52. For he entered the Church attended by
the whole of his train; it was the festival of the Epiphany, and the
Church was crowded, and, by taking his place among the people, he made
a profession of unity. The occurrence is not to be lightly passed
over. Upon his entrance he was struck by the thundering roll of
the Psalms, by the sea of heads of the congregation, and by the angelic
rather than human order which pervaded the sanctuary and its
precincts: while Basil presided over his people, standing erect,
as the Scripture says of Samuel, 1 Sam. xix. 20. with body and
eyes and mind undisturbed, as if nothing new had happened, but fixed
upon God and the sanctuary, as if, so to say, he had been a statue,
while his ministers stood around him in fear and reverence. At
this sight, and it was indeed a sight unparalleled, overcome by human
weakness, his eyes were affected with dimness and giddiness, his mind
with dread. This was as yet unnoticed by most people. But
when he had to offer the gifts at the Table of God, which he must needs
do himself, since no one would, as usual, assist him, because it was
uncertain whether Basil would admit him, his feelings were
revealed. For he was staggering, and had not some one in the
sanctuary reached out a hand to steady his tottering steps, he would
have sunk to the ground in a lamentable fall. So much for
this.