Lampe, in his Patristic Greek Lexicon, has the following under “αναμνησις”:
d. of baptism as similar recalling of Passion εἰς … πλῆθος αὐξανομένης καθʼ ἡμέραν τῆς ἐκκλησίας διὰ τὴν σύνερξιν καὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν τοῦ λόγου συγκαταβαίνοντος ἡμῖν καὶ νῦν ἔτι καὶ ἐξισταμένου κατὰ τὴν ἀ. τοῦ πάθους Meth.symp.3.8(p.35.22; M.18.73b) (“Ἀνάμνησις,”
in A Patristic Greek Lexicon ed. G. W. H. Lampe [Oxford: At The
Clarendon Press, 1961], 113)
For fuller context, here is a transcription from Methodius’s
work (taken from Migne, PG
18:72-75):
Προγεγύμνασται γὰρ μετὰ συστάσεων
οὐκ εὐκαταφρονήτων ἐκ τῆς Γραφῆς, ὡς ἄρα ὁ πρωτόπλαστος οἰκείως εἰς αὐτὸν ἀναφέρεσθαι
δύναται τὸν Χριστόν, οὐκέτι τύπος ὢν καὶ ἀπείκασμα μόνον καὶ εἰκὼν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς,
ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο σοφία γεγονὼς καὶ Λόγος. Δίκην γὰρ ὕδατος ὁ ἄνθρωπος
συγκερασθεὶς τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῇ ζωῇ τοῦτο γέγονεν, ὅπερ ἦν αὐτὸ τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν ἐγκατασκῆψαν
ἄκρατον φῶς.
Ὅθεν δ’ Ἀπόστολος εὐθυβόλως εἰς
Χριστὸν ἀνηκόντισε τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ἀδάμ. Οὕτως γὰρ ἂν μάλιστα ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων αὐτοῦ
καὶ τῆς σαρκὸς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν συμφωνῆσαι γεγονέναι· ἧς δὴ χάριν, καταλείψας τὸν
Πατέρα τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, κατήλθεν ὁ Λόγος προσκολληθησόμενος τῇ γυναικί· καὶ
ὕπνωσε τὴν ἔκστασιν τοῦ πάθους, ἑκουσίως ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἀποθανών, «ὅπως αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ
παραστήσῃ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ἔνδοξον καὶ ἄμωμον, καθαρίσας τῷ λουτρῷ» πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν
τοῦ νοητοῦ καὶ μακαρίου σπέρματος, ὃ σπείρει μὲν αὐτὸς ὑπηχῶν καὶ καταφυτεύων ἐν
τῷ βάθει τοῦ νοός, ὑποδέχεται δὲ καὶ μορφοῖ δίκην γυναικὸς ἡ Ἐκκλησία εἰς τὸ
γεννᾶν τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ ἐκτρέφειν.
Ταύτῃ γὰρ καὶ τὸ «Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ
πληθύνεσθε» πληροῦται προσηκόντως, εἰς μέγεθος καὶ κάλλος καὶ πλῆθος καθ’ ἡμέραν
αὐξανομένης αὐτῆς διὰ τὴν σύνερξιν καὶ κοινωνίαν τοῦ Λόγου, συγκαταβαίνοντος ἡμῖν
καὶ νῦν καὶ ἐξισταμένου κατὰ τὴν ἀνάμνησιν τοῦ πάθους. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἄλλως ἡ
Ἐκκλησία συλλαβεῖν τοὺς πιστεύοντας καὶ ἀναγεννῆσαι διὰ λουτροῦ τῆς
παλιγγενεσίας δύνατο, ἐὰν μὴ καὶ δι’ αὐτοὺς ὁ Χριστὸς κενώσας ἑαυτόν, ἵνα χωρηθῇ
κατὰ τὴν ἀνακεφαλαίωσιν, ὡς ἔφην, τοῦ πάθους, πάλιν ἀποθάνῃ καταβὰς ἐξ οὐρανῶν
καὶ προσκολληθεὶς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ γυναικί, τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, παράσχοι τῆς πλευρᾶς ἀφαιρεῖσθαι
τῆς ἑαυτοῦ δύναμίν τινα, ὅπως αὐξηθῶσιν οἱ ἐν αὐτῷ οἰκοδομηθέντες ἅπαντες, οἱ
γεγεννημένοι διὰ τοῦ λουτροῦ, ἐκ τῶν ὀστῶν καὶ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός, τουτέστιν ἐκ τῆς ἁγιωσύνης
αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῆς δόξης προσειληφότες. Ὀστὰ γὰρ καὶ σάρκα σοφίας ὁ λέγων εἶναι
σύνεσιν καὶ ἀρετήν ὀρθότατα λέγει· πλευρὰν δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ
παράκλητον, ἀφ’ οὗ λαμβάνοντες εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν ἀναγεννῶνται προσηκόντως οἱ
πεφωτισμένοι.
