Ezekiel 44

1–2

Who is this gate, if not Mary? Is it not closed because she is a virgin? Mary is the gate through which Christ entered this world, when He was brought forth in the virginal birth and the manner of His birth did not break the seals of virginity.

De institutione virginum 8.52

1–2

Some quite emphatically understand this closed gate through which only the Lord God of Israel passes... as the Virgin Mary, who remains a Virgin before and after childbirth. In fact, she remains always a Virgin, in the moment in which the Angel speaks with her and when the Son of God is born.

Commentarium in Evangelium Lucae, PL 25, 430.

1–3

(Chapter 44, verses 1 onwards) And he brought me back to the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces eastward and was closed. And the Lord said to me: This gate shall be closed and shall not be opened, and no man shall enter through it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered (or will enter) by it; it shall be closed for the prince. The prince himself shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. Through the vestibule (that is, the porch), he shall enter by the gate, and he shall go out by its way. For it is written in Hebrew: 'It shall be shut to the prince.' The Septuagint translated it as: 'It shall be shut, for the leader himself shall sit in it.' There are many gates described in the Scripture of the temple of Ezekiel, both inside and outside. The previous discourse also covers the representation, consecration, and sacrifices of the altar. After this, he comes to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east and is shut. And immediately, the man who was the guide of the prophet and showed him everything spoke to him: This gate that you are looking at will always be shut and will not be opened, and no man will pass through it. And it gives the reason why it is always closed: because the Lord God of Israel has entered, or will enter through it: and it will be closed according to the Hebrew, to the prince, whom the LXX translated as leader. The prince and leader, that is, the Nasi, will sit in it to eat bread before the Lord: and he will enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and he will go out through it. What is this gate that is always closed, and only the Lord God of Israel enters through it? Namely, the one about which the Savior speaks in the Gospel: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! And woe to you, teachers of the law, who take away the key of knowledge! You yourselves do not enter, and you hinder those who are entering (Matthew 23:23). Isaiah also writes about this book under this name: The words of this book shall be like the words of a sealed book: if you give it to a man who cannot read, saying, 'Read this,' he will say, 'I cannot read.' And they shall give the book to a man who knows letters, saying: Read; and he shall say: I cannot read, for it is sealed (Isa. XXIX, 11). But this is the book that no one can unseal or open the seals, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, except for the one of whom it is said in the Apocalypse of John: Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root and offspring of David, has conquered, so that he may open the book and unseal its seals (Rev. V, 5). For before the Savior assumed a human body and humbled himself, taking on the form of a servant (Phil. II), the Law and the Prophets, and all the knowledge of the Scriptures, were closed, and paradise was closed. But after he hung on the cross, and spoke to the thief, 'Today you will be with me in paradise' (Luke XXIII, 43), immediately the veil of the temple was torn, and everything was opened; and with the veil removed, we say: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory (II Cor. III, 18). But if all things are revealed, for in Christ, according to the words of Paul, all things are revealed (Ibid., XIII), how will the gate be closed and not opened, and a man not pass through it? From these things we learn that even though we have come to the ultimate knowledge, compared to divine knowledge, we now know in part and understand in part; but when that which is perfect comes, then that which is in part will be done away with. Hence, in another place, the Apostle himself speaks of being imperfect and, again, perfect. But if it lacks interpretation, it seems to be the opposite. For he says: Not that I have already obtained, or am already perfect. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12, 14). And when we thought that he, according to his profession, was not yet perfect, and that he was seeking rather than having found what is true, he not only says this about himself, but also about others: Therefore, let us all who are perfect have this same attitude. But the meaning of this place is as follows: Compared to other people who do not have care of the knowledge of the Scriptures or the mysteries of God, I confess that I am perfect; but as for the understanding of the divine majesty, I now see it in an enigma and through a cloud and darkness, and I say with the prophet: Your knowledge is amazing to me, it is confirmed, and I will not be able to attain it (Ps. 138:6). Therefore, this gate, which is closed to everyone (for a man will not pass through it and perish), will be closed to the prince or leader, and it will be opened by his arrival, who will sit in it to eat bread before the Lord, about whom he himself testifies in the Gospel, saying: My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work (John 4:34). He is the prince and the high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. He is the offering and the priest who, in the presence of the Father, eats heavenly bread with us and drinks wine, of which he speaks in the Gospel: I will not drink of the fruit of this vine until I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom (Matthew 26:29): in that kingdom, of which he himself and elsewhere says: The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). And the gate will be closed. No one can truly understand the passion of the Lord, his body and blood as the sacraments of the divine mystery. Such is the greatness of his goodness and the prince of his mercy, that even though he alone sits at the closed door and eats bread before the Lord, he desires to have more companions at his table and feast, and says: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone opens to me, I will enter in and dine with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20). But he alone eats bread in the presence of the Lord, because his substance and divine nature are separate from all the substances of creatures. He himself enters and exits through the same gate of the vestibule: for he is both inside and outside, that is, infused and encompassing all; entering through the gate in order to bring with him those who cannot enter without his teaching and help; and exiting in order to bring in others again; and speak to those who do not understand difficult things. But inasmuch as the Eastern gate outside the boundaries of the world is always closed and never opens to human sight, the Gospel of John proves the words of the one who said: No one has ever seen God: the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has revealed Him (John 1:18). In other words, it will be closed to everyone except the ruler. The ruler alone will sit in it, to eat the bread of perfect and complete knowledge. For no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal (Matthew 11:27). Some understand beautifully that the closed gate through which only the Lord God of Israel enters, and the leader to whom the gate is closed, to be the Virgin Mary, who both before childbirth and after childbirth remained a virgin. Indeed, at the time when the angel spoke: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (Luke 1:35), and when he was born, the virgin remained eternal; to confound those who claim that after the birth of the Savior, she had other sons by Joseph, based on the occasion of his brothers who are mentioned in the Gospel (Mark 3). I know that I wrote a small book in my youth, against Helvidius, the heretic of that time, in Rome.

