Letter 80

To Philagrius the Presbyter. The righteous Noah prefigures Christ, who says in the Gospels: "Come to me, all you who are burdened with your many transgressions, and I will give you rest" [Matthew 11:28], in the ark of the Church, redeemed from the basest and accursed labor. For when the blessed Noah was once born, it was said typologically and prophetically that "This one will give us rest from our works, and from the earth which the Lord our God has cursed" [Genesis 5:29].

Ὁ δίκαιος Νῶε τὸν Χριστὸν χαρακτηρίζει, τὸν λέγοντα ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις· «Δεῦτε πρός με πάντες οἱ πεφορτισμένοι τοῖς πολλοῖς παραπτώμασιν, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς·» ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, λελυτρωμένους ἐργασίας φαυλοτάτης καὶ ἐπικαταράτου. Τεχθέντος γάρ ποτε τοῦ μακαρίου Νῶε, τυπικῶς καὶ προφητικῶς εἴρηται, ὅτι «Οὗτος διαναπαύσει ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, ἧς κατηράσατο Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν.»