Ἀδύνατον δὲ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου
μετασχεῖν τινα καὶ μέλος καταλεχθῆναι Χριστοῦ, ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον καὶ ἐπὶ τούτου
συγκατελθὼν ὁ Λόγος ἔκστη κοιμηθείς, ἵνα τὴν ἀνανέωσιν καὶ τὸν ἀνακαινισμόν,
συνεξαναστὰς τοῦ ὕπνου τοῦ κεκοιμημένου, καὶ αὐτὸ μεταλαβεῖν δυνηθῇ, Πνεύματος ἀναπλασθείς.
Τοῦτο γὰρ κυρίως ἂν ἡ πλευρὰ λέγοιτο τοῦ Λόγου, τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ ἑπτάμορφον
κατὰ τὸν προφήτην, ἀφ’ οὗ λαμβάνων ὁ Θεὸς μετὰ τὴν ἔκστασιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὃ δὴ ἔστι
μετὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν καὶ τὸ πάθος, τὴν «βοηθὸν» αὐτῷ κατασκευάζει, λέγω δὴ τὴν
ἠρμοσμένην αὐτῷ καὶ νενυμφευμένην ψυχήν.
Ἔστι γὰρ ὅτε πολλαχῶς αὐτὸ τὸ ἄθροισμα
καὶ τὸ στίφος τῶν πεπιστευκότων Ἐκκλησίαν οὕτως ὀνομάζουσιν αἱ Γραφαί, τῶν
τελειοτέρων κατὰ προκοπὴν εἰς ἓν πρόσωπον καὶ σῶμα τὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀναγομένων.
Οἱ μὲν γὰρ κρείττονες καὶ τρανότερον σπάσαντες ἤδη τὴν ἀλήθειαν, οὗτοι διὰ τὴν
τελείαν κάθαραν καὶ πίστιν ἀποστερωθέντες τῶν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀτοπημάτων, Ἐκκλησία
γίνονται καὶ «βοηθὸς» τοῦ Χριστοῦ, «παρθένος» ὥσπερ, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον, αὐτῷ
καθηρμοσμένοι τε καὶ νενυμφευμένοι, ἵνα, τὴν καθαρὰν τῆς διδασκαλίας ὑποδεξάμενοι
καὶ γόνιμον σποράν, συνεργήσωσι βοηθοῦντες τῷ κηρύγματι πρὸς τὴν τῶν λοιπῶν
σωτηρίαν. Οἱ δὲ ἀτελεῖς ἔτι καὶ ἀπαρχόμενοι τῶν μαθημάτων εἰς σωτηρίαν ὠδίνωνται
καὶ μορφοῦνται, ὥσπερ ὑπὸ μητράσι πρὸς τῶν τελειοτέρων, ἔστ’ ἂν ἀποκυηθέντες ἀναγεννηθῶσιν
εἰς μέγεθος καὶ κάλλος ἀρετῆς· καὶ πάλιν αὖ κατὰ προκοπὴν Ἐκκλησία καὶ οὗτοι
γεγονότες, εἰς ἕτερον τόκον ὑπουργήσωσι τέκνων καὶ ἀνατροφήν, μήτρας δίκην, ἐν
τῷ δοχείῳ τῆς ψυχῆς, τὸ θέλημα τελεσφορήσαντες ἀλώβητον τοῦ Λόγου.
For this has already been prepared by scriptural
arguments that are not to be lightly dismissed: namely, that the first-formed
man can properly be referred to Christ, so that he is no longer merely a type,
a likeness, and an image of the Only-begotten, but has become Wisdom itself and
the Word. For man, mixed as it were like water with Wisdom and Life, became
what was itself that pure light which had shone into him.
From this the Apostle pointed directly to Christ in
what he said about Adam. For in this way, most especially, the Church could be
said to have come from his bones and his flesh. For this reason the Word left
the Father in heaven and came down to be joined to the woman; and He slept the
ecstasy of suffering, dying willingly for her, “in order that He might present
to Himself the Church glorious and without blemish, having cleansed her by the
bath,” for the reception of the spiritual and blessed seed, which He Himself
sows, sounding it forth and planting it in the depths of the mind. The Church
receives it and shapes it, like a woman, so as to bear and nurture virtue.
