front-line fighter for deceit, since all were looking to the manifestation of the truth, he remembers his own wrestling hold, and divides his working between the accusers and the judges; and being in both, he led the one to say false things against Stephen, the other to receive the slander with anger. And sowing himself in various ways among the Jews, he becomes everything to Stephen: accuser, judge, executioner, and all the rest of the service of death, not knowing what a fall he would be brought down to after passing such a sentence on Stephen. For as skilled athletes, by going down under the body of their opponents, contrive a harder fall for them by some technical nimbleness, so the great Stephen too, bent to the ground, worked the grievous crushing of his adversary. For from this begins the apostles’ course over the inhabited world; this is the beginning of the word’s spreading everywhere. For if the Jewish populace had not raged against the apostles in that murder of Stephen, the grace of the Gospel would perhaps have been shut up in Jerusalem alone; but as it was, persecuted by the Jews, they were scattered, one here, one there, among the nations of the world, driving the devil out everywhere through the teaching of the mysteries. So Samaria receives the word; so the salvation of the eunuch is brought about by Philip as a by-work of his journey; so Paul, the great vessel of the Church, armed by the devil with wrath and threat, turns the points against the warrior himself, banishing him from the whole world, so as to leave no place untrodden by the faith of Christ. From then on the word, running through, brings to the faith Egyptians, Syrians, Parthians and Mesopotamians, Italians and Galatians, Illyrians, Macedonians, and the nations of every quarter. Do you see Stephen’s athletic skill? With how many falls the adversary was crushed, who thought that through slander he had got the better of his opponent! But let us return again to the stadium. With what words do the slanderers stir up the people? “He does not stop,” they say, “speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard
Acts 6:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 8:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 8:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 8:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 8:27 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 9:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 9:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 6:13 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The devil, defeated in argument, works through false accusers and judges, but Stephen’s death scatters the apostles and spreads the Gospel to the nations.
- The false witnesses: Acts 6:11–13. The dispersion after Stephen’s death: Acts 8:1, 4; Samaria: Acts 8:5–8; the eunuch: Acts 8:26–39; Paul’s threats and his calling as a “chosen vessel”: Acts 9:1, 15. The words about “the Jews” and “the Jewish populace” are Gregory’s and are translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR split word; OCR split word with stray mark): εἴ ποιμι → εἴποιμι; συκοφαν τίαν → συκοφαντίαν; Ἰου· δαίοις → Ἰουδαίοις; κατένες χθήσεται → κατενεχθήσεται; Στέ φανος → Στέφανος; ἀποστό λων → ἀποστόλων; οἱ κουμένην → οἰκουμένην; κατα· λιπεῖν → καταλιπεῖν.
Topics: Martyrdom, Persecution
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 707 (PG 46:707–708; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/707). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/707
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 709
709PG 46:709–710
αὐτοῦ λέγοντος, ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος οὗτος καταλύσει τὸν τόπον τοῦτον, καὶ ἀλλάξει τὰ ἔθη ἃ παρέδωκεν ἡμῖν Μωϋσῆς. Ἡ μὲν οὖν κατηγορία τῶν τοῦ διαβόλου ῥητόρων τοιαύτη. Ἡ δὲ τῶν ἀκουόντων ἄνοια τίς; Ἐπὶ τίνι χαλεπαίνουσι τῷ κατηγορηθέντι τίνα κακίαν ἐν τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐφώρασαν Τὰ μὲν γὰρ προφερόμενα κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ, τῶν ἐσύστερον ἐκβησομένων ἦν. Ἔφησαν γὰρ αὐτὸν εἰρηκέναι, τὸν τόπον καταλυθήσεσθαι, καὶ τὰ νόμιμα τοῦ Μωϋσέως μετατεθήσεσθαι. Τί οὖν ἐν τούτοις ἐστὶ τὸ ἀδίκημα, κἂν ἀληθεύῃ, κἂν ψεύδηται; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ψεύδεται, τὸ λυποῦν οὐκ ἐκβήσεται· εἰ δὲ ἀληθεύει, τί ἀδικεῖ ὁ λόγος προμηνύων τὴν ἔκβασιν; Τὰ γὰρ γινόμενα, πάντως ἐκβήσεται καὶ σιωπώντων, καὶ μὴ· ὁ δὲ φόνος τοῦ προμηνύσαντος, τίνα φέρει τῶν λυπούντων διόρθωσιν; Εἶτα, κατηγορεῖται μὲν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ἡ δὲ τῆς τιμωρίας ψῆφος, ἐπὶ τὸν Στέφανον φέρεται. Καί τοι εἰ ὁ ἀδικῶν κινεῖ τὴν ὀργὴν, ἀδίκημα δὲ ἐστιν, ἡ τοῦ τόπου καὶ τῶν ἐθῶν μεταποίησις ταῦτα δὲ οὐ παρὰ Στεφάνου, ἀλλὰ παρὰ Ἰησοῦ γίνεσθαί φησιν ὁ κατήγορος, ἐπὶ τὸν κατηγορηθέντα πάντως ἔδει συγκινεῖσθαι τὸ δικαστήριον. Ὦ τῆς ἀδίκου τῶν ἀκουόντων ψήφου! Ἐπειδὴ, φησὶν, ὁ Ἰησοῦς μεταποιήσει τοὺς νόμους, καταλευσθήτω ὁ Στέφανος. Πῶς δὲ καταλύσει τὸν νόμον ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὁ οὕτως ἔχων περὶ τὸν νόμον, ὁ πάντα πρὸς βεβαίωσιν τῶν ἀρχαίων νομοθετήσας, ὁ εἰπών· Οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον, ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι· ὁ τὸν περὶ τοῦ μὴ φονεῦσαι νόμον, διὰ τοῦ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὀργισθῆναι τοῖς μαθηταῖς βεβαιώσας, ὁ τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ συνεκβαλὼν τὴν μοιχείαν, ὁ διὰ τοῦ μὴ ἀμύνασθαι τὸν προλελυπηκότα κελεῦσαι, τὸ μηδὲ ἄρχειν χείρῶν ἀδίκων νομοθετήσας, ὁ διὰ τῆς τῶν προσόντων μεταδόσεως τὸ κατὰ πλεονεξίαν πάθος ὑπερορίσας; Πῶς οὖν οὔτε ἐμνημονεύθη ταῦτα, οὔτε συνεξητάσθη τῇ κρίσει; Ἐβουλόμην νῦν παρεῖναί μοι τῶν μιαιφόνων ἐκείνων δικαστῶν τὸ συνέδριον, καὶ μαθεῖν περὶ τῶν τόπων ὑπὲρ ὧν χαλεπαίνουσι, ποῦ ὁ διώνυμος ἐκεῖνος ναὸς, ποῦ τὰ ἀπιστούμενα τῶν λίθων μεγέθη, ποῦ τὸ χρυσίον ἐκεῖνο τὸ τῇ λοιπῇ ὕλῃ περὶ τὸν ναὸν μικροῦ δεῖν ἱσοστάσιον, ποῦ αἱ νόμιμοι ἱερουργίαι, ὁ κριὸς, ὁ μόσχος, ὁ ἀμνὸς, ἡ δάμαλις, ἡ περιστερά, ἡ τρυγών, ὁ ἀποπομπαῖος χίμαρος; Εἰ διὰ τοῦτο θάνατον τοῦ Στεφάνου καταψηφίζονται, ἵνα μηδὲν τῶν σκυθρωπῶν ἐκείνων εἰς πέρας ἔλθοι, δειξάτωσαν ὅσα διὰ τῆς μιαιφονίας ἑαυτοῖς διεσώσαντο. Εἰ δὲ οὐδὲν τούτων ἐστὶν, ὑπὲρ οὗ τὴν ψῆφον ἐκείνην ἐξήνεγκεν· ἀντὶ τίνος ὁ φόνος; εἰπάτωσαν. Αλλ' ἴδωμεν ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς τῶν ἀγώνων, ὅπως ἀμύνεται τοὺς μιαιφόνους, ὁ ταῖς νιφάσι τῶν λίθων καταχωννύμενος· ποίας ἀντιπέμπει βολὰς κατὰ τῶν ἀφιέντων τὰς τῶν λίθων βολίδας. Μαθέτωσαν Ἰουδαίων παῖδες τὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ὅπλα, οἷς πρὸς ἄμυναν τῶν λυπούντων χρησάμενος ὁ μέγας Στέφανος, νόμον τῷ βίῳ τὸ ἔργον πεποίηται. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ θηριώδει τινὶ καὶ ἀπηνεῖ τῇ λύσσῃ κύκλῳ περιστάντες τὸν ἅγιον, πρὸς ἕνα σκοπὸν οἱ πάντες ἔβλεπον, πᾶν τὸ ὑπὸ χεῖρα
