John Chrysostom : Faith needs a generous and vigorous soul, and one rising above all things of sense, and passing beyond the weakness of human reasonings. For it is not possible to become a believer, otherwise than by raising one's self above the common customs of the world. — Homily on Hebrews 22 John Chrysostom : What then does Paul do? He encourages them by the fathers; and before that by the common notions of mankind. For tell me, he says, since Faith is calumniated as being a thing without demonstration and rather a matter of deceit, therefore he shows that the greatest things are attained through faith and not through reasonings. And how does he show this, tell me? It is manifest, he saith, that God made the things which are, out of things which are not, things which appear, out of things which appear not, things which subsist, out of things which subsist not. But whence is it shown that He did this even "by a Word"? For reason suggests nothing of this kind; but on the contrary, that the things which appear are formed out of things which appear. — Homily on Hebrews 22 John Chrysostom : Therefore the philosophers expressly say that "nothing comes out of things that are not" being "sensual" (Jude 19), and trusting nothing to Faith. And yet these same men, when they happen to say anything great and noble, are caught entrusting it to Faith. For instance, that "God is without beginning, and unborn"; for reason does not suggest this, but the contrary. And consider, I beseech you, their great folly. They say that God is without beginning; and yet this is far more wonderful than the creation out of things that are not. For to say, that He is without beginning, that He is unborn, neither begotten by Himself nor by another is more full of difficulties, than to say that God made the things which are, out of things which are not. — Homily on Hebrews 22 John Chrysostom : Whence does it appear, he would say, that God made these things? Reason does not suggest it; no one was present when it was done. Whence is it shown? It is plainly the result of faith. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were made." Why "through faith"? Because "the things that are seen were not made of things which do appear." For this is Faith. Having thus stated the general principle, he afterwards tests it by individuals. For a man of note is equivalent to the world. — Homily on Hebrews 22 Oecumenius : "Through faith we understand that the ages were formed." For what reason could this be demonstrated? Therefore, it is necessary to persuade oneself by faith: "so that what is seen was not brought into being from anything visible." For what word will demonstrate that those things were brought into being from what was not visible?None; but faith alone. Therefore, by faith we understand the ages to have been framed, that is, to have come into being, by the word of God. Why, by faith? So that the visible things did not come from things appearing; because the visible things came from things not appearing; the man of faith is needed. — The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews Philoxenus of Mabbug : And faith is an intermediary between the things which are past and the things which are to come, for of all those things which took place before us, and those which are about to take place after us, we receive their teaching by faith, according to what is said by Paul, "By faith we understand that the worlds have been constructed by the word of God, and that out of the things which are unseen these things which are seen have come into being." — 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 3 -- On Faith Shepherd of Hermas : And in a much inferior place they will be laid, and that, too, only when they have been tortured and completed the days of their sins. And on this account will they be transferred, because they have partaken of the righteous Word. And then only will they be removed from their punishments when the thought shall come into their hearts to repent of the deeds which they have done. — Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 3 Theodoret of Cyrus : The body's eye did not recognize the God of all as creator; instead faith instructed us that God, who has always existed, created what did not exist. There is, after all, no example of this among human beings; yet though learning nothing of the kind from nature, we have in faith a teacher of the unexpected. Human beings, of course, make something out of something, whereas the God of all produced what exists out of nothing. — INTERPRETATION OF Hebrews 11