Cyril of Alexandria
Letter 1
(Patrologia Graeca 77, 10, 13, 27-28, 36-40)

translated by Joseph Kenny OP

Κύριλλος πρεσβυτέροις καὶ διακόνοις, Πατράσι μοναχοῖς, καὶ τοῖς σῦν ὑμῖν τὸν μονήρη βίον ἀσκοῦσι, καὶ ἐν πίστει Θεοῦ ἱδρυμένοις, ἀγαπητοῖς καὶ ποτεινοτάτοις, ἐν Κυρίῳ χαίρειν...	Cyril, to the priests, deacons, monastic fathers, and those denying themselves in the monastic life with you, to all of you, firmly grounded in the faith, beloved and most dear: greetings in the Lord...
Τεθαύμακα τοίνυν, εἴπερ ἐνδοιάζουσί τινες πότερον Θεοτόκος, ἢ μὴ, λέγοιτ’ ἂν ἡ ἁγία Παρθένος. Εἰ γάρ ἐστι Θεὸς ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, πῶς οὐ Θεοτόκος ἡ τεκοῦσα ἡ ἁγία Παρθένος; Ταύτην ἡμῖν τὴν πίστιν παρέδοσαν οἱ θεσπέσιοι μαθηταῖ, κἂν εἰ μὴ τῆς λέξεως πεποίηνται μνήμην...	I was astounded that some actually doubt whether the Holy Virgin should be called Mother of God or not. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how can the Holy Virgin who gave birth to him not be the Mother of God? This is the faith which the divinely inspired disciples handed down, even though they did not use that term. We were taught to hold this by the holy Fathers...
«Ὅταν γᾶρ, φησῖν, εἰσαγάγῃ τὸν πρωτότοκον εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην, λέγει· Καὶ προσκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄγγελοι Θεοῦ.» Ἀλλ’ ἡμεῖς μὲν, εἰ καὶ τῷ ἁγί̀ῳ κεχρίσμεθα Πνεύματι, τὴν μὲν τῆς υἱοθεσίας καταπλουτοῦμεν χάριν, κεκλήμεθα δὲ καὶ θεοὶ, τό γε μὴν τῆς ἑαυτῶν φύσεως μέτρον οὐκ ἀγνοήσομεν. Ἐσμὲν γὰρ ἐκ γῆς, καὶ τελοῦμεν ἐν οἰκέταις· ὁ δέ ἐστιν οὐκ ἐν οἷς ἡμεῖς, ἀλλὰ φύσει τε καὶ ἀληθῶς Υἱὸς, καὶ τῶν ὅλων Κύριος, καὶ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ.	"When he brought his first-born into the world, he said, Let all the angels of God adore him" (Heb 1:6). We ourselves, if we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, are enriched by the grace of sonship, and are called gods, but we are not ignorant of our limited share in that nature. For we are from the earth, and we are perfected by being servants. He, however, does not have our limitations, but is by nature and in truth the Son, Lord of all, and from heaven.
Καὶ οὐ δή πού φαμεν, ὀρθὰ φρονεῖν ᾑρημένοι, σαρκὸς γενέσθαι πατέρα τὸν Θεὸν, οὐδ’ αὖ τὴν τὴς θεότητος φύσιν γεγεννῆσθαι διὰ γυναικὸς, οὔπω προσλαβοῦσαν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον· συνενεγκόντες δὲ μᾶλλον εἰς ἕνωσιν τόν τε ἐκ Θεοῦ φύντα Λόγον, καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου τελείως ἄνθρωπον, ἕνα Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ Κύριον προσκυνήσομεν,	Keeping to orthodox thinking, we do not say that God became the father of flesh, nor that the divine nature was born through a woman without the addition of humanity. Rather, we bring together in unity the Word sprung from God, and the humanity perfectly sprung from the holy Virgin, into one Christ Jesus our Lord, whom we adore.