autou legontos, hoti Iēsous ho Nazōraios houtos katalysei ton topon touton, kai allaxei ta ethē ha paredōken hēmin Mōÿsēs. Hē men oun katēgoria tōn tou diabolou rhētorōn toiautē. Hē de tōn akouontōn anoia tis? Epi tini chalepainousi tǭ katēgorēthenti tina kakian en tois eirēmenois ephōrasan Ta men gar propheromena kat᾿ autou, tōn esysteron ekbēsomenōn ēn. Ephēsan gar auton eirēkenai, ton topon katalythēsesthai, kai ta nomima tou Mōÿseōs metatethēsesthai. Ti oun en toutois esti to adikēma, kan alētheuę̄, kan pseudētai? Ei men gar pseudetai, to lypoun ouk ekbēsetai; ei de alētheuei, ti adikei ho logos promēnyōn tēn ekbasin? Ta gar ginomena, pantōs ekbēsetai kai siōpōntōn, kai mē; ho de phonos tou promēnysantos, tina pherei tōn lypountōn diorthōsin? Eita, katēgoreitai men Iēsous ho Nazōraios hē de tēs timōrias psēphos, epi ton Stephanon pheretai. Kai toi ei ho adikōn kinei tēn orgēn, adikēma de estin, hē tou topou kai tōn ethōn metapoiēsis tauta de ou para Stephanou, alla para Iēsou ginesthai phēsin ho katēgoros, epi ton katēgorēthenta pantōs edei synkineisthai to dikastērion. Ō tēs adikou tōn akouontōn psēphou! Epeidē, phēsin, ho Iēsous metapoiēsei tous nomous, kataleusthētō ho Stephanos. Pōs de katalysei ton nomon ho Iēsous, ho houtōs echōn peri ton nomon, ho panta pros bebaiōsin tōn archaiōn nomothetēsas, ho eipōn; Ouk ēlthon katalysai ton nomon, alla plērōsai; ho ton peri tou mē phoneusai nomon, dia tou mēde tēn archēn orgisthēnai tois mathētais bebaiōsas, ho tę̄ epithymią synekbalōn tēn moicheian, ho dia tou mē amynasthai ton prolelypēkota keleusai, to mēde archein cheirōn adikōn nomothetēsas, ho dia tēs tōn prosontōn metadoseōs to kata pleonexian pathos hyperorisas? Pōs oun oute emnēmoneuthē tauta, oute synexētasthē tę̄ krisei? Eboulomēn nyn pareinai moi tōn miaiphonōn ekeinōn dikastōn to synedrion, kai mathein peri tōn topōn hyper hōn chalepainousi, pou ho diōnymos ekeinos naos, pou ta apistoumena tōn lithōn megethē, pou to chrysion ekeino to tę̄ loipę̄ hylę̄ peri ton naon mikrou dein hisostasion, pou hai nomimoi hierourgiai, ho krios, ho moschos, ho amnos, hē damalis, hē peristera, hē trygōn, ho apopompaios chimaros? Ei dia touto thanaton tou Stephanou katapsēphizontai, hina mēden tōn skythrōpōn ekeinōn eis peras elthoi, deixatōsan hosa dia tēs miaiphonias heautois diesōsanto. Ei de ouden toutōn estin, hyper hou tēn psēphon ekeinēn exēnenken; anti tinos ho phonos? eipatōsan. All' idōmen en tois ephexēs tōn agōnōn, hopōs amynetai tous miaiphonous, ho tais niphasi tōn lithōn katachōnnymenos; poias antipempei bolas kata tōn aphientōn tas tōn lithōn bolidas. Mathetōsan Ioudaiōn paides ta tōn Christianōn hopla, hois pros amynan tōn lypountōn chrēsamenos ho megas Stephanos, nomon tǭ biǭ to ergon pepoiētai. Hoi men gar thēriōdei tini kai apēnei tę̄ lyssę̄ kyklǭ peristantes ton hagion, pros hena skopon hoi pantes eblepon, pan to hypo cheira
him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.” Such, then, is the accusation of the devil’s orators. And what of the folly of the hearers? At what are they angry in the accused? What wickedness did they detect in what was said? For the things alleged against him concerned what would happen later. They said he had said that the place would be destroyed and the ordinances of Moses changed. What, then, is the wrong in this, whether he speaks truly or falsely? If he lies, what grieves them will not come about; if he speaks the truth, what wrong does the word do in announcing the outcome beforehand? For what is to happen will surely come about, whether people keep silent or not; and what correction of their grievances does the murder of the one who announced it bring? Then again: Jesus the Nazarene is accused, but the sentence of punishment falls on Stephen. And yet, if it is the wrongdoer who provokes anger, and the wrong is the changing of the place and the customs, and the accuser says these things are done not by Stephen but by Jesus, the court should surely have been moved against the one accused. O the unjust verdict of the hearers! “Since Jesus,” he says, “will change the laws, let Stephen be stoned.” And how will Jesus destroy the law, he who regards the law as he does, who made all his laws to confirm the ancient ones, who said, “I did not come to destroy the law but to fulfil it”; who confirmed for his disciples the law against murder by forbidding even the first beginning of anger; who cast out adultery together with desire; who, by commanding us not to retaliate against one who has wronged us, made it law not even to begin unjust violence; who banished the passion of greed by the sharing of possessions? How was it, then, that these things were neither mentioned nor examined in the trial? I would like to have here now that council of murderous judges and learn from them about the places over which they are angry: where is that famous temple, where are those incredible sizes of the stones, where is that gold, nearly equal in weight to all the rest of the material of the temple, where are the lawful sacrifices: the ram, the calf, the lamb, the heifer, the dove, the turtledove, the goat sent away? If they voted death for Stephen so that none of those grim things might come to pass, let them show what they kept safe for themselves by the murder. But if none of these things exists, for the sake of which that sentence was passed, for what was the murder? Let them say. But let us see, in the following stages of the contest, how he who was buried under the snowstorm of stones defends himself against the murderers, what shots he sends back against those hurling the stones. Let the children of the Jews learn the weapons of Christians, which the great Stephen used to defend himself against those who harmed him, and so made his deed a law for our life. For they, standing round the saint in a circle with a beastlike and savage frenzy, all looked to one aim, making everything that came
Acts 6:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 5:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 5:22 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 5:28 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 5:39 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 19:21 (allusion, medium confidence) · Lev 16:10 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Gregory exposes the injustice of the charges: Stephen merely foretold what would happen, Jesus was the one accused, and Jesus fulfilled rather than destroyed the law; the temple is gone in any case.
- The charge: Acts 6:13–14. “I did not come to destroy …”: Matt 5:17; anger: Matt 5:21–22; desire: Matt 5:27–28; non-retaliation: Matt 5:38–39; sharing possessions: Matt 19:21. The goat sent away: Lev 16:10. The argument that the temple and its sacrifices no longer exist refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70; it and the address to “the children of the Jews” are Gregory’s polemic, translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin letters in a Greek word; OCR misreading of the relative pronoun; stray letters; stray marks): ἔθη Η παρέδωκεν → ἔθη ἃ παρέδωκεν; ἦλθor → ἦλθον; ἐκείνην|| ἐξήνεγκεν → ἐκείνην ἐξήνεγκεν; ὁ φα φόνος → ὁ φόνος.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 709 (PG 46:709–710; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/709). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/709
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 711
711PG 46:711–712
γενόμενον, ὅπλον κατὰ τοῦ Στεφάνου ποιούμενοι ὁ δὲ, καθάπερ τις ἱερεὺς, κατὰ τὸν πνευματικὸν νόμον εὐαγῆ θυσίαν ἱερουργῶν, οὐκ ἀλλότριον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἴδιον προσάγων σῶμα, καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς σπονδῆς ἀποῤῥαίνων τοῦ αἵματος, δι᾽ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν, ὃν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανίοις ἀδύτοις ἔβλεπεν, ὑπὲρ τῶν πλημμελούντων ἐξιλεοῦτο. Εὐεργεσίᾳ τὴν μιαιφονίαν αὐτῶν ἀμειβόμενος, βοῶν ἐν ταῖς τῶν φονευτῶν ἀκοαῖς, καὶ λέγων· Κύριε, μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Καὶ ὁ μὲν, ἐξήλειφεν αὐτῶν δι' εὐχῆς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἣν ταῖς παρανόμοις αὐτῶν χερσὶν οἱ μιαιφόνοι έχειρογράφουν οἱ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν εὐχὴν παρωξύνοντο, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀνίεσαν βάλλοντες, ἕως οὗ ὁ μέγας Στέφανος καθάπερ ἄνθεσιν ἁπαλοῖς, ἢ δρόσῳ τινὶ κούφῃ περιβῥεόμενος εἰς τὸν γλυκὺν καὶ μακάριον ὕπνον ἐκλίθη. ᾿Αλλ' ἔφθασεν ἡ νίκη τοὺς ἄθλους, καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἀγώνων ὁρῶμεν τὸν στεφανίτην. Πρὶν γὰρ θεωρῆσαι τὴν ἀγωνίαν, πρὸς τὸ πέρας τῶν ἄθλων ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου παρήχθημεν. Ἔδει γὰρ, οἶμαι, μὴ παραδραμεῖν ἐκεῖνα τῷ λόγῳ, δι' ὧν μάλιστα ἡ τοῦ μάρτυρος ἀρετὴ διεδείκνυτο οἷον ἦν τὸ τῶν φονώντων συνέδριον, καὶ πῶς κατὰ τὸ ἶσον πᾶσι, πρὸς τὸν φόνον ὁ θυμὸς διεγήγερτο ὅση πρὸς τὸ κακὸν ἦν τοῖς συνειλεγμένοις ἡ σύμπνοια οἷον ἑκάστου τὸ βλέμμα, οἷον τὸ σχῆμα, οἷον τὸ περὶ τοὺς ὁδόντας πάθος, καθὼς παρασημαίνεται ἡ θεία Γραφή, ὅτι διεπρίοντο ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, καὶ ἔβρυχον τοὺς ὀδόντας ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν. Καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τοιούτων καὶ τοσούτων ἑστὼς, καὶ πάσῃ τῇ ἀντικειμένῃ δυνάμει τῇ ἐν τοῖς μιαιφόνοις ἐνεργουμένῃ ἑαυτὸν ἀντεγείρων, διὰ πάντων ὑπερέσχε τῷ μεγαλοφυεῖ τοῦ φρονήματος· ἀντιτιθεὶς τῷ μὲν θυμῷ τὴν μακροθυμίαν, ταῖς δὲ ἀπειλαῖς τὴν ὑπεροψίαν, τῷ δὲ τοῦ θανάτου φόβῳ τὴν τῆς ζωῆς καταφρόνησιν, τῷ δὲ μίσει τὴν ἀγάπην· τῇ δυσμενείᾳ, τὴν εὐμένειαν· τῇ συκοφαντίᾳ, τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας φανέρωσιν. Οὐ γὰρ δι᾽ ἑνὸς τρόπου νικητὴς ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀγωνιστὴς ἀπεδείκνυτο ἀλλὰ πρὸς πᾶν εἶδος κακίας τῆς τότε τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐνεργουμένης ἑαυτὸν διὰ τῆς ποικίλης ἀρετῆς καταμερίσας, καὶ πᾶσι συνεπλάκη, καὶ καθυπερέσχε τῶν πάντων. Οὕτως ἀκούω καὶ ἐν τοῖς γυμνικοῖς ἀγῶσι τοὺς πλεονεκτοῦντας κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν, πρὸς ὅλον πολλάκις ἀποδυομένους τὸ γυμνικὸν στάδιον, κατὰ πάντων φέρεσθαι τῶν ἀντιπάλων τὰ νικητήρια. Τοιοῦτος ὁ τοῦ σταδίου τῶν μαρτύρων καθηγησάμενος· ὃς πρὸς πᾶσαν τοῦ ἀντικειμένου τὴν δύναμιν ἑαυτὸν ἀντιτάξας, λαμπρὸς τῇ κατὰ πάντων ἀναδείκνυται νίκῃ. Τὴν γὰρ ψευδώνυμον σοφίαν, τὴν διὰ Λιβερτίνων καὶ Κυρηναίων καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Αλεξάνδρου πόλεως σοφῶν αὐτῷ προσπαλαίουσαν, διὰ τῆς ἀληθοῦς σοφίας κατηγωνίσατο· τὸν φόβον, διὰ τῆς παῤῥησίας τὴν ἀπειλὴν, διὰ τῆς ὑπεροψίας· τὴν πικρίαν, διὰ τῆς εὐποιίας· τὸ ψεῦδος, διὰ τῆς ἀληθείας. Οἱ μὲν πρὸς τὸν φόνον ἔβλεπον, καὶ ἤδη τὰς χεῖρας τοῖς λίθοις ἐξώπλιζον, καὶ τῷ βλέμματι καὶ τῷ ἄσθματι καὶ τῇ τῶν ὀδόντων συμπτώσει τὴν πικρίαν ἐπισημαίνοντες·
genomenon, hoplon kata tou Stephanou poioumenoi ho de, kathaper tis hiereus, kata ton pneumatikon nomon euagē thysian hierourgōn, ouk allotrion, alla to idion prosagōn sōma, kai anti tēs spondēs aporrhainōn tou haimatos, di᾽ heautou ton Theon, hon en tois ouraniois adytois eblepen, hyper tōn plēmmelountōn exileouto. Euergesią tēn miaiphonian autōn ameibomenos, boōn en tais tōn phoneutōn akoais, kai legōn; Kyrie, mē stēsę̄s autois tēn hamartian tautēn. Kai ho men, exēleiphen autōn di' euchēs tēn hamartian, hēn tais paranomois autōn chersin hoi miaiphonoi echeirographoun hoi de kai pros tēn euchēn parōxynonto, kai ou proteron aniesan ballontes, heōs hou ho megas Stephanos kathaper anthesin hapalois, ē drosǭ tini kouphę̄ peribrheomenos eis ton glykyn kai makarion hypnon eklithē. ᾿All' ephthasen hē nikē tous athlous, kai pro tōn agōnōn horōmen ton stephanitēn. Prin gar theōrēsai tēn agōnian, pros to peras tōn athlōn hypo tou logou parēchthēmen. Edei gar, oimai, mē paradramein ekeina tǭ logǭ, di' hōn malista hē tou martyros aretē diedeiknyto hoion ēn to tōn phonōntōn synedrion, kai pōs kata to ison pasi, pros ton phonon ho thymos diegēgerto hosē pros to kakon ēn tois syneilegmenois hē sympnoia hoion hekastou to blemma, hoion to schēma, hoion to peri tous hodontas pathos, kathōs parasēmainetai hē theia Graphē, hoti dieprionto tais kardiais autōn, kai ebrychon tous odontas ep᾿ auton. Kai en mesǭ toioutōn kai tosoutōn hestōs, kai pasę̄ tę̄ antikeimenę̄ dynamei tę̄ en tois miaiphonois energoumenę̄ heauton antegeirōn, dia pantōn hyperesche tǭ megalophyei tou phronēmatos; antititheis tǭ men thymǭ tēn makrothymian, tais de apeilais tēn hyperopsian, tǭ de tou thanatou phobǭ tēn tēs zōēs kataphronēsin, tǭ de misei tēn agapēn; tę̄ dysmeneią, tēn eumeneian; tę̄ sykophantią, tēn tēs alētheias phanerōsin. Ou gar di᾽ henos tropou nikētēs ho tēs alētheias agōnistēs apedeiknyto alla pros pan eidos kakias tēs tote tois Ioudaiois energoumenēs heauton dia tēs poikilēs aretēs katamerisas, kai pasi syneplakē, kai kathyperesche tōn pantōn. Houtōs akouō kai en tois gymnikois agōsi tous pleonektountas kata tēn dynamin, pros holon pollakis apodyomenous to gymnikon stadion, kata pantōn pheresthai tōn antipalōn ta nikētēria. Toioutos ho tou stadiou tōn martyrōn kathēgēsamenos; hos pros pasan tou antikeimenou tēn dynamin heauton antitaxas, lampros tę̄ kata pantōn anadeiknytai nikę̄. Tēn gar pseudōnymon sophian, tēn dia Libertinōn kai Kyrēnaiōn kai tōn apo tēs ᾿Alexandrou poleōs sophōn autǭ prospalaiousan, dia tēs alēthous sophias katēgōnisato; ton phobon, dia tēs parrhēsias tēn apeilēn, dia tēs hyperopsias; tēn pikrian, dia tēs eupoiias; to pseudos, dia tēs alētheias. Hoi men pros ton phonon eblepon, kai ēdē tas cheiras tois lithois exōplizon, kai tǭ blemmati kai tǭ asthmati kai tę̄ tōn odontōn symptōsei tēn pikrian episēmainontes;
to hand a weapon against Stephen; but he, like a priest performing a pure sacrifice according to the spiritual law, offering not another’s body but his own, and sprinkling his blood instead of a libation, made propitiation through himself, on behalf of the offenders, to the God whom he saw in the heavenly sanctuary, repaying their murder with kindness, crying out in the ears of his murderers and saying: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And he wiped out by prayer the sin which the murderers were writing out as a bond with their lawless hands; but they were provoked even by the prayer, and did not stop throwing until the great Stephen, as if showered with tender flowers or a light dew, sank down into the sweet and blessed sleep. But the victory has outrun the contests, and we see the crowned victor before the struggles. For before viewing the contest, we have been carried on by our discourse to the end of it. For we ought not, I think, to pass over in our discourse the things by which the martyr’s virtue was chiefly shown: what the council of murderers was like, and how the rage for murder was roused equally in all; how great the accord in evil was among those assembled; what each one’s glance was, what his bearing, what the passion in his teeth, as divine Scripture indicates, that they were cut to the heart and gnashed their teeth at him. And standing in the midst of men such and so many, and rising up against all the opposing power at work in the murderers, he prevailed over all by the greatness of his spirit, setting patience against their rage, disdain against their threats, contempt of life against the fear of death, love against hatred, goodwill against hostility, the manifestation of the truth against slander. For the contender for the truth was not shown victor in one way only; but distributing himself by his varied virtue against every kind of wickedness then at work in the Jews, he grappled with all and prevailed over all. So, I hear, in the athletic games too, those who excel in strength often strip for the whole athletic program and carry off the prizes against all their opponents. Such was the leader of the stadium of the martyrs, who, setting himself against all the power of the adversary, is shown resplendent in his victory over all. For the wisdom falsely so called, which wrestled with him through the Freedmen and Cyrenians and the wise men from the city of Alexander, he defeated by true wisdom; fear by boldness, threat by disdain, bitterness by kindness, falsehood by truth. They were looking to murder and already arming their hands with stones, showing their bitterness by their glance, their panting, and the grinding of their teeth;
Rom 12:1 (echo, low confidence) · Acts 7:60 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 2:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 7:54 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 6:20 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 6:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Stephen offers himself as a priestly sacrifice and prays for his murderers; Gregory, turning back to the trial, shows how he overcame every form of wickedness with its opposite virtue.
