# Homilies at Alexandria

- Author: [Paul of Emesa](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/paul-of-emesa/)
- Latin title: *Homiliae Alexandriae habitae*
- Date: Dec 432-433 (probable)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Graeca 77 (Paris, 1859), cols. 1433-1444 (Greek text: Migne, PG 77, from a library scan's OCR)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/paul-of-emesa-homiliae/
- Passages: 3

## Homily 1, on the Nativity (Alexandria, 432)

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/paul-of-emesa-homiliae/1/#p-1
- Source: PG 77:1433
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22

Summary: On Christmas at Alexandria, Paul proclaims Mary Theotokos and one Christ in two perfect natures, rejects “two sons”, and is acclaimed by the people as orthodox; he ends by inviting Cyril to preach.

### Greek text

Εὖκαιρον σήμερον τὴν ὑμετέραν παρακαλέσαι εὐλάβειαν, ἱερόν τινα χορὸν ἅμα ἡμῖν συστήσασθαι, atat μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων ἀναβοῆσαι · ι Δόξα ὲν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη, ὲν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία. ι Σήμερον γὰρ ἡμῖν παιδίον ἐγεννήθη, ἐφ’ ᾧ πᾶσα ή ὁρωμένη καὶ ἀόρατος κτίσις βεβαίας τάς ἐλπίδας τῆς σωτηρίας κέκτηται. Σήμερον ἡ ὑπερφυὴς λύεται λοχεία, καὶ⁵ τῆς ἀπειρογέψου Παρθένου λύονται αἱ ὠδῖνες. Ὠ τοῦ θαύματοςί Τίκτει ἡ Παρθένος, καὶ μένει παρθένος · γίνεται μήτηρ, καὶ ού πάντα τὰ μητρὸς ἀκριβῶς ὑπομένει. Ἐτεκε b μὲν γὰρ ὡς νόμος γυναιξὶνή Παρθένος, ἔμεινε δὲ παρθέο νος, ὡς ού νόμος ταῖς τικτούσαις γυναιξίν. ’Δνωθεν προορώμενος ὁ προφήτης Ἦσαῖας τδ θαῦμα, ἐβόα · ι ’ἰδοὺ ἡ Παρθένος ὲν γαστρὶ ἔξει, καὶ τέξεται υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσουσιτὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ. ι Τοῦτο διασαφῶν ὁ εύαγγελιστὴς εἶπεν ἑρμηνευόμενον. Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός.Τίκτει οῦν ή Θεοτόκος Μαρία τὸν Ἐβόησεν ὁλαός· Ἢ πίστις ίδοὺ α’ύτη ε ἐστί· Β Θεοῦ δῶρον, Κύριλλε ὁρθόδοξε · τοῦτο ἀκοῦσαι ὲζητοῦμεν. '0 τοῦτο μὴ λέγων, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. Λοιπὸν εἶπεν ὁ ἐπίσκοπος Παῦλος · '0 τοῦτο μὴ λέγων, καὶ νοῶν, καῖ φρονῶν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω ἀπὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Ἔτεκεν οὖν ἡμῖν ἡ Θεοτόκος Μαρία τὸν Ἐμμανουήλ’ Ἐμμανουὴλ δὲ, Θεὸν ἑνανθρωπήσαντα. Ὀ γὰρ πρδ τῶν αἰώνων ἐκ Πατρος ἀρρήτως καὶ ἀνεκφράστως γεννηθεὶς Θεὸς Λόγος, ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν τίκτεται ὲκ γυναι-ο κός. Τὴν γὰρ ἡμετέραν τελείως ἀνειληφὼς φύσιν, καὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον ἀ ὲκ πρώτης συλλήψεως οἰκειὼσας έαυτῷ, καὶ τὸ ἡμέτερον σῶμα ναὸν έαυτῷ κατασκευασάμενος, προῆλθεν ὲκ τῆς