Gregory Thaumaturgus, Oration and Panegyric to Origen panegyric (faith section)
We will entrust our praise and hymns to the one who alone can heal our weakness and supply what we lack, the ruler and savior of our souls, the firstborn Word, the creator and ruler of all, who stands above all and over all. Through him we are able to send continuous, unceasing thanks to the Father, because he is the truth, the wisdom, and the power of the Father of all. He is in the Father and with the Father, inseparably united, so that it is impossible to approach the Father except through him, or to praise the Father except through the power of praise, or to reach the Father except through the power of praise. He alone is able to fulfill perfectly the worth of the praise due to him. The Father has made him one with himself, and through him the Son has made himself worthy of honor and praise above all and alone, possessing all the Father's power as the only-begotten Son in whom God the Word dwells. We are able to be thankful and pious only through him, if we offer to him alone, in place of all the good things we receive from the Father, the power of worthy thanksgiving, acknowledging this to be the one way of piety — the remembrance of the cause of all things through him.
Therefore, since he exercises providence over all, caring for us in the greatest and the least matters, he is worthy to be the logos of thanksgiving and hymns, perfect and living, and the first logos himself is living. Our own thanksgiving is directed toward this holy man, especially toward the one who has been a benefactor to me. If I wanted to speak further, I would also include the invisible, more divine beings, toward this one who was appointed by a great judgment to manage, entrust, and oversee me — a holy angel of God who has nourished me from my youth, as that friend of God says, referring to himself. But I do not know clearly whether this great one is another, or perhaps even the angel of the great counsel himself, the common savior of all, who has been appointed solely as guardian of perfection. I do know, however, that he knows and praises his own great one. We give thanks to the common ruler and savior of all men, who is also our pedagogue. He nourishes and cares for me, not because I or my friends deserve it — for we are blind and see nothing before us, so we cannot judge what is needed — but because he, foreseeing all that benefits our souls, makes it appear profitable. Long ago and even now, among all his other works, he has joined me to this man — the most decisive thing of all — though he was not related to me by birth or human blood, nor did he live nearby or share my race, the usual grounds for friendship among most people. Rather, he brought together strangers, aliens, those utterly separated from each other, divided by many nations, mountains, and rivers, and through truly divine and wise providence he engineered this saving meeting for me. I think he has been providing for this from my very first birth and upbringing. How it happened I cannot trace in detail, nor would I pretend to be exact and omit nothing. But if I chose to pass over much and briefly recall only a few of the most important points, I could.
Greek
