26

salvation. The feet are also the foundations of the Church,104 like glowing brass,105 which
doctors say is a sweet-smelling incense, which they called masculine incense.106 Or
otherwise: On the one hand, meaning the human nature by the glowing brass, and on the
other hand the divine nature by the incense, through which is also shown the sweetness of the
faith and the unconfused union (of the two natures of Christ). Or the fine brass signifies the
beautiful melody of the gospel proclamation107 and the incense (is) the return of the nations
by which the bride is summoned.108 And the feet of Christ are also the apostles109 who hâve
been tested by fire in the furnace of trials in imitation of their Teacher. ' 10

104
Oik. 1.27.12-13.
105
xa^KoXiPdvq). The first half of the word, ^aXicôç, means "copper" or "brass." The verb form, xa^Keûo),
means "to forge." The second half of the word, Upavoç, means "incense" or "frankincense." The combination
of thèse two unlikely components into one word accounts for Andrew's multiple and varied interprétations.
106
Also noted by Oikoumenios (Oik. 1.27.12) and Dioscorides (De materia medica, 1.68). Dioscorides, (also
spelled "Dioscurides"), a first century Greek physician, wrote an extensive treatise, riepi TÀ.t|ç 'IaxpiKfiç,
consisting of five books describing the pharmacological effects of more than 700 plants, 1,000 drugs and other
substances used by médical practitioners in his time for healing based on his clinical observations. It was
translated into Latin and remained in use until the lô"1 century. Ludwig Edelstein, "Pedanius Dioscorides,"
Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd éd., eds. Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1996), 483.
107
KiîpuYna, the typical word for both the preaching of gospel and the basic message itself. Brass is connected
in Andrew's mind to the proclamation of the gospel because bronze or brass was used to manufacture bells.
From large church bells down to the twelve tiny bells found on liturgical objects such as censers and on the
robes of a bishop, liturgically bells symbolize the apostolic preaching. The verse "Their voice has gone out over
ail the earth" (Ps. 19:4) is often quoted in recollection of the kerygmatic work of the apostles in Orthodox
prayers and hymns.
108
Song of Sol. 4:8, "Corne from Libanus, my bride." (LXX: Aeûpo ànà Atpdvou vû|i<tm.) As explained above
(fh 105) the word xo^icoMpavov, meaning "fine brass" or "glowing brass," contains components from the
words for both "burning brass" and "incense." Combining thèse, Andrew is reminded of burning incense and an
interprétation of the Song of Songs. Many Fathers interpreted the Song of Songs allegorically as a love poem
between God and the soûl, which hère is metaphorically described as a bride. The bride is also the Church
(Rev. 21:2, Eph. 5:32) by which the nations corne to God. Gregory of Nyssa interprets the bride's perfume as
the gospel preaching. "[T]he mystery of truth presented by the Gospel is alone sweet smelling to God. It
transcends every scent of the Law because no longer being hidden by symbol nor shadow, it openly yields the
good scent of truth". Hom. 9 (on Song of Sol. 4:10). Commentary on the Song of Songs, trans. Casimir
McCambley (Brookline, MA: Hellenic Collège Press, 1987), 173.
109
The "feet" of Christ are the apostles since the apostles carried the gospel message to the world by walking
from place to place. "As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of
peace." (Eph. 6:15) "How are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are
the feet of those who bring the good news.'" (Rom. 10:15, citing Isa. 52:7.)

