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having received it, he himself besought the one who had been wronged to release [her] from the calamity by his intercession. And he did not neglect it, but immediately offered the supplication. Then the philanthropic Lord taught that He did not discipline her in a condemnatory way, but paternally; for He said, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed? she shall be set apart outside the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again. 32 Since some, moved I know not whence, diminish by half the creative power of God, saying that He is the cause only of the quality concerning matter, saying that matter itself is unbegotten, come, let us ask them, what then also ... unchangeable; therefore matter is unchangeable; if matter is unchangeable, but that which is unchangeable is not altered in quality, it is not formed into a cosmos. Wherefore it seems superfluous to them for God to impose qualities on matter, since matter is altogether not susceptible of change, being in itself unbegotten. Furthermore, if matter is unbegotten, it is certainly made according to some quality, and this being unchangeable, it would not be receptive of more qualities; nor would it be formed into a cosmos; and not being formed into a cosmos, it wholly excludes God from creating. 33 And he washed, it says, in the Jordan seven times. Not in vain was Naaman of old, being a leper, cleansed by being baptized, but for our indication; we who are leprous in sins are cleansed from our old transgressions through the holy water and the invocation of the Lord, being spiritually reborn as new-born children, as the Lord also said: unless one is reborn through water and Spirit, he will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 34 If the dead body of Elisha raised a dead man, how much more will God, who gave life to the dead bodies of men, bring them to judgment? 35 True knowledge, then, is the understanding which is according to Christ, which Paul calls the wisdom of God in a mystery, which has been hidden, which the natural man does not receive, the word of the cross, of which if anyone tastes, he will not approach the useless disputes and wranglings of those who are puffed up and conceited, of those who intrude into things they have not seen. For the truth is unadorned, and the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, as the same apostle says, eum... to those who obey. For it makes us like Christ, if we know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. For this is the summary of the apostolic teaching and of the most holy faith that has been delivered to us, which the unlearned receive and the uneducated have taught, who pay no attention to endless genealogies, but rather are zealous for the amendment of life, so that, not being deprived of the divine Spirit, they may not fail to obtain the kingdom of heaven. For the first thing is to deny oneself and to follow Christ, and those who do these things are brought to perfection, having fulfilled all the will of the teacher, becoming sons of God through spiritual regeneration and heirs of the kingdom of heaven, which seeking first they shall not be forsaken. 36 Those who have followed the second ordinances of the apostles know that the Lord has instituted a new offering in the new covenant, according to Malachi the prophet: For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure sacrifice; just as John also says in the Apocalypse: The incense is the prayers of the saints; and Paul exhorts us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, which is our reasonable service. And again: Let us offer the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips. These offerings are not according to the law, the handwriting of which the Lord blotted out and took from our midst, but according to the Spirit, for one must worship God in spirit and in truth. Wherefore also the offering of the Eucharist is not carnal, but spiritual, and in this pure. For we offer to God the bread and the cup of blessing, giving thanks to Him that to the earth

