Ambrose of Milan : What is owed to the lonely Lord, which is to the Word, that is, to that spiritual, true sword of Solomon. What is the lonely? Is it the Father without the Son, or the Son without the Father? By no means. When I say only the Father, I do not separate the Son; because in the bosom and secret of the Father is the Son. When I say only the Son, I join the Father, just as the Son also joined, saying: Behold, the hour is coming when you will leave me alone: but not alone, because the Father is with me. So both the Father alone is blessed, and alone is called powerful; so that the Son may not be separated from Him, who is always in the Father. — Interrogation of Job and David 2.4.15 Cassiodorus : Prayer itself must come from a humble, meek, pure heart. It must confess its sins without making excuses. In the course of bitter tears it will show trust in the most sweet pity of the Lord. It must not seek earthly aims but desire heavenly ones. It must be sequestered from desires of the body and attach itself solely to the divine. In short, it must be wholly spiritual, bestowing nothing but tears on the flesh. Insofar as it is lawful, seek to behold in mental contemplation him whom you entreat and then you realize what sort of person you should be in offering yourself prostrate before him. He is, as Paul says, "the blessed and only Mighty, the King of kings and Lord of lords." — EXPLANATION OF THE Psalms 141, CONCLUSION Gregory of Nazianzus : Of the other titles, some are evidently names of His Authority, others of His Government of the world, and of this viewed under a twofold aspect, the one before the other in the Incarnation. For instance the Almighty, the King of Glory, or of The Ages, or of The Powers, or of The Beloved, or of Kings. Or again the Lord of Sabaoth, that is of Hosts, or of Powers, or of Lords; these are clearly titles belonging to His Authority. But the God either of Salvation or of Vengeance, or of Peace, or of Righteousness; or of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of all the spiritual Israel that seeth God,—these belong to His Government. For since we are governed by these three things, the fear of punishment, the hope of salvation and of glory besides, and the practice of the virtues by which these are attained, the Name of the God of Vengeance governs fear, and that of the God of Salvation our hope, and that of the God of Virtues our practice; that whoever attains to any of these may, as carrying God in himself, press on yet more unto perfection, and to that affinity which arises out of virtues. — ORATIONS 30.19 John Chrysostom : When someone sees resplendent lords of rank, kings, leaders and all those who appear prominent in wealth, to them he speaks in fearful words. Their dynasties are advantaged by his fear. Yet "now, kings, understand; be instructed, all you who judge the earth; serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in him with trembling," because "he is the King of kings and the Lord of lords." Wherever the mighty rules, God threatens with the fear of his kingdom. Yet wherever the worthless are humbled, God offers the medicine of his clemency. For this God is a great King to those who reign and a Lord to those who exercise lordship. Again, the very same one lowers his rank and is found, according to holy Scripture, to be a Father to orphans and a Judge to widows, a King to kings, a Leader to leaders, a Lord to lords. — ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 7.3.9 John Chrysostom : "Which in His times He shall show, Who is the blessed and only Potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords, Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto." Of whom are these things said? Of the Father, or of the Son? Of the Son, undoubtedly: and it is said for the consolation of Timothy, that he may not fear nor stand in awe of the kings of the earth. "In His times," that is, the due and fitting times, that he may not be impatient, because it has not yet come. And whence is it manifest, that He will show it? Because He is the Potentate, the "only Potentate." He then will show it, Who is "blessed," nay blessedness itself; and this is said, to show that in that appearing there is nothing painful or uneasy. But he says, "only," either in contradistinction to men, or because He was unoriginated, or as we sometimes speak of a man whom we wish to extol. "Who only hath immortality." What then? hath not the Son immortality? Is He not immortality itself? How should not He, who is of the same substance with the Father, have immortality? — Homily on 1 Timothy 18 John Damascene : He, the framer of all creation and maker of our race, became man for our sake, and coming from a holy Virgin's womb, on earth conversed with men. For us ungrateful servants the master endured death, even the death of the cross, that the tyranny of sin might be destroyed, that the former condemnation might be abolished, that the gates of heaven might be open to us again. In this way he has exalted our nature, and set it on the throne of glory, and granted to them that love him an everlasting kingdom and joys beyond all that tongue can tell or ear can hear. He is the mighty and the only potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords, whose might is invincible and whose lordship is beyond comparison. He alone is holy and dwells in holiness, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit is glorified. Into this faith I have been baptized. — BARLAAM AND IOASAPH 24.211 Oecumenius : which in its own times he will show, the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen nor can see; to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen. which in its own times. That is, to the appropriate, the appointed times. Therefore, do not be upset that it has not already happened. the blessed and only Sovereign. These things have been said about the Son. For the one who is coming shows the presence. But the Father will not come, but the Son, for judgment; these things have been said concerning the one who is coming. the blessed, the self-blessedness. For all sorrow and pain have fled from him. Jesus is both a ruler and a good king. Therefore, the earthly ones should not be feared by us. and only Sovereign. Where you might hear about one of the three holy Persons, this or that one alone, do not accept what is said of the other two by way of contrast, but rather about those who do not exist, yet are called gods. For behold, now speaking about the Son these things, which elsewhere have also been said about the Father and about the Spirit, He said, The Only one. — [OECUMENIUS] who alone has immortality. How does he say about God that He alone has immortality, when both angels and souls and demons have immortality? Therefore, when he says about God: "Who alone has immortality," he either takes away immortality from those we mentioned, or he lies. And we say that those about whom the address is do not have immortality, but they partake in it, by the grace of Him who alone by nature is immortal. For this has been given to them by God. For God is the one from whom we all partake, just as we do with other things, so immortality is compared to that which is more excellent. [end of the excerpt by Oecumenius A f. 15ν; B f. 211ν; G f. 300r] — dwelling in unapproachable light. Which itself is immortality and inaccessible light, do you think it is limited to a place? Is light one thing and the light itself another? Yet it is the light itself. Do you see that when we want to say something great, the tongue becomes powerless? It is truly called unapproachable because no one can approach the shining mind, "whom no man has seen." For no one has seen the divinity of the Son, just as neither the Father nor the Spirit; for he was seen according to the flesh. to whom be honor and eternal power. If his honor and power will be eternal, certainly his appearance will be as well. For he promised: "And behold, I am with you all the days." (Matt. 28:20) A guide for the wealthy towards true life. — COMMENTARY ON 1 TIMOTHY