Θεοτόκου Θεὸς τέλειος, xui. ἄνθρωπος τέλειος ὁ αὑτός. Δύο γὰρ φύσεων τελείων συνδρομὴ, θεότητος, φη μὶ, καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος, τὸν ἕνα ἡμῖν ἀπετέλεσεν Υίὸν, τὸν ἕνα Χριστὺν, τὸν ἕνα Κύριον. Ὀλαὸς ὲόόησε ’ Καλῶς ἦλθες, ὀρθόδοξε ἐπίσκοπε · ὁ ἄξιος τῷ ἀξίῳ. Χριστιανοὶ λέγουσι* Θεοῦ δῶρον, Κύριλλε ὀρθόδοξε. ’0 ἐπίσκοπος Παῦλος εἶπεν ' ᾜδειν κάγὼ, ἀγαπητοὶ, ὡς πρὸς ὸρθόδοξον ἀφικόμην Πατέ ρα. Διά τοῦτο Τριάδα, οὐ τετράδα προσκυνοῦ μεν, Πατέρα, καὶ Υίδν, καὶ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον. Ἀναθεματίζομεν δὲ τοὺς λέγοντας δύο υἱοὺς, καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν τῆς Ἐκκλησὶας ὲκύάλλομεν περισὸλων. Ούτε οὖν δύο υίοὺς λέγομεν, οὔτε ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον τδνἘμμανουήλ, τὸν ὲκ τῆς Θεοτόκου γεννηθέντα, οὔτε χάριτος ἠξιωμένον, ὡς προφήτην, ἢ ὡς δίκαιον, πλέον τῶν ἄλλων. ι Ἐν αύτῷ γὰρ ηῠδόκησε κατοικῆσαι πᾶν τὺ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς, ι τουτέστιν, ὡς ὲν ίδίῳ σώματι· τὸ γὰρ ἡμέτερον, ῐδιον ἐποιήσατο σῶμα. Ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πίστει τεθεμελίωται ὴ.Ἐκκλησία τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ προσδοκίᾳ, ἐπὶ ταύτης τῆς θ πέτρας ἔθετο τὰ θεμέλια τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὀ Δεσπότης Θεὸς. Ὅτε οὖν ἦλθεν ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς ἐπὶ τὰ( Ίε ροσόλυ μα, ἠρώτα τοὺς μαθητὰς, λέγων ° ‹ Τίνα με λέγουσιν ot υίοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εῖναι τὸν Υίδντοῦ ἀνθρώπους Λέγουσιν οἱ ἀπόστολοι· ι Οἱ μὲν Ἠλίαν, ἐτεροι δέ Ἱερεμίαν, ἢ ἕνα τῶν προφητῶν. Καὶ λέγει ’ Ὑμεῖς ε ι τουτέστιν, ἡ ἐμὴ ἐκλογὴ, τὰς διεψευσμένας λέγετε δόξας, ὅτι oi μὲν Ἠλίαν ἔλεγον, ἕτεροι δὲ Ἰερεμίαν, ἢένα τῶν προσ φητῶν· ὑμεῖς δὲ, οἰ παρακολουθήσαντές μοι τρία ἔτη, καὶ ἰδόντες μου τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ τὰ τεράστια, καὶ θεασάμενοί με ἐπὶ θαλάσσης περιπατοῦντα, οί τραπεζῶν μοι κοινωνήσαντες, ι τίνα με λέγετε; ι Εὐθέως 6 κορυφαῖοςπῶν ἀποστόλων, τὸ στόμα τῶν μαθητῶν, 6 Πέτρος· ι Σὺ εἴ 6 Χριστὸς, 6 Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος · › σὺ εἷ 6 Χριστὸς,ή διττὴ φύσις, 6 ἐνανθρωπήσας’ ι Σὺ εἴ 6 Χριστός ⁸ ι καὶ οὐκ εἵπεν, Oi uici h, ἀλλ’ ι 6 Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος ° ι ἐπέγνω καὶ τὸ μοναδικδν πρόσωπον. Παρακαλέσωμεν οὖν τὸν Πατέρα, τὴν συνήθη παραθεῖναι ἡμῖν τράπεζαν, καὶ τὰ ⁷πολυτελῆ καὶ *ποιπίλα τοῦ -Πνεύματος Β ὄψα ο στεφανῶσαι τὸν κρατῆρα τῆς διδασκαλίας· καὶ μεθύσαι ἡμᾶς μέθην, σωφροσύνης μητέρα. Elπιωμεν, Ἐξεγέρθητι, ὦ Πάτερ, ι ἐξεγέρθητι, ἠ δόξα μου· ἐξεγέρθητι ψαλτήριον, καὶ κιθάρα τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύ ματος. ι ᾯ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. 

