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drinking My blood, he abides in Me, and I in him. And through His great love for us, He paid His own blood as a price for us; for you were bought with precious blood, Peter the apostle says. He, therefore, who denies the blood of Christ has insulted His presence and has rejected the price paid for him. And what defense will they make, who have denied the blood of God and have fled from the church? For if, as we said before, the apostles and martyrs suffered so much for the blood of Christ and were perfected in this confession, of what punishment are these worthy who, without wounds, without a sword, without any danger, have denied the price paid for them? For let them not think they have anything of a Christian while denying this, for all the mysteries of the Christians depend on this; whether you speak of churches, or scriptures, or catechisms, or baptism, or the altar, or the body itself, without the blood it is nothing; for a body without blood is dead, and no one offers a dead thing at the altar. For it is possible to find even in the Old Testament everywhere blood being offered and almost everything is cleansed with blood according to the law. How much more will the blood of Christ cleanse our conscience from dead works, says the apostle; and again: Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holy Places by the blood of Christ, which He consecrated as a new and living way. He has shown you everywhere the power of the mystery of the Christians, that it is not possible to flee from sin, nor from the devil himself, nor to enter into the entrance of the saints, which He consecrated for us, a new and living way, without bearing the seal to be recognized by the king. For if soldiers struggling in wars and agonizing for their very salvation guard the standard and through this demonstrate their good will towards the king, reckoning that if they lose this, they will no longer be able to behold the face of the king, what will they do who have not lost a lifeless sign, but have been stripped of the very blood of Christ? But if one examines closely, those who have gone astray in these heresies are more pitiful than any man who has gone astray and are worthy of many lamentations. For the evil one has so prevailed over them and has darkened their foolish heart, that they do not recognize what they have suffered. For it is necessary for them to groan and weep, having been deprived of so many and so great goods and of life itself. They have suffered the opposite; they call themselves righteous and higher than all men; but why do I say than men, even holier than the very blood of Christ. For if only the devil seizes one of them and casts him out of the church, it is possible to see from that hour such a one speaking injustice on high without restraint, no longer recognizing either the priest who baptized him, nor his spiritual mother, the church, who bore him and nurtured him, nor the altar from which from childhood he was fed and given drink, nor the holy things themselves which are offered. But immediately their first progress and great achievement is considered to be the denial and the blasphemy against the mysteries; for such a one begins to say, or rather the devil speaking in him: 'What is the church? And what is baptism? Is that the blood of Christ? May it never enter my mouth.' Wretched one! If with all vigilance you had kept your heart, if you had prayed laboriously until your last breath, the protection would have remained with you. If you had not given entrance to the devil into your heart, you would not have been taken captive by him to do his will. To this progress continence and renunciation have led you, it has taught nothing else than to renounce the holy things alone. The blood of Christ is unclean and you are clean? I thought you had another renunciation in mind, about which the Lord said that 'If anyone does not renounce all