οὔτε τῶν τῆς θεότητος ὅρων ἔξω τιθέντες διὰ τὴν σάρκα, οὔτε μὴν εἰς ἀνθρωπότητα ψιλὴν καταβιβάνζοντες διὰ τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμοίωσιν. Οὕτω νοήσεις τὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ φύντα Λόγον τὴν ἑκούσιον ὑπομεῖναι κένωσιν· οὕτω τεταπείνωκεν ἑαυτὸν, μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν, ὁ κατὰ φύσιν ἰδίαν ἐλεύθερος· οὕτω «σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ ἐπελάβετο,» καὶ κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκὸς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος.	We do not exclude him from being qualified as God because of his flesh, nor do we reduce him to a mere man because of his likeness to us. So you can understand how the Word sprung from God underwent a voluntary emptying, how he humbled himself, taking the form of a slave, though free by his own nature, how the Word of God "took to himself the seed of Abraham" (Heb 2:16) and shared our flesh and blood.
Εἰ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος νοεῖται ψιλὸς, καθ’ ἡμᾶς, πῶς ἑτέρου παρ’ αὐτὸν φυσικῶς ἐπελάβετο σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ; Πῶς δὲ τῆς ἰδίας σαρκὸς κεκοινωνηκέναι λέγεται, ἵνα κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοὶς ὁμοιωθῇ; Τὸ γάρ τισιν ὁμοιοῦσθαι λεγόμενον, ἐξ ἀνομοίου τινὸς ἐπὶ τὸ δεῖν ὁμοιοῦσθαι τρέχει.	If he were a mere man, like us, how could he take to himself the seed of Abraham, different by nature from himself? How could he be said to "share" in his own flesh, and be made similar to his brothers. For to be made like something else implies that a thing is different and takes on a likeness.
Ἐπελάβετο τοίνυν σπερματος Ἀβραὰμ καὶ κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκὸς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ἴδιον ποιησάμενος σῶμα τὸ ἐκ γυναικὸς, ἵνα μὴ μονον ὑπάρχων Θεὸς, ἀλλ’ ἤδη καὶ ἄνθρωπος γεγονὼς, καθ’ ἡμᾶς νοοῖτο διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν. Οὐκοῦν ἐκ δυοῖν μὲν πραγμάτων ὁμολογουμένως, θεότητός τε καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος, ὁ Ἐμμανουἠλ. Πλὴν εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, εἷς τε καὶ ἀληθῶς Υἱὸς, Θεὸς τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἄνθρωπος· οὐ θεοποιηθεὶς ἐν ἴσῳ τοῖς κατὰ χάριν, Θεὸς δὲ μᾶλλον ἀληθινὸς ἐν ἀνθρωπείᾳ μορφῇ πεφηνὼς δι’ ἡμᾶς. Πιστώσεται δὲ τοῦτο ἡμᾶς καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος λέγων· «Ὅτε δὲ ἦλθε τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικὸς, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον, ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον ἐξαγοράσῃ, ἵνα τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάβωμεν ἡμεῖς.»...	So the Word of God took to himself the seed of Abraham and shared in human blood and flesh, making his own a body from a woman. In that way, he remained God, but also became man like us, in unity. So must acknowledge Emmanuel as comprising of two things: divinity and humanity. But there is one Lord Jesus Christ, one who is truly Son, who is both God and man. He was not divinized according to grace, like us, but he is true God, who appeared in human form for our sake. Saint Paul asks us to believe this when he says, "When the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that he might redeem those under the law, so that we may receive sonship" (Gal 4:4-5)...