### English translation (Claude)

It is a fitting time today to urge your piety to form with us a sacred choir and, with the holy angels, to cry out: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men.” For today a child has been born to us, in whom the whole creation, visible and invisible, has obtained sure hopes of salvation. Today the supernatural childbirth is accomplished, and the pangs of the Virgin who knew no marriage are loosed. O the wonder! The Virgin gives birth and remains a virgin; she becomes a mother, and does not undergo exactly all that belongs to a mother. For the Virgin gave birth as is the law for women, but remained a virgin, as is not the law for women who give birth. Foreseeing the wonder from of old, the prophet Isaiah cried: “Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in the womb and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.” Making this clear, the evangelist said that it is interpreted “God with us.” So Mary, the Theotokos, gives birth to [Emmanuel].
The people cried out: “Behold, this is the faith! Gift of God, orthodox Cyril! This is what we sought to hear. Whoever does not say this, let him be anathema!”
Then Bishop Paul said: “Whoever does not say this, and understand it, and hold it, let him be anathema from the church.
So Mary, the Theotokos, has borne us Emmanuel; and Emmanuel is God made man. For God the Word, begotten of the Father before the ages ineffably and inexpressibly, in the last days is born of a woman. For having taken our nature completely, and having made the human his own from the first conception, and having prepared our body as a temple for himself, he came forth from the Theotokos, perfect God and the same perfect man. For the concurrence of two perfect natures, I mean of Godhead and of manhood, has made for us the one Son, the one Christ, the one Lord.”
The people cried out: “Welcome, orthodox bishop! The worthy to the worthy!” The Christians say: “Gift of God, orthodox Cyril!”
Bishop Paul said: “I knew, beloved, that I had come to an orthodox father. Therefore we worship a Trinity, not a quaternity: Father and Son and Holy Spirit. And we anathematize those who say two sons, and we cast them out of the sacred precincts of the church. So we neither say two sons, nor that Emmanuel, born of the Theotokos, is a mere man, nor that he was granted grace, like a prophet or a righteous man, more than others. ‘For in him it pleased the whole fullness of the Godhead to dwell bodily’, that is, as in his own body; for he made our body his own. On this faith the church of God is founded; on this expectation, on this rock, the Lord God laid the foundations of the church. When, then, the Lord Christ came to Jerusalem, he asked the disciples, saying, ‘Who do the sons of men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ The apostles say: ‘Some Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ And he says: ‘You’, that is, my chosen ones, ‘tell me the false opinions, that some said Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets; but you, who have followed me three years and seen my power and the wonders, and watched me walking on the sea, who have shared my table, who do you say that I am?’ At once the chief of the apostles, the mouth of the disciples, Peter: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ ‘You are the Christ’: the twofold nature, the one made man. ‘You are the Christ’; and he did not say ‘the sons’, but ‘the Son of the living God’: he recognized also the single person. Let us, then, ask the father to set before us his usual table, and with the costly and varied dishes of the Spirit to crown the bowl of teaching, and to make us drunk with the drunkenness that is the mother of sobriety. Let us say: ‘Awake, O father; awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp of the Holy Spirit.’ To whom be glory and might for ever and ever. Amen.”

### Scripture references

- Luke 2:14: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 9:6: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 2:11: allusion, medium confidence
- Isa 7:14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 1:23: quotation, high confidence
- Col 2:9: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 16:13–16: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 16:18: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 14:25: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 57:8 (56:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Paul of Emesa's sermon preached at Alexandria before Cyril at Christmas 432, with the congregation's acclamations recorded in the text. The OCR is noisy; it is translated by sense. A word lost at the end of the first paragraph is supplied in brackets from the context (Emmanuel). Luke 2:14; Isa 9:6 (with Luke 2:11); Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23; Col 2:9; Matt 16:13–16, 18; Ps 57:8 (LXX 56:9). The christological formulas (Theotokos, “two perfect natures”, “one Son … one person”, rejection of “two sons”) are translated exactly.

### Citation (SBL)

Paul of Emesa, Hom. 1 (PG 77:1433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/paul-of-emesa-homiliae/1).

## Homily 2, on the Incarnation (Alexandria, 432)

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/paul-of-emesa-homiliae/1/#p-2
- Source: PG 77:1437
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22

Summary: In a second sermon at Alexandria, Paul teaches that Emmanuel is consubstantial with the Father and with us, two natures in one person, and that God the Word, remaining impassible, made his own the sufferings of his body; the people acclaim Cyril.

