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to the Nazirites, "You shall not be defiled by any dead person;" and, "If anyone touches a corpse, he will be unclean until evening;" and, "He shall wash his garments." But now, he who touches the bones of a martyr receives a certain participation in sanctification from the grace present in the body. Precious, therefore, in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Do not prefer the most worthless things to the most precious, nor become bad traders, preferring the perishable life to the incorruptible and blessed state. For apart from the passions of dishonor, to which most lovers of pleasure are subject, even the needs of life, which bend the greatness of the soul, as it were, enslave it, dragging it down to the service of the flesh. And where there is slavery, there it is clear that there is also dishonor. Therefore, one must flee the life to which dishonor is attached. "I do nothing great," he says, "in giving myself back to you, the Master." For being your slave, I offer to you your own possession. For what is created is in every way the slave of the Creator. Thus, I am a slave not only by choice, but also by nature. For I am the son of your handmaid, whom the enemy, leading astray when she was an infant and altogether a child, and turning her from your service, made a slave of sin. But I turn back and run back to the Master from the beginning, and I acknowledge the ancient slavery. You have broken my bonds.

Since you have freed me from the bonds of sin, having descended into Hades, and having loosed humanity, which was a captive of death, and held in the inescapable prisons of Hades, for this reason I will sacrifice to you, not four-footed animals that part the hoof and chew the cud, nor clean birds, or fine flour mixed with oil, or transparent frankincense, or that incense of composition (for these things are offered to you, the Master, from the earth); but that which is my own possession, and the offspring of my heart, I will offer up your praise from it, as if from a certain altar of my own mind. And I will minister to you the sacrifice of praise, more precious than ten thousand whole burnt offerings to you, the self-sufficient and perfect God, who does not demand bodily sacrifices, in which the more prosperous have an advantage, but the confession from a true disposition and heart, in which all who wish have an equal share. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. And in sacrificing praise to you, not as one ashamed will I sacrifice somewhere secretly and in a corner, fleeing the reproaches of the ungodly; but I will perform a certain public sacrifice, taking the whole people as a partner in the worship. And the place of our sacrifice will be shown to be the midst and most conspicuous parts of Jerusalem. Hear, you who are abandoning the Church, and gathering in common houses, you wretched fragments of the precious body, that it is necessary to pay vows in the midst of Jerusalem; that is, of the Church of God. For not even according to the old worship was it permitted for each person to set up his own altar, but one was appointed for those choosing to sacrifice. But you raise up an altar against the altar of the fathers, and you kindle a strange fire upon it, not being brought to your senses even by the old example, drawing to yourself people corrupted in mind, and defiling yourself with them. Flee their imitation, you people of the Lord, 30.116 and may you not be separated from the portion of those who are being saved, remaining in the faith, being perfected in the commandments of the Lord, to whom be the glory and the power, for ever and ever. Amen.

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τοῖς Ναζωραίοις τὸ, Οὐ μιανθή σεσθε ἐπ' οὐδενὶ τεθνηκότι· καὶ τὸ, Ἐάν τις ἅψηται νεκροῦ, ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας· καὶ τὸ, Πλυνεῖ ἑαυτοῦ τὰ ἱμάτια. Νυνὶ δὲ ὁ ἁψά μενος ὀστέων μάρτυρος, λαμβάνει τινὰ μετουσίαν ἁγιασμοῦ ἐκ τῆς τῷ σώματι παρεδρευούσης χάριτος. Τίμιος οὖν ἐναντίον Κυρίου ὁ θάνατος τῶν ὁσίων αὐτοῦ. Μὴ προτιμᾶτε τῶν πολυτιμήτων τὰ ἀτιμότατα, μηδὲ κακοὶ συναλλάκται γίνεσθε, τὴν φθειρομένην ζωὴν τῆς ἀφθάρτου καὶ μακαρίας καταστάσεως προτιμῶντες. Ἄνευ γὰρ τῶν παθημάτων τῆς ἀτιμίας, οἷς οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν φιληδόνων ὑπόκεινται, ἔτι καὶ αἱ κατὰ τὸν βίον χρεῖαι, τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ μεγαλοφυὲς κατακάμπτουσαι, οἱονεὶ δουλοῦνται αὐτὴν, πρὸς τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν τῆς σαρκὸς κατασύρουσαι. Ὅπου δὲ δουλεία, ἐκεῖ δῆλον ὅτι καὶ ἀτιμία. Φευκτέον οὖν τὴν ζωὴν, ᾗ τὸ ἄτιμον παραπέφυκεν. Οὐδὲν, φησὶ, μέγα ποιῶ, ἐμαυτόν σοι ἀποδιδοὺς τῷ ∆εσπότῃ. ∆οῦλος γὰρ ὢν σὸς, σοὶ προσάγω 30.113 τὸ σὸν κτῆμα. Πάντως γὰρ τοῦ κτίσαντος δοῦλον ὑπάρχει τὸ ἐκτισμένον. Ὥστε οὐ προαιρέσει δοῦλος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ φύσει. Υἱὸς γάρ εἰμι τῆς παιδίσκης σου, ἣν νηπιάζουσαν καὶ κομιδῇ παῖδα παραγαγὼν ὁ ἐχθρὸς, καὶ ἀποστήσας τῆς σῆς δουλείας, δούλην τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐποίησεν. Ἀλλ' ἐπιστρέφω καὶ ἐπανατρέχω πρὸς τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ∆εσπότην, καὶ ἐπιγινώσκω τὴν ἀρχαίαν δουλείαν. ∆ιέῤῥηξας τοὺς δεσμούς μου.