Ἀλλὰ τίς ἂν νοοῖτο, φαίη τις ἂν ἴσως, ἡ διαφορὰ Χριστοῦ καὶ Μωῦσέως, εἴπερ ἄμφω γεγόνασι διὰ γυναικὸς; πῶς ὁ μὲν οἰκέτης καὶ ὡς ἐν οἴκῳ πιστὸς, ὁ δὲ καὶ φύσει κύριος ὡς υἱὸς ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, τουτέστιν ἡμᾶς; οἶμαι δὲ ἔγωγε παντὶ τὸ χρῆμα ὑπάρχειν ἐναργὲς, εἴπερ ἐστὶν ἐν καλῷ φρενὸς καὶ νοῦν ἔχει Χριστοῦ, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον.	If someone gave it a thought, he might wonder: What is the difference between Christ and Moses, since both were born of a woman? How can one be a house-servant, faithful in the house, and the other by nature and as son be lord over his own house, that is, over us? I think that the answer will be very clear if the questioner thinks well and has the mind of Christ, as Blessed Paul says.
Ὁ μεν γὰρ ἦν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ὑπὸ ζυγὸν δουλείας· ὁ δὲ κατὰ φύσιν ἐλεύθερος ὡς Θεὸς, καὶ δημιουργὸς τῶν ὅλων, καὶ κένωσιν ἀνατλὰς τὴν ἐθελούσιον δι’ ἡμᾶς· ἀλλ’ οὐχὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸν τῆς θεοπρεποῦς δόξης ἐξοικίσει, οὔτε μὴν τῆς ὑπερτάτης καὶ κατὰ πάντων ὑπεροχῆς ἀποσοβήσει ποθέν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡμεῖς τὸ αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα πλουτήσαντες (κατῴκησε γὰρ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν), τετάγμεθα μὲν ἐν τέκνοις Θεοῦ, τό γε μὴν εἶναι τοῦθ’ ὅπερ ἐσμὲν οὐκ ἀποβεβλήκαμεν· ἐσμὲν γὰρ ἄνθρωποι κατὰ φύσιν, καίτοι Θεῷ λέγοντες· «Ἀββᾶ, ὁ Πατήρ·» οὕτω καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς οὐσἰας ἀποῥῥήτως ἐκπεφηνὼς Θεὸς Λόγος, προσλαβὼν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, τετίμηκε μὲν τὴν φύσιν, οὐ μὴν ἔξω γέγονε τῆς ἰδίας ὑπεροχῆς, μεμένηκε δὲ καὶ ἐν ἀνθρωπότητι Θεός.	The first was a man, under the yoke of servitude. The other was free by nature, as God, the creator of all, who surrendered himself to a voluntary emptying for our sake. But this did not remove from him the glory due to him as God, nor in any way deprive him of his absolute supremacy over all. Just as we who are enriched by his Spirit (who dwells in our hearts) are listed as children of God, without casting off what we are—for we are men by nature, even while we address God as "Abba, Father"—in like manner, he who is God-Word, ineffably appearing from the substance of God the Father, took on humanity and honored human nature, but did not exit from his supremacy; he remained God even in his humanity.
Οὐκοῦν οὐκ ἐν ὀργάνου τάξει παρειλήφθαί φαμεν τὸν ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου ναόν· ἑπόμενοι δὲ μᾶλλον τῇ πίστει τῶν ἱερῶν Γραμμάτων καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἁγίων φωναῖς, σάρκα γενέσθαι τὸν Λόγον διακεισόμεθα, κατά γε τοὺς ἤδη πλειστάκις ἡμῖν προαποδοθέντας τρόπους· οὗτος καὶ τέθεικεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχύν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἦν ὁ θάνατος αὐτοῦ τοῦ κόσμου ὁ σωτήριος, ὑπέμεινε σταυρὸν, αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας, καίτοι ζωὴ κατὰ φύσιν ὑπάρχων, ὡς Θεός. Πῶς οὖν ἡ ζωὴ ξεθνάναι λέγεται; Τῇ ἰδίᾳ σαρκὶ παθοῦσα τὸν θάνατον, ἵνα φαίνηται ζωὴ, ζωοποιοῦσα πάλιν αὐτήν.	We do not say that the temple [of Christ's body] was taken from the Virgin after the manner of an extrinsic tool. Rather we follow the faith of the sacred Scripture and the pronouncements of the saints in maintaining that the Word became flesh, as we have explained in many places. He also laid down his life for us, since his death was to save the world. He underwent the cross, despising the shame, even though he was life itself by nature, as God. Then how could life be said to die?—By suffering death in his own flesh, so that life would make its appearance, bringing his flesh to life again.