### Greek text

Πρώην πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν όιγωνιστικάγτερον διαλεγόμενοι ἀγάπην, πέρας ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ λόγῳ οὐκ ἰσχύσαμενο στενοχωρία δὲ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀδελφῶν C ἐξῶσεν ἡμᾶς τῶν σκαμμάτων. Φέρε οῦν αὖθις ἀποδυσάμενοι ἱ, τῶν αὐτῶν ἁψώμεθα παλαισμάτων. '0 δὲ γενναῖος οὗτος πατὴρ l καὶ παιδοτρίβης ὅπερ ποτέ ll ἐποίει, καί⁸ αὖθις ποιείτω* κρινέτω τὰ παλαίσματα. Καὶ γὰρ τότε γεγαννυμένῳ 1 τῷ προσώπῳ, καὶ φαιδρῷ τῷ μειδιάματι ἐδείκνυτο χαίρων τοῖς ἀγῶσι τοῦ παιδός ο καὶ θαλλοῦ δίκην τὴν δεξιὰν ἡμῖν ἐπισείων, δῆλος ἦν ἡμῖν τιθέμενος, καὶ ἐπιθυμῶν τὸν παῖδα ἀναρρηθῆναι, καὶ στεφανίτην καὶ νικητὴν ἀναδει'0 λαὸς ἐβόησε ° Θεοῦ δῶρον Κύριλλος ιο, ὅλους ἐποίησας ώς σεαυτόν. '0 ἄξιος τῷ ἀξίῳ. ’0 λαὸς εἷπε ιι, Τῶν ἐπισκόπωντὺν πατέρα, Κύριε, σῶσον. Καλῶς ἦλθες, ἐπίσκοπε ὀρθόδοξε, τῆς οἰκουμένης παιδευτά. '0 πιστεύων οὕτω, φιλεῖται· μεγάλου διδασκάλου μέγας ° ἐπαινέτης. '0 ἐπίσκοπος Παῦλος Ἐπανέλθωμεν οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν Θεοτόκον Μαρίαν, καὶ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς τεχθέντα Ἐμμανουὴλ, τὸν Θεὸν τὸν ἐνανθρωπήσαντα. Ἔτεκε γὰρ ἡμῖν ἡ Παρθένος τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ, κατὰ μὲν τὴν θεότητα τῷ Πατρὶ ὁμοούσιον, κατά δέ τὴν ἁνθρωπότητα τὸν αὐτὸν ημῖν δμοούσιον, Ἐπεὶ πῶς ἂν λεχθείη ῥάβδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαί; πῶς δὲ σπέρματος ’Λβραάμ; πῶς δέ υἱὸς Δαυῒδ; Πῶς δ’ ἂν νοηθείη τό· ι Ἐξ αὐτῶν κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸς, 6 ὣν ἐπὶ πάντων Θεός ; ι τὸ δὲ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Παύλου πῶς ἂν ἐκλάβωμεψ ι Περὶ τοῦ Υίοῦ αὐτοῦ, τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυῒδ κατά σάρκα, τοῦ ὁρισθέντος Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατά Πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης, ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ι) mitti»); Ἔτεκεν οὖν ἡ ἁγία Μαρία τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ, κατά μὲν τὴν θεότητα.. καθά προειρήκαμεν, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρὶ, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα ἡμῖν ὀμοούσιον ο κατὰ μὲν τὴν θεότητα, ἀπαθῆ, κατά δέ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, παθητόν· εί γὰρ καὶ οἰκειοῦται τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος τὰ πάθη 6 Θεὸς Λόγος, καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀναφέρει, ἀλλά γε μεμένηκεν αὐτὸς ἐν τοῖς τῆς ἀπαθείας ὅροις. Κᾶν ἀκούσῃς αὐτοῦ λέγοντοςο ι- Ἔδωκα τὸν νῶτόν μου εἰς μάστιγας, τὰς δέ σιαγόνας μου είς ῥαπίσματα, τὸ δὲ πρόσωπόν μου οὐκ ἀπέστρεψα ἀπὸ αἰσχύνης ἐμπτυσμάτων· ι μηδὲν αὐτὸν πεπονοέναι εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν ὑπολάβῃς· οἰκειώσασθαι δέ μᾶλλον τοῦ [δίου σώματος τὰς μάστιγας· 6 γὰρ Θεὸς Λόγος με· μένηκεν ἀπαθής. 