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δεξαμένης, αὐτὸς τὸν ἠδικημένον ἱκέτευσε λῦσαι τῇ πρεσβείᾳ τὴν συμφοράν. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἠμέλησεν, ἀλλ' αὐτίκα τὴν ἱκετηρίαν προσήνεγκεν. Εἶτα ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Κύριος ἐδίδαξεν, ὡς οὐ καταδικαστικῶς αὐτὴν, ἀλλὰ πατρικῶς ἐπαίδευσεν· ἔφη γὰρ, Εἰ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῆς ἐμπαίων ἐνέπαισεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῆς, οὐκ ἐντραπήσεται; ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἀφορισθήσεται ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰσελεύσεται. 32 Ἐπειδὴ τινὲς οὐκ οἶδ' ὁπόθεν κινηθέντες, δι' ἡμισείας τὸ δημιουργικὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ παραιροῦνται, μόνου τοῦ ποιοῦ τοῦ περὶ ὕλην αἴτιον αὐτὸν λέγοντες, ἀγέννητον αὐτὴν τὴν ὕλην εἰπόντες, φέρε πυθώμεθα αὐτῶν, τί ποτε καὶ ... ἀμετάβλητον· ἀμετάβλητος ἄρα ἡ ὕλη· εἰ ἀμετάβλητος ἡ ὕλη, τὸ δὲ ἀμετάβλητον οὐ τρέπεται κατὰ ποιότητα, οὐ κοσμοποιεῖται. ∆ι' οὗ παρέλκον αὐτοῖς φαίνεται, τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιβάλλειν ποιότητας τῇ ὕλη, ὅλως τῆς ὕλης οὐκ ἐπιδεχομένης τροπὴν, ἀγεννήτου κατ' αὐτὴν τυγχανούσης. Ἔτι εἰ ἀγέννητος ἡ ὕλη, πάντως κατὰ τινὰ ποιότητα πεποίηται, καὶ ταύτην ἄτρεπτον, οὐκ ἂν εἴη πλειόνων ποιοτήτων δεκτική· οὐδ' ἂν κοσμοποιοῖτο· μὴ κοσμοποιουμένη δὲ, ἐκτὸς ποιεῖ τὸν Θεὸν δι' ὅλων τοῦ δημιουργεῖν. 33 Καὶ ἐβαπτίσατό, φησιν, ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ἑπτάκις. Οὐ μάτην πάλαι Ναιμὰν λεπρὸς ὢν βαπτισθεὶς ἐκαθαίρετο, ἀλλ' εἰς ἔνδειξιν ἡμετέραν· οἳ λεπροὶ ὄντες ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου ὕδατος καὶ τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου ἐπικλήσεως καθαριζόμεθα τῶν παλαιῶν παραπτωμάτων, ὡς παιδία νεόγονα πνευματικῶς ἀναγεννώμενοι, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἔφη· ἐὰν μή τις ἀναγεννηθῇ δι' ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, οὐ μὴ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. 34 Εἰ τὸ Ἐλισσαίου σῶμα νεκρωθὲν νεκρὸν ἤγειρε, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ Θεὸς ὁ τὰ νεκρὰ σώματα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζωοποιήσας ἄξει ἐπὶ τὴν κρίσιν; 35 Ἔστι μὲν οὖν ἡ γνῶσις ἡ ἀληθινὴ ἡ κατὰ Χριστὸν σύνεσις, ἣν ὁ Παῦλος καλεῖ τὴν σοφίαν Θεοῦ ἐν μυστηρίῳ τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην, ἣν ὁ ψυχικὸς ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται, ὁ λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ, οὗ ἐάνπερ τις γεύσηται, οὐ μὴ ἂν προσελεύσεται ταῖς παραδιατριβαῖς καὶ λογομαχίαις τῶν τετυφωμένων καὶ φυσιουμένων, τῶν ἃ μὴ ἑωράκασιν ἐμβατευόντων. Ἀσχημάτιστος γὰρ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμά ἐστιν ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, ὡς ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος λέγει, εὐμ... τοῖς πειθομένοις. Ὁμοίους γὰρ Χριστῷ ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ, εἰ τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν τῶν αὐτοῦ παθημάτων γνῶμεν. Αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπιλογὴ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς διδασκαλίας καὶ τῆς ἁγιωτάτης πίστεως τῆς ἡμῖν παραδοθείσης, ἣν οἱ ἰδιῶται δέχονται καὶ οἱ ὀλιγομαθεῖς ἐδίδαξαν, οἱ ταῖς γενεαλογίαις ταῖς ἀπεράντοις οὐ προσέχοντες, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον περὶ τὴν τοῦ βίου ἐπανόρθωσιν σπουδάζοντες, ἵνα μὴ τοῦ θείου πνεύματος ἀποστερηθέντες ἀποτύχωσι τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν. Τὸ γὰρ πρῶτον μέν ἐστι τὸ ἀπαρνῆσαι σεαυτὸν καὶ τὸ ἀκολουθῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ, καὶ οἱ ταῦτα ποιοῦντες εἰς τελειότητα φέρονται, πᾶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ διδασκάλου πεπληρωκότες, υἱοὶ Θεοῦ διὰ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας τῆς πνευματικῆς γινόμενοι καὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν κληρονόμοι, ἣν πρῶτον ζητοῦντες οὐκ ἀφεθήσονται. 36 Οἱ ταῖς δευτέραις τῶν ἀποστόλων διατάξεσι παρηκολουθηκότες ἴσασι, τὸν Κύριον νέαν προσφορὰν ἐν τῇ καινῇ διαθήκῃ καθεστηκέναι, κατὰ τὸ Μαλαχίου τοῦ προφήτου· ∆ιότι ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου καὶ ἕως δυσμῶν τὸ ὄνομά μου δεδόξασται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ θυμίαμα προσάγεται τῷ ὀνόματί μου καὶ θυσία καθαρά· ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει λέγει· Τὰ θυμιάματά εἰσιν αἱ προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων· καὶ ὁ Παῦλος παρακαλεῖ ἡμᾶς παραστῆσαι τὰ σώματα ἡμῶν θυσίαν ζῶσαν, ἁγίαν, εὐάρεστον τῷ Θεῷ, τὴν λογικὴν λατρείαν ἡμῶν. Καὶ πάλιν· ἀναφέρωμεν θυσίαν αἰέσεως τουτέστι καρπὸν χειλέων. Αὗται μὲν αἱ προσφοραὶ οὐ κατὰ τὸν νόμον εἰσὶν, οὗ τὸ χειρόγραφον ἐξαλείψας ὁ Κύριος ἐκ τοῦ μέσου ᾖρεν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα, ἐν πνεύματι γὰρ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν τὸν Θεόν. ∆ιότι καὶ ἡ προσφορὰ τῆς εὐχαριστίας οὐκ ἔστι σαρκικὴ, ἀλλὰ πνευματικὴ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ καθαρά. Προσφέρομεν γὰρ τῷ Θεῷ τὸν ἄρτον καὶ τὸ ποτήριον τῆς εὐλογίας, εὐχαριστοῦντες αὐτῷ ὅτι τῇ γῇ