1 Pet. 4:12.
 27

Rev. 1:15b And his voice (was) like the sound ofmany waters.
Naturally. His voice is in common with that of the Spirit from which rivers ofliving
water flowed from the belly of the faithful and made a penetrating sound over ail the earth."1

Rev. 1:16 And having in his right hand seven stars and coming out from his mouth
a sharp, double-edged sword and his appearance (was) like the sun shines in Us power.
[22] Farther down, he says, the seven stars are the seven angels of the churches.
The sharp double-edged sword means his décision against the wicked, sharper than
any two-edged sword, or the sword of the Spirit circumcising our inner man." 3 Like the
sun his face shines, not in a splendor (appearing) to the sensés, but (appearing) to the
intellect. For he is the sun of righteousness114 shining with his own power and authority, not

111
John 7:38. Oikoumenios sees the "sound ofmany waters" as an image of power due to the loud volume (Oik.
1.15). Andrew disagrees however, and relates it to the "rivers ofliving water" which in the gospel of John is
identified with the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39). A time-honored patristic tradition routinely identified water with
the Holy Spirit because of their close association in the sacrament of baptism. "The many waters are understood
to be many peoples, or the gift of baptism that He sent forth by the apostles." (Vie. 1.15, ANF 7:345) Irenaeus
likewise identifies the water with the Spirit: "[A]lso does John déclare in the Apocalypse, 'And His voice as the
sound ofmany waters.' For the Spirit [of God] is truly [like] many waters." {Hères. 4.14.2 ANF 1:479)
112
In Heb. 4:12, the word of God is a sharp two-edged sword which judges thoughts and intentions.
113
In Eph. 6:17 the "sword of the Spirit" is the word of God. (See Rom. 2:29 for the "spiritual" circumeision of
the heart.) Tertullian commented: "Now the Apostle John, in the Apocalypse, describes a sword which
proceeded from the mouth of God as a 'doubly sharp, two-edged one.' This may be understood to be the Divine
Word, who is doubly edged with the two testaments of the law and the gospel - sharpened with wisdom, hostile
to the devil, arming us against the spiritual enemies of ail wickedness and concupiscence, and cutting us off
from the dearest objects for the sake of God's holy name." {Marc. 3.14, ANF 3:147.) "By the twice-sharpened
sword going forth out of His mouth is shown, that it is He Himself who has both now declared the word of the
Gospel, and previously by Moses declared the knowledge of the law to the whole world. But because from the
same word, as well of the New as of the Old Testament, He will assert Himself upon the whole human race,
therefore He is spoken of as two-edged." (Vie. 1.16, ANF 7:345) Fulgentius, an early sixth century
ecclesiastical writer, actually uses this passage to support the Latin doctrine of the Filioque, associating the
sword with the Spirit, coming from the breath of Christ out of his mouth: "Hold most firmly and never doubt
that the same Holy Spirit, who is the one spirit of the Father and the Son, proceeds from the Father and the
Son....The one son of God himself, showing who the Spirit of his mouth is, after his résurrection, breathing on
his disciples, says, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' (John 20:22). 'From the mouth,' indeed, of the Lord Jésus himself,
says John in the Apocalypse, 'a sharp, two-edged sword came forth.' The very Spirit of his mouth is the sword
itself which cornes forth from his mouth." (Fulgentius, To Peter on the Faith, 11.54. Fulgentius: Selected
Works, trans. Robert B. Eno, éd. Thomas P. Halton. Fathers of the Church séries, vol. 95 (Washington, DC:
Catholic University Press, 1997), 93-94.
114
Mal. 4:2. The "sun of righteousness" (ô nXioç TTIÇ ôiKaioownç) was a well-known title for Christ in the
ancient tradition, and remains common among Eastern Christians especially in the hymnology of Christmas.
Christians identified Christ with the sun especially as a challenge to the worship of the sun god, Sol Invictus,
("Invincible Sun"), a popular deity in the Greco-Roman world during the third and fourth centuries. Christians
 28

like the sensory sun which (shines) as a created object by God-given power and divine
command.

Rev. 1: 17-18a And when I saw him Ifell down at his feet as dead. And he laid his
right hand upon me saying, "Do not be a/raid. 1 am the first and the last,I8 and the living
one. And 1became dead, and behold I am living unto the âges ofages. Amen.
Christ revived the Apostle himself who had died through the weakness of human
nature like Joshua son of Nun115 and Daniel116 by saying to him, "Do notfear, for I hâve not
corne near to kill you, since I am beginningless and endless, having become dead for your
sakes."