0t δέ ἀντιταττόμενοι ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς καὶ ταῖς ὀρθαῖς δόξαις, ἐροῦσιν ἡμῖν· Ei ἀπαθὴς 6 Θεὸς (ι Λόγος, καὶ ἄτρεπτος, καὶ ἀναλλοίωτος, πῶς 6 Λόγος σάρξςέγένετω Ἄκουε ἀγαπητὰ ι ’0 Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ι οὐ μεταπεπτωκὼς είς σάρκα ⁶ οὔτε γὰρ 6 Θεὸς Λόγος μεταπέπτωκεν εἰς σάρκα, οὗτε ἀναληφθεῖσα σὰρξ ἐχώρησεν εἰς φύσιν τοῦ ἀνειληφότος. Τί οὖν ἐστιν, ι '0 Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγὲνετος ι Τουτέστι, σάρκα ἔλαβε, καὶ⁵ σάρκα οὐ ψιλὴν, ἀλλά τὴν μετά ψυχῆς λογικῆς καὶ νοερᾶς, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τελεία ἠ ἡμετέρα φύσις. Οὕτως 6 Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο. Ἐβουλόμην δέ ὑμᾶς καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν τοῦ μεγαλοφωνοτάτου Ἰωάννου γνῶναι, ἵνα εἰδῆτε τοῦ προειρημένου τὴν δύναμιν. Ὀ θεολόγος Ἰωάνενης, ὁ τῆς βροντῆς υίὸς, 6 καταξιωθεὶς ἐπὶ τοῦ Δεσποτικοῦ στήθους ἀνακλιθῆναι τ, κάκεῖθεν ἡμῖν τὰ ὑψηλότερα καὶ θειότερα ³ ἀρυσάμενος δόγματα, βού· λεται παραστῆσαι τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ ἡμᾶς φιλανθρωπίαν· καὶ πρῶτον εἰρηκὼς τά θειόετερα ο ι Ἑν ἀρχῇ ἦν 6 Λόγος, καὶ 6 Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ Θεὸς ῆν 6 Λόγοςο οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ . πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· πάντα δι’ αὑτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὑτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδέ ἓν, 6 γέγονεν · ι ὅτε ἔδειξεν αὺτὸν συναῖδιον τῷ Πατρί. Τοῦ γὰρ ἐν ἀρχῇ οὐδὲν πρεσβύτερον εὑρίσκομεν· κᾶν ἀναδράμῃς τῇ διανοίᾳ, προλαμβάνει σε τὸ, ἦν, τοῦ γὰρ ἦν οὐδὲν τέρμα εὑρίσκεται· ὅτε ταῦτα εῐρηκε, καὶ ἔδειξε συναῖδιον τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ δημιουργὸν τῶν πάντων, τότε ἐπάγεις ι '0 Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ι μονονρυχὶ λέγων, ὅτι συναῒδιος τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ τῶν πάντων Κύριος1 καὶ δημιουργὸς, τοσοῦτον ἐταπείνωσεν ἐαυτὸν δι’ ἡμᾶς καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν, ὥστε σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ἵνα - ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐτελεστέραν τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν μέρους τοὺς ὐπερὸἁλλοντας τοῦ Θεοῦ οἱκτιρμοὺς περὶ ἡμᾶς δείξῃ. ι Ὀ Λόγος οὖν, φησι, σὰρξ ἐγένετο. ι Καὶ οὑκ έστη μέχρι τούτου, ἀλλ’ ἐπήγαγε· ι Καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ὲν ἡμῖν’ ι τὸ δὲ δεύτερον, τοῦ πρώτου ἑρμηνεία ἐστὶ. Τί ἐστιν, ι '0 Λόγος σὰρξ έγένετο; ι Ἐσκήνωσεν ὲν ἡμῖν, τουτέστιν, έν τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ φύσει. Ὅρα καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην δύο φύσεις κηρύττοντα, καὶ ἕνα Υίόν. Ἕτερον σκηνὴ, καὶ ἓτε ρον τὸ σκηνοῦν ο ἕτερον ναὸς, καὶ ἕτερον ό ένοικῶν Θεός. Πρόσεχε τῷ λεγομένῳ. Οὐκ εἶπον ¹, ἔτερος καὶ ἕτερος, ὡς ἐπὶ δύο προσώπων, ῆ δύο Χριστῶν, ἢ δύο υἱῶν υ ἀλλ’ ἕτερον καὶ ‘ ἕτερον, ὡς ἐπὶ δύο φύσεων. Ὅτε οὖν εἶπεν · ι Ἐσκήνωσεν έν ἡμῖν, ι καὶ ἐκήρυξε τὰς δύὸ φύσεις, τότε ἐπήγαγε· ι Καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὑτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς Μονογενοῦς. ι Οὐκ εἷπε,Δύο υἱῶν, ἀλλὰ, Morareνοῦς. Ἡσαΐας οὗν κηρύσσει τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ, τουτέστι Θεδίν ένανθρωπήσαντα. Πέτροςδὲ λέγει· ι Σὺ εί ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος, ι τὴν διττὴν φύσιν, καὶ τὸ μοναδικδν πρόσωπον τοῦ Υἱοῦ. Ὀ θεολόγος Ἰωάννης λέγει ’ ι Καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, › δύο φύσεις, καὶ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς τὸ ἓν πρόσωπον. Ἔμεινε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος ἀπαθής. Πάλιν