Φέρε γὰρ καὶ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ὁ τοῦ θανάτου πολυπραγμονείσθω τρόπος. Οὐχ ἁπαστισοῦν τῶν εὖ φρονούντων ἐρεῖ τοὶς ἀπὸ γῆς σώμασιν συγκαταφθείρεσθαι τὰς ψυχάς. ἀλλ’, οἶμαι, τοῦτό ἐστιν ἐν οὐδενὶ τῶν ὄντων ἐνδοιαστόν· πλὴν ἀνθρώπου θάνατος, τὸ συμβεβηκὸς ὀνομάζεται. Οὕτω νοήσεις καὶ ἐπ’ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ. Ἦν μὲν γὰρ ὁ Λόγος ὡς ἐν ἰδίῳ σώματι τῷ ἐκ γυναικὸς, ἐδίδου δὲ αὐτὸ τῷ θανάτῳ κατὰ καιρὸν, πάσχων μὲν οὐδὲν εἰς ἰδίαν φύσιν αὐτός· ζωὴ γάρ ἐστι καὶ ζωοποιός· οἰκειούμενος δὲ τὰ σαρκικὰ, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοῦ λέγηται τὸ παθεῖν, καὶ εἷς ὁ πάντων, ἀναστὰς, τεθνεὼς ὑπὲρ πάντων, ἀγοράσῃ τῷ ἰδίῳ αἵματι τὴν ὑπ’ οὐρανὸν, καὶ κατακτήσηται τῷ Θεῳ καὶ Πατρὶ τοὺς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν γὴν γῆν.	This may become clear by considering the manner of our own death. No right-thinking person will say that our souls are corrupted along with our bodies made from earth. I don't think anyone is of this opinion. But when we talk of the death of a man, we refer to something accidental to man. You can then understand the case of Emmanuel. The Word was in a body, his own body, taken from the Virgin. He gave it up to death when the time came, but suffered nothing in his own nature. For he is life and life-giving. He dwelt in the flesh, so that it could be said that he suffered, one for all, and he rose, having died for all, so as to buy with his own blood everything under heaven, and acquire for God the Father all on earth.
Καὶ τοῦτο ὡς ἀληθὲς ὁ μακάριος προφήτης Ἠσαΐας διακηρήττει λέγων ἐν Πνεύματι· «Διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλοὺς, καὶ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῖ σκῦλα, ἀνθ’ ὧν παρεδόθη εἰς θάνατον ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνόμοις ἐλοίσθη, καὶ αὐτὸς ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν ἀνήνεγκε, καὶ διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν παρεδόθη.»	This is what the blessed prophet Isaiah preached, saying in the Spirit: "Therefore he will acquire many, and will divide the spoil of the strong. For them his soul was given up to death, and he was reckoned among criminals. He bore the sins of many, and was given up because of their iniquities" (Is 53:11).
