Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations ix

Preface x

Chapter One: Introduction 1

Chapter Two: The Problem 26

2.1 Overview 26

2.2 Everyone a Sinner 32

2.2.1 Original Sin: The Lost Image 32

2.2.2 Sin: The (Almost) Universal Contagion 43

2.2.3 Infants 48

2.2.4 Saints and Martyrs 54

2.3 Common Misconceptions 57

2.3.1 Criticizing God 58

2.3.2 God Does Not Care 63

2.3.3 God’s Silence and Patience 67

2.3.4 Rewards and Punishments Come at the Final Judgment 70

2.3.5 God’s Action and Judgment in this World 74

2.3.6 Despair and False Hope 82

2.3.7 No Excuses 89

2.3.8 The Walking Dead: Living versus Being Alive 93

2.4 God’s Desire for the Salvation of All Men 96

2.4.1 God Speaks to the Conscience 99

2.4.2 God Speaks to Us Today 103

2.4.3 Beyond Comprehension 108

Chapter Three: Faith and Repentance 117

3.1 Faith and Love 117

3.1.1 Faith the Work, Sight the Reward 118

3.1.2 Believing Christ versus Believing in Christ 126

3.1.3 Faith before Christ’s Advent 130

3.2 Fear and Love 133

3.2.1 What Should We Fear? 135

3.2.2 Fear Alone Cannot Save 138

3.2.3 From Fear Alone to Love and Fear 141

3.2.4 The Last Judgment: Anxiety versus Confidence 143

3.2.5 What or Whom Should We Love? 146

3.3 Repentance 148

3.3.1 Humility 149

3.3.2 Against Pride and Presumption 154

3.3.3 Repentance: Key Features 164

3.3.4 Repentance in Practice 170

3.3.5 Emotions of Repentance 180

Chapter Four: Moral Implications 190

4.1 Against Sins 190

4.1.1 Against Idolatry and Divination 191

4.1.2 Against Denying Christ 204

4.1.3 Obedience to the Bishop 207

4.1.4 Excursus: Obedience and Joy, Disobedience and Grief 213

4.1.5 Murder, Anger, Hatred 215

4.1.6 Sexual Immorality 221

4.1.7 Against Drunkenness 232

4.1.8 Thou Shalt Not Steal 235

4.1.9 Against Perjury 241

4.1.10 Against Coveting and Avarice 249

4.1.11 On Lesser, Daily Sins 253

4.2 The Life of Charity 259

4.2.1 On Hospitality 260

4.2.2 Almsgiving: Giving and Forgiving 265

4.2.3 The Order of Charity 275

4.2.4 Good Works Done Only by God’s Grace 278

Chapter Five: The Church 286

5.1 The One True Church 286

5.1.1 No Salvation outside the Church 288

5.1.2 Against Heretics and Schismatics 292

5.2 The Forgiveness of Sins 303

5.2.1 Baptism 304

5.2.2 The Lord’s Prayer 309

5.2.3 Conditions to Forgiveness through Prayer 313

5.2.4 The Keys of the Church 320

5.3 Judgment and the Holy 325

5.3.1 Judgment and Christian Initiation 326

5.3.2 Judgment and the Lord’s Supper 336

5.3.3 Judgment and the Divine Liturgy 347

5.3.4 Judgment and Christian Observances 358

Chapter Six: The Day of Judgment 364

6.1 Mixture and Separation 365

6.1.1 Mixture 365

6.1.2 Separation before the Last Day 370

6.1.3 The Final Separation 379

6.2 Elements of the Last Day 387

6.2.1 The Summoning 387

6.2.2 The Trial 398

6.2.3 The Sentencing 419

6.3 Times and Seasons 423

6.3.1 Perception of Proximity 424

6.3.2 The Time Unknown 434

6.3.3 Times of Repentance 441

Appendix A: Sermones ad populum: Uses and Editions 454

Appendix B: Sermones ad populum: Dates and Locations 465

Bibliography 524