γὰρ ἐπ’ έκεῖνο ἔρχομαι · πρόσεχε τῷ λεγομένῳ. Καὶ τῶν μὲν θειοτέρων μεταδέδωκε τῇ ἁνειλημμένῃ φύσει, τῶν δὲ τῆς ἁνθρωπότητος οὐδενὸς μετέλαβε. Περιεπάτησεπ. ἐπὶ θαλάσσης, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος. Ἐπετίμησε τοῖς ἀνέμοις καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος. Ἀπήντησεν αὐτῷ λεπρὸς, λέγων· ι Κύριε, ἐὰν θέλῃς, δύνασαί με καθαρίσαι ’ ι λέγει · ι Θέλω · καθαρίσθητιο ι καὶ ἥψατο αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα τὸ Δεσποτικὸν, καὶ ἐδραπέτευσε τὸ νόσημαο ἀπεξύσθη ἡ λέπρα. ’Έθρεψε πεντακισχιλίους ὲκ πέντε ἄρτων, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ ἡμετέρου σώματος ο λαβὼν γὰρ ηὐχαρίστησε τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ κλάσας ἔδωκε τοῖς μα·θηταῖς αὐτοῦ, οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ τῷ πλήθει ' καὶ ἐπερίσσευσαν δώδεκα κόφινοι κλασμάτων. Μόνου Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας· πάλιν λέγει’ ι Ἵνα εἰδῆτε, ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ό Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀφιέναι ἁμαρο τίας. ι Πάλιν λέγει · ι Οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν είς τὸν οὐρανὸν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ὲκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβὰς , ὁ Υίδς D τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὁ ὢν έν τῷ οὐρανῷ. ι Ὁρᾷς, πῶς τῶν θειοτέρων μετέδωκεν; Ὅταν δὲ ἴδῃς αὐτὸν πεινῶντα, καὶ διψῶντα, κοπιῶντα, καὶ ἱδροῦντα, παραδιδόμενον Πιλάτῳ, ἀγόμενον καὶ περιαγόμενον χερσὶ δημίων, ἀγωνιῶντα , εὐχόμενον ο ι Ἑλωῖ Ἐλωί, λαμμᾶ σαβαχθανί ; τουτέστι, Θεέ μου, Θεέ μου, ἵνα τί με ὲγκατέλιπες; ι καὶ πάλινο ι Εἰ δυνατὸν, Πάτερ, παρελθέτω ἀπ’ ὲμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο· πλὴν οὐχ ὼς ἐγὼ θέλω, ἀλλ’ ὡς σύ. ι Ὅταν ίδῃς αὑτὸν ἁνασκολοπιζόμενον ο ὅταν ἴδῃς ἥλους ἐπὶ τῶν χειρῶν καὶ τῶν ποδῶν, καὶ κεκεντημένον τὴν πλευρὰν, τότε νόει, ὅτι 6 Θεὸς Λόγος ἀπαθὴς μεμένηκε, ταῦτα δὲ πάντα οἰκειοῦται τὰ γινόμενα εἰς τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ σῶμα. Ἵνα δὲ δείξῃ, ὅτι οὕτε ὲν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ πά θους ἀπέστη τοῦ ἰδίου ναοῦ, ὅτε οιαὶ oi Ἰουδαῖοι ταῦτα ὲδραματούργουν κατὰ τοῦ Δεσπότου, ἀπέσδεσεν ὡς Θεὸς ἀκτῖνα ήλιακήν. Σκότον κατέχεε τοῦ κόσμου’ ἔσχισε τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ.’Πέτρας διέρρηξε-,ο νεκροὺς ἤγειρε. Ταῦτα πάντα εἰργάσατο, ῐνα γνῷς. ὅτι συνῆν τῷ πάσχοντι, καὶ τὰ μὲν πάθη ᾠκειοῦτο, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀπαθὴς ἅπαντα εἰργάζετο. Τὰ ὑμῶν ὑμῖν παρεθήκαμεν· αὕτη γὰρ τοῦ [ἰατρὸς ή διδασκαλία· οὗτος ὁ θησαυρὸς προγονικὸς ὑμῶν σ τοῦ μακαρίου Ἀθανασίου τὰ δόγματα θ τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοφίλου τά διδάγματα, τῶν στύλων τῆς ὁρθοδοξίας. Ἀλλ’ ἐπειδὴ μακροθύμως τῶν ἡμετέρων ἠνέσχεσθε ψελλισμάτων, ἀναμείνατε τοῦ πατρὸς τήν σοφίαν. Ἠκούσατε καλάμου ποιμενικοῦ, ἀκούσατε καὶ σάλπιγγος μεγαλοφωνοτάτης. ’0 λαὸς εἷπενο Υἰὲ Θεοφίλου, καὶ Ἀθανασίου , Κυρίλλου σοφίας ἀκούσωμεν . . . . 6 ἐπίσκοπος Παῦλος εἶπεν ο ἠμῶν μὲν τῶν ὀρθοδόξων τὰ φρονήματα διεγειρούσης, τῶν δὲ ἐναντίων τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὰ στίφη καταβαλλούσης. Τῷ Θεῷ τοίνυν δόξαν ἀναπέμψομεν νῦν, καὶ ἀεὶ , καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. 

