Christian man

But how is it that Jesus, who had to be born of a virgin, was born, not of an unmarried virgin, but of a married virgin? We have to find out. Indeed, those who request an answer are many, desirous of grasping the reason why matters were so arranged. Why was he not born of an unmarried virgin? Why was it that her virginity, which was to serve the Lord’s birth, did not remain totally above…

Why, ask? But I see that you want to know too. Let us tell, then, the reason why the tombs were opened, while the virginal womb was not opened. The reason is that his Resurrection became the causal principle of all resurrections, while the extraordinary manner of his birth was reserved to him alone. Theodotus of Anchyra , Homily 5, 1; PG 77, 1413 A-B; OCP (Orientalia Christiana Periodica) 26…

The Savior, after three days, came forth from the tomb, not limiting himself to opening his own tomb, but opening the tombs of many saints as well. . .. When he rose from the tomb, he opened tombs; when he was born from a womb, he did not open the womb. When he is born, he leaves the Virgin’s womb closed.Theodotus of Anchyra , Homily 5, 1; PG 77, 1413 A-B; OCP (Orientalia Christiana Periodica) 26…

A person who has had water poured upon his head is made wet in every part of his body, from head to toe; just so, we believe that the divine Virgin Mother was also entirely anointed with the holiness of the Holy Spirit, who descended upon her. And so, in this way, she received the living God, the Word, into her virginal and fragrant bridal chamber.Theodotus of Anchyra , Homily 4, 6; PG 77, 1397…

If iron, once joined to fire, immediately expels the impurities extraneous to its nature and swiftly acquires a likeness to the powerful fame that heats it, so that it becomes untouchable and capable of setting any material on fire, how much more, in a superior way, did the Virgin burn when the divine fire (the Holy Spirit) rushed in? She was purified from earthly impurities, and from whatever…

He comes, the Lord of all, in the form of a servant, clothed with poverty, so as not to startle his prey. He was conceived in an obscure village; he chose an obscure country place for his birth; he is born of a poor Virgin, and takes upon himself everything that poverty involves.Theodotus of Anchyra, Homily 1, 8; PG 77, 1360 C. God works in mysterious ways; his ways are beyond our understanding.…

One can attempt to investigate, with the mind, those things [God] does that are consistent with our nature; as for the things he does miraculously, beyond our thought and our nature, we must hold them by faith and not scrutinize them with our reason.Theodotus of Anchyra, Homily 1, I; PG 77, 1349 B-C. If you enjoy this content, I would be grateful for a cup of coffee – BuyMeACoffee If you want…

No mother of a man has ever remained a virgin. Have you seen how this birth offers us a twofold consideration regarding the One who is born? If he had been born like us, he would have been a man, but if he kept his Mother a virgin, it is clear, for those who know how to think, that the One who is born is God.Theodotus of Anchyra, Homily 2, 3; PG 77, 1372 D-1373 A. Christ was born from a virgin…

Have you seen how marvelous was the mystery, transcending the law of nature? Have you seen this supernatural occurrence, wrought by the power of God alone? Have you seen the Word beyond words being born? The fact that he did not destroy her virginity plainly shows that the One born is the Word of God. A woman who gives birth to mere flesh ceases to be a virgin; but the Word of God, born in the…

Consider that the Virgin, by means of her body, brings to light the Word, not of course conferring by this birth the principle of divinity (God forbid!), but so that he might make himself known to men, as God-made-man. . . . Therefore God, the Word, made a birth proper to himself; he chose the Virgin as his Mother and came forth from a womb adorned with virginity.Theodotus of Anchyra, Homily 2,…

He came into you according to his good pleasure; he came from you as he willed; he came before you, before every thought of the mind, having been generated by God the Father ineffably, immutably, wondrously, impassibly, without corruption, without witnesses, without mediators, without supervisors, unspeakably and divinely.In heaven without a mother, on earth without a father.Proclus of…

Do not say: ‘If the only begotten Son was begotten of the Father, how could he be born a second time of the Virgin?’ He is born from the Father according to his divine nature; he is born from the Virgin according to the economy of salvation. First as God, then as manTheodotus of Anchyra, Homily 2, 7; PG 77, 1377 B-C. If you enjoy this content, I would be grateful for a cup of coffee –…

The fruit of your womb is not autumnal; rather, it is a shoot of immortality. It is not a harvest that came as a gift of nature but a flower sprung from divine seed. For you gave birth to the Beginning who has no beginning, a child who is before all ages, the Virgin’s Son, the Eternal who is nurtured in your womb, to him who is older than his Mother yet is nursed by her, to him who nourishes all…

25 Turn back to the Lord and forsake your sins;    pray in his presence and lessen your offense.26 Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity,    and hate intensely what he abhors.27 Who will sing praises to the Most High in Hades    in place of the living who give thanks?28 From the dead, as from one who does not exist, thanksgiving has ceased;    those who are alive and well sing the…

Every year on the 1st of June, The Egyptian Orthodox Church celebrates the entrance of the Lord to the land of Egypt. St. Matthew mentioned this in his gospel: 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to…

The Jews see the Child, and plot against the Mother; they look for the father of the Child whose Mother they do not recognize as a virgin. Why, O Jew, are you looking for the father of him who is born today? Hear him crying, “The Lord said to me: You are my son, today I have begotten you” (Ps 2:7). Am I not your parent before all ages? Another is the Father of you who are born today. Either you…

But I also want to question the Virgin against the unbelieving Jews. Tell me, O Virgin, who made you a mother before marriage? How did you become a mother, yet remain a virgin? Persuade the Jews that a Virgin gave birth; close the mouths of the unbelievers.She, with authority, answers me thus: Why do the Jews marvel that a Virgin gave birth, seeing that they do not marvel when a dry branch…