THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Yet, it also renders anyone affected by it impure, regardless of whether the action is involuntary or willful, arising from an innate urge. The term involuntary refers to occurrences during intimate relations with one’s spouse, aligned with marital law, as well as those stemming from nocturnal visions. It is written: "If any man has a seminal emission, he must wash his whole body with water, and he will be unclean until evening; if a man lies with a woman and has a seminal emission, both must wash themselves with water, and they will be unclean until evening." Thus, in both instances, the individuals stand equally guilty; there is no distinction between them. In the matter of seminal emission, we essentially witness a continual and enduring affliction.
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However, this present case suggests that the law’s objective is to demonstrate that one who is not completely and utterly unclean but rather partially and occasionally so is still rendered impure. This principle was highlighted by the disciple of the Lord, who stated, "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the same One who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘You shall not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law" (James 2:10-11). Consequently, when a person sins, whether by transgressing the entire law or failing in a single aspect, they are guilty in every regard before it. Thus, according to the law, one is deemed unclean if they fall into impurity, even to a lesser degree. Yet, such a person is not utterly condemned, as they can be purified through the water of Christ; it is evident that the arrival of Christ is signaled by the affirmation that the one who is defiled, as the law dictates, remains unclean until evening. Indeed, at the close and nearly at the fulfillment of this age, Christ came, through whom and in whom we are cleansed from all unrighteousness, and though we are burdened by transgressions, we are liberated from both minor and major sins. It was made clear that prior to the coming of the Saviour, we could not achieve purification from defilement, for no one would be justified by the law, as stated in the Scriptures, which explicitly notes, "he shall not be clean until the evening." Palladius acknowledged the truth of these words.