5

writing nowhere else to the clergy—not in Rome, not in Corinth, not in Ephesus—but in common to all the saints, or to the faithful, or to the beloved, does he here write to the clergy? Because they themselves both sent, and bore fruit, and they themselves sent Epaphroditus to him. I thank my God, he says, upon every remembrance of you always. He said, writing elsewhere, ‘Obey those who rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch over your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief.’ If, therefore, their groaning is a mark of the disciples' badness, their doing it with joy is a mark of progress. This, then, is what he says: As often as I remember you, I glorify God. And he does this from being conscious of their many good deeds. And I glorify, he says, and I pray. Not that, because you have advanced in virtue, I cease, but I persist in praying for you. I thank God, he says, upon 62.184 every remembrance of you. Always, in every prayer of mine for you all making my request with joy. Always, not only when I pray. And he well added, ‘With joy;’ for it is possible to do this with sorrow, as when he says elsewhere, ‘For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears.’ For your fellowship, he says, in the Gospel from the first day until now. b. Here he bears a great witness to them, not simply, but an exceedingly great one, and such as one would bear to apostles and evangelists. For not because you have been entrusted with one city, he says, do you care for that alone, but you do all things, so as to become sharers of my labors, being present everywhere and cooperating, and having fellowship in my preaching; not for one year, nor a second, nor a third, but always from when you believed until now, you have taken up the zeal of apostles. See how those in Rome were turning away from him; for hear him saying, ‘You know this, that all who are in Asia have turned away from me’; and again, ‘Demas has forsaken me’; and, ‘At my first defense,’ he says, ‘no one stood with me’; but these, even when absent, shared in his afflictions, sending men to him, and serving according to their ability, and lacking in nothing at all. And you do this, he says, not only now, but always, helping in every way. Therefore, to help is fellowship in the Gospel. For when he preaches, and you minister to the preacher, you share his crowns. Since even in the contests outside, the crown is not for the combatant alone, but also for the trainer, and for the one who ministers, and for all, in short, who train the athlete. For those who strengthen him and restore him, these too would rightly become sharers of the victory. And in wars, not only the champion, but also all those who minister to him would rightly lay claim to the trophies and share in the glory, having had fellowship with him in the contest by their service. For to minister to saints has no small power, but a great one; for it makes us partakers of the rewards laid up for them. For example, someone has cast away much money for God's sake, is continually dedicated to God, practices great virtue, observing much strictness even in words, even in thoughts, even in all things; it is possible for you also, though you have not shown such strictness, to share in the rewards laid up for him for these things. How? If you minister to him both in word and in deed, if you comfort him both by supplying his necessities and by performing every service. For you will be the one who makes the rough road easier for him. So that if you admire those in the deserts, those who have undertaken the angelic life, those in the Churches the same things