Rev. 1:18b And 1 hâve the keys ofHades and ofdeath.

[23] Instead (of being dead), he has authority over bodily and spiritual death.

asserted instead that Christ is the Sun, but moreover a Sun of Righteousness, no doubt inspired by the Fourth
gospel which describes Christ as "the true light which enlightens everyone who cornes into the world" (John
1:9). (See Cyprian, for example, Treatise On the Lord's Prayer 35. The Treatises ofCyprian, treatise IV, On the
Lord's Prayer, trans. Ernest Wallis, The Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian.
Ante-Nicene Fathers séries, vol. V, eds. Alexander Robertson and James Donaldson (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., reprinted 1990), 457.) Many factors led to this association of Christ as the Sun of
Righteousness. Christ was identified with wisdom and enlightenment, and baptism was usually referred to as
"Holy Illumination." Christians customarily faced east to pray, the place where the sun rises, hence, the place of
light. Constantine the Great, originally a devotee of Sol Invictus, set aside the first day of the week for worship
and called it Sunà&y, which was also the day on which Christians gathered to remember the résurrection of
Christ. (About early Christian use of sun and moon imagery, see Greek Myths and Christian Mystery, Hugo
Rahner, Brian Battershaw, trans. [New York: Harper and Row, 1963].) Oikoumenios and Andrew both connect
this description to the concept of Christ as the Sun of Righteousness, however Oikoumenios interprets the
depiction of the sun shining "in its power" to mean that Christ is spiritually perceived (Oik. 1.27.20). Andrew
agrées that "in its power" is not a literal description, but contends that it is a référence to the divinity of Christ.
Christ shines by virtue of his own power as the uncreated God, who is Light, unlike the physical sun which is a
created object and not the ultimate source of light. The same sentiment was expressed by Andrew's predecessor,
Basil the Great: "If the sun, subject to corruption, is so beautiful, so grand, so rapid in its movement, so
invariable in its course; if its grandeur is in such perfect harmony with and due proportion to the universe: if, by
the beauty of its nature, it shines like a brilliant eye in the middle of création; if finally, one cannot tire of
contemplating it, what will be the beauty of the Sun of Righteousness? If the blind man suffers from not seeing
the material sun, what a deprivation is it for the sinner not to enjoy the true light!" (On the Six Days of Création
6.1. Basil: Letters and Select Works, trans. Bloomfield Jackson, eds. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Nicene
and Post Nicene Fathers of the Church 2nd séries, vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co, reprinted 1989), 224.)

115
Josh. 5:14.

Dan. 8:17, 10:9-12.

 29

Rev. 1:19 - 20 Write, therefore, what you saw, the things that are and the things
that are to corne in the future after thèse things. The mystery ofthe seven stars which you
saw in my right hand and ofthe seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of
the seven churches and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. "
Since Christ is the true light, because of this, those abundant with his light are
lamps as they shine in the night of this présent life. Naturally, the churches are called
lampstands, which as the luminaries hâve the wordoflifen% according to the Apostle.119 The
lamps and lampstands are gold due to the honor and purity of the faith in them. An angel has
stood guard for each of thèse (churches), just as the Lord says.120 And, Gregory the
Theologian had understood the présent chapter: he figuratively called them "stars" due to the
brightness and clarity of their nature.121

[24] CHAPTER 3
The Things that had been Written to the Angel ofthe Church ofthe Ephesians

Rev. 2:1 To the angel ofthe church in Ephesus write: "Thus says the one who holds
the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

117
John 1:9.
118
Phil. 2:16.

119
Andrew identifies the churches themselves as luminaries like the stars because the Church illumines the
darkness, the "night" of this life. He arrives at this interprétation by associating stars and light hère with Paul's
référence to the faithful as stars due to their dévotion to the 'word of life,' Christ. "[B]e blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and perverse génération, in which you shine like
stars in the world. It is by your holding fastto the wordof life that Icanboast..." (Phil. 2:15-16)

120
Matt. 18:10. "Take care that you do not despise one of thèse little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels
continually see the face of my Father in heaven."