- “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”: Acts 7:60; the “bond” written by their hands: Col 2:14. “Cut to the heart and gnashed their teeth”: Acts 7:54. “Wisdom falsely so called”: cf. 1 Tim 6:20 (“knowledge falsely so called”). The disputants: Acts 6:9. In the digitized text a line (“Such was the leader of the stadium of the martyrs”) is displaced into the middle of an earlier sentence; it is restored to its place by logged corrections. The last word of the page is completed from the following page.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (displaced line removed (restored below in its place); displaced line restored to its place; word split at the Migne page break joined (rest removed from the next page)): διὰ Τοιοῦτος ὁ τοῦ σταδίου τῶν μαρτύρων καθηγησάπάντων → διὰ πάντων; νικητήρια. μενος· ὃς → νικητήρια. Τοιοῦτος ὁ τοῦ σταδίου τῶν μαρτύρων καθηγησάμενος· ὃς; ἐπισημαί- → ἐπισημαίνοντες·.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 711 (PG 46:711–712; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/711). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/711
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 713
713PG 46:713–714
ὁ δὲ ὡς ἀδελφοὺς ἑώρα, καὶ ὡς πατέρας ἠσπάζετο. Άνδρες γὰρ, φησιν, ἀδελφοὶ καὶ πατέρες, ἀκούσατέ μου. Οἱ μὲν τὴν συκοφαντίαν πιθανῶς συνέπλεκον· τῷ δὲ τὸ τῶν φονώντων συνέδριον, τῆς ἀληθείας φροντιστήριον ἦν. Οὐκ ἀπέκοπτε φόβῳ τὸν λόγον, οὐδὲ πάρετος πρὸς τὴν ἐλπίδα τῶν κινδύνων ἐγίνετο, οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸν θάνατον ἔβλεπεν· ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος τὴν ψυχὴν ἔχων, καὶ τὰ ἐν ποσὶ πάντα περιορῶν, ὡς παιδία μάτην ἀφραίνοντα, ἐπαιδαγώγει τῷ λόγῳ, τοῖς παρ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων πιστευομένοις εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ πεπλανῆσθαι αὐτοὺς περὶ τῶν δογμάτων συγχρώμενος. Ἀβραὰμ τῷ λόγῳ παράγεται καὶ ἡ κατ᾿ αὐτὸν ἱστορία πᾶσα δι᾽ ὀλίγων ὑπ' ὄψιν ἄγεται· εἶτα ἡ τῶν ἐφεξῆς ἁγίων διαδοχή. Μωϋσῆς ἐπὶ τούτοις τικτόμενος, ἀνατρεφόμενος, παιδευόμενος, ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους μυσταγωγούμενος· μαστίζων τὴν Αἴγυπτον, τὸν Ἰσραὴλ διασώζων, τὸ κατὰ τὸν Κύριον προμηνύων μυστήριον. "Ο καὶ μάλιστα συγκινεῖ τὸ συνέδριον, καὶ ἀναθερμαίνει τὴν νόσον, ὅτι καὶ Μωϋσῆς, οὗ δὴ προσεποιοῦντο ὑπερσπουδάζειν, συνἡγορος τοῦ δόγματος ἀπεδείκνυτο. Ἐφ᾽ ᾧ καὶ διαναστάντες, τὸ πέρας ἐπάγουσιν ἄξιον καὶ τῆς ἰδίας πικρίας, καὶ τῆς τοῦ Στεφάνου ἐπιθυμίας. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐκβὰς τὴν φύσιν, καὶ πρὶν ἐκβῆναι τοῦ σώματος βλέπει τοῖς καθαροῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τὰς οὐρανίας αὐτῷ πύλας διισταμένας, καὶ τὸ ἐντὸς τῶν ἀδύτων διαφαινόμενον, αὐτὴν τε θείαν δόξαν, καὶ τὸ τῆς δόξης ἐπαύγασμα· καὶ τῆς μὲν Πατρικῆς δόξης, οὐδεὶς ὑπογράφεται χαρακτὴρ διὰ τοῦ λόγου· τὸ δὲ ἀπαύγασμα, ἐν τῷ ὀφθέντι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εἶδει, τῷ ἀθλητῇ καθορᾶται, ὡς ἦν χωρητὸν τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, οὕτω φαινόμενον. Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἔξω γεγονὼς τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀγγελικὴν μεταποιηθεὶς χάριν, ὡς καὶ αὐτοῖς εἶναι τοῖς μιαιφόνοις ἐν θαύματι, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων ἀξίαν τοῦ περὶ τὸ πρόσωπον εἴδους ἀλλοιωθέντος, καὶ εἶδε τὰ ἀθέατα, καὶ τὴν ὀφθεῖσαν αὐτῷ χάριν ἐξεβόησεν. Οἱ δὲ συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα, καὶ τὸ διήγημα τῆς ὀπτασίας οὐ παρεδέχοντο, καλῶς τοῦτο γοῦν ἐν πᾶσι ποιήσαντες οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν ἀξία βεβήλων ἀκοὴ, θείας ἐμφανείας διηγήματα δέξασθαι. Ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὖν ἐκοινώνησε τοῖς παροῦσι τῆς χάριτος, εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἐκεῖνα προτιθεὶς τῷ διηγήματι, ὧν κατὰ μόνας ἠξίωτο, Θεωρῶ, λέγων, τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἀνεωγμένους, καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δεξιῶν ἑστῶτα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οἱ δὲ, κράξαντες φωνῇ μεγάλῃ, καὶ συσχόντες τὰ ὦτα, ὥρμησαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν. Καλῶς προσέθηκεν ἡ περὶ αὐτῶν ἱστορία τὴν κραυγὴν τοῖς ἔργοις, ἵνα δείξῃ τῆς προαιρέσεως αὐτῶν τὴν πρὸς τοὺς Σοδομίτας συγγένειαν. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἐκείνων ἀνόμημα κραυγή παρὰ τοῦ κρίνοντος ὠνομάσθη. Κραυγὴ γὰρ, φησί, Σοδόμων καὶ Γομόῤῥας ἀνῆλθε πρός με. Ἔκραξαν τοίνυν καὶ οὗτοι, ἵνα ἀκουσθῇ καὶ αὐτῶν ἡ ἐπὶ Στεφάνου κραυγή. Οὐ μὴν ἡγνόει ὁ ἀθλητὴς διὰ τῆς πικρίας τῶν μιαιφονούντων εὐεργετούμενος. Τῶ γὰρ
ho de hōs adelphous heōra, kai hōs pateras ēspazeto. Andres gar, phēsin, adelphoi kai pateres, akousate mou. Hoi men tēn sykophantian pithanōs syneplekon; tǭ de to tōn phonōntōn synedrion, tēs alētheias phrontistērion ēn. Ouk apekopte phobǭ ton logon, oude paretos pros tēn elpida tōn kindynōn egineto, oude pros ton thanaton eblepen; all᾽ epi to hypsos tēn psychēn echōn, kai ta en posi panta periorōn, hōs paidia matēn aphrainonta, epaidagōgei tǭ logǭ, tois par᾿ autōn ekeinōn pisteuomenois eis apodeixin tou peplanēsthai autous peri tōn dogmatōn synchrōmenos. Abraam tǭ logǭ paragetai kai hē kat᾿ auton historia pasa di᾽ oligōn hyp' opsin agetai; eita hē tōn ephexēs hagiōn diadochē. Mōÿsēs epi toutois tiktomenos, anatrephomenos, paideuomenos, epi tou orous mystagōgoumenos; mastizōn tēn Aigypton, ton Israēl diasōzōn, to kata ton Kyrion promēnyōn mystērion. "O kai malista synkinei to synedrion, kai anathermainei tēn noson, hoti kai Mōÿsēs, hou dē prosepoiounto hyperspoudazein, synēgoros tou dogmatos apedeiknyto. Eph᾽ hǭ kai dianastantes, to peras epagousin axion kai tēs idias pikrias, kai tēs tou Stephanou epithymias. Ho men gar ekbas tēn physin, kai prin ekbēnai tou sōmatos blepei tois katharois ophthalmois tas ouranias autǭ pylas diistamenas, kai to entos tōn adytōn diaphainomenon, autēn te theian doxan, kai to tēs doxēs epaugasma; kai tēs men Patrikēs doxēs, oudeis hypographetai charaktēr dia tou logou; to de apaugasma, en tǭ ophthenti tois anthrōpois eidei, tǭ athlētę̄ kathoratai, hōs ēn chōrēton tę̄ anthrōpinę̄ physei, houtō phainomenon. Ho men oun exō gegonōs tēs anthrōpinēs physeōs, kai pros tēn angelikēn metapoiētheis charin, hōs kai autois einai tois miaiphonois en thaumati, pros tēn tōn angelōn axian tou peri to prosōpon eidous alloiōthentos, kai eide ta atheata, kai tēn ophtheisan autǭ charin exeboēsen. Hoi de syneschon ta ōta, kai to diēgēma tēs optasias ou paredechonto, kalōs touto goun en pasi poiēsantes oude gar ēn axia bebēlōn akoē, theias emphaneias diēgēmata dexasthai. Ekeinos men oun ekoinōnēse tois parousi tēs charitos, eis to koinon ekeina protitheis tǭ diēgēmati, hōn kata monas ēxiōto, Theōrō, legōn, tous ouranous aneōgmenous, kai ton Huion tou anthrōpou ek dexiōn hestōta tou Theou. Hoi de, kraxantes phōnę̄ megalę̄, kai syschontes ta ōta, hōrmēsan homothymadon ep᾿ auton. Kalōs prosethēken hē peri autōn historia tēn kraugēn tois ergois, hina deixę̄ tēs proaireseōs autōn tēn pros tous Sodomitas syngeneian. Kai gar to ekeinōn anomēma kraugē para tou krinontos ōnomasthē. Kraugē gar, phēsi, Sodomōn kai Gomorrhas anēlthe pros me. Ekraxan toinyn kai houtoi, hina akousthę̄ kai autōn hē epi Stephanou kraugē. Ou mēn hēgnoei ho athlētēs dia tēs pikrias tōn miaiphonountōn euergetoumenos. Tō gar
but he regarded them as brothers and greeted them as fathers: “Men, brothers and fathers,” he says, “hear me.” They were plausibly weaving together their slander; but for him the council of murderers was a school of truth. He did not cut short his speech out of fear, nor grow slack at the prospect of danger, nor look to death; but holding his soul on high and disregarding everything at his feet, he instructed them by his discourse like children babbling foolishly, using what they themselves believed as proof that they had gone astray about the doctrines. Abraham is brought forward in his speech, and his whole history is set before their eyes in a few words; then the succession of the saints after him. After these, Moses: born, brought up, educated, initiated into the mysteries on the mountain, scourging Egypt, saving Israel, foretelling the mystery of the Lord. This above all stirred up the council and inflamed their disease: that Moses too, for whom they pretended to be so zealous, was shown to be an advocate of the doctrine. At this they rose up and brought on an end worthy both of their own bitterness and of Stephen’s desire. For he, going out of nature, and even before going out of the body, sees with pure eyes the heavenly gates parting for him and what is within the sanctuary shining through, the divine glory itself and the radiance of the glory. Of the Father’s glory no outline is drawn in the account; but the radiance is seen by the athlete in the form in which it appeared to men, appearing as human nature could contain it. He, then, having come outside human nature and been transformed to angelic grace, so that even the murderers marvelled at him, since the appearance of his face was changed to the dignity of the angels, both saw what is not to be seen and cried out the grace that had appeared to him. But they stopped their ears and would not accept the account of the vision, doing well in this one thing at least; for profane hearing was not worthy to receive accounts of a divine appearance. He, then, shared the grace with those present, setting before all in his account what he alone had been granted, saying: “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they, crying out with a loud voice and stopping their ears, rushed upon him with one accord. The history rightly added their cry to their deeds, to show the kinship of their will with the Sodomites. For their lawlessness too was called a cry by the Judge: “The cry,” he says, “of Sodom and Gomorrah has come up to me.” So these men too cried out, so that their cry over Stephen might also be heard. Yet the athlete was not unaware that he was being benefited by the bitterness of the murderers. For
Acts 7:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 7:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 6:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 7:55 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 7:56 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 7:57 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 18:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Stephen addresses his judges as brothers and fathers, rehearses Israel’s history from Abraham to Moses, and sees the glory of God and the Son of Man before he is rushed upon.