### English translation (Claude)

The other day, while speaking more combatively to your love, we were not able to bring the discourse to an end; for the crowding of our brothers pushed us out of the arena. Come, then, stripping again for the contest, let us take up the same bouts. And let this noble father and trainer do what he once did, and do it again: let him judge the bouts. For then, with a glad face and a bright smile, he showed himself rejoicing in the contests of his child, and, waving his right hand at us like an olive branch, he made it clear that he was setting us forward and desiring the child to be proclaimed, and crowned as victor …
The people cried out: “Gift of God, Cyril! You have made them all like yourself. The worthy to the worthy!” The people said: “Lord, save the father of the bishops! Welcome, orthodox bishop, teacher of the world! He who believes thus is loved. Great praiser of a great teacher!”
Bishop Paul: “Let us return, then, to Mary the Theotokos and to Emmanuel, born of her, God made man. For the Virgin has borne us Emmanuel, consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and the same consubstantial with us according to the manhood. Otherwise how could he be called a rod from the root of Jesse? How of the seed of Abraham? How Son of David? How could this be understood: ‘From them according to the flesh is Christ, who is God over all’? And how shall we take that saying of the divine Paul: ‘Concerning his Son, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our God’? So holy Mary bore Emmanuel, as we have said before, consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the manhood; impassible according to the Godhead, passible according to the manhood. For even if God the Word makes his own the sufferings of his own body and refers them to himself, yet he himself has remained within the bounds of impassibility. Even if you hear him saying, ‘I gave my back to scourges and my cheeks to blows, and I did not turn my face from the shame of spitting’, do not suppose that he suffered anything in his own nature, but rather that he made the scourges of his own body his own; for God the Word has remained impassible. But those who set themselves against the divine Scriptures and the right opinions will say to us: ‘If God the Word is impassible, unchangeable and unalterable, how did the Word become flesh?’ Hear, beloved: ‘The Word became flesh’, not by changing into flesh; for neither did God the Word change into flesh, nor did the flesh that was taken pass into the nature of the one who took it. What, then, is ‘The Word became flesh’? That is, he took flesh, and flesh not bare, but with a rational and intelligent soul, which is our complete nature. Thus the Word became flesh. I should like you to know also the meaning of the most loud-voiced John, so that you may know the force of what has been said. John the theologian, the son of thunder, who was counted worthy to recline on the Lord's breast and drew from there for us the loftier and more divine doctrines, wishes to present God's surpassing love for us. And having first said the more divine things, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made’, when he had shown him co-eternal with the Father (for we find nothing older than ‘in the beginning’; even if you run back in thought, ‘was’ is ahead of you; for no end of ‘was’ is found); when he had said these things and shown him co-eternal with the Father and creator of all, then he adds: ‘The Word became flesh’, all but saying that he who is co-eternal with the Father, and Lord and creator of all, humbled himself so far for us and for our salvation as to become flesh, so that from the meaner part of our nature he might show God's surpassing compassions toward us. ‘The Word, then’, he says, ‘became flesh.’ And he did not stop there, but added: ‘and dwelt among us’; and the second is the interpretation of the first. What is ‘The Word became flesh’? He dwelt among us, that is, in our nature. See John too proclaiming two natures and one Son. The tent is one thing, and the one who dwells in it another; the temple is one thing, and the God who dwells in it another. Attend to what is said. I did not say ‘one and another’ in the masculine, as of two persons, or two Christs, or two sons, but ‘one thing and another’, as of two natures. When, then, he had said, ‘He dwelt among us’, and proclaimed the two natures, then he added: ‘And we beheld his glory, glory as of the Only-begotten.’ He did not say ‘of two sons’, but ‘of the Only-begotten’. Isaiah, then, proclaims Emmanuel, that is, God made man. And Peter says, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’: the twofold nature and the single person of the Son. John the theologian says, ‘And he dwelt among us’: two natures and the one person of the Only-begotten. And God the Word remained impassible. For I come back to that point again; attend to what is said. He gave a share of the more divine things to the nature that was taken, but he took no share of any of the things of manhood. He walked on the sea, but with his own body. He rebuked the winds and the sea, but through his own body. A leper met him, saying, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean’; he says, ‘I will; be clean’; and the Lord's body touched him, and the disease fled, the leprosy was scraped away. He fed five thousand from five loaves, but through our body; for he took, gave thanks to the Father, broke and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the crowd; and twelve baskets of fragments were left over. It belongs to God alone to forgive sins; again he says, ‘That you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins.’ Again he says, ‘No one has gone up into heaven except he who came down from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.’ Do you see how he gave a share of the more divine things? But when you see him hungry and thirsty, labouring and sweating, handed over to Pilate, led and dragged about by the hands of executioners, in agony, praying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’, that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, and again, ‘If it is possible, Father, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will’; when you see him impaled; when you see nails in his hands and feet, and his side pierced, then understand that God the Word has remained impassible, but makes his own all these things that happen to his own body. And to show that not even at the time of the passion did he depart from his own temple, when the Jews were staging these things against the Lord, as God he put out the ray of the sun, poured darkness over the world, tore the veil of the temple, split rocks, raised the dead. All these things he did, so that you may know that he was with the one who suffered, and made the sufferings his own, while he himself, impassible, did all things. We have set before you what is yours: for this is the teaching of the physician [?]; this is your ancestral treasure, the doctrines of the blessed Athanasius, the teachings of the great Theophilus, the pillars of orthodoxy. But since you have patiently borne with our stammerings, wait for the wisdom of the father. You have heard a shepherd's reed; hear also a most loud-voiced trumpet.”
The people said: “Son of Theophilus and of Athanasius, let us hear Cyril's wisdom …”
Bishop Paul said: “… stirring up the minds of us the orthodox and casting down the ranks of the opponents of the church. To God, then, let us now send up glory, now and always and for ever and ever.”