121
Or. 42.9. There is no référence to "stars" in Gregory's comments, but Andrew makes the connection because
of the association of angels with the churches. Gregory stated: "And to the presiding Angels, for I believe, as
John tells me in his Révélation, each Church has a guardian." Select Orations ofSt. Gregory Nazianze, trans.
Charles Gordon Brown and James Edward Swallow, eds. Phillip Schaff and Henry Wace, A Select Library of
the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers ofthe Christian Church 2nd séries, vol. VII (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., reprinted 1989), 389.
 30

He discourses with the Church through the angel122 just as if he were an educator
(speaking) to the one being instructed. For the teacher is familiar with the things produced by
the student, and states either the grounds for complaint or the achievements, as he urges the
student to imitate himself. By the seven stars, the décoration lying in the right hand of Christ
that is, is probably meant the angels, the seven rational orders in heaven,123 (as) in the
statements by the blessed Irenaeus and Epiphanios,124 in which he is also walking 5
in the
ends ofthe earth m and in the midst ofthe churches according to his familiar promise.

Rev. 2:2-5a 1know your works andyour toil andyour patience and that you cannot
bear evil, and you hâve tested those calling themselves apostles, and they are not, and you
3
found themfalse. And you hâve endurance and patience on account ofmy name and did not
4 5a
grow weary. But I hâve against you that you hâve left your flrst love. Remember,
therefore, [25] from where you fell and repent and do the works (you did at) first.
Accepting the church in two ways, he reprimands it in one way. He has put the one
(reprimand) in the middle and the achievements on either side.127 He praised the hard work

122
Oikoumenios believes the "angel" of each church is a metaphor for the church itself, reasoning that none of
the angels hâve committed sins for which they need to be reprimanded (Oik. 2.3). Augustine also believed that
the "angels" ofthe churches cannot be actual angels for the same reason: angels do not require reprimand, such
as "you hâve left your first love" (v. 4). (Ep. 41, FC 12:201) Andrew, however, perhaps recalling the original
meaning of the word "angel" as "messenger," understands the word in its ordinary sensé. Each angel is
entrusted with the message of Christ for the congrégation. Some Fathers interpreted the "angels of the
churches" to mean the bishop or leader of that congrégation. This may be the context of Gregory the
Theologian's référence in his Farewell discourse, "[F]or I believe, as John teaches me in his Révélation, that
each Church has its guardian." (Or. 42.9, NPNF 2"d 7:389) Gregory may hâve been influenced by Origen:
"More than the apostles, the angels work for the increase and spread of the Church; and that is why certain
rulers ofthe churches are called 'angels' by John in Révélation." (On Prayer 11.3, trans. Rowan Gréer, Classics
of Western Spirituality séries [New York: Paulist Press, 1979], 103.) See also, Gregory the Great: "But because
Holy Scripture is frequently accustomed to designate the preachers of the Church, by the name of 'Angels'
because they announce the glory ofthe heavenly country, we can in this place understand 'Angels' to mean
holy preachers. For this cause it is that John, in the Apocalypse, writing to the seven Churches, speaks to the
Angels ofthe Churches, that is, to the preachers ofthe peoples." Morals 34.7(14), LF 31:629.

123
It is peculiar that Andrew gives an interprétation hère for the seven stars as the seven orders of angels, since
the meaning ofthe seven stars was already given in 1:20: the seven stars are the angels ofthe seven churches.
124
Irenaeus, Hères. 1.5.2; Epiphanios, Panarion 30.18.8.
125
Lev. 26:12. "I will walk among you and be your God and you will be my people."
126
Ps. 95(94):4.
12
Other Fathers noted the recurring thème of praise and censure in the Letters to the Seven Churches section of
the Apocalypse. For example, Gregory the Great writes, "Thus the Lord scans those ways with exact scrutiny,