Thomas, when he touched the flesh, believed that he had touched God, saying, “My Lord and my God.” For they all confessed but one Christ, so as not to make him two. Do you therefore believe him? And do you believe in such a way that Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, both Only Begotten and firstborn, is both creator of all things and preserver of humanity and that the same person is framer of the whole world and afterward redeemer of humankind?
John Cassian, On the Incarnation of the Lord against Nestorius 6.19, quoted in Joel C. Elowsky (ed), John 11-21, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture New Testament IVb (InterVarsity Press, 200) 372-373.
With good reason, then, we are accustomed to have sacred meetings in churches on the eighth day. And, to adopt the language of allegory, as the idea necessarily demands, we indeed close the doors, but Christ still visits us and appears to us all, both invisibly as God and visibly in the body. He allows us to touch his holy flesh and gives it to us. For through the grace of God we are admitted to partake of the blessed Eucharist, receiving Christ into our hands, to the intent that we may firmly believe that he did in truth raise up the temple of his body. … Participation in the divine mysteries, in addition to filling us with divine blessedness, is a true confession and memorial of Christ’s dying and rising again for us and for our sake. Let us, therefore, after touching Christ’s body, avoid all unbelief in him as utter ruin and rather be found well grounded in the full assurance of faith.
Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John 12.I, quoted in Joel C. Elowsky (ed), John 11-21, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture New Testament IVb (InterVarsity Press, 200) 369.
A blessed Pascha to all celebrating it today, and a blessed end of the Octave to the rest of us! (I’ve given up trying to work out precisely who follows what calendar by now).
