The Church's Faith, Priests and Deacons
I give Him faith, and He gives me the kingdom (Song of Songs 6:3). He pastures in the purity of the Scriptures and of the holy doctrines. Turn your eyes away from those who disobey you (Song of Songs 6:5), and incline them toward me; for they, he says, have stirred up love in me.
'The work of a craftsman' (Song of Songs 7:1): by 'craftsman' he means Christ the Creator; for as He became obedient (Philippians 2:8), so has the Church. He speaks also of her chastity and her submission: her soul is subject to faith, and her body to chastity.
He shows her priesthood too, when he says, 'not lacking mixed wine' (Song of Songs 7:2), that is, the blood of Christ; for this is in the hands of the priests. Her neck (Song of Songs 7:4) he calls the deacons of Christ, because they carry Christ, the head of the Church. For they carry His holy body with a pure conscience (1 Timothy 3:9), confessing His mysteries.
Greek
λογισμοῖς ἐμποιοῦντος. Ἐγὼ αὐτῷ τὴν πίστιν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐμοὶ τὴν βασιλείαν. Ποιμαίνει δὲ ἐν τῇ καθαρότητι τῶν Γραφῶν καὶ τῶν ἁγίων δογμάτων. Ἀπὸ τῶν ἀπειθούντων σοι τοὺς σοὺς ἀπόστρε ‹69.1292› ψον ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ κλῖνον· αὐτοὶ γὰρ, φησὶν, τὴν ἀγάπην ἐξήγειράν μοι [cod. σε]. Ἔργον τεχνίτου Τεχνίτην δὲ τὸν δημιουργὸν ὀνομάζει Χριστόν· ὡς γὰρ ὑπήκοος γέγονεν, οὕτως ἡ Ἐκκλησία. Λέγει δὲ καὶ τὴν σωφροσύνην αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν ὑποταγήν· τῆς ψυχῆς ταύτης ὑποτεταγμένης τῇ πίστει, τοῦ δὲ σώματος τῇ σωφροσύνῃ. ∆ηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἱερατεῖον αὐτῆς λέγων· Μὴ ὑστερούμενος κράματι, δηλονότι τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αἵματι· τοῦτο γὰρ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἐν χερσίν. Τράχηλον δὲ αὐτῆς τοὺς διακόνους τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγει, διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν βαστάζειν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὴν κεφαλήν. Βαστάζουσι γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἅγιον σῶμα ἐν