Commentary on Ezekiel

1–2

But just as He who was conceived kept her who conceived still virgin, in like manner also He who was born preserved her virginity intact, only passing through her and keeping her closed. [Ezekiel 44:2] The conception, indeed, was through the sense of hearing, but the birth through the usual path by which children come, although some tell tales of His birth through the side of the Mother of God. For it was not impossible for Him to have come by this gate, without injuring her seal in anyway.

The ever-virgin One thus remains even after the birth still virgin, having never at any time up till death consorted with a man.

An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book 4), Chapter 14

1–2

On the contrary, It is written (Ezekiel 44:2): "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it; because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it." Expounding these words, Augustine says in a sermon (De Annunt. Dom. iii): "What means this closed gate in the House of the Lord, except that Mary is to be ever inviolate? What does it mean that 'no man shall pass through it,' save that Joseph shall not know her? And what is this—'The Lord alone enters in and goeth out by it'—except that the Holy Ghost shall impregnate her, and that the Lord of angels shall be born of her? And what means this—'it shall be shut for evermore'—but that Mary is a virgin before His Birth, a virgin in His Birth, and a virgin after His Birth?"

Summa Theologiae, Third Part, Question 28, Article 3

The Lord God, maker of the universe, enters and departs through one gate, made from sensible material and always closed.

Homilies on Ezekiel 14:1

There is a key of knowledge to open what is closed.

Homilies on Ezekiel 14:2

Even though my God has not come, the law was closed, the prophetic word closed, the text of the Old Testament veiled.

Homilies on Ezekiel 14:2

What is that gate of the sanctuary, that outer gate facing the east and remaining closed? Is not Mary the gate through whom the Redeemer entered this world?

Letter 44

Before the Savior took a human body and humbled himself, the law and the prophets and all knowledge of Scriptures were closed, and so paradise was as well.

Commentary on Ezekiel 13:44.1-3

Some people nobly understand the Virgin Mary as the door that is closed, who before and after birth remained a virgin, through which only the Lord God of Israel enters.

Commentary on Ezekiel 13:44.1-3

Could it be possible that in that entrance there were both seven steps and eight? Just notice what he says: the east gate, the gate from which the light enters—our Lord and Savior. There is indeed a gate, and no one enters it except the high priest. And what does holy Scripture say about it? “This gate is to remain closed”; it is not opened, moreover, except to the priest. Even so the Covenant, both Old and New, has always been closed; it has not been opened except to the Savior.… One gate, then, has both seven steps and eight. In the Old Testament, for example, the divine mysteries point to the Gospels, and in the New Testament back to the law.

Homilies on the Psalms 19 (ps 89)

What means this closed gate in the House of the Lord, except that Mary is to be ever inviolate? What does it mean that 'no man shall pass through it,' save that Joseph shall not know her? And what is this - 'The Lord alone enters in and goeth out by it' - except that the Holy Ghost shall impregnate her, and that the Lord of angels shall be born of her? And what means this—'it shall be shut for evermore' - but that Mary is a virgin before His Birth, a virgin in His Birth, and a virgin after His Birth?

De Annunt. Dom. iii

The word was made flesh without sexual intercourse, being conceived altogether without seed; then he was born without injury to her virginity.

Commentary on Luke 1

It is very likely that these words refer to the womb of the Virgin, through which no one enters and from which no one departs other than the only one who is the Lord.

Commentary on Ezekiel 16.44

As the priest does not eat his food in the house or in any other place, except in the Holy of Holies, so does my Savior eat the bread, and no one can eat with him.

Homilies on Ezekiel 14:3

Each one of us asks for “daily bread” and when asking for “daily bread” does not receive either the same bread or the same measure. So without ceasing, thanks to pure prayers and a clean conscience, in the works of justice, we eat daily bread. And if anyone is less pure, he eats the daily bread in another way.

Homilies on Ezekiel 14:3

So great is the goodness and compassion of our sovereign that when he alone sits in the door that is closed and eats in the presence of the Lord, he wants to have more companions to share with him at table.… For he alone eats bread before the Lord: he separated from the substance all creatures because he himself has the divine nature. He goes in and out of the same door of the forecourt.

Commentary on Ezekiel 13:44.1-3

Christ himself is a virgin, and his mother is also a virgin; though she is his mother, she is a virgin still. For Jesus has entered in through the closed doors, and in his tomb—a new one hewn out of the hardest rock—no one is laid either before him or after him.… Mary is the east gate, spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel, always shut and always shining and either concealing or revealing the Holy of Holies.

Letter 48.21

Without seed the Son of God was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and in the Virgin’s womb he formed for himself a fleshly body, animate with a reasonable and intelligent soul. From it [he came] forth in one substance but in two natures, perfect God and perfect man. It preserved undefiled, even after birth, the virginity of her that bore him. Being made of like passions with ourselves in all things, yet without sin, he took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. For, since by sin death entered into the world, he who was to redeem the world had to be without sin, and not by sin subject to death.