5

οὐδαμοῦ τῷ κλήρῳ γράφων ἀλλαχοῦ, οὐκ ἐν Ῥώμῃ, οὐκ ἐν Κορίνθῳ, οὐκ ἐν Ἐφέσῳ, ἀλλὰ κοινῇ πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις, ἢ τοῖς πιστοῖς, ἢ τοῖς ἠγαπημένοις, ἐνταῦθα τῷ κλήρῳ γράφει; Ὅτι αὐτοὶ καὶ ἀπέστειλαν, καὶ ἐκαρποφόρησαν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔπεμψαν πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν Ἐπαφρόδιτον. Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου, φησὶν, ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ μνείᾳ ὑμῶν πάντοτε. Εἶπεν ἀλλαχοῦ γράφων· Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, ὡς λόγον ἀποδώσοντες, ἵνα μετὰ χαρᾶς τοῦτο ποιῶσι, καὶ μὴ στενάζοντες. Εἰ τοίνυν τὸ στενάζειν, κακίας τῶν μαθητῶν, τὸ μετὰ χαρᾶς τοῦτο ποιεῖν, προκοπῆς. Τοῦτο οὖν ἐστιν, ὃ λέγει· Ὁσάκις ὑμῶν ἀναμνησθῶ, δοξάζω τὸν Θεόν. Τοῦτο δὲ ποιεῖ ἐκ τοῦ πολλὰ αὐτοῖς συνειδέναι ἀγαθά. Καὶ δοξάζω, φησὶ, καὶ δέομαι. Οὐ μὴν, ἐπειδὴ ἐπιδεδώκατε εἰς ἀρετὴν, παύομαι, ἀλλ' ἐπιμένω δεόμενος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν. Εὐχαριστῶ, φησὶ, τῷ Θεῷ ἐπὶ 62.184 πάσῃ τῇ μνείᾳ ὑμῶν. Πάντοτε, ἐν πάσῃ δεήσει μου ὑπὲρ πάντων ὑμῶν μετὰ χαρᾶς τὴν δέησιν ποιούμενος. Πάντοτε, οὐχ ὅταν εὔχωμαι μόνον. Καλῶς δὲ προσέθηκε τὸ, Μετὰ χαρᾶς· ἔστι γὰρ καὶ μετὰ λύπης τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ ἀλλαχοῦ· Ἐκ γὰρ πολλῆς θλίψεως καὶ συνοχῆς καρδίας ἔγραψα ὑμῖν διὰ πολλῶν δακρύων. Ἐπὶ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ ὑμῶν, φησὶν, εἰς Εὐαγγέλιον ἀπὸ πρώτης ἡμέρας μέχρι τοῦ νῦν. βʹ. Μέγα αὐτοῖς ἐνταῦθα μαρτυρεῖ, οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα μέγα, καὶ ὅπερ ἄν τις ἐμαρτύρησεν ἀποστόλοις καὶ εὐαγγελισταῖς. Οὐκ ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πόλιν ἐνεχειρίσθητε μίαν, φησὶν, ἐκείνης φροντίζετε μόνης, ἀλλὰ πάντα πράττετε, ὥστε μερισταὶ γενέσθαι τῶν ἐμῶν πόνων, πανταχοῦ παρόντες καὶ συμπράττοντες, καὶ συγκοινωνοῦντές μου τῷ κηρύγματι· οὐχ ἕνα χρόνον, οὐδὲ δεύτερον, οὐδὲ τρίτον, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε ἐξ οὗ ἐπιστεύσατε μέχρι τοῦ νῦν, ἀποστόλων ἀνειλήφατε προθυμίαν. Ὅρα πῶς οἱ μὲν ἐν Ῥώμῃ ὄντες ἀπεστρέφοντο αὐτόν· ἄκουε γὰρ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· Οἶδας τοῦτο, ὅτι ἀπεστράφησάν με πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ· καὶ πάλιν, ∆ημᾶς με ἐγκατέλιπε· καὶ, Ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ μου ἀπολογίᾳ, φησὶν, οὐδείς μοι συμπαρεγένετο· οὗτοι δὲ καὶ ἀπόντες ἐκοινώνουν αὐτῷ τῶν θλίψεων, πέμποντές τε ἄνδρας πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ κατὰ δύναμιν ὑπηρετούμενοι, καὶ οὐδὲν ὅλως ἐλλιμπάνοντες. Καὶ τοῦτο ποιεῖτε, οὐ νῦν μόνον, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ, παντὶ τρόπῳ συναντιλαμβανόμενοι. Ἄρα τὸ συναντιλαμβάνεσθαι κοινωνία ἐστὶ εἰς τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον. Ὅταν γὰρ ἐκεῖνος μὲν κηρύττῃ, σὺ δὲ θεραπεύῃς τὸν κηρύττοντα, κοινωνεῖς αὐτῷ τῶν στεφάνων. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔξωθεν ἀγῶσιν οὐ τοῦ ἀγωνιζομένου μόνου ἐστὶν ὁ στέφανος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ παιδοτρίβου, καὶ τοῦ θεραπεύοντος, καὶ πάντων ἁπλῶς τῶν ἀσκούντων τὸν ἀθλητήν. Οἱ γὰρ ῥωννύντες αὐτὸν καὶ ἀνακτώμενοι, οὗτοι καὶ τῆς νίκης εἰκότως ἂν γένοιντο μερισταί. Καὶ ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις δὲ οὐχ ὁ ἀριστεὺς μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ θεραπεύοντες αὐτὸν εἰκότως ἂν μεταποιοῖντο τῶν τροπαίων, καὶ τῆς δόξης μετέχοιεν, ἅτε κοινωνήσαντες αὐτῷ τοῦ ἀγῶνος τῇ θεραπείᾳ. Οὐ γὰρ μικρὸν δύναται τὸ θεραπεύειν ἁγίους, ἀλλὰ καὶ μέγα· κοινωνοὺς γὰρ ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ τῶν ἐκείνοις ἀποκειμένων μισθῶν. Οἷον, ἔῤῥιψέ τις πολλὰ χρήματα διὰ τὸν Θεὸν, διαπαντὸς ἀνάκειται τῷ Θεῷ, ἀρετὴν ἀσκεῖ μεγάλην, καὶ μέχρι ῥημάτων, καὶ μέχρις ἐννοιῶν, καὶ μέχρι πάντων πολλὴν ἀκρίβειαν φυλάττων· ἔνεστι καὶ σοὶ καὶ μὴ τοσαύτην ἀκρίβειαν ἐπιδειξαμένῳ, τῶν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀποκειμένων αὐτῷ μισθῶν κοινωνῆσαι. Πῶς; Ἂν θεραπεύσῃς αὐτὸν καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ, ἂν παρακαλέσῃς καὶ διὰ τοῦ χορηγεῖν τὰ ἀναγκαῖα, καὶ διὰ τοῦ διακονεῖσθαι πᾶσαν διακονίαν. Ὁ γὰρ εὐκολωτέραν ποιῶν τὴν τραχεῖαν ὁδὸν ἐκείνῳ, σὺ ἔσῃ. Ὥστε εἰ θαυμάζετε τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις, τοὺς τὸν ἀγγελικὸν ἀνῃρημένους βίον, τοὺς ἐν ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις τὰ αὐτὰ