- “Men, brothers and fathers”: Acts 7:2; the speech: Acts 7:2–50; Moses: Acts 7:20–44. The vision: Acts 7:55–56; Stephen’s angelic face: Acts 6:15; the cry and rush: Acts 7:57. “The radiance of the glory”: Heb 1:3. “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah”: Gen 18:20. The comparison with the Sodomites is Gregory’s polemic, translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR split word; end of a word split at the page break, joined to the previous page; stray letter): νοντες· ὁ δὲ → ὁ δὲ; τὸν Η λόγον → τὸν λόγον; δι ηγήματι → διηγήματι.
Topics: Martyrdom, Christology
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 713 (PG 46:713–714; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/713). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/713
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 715
715PG 46:715–716
περὶ αὐτὸν τῶν καταλευόντων κύκλῳ στεφανωθεὶς, οὕτως ἐδέξατο τὸ γινόμενον, ὡς στέφανον νικητήριον ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ τῶν ἐναντίων πλεκόμενον. Διὸ καὶ εὐλογίᾳ τοὺς μιαιφόνους ἀμύνεται, οὐκ ἀξιῶν πρὸς τὰς ἐναντίας ἐκβάσεις τὴν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ πρᾶξιν καταμερίζεσθαι, ὡς ἐκείνῳ μὲν τὴν ζωὴν, τοῖς δὲ ἀντικειμένοις φέρειν τὸν ὄλεθρον· ἀλλ᾽ ὧν αὐτὸς ἠξίωτο καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ὡς ἀγαθῶν αὐτῷ συναιτίους μὴ ἐκπεσεῖν. Οὕτως οἶδεν ὁ Χριστὸν βλέπων τοῖς πολεμοῦσι προσφέρεσθαι. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶδε τῆς μακροθυμίας τὸν νομοθέτην, ὑπεμνήσθη τῶν νόμων τῶν ἀγαπᾶν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς κελευόντων, καὶ καλῶς ποιεῖν τοῖς μισοῦσι, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν πολεμούντων προσεύχεσθαι. ᾿Αλλ᾿ ὁ μὲν ἀθλητὴς, οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρωπίνων ἐπαίνων δοξάζεται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ σκοπὸς αὐτῷ τῆς ἀθλήσεως πρὸς τὴν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἔβλεπε δόξαν· ἀλλ᾽ ὑπερβὰς πάντα τὸν κόσμον τῇ μεγαλοφυΐᾳ τοῦ κατορθώματος, καὶ τὰ μέτρα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης δυνάμεως συμπαρέδραμε, πᾶσαν ἐγκωμιαστικὴν δύναμιν κατόπιν ἑαυτοῦ ῥίψας. Οὐκοῦν, ὁ μὲν ἐχέτω κατὰ παντὸς ἀνθρωπίνου λόγου τὰ νικητήρια· ἡμῖν δὲ συναγωνιζέσθω τῇ κατ' αὐτὸν ἱστορίᾳ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ψυχῶν σωτηρίαν. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς σωματικοῖς ἀθληταῖς, οἱ τῶν ἀγώνων παυσάμενοι, παιδοτριβοῦσι τοὺς νέους ταῖς ἀθλητικαῖς γυμνασίαις, διά τινος τεχνικῆς εὐστροφίας ἐκδύνειν τὰς λαβὰς τῶν ἀντιπαλαιόντων διδάσκοντες οὕτως οἶμαι δεῖν καὶ ἡμᾶς διὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Στεφάνου παιδοτριβηθῆναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν, ὡς ἂν δι᾿ αὐτοῦ φύγωμεν τὰς τῶν Πνευματομάχων λαβάς. Φασὶ γὰρ οἱ λυσσῶντες κατὰ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Πνεύματος, συνήγορον εἶναι τῆς ἐκείνων ἀτοπίας τὸν Στέφανον, ὃς ἐνατενίσας τῷ οὐρανῷ εἶδε δόξαν Θεοῦ καὶ Ἰησοῦν ἑστῶτα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Λέγουσι τοίνυν ἐπ᾿ ἀνατροπῇ τῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας δογμάτων, ὅτι, Εἰ μετὰ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ δεῖ πάντως ἀριθμεῖσθαι τὸ Πνεῦμα, πῶς οὐκ εἶδεν ὁ Στέφανος ἐν τῇ ὀπτασίᾳ μετὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα Πῶς οὖν ὀρέξει τὴν χεῖρα τοῖς διὰ τῶν τοιούτων λόγων ὑποσκελιζομένοις ὁ Στέφανος; πῶς ἀνορθώσει τῇ ἀγωνιστικῇ τέχνῃ τοὺς ὑποκλάζοντας; Ἡ αὐτόθεν ἐστὶν ἡ βοήθεια ἡ ἀνατρέπουσα τὴν ἀπιστίαν τοῦ προσπαλαίοντος. Ζητεῖς, ὦ Πνευματομάχε, ὅτι, Εἱ ἡ δόξα τοῦ Πατρὸς ὤφθη, καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς τὴν ἐκ δεξιῶν στάσιν ἔχων, ποῦ τὸ Πνεῦμα; Εἰ ἦν ἐν σοὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα, οὐκ ἂν προκείμενον τὸν περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγον παρέδραμες, ὥσπερ οἱ πηροὶ τὰς ὄψεις, τὸ πρὸ τῶν ποδῶν κείμενον χρυσίον ἀγνοοῦντες παρέρχονται. Ἀλλὰ νῦν γοῦν ἄκουσον, εἴ γε μὴ συνέχεις κατὰ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους τὴν ἀκοήν. Πῶς εἶδε τὴν ὑπερουράνιον δόξαν ὁ Στέφανος; τίς αὐτῷ τὰς πύλας τῶν οὐρανῶν διεπέτασεν; Αρ᾿ ἀνθρωπίνης δυνάμεως ἦν τὸ κατόρθωμα; ἆρά τινος τῶν ἀγγέλων πρὸς τὸ ὕψος ἐκεῖνο τὴν κάτω κειμένην φύσιν ἀναβιβάσαντος; Οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα· οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἡ κατ᾿ αὐτὸν ἱστορία φησὶν, ὅτι Στέφανος δὲ πολὺς κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν
peri auton tōn kataleuontōn kyklǭ stephanōtheis, houtōs edexato to ginomenon, hōs stephanon nikētērion en tais chersi tōn enantiōn plekomenon. Dio kai eulogią tous miaiphonous amynetai, ouk axiōn pros tas enantias ekbaseis tēn ep᾿ autǭ praxin katamerizesthai, hōs ekeinǭ men tēn zōēn, tois de antikeimenois pherein ton olethron; all᾽ hōn autos ēxiōto kai tous polemious hōs agathōn autǭ synaitious mē ekpesein. Houtōs oiden ho Christon blepōn tois polemousi prospheresthai. Epeidē gar eide tēs makrothymias ton nomothetēn, hypemnēsthē tōn nomōn tōn agapan tous echthrous keleuontōn, kai kalōs poiein tois misousi, kai hyper tōn polemountōn proseuchesthai. ᾿All᾿ ho men athlētēs, ouk ex anthrōpinōn epainōn doxazetai. Oude gar ho skopos autǭ tēs athlēseōs pros tēn ex anthrōpōn eblepe doxan; all᾽ hyperbas panta ton kosmon tę̄ megalophyïą tou katorthōmatos, kai ta metra tēs anthrōpinēs dynameōs symparedrame, pasan enkōmiastikēn dynamin katopin heautou rhipsas. Oukoun, ho men echetō kata pantos anthrōpinou logou ta nikētēria; hēmin de synagōnizesthō tę̄ kat' auton historią pros tēn tōn psychōn sōtērian. Kathaper gar en tois sōmatikois athlētais, hoi tōn agōnōn pausamenoi, paidotribousi tous neous tais athlētikais gymnasiais, dia tinos technikēs eustrophias ekdynein tas labas tōn antipalaiontōn didaskontes houtōs oimai dein kai hēmas dia tou megalou Stephanou paidotribēthēnai tēn eusebeian, hōs an di᾿ autou phygōmen tas tōn Pneumatomachōn labas. Phasi gar hoi lyssōntes kata tēs doxēs tou Pneumatos, synēgoron einai tēs ekeinōn atopias ton Stephanon, hos enatenisas tǭ ouranǭ eide doxan Theou kai Iēsoun hestōta ek dexiōn tou Theou. Legousi toinyn ep᾿ anatropę̄ tōn tēs eusebeias dogmatōn, hoti, Ei meta Patros kai Huiou dei pantōs arithmeisthai to Pneuma, pōs ouk eiden ho Stephanos en tę̄ optasią meta tou Huiou kai to Pneuma Pōs oun orexei tēn cheira tois dia tōn toioutōn logōn hyposkelizomenois ho Stephanos? pōs anorthōsei tę̄ agōnistikę̄ technę̄ tous hypoklazontas? Hē autothen estin hē boētheia hē anatrepousa tēn apistian tou prospalaiontos. Zēteis, ō Pneumatomache, hoti, Hei hē doxa tou Patros ōphthē, kai ho Huios tēn ek dexiōn stasin echōn, pou to Pneuma? Ei ēn en soi to Pneuma, ouk an prokeimenon ton peri autou logon paredrames, hōsper hoi pēroi tas opseis, to pro tōn podōn keimenon chrysion agnoountes parerchontai. Alla nyn goun akouson, ei ge mē synecheis kata tous Ioudaious tēn akoēn. Pōs eide tēn hyperouranion doxan ho Stephanos? tis autǭ tas pylas tōn ouranōn diepetasen? Ar᾿ anthrōpinēs dynameōs ēn to katorthōma? ara tinos tōn angelōn pros to hypsos ekeino tēn katō keimenēn physin anabibasantos? Ouk esti tauta; ou gar houtōs hē kat᾿ auton historia phēsin, hoti Stephanos de polys kata tēn dynamin
surrounded in a circle by those stoning him, he received what happened as a victor’s crown woven in the hands of his enemies. That is why he defends himself against the murderers with a blessing, not thinking it right that what was done to him should be divided into opposite outcomes, bringing life to him and destruction to his opponents; rather, he wished that his enemies too, as joint causes of good things for him, should not miss what he himself had been granted. So does one who sees Christ know how to treat those who fight him. For since he saw the lawgiver of patience, he remembered the laws that command us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, and to pray for those who make war on us. But the athlete is not glorified by human praises. For the aim of his contest did not look to glory from men; but surpassing the whole world by the greatness of his achievement, he outran the measures of human power, leaving all power of praise behind him. Let him, then, have the prize of victory over every human word; but let him contend alongside us, through his history, for the salvation of souls. For as among bodily athletes those who have finished with contests train the young in athletic exercises, teaching them by some technical nimbleness to slip the holds of their opponents, so I think we too must be trained in true religion through the great Stephen, so that through him we may escape the holds of the Pneumatomachi. For those who rage against the glory of the Spirit say that Stephen supports their absurdity, he who, gazing into heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. They say, then, to overturn the doctrines of true religion: “If the Spirit must in any case be numbered with the Father and the Son, how did Stephen not see the Spirit too with the Son in the vision?” How, then, will Stephen stretch out his hand to those tripped up by such words? How will he set upright by his wrestling skill those whose knees are giving way? The help that overturns the unbelief of the opponent comes from that very place. You ask, fighter against the Spirit: “If the glory of the Father was seen, and the Son holding his place at the right hand, where is the Spirit?” If the Spirit were in you, you would not have passed by the word about him that lies before you, as the blind pass by gold lying at their feet without knowing it. But now at least listen, unless you stop your ears as the Jews did. How did Stephen see the glory above the heavens? Who opened for him the gates of the heavens? Was it the achievement of human power? Was it some angel that raised the nature lying below to that height? It is not so; for the history about him does not say, “But Stephen, being great in power,
Matt 5:44 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 7:55 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 7:57 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Stephen blesses his killers as Christ taught; Gregory then takes up the Pneumatomachi’s argument that Stephen saw the Father and the Son but not the Spirit.