Barlaam and Joseph 7

4–5

(Verse 4 and following) And he brought me through the way of the north gate in the sight of the house, and I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord, and I fell on my face. And the Lord said to me, Son of man, set your heart and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I speak to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the Lord, and concerning all its laws, and set your heart upon the entrance of the temple and on all the exits of the sanctuary. The man who is the leader of the prophet, and who knows everything in the temple by showing, after he showed the closed gate that must never be opened, and yet opened to him who had entered through closed doors. He leads the prophet to the way of the North gate, which is also in the sight of the house, undoubtedly signifying the temple. And when the prophet saw the fullness of the house of the Lord's glory, namely the same house that he saw from the opposite side in the North area, he immediately fell on his face, unable to bear the majesty of the Lord's glory. Because he had been brought low by his humility, the Lord says to him, not as a man but as the Lord: Son of man, set your heart, and so on. In the completion of the tabernacle and the building of the temple constructed by Solomon, the glory of the Lord appeared, which was later destroyed by comparison to the glory of the Gospel, as the Apostle says: For that which was glorified has not been glorified in this respect, because of the excellent glory. For if that which is destroyed is by glory, much more that which remains is in glory (2 Corinthians 3:10). And we must beware lest we think the destruction of the previous glory is an abolition; but we must think thus, that after what is perfect has come, that which was in part will be destroyed: just as if you compare the rays of the sun to a lamp, or the light of a lamp to a small lantern. Therefore, it is also said about John the Baptist: He was a shining lamp in the house (John 5:35). However, when the sun of justice came, the light of the lamp was hidden, as the prophet himself and John the Baptist said: He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). The prophet fell on his face, lest, desiring to see more than human frailty can behold, he should lose even the light of his eyes. Hence the Lord calls him more familiarly "son of man," and commands him to set his heart, and see with his eyes, and hear with his ears. For first the mind must be opened to understand what is said; secondly, the heart must understand with the eyes, concerning which it is said to Abraham: Lift up your eyes and see the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5); thirdly, it must be heard with these ears, of which the Savior says: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8), so that he may understand all the ceremonies of the temple and its legal requirements, and finally set his heart on the ways of the temple; for there are different approaches to God. Whether through the paths of the temple, it signifies the order of ceremonies, and the exit of the sanctuary. Therefore, it is the prologue and preparation of the prophet, to understand what he will subsequently learn about the order of the temple. And it should be noted that in this world, the plague which is positioned in the evil and placed in the cold of the North, the celestial order of ceremonies is shown to us.

Commentary on Ezekiel

6–8

(V. 6 seqq.) And you shall say to the rebellious house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Sufficient for you are all your sins, O house of Israel, because you bring in foreign sons (or foreigners) uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary and to defile my temple, and you offer my bread, fat, and blood, and you have broken (or transgressed) my covenant in all your sins; and you have not kept the precepts of my sanctuary and you have set the ministers of my observances in my sanctuary for yourselves. When he says, let all your crimes and iniquities be sufficient for you, he exhorts you to repentance for your former sins, so that we do not increase sins by sins, and prepare material for future burning; but let us hear what Isaiah speaks: Woe to those who draw sins like a long rope, and iniquities like the yoke of a calf's leather strap (Isa. 5:18). And the first sin is that they bring in alien sons, or uncircumcised foreigners in heart and in flesh, so that they may be in the sanctuary of God and defile the house of God. For a little leaven corrupts the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6); and in some versions of Proverbs it is written: Do not bring the wicked into the dwelling of the righteous. The Jews and Ebionites press us on this matter, who receive the circumcision of the flesh: how can we explain this passage to those uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh? Indeed, after spiritual understanding, should we also undergo the circumcision of the flesh. But we who read what Paul says: Now I testify to every man who is circumcised that if you are circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you (Gal. V, 2). And that of Jeremiah: Behold, your ears are uncircumcised and you refuse to listen (Jer. VI, 10). And in Exodus, Moses spoke before the Lord, saying: Behold, the Israelites have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me? But I am slow of speech (Exod. VI, 12), for which the Seventy translated: Am I not unreasoning? which is better rendered in Hebrew: But I have uncircumcised lips. Let us ask them, or rather compel them, to circumcise their ears and desecrate their lips, so that they may seem to fulfill the Scripture. But if they begin to interpret the circumcision of the ears, when we endure nothing shameful or dishonorable to hear, and the circumcision of the lips, when we speak nothing indecent: let us say to them, you must also keep the same interpretation in your heart and in your flesh. We circumcise the heart with the knife of God, and the foreskin is removed from our heart, when unclean thoughts never come out of our heart, and it is not said of us: 'This people's heart has grown fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily' (Acts 28:27). Therefore, the flesh is also circumcised in a similar manner, so that we do not engage in earthly works that we are compelled to do for the needs of the body, such as eating, drinking, sleeping, and wearing clothes. We circumcise these things not for pleasure, luxury, or laziness, but for the sake of the necessity of our nature and the sustenance of this body. The one who drinks wine in moderation due to their stomach and frequent illnesses, and hates drunkenness, circumcises their own flesh (I Tim. 5). Whoever sleeps as much as nature allows, will hear from Solomon: If you sit, you will be without fear; if you sleep, you will sleep sweetly, and you will not fear the coming terror; nor the attacks of the wicked (Prov. III, 24). And whoever flees from fornication and returns to his wife, let Satan not tempt him (I Cor. VII), will hear with the people of Israel: On this day I have taken away the reproach of Egypt from you. He will also use clothing that repels the cold; not clothing that, by its thinness, reveals the body. With flesh weakened by fasting and bounded by self-control, he avoids the reproach of the Egyptians, who pride themselves on their ample flesh. He can say what is commonly read in the Septuagint: 'As my flesh languished, so in a dry and trackless land I appeared to you, in a place devoid of water.' If, therefore, at any time we should wish to introduce aliens into the temple of God, let us circumcise their ears, and their lips, and their heart, and all their flesh, and their eyes, and their taste, and their smell, so that we may do all things with the fear and reason of God. Let the bishops and priests and all the ecclesiastical order hear this, so that they do not bring in uncircumcised sons in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, so that they may not be in the sanctuary of God and pollute his house. For if they do this, what follows will be applicable to them: 'And you offer my breads, breads of course of the offering, in all Churches and in the whole world, sprouting from one bread, and not only breads, but also fatness, of which it is written: 'He has filled them with the fatness of wheat' (Ps. 80:17), and the blood which was shed in Christ's passion.' And the order of reading should be as follows: When you bring uncircumcised foreign children with your heart and body into my sanctuary, and defile my house, you dare to offer bread and fat and blood, mystical sacraments, and you do not understand that you have broken, and you have violated my covenant in all your crimes and impieties, and you have not kept the precepts of my sanctuary, nor have you appointed guardians of my ceremonies in my sanctuary. But every threat is against those who have not heeded the Apostle's warning: Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins (I Tim. V, 22). Or certainly it should be understood thus: You have broken my covenant with all your crimes, and have not kept the precepts of my sanctuary, and you dare to appoint unworthy and foreign custodians in the observation of my sanctuary for yourselves, let it be understood, not for me. And there is sense: That they may serve and minister unto you in carnal things and profane my sanctuary for your worldly comforts.

