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and of the priesthood. Saul is dishonored for not waiting for the high priest Samuel. Therefore, you too must respect your superiors. And it is fitting not only to be called Christians, but also to be so; for not the being called, but the being so, makes one blessed. If some speak of a bishop, but do everything without him, to such men He will say, who is also the true and first bishop and the only high priest by nature: Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say? For such men seem to me not to be of a good conscience, but to be certain dissemblers and pretenders. Since, therefore, things have an end, and life which comes from observance and death which comes from disobedience are set before us, and each of the aforementioned is about to go to his chosen place, let us flee from death and choose life. For I say that two characters are found among men, the one of the coin, the other of the counterfeit. The godly man is a coin stamped by God; the ungodly is a false coin, base, spurious, a counterfeit, not made by God, but wrought by the devil. I do not say there are two natures of men, but that the one man is sometimes of God, and sometimes of the devil. If one is godly, he is a man of God; but if one is ungodly, he is a man of the devil, becoming so not from his nature, but from his own will. The unbelievers have the image of the prince of wickedness, but the faithful have the image of the prince, God the Father and Jesus Christ; through whom, unless we willingly have it to die for the truth into His passion, His life is not in us. Since, therefore, in the aforementioned persons I have beheld the whole multitude in faith and have loved you, I exhort you: be eager to do all things in the concord of God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and the presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles, and the deacons, who are most sweet to me, entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ, who before the ages was with the Father, born God the Word, the only-begotten Son, and at the end of the ages He remains the same; for of His kingdom there will be no end, says Daniel the prophet. Therefore, let us all in concord love one another, and let no one look upon his neighbor according to the flesh, but in Christ Jesus. Let there be nothing among you that will be able to divide you, but be united with the bishop, being subject to God through him in Christ.

Therefore, just as the Lord does nothing without the Father (for He says, I can do nothing of Myself), so also you, do nothing without the bishop, neither presbyter, nor deacon, nor layman. And let nothing appear reasonable to you apart from his judgment; for such a thing is unlawful and an enemy of God. All of you, come together for the same purpose in prayer; let there be one common prayer, one mind, one hope in love, in the blameless faith, which is in Christ Jesus, than whom nothing is better. All of you, run together as one to the temple of God, as to one altar, as to one Jesus Christ, the high priest of the unbegotten God. Do not be deceived by strange doctrines, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies and Jewish conceits. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. For if we live until now according to the Jewish law and the circumcision of the flesh, we deny that we have received grace. For the most divine prophets lived according to Jesus Christ; for this reason they were also persecuted, being inspired by His grace to fully convince the disobedient that there is one God, the Almighty, who revealed Himself through Jesus Christ His Son, who is His Word, not spoken, but essential; for He is not the sound of articulated speech, but the begotten substance of divine energy, in all things well-pleasing to Him who sent Him. If, therefore, those who were brought up <in> the ancient writings came to a newness of hope, expecting Christ, as the Lord teaches, saying: If you believed Moses, you would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me; and Abraham your father rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad; for before Abraham <was> I am. how shall we be able to live

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καὶ ἱερωσύνης. Σαοὺλ ἀτιμοῦται, μὴ περιμείνας τὸν ἀρχιερέα Σαμουήλ. χρὴ οὖν καὶ ὑμᾶς αἰδεῖσθαι τοὺς κρείττονας. Kαὶ πρέπον ἐστὶν μὴ μόνον καλεῖσθαι Χριστιανούς, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἶναι· οὐ γὰρ τὸ λέγεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸ εἶναι μακάριον ποιεῖ. εἴ τινες ἐπίσκοπον μὲν λέγουσι, χωρὶς δὲ αὐτοῦ πάντα ποιοῦσι, τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐρεῖ καὶ αὐτός, ὃς καὶ ὁ ἀληθινὸς καὶ πρῶτος ἐπίσκοπος καὶ μόνος φύσει ἀρχιερεύς· Tί με καλεῖτε κύριε κύριε, καὶ οὐ ποιεῖτε, ἃ λέγω; οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι οὐκ εὐσυνείδητοι, ἀλλ' εἴρωνές τινες καὶ μόρφωνες εἶναί μοι φαίνονται. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τέλος τὰ πράγματα ἔχει καὶ πρόκειται ζωὴ ἡ ἐκ φυλακῆς καὶ θάνατος ὁ ἐκ παρακοῆς, καὶ ἕκαστος τῶν εἰρημένων εἰς τὸν τόπον τοῦ αἱρεθέντος μέλλει χωρεῖν, φύγωμεν τὸν θάνατον καὶ ἐκλεξώμεθα τὴν ζωήν. δύο γὰρ λέγω χαρακτῆρας ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὑρίσκεσθαι, καὶ τὸν μὲν νομίσματος, τὸν δὲ παραχαράγματος. ὁ θεοσεβὴς ἄνθρωπος νόμισμά ἐστιν ὑπὸ θεοῦ χαραχθέν· ὁ ἀσεβὴς ψευδώνυμον νόμισμα, κίβδηλον, νόθον, παραχάραγμα, οὐχ ὑπὸ θεοῦ, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ διαβόλου ἐνεργηθέν. οὐ δύο φύσεις ἀνθρώπων λέγω, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἕνα ἄνθρωπον ποτὲ μὲν θεοῦ, ποτὲ δὲ διαβόλου γίνεσθαι. ἐὰν εὐσεβῇ τις, ἄνθρωπος θεοῦ ἐστιν· ἐὰν δὲ ἀσεβῇ τις, ἄνθρωπος τοῦ διαβόλου, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γνώμης γινόμενος. οἱ ἄπιστοι εἰκόνα ἔχουσι τοῦ ἄρχοντος τῆς πονηρίας, οἱ πιστοὶ εἰκόνα ἔχουσι τοῦ ἄρχοντος θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· δι' οὗ ἐὰν μὴ αὐθαιρέτως ἔχωμεν τὸ ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας ἀποθανεῖν εἰς τὸ αὐτοῦ πάθος, τὸ ζῆν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν τοῖς προγεγραμμένοις προσώποις τὸ πᾶν πλῆθος ἐθεώρησα ἐν πίστει καὶ ἠγάπησα, παραινῶ· ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ θεοῦ σπουδάσατε πάντα πράττειν, προκαθημένου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου εἰς τόπον θεοῦ καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων εἰς τόπον συνεδρίου τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν διακόνων, τῶν ἐμοὶ γλυκυτάτων, πεπιστευμένων διακονίαν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὃς πρὸ αἰῶνος παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ γεννηθεὶς ἦν λόγος θεός, μονογενὴς υἱός, καὶ ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων ὁ αὐτὸς διαμένει· τῆς γὰρ βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος, φησὶν ∆ανιὴλ ὁ προφήτης. πάντες οὖν ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ ἀλλήλους ἀγαπήσωμεν, καὶ μηδεὶς κατὰ σάρκα βλεπέτω τὸν πλησίον, ἀλλ' ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. μηδὲν ἔστω ἐν ὑμῖν, ὃ δυνήσεται ὑμᾶς μερίσαι, ἀλλ' ἑνώθητε τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ, ὑποτασσόμενοι τῷ θεῷ δι' αὐτοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ.

Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ κύριος ἄνευ τοῦ πατρὸς οὐδὲν ποιεῖ (οὐ δύναμαι γάρ, φησίν, ποιεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ οὐδέν), οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς ἄνευ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου, μηδὲ πρεσβύτερος, μὴ διάκονος, μὴ λαϊκός. μηδέ τι φαινέσθω ὑμῖν εὔλογον παρὰ τὴν ἐκείνου γνώμην· τὸ γὰρ τοιοῦτον παράνομον καὶ θεοῦ ἐχθρόν. πάντες ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ ἅμα συνέρχεσθε· μία δέησις ἔστω κοινή, εἷς νοῦς, μία ἐλπὶς ἐν ἀγάπῃ, ἐν πίστει τῇ ἀμώμῳ, τῇ εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, οὗ ἄμεινον οὐδέν ἐστιν. πάντες ὡς εἷς εἰς τὸν ναὸν θεοῦ συντρέχετε, ὡς ἐπὶ ἓν θυσιαστήριον, ὡς ἐπὶ ἕνα Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν ἀρχιερέα τοῦ ἀγεννήτου θεοῦ. Mὴ πλανᾶσθε ταῖς ἑτεροδοξίαις μηδὲ μύθοις ἐνέχετε καὶ γενεαλογίαις ἀπεράντοις καὶ ἰουδαϊκοῖς τύφοις. τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδού, γέγονε καινὰ τὰ πάντα. εἰ γὰρ μέχρι νῦν κατὰ νόμον ἰουδαϊκὸν καὶ περιτομὴν σαρκὸς ζῶμεν, ἀρνούμεθα τὴν χάριν εἰληφέναι. οἱ γὰρ θειότατοι προφῆται κατὰ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἔζησαν· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐδιώχθησαν, ἐμπνεόμενοι ἀπὸ τῆς χάριτος εἰς τὸ πληροφορηθῆναι τοὺς ἀπειθοῦντας, ὅτι εἷς θεός ἐστιν ὁ παντοκράτωρ, ὁ φανερώσας ἑαυτὸν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν αὐτοῦ λόγος, οὐ ῥητός, ἀλλ' οὐσιώδης· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν λαλιᾶς ἐνάρθρου φώνημα, ἀλλ' ἐνεργείας θεϊκῆς οὐσία γεννητή, ἐν πᾶσιν εὐάρεστος τῷ ὑποστήσαντι. Eἰ οὖν οἱ <ἐν> παλαιοῖς γράμμασιν ἀναστραφέντες εἰς καινότητα ἐλπίδος ἦλθον ἐκδεχόμενοι Χριστόν, ὡς ὁ κύριος διδάσκει λέγων· Eἰ ἐπιστεύετε Mωσεῖ, ἐπιστεύσατε ἂν ἐμοί· περὶ γὰρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἔγραψεν· καὶ Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἠγαλλιάσατο, ἵνα ἴδῃ τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν ἐμήν, καὶ εἶδεν καὶ ἐχάρη· πρὶν γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ <γενέσθαι> ἐγώ εἰμι. πῶς ἡμεῖς δυνησόμεθα ζῆσαι