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For if I in a short time have had such an acquaintance with your bishop, which is not human, but spiritual, how much more do I count you blessed who are united with him, as the church is with the Lord Jesus and the Lord is with God His Father, that all things may be harmonious in unity. Let no one be deceived; if anyone is not within the altar, he is deprived of the bread of God. For if the prayer of one or two has such power that Christ stands in their midst, how much more does the prayer of the bishop and of the whole church, ascending in harmony to God, guarantee that all their requests in Christ will be granted. He, therefore, who separates himself from such and does not come together in the council of sacrifices and in the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, is a wolf in sheep's clothing, showing a gentle appearance. Be eager, beloved, to be subject to the bishop and the presbyters and the deacons; for he who is subject to these obeys Christ who appointed them, but he who disobeys them disobeys Christ Jesus, and he who disobeys the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him; for he is self-willed and quarrelsome and proud, he who does not obey his superiors. But 'God,' it says, 'opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble,' and, 'The proud have transgressed exceedingly.' And the Lord also says to the priests: 'He who hears you hears me, and he who hears me hears the Father who sent me; he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.'

The more, therefore, you see the bishop silent, the more you should fear him; for everyone whom the master of the house sends for his own administration, we must receive him as the one who sent him. Therefore, it is clear that we must look upon the bishop as the Lord himself, standing by the Lord. A man who is discerning and keen in his works ought to stand before kings, and not stand before sluggish men. Onesimus himself, however, highly praises your good order in God, that you all live according to truth and that no heresy dwells among you. But you do not even listen to anyone except only Jesus Christ, the true shepherd and teacher, and you are, as Paul wrote to you, one body and one spirit, because you have been called in one hope of the faith; since there is also one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. You, therefore, are such, having been instructed by such teachers, Paul the Christ-bearer and Timothy the most faithful. But some most wicked men are accustomed to carry about the Name in wicked deceit, doing other things unworthy of God and holding opinions contrary to the teaching of Christ, to the destruction of themselves and of those who are persuaded by them; whom you must avoid as wild beasts. For a righteous man, by turning aside, is saved forever, but the destruction of the ungodly becomes ready and a cause for rejoicing; for they are dumb dogs, unable to bark, rabid, biting secretly, whom you must guard against; for they suffer from an incurable disease. But our physician is the only true God, the unbegotten and unapproachable, the Lord of all, but the Father and Begetter of the only-begotten. We have also as a physician our Lord God, Jesus the Christ, the only-begotten Son and Word before the ages, but afterwards also man from Mary the virgin; for 'the Word became flesh,' the incorporeal in a body, the impassible in a passible body, the immortal in a mortal body, life in corruption, that He might free our souls from death and corruption and heal them, curing them of their sickness from ungodliness and wicked desires.

Let no one, therefore, deceive you, just as you are not deceived; for you are wholly God's. For when no desire exists in you which is able to defile you and bring torment, then you live according to God and are of Christ. My life for yours and for the most pure church of the Ephesians, which is famous and much-praised for ages. Those who are carnal the

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Eἰ γὰρ ἐγὼ ἐν μικρῷ χρόνῳ τοιαύτην συνήθειαν ἔσχον πρὸς τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ὑμῶν, οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνην οὖσαν, ἀλλὰ πνευματικήν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὑμᾶςμακαρίζω τοὺς ἀνακεκραμένους αὐτῷ, ὡς ἡ ἐκκλησία τῷ κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ καὶ ὁ κύριος τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα πάντα ἐν ἑνότητι σύμφωνα ᾖ.μηδεὶς πλανάσθω· ἐὰν μή τις ἐντὸς ᾖ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, ὑστερεῖται τοῦ ἄρτου τοῦ θεοῦ. εἰ γὰρ ἑνὸς καὶ δευτέρου προσευχὴ τοσαύτην ἰσχὺν ἔχει, ὥστε τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἑστάναι, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἥ τε τοῦ ἐπισκόπου καὶ πάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας προσευχὴ συμφώνως ἀνιοῦσα πρὸς θεὸν πιστοῖ παρασχεθῆναι αὐτοῖς πάντα τὰ ἐν Χριστῷ αἰτήματα. ὁ οὖν τῶν τοιούτων χωριζόμενος καὶ μὴ συνερχόμενος ἐν βουλῇ θυσιῶν καὶ ἐκκλησίᾳ πρωτοτόκων ἀπογεγραμμένων ἐν οὐρανῷ, λύκος ἐστὶν ἐν προβάτου δορᾷ ἥμερον ἐπιδεικνὺς μορφήν. σπουδάσατε, ἀγαπητοί, ὑποταγῆναι τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις καὶ τοῖς διακόνοις· ὁ γὰρ τούτοις ὑποτασσόμενος ὑπακούει Χριστῷ τῷ προχειρισαμένῳ αὐτούς, ὁ δὲ ἀπειθῶν αὐτοῖς ἀπειθεῖ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ὁ δὲ ἀπειθῶν τῷ υἱῷ οὐκ ὄψεται τὴν ζωήν, ἀλλ' ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ μένει ἐπ' αὐτόν· αὐθάδης γάρ ἐστιν καὶ δύσερις ὑπερήφανος, ὁ μὴ πειθαρχῶν τοῖς κρείττοσιν. Ὑπερηφάνοις δέ, φησίν, ὁ θεὸς ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσι χάριν, καί· Ὑπερήφανοι παρηνόμουνἕως σφόδρα. λέγει δὲ καὶ ὁ κύριος πρὸς τοὺς ἱερεῖς· Ὁ ὑμῶν ἀκούων ἐμοῦ ἀκούει, καὶ ὁ ἐμοῦ ἀκούων ἀκούει τοῦ πέμψαντός με πατρός· ὁ ὑμᾶς ἀθετῶν ἐμὲ ἀθετεῖ, ὁ δὲ ἐμὲ ἀθετῶν ἀθετεῖ τὸν πέμψαντά με.