Commentary on Ezekiel

He is uncircumcised in heart who holds heretical views in his mind and arranges blasphemous assertions against knowledge of Christ in his heart. But he is circumcised in heart who guards the pure faith in sincerity of conscience, about whom it can be said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Homilies on Genesis 3:6

9–16

(Verse 9 and following) Thus says the Lord God: Every uncircumcised foreigner in heart and in flesh shall not enter my sanctuary, every foreign son who is among the sons of Israel. But the Levites who went far away from me in the error of the sons of Israel, and who went astray after their idols, shall bear their iniquity, those who were in my sanctuary, the ministers of the gates of the house, and the ministers of the house; they themselves slaughtered the burnt offerings and the sacrifices of the people, and there they stood before them to minister for them. Therefore, because they ministered to them in the presence of their idols, and the house of Israel became a stumbling block of iniquity, therefore I have lifted my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not approach me to serve as priests, nor come near to any of my sanctuaries, according to the most holy things; but they shall bear their shame and the sins they have committed. And I will give them custodians of the house in all its ministry, and for all that is done in it. But the Levite priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the ceremonial duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. They shall enter my sanctuary; and they shall come near to my table to minister to me, and they shall keep my ceremonies. LXX: Therefore thus says the Lord: Every uncircumcised foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall not enter my sanctuary, among all the foreign-born children of Israel. But the Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray, following their own imaginations and carrying their own sins, shall serve in my sanctuary, guarding the gates of the temple and ministering in the house. They shall offer burnt offerings and sacrifices to the people, and they shall stand before the people to minister to them. Because they ministered to them before their idols, and the house of Israel became a stumbling block of iniquity, therefore I have stretched out my hand over them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity and shall not come near me to serve as priests to me, nor to offer to all the holy things of the children of Israel, nor to the most holy things of my sanctuary, but they shall bear their disgrace and the error in which they have wandered. And they shall set them to keep the guard of the house, and to do all the works thereof, and all that shall be done therein. And the priests the Levites, the sons of Sadoc, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God. They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and to keep my charge. I have placed the testimony next to each edition, so that from comparing them we may be able to know what the LXX thought, what the Hebrew holds. The Seventy signify this, that the uncircumcised foreigners in heart and flesh who dwell among the children of Israel should not enter the sanctuary of God. But the Levites, that is, the priestly order, who have strayed far from the Lord in the error of the children of Israel, and have gone after their idols, after they have received their iniquity, let them stand in the sanctuary of the Lord as builders and doorkeepers, and ministers of the house, and let them offer burnt offerings and sacrifices of the people; and let them be in their presence to minister to them what they have ministered to their idols, and let them become a torment of iniquity for the house of Israel; and therefore the Lord God says that He has lifted His hand against them, so that they may not approach Him and officiate in the priesthood, nor offer in the holy of holies, and let them bear their shame in the error in which they have erred; so that they may be put under the observation of the guardians of the house in all its works, and in everything that is done in the house. But if this is so, how can it be possible for the Levites, who have strayed far from God and gone astray after their own idols, to serve in the house and offer sacrifices and victims for the people, and to stand before them to serve them? For what more will the priests of the sons of Zadok, who have kept the ceremonies of the sanctuary of God, do? Of whom it is said: They will approach me to serve me, and they will stand before me to offer me fat and the rest? But Hebrew has this meaning: Every uncircumcised foreigner in heart and flesh shall not enter my sanctuary, though he may be seen as being with the people of Israel. But the Levites, that is, the priestly class, who have gone far astray from me in the error of the children of Israel, and have followed idols, shall bear their iniquity because they have served in my sanctuary as gatekeepers of the house, and as its ministers. For they offered burnt offerings and the people's sacrifices, and they stood before them to minister to them. So because they ministered for them in the presence of their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have stretched out my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity and shall not come near me to serve as priests to me, nor to approach any of my sanctuary's holy things, but they shall bear their disgrace and the crimes they have committed. For the priestly office which they were accustomed to, offering burnt offerings and sacrifices and all kinds of offerings, they shall be reduced to the lowest level and become the gatekeepers of the house, in eternal disgrace, so that they may be seen by the whole people entering and leaving, from what sublime dignity they have reached to this lowest level. But the priests, he says, that is, the Levites, who are the sons of Zadok, that is, the righteous or just of God, and who during the time of the error of all the Israelites, have kept the ceremonies of my sanctuary, they themselves will approach me to minister to me, and they will stand in my presence, and they will offer me fat, that is, the fattest victim and blood, namely, a living and pleasing victim to God, and they themselves will enter my sanctuary, and they will approach my table, to burn incense to me, and they will observe every rite of the sacrifice. But if it is so, that those who in the time of error and persecution followed idols, which they had fashioned in their own hearts, and not only declared with their voice, but also with the signing of their hands, that the Son of God was a creature, and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever, how do they assume for themselves the high office of priesthood and pontificate, and dare to offer sacrifices to God, once worshippers of idols? But, as the most ardent poet testifies,