Εἷς οὖν ὁ πἀντων ἀξιώτερος τὴν ἰδίαν ὑπὲρ πάντων τέθεικε ψυχὴν, καὶ συνεχώρει μὲν οἰκονομικῶς καταβιάζεσθαι βραχὺ τῷ θανάτῳ τὴν σάρκα. Κατήργηκε δὲ πάλιν αὐτὸν ὡς ζωὴ, παθεῖν οὐκ ἀνεχομένη τὸ παρὰ φύσιν ἰδίαν· ἵνα καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἁπάντων ἀτονήσῃ σώμασιν ἡ φθορὰ, καὶ τὸ θανάτου παραλύοιτο κράτος. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ πάντες ἀποθνήσκομεν, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ πάντες ζωοποιηθησόμεθα. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ πέπονθεν ἀνθρωπίνως ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, οὐδὲ ἐνήργησε θεϊκῶς τὰ εἰς σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν. Λέγεται γὰρ πρότερον ἀποθανεῖν μὲν, ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ἀναβιῶναι δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο, διὰ τὸ εἶναι κατὰ φύσιν Θεός. Εἰ τοίνυν οὐ πέπονθε τῷ τεθνάναι σαρκὶ, κατὰ τὰς Γραφἂς, οὐδὲ ἐζωοποιήθη πνεύματι, τουτέστιν, οὐκ ἀνεβίω. Καὶ εἰ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθὲς, ματαία ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν· ἔτι ἐσμὲν ἐν ταἰς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν. Βεβαπτίσμεθα γὰρ εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ, κατὰ τὰς τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου φωνὰς, καὶ τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἐσχήκαμεν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ.	So one more worthy than all laid down his life for all. With a purpose, he allowed his flesh to suffer the force of death for a brief time. Then he did away with death, because he is life, and cannot suffer anything contrary to his own nature. He did that to free the bodies of all from corruption, and destroy the power of death. As we all died in Adam, so in Christ we are all raised to life. If he did not suffer for us as man, he would not as God have completed the work of our salvation. We have already said that he died as man, but came to life afterwards because by nature he is God. So if he did not suffer by dying in the flesh, as the Scripture says, neither could he be brought to life in the spirit; that is, he could not rise. And if this is so, our faith is in vain, and we are still in our sins. For we were baptized into his death, as blessed Paul says (Rom 6:3), and we received forgiveness of our sins through his blood.
Ἀλλ’ εἰπερ ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστὸς οὔτε Υἱὸς ἀληθῶς, ουτε μὴν φύσει Θεὸς, ἄνθρωπος δὲ ψιλὸς καθ’ ἡμᾶς, καὶ θεότητος ὄργανον, σεσώσμεθα μὲν οὐκ ἐν Θεῷ ποθεν, ἑνὸς δὲ μᾶλλον τῶν καθ’ ἡμᾶς τεθνεῶτος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, καὶ δυνάμεσι ἀλλοτρίαις ἐγηγερμένου. Πῳς οὖν ἔτι κατηργήθη ὁ θάνατος διὰ Χριστοῦ; Καίτοι λέγοντος ἀκούω σαφῶς περὶ τῆς ἰδίας ψυχῆς· «Οὐδεὶς αἶρει αὐτὴν ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ τίθημι αὐτὴν ἀπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ. Ἐξουσίαν γὰρ ἔχω θεῖναι αὐτὴν, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν.» Κατέβη γὰρ μεθ’ ἡμῶν εἰς θάνατον διὰ τῆς ἰδίας σαρκὸς ὁ θάνατον οὐκ εἰδὼς, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀναβῶμεν σὺν αὐτῷ πρὸς ζωήν. Ἀνεβίω γὰρ σκυλεύσας τὸν ᾅδην, οὐχ ὡς ἄνθρωπος καθ’ ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ’ ὡς Θεὸς ἐν σαρκὶ μεθ’ ἡμῶν, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς.	But if the Christ is neither truly Son, nor by nature God, but is a mere man like us, and is simply a tool of the divinity, then we are not saved in God, but one of us died for us and was raised by outside power. Then how could death be destroyed through Christ? Yet I hear him speaking clearly about his own life: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. For I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again" (Jn 10:18). For he who could not die went down to death with us in his own flesh, so as to raise us up to life with him. He came back to life, looting the underworld, not as a man like us, but as God in flesh with us and for us.
