Letter 103: Why Our Lord after His Resurrection questioned Peter three times about love.

The Lord's threefold questioning of Peter about love after the Resurrection is not evidence of the Master's ignorance -- let none reason so absurdly -- but rather the good Physician healing the threefold denial with a threefold affirmation. For each wound required its own treatment, and each confession of love closed one of the three wounds that betrayal had opened.

Why Our Lord after His Resurrection questioned Peter three times about love. Our Lord’s threefold questioning of Peter about love is not a reason to suspect ignorance on the part of the Master (let certain persons not think amiss in this way), but the good Healer expelled the threefold denial by means of the threefold assent.

ΡΓ'. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΟ. Διὰ τὶ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ὁ Κύριος τρὶς τὸν Πέτρον περὶ ἀγάπης ἠρώτησεν. Ἡ τριπλῆ τοῦ Κυρίου πρὸς Πέτρον περὶ ἀγάπης ἐρώτησις, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγνοίας τοῦ Δεσπότου ὑπόνοια · μὴ οὕτως τινὲς παραλογιζέσθωσαν (2)· ἀλλὰ τὸ τριπλοῦν τῆς ἀρνήσεως, τῷ τριπλῷ τῆς συγκατα- θέσεως, ὁ ἀγαθὸς Ἰατρὸς ἐξωστράκισε. ΤηΒ΄. – ΔΟΣΙΘΕΩ ΑΡΧΙΜΑΝΔΡΙΤΗ. Περὶ μοναχων διακόνων. Αἱ τῶν βρωμάτων διακονίαι πολλοῖς ὑπῆρξαν αἴτιαι γαστριμαργίας. Οὐ πάντες γὰρ νηφόντως προσέρχονται τῷ ἀγῶνι. Τὸν ἀδελφὸν οὖν Ἀμβρό στον ἀπόστησον τῆς τῶν ξένων ὑπηρεσίας, μὴ ξενών σης αὐτὸν σαυτοῦ δι' ἐκείνης (31). ΝΓ΄. – ΕΥΑΓΡΙΩ ΚΟΜΙΤΙ ΘΕΟΔΩΡΟ ΣΧΟΛΑΣΤΙΚΟ. Ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων οὐ σώζει τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Οὐγ ὁ δεινότητι καὶ δυνάμει λόγων, ὦ σοφὲ, τάλη- ΤΟΓ'. – ΕΡΜΙΝΩ, ΔΩΡΟΘΕΩ, ΙΕΡΑΚΙ ΛΑΜΠΡΟ- ΤΑΤΩ (98). Ὁ μὲν ἀρετὴν ἀσκῶν, στέφανον ἔχει λαμπρόν· ὁ δὲ κατορθῶν μὲν, μὴ ἡγούμενος κατωρθωκέναι, καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ οὕτω διακεῖσθαι χάριν, στέφανον ἔξει λαμπρότερον. ᾿Αντίρροπον γὰρ τῶν κατορθωμάτων ἐστὶ, τὸ κατορθοῦντα μὴ ἡγεῖσθαι κατωρθωκέναι. Μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦτο παρὸν μὲν κἀκεῖνα δείκνυσι με- γάλα, ἀπὸν δὲ καὶ τὰ μέγιστα κατασμικρύνει. Ὁ βουλόμενος τοιγαροῦν μεγάλα ἑαυτοῦ ποιῆσαι τὰ ΡΟ΄. – ΣΥΝΕΣΙΩ Ἐγκαλεῖν τοῖς ἀπὸ πλούτου ὕψος κτωμένοις.