Whatever is committed by many is left unpunished: The multitude of sinners has made the impious obtain even greater forgiveness, so that those who, having been reduced to laymen, should have bewailed the crimes of their sacrilege, now recline on the pontifical throne and belch forth the nauseating reflux of simulated faith, or rather the open shortcuts of covert treachery. Let them at least, then, listen late and observe the precepts of the almighty God. Every foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, shall not enter my sanctuary. Although he may be a son, although he may be connected by kinship, although he may cling to us through ancient obligation: if he is uncircumcised in heart or flesh, he should not be admitted into the sanctuary of God: lest we make ministers of Christ, our ministers, and defile the altars of the Lord with carnal indulgences. For this reason, I will appoint them as the gatekeepers of the house, in charge of all the services performed in it: namely, the Levites who have strayed far from God in the error of the children of Israel, and have followed idols to which they have sacrificed. Taking into consideration the order of reading and the sense, Symmachus interpreted it more accurately, saying: For I had appointed them as custodians of the gates of the entire ministry and of all that is done in it, so that it would not pertain to those who are to come in the temple, but to those who have been.

Commentary on Ezekiel

When the mind is longingly involved with one of these stirrings—this depends on the urgency of the matter at the time of supplication and is the result of great eagerness—the gaze of its stirring is drawn by the eye of faith inside the veil of the heart, and the entries of the soul are fenced off, keeping out alien thoughts, which are called “strangers,” who are not permitted by the law to enter inside the tent of witness. This is what they describe as “an acceptable sacrifice of the heart” and “pure prayer.” Prayer’s boundaries reach this point: afterwards it is not to be named prayer.

Mystical Treatises 22

10–14

How is it that in the book of Ezekiel, where a description is given of the future church and of the heavenly Jerusalem, the priests who have sinned are degraded to the rank of sacristans and doorkeepers, and although they are in the temple of God, that is, on the right hand, they are not among the rams but among the poorest of the sheep?

Against Jovinianus 2.28

For certainly no one does more harm in the Church than one who has the name and rank of sanctity, while he acts perversely. For him, when he transgresses, no one presumes to take to task; and the offence spreads forcibly for example, when out of reverence to his rank the sinner is honoured.

Pastoral Rule, Part 1, Chapter 2

17–21

(Verses 17 onwards) And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments (or robes); they shall not wear anything made of wool (or they shall not wear garments made of wool) when they minister at the gates of the inner court and inside. Linen turbans shall be on their heads (or they shall have linen turbans on their heads) and linen undergarments shall be around their waists, and they shall not be bound in sweat (or forced). And when they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they shall take off their garments (or stoles) in which they ministered, and they shall put them in the treasury (or colonnades) of the sanctuary (or the holy place), and they shall put on other garments (or stoles), and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments (or stoles). But they shall not shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall trim their hair (or shave their heads) without shaving the hair too close: they shall cover their heads. And not every priest shall drink wine when he is about to enter the inner court. First, the words of the story must be interpreted. Among other things that the sermon of the Lord commands to the priests, he also orders that they should be clothed in linen garments at the very gates of the inner court, that is, with linen stoles: and they should not use garments woven with gold either at the gates of the inner court or inside, that is, in the holy of holies; and linen turbans or headbands should be on their heads, and linen undergarments around their loins. And what follows according to the Septuagint: 'And they shall not gird themselves violently,' which Aquila and Symmachus translated as 'in sweat.' Theodotion, expressing the Hebrew word itself, rendered it as, 'in Jeze,' meaning that they should not be girded violently, tightly, like prisoners, so as not to become unfit for the priestly and Levitical duties, and be unable to hold and slaughter the victims, nor to draw and run around. And because he had previously commanded the priests what garments they should wear when they were inside the sanctuary, he now orders that when they go out into the treasuries or the holy places, they should take off their former garments and put on others. For if they had the holy garments, they would sanctify the people who were standing outside and had not yet been sanctified, nor had prepared themselves for the sanctification of the temple, so that they may be of Nazarene for the Lord. From this we learn that we should not enter into the holy of holies with everyday and any garments that are polluted for common use, but with a clean conscience and clean garments, keep the sacraments of the Lord. And what follows: 'But they shall not shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall trim their heads,' clearly demonstrates that we should not be priests and worshippers of Isis and Serapis with shaved heads, but neither should we let our hair grow long, which is properly luxurious and belongs to barbarians and warriors; but that the honorable appearance of the priests be shown on their faces. For this reason, the LXX said, 'They shall not shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall cover their heads,' from which we learn that we should not make baldness with a razor or cut our hair so close that we appear like shaven ones, but that our hair should be left long enough to cover the skin. Or certainly, the priests should always cover their heads, according to what Virgil said (Aeneid, Book III):