Κατεπλούτει δὲ ἡ φύσις ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ δὴ καὶ πρώτῳ τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν, καὶ συνετρίβη ὁ θάνατος, τῷ τῆς ζωῆς σώματι πολεμίου δίκην εἰσβαλών. Ὥσπερ γὰρ νενίκηκεν ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ, οὕτω πέπτωκεν ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ. Καὶ γοῦν ἀναβαίνοντι δι’ ἡμᾶς καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πρὸς τὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς Πατέρα καὶ Θεὸν, ἵνα τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς βάσιμον ἀποφήνῃ τὸν οὐρανὸν, τὰς ἐπινικίους ᾠδὰς ἀνετίθη λέγων ὁ θεσπέσιος Μελῳδός· «Ἀνέβη ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἀλαλαγμῷ, Κύριος ἐν φωνῇ σάλπιγγος. Ψάλατε τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, ψάλατε· ψάλατε τῷ βασιλεῖ ἡμῶν, ψάλατε· ψάλατε συνετῶς. Ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ τὰ ἔθνη.» Ἔφη δέ που καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος περὶ αὐτοῦ, λέγων· «Ὁ καταβὰς, αὐτός ἐστι καὶ ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἵνα πληρώςῃ τὰ πάντα.»	Through him and first in him, our nature gained incorruption, and death was crushed when it attacked the body of life on behalf of the Enemy. As the enemy was victorious in Adam, so he fell in Christ. As Christ ascended for us to God the Father in heaven so as to make heaven passable for us earthlings, the Psalmist sung: "God went up with shouts of joy, the Lord at the sound of the trumpet. Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing. Sing well. God has ruled over the nations" (Ps 47). Blessed Paul also said about him: "He who came down is the same who went up over heaven, so as to fill everything" (Eph 4:10).
Ὅτι τε τοίνυν καὶ Θεός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς, καὶ βασιλεὺς κατὰ φύσιν, εἴρηται δὲ καὶ τῆς δόξης Κύριος ὁ ἐσταυρωμένος, πῶς ἂν ἐνδοιάσείε τις Θεοτόκον εἰπεῖν τὴν ἁγίαν Παρθένον; Προσκύνησον ὡς ἕνα, μὴ διελὼν εἰς δύο μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν. Τότε γελάσει μάτην ὁ παράφρων Ἰουδαῖος, τότε κυριοκτόνος ἔσται κατὰ ἀλήθειαν· ἁλώσεται δὲ πεπλημμεληκὼς οὐκ εἰς ἕνα τῶν καθ’ ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ’ εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν τῶν ὅλων Σωτῆρα Χριστόν. Καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀκούσεται· «Οὐαὶ ἔθνος ἁμαρτωλὸν, λαὸς πλήρης ἁμαρτιῶν, σπέρμα πονηρὸν, καὶ υἱοὶ ἄνομοι· ἐγκατελίπετε τὸν Κύριον, καὶ παρωργίσατε τὸν Ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραήλ.» Ἑλλήνων δὲ παῖδες κατ’ οὐδένα τρόπον τῆν τῶν Χριστιανῶν διαμωρήσονται πίστιν. Λελατρεύκαμεν γὰρ οὐκ ἀνθρώπῳ ψιλῷ· μὴ γένοιτο· Θεῷ δὲ μᾶλλον τῷ κατὰ φύσιν, οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντες αὐτοῦ τὴν δόξαν, κἂν εἰ γέγονε καθ’ ἡμᾶς, μεμενηκὼς ὅπερ ἦν, τουθτέστι Θεός. Δι’ αὐτοῦ τε καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ εἴη δόξα σὺν ἁγίῳ καὶ ζωοποιῷ Πνεύματι, εἰς τοὐς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.	Since he is by nature truly God and King, and is also the crucified King of glory, how could anyone doubt that the holy Virgin is the Mother of God? Worship Christ as one; do not divide him into two [God and man] after the two have been united. So in vain did the Jews [who crucified him] laugh, because they really did kill the Lord. They are convicted of attacking not just one like us, but Christ, the very Savior of all. They may rightly hear: "Woe to a sinful people, people weighed down with guilt, race of wrong-dowers, perverted children. You have abandoned the Lord and provoked the Holy One of Israel" (Is 1:4). Likewise, let the Greeks not despise Christian faith in any way. For we do not worship a mere man, no way! Rather we worship someone who is God by nature, and we are aware of his glory. Even as he became one like us, we remember what he was and is, God. Through him and with him, glory be to God the Father with the Holy and Life-giving Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

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