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πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα, αὐτὸς ἐν ἐμοὶ μένει, κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ. Καὶ διὰ τὴν πολλὴν αὐτοῦ περὶ ἡμᾶς ἀγάπην τὸ οἰκεῖον αὐτοῦ αἷμα τίμημα κατέβαλεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν· τιμίῳ γὰρ αἵματι ἠγοράσθητε, Πέτρος ὁ ἀπόστολός φησιν. Ὁ τοίνυν τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀρνούμενος τὴν παρουσίαν αὐτοῦ ἐνύβρισε καὶ τὴν καταβληθεῖσαν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τιμὴν ἠθέτη σε. Καὶ τί ἀπολογήσονται οἱ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀρνησάμενοι καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας δραπετεύσαντες; Εἰ γάρ, ὡς προείπομεν, οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ μάρτυρες τοσαῦτα ἔπαθον ὑπὲρ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἐν τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ ταύτῃ ἐτελειώθησαν, ποίας τιμωρίας εἰσὶν ἄξιοι οὗτοι οἱ ἄνευ πληγῶν, οἱ ἄνευ ξίφους, ἄνευ παντὸς κινδύνου ἀρνησάμενοι τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καταβληθεῖσαν τιμήν; Μηδὲ γὰρ νομιζέτωσαν ἔχειν τι χριστιανοῦ τοῦτο ἀρνούμενοι, πάντα γὰρ τὰ μυστήρια τῶν χριστιανῶν τούτου ἤρτηται· κἂν ἐκκλησίας εἴπῃς, κἂν γραφάς, κἂν κατηχήσεις, κἂν βάπτισμα, κἂν θυσιαστήριον, κἂν αὐτὸ τὸ σῶμα, ἄνευ τοῦ αἵματος οὐδέν ἐστι· σῶμα γὰρ ἄνευ τοῦ αἵματος νεκρόν ἐστι, νεκρὸν δὲ εἰς θυσιαστήριον οὐδεὶς προσφέρει. Ἔστι γὰρ εὑρεῖν κἀν τῇ παλαιᾷ διαθήκῃ πανταχοῦ αἷμα προσφερόμενον καὶ σχεδὸν ἐν αἵματι πάντα καθαρίζονται κατὰ τὸν νόμον. Πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καθαριεῖ τὴν συνείδησιν ἡμῶν ἀπὸ νεκρῶν ἔργων, λέγει ὁ ἀπόστολος· καὶ πάλιν· Ἔχοντες οὖν, ἀδελφοί, παρρησίαν εἰς τὴν εἴσοδον τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἣν ἀνεκαίνισεν ὁδὸν πρόσφατον καὶ ζῶσαν. Ἔδειξέ σοι πανταχοῦ τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ μυστη ρίου τῶν χριστιανῶν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν οὐ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν φυγεῖν, οὐκ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον, οὐκ εἰς τὴν εἴσοδον τῶν ἁγίων εἰσελθεῖν, ἣν ἀνεκαίνισεν ἡμῖν ὁδὸν πρόσφατον καὶ ζῶσαν, τοῦ γνωρισθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως μὴ ἐπιφερόμενον τὴν σφραγίδα. Εἰ γὰρ στρατιῶται ἐν πολέμοις ἀγωνιζόμενοι καὶ περὶ αὐτῆς σωτηρίας ἀγωνιῶντες τὸ σύμβολον φυλάσσουσι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν εὔνοιαν τὴν εἰς τὸν βασιλέα ἐνδείκνυνται τοῦτο λογιζόμενοι ὅτι ἐὰν τοῦτο ἀπολέσω σιν, οὐκέτι δυνήσονται τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ βασιλέως θεάσασθαι, τί ποιήσουσιν αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἄψυχον σημεῖον ἀπολέσαντες, ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀποσυληθέντες; Ἀλλ' ἐάν τις ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσῃ, παντὸς ἀνθρώπου πλανηθέν τος ἐλεεινότεροί εἰσι καὶ πολλῶν θρήνων ἄξιοι οἱ ἐν ταῖς αἱρέσεσι ταύταις πλανηθέντες. Τοσοῦτον γὰρ κατίσχυσεν αὐτῶν ὁ πονη ρὸς καὶ ἐσκότισε τὴν ἀσύνετον αὐτῶν καρδίαν, ὡς μὴ ἐπιγινώ σκειν αὐτοὺς ὃ πεπόνθασι. ∆έον γὰρ αὐτοὺς στένειν καὶ δακρύειν τοσούτων καὶ τηλικούτων ἀγαθῶν καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ζωῆς στερηθέν τας. Τὸ ἐναντίον πεπόνθασι· δικαίους ἑαυτοὺς ὀνομάζουσι καὶ πάντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑψηλοτέρους· τί δὲ λέγω τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἁγιωτέρους. Μόνον γὰρ ἂν δράξηταί τινος αὐτῶν ὁ διάβολος καὶ ἐκβάλῃ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης τὸν τοιοῦτον ἀδικίαν εἰς τὸ ὕψος ἀφειδῶς λαλοῦντα, μηκέτι γνωρίζοντα μήτε τὸν βαπτίσαντα ἱερέα, μήτε τὴν πνευματικὴν μητέρα, τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, τὴν γεννή σασαν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀναθρεψαμένην, μήτε θυσιαστήριον ἐξ οὗ ἀπὸ παιδίου ἐτρέφετο καὶ ἐποτίζετο, μήτε αὐτὰ τὰ προσφερόμενα ἅγια. Ἀλλ' εὐθὺς πρώτη προκοπὴ καὶ μέγα κατόρθωμα αὐτοῖς νομίζεται ἡ ἄρνησις καὶ ἡ βλασφημία ἡ κατὰ τῶν μυστηρίων· ἄρχεται γὰρ λέγειν ὁ τοιοῦτος, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ διάβολος ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ φθεγγόμενος· «Τί δέ ἐστιν ἐκκλησία; Τί δέ ἐστι βάπτισμα; Ἐκεῖνο δὲ αἷμα Χριστοῦ ἐστι; μὴ γένοιτο ἐκεῖνο εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸ στόμα μου «. Ἄθλιε! Εἰ πάσῃ φυλακῇ ἐτήρεις τὴν καρδίαν, εἰ ηὔχου ἐπιπόνως ἕως ἐσχάτης ἀναπνοῆς, παρέμενέ σοι τὸ φυλακτήριον. Εἰ μὴ ἔδωκας εἴσοδον τῷ διαβόλῳ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου, οὐκ ἂν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐζωγρήθης εἰς τὸ ἐκείνου θέλημα. Εἰς ταύτην τὴν προκοπήν σε ἀνήγαγεν ἡ ἐγκράτεια καὶ ἡ ἀπόταξις, οὐδὲν ἄλλο τι ἐδίδαξεν ἢ τοῖς ἁγίοις μόνοις ἀποτάξασθαι. Τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀκάθαρτον καὶ σὺ καθαρός; Ἐγὼ περὶ ἄλλης ἀποταγῆς ἐνόμιζόν σε ἔχειν, περὶ ἧς εἶπεν ὁ κύριος ὅτι Εἴ τις οὐκ ἀποτάσσεται πᾶσι