Ὅσῳ οὖν βλέπετε σιωπῶντα τὸν ἐπίσκοπον, πλεῖον αὐτὸν φοβεῖσθε· πάντα γὰρ ὃν πέμπει ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης εἰς ἰδίαν οἰκονομίαν, οὕτως αὐτὸν δεῖ ἡμᾶς δέχεσθαι, ὡς αὐτὸν τὸν πέμψαντα. τὸν οὖν ἐπίσκοπον δηλονότι ὡς αὐτὸν τὸν κύριον δεῖ προσβλέπειν, τῷ κυρίῳ παρεστῶτα. ὁρατικὸν δὲ ἄνδρα καὶ ὀξὺν τοῖς ἔργοις βασιλεῦσι δεῖ παρεστάναι, καὶ μὴ παρεστάναι ἀνθρώποις νωθροῖς. αὐτὸς μέντοι Ὀνήσιμος ὑπερ επαινεῖ ὑμῶν τὴν ἐν θεῷ εὐταξίαν, ὅτι πάντες κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ζῆτε καὶ ὅτι ἐν ὑμῖν οὐδεμία αἵρεσις κατοικεῖ. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀκούετέ τινος ἢ μόνου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ ποιμένος καὶ διδασκάλου, καί ἐστε, ὡς Παῦλος ὑμῖν ἔγραφεν, ἓν σῶμα καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα, διὰ τὸ ἐν μιᾷ ἐλπίδι κεκλῆσθαι τῆς πίστεως· ἐπείπερ καὶ εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα, εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν. ὑμεῖς μὲν οὖν ἐστε τοιοῦτοι, ὑπὸ τοιῶνδε παιδευτῶν στοιχειωθέντες, Παύλου τοῦ χριστοφόρου καὶ Tιμοθέου τοῦ πιστοτάτου. Tινὲς δὲ φαυλότατοι εἰώθασιν δόλῳ πονηρῷ τὸ ὄνομα περιφέρειν, ἄλλα τινὰ πράσσοντες ἀνάξια θεοῦ καὶ φρονοῦντες ἐναντία τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ διδασκαλίας ἐπ' ὀλέθρῳ ἑαυτῶν καὶ τῶν πειθομένων αὐτοῖς· οὓς δεῖ ὑμᾶς ὡς θηρία ἐκκλίνειν. δίκαιος γὰρ ἐκκλίνας σώζεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, πρόχειρος δὲ γίνεται καὶ ἐπίχαρτος ἀσεβῶν ἀπώλεια· εἰσὶ γὰρ κύνες ἐνεοί, οὐ δυνάμενοι ὑλακτεῖν, λυσσῶντες, λαθροδῆκτοι, οὓς φυλάσσεσθαι χρή· ἀνίατα γὰρ νοσοῦσιν. ἰατρὸς δὲ ἡμῶν ἐστιν ὁ μόνος ἀληθινὸς θεός, ὁ ἀγέννητος καὶ ἀπρόσιτος, ὁ τῶν ὅλων κύριος, τοῦ δὲ μονογενοῦς πατὴρ καὶ γεννήτωρ. ἔχομεν ἰατρὸν καὶ τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν θεὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστόν, τὸν πρὸ αἰώνων υἱὸν μονογενῆ καὶ λόγον, ὕστερον δὲ καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἐκ Mαρίας τῆς παρθένου· ὁ λόγος γὰρ σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ὁ ἀσώματος ἐν σώματι, ὁ ἀπαθὴς ἐν παθητῷ σώματι, ὁ ἀθάνατος ἐν θνητῷ σώματι, ἡ ζωὴ ἐν φθορᾷ, ὅπως θανάτου καὶ φθορᾶς ἐλευθερώσῃ καὶ ἰατρεύσῃ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν καὶ ἰάσηται αὐτὰς νοσηλευθείσας ἐν ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ πονηραῖς ἐπιθυμίαις.

Mὴ οὖν τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατάτω, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἐξαπατᾶσθε· ὅλοι γάρ ἐστε θεοῦ. ὅταν γὰρ μηδεμία ἐπιθυμία ἐν ὑμῖν ὑπάρχῃ δυναμένη ὑμᾶς υπάναι καὶ βάσανον ἐπαγαγεῖν, ἄρα κατὰ θεὸν ζῆτε καί ἐστε Χριστοῦ. περίψημα ὑμῶν καὶ τῆς ἁγνοτάτης Ἐφεσίων ἐκκλησίας, τῆς διαβοήτου καὶ πολυϋμνήτου τοῖς αἰῶσιν. οἱ σαρκικοὶ τὰ