### Scripture references

- Isa 11:1: allusion, high confidence
- Rom 9:5: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 1:3–4: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 50:6: quotation, high confidence
- John 1:14: quotation, high confidence
- John 1:1–3: quotation, high confidence
- Mark 3:17: allusion, high confidence
- John 13:25: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 14:25: allusion, high confidence
- Mark 4:39: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 8:2–3: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 14:19–20: allusion, high confidence
- Mark 2:7: allusion, high confidence
- Mark 2:10: quotation, high confidence
- John 3:13: quotation, high confidence
- Mark 15:34: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 22:42: quotation, high confidence
- John 19:34: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 27:45: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 27:51–52: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Preached at Alexandria early in 433 before Cyril, with the congregation's acclamations. The OCR is noisy and translated by sense; two blocks of leaked footnote and apparatus text are removed by logged corrections, and gaps are shown “…”. “The teaching of the physician” (τοῦ [ἰ]ατρὸς) is uncertain in the scan. Isa 11:1; Gen 22:18; Rom 9:5; Rom 1:3–4; Isa 50:6; John 1:14; John 1:1–3; Mark 3:17; John 13:25; Matt 14:25; Mark 4:39; Matt 8:2–3; Matt 14:19–20; Mark 2:7, 10; John 3:13; Mark 15:34; Luke 22:42; John 19:34; Matt 27:45, 51–52. The christological formulas are translated exactly; the reference to “the Jews” staging the passion is translated as written.

### Citation (SBL)

Paul of Emesa, Hom. 2 (PG 77:1437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/paul-of-emesa-homiliae/2).

## Homily 3, on Peace (Alexandria, 432)

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/paul-of-emesa-homiliae/1/#p-3
- Source: PG 77:1443
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22

Summary: The opening of a third homily, giving thanks for the peace Christ gave the world through the Spirit.

### Greek text

Εὐλογητὸς 6 Θεὸς 6 τοίνυν ιι πρῶτον ὑμῖν φθεγγόμενος τῇ τῆς εἰρήνης προσρήσει, τὴν ὑμετέραν καταξιωθῆναι (Ξ) κατασπάσασθαι εὐλάβειαν · εἰρήνην ἐν τῷ μέρει δεδωκὼς, καὶ εἰρήνην ἀντιλαβὼν ο εἰς ρήνην τὴν πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν αἰτίαν· τὴν ἐράσμιον καί τῷ Θεῷ φίλην ° ἣν 6 Δεσπότης Χριστὸς διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεῦματος , τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἐχαρίσατο. Αὐτῷ ὴ δόξα ἅμα τῷ Πατρὶ σὺν τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, είς τοὺς

### English translation (Claude)

Blessed be God, who, when I first addressed you with the greeting of peace, has granted me to embrace your piety; having given peace in turn and received peace in return: peace, the cause of all good things, lovely and dear to God, which the Lord Christ has graciously given to the world through the Holy Spirit. To him be glory together with the Father, with the Holy Spirit, for …

### Translation notes

- Only the opening of this homily is in the scan; it breaks off (shown “…”). The context is the reconciliation of 433 between Cyril and John of Antioch, for which Paul acted as envoy.

### Citation (SBL)

Paul of Emesa, Hom. 3 (PG 77:1443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/paul-of-emesa-homiliae/3).