- Love of enemies: Matt 5:44 (cf. Luke 6:27–28). The vision: Acts 7:55; the stopped ears: Acts 7:57. The Pneumatomachi (“fighters against the Spirit”) denied the Spirit’s divinity; their argument and Gregory’s reply are translated as written. In the digitized text the line “of human power he outran, all power of praise” stands out of order and splits a word; the order is restored by a logged correction. The page ends in the middle of a word, completed from the next page.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR split word; OCR split word with stray mark; displaced lines restored to their order; word split across the lines joined; stray letter; stray mark; word split at the Migne page break joined (rest removed from the next page)): πο λεμίους → πολεμίους; Οὗ τως → Οὕτως; τὰ μέτρα τῆς μιαστικὴν δύναμιν κατόπιν ἑαυτοῦ ῥίψας. ἀνθρωπίνης δυνάμεως συμπαρέδραμε, πᾶσαν ἐγκωΟὐκοῦν → τὰ μέτρα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης δυνάμεως συμπαρέδραμε, πᾶσαν ἐγκωμιαστικὴν δύναμιν κατόπιν ἑαυτοῦ ῥίψας. Οὐκοῦν; ὤφθη, η, καὶ → ὤφθη, καὶ; ἀναβιβάσαν· τος → ἀναβιβάσαντος; |ἱστορία → ἱστορία; κατὰ τὴν δύ- → κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν.
Topics: Martyrdom, Trinity, Heresy
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 715 (PG 46:715–716; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/715). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/715
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 717
717PG 46:717–718
ὢν, ἢ Τῆς ἀγγελικῆς βοηθείας πλήρης γενόμενος, εἶδεν ὰ εἶδεν. ᾿Αλλὰ τί λέγει; Στέφανος δὲ, πλήρης ὢν Πνεύματος ἁγίου, εἶδε τὴν δόξαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὸν μονογενή τοῦ Θεοῦ Υϊόν. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστι, καθώς φησιν ὁ Προφήτης, τὸ φῶς ὀφθῆναι, μὴ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ καθορώμενον. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ φωτί σου, φησὶν, ὀψόμεθα φῶς. Εἰ οὖν οὐκ ἐνδέχεται μὴ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ γενέσθαι τὴν τοῦ φωτὸς θεωρίαν· πῶς γὰρ ἔστιν ἀπιδεῖν εἰς τὸν ἥλιον ἔξω τῶν ἀκτίνων γενόμενον; ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς, τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ τῷ ἐκεῖθεν ἐκπορευομένῳ, τὸ Μονογενὲς καθορᾶται φῶς· διὰ τοῦτο προκαταυγασθεὶς τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐν περινοίᾳ τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ δόξης γίνεται. Ἐπεὶ, πῶς τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἀπόφασιν ἀληθεύειν φήσομεν, ὅτι Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε; Πῶς δὲ τὸν Ἀπόστολον μὴ ἐναντία τοῖς ἱστορηθεῖσι βοᾷν, ὅταν λέγει· Οὔτε τις εἶδεν αὐτὸν ἀνθρώπων, οὔτε ἰδεῖν δύναται; Εἰ γὰρ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει τε καὶ δυνάμει, ἡ τοῦ Πατρός τε καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ δόξα χωρητή κατέστη ψευδὴς πάντως, ὁ ἀχώρητον ἀνθρώποις ἀποφηνάμενος εἶναι τὸ θεῖον θέαμα. Ἀλλὰ μὴν οὔτε ἐκεῖνον ψεύδεσθαι, καὶ τὴν Ιστορίαν ἀληθεύειν ἐπάναγκες. Ἄρα φανερῶς ἡ κακουργία τῶν Πνευματομάχων πεφώραται, ὅτι τῷ ὁμοίῳ καθορᾶσθαι τὰ ὅμοια παρὰ τῆς Γραφῆς μεμαρτύρηται. Ὁ γὰρ Στέφανος οὐκ ἐν τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει τε καὶ δυνάμει μένων τὸ θεῖον βλέπει· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος χάριν ἀνακραθεὶς, δι᾽ ἐκείνου ὑψώθη πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατανόησιν. Οὐκοῦν εἰ χωρὶς τοῦ Πνεύματος οὔτε Κύριον Ἰησοῦν ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, καθώς φησιν ὁ ᾿Απόστολος, οὔτε τὴν Πατρικὴν δόξαν κατανοῆσαι δέδεικται σαφῶς, ὅτι ὅπου τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐστιν, ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς καθορᾶται, καὶ ἡ Πατρικὴ δόξα καταλαμβάνεται. ᾿Αλλ᾿ ἕτερον ἡμῖν ἐκ τῶν ἱστορηθέντων ὅπλον ἀσεβείας παρὰ τῶν Χριστομάχων προβάλλεται. Φασὶ γὰρ τὸ καταδεὲς τοῦ Μονογενοῦς διὰ τούτου σημαίνεσθαι. Τὸ γὰρ παρεστᾶναι αὐτὸν τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἀπόδειξιν ποιοῦνται τοῦ ὑποχείριον εἶναι τῇ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐξουσίᾳ. Τί οὖν ὁ Παῦλος, πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἴποιμι ἄν; τί δὲ καὶ πρὸ ἐκείνου ὁ προφήτης Δαβίδ, ἀμφότεροι τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς δόξαν ἐκδιηγούμενοι; Ο τε γὰρ Δαβίδ φησιν, Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου· Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου. Ὁ δὲ ᾿Απόστολος ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θρόνου τοῦ Θεοῦ κεκαθικέναι λέγει τὸν Κύριον. Εἰ οὖν ἡ στάσις τῆς ἑλαττώσεως, ἡ καθέδρα πάντως τῆς ὁμοτιμίας ἐστι σημεῖον, ἢ τοίνυν παραγραφέσθωσαν τὰς θεοπρεπείς μαρτυρίας, δι' ὧν τὸ ὑψηλὸν τῆς δεξιᾶς διασημαίνεται, ἢ καὶ ταύτην εὐσεβῶς ἐκδεχέσθωσαν. Εἷς γὰρ ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστου τῶν εἰρημένων διδάσκαλος, ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Στέφανος, πλήρης ὢν Πνεύματος ἁγίου, εἶδέ τε ἃ εἶδε· καὶ ἃ εἶδεν, ἐφθέγξατο. Ὁ δὲ Δαβίδ, ἐν Πνεύματι αὐτὸν καλεῖ Κύριον, καθὼς λέγει τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον. Παῦλος δὲ, καθὼς αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνός φησιν, ἐν Πνεύματι λαλεῖ τὰ μυστήρια. Εἰ οὖν εἷς ὁ διδάσκαλος, οὐδεμίαν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν διαφωνίαν ἔχων
ōn, ē Tēs angelikēs boētheias plērēs genomenos, eiden a eiden. ᾿Alla ti legei? Stephanos de, plērēs ōn Pneumatos hagiou, eide tēn doxan tou Theou kai ton monogenē tou Theou Yïon. Ou gar esti, kathōs phēsin ho Prophētēs, to phōs ophthēnai, mē en tǭ phōti kathorōmenon. En gar tǭ phōti sou, phēsin, opsometha phōs. Ei oun ouk endechetai mē en tǭ phōti genesthai tēn tou phōtos theōrian; pōs gar estin apidein eis ton hēlion exō tōn aktinōn genomenon? epei oun en tǭ phōti tou Patros, toutestin en tǭ Pneumati tǭ hagiǭ tǭ ekeithen ekporeuomenǭ, to Monogenes kathoratai phōs; dia touto prokataugastheis tę̄ doxę̄ tou Pneumatos, en perinoią tēs tou Patros kai tou Huiou doxēs ginetai. Epei, pōs tēn euangelikēn apophasin alētheuein phēsomen, hoti Theon oudeis heōrake pōpote? Pōs de ton Apostolon mē enantia tois historētheisi boąn, hotan legei; Oute tis eiden auton anthrōpōn, oute idein dynatai? Ei gar anthrōpinę̄ physei te kai dynamei, hē tou Patros te kai tou Huiou doxa chōrētē katestē pseudēs pantōs, ho achōrēton anthrōpois apophēnamenos einai to theion theama. Alla mēn oute ekeinon