To veil his hair with a purple covering. But this is a violent interpretation. However, not only will priests and Levites not drink wine in their ministry, but they will not even enter the Holy of Holies, so that their mind may not be overwhelmed, and their senses may not become duller. Hence the Apostle says: It is good, he says, not to drink wine and not to eat meat (Rom. XIV, 21). And in another place: And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery (Ephes. V, 18). For the people ate and drank, and then got up to play. And he clearly showed (as Alexander shows) why he granted Timothy to drink a little wine: for his stomach, he says, and frequent illnesses (1 Timothy 5). The Egyptian priests use linen garments not only internally but also externally. Furthermore, the divine religion has one dress for the ministry and another for common use in life. The undergarments are properly worn to preserve modesty and decorum: so that, when ascending the steps of the altar and moving about in the ministry, they do not reveal indecency. The superstition of the pagans has many heads. But as far as my knowledge is concerned, I do not believe that any of the pagans abstain from wine. These words will show what all things in accordance with sense indicate as spiritual. The Apostle also teaches that there are sacred and spiritual garments, saying: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. XIII, 14). And in another place: Put on the bowels of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Coloss. III, 12). And again: Stripped off the old man with his works, and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of the Creator (1 Cor. 15:54); which I think also signifies this: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, and so on. About the priestly garments in Exodus, it is written more fully (Exodus 28); and we have previously published a book (Epistle 64, to Fabiola), to the interpretation of which a diligent reader must be sent. For we cannot comprehend a broad subject in a concise discourse. These clothes we make with our own labor, which are woven from above, such as the Lord had a tunic that could not be torn (John 18); in which we are clothed when we know the secret and hidden things of the Lord, and we have the spirit that searches even the high and deep things of God, which are not to be shown to the common people, nor to be spoken to the un-sanctified, nor to those not prepared for the sanctity of the Lord: so that if they hear greater things, they may not be able to bear the majesty of knowledge, and be choked like solid food, who are still nourished by the milk of infancy. But on the contrary, Scripture teaches that the worst clothing, as is sung in the Psalms about the traitor Judas, is to be clothed with curses (Ps. CVIII, 29). And a little later: Let it become for him like the clothing with which he is surrounded, and like the belt with which he is always girded. Therefore, the Lord, who suffered for us and carried our sins, is said to have dirty clothes in Zechariah, of which it is written: And Jesus was clothed in dirty clothes (Zach. III, 4): which he later takes off, as the Scripture says: Take away the dirty clothes from him and dress him in clean clothes, and so on. But what follows: "Vittae, sive cidares lineae erunt in capitibus eorum, puto coronam ostendere gratiarum, de qua scriptum est: Coronam enim gratiarum suscipiet tuus vertex (Prov. IV, 9). Nec illud nobis de operto et nudo capite faciet quaestionem, quod Apostolusloquitur: Mulier debet velamen habere super caput, propter angelos. Si enim non velatur mulier, attondeatur. Sin autem, turpe est mulieri tonderi aut radi, operiatur. For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man (2 Cor. XI, 10). For if it is the custom for men not to cover the head, it seems to be the opposite, so why do priests now command them to cover their heads or cut their hair? But if we read diligently, the present matters will be resolved from the previous ones. For it is said above: When they serve at the doors of the inner court and within. For if we enter into the holy and stand in the presence of the Lord, we ought to cover our heads: Because not every living thing will be justified in the sight of the Lord (Ps. CXLII, 2). And: From infancy the heart of man is inclined to evil. Finally, we also use our female bodies inwardly so that no defilement of conscience and impurity of matrimonial work appears in the sight of God. The Savior wants his apostles to be girded with these female items, saying: Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning in your hands (Luke 12:35). And the Apostle speaks to believers: Therefore, gird up your loins in truth (Ephesians 6:14). And the imitators of Christ hear that which is written about him: He shall be girded with justice and clothed with truth (Isaiah 11:5). And this very belt, which is holy and has ascended to the pinnacle of virtues, is not bound forcibly: lest he appear unwilling to observe the good of continence and to eat the bread of his face in sweat, but to do the commandment of the Lord willingly. Finally, when he goes out and mingles with the people, he puts off his priestly garments in the treasury, where the riches of the Lord are preserved; and the priests use other garments and another teaching for the common people, so that the people may not be sanctified in their garments. It is a burden for the multitude to undertake beyond their strength, as Solomon says: 'The snare of a man is to consecrate quickly what is his own; for when he has made a vow, repentance steals upon him.' (Prov. XX, 25, LXX) . Finally, the Nazarenes offer themselves willingly, and whoever vows something and does not fulfill it is guilty of the vow. Hence it is said about widows: 'When they have given themselves to wantonness, they want to marry in Christ, having condemnation because they have cast off the first faith.' (I Tim. V, 11, 12) . For it is better not to promise than to promise and not do. Anna offered Samuel, who remained in eternal sanctity (1 Samuel 1). And Manoah offered Samson his son, but the lust of Delilah defiled the sanctification of his hair (Judges 13). Finally, the Lord withdrew from him and he was condemned to blindness, except that later, as his hair grew, he regained his former strength and in the image of Christ, he killed many more of the enemies of Israel in death than he did in life. But the Lord wants his priests to have perpetual holy hair and to cover their heads, not with any external veil, but with their own natural hair, not for adornment and luxury, but for decency. Therefore, the apostles' hair is counted, as the Savior says: But the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Matt. 10:30). That head, about which it is written in Ecclesiastes: The wise man's eyes are in his head (Eccl. 2:14). But the head of the man is Christ, whom the sinner tramples upon and despises, and, so to speak, shaves with a razor, and takes away his beauty. Which the sons of Ammon also did to those whom David had sent as ambassadors (2 Samuel 10). But, on the other hand, transgressing the law dishonors God, and therefore, whoever keeps the precepts of the law, honors him, so that what is written may be fulfilled: That all may honor the Son as they honor the Father (John 5:23). Furthermore, what follows is clear: That every priest, when about to enter the inner courtyard, should not drink wine, it is evident that the state of mind is overturned in drunkenness and debauchery, and we do not fully understand when the mind is occupied with the satisfaction of wine. But drunkenness is not only shown in the drinking of wine, but in all things, in which the mind is intoxicated and fluctuates with love and hatred, in contracts and business of the world, and cannot maintain its state. And because we are surrounded by fragile flesh, and we are compelled to do certain things that pertain to the body, such as providing for food and clothing and necessities, which we should not do, at least it is required of us that when we return to ourselves and understand why we were born, and enter the innermost sanctuary of the temple, we withdraw from the vices of the world and do not even commit the slightest sins. Through this, it is shown that we commit minor sins out of necessity of the flesh, and again, there is a time when, entering the inner courtyard, we must be free from all worldliness and external distractions.