And in this way the command, “Increase and multiply,”
is duly fulfilled, as she grows every day in greatness, beauty, and abundance
through her union and fellowship with the Word, who still now comes down to us
and is “present” in the remembrance of the Passion. For the Church could
not otherwise conceive believers and bring them forth again through the bath of
regeneration unless Christ also, for their sake, had emptied Himself so that,
in the recapitulation—as I said—of the Passion, He might die again, descending
from heaven and joining Himself to His own wife, the Church, and thus allow a
power to be taken from His side, so that all those built up in Him, those born
through the bath, might increase from His bones and flesh, that is, from the
holiness and glory taken from Him. For one who says that “bones” and “flesh”
are wisdom means understanding and virtue, and says quite rightly that the
“rib” is the Spirit of truth, the Paraclete, from whom those who receive it are
regenerated unto incorruptibility. But no one can partake of the Holy Spirit
and be numbered among Christ’s members unless first the Word has come down upon
him and, falling into that “ecstasy,” has slept, so that, rising together with
the sleeper from his sleep, he may also be able to share in renewal and
re-creation, being filled with the Spirit. For this, properly speaking, is what
the rib of the Word would be called: the Spirit of truth, the sevenfold Spirit
according to the prophet, from whom God, after the ecstasy of Christ—that is,
after His becoming man and His Passion—fashioned for Him the “helper,” that is,
the soul fitted to Him and wedded to Him.
For the gathered body and throng of believers is also
often called “the Church” in Scripture, as the more advanced are gradually led
into one person and one body of the Church. Those who are better and have
already more clearly grasped the truth, being stripped through complete
purification and faith of the distortions of the flesh, become the Church and
the “helper” of Christ, like a “virgin,” in the Apostle’s sense, joined and
wedded to Him, so that, having received the pure teaching and fruitful seed, they
cooperate by helping the preaching toward the salvation of others. But those
who are still imperfect and only beginning their instruction in salvation are
in labor and are being formed, as though by mothers, by the more perfect,
until, once brought to birth, they are reborn into the greatness and beauty of
virtue; and then, having become Church again in their turn through progress,
they serve in another generation of children and in their nurture, like a womb,
bringing to completion in the vessel of the soul the will of the Word, intact
and unharmed.
The editors of this work have the following note:
Οὐκέτι τύπος ὤν. De Christo satis
intelligitur, etsi nulla substantiarum confusione, sed solum τῷ καθ ' ὑπόστασιν.
De Adamo vero, idque necdum gratiam per Christum consecuto, sed Dei sola libe-
ralitate, qui unus ipse ejus ordinis auctor exstiterit, quomodo non Christi
figura ac repræsentatio, sed hoc ipsum quod Λόγος in ipsum adveniens ac ipse
revera Christus exstiterit, ac velut hoc illi peculiare sit ; hincque adeo ad
Christum quasi per identitatem referatur, vel aliter quam sancti reliqui,
accidentario dono gratiae, qua dill quodammodo efficmur, divino in nobis semine
in deitatem aucti secundum tenuem quamdam imitationem , unam ipsam contra
unionem hypostaticam hominis possibilem, non video ut Methodius ex Scriptura
habuerit, aut suadere possit. ᾿Ανάμνησις (id est commemoratio) mortis Christi
ejusque passionis ipsa et in baptismo, in quo in ejus mortem intingimur, seu
illam adumbramus : in Eucharistia vero augustius, in qua nostri Adæ ἔκστασις el
sopor totus mystice peragitur, ac num per κοινωνίαν peculiarius Methodius
indicare voluerit? in qua utique mortem Domini, ipsa ejus sumptione ( quæ
pridem baptismo comes erat) commemoranus, vel, ut Paulus loquitur, annuntiamus.
(PG 18:71-72 n. 51)
Οὐκέτι τύπος ὤν. This can be understood sufficiently of Christ, even
though there is no confusion of substances, but only τῷ καθ ’ ὑπόστασιν.
But with respect to Adam—who had not yet obtained grace through Christ, but
only the generosity of God, who alone was the author of that order—how, I ask,
is he not a figure and representation of Christ? Rather, how is it that this
very thing itself, namely that the Λόγος coming into him and himself
truly becoming Christ, and as it were this being peculiar to him, is therefore
referred to Christ almost by identity; whereas with the other saints, by an
incidental gift of grace, we are made in a certain manner divine, increased in
divinity by the divine seed within us according to some slight imitation? I do
not see from Scripture that Methodius had this, or that he can prove it. ᾿Ανάμνησις
(that is, commemoration) of Christ’s death and passion exists in baptism
itself, in which we are dipped into his death, or represent it; but it exists
more solemnly in the Eucharist, in which the ἔκστασις and total sleep of
our Adam are mystically enacted. And did Methodius perhaps wish to indicate
something more particularly through κοινωνία? In that sacrament we
certainly commemorate the Lord’s death by the very act of receiving him, as
baptism once was its companion; or, as Paul says, we proclaim it.