pseudesthai, kai tēn Istorian alētheuein epanankes. Ara phanerōs hē kakourgia tōn Pneumatomachōn pephōratai, hoti tǭ homoiǭ kathorasthai ta homoia para tēs Graphēs memartyrētai. Ho gar Stephanos ouk en tę̄ anthrōpinę̄ physei te kai dynamei menōn to theion blepei; alla pros tēn tou hagiou Pneumatos charin anakratheis, di᾽ ekeinou hypsōthē pros tēn tou Theou katanoēsin. Oukoun ei chōris tou Pneumatos oute Kyrion Iēsoun estin eipein, kathōs phēsin ho ᾿Apostolos, oute tēn Patrikēn doxan katanoēsai dedeiktai saphōs, hoti hopou to Pneuma estin, ekei kai ho Huios kathoratai, kai hē Patrikē doxa katalambanetai. ᾿All᾿ heteron hēmin ek tōn historēthentōn hoplon asebeias para tōn Christomachōn proballetai. Phasi gar to katadees tou Monogenous dia toutou sēmainesthai. To gar parestanai auton tę̄ dexią tou Patros, apodeixin poiountai tou hypocheirion einai tę̄ tou Patros exousią. Ti oun ho Paulos, pros autous eipoimi an? ti de kai pro ekeinou ho prophētēs Dabid, amphoteroi tę̄ didaskalią tou Pneumatos tēn tou Monogenous doxan ekdiēgoumenoi? O te gar Dabid phēsin, Eipen ho Kyrios tǭ Kyriǭ mou; Kathou ek dexiōn mou. Ho de ᾿Apostolos en dexią tou thronou tou Theou kekathikenai legei ton Kyrion. Ei oun hē stasis tēs helattōseōs, hē kathedra pantōs tēs homotimias esti sēmeion, ē toinyn paragraphesthōsan tas theoprepeis martyrias, di' hōn to hypsēlon tēs dexias diasēmainetai, ē kai tautēn eusebōs ekdechesthōsan. Heis gar eph᾽ hekastou tōn eirēmenōn didaskalos, hē tou Pneumatos charis. Ho men gar Stephanos, plērēs ōn Pneumatos hagiou, eide te ha eide; kai ha eiden, ephthenxato. Ho de Dabid, en Pneumati auton kalei Kyrion, kathōs legei to Euangelion. Paulos de, kathōs autos ekeinos phēsin, en Pneumati lalei ta mystēria. Ei oun heis ho didaskalos, oudemian pros heauton diaphōnian echōn
or having been filled with angelic help, saw what he saw.” But what does it say? “But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, saw the glory of God” and the only-begotten Son of God. For it is not possible, as the prophet says, for the light to be seen unless it is beheld in the light: “For in your light,” he says, “we shall see light.” If, then, the vision of the light cannot come about except in the light (for how can one look at the sun when outside its rays?), since the only-begotten Light is beheld in the light of the Father, that is, in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from him, for this reason Stephen, first illuminated by the glory of the Spirit, comes to apprehend the glory of the Father and of the Son. Otherwise, how shall we say that the Gospel’s statement is true, that “no one has ever seen God”? And how shall we say that the Apostle does not cry out what contradicts the history, when he says, “whom no man has seen or can see”? For if the glory of the Father and of the Son had become containable by human nature and power, the one who declared that the divine sight cannot be contained by men would be entirely false. But it must be that he does not lie and that the history is true. So the wickedness of the Pneumatomachi is plainly caught out, since Scripture testifies that like things are seen by like. For Stephen does not see the divine while remaining in human nature and power; but, blended with the grace of the Holy Spirit, he was raised by him to the apprehension of God. If, then, without the Spirit it is not possible either to say “Jesus is Lord”, as the Apostle says, or to apprehend the Father’s glory, it has been clearly shown that where the Spirit is, there the Son too is seen and the Father’s glory is grasped. But another weapon of ungodliness is put forward against us from this history by the fighters against Christ. For they say that the inferiority of the Only-begotten is signified by it: they make his standing at the right hand of the Father a proof that he is subject to the Father’s authority. What then of Paul, I might say to them? And what, before him, of the prophet David, both of whom, by the teaching of the Spirit, set out the glory of the Only-begotten? For David says, “The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand”; and the Apostle says that the Lord has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. If, then, standing is a sign of inferiority, sitting is surely a sign of equal honour. So let them either strike out the testimonies worthy of God by which the exaltation of the right hand is signified, or let them understand this one too with reverence. For in each of these sayings there is one teacher, the grace of the Spirit. For Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, both saw what he saw and spoke what he saw. And David calls him Lord in the Spirit, as the Gospel says. And Paul, as he himself says, speaks mysteries in the Spirit. If, then, the teacher is one, having no disagreement with himself
Acts 7:55 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 36:9 (35:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 15:26 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 1:18 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 6:16 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 12:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 8:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 12:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 22:43 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 14:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Stephen saw the Father’s glory and the Son because he was full of the Spirit, in whose light alone God is seen; and the Son’s standing no more implies inferiority than his sitting in Psalm 110 and Hebrews.
- “Full of the Holy Spirit, saw the glory of God”: Acts 7:55 (Gregory adds “the only-begotten Son of God” in paraphrase). “In your light we shall see light”: Ps 36:9 (LXX 35:10). The Spirit “who proceeds from him”: John 15:26. “No one has ever seen God”: John 1:18; “whom no man has seen or can see”: 1 Tim 6:16. “Jesus is Lord”: 1 Cor 12:3. “The Lord said to my Lord”: Ps 110:1 (LXX 109:1); David “in the Spirit”: Matt 22:43; the right hand of the throne: Heb 8:1; 12:2; mysteries in the Spirit: 1 Cor 14:2. The “fighters against Christ” are those who held the Son inferior to the Father (Gregory’s Eunomian opponents); the polemic is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (end of a word split at the page break, joined to the previous page): ναμιν ὢν, ἢ → ὢν, ἢ.