Commentary on Ezekiel

They are rightly called priests who are set over the faithful for giving them sacred guidance. But hairs outside the head are thoughts in the mind, which, as they spring up without notice above the brain, denote the cares of the present life, which sometimes come forth unseasonably, due to negligent perception, since they arise without our feeling them. Because all who are over others ought indeed to have external anxieties, and yet should not be overly concerned about them, priests are rightly forbidden either to shave their heads or to let their hair grow long. This means that they may neither cut themselves off entirely from thoughts of the flesh for the life of those who are under them, nor again allow such thoughts to occupy them too much.

Pastoral Rule 2:7

(Vers. 22) Widows and divorced (or expelled) women will not marry, but only a virgin from the seed of the house of Israel. But they will accept a widow who was married to a priest. This place contains the instructions of the priests, who, after many things that we have explained above, are commanded not to take widows, divorced women, or expelled women as wives. The widow and the divorced woman are the synagogue, that is, the congregation of the Jews, which did not receive the Lord. Therefore, it is rightly called the expelled woman, or the widow synagogue. The expelled woman also refers to the crowd of heretics who departed from us because they were not of us. But he says, 'I want to present you all as a holy virgin to Christ,' speaking also of the woman from the seed of the house of Israel who was nourished in the house of God, in the law and the prophets, about whom the Apostle also speaks (2 Corinthians 11:2). This is the virgin about whom the divine word speaks elsewhere: Love her, and she will keep you: surround her, and she will exalt you: honor her, so that she may embrace you (Prov. IV, 8). But whoever reads it will know what kind of virgin should be loved and how she should keep her lover: I loved her and sought her from my youth, and I sought to take her as my spouse, and I became a lover of her beauty (Wisdom VIII, 2). And again: And the Lord loved her above all. Not only, however, should priests marry virgins, but also widows, who were, nevertheless, the wives of another priest; that is, the knowledge that another worshipper of God has found. For we must not only be satisfied with new doctrine, but also cultivate the old and join it to our company, if she has been educated in sacred worship.

Commentary on Ezekiel

23–24

(Vers. 23-24) And they will teach my people what is holy and what is defiled, and they will show them what is clean and what is unclean. And when there is a dispute (as added in the Septuagint, regarding blood), they will stand in my courts, and they will judge my laws, and they will keep my commandments in all my solemnities. It is also the duty of the priest to teach the people what is holy and what is impure, what is clean and what is unclean; so that we may first refer to the doctrines, and then to the works that are accomplished through the flesh. For who understands the sins? And when there is a dispute about any matter, whether as the Seventy have translated it, blood, that is, a crime that pertains to death, the priests shall stand in my judgments, so that they may not judge according to favoritism, nor show partiality to the poor or the rich in judgment, but they shall judge according to the judgments of God, and they shall remember that psalm: God stands in the assembly of gods, but he judges the gods in the midst of them, calling gods those who have the power to judge over men: and whoever judges in that judgment, he shall be judged by them. He said, 'My laws and my precepts shall be observed on all my solemnities, so that they may know how Christ is immolated for us as the Paschal Lamb; how we ought to fulfill the seven weeks of joy and gladness, and to humble our souls in fasting; and to understand the sound of trumpets and the spiritual tabernacles, in which we say: 'I am a stranger and a sojourner as were all my fathers' (Ps. XXXVIII, 13). These are the true solemnities of God, which someone discussing the Pentateuch will interpret in a consistent manner.' The first virtue of a priest is not only to teach what he knows, but also to observe all the festivals of God, so that he can instruct others in what they should observe, which he himself has also observed. Moreover, the duty of the priests is to have knowledge of the law, and in Malachi we learn, who says: The lips of the priest will keep knowledge, and the law they shall seek at his mouth: because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts (Mal. II, 7).

Commentary on Ezekiel

(Verse 24) And they shall sanctify my Sabbaths. Furthermore, it is commanded to the priests: in which it is to be observed that it does not say absolutely: and they shall sanctify the sabbaths; or according to Isaiah: My soul hates your new moons and sabbaths (Isa. 1:13): but with distinction, my sabbaths. Hence, it is also written in the Gospel: The priests in the temple violate the Sabbath, and they are without guilt (Matt. 12:5): not the Sabbath of God, but the Sabbath of the law, the Sabbath of the Jews, which they rightly violate who are the chosen race, royal, priestly. Furthermore, let us understand the Sabbath, which is sanctified, as the Apostle teaches, to have been left to the people of God, about whom it is said: 'If they shall enter into my rest' (Ps. 94:11), which is called the Sabbath in Hebrew. But God sanctifies the Sabbath, who does not bear the burden of sin on the Sabbath, nor says: 'As the heavy burden, they have been heavily laden upon me' (Ps. 37:5). Whoever is such, does not gather wood on the Sabbath; nor does he build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ with wood, hay, straw (1 Cor. 3); nor does he light a fire that consumes useless material, and he remains in one place on the day of Sabbath; nor does he go outside, but remains like a column placed in the temple of God, as John writes in the Apocalypse: 'He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more' (Rev. 3:12).