Ἐπειδή με τῶν δεσμῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἠλευθέρωσας, κατελθὼν εἰς ᾅδου, καὶ λύσας τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα δεσμῶτιν οὖσαν τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἀφύκτοις εἱρκταῖς τοῦ ᾅδου κατεχομένην, διὰ τοῦτό σοι θύσω, οὐχὶ τετράποδα διχηλοῦντα καὶ μηρυκίζοντα, οὐδὲ πτηνὰ καθαρὰ, ἢ σεμίδαλιν ἀνα-πεποιημένην ἐλαίῳ, ἣ λίβανον διαφανῆ, ἢ τὸ τῆς συνθέσεως ἐκεῖνο θυμίαμα (ταῦτα γάρ σοι παρὰ τῆς γῆς προσφέρεται τῷ ∆εσπότῃ)· ἀλλ' ὅ ἐστιν ἐμὸν ἴδιον κτῆμα, καὶ καρδίας γέννημα τῆς ἐμῆς, τὴν σὴν δοξολογίαν ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀνοίσω, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ θυσιαστηρίου τινὸς τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ διανοίας. Καὶ ἱερουργήσω σοι τὴν τῆς αἰνέσεως θυσίαν, μυρίων ὁλοκαυτωμάτων προτιμοτέραν σοὶ τῷ ἀπροσδεεῖ καὶ τελείῳ Θεῷ, ὃς οὐκ ἀπαιτεῖς σωματικὰς θυσίας, ἐν αἷς πλεονεκτοῦσιν οἱ εὐπορώτεροι, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀπὸ διαθέσεως καὶ καρδίας ἀληθινῆς ἐξομολόγησιν, ἧς μέτεστι πᾶσιν ἐξ ἴσου τοῖς βουλομένοις. Τὰς εὐχάς μου τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀποδώσω ἐναντίον παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ. Θύων δέ σοι τὴν αἴνεσιν, οὐχ ὡς ἐπαισχυνόμενος, λάθρα που καὶ ἐν παραβύστῳ θύσω, φεύγων τὰς μέμψεις τῶν ἀσεβῶν· ἀλλὰ πάνδημόν τινα θυσίαν ἐπιτελέσω, τὸν λαὸν ὅλον κοινωνὸν τῆς λατρείας παραλαβών. Τόπος δὲ ἡμῖν τῆς θυσίας ἀποδειχθήσεται τὰ μέσα καὶ περιφανέστατα τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ. Ἀκούσατε, οἱ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν καταλιμπάνοντες, καὶ ἐν οἴκοις κοινοῖς συστρεφόμενοι, τὰ ἄθλια τοῦ τιμίου σώματος ἀποῤῥήγματα, ὅτι χρὴ τὰς εὐχὰς ἀποδιδόναι ἐν μέσῳ τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ· τουτέστι, τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ κατὰ τὴν παλαιὰν λατρείαν ἴδιον ἐξῆν ἑκάστῳ πήγνυσθαι θυσιαστήριον, ἀλλ' ἓν ἀποδέδεικτο τοῖς θυσιάζειν προαιρουμένοις. Σὺ δὲ ἀντεγείρεις τῷ τῶν πατέρων θυσιαστηρίῳ βωμὸν, καὶ πῦρ ἀνάπτεις ἀλλότριον ἐπ' αὐτοῦ, μηδὲ τῷ παλαιῷ παραδείγματι σωφρονιζόμενος, ἀνθρώπους κατεφθαρμένους τὸν νοῦν ἐπισπώμενος, καὶ συμμιαίνων αὐτοῖς ἑαυτόν. Ὧν φύγοιτε τὴν μίμησιν, ὑμεῖς ὁ λαὸς τοῦ Κυρίου, 30.116 καὶ μὴ χωρισθείητε τῆς μερίδος τῶν σωζομένων, διαμένοντες ἐν τῇ πίστει, τελειούμενοι ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τοῦ Κυρίου, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.