On the Annunciation (Homily I) · §6 · Gregory Thaumaturgus

The Son of God, the ever-living fountain of light

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the holy one who will be born of you will also be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). But if He is the Son of God, He is also God, of the same form as the Father and coeternal with Him. In Him the Father possesses all glory; He is, in His own person, the imprint and the image, and through the radiance the glory shines out (Hebrews 1:3).

And as rivers flow from an ever-flowing spring, so from this ever-flowing and ever-living spring comes forth the everlasting and true Light of the world, Christ our God (John 1:9; John 8:12). For of Him the prophets cried out: The rush of the river makes glad the city of God (Psalm 46:4). And not one city only, but all; for it gladdens the whole world as though it were one city.

Latin

Spiritus Sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi: ideo et quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. Si autem Filius Dei, etiam Deus, eiusdem formae cum Patre, et coaeternus: in quo omnem Pater possidet clarificationem: character atque imago in persona; et per splendorem gloria refulget. Et quemadmodum ex perenni fonte procedunt flumina: sic et ex hoc perenni ac semper vivo fonte, progreditur perennis et vera lux mundi, Christus Deus noster. De eo namque Prophetae clamarunt: Fluminis impetus laetificat civitatem Dei: neque unam duntaxat civitatem, sed omnes; nam sicut unam civitatem, universum terrarum laetificat orbem.

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About this text

Gregory Thaumaturgus, On the Annunciation: the first sermon, in a fresh English translation. Three sermons survive; this volume covers the first only.

Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. 213–c. 270) was Origen's most famous pupil and the apostle of Pontus. Much else was later published under his name.

The Homilies on the Annunciation celebrate Gabriel's visit to Mary — David's oracle, the angel's greeting, and Mary's reply. They are transmitted under Gregory's name, though scholars generally count them the work of a later hand.

This volume holds the whole First Discourse, from the joy of the day through Gabriel's message and Mary's reply. The second and third discourses are not translated here.

Part only: Homily I

Fresh English translation of the whole first sermon from the Latin column of the Opera omnia print (Paris, 1622) (printed pp.

Printed text used

Translated from Opera omnia, Greek and Latin (Paris: Sonnius, Morel and Cramoisy, 1622), page images (Latin column (Greek damaged))
Also checked Archive DjVu machine-read text (Latin/Greek mixed machine-read text)
Translated from Latin opening (Latin)

Where the prints differ

Sermo I — Long-s and column joins expanded from the Latin face; Greek face left aside as damaged machine-read text.

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Latin on any section, or the Latin source link, to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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