Commentary on Ezekiel

(Verse 25) And they shall not go unto a dead person, lest they be defiled (for the Septuagint translated it as, and they shall not go upon the soul of a dead person, lest they be defiled): except for father and mother, he said, and son and daughter, brother and sister who has no husband, they shall be defiled. And what follows: They shall not enter the place where the dead person is, lest they be polluted. It is the proper office of the priesthood not to touch anything connected with death, so that the one who prays for the sins of others may approach the altar in a state of purity. Our Savior also speaks of these dead in the Gospel: Let the dead bury their own dead (Matthew 8:22). They are polluted by their dead father when they abandon their Creator, and by their dead mother when they depart from the Church. Likewise, by their son and daughter, for there is a distinction between thoughts and actions, which is more expressively stated in Greek as τὰ νοητὰ καὶ αἰσθητά. Also, if a brother and sister, who have been born of the same spirit, mistakenly believe that one of them has died, they become contaminated by this belief. However, this only applies if the sister remains a virgin and has not been defiled by any man. From this, we understand the virgin privilege, which is taken away by the touch of any man, thereby removing perfect purity. Whether this is said correctly or incorrectly, we leave it to the judgment of the reader. Furthermore, this is supported by the natural affection in the order of charity, as it is written: 'Set me as a seal upon your heart' (Song of Solomon 2:4). After God, the parent of all things, let the father and mother of the flesh also be loved and respected, as well as the son and daughter, and the brother and sister. However, this only applies if they have not left the household nor come under the authority of another.

Commentary on Ezekiel

26–27

(Verses 26-27) And after he has been cleansed, seven days shall be numbered for him, and on the day of his entrance into the sanctuary and into the inner courtyard, to minister unto me in the sanctuary, he shall offer a sin-offering unto the Lord God (or he shall offer an atonement). But after the priest has been purified according to the order of purification that is prescribed in the Mosaic law, let seven days be numbered for him, either the perfect number of penance, or after the consummation of the world, when we pass over to the true ogdoad, so that he may enter the holy of holies (which is the inner courtyard) and minister in the sanctuary and always offer a victim for the sin of conscience: and let there be no time when he does not remember that he has been defiled by his father and mother, son and daughter, brother and sister. For indeed we are compelled to do many things in the constraints of this world, either due to the condition of the flesh or the frailty of nature.

Commentary on Ezekiel

(Verse 28) But they will not have an inheritance: I will be their inheritance, and you shall not give them any possession in Israel; I will be their possession. But whoever is such that he ministers in the sanctuary, and enters the inner court, and offers a perpetual sacrifice to God, so that he may be a true priest, indeed an imitator of him about whom it is written: 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek' (Psalm 110:4), this person will have no inheritance, except God who is his inheritance; nor will he receive possession among the common people of Israel; but rather a priestly one, so that the Lord may say about him: 'I am their inheritance and possession.' When they find him, they will speak and say: I will hold him, and I will not let him go; and they will sing with the prophet: The Lord is my portion (Ps. II, 26).

Commentary on Ezekiel

29–30

(Verse 29, 30) They themselves shall eat the victim for sin and for transgression (or for ignorance), and every vow (or separation) in Israel shall be theirs. And the firstborn of all the firstborns, and all the libations from all that are offered, shall be for the priests. And you shall give the firstfruits of your food to the priest, so that he may put a blessing on his house (or put blessings on your houses). For the victim and sacrifice, which in Hebrew is called Manaa (), Aquila and Symmachus interpreted as a gift. Again, for the vow which the Seventy translated as ἀφόρισμα, which means separation, Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted as a dedication, which in Hebrew is called Herem (). And it is to be considered that all that which the Lord now speaks through the prophet, He had already spoken through Moses. And it is to be sought why the same things that were said are repeated: namely, that those things which are in the minds of men, deleted either by negligence in reading or contempt in hearing and forgetting, may be renewed orally, which are not written with pen and ink, but with the Spirit and word of God. And so the Savior left no written volume of his teaching, which in many cases the apocrypha fabricate delusional writings: but he speaks daily to the hearts of believers through the Father and his Spirit. And this will be the response against those who slander the prophets, asking why they repeat what is contained in the Pentateuch in their own writings. Therefore, let the priests eat the victim, both for sin and for transgression, or ignorance, about whom it is written: They will eat the sins of my people (Hosea IV, 8). We must not only rejoice at the offering of gifts, but also fear the condemnation of honor, if we unworthily misuse them. The first things according to the letter are of living beings, and of inanimate things that are first born, and of those that the earth first produces. The first fruits of our food are also offered to the priests, so that we may not taste of new crops unless the priest has tasted first. We do this so that the priest may repon our blessing and offering in his house, or so that the Lord may bless our houses according to his imprecation. The dignity of priests is great, but their downfall is also great if they sin. Let us rejoice in their ascent, but let us fear their descent. It is not as joyful to have reached lofty heights as it is sorrowful to fall from them. For we will not only give an account for our own sins, but also for the sins of all those whose gifts we have abused, and we are not at all concerned for their salvation.

Commentary on Ezekiel

(Verse 31) Every dead body and every animal caught by a beast, whether birds or livestock, the priests shall not eat. And according to the letter, this command applies to every chosen people, the royal and priestly, which properly applies to Christians who are anointed with spiritual oil, as it is written: 'God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions' (Psalm 45:7). These commandments are appropriate so that the priests do not eat any dead bodies, whether from birds or livestock, whose blood has not been properly drained, as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as being strangled; and these things must necessarily be observed, as the Epistle of the Apostles from Jerusalem reminds us (Acts 15). And every animal caught by a beast, because it is likewise strangled, condemns those priests who do not refrain from consuming things like thrushes, figpeckers, dormice, and other such things out of the desire of gluttony. But we can say, according to the mystical interpretation, that the dead body represents the soul, and Nabal imitates the foolishness of Carmel, which means foolish. And hearing of David's anger, he trembled with fear, and his heart died within him (1 Samuel 25). But captured by beasts, so as not to be torn apart by their bites, the prophet sighs, saying: Do not deliver the soul of your confessor to beasts (Psalm 73:19). He should be called the one who is devoured by the bites of the lion and the leopard that does not change its spots, and by the she-bear that rages against its stolen cubs, and by the wolves of Arabia, and by the other beasts that we perceive in the diversity of demons. But we say that birds are those that place their mouth in the sky, and those animals that lean forward towards the ground serve only their belly and the things that are under the belly.

Commentary on Ezekiel