Topics: Trinity, Christology, Heresy
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 717 (PG 46:717–718; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/717). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/717
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1-717) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 719
719PG 46:719–720
(ὁ γὰρ διδάσκαλός ἐστι τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ ἐν τοῖς θεοφορουμένοις γενόμενον)· πῶς ἄν τις διαφωνίαν τινὰ τῶν δογμάτων καθυποπτεύσειεν; ᾿Αλλ' ἕτερον ἡ καθέδρα, φησὶ, καὶ ἕτερον ἡ στάσις ἐνδείκνυται νοῦν, κατὰ τὸ προχείρως νοούμενον. Φημί κἀγώ· ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν σωμάτων ἡ τῶν ῥημάτων ἔμφασις δείκνυσι, τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀσωμάτου φύσεως εὐαγές ἐστι λογίζεσθαι. Ἐπ᾿ ἀνθρώπου μὲν γὰρ ἡ καθέδρα, τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ ἰσχίῳ τοῦ σώματος ὑπογράφει θέσιν· ὡς ἂν μὴ διὰ παντὸς κάμνοι τῆς ἀγκύλης ὁ τόνος, ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ τὸ βάρος ἀνέχων τοῦ σώματος. Καὶ τὸ ἔμπαλιν ἡ στάσις, ὄρθιον ἐπὶ γονάτων ἑρμηνεύει τὸν ἄνθρωπον, οὐκ ἐπ᾿ ἰσχίῳ διὰ καθέδρας ἀναπαυόμενον. Ἐπὶ δὲ ὑπερεχούσης φύσεως, καθαρεύει τῶν τοιούτων νοημάτων τὸ πρόχειρον νοουμένης ἐμφάσεως κεχωρισμένη. Οὔτε γὰρ τὴν ἐπ᾿ ἀγκύλῃ στάσιν τοῦ ἀσωμάτου, οὔτε τὴν ἐπὶ ἰσχίῳ καθίδρυσιν τοῦ ἀσχηματίστου παραληψόμεθα. Ἀλλὰ δι᾽ ἑκατέρας φωνῆς τὸ ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ στάσιμον, καὶ ἐν παντὶ ἀμετάθετον, εὐσεβῶς νοήσομεν. Ὅ τε γὰρ ἐστάναι καὶ ὁ καθῆσθαι τὸ Θεῖον λέγων, οὐδὲν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐν τῇ τῶν ῥημάτων έτερότητι περὶ τὸν νοῦν διαφέρονται· ὁ μὲν βεβηκέναι παγίως, ὁ δὲ καθιδρύσθαι ἀμεταθέτως τὸ Θεῖον ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ δογματίζοντες. Ὥσπερ δὲ ὁ προφήτης Δαβίδ, καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος Παῦλος, τὴν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς καθέδραν ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἑκάτερος λόγοις διηγούμενοι οὐκ ἔδωκαν νοεῖν, ὅτι τοῦ Πατρὸς ἑστῶτος, ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν καθέδρᾳ ἐστὶ, καίτοι γε μόνης μνησθέντες τῆς τοῦ Υἱοῦ καθιζήσεως· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Στεφάνου, τοῦ Υἱοῦ τὴν στάσιν ἀκούσας, οὐκέτ᾽ ἂν εὐλόγως περὶ τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς καθέδρας ὑπονοήσειας. Ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ Παύλου καὶ τοῦ Δαβὶδ τὸ καθῆσθαι τὸν Πατέρα, διὰ τοῦ καθίσαι τὸν Υἱὸν ἐκ δεξιῶν συνωμολόγηται, καίτοι τοῦ λόγου μηδὲν περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς προδιδάξαντος· κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Στεφάνου, ἡ τοῦ Υἱοῦ στάσις τὸ ἶσον καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Πατρὸς συνενδείκνυται. Οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ὁ τῆς εἰκόνος διασωθείη λόγος, εἰ πᾶν ὅ τἱ πέρ ἐστιν ἐν τούτῳ νοούμενόν τε καὶ καθορώμενον, τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀρχετύπῳ πιστεύοιτο. Καὶ ὡς ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν, καὶ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ τὸ φῶς, καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τὸ πρωτότυπον κάλλος διὰ τῶν οἰκείων ἐν τῇ εἰκόνι χαρακτηρίζεται· οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῇ καθέδρᾳ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, ὅ τί ποτε νοεῖν τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα δίδωσι, καὶ ἡ τοῦ Πατρὸς καθέδρα καταλαμβάνεται, ὁμοίως καὶ ἐν τῇ στάσει ἡ στάσις· ὡς ἂν μὴ διαπέσοι τῆς εἰκόνος ὁ λόγος, ἐν τῇ ἀπαλλάξει τῶν ἰδιωμάτων τοῦ ἀρχετύπου ἀλλοτριούμενος. Ταῦτα ἡμῖν, ἀδελφοὶ, κατὰ πάροδον πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ζήτημα τεθεωρήσθω, τῆς τοῦ Στεφάνου ὀπτασίας τὴν τοιαύτην θεωρίαν ἐπεισενεγκούσης τῷ λόγῳ. Γένοιτο δὲ ἡμᾶς, μὴ θεατὰς μόνον γενέσθαι τῆς τοῦ Στεφάνου ἀθλήσεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετόχους τῆς χάριτος, πληρωθέντας τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, εἰς καθαίρεσιν τῶν ἀντιδίκων, εἰς δόξαν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα
(ho gar didaskalos esti to Pneuma tēs alētheias to en tois theophoroumenois genomenon); pōs an tis diaphōnian tina tōn dogmatōn kathypopteuseien? ᾿All' heteron hē kathedra, phēsi, kai heteron hē stasis endeiknytai noun, kata to procheirōs nooumenon. Phēmi kagō; all᾽ ouch hoper epi tōn sōmatōn hē tōn rhēmatōn emphasis deiknysi, touto kai epi tēs asōmatou physeōs euages esti logizesthai. Ep᾿ anthrōpou men gar hē kathedra, tēn epi tǭ ischiǭ tou sōmatos hypographei thesin; hōs an mē dia pantos kamnoi tēs ankylēs ho tonos, eph᾽ heautou to baros anechōn tou sōmatos. Kai to empalin hē stasis, orthion epi gonatōn hermēneuei ton anthrōpon, ouk ep᾿ ischiǭ dia kathedras anapauomenon. Epi de hyperechousēs physeōs, kathareuei tōn toioutōn noēmatōn to procheiron nooumenēs emphaseōs kechōrismenē. Oute gar tēn ep᾿ ankylę̄ stasin tou asōmatou, oute tēn epi ischiǭ kathidrysin tou aschēmatistou paralēpsometha. Alla di᾽ hekateras phōnēs to en panti agathǭ stasimon, kai en panti ametatheton, eusebōs noēsomen. Ho te gar estanai kai ho kathēsthai to Theion legōn, ouden pros allēlous en tę̄ tōn rhēmatōn eterotēti peri ton noun diapherontai; ho men bebēkenai pagiōs, ho de kathidrysthai ametathetōs to Theion en tǭ agathǭ dogmatizontes. Hōsper de ho prophētēs Dabid, kai ho apostolos Paulos, tēn tou Monogenous kathedran en tois kath' heauton hekateros logois diēgoumenoi ouk edōkan noein, hoti tou Patros hestōtos, ho Huios en kathedrą esti, kaitoi ge monēs mnēsthentes tēs tou Huiou kathizēseōs; ton auton tropon kai epi tou Stephanou, tou Huiou tēn stasin akousas, ouket᾽ an eulogōs peri tēs tou Patros kathedras hyponoēseias. Hōs gar epi tou Paulou kai tou Dabid to kathēsthai ton Patera, dia tou kathisai ton Huion ek dexiōn synōmologētai, kaitoi tou logou mēden peri tou Patros prodidaxantos; kata ton auton tropon kai epi tou Stephanou, hē tou Huiou stasis to ison kai epi tēs doxēs tou Patros synendeiknytai. Houtō gar an ho tēs eikonos diasōtheiē logos, ei pan ho ti per estin en toutǭ nooumenon te kai kathorōmenon, to auto kai en tǭ archetypǭ pisteuoito. Kai hōs en tǭ agathō to agathon, kai en tǭ phōti to phōs, kai en pasi to prōtotypon kallos dia tōn oikeiōn en tę̄ eikoni charaktērizetai; houtō kai en tę̄ kathedrą tou Huiou, ho ti pote noein touto to onoma didōsi, kai hē tou Patros kathedra katalambanetai, homoiōs kai en tę̄ stasei hē stasis; hōs an mē diapesoi tēs eikonos ho logos, en tę̄ apallaxei tōn idiōmatōn tou archetypou allotrioumenos. Tauta hēmin, adelphoi, kata parodon pros to prokeimenon zētēma tetheōrēsthō, tēs tou Stephanou optasias tēn toiautēn theōrian epeisenenkousēs tǭ logǭ. Genoito de hēmas, mē theatas monon genesthai tēs tou Stephanou athlēseōs, alla kai metochous tēs charitos, plērōthentas tou hagiou Pneumatos, eis kathairesin tōn antidikōn, eis doxan tou Kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou, hǭ hē doxa
(for the teacher is the Spirit of truth, who comes to be in those who are borne by God), how could anyone suspect any disagreement in the doctrines? “But sitting,” someone says, “shows one meaning and standing another, according to the obvious sense.” I say so too; but what the force of the words shows in the case of bodies cannot reverently be reckoned of the bodiless nature too. For in man sitting describes the resting of the body on the hips, so that the tension of the bent knee may not be wearied all the time by bearing the body’s weight; and conversely standing signifies a man upright on his knees, not resting on his hips by sitting. But in the transcendent nature our thought is kept clean of such notions, apart from the obvious sense. For we shall not take the bodiless to stand on a bent knee, nor the shapeless to be seated on hips; but by each word we shall reverently understand what is steadfast in every good and unchangeable in every way. For the one who says the Divine stands and the one who says it sits do not differ from each other in meaning through the difference of their words: the one teaches that the Divine stands firm, the other that it is immovably seated, in the good. And as the prophet David and the apostle Paul, each describing in his own words the sitting of the Only-begotten, did not give us to understand that the Son is seated while the Father stands, although they mention only the Son’s sitting, so in the same way in Stephen’s case, when you hear of the Son’s standing, you could no longer reasonably suppose that the Father sits. For as in Paul and David the Father’s sitting is admitted along with the Son’s sitting at his right hand, though the text teaches nothing about the Father beforehand, so in the same way in Stephen’s case the Son’s standing shows the same also of the glory of the Father. For only so would the principle of the image be preserved, if whatever is understood and seen in the image is believed to be the same in the archetype too. And as in the good the good, and in the light the light, and in all things the archetypal beauty is expressed in the image by its own marks, so in the sitting of the Son, whatever this word gives us to understand, the sitting of the Father too is grasped, and likewise in the standing the standing; so that the principle of the image may not fail, estranged from the archetype by an exchange of its properties. Let this, brothers, have been considered by us in passing on the question before us, since the vision of Stephen brought such a consideration into our discourse. May it be ours to become not only spectators of Stephen’s contest but also sharers of his grace, filled with the Holy Spirit, for the overthrow of the adversaries, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory
John 14:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 1:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Col 1:15 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Standing and sitting are said of God not bodily but to signify steadfastness in the good; whatever is said of the Son, the image, holds of the Father, the archetype. Gregory closes with a prayer to share Stephen’s grace.
- “The Spirit of truth”: John 14:17; 16:13. Sitting at the right hand: Ps 110:1 (LXX 109:1); Heb 1:3. The Son as image: Col 1:15; 2 Cor 4:4. In the digitized text a stray line (“both the sitting and the standing, each equally of the …”) stands inside the opening parenthesis; its place cannot be determined, and it is removed by a logged correction. The sentence on the transcendent nature is garbled in the digitized text and translated by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misreading and split word; OCR split word; stray displaced line removed (its place cannot be determined)): τὸ ἐν ἡ καθέδρα τε καὶ ἡ στάσις, ἐπίσης ἑκατέρα τῆς κατὰ κα τοῖς θεοφορουμένοις → τὸ ἐν τοῖς θεοφορουμένοις; ἐνδεί κνυται → ἐνδείκνυται; καθα ῆσθαι → καθῆσθαι.
Topics: Trinity, Christology
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 719 (PG 46:719–720; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/719). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/719
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 721
721PG 46:721–722
καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Αμήν.
kai to kratos eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. Amēn.
and power for ever and ever. Amen.
Notes and citation
Summary: The closing doxology of the first sermon on Stephen.
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Steph. 1 721 (PG 46:721–722; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/721). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1/721
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-gregory-nyssa-stephanum-1-721) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 46 (Bavarian State Library OCR); compared afterwards with NPNF2 5 where it exists, otherwise re-read against the Greek.