AAla τὰς μὲν εἰς τὸν πάντων βασιλέα καὶ χηδεμόνα, τὴν διαρχῆ πηγὴν πάντων ἀγαθῶν, εὐφημίας καὶ ὕμνους τῷ χὰν τούτῳ τὴν ἀσϑένειαν ἡμῶν ἰωμένῳ xal τὸ ἐνδέον ἀναπληροῦν μόνῳ δυναμένῳ ἐπιτρέψομεν, τῷ προστάτῃ τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν χαὶ σωτῆρι, τῷ πρωτογενεῖ ı5 αὐτοῖ: λόγῳ, τῷ πάντων δημιουργῷ καὶ κυβερνήτῃ αὐτῷ 8᾽ μόνῳ ὑπέρ τε Eavrov καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντων, | ἰδίᾳ TE ἑκάστου καὶ ἀϑρόύον ἅμα, δυνατὸν ὃν ἀναπέμπειν διηνεκεῖς καὶ ἀδιαλείπτους τῷ πατρὶ τὰς εὐχαριστίας. ὃτι αὐτὸς ἡ ἀλήϑεια ὧν χαὶ ἡ αὐτοῖ: τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων χαὶ σοφία καὶ δύναμις, 7rgög δὲ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ὧν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀτεχνῶς ἤνωμένος, οὐκ ἔστιν ὕπως ἢ διὰ λήϑην ἢ ἀσόφως ἢ ὑπ ἀσϑε- veiag τινὸς, ὥσπερ τις ἀπεξενωμένος αὐτοῖ, ἢ οὐχ ἐφίξεται τῇ δυνάμει τῆς εὐφημί ἢ ἐφίξεται μὲν, ἑκὼν δὲ (ὃ μὴ ἢ δυνάμει τῆς εὐφημίας, ἢ ἐφίξεται μὲν, ἑκὼ ὃ μὴ ϑέμις εἰπεῖν) ἐάσει τὸν πατέρα ἀνευφήμητον᾽ μόνῳ τούτῳ δυνατὸν ὃν τελδιότατα πᾶσαν ἀποτεληρῶσαι τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν αὐτῷ προσηκόντων αἴνων. ὅντινα αὐτὸς ὃ τῶν ὅλων πατὴρ ἕν πρὸς αὑτὸν ποιησάμενος, δι᾿ αὐτοῖ: μονονουχὶ αἰτὸς αὑτὸν ἐχπεριϊὼν, τῇ ἴσῃ πάντη δυνάμει τῇ αὐτοῖ τρύπον τινὰ τιμῴη καὶ τιμῷτο᾽ ὕπερ πρῶτος καὶ μόνος ἔχειν ἔλαχεν ἐκ πάντων τῶν Ὄντων ὃ μονογενὴς αὐτοῦ, ὃ ἐν αὑτῷ ϑεὸς Aoyog‘ τῶν ἄλλων πάντων οὕτω μόνον εὐχα- eiorwv καὶ εὐσεβῶν εἶναι δυναμένων, εἰ re’ αὐτῷ φέροντες μόνῳ ἀντὶ πάντων τῶν παρὰ τοῖ πατρὸς ἡμῖν ἀγαθῶν τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀξίας εὐχαριστίας ἀναϑήσομεν, μίαν ὁδὸν εὑὺσεβείας ταύτην εἶναι ὁμολογήσαντες, τὴν δι᾿ αὐτοῦ πᾶσαν μνήμην τοῦ τῶν ὁλων αἰτίου. διὸ δὴ τῆς μὲν ἐπεὶ πᾶσι διαρχοῖς προνοίας, ἔν TE μεγίστοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐλαχίστοις χηδομένης ἡμῶν καὶ εἰς τοῦτό γε ττροαγομένης, ἐκεῖνος ἄξιος, διαρχὴς εἶναι λόγος εἰς εὐχαριστίας καὶ ὕμνους ὁμολογείσϑω, τελδιότατος ὧν καὶ ζῶν, καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πρώτου vor λόγος ἔμψυχος ὧν. Ὁ δ᾽ ἡμέτερος οὗτος ἔστω χαριστήριος ἀνθρώπων μὲν πτάντων μάλιστα τῷ ἀνδρὶ τῷ ἱερῷ τῷδε᾽ εἰ δέ τι καὶ περαιτέρω μεληγορεῖν ἐϑέλοιμι, καὶ τῶν οὐ φαινομένων μὲν, ϑειοτέρων δὲ καὶ χηδομένων ἀνθρώπων, τούτῳ, ὃς μὲ ἐκ σεαίδων κρίσει τινὲ μεγάλῃ οἰκονομεῖν Te χαὶ τιϑηνεῖσϑαι καὶ ἐπιτροπεύειν ἐχληρώσατο, ἱερὸς ἄγγελος ϑεοῦ, ὁ τρέφων με Ex νεὐτητός μου, φησὶν ἐκεῖνος ὃ ϑεῷ φίλος ἀνὴρ, τὸν αὑτοῖ λέγων δηλαδή. ἀλλ᾽ ὃ μὲν μέγας ὧν ἀναλόγως μέγιστον τινα, ἤτοι ἄλλον ὁστις ἂν (1,) ἢ καὶ αὐτὸν ἴσως τὸν τῆς μεγάλης βουλῆς ayyakov, τὸν κοινὸν πάντων σωτῆρα, ὑττὸ τελειότητος μόνον ἤδη φύλακα αὐτῷ εἶναι κληρωσάμενος, οὐκ οἶδα τοῦτο σαφῶς, πλὴν ὃ μὲν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μέγαν τινὰ, ὅστις oT ἂν ἢ, καὶ γινώσκων καὶ εὐφημῶν" ἡμεῖς δὲ πρὸς τῷ κοινῷ πάντων ἀνϑρώπων κυβερνήτῃ καὶ τοῦτον, ὅστις nor ἐστὶν ἰδίᾳ παιδαγωγὲς ἡμῶν Ὄντων νηττίων. ὃς va τε ἀλλα πάντη πάντα ἀγαϑὸς ὧν τροφεὺς καὶ κηδεμὼν ἐμὸς (οὐχὶ ἐμοὶ ἢ τινι τῶν ἐμοὶ προσηκόντων φίλων, τυφλοὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς καὶ μηδὲν τῶν ἔμσροσϑεν ὁρῶντες, ὥστε τι καὶ χρίνειν δύνασϑαι τῶν δεόντων" ἀλλ᾽ 7, αὐτῷ, προορωμένῳ πάντα τὰ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν, συμφέρον εἶναι χαταφαίνεται) πάλαι τε καὶ δὴ πρὸς πᾶσι τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ συνάψαι μὲ τῷ ἀνδρὶ τούτῳ (τοῦτο δὴ τὸ χεφαλαιωδέστατον ττάντων) ᾧχονομήσατο, OUTE γένει καὶ αἵματί μοι ἀνθρωπίνῳ τινὶ προσήκοντα, οὔτε ἀλλως προσοικοῦντα ἢ ὄντα τινὰ τῶν πλησιοχώρων, OVTE καὶ ὁμοεϑνῆ ὅλως, ταῖτα δὴ ἃ πρόφασις φιλίας καὶ γνώσεως τοῖς πτολλοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώττων γίνεται ἀλλὰ συνελόντα εἰπεῖν ἀγνώστους, ἀλλοτρίους, ἀτεεξξενωμένους, ἀλλήλων ἀφεστηχότας πάμπολυ, 0009 μέσα ἔϑνη καὶ ὑρη καὶ ποταμοὺς διείργειν ἡμᾶς, ὑπὸ τῆς ϑείας Ὄντως καὶ σοφῆς προμηϑείας εἰς ταὐτὸν ἀγαγὼν, τὴν σωτήριον ἐμοὶ σύνοδον ταύτην ἐμηχανήσατο᾽ ἄνωθεν τοῖτο προμηϑούμενος οἶμαι Ex πρώτης γενέσεως καὶ ἀνατροφῆς. πῶς δὲ, uaxgov ἂν εἴη διεξίδναι, οὐχὶ ἀχριβολογουμένῳ μόνον καὶ μηδὲν τταραλιτεεῖν reıgwusvw' ἀλλ᾽ εἰ χαὶ τὰ πολλὰ παρεὶς, αϑρόως ὀλίγων τῶν χεφαλαιωδεστέρων μνημονεύειν ἐθϑελήσαιμι.