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the justifications of his belly like the Pharisee, but not even daring to lift his eyes to heaven, he said: O God, be merciful to me a sinner. To this the Lord [said]: Truly I say to you, that the tax collector went down justified rather than that Pharisee. And lest anyone should think he had said these things concerning the two persons, he added, saying, that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Do you see how the confession of sins justified the tax collector, and how the enumeration of justifications condemned the Pharisee? Nevertheless, if one examines closely, those who have advanced to so-called continence are even more impious than that Pharisee. For although he despised men, yet he came into the temple and with all the people offered worship to God; but the devil has puffed these up to such a degree, as to be lifted up even against the church of Christ itself. And what defense will they make on the day of judgment? For certainly the Lord will say to them: "I ate with tax collectors and sinners and reclining with them I did not become a sinner, and you abominated all my people as sinners. Perhaps none of you was in righteousness; you found no one equal to yourselves, you intruded into the hearts of all, you read the thoughts of all. You know that God is the tester of hearts, not the weigher of bellies; and so be it, you condemned my people as sinful, neither reserving judgment for me, but yourselves condemning all before the time. But of my church what have you condemned? What sin will you bring against it? And the altar, how did it wrong you? This too you have abandoned." But what will they do? For their impiety has reached the Judge himself; for not only have they been lifted up against all the people, but also against the Lord's creation; for they say that it too is sinful. For as long as they had themselves, as long as they guarded what was given by the grace remaining in the church of Christ, the holy things were holy and sanctified them through communion. But when it tore them away and hardened their heart 18- 20 s; but the holy things themselves [are] unclean 18-20 their love; for this it said 18-20 your neighbor as yourself. 18-20 the word; your neighbor not 18-20 you have condemned; this is your 18-20 is continence, badly 18-20 I say you are more ungrateful than demons 12-14 in the church of Christ and by his holy mysteries some who are troubled by evil spirits and those who are children of the church, who have this gift, rebuking the demons. And when they see the unclean spirit hardening itself against departure, they do nothing else but, having named the holy and awesome name of Christ, thus they drive out the bitter demon; demons hearing the name of Christ shudder and, not bearing the awesomeness of the mystery, withdraw. And heretics blaspheme this in various ways; but since no neighbor was found for them in the churches of the world even to this day, no priest of God ministering at the altar, no monk in the churchly manner having renounced money and living in fasts and vigils, no prudent virgin preserving with her virginity also the oil, which is the chrism of baptism; but they think that those taken captive along with them by the devil happen to be their neighbor. Learn whether they keep even this, so that we may fully convince them from the facts, that the devil does not keep conscience nor does he spare his own disciples, but in many ways and in many parts he divides them. For only that he may turn some away from the church of Christ, just as a wolf, having snatched sheep from the fold, tears them limb from limb and does not spare them, for it has no compassion, so also the devil, when he separates some from the church, divides them in various ways and unsparingly, so that they might never return to their senses and

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τὰ δικαιώματα τῆς κοιλίας ὡς ὁ φαρισαῖος, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τολμῶν ἐπᾶραι εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, ἔλεγεν· Ὁ θεός, ἱλάσθητί μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ. Πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ κύριος· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι κατῆλθε δεδικαιωμένος ὁ τελώνης παρ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν φαρισαῖον. Καὶ ἵνα μὴ νομίσῃ τις περὶ τῶν δύο προσώπων ταῦτα αὐτὸν εἰρηκέναι, ἐπήγαγεν εἰπών, ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται, ὁ δὲ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται. Βλέπεις πῶς ἐδικαίωσε τὸν τελώνην ἡ ἐξομολόγησις τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ πῶς κατέκρινε τὸν φαρισαῖον ἡ ἀπαρίθμησις τῶν δικαιωμάτων; Πλὴν ἀλλ' ἐάν τις ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσῃ, καὶ τοῦ φαρισαίου ἐκείνου ἀσεβέστεροί εἰσιν οἱ εἰς τὴν νομιζομένην ἐγκράτειαν χωρήσαντες. Ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ εἰ καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐξηυτέλιζεν, ἀλλ' ὅμως εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἤρχετο καὶ μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ τὰς λατρείας ἀπεδίδου τῷ θεῷ· τούτους δὲ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἐφυσίωσεν ὁ διάβολος, ὡς καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ κατεπαρθῆναι. Καὶ τί ἀπολογήσονται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως; Πάντως γὰρ ἐρεῖ αὐτοῖς ὁ κύριος· «Ἐγὼ μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἤσθιον καὶ συνανακείμενος αὐτοῖς ἁμαρτωλὸς οὐκ ἐγενόμην, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἅπαντα τὸν λαόν μου ὡς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἐβδελύξασθε. Οὐδεὶς ἴσως ὑμῶν ἦν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ· ἰσότιμον ἑαυτοῖς οὐδένα εὕρετε, πάντων ταῖς καρδίαις ἐνεβατεύσατε, πάντων τοὺς λογισμοὺς ἀνέγνωτε. Οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ θεὸς καρδίας ἐστὶ δοκιμαστής, οὐ κοιλίας ζυγοστάτης· ἔστω δὲ καὶ τὸν λαόν μου ὡς ἁμαρτωλὸν κατεδικάσατε οὔτε ἐμοὶ τὴν κρίσιν ταμιευσά μενοι, ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ πρὸ καιροῦ πάντας κατακρίνοντες. Τῆς δὲ ἐκκλησίας μου τί κατέγνωτε; Ποίαν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῇ ἐγκαλέσετε; Τὸ δὲ θυσιαστήριον, τί ὑμᾶς ἠδίκησε; Καὶ τοῦτο κατελείψατε «. Ἀλλὰ τί ποιήσουσιν; Εἰς αὐτὸν γὰρ τὸν κριτὴν ἔφθασεν ἡ ἀσέβεια· οὐ μόνον γὰρ κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ ἐπήρθησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τοῦ δεσποτικοῦ κτίσματος· ἁμαρτωλὸν γὰρ κἀκεῖνο λέγουσιν. Ἕως μὲν γὰρ εἶχον ἑαυτούς, ἕως ἐφύλασσον τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς χάριτος τῆς παραμενούσης τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δοθέν, τὰ ἅγια ἅγια ἦν καὶ αὐτοὺς δὲ ἡγίαζε διὰ τῆς μεταλήψεως. Ὅτε δὲ ἀπέσχισεν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν ἐπήρωσε 18- 20 ς· αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ ἅγια ἀκάθαρτα 18-20 ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτῶν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἔλεγε 18-20 τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς ἑαυτόν. 18-20 ὁ λόγος· τὸν πλησίον σου οὐ 18-20 κατέκρινας· τοῦτο σού ἐστι τὸ 18-20 ἐστὶν ἡ ἐγκράτεια, κακῶς 18-20 δαιμόνων σε λέγω ἀγνωμονέστερον 12-14 ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις μυστηρίοις αὐτοῦ ὀχλουμένους τινὰς ὑπὸ πνευμάτων πονηρῶν καὶ τοὺς ὄντας τέκνα τῆς ἐκκλησίας, τοὺς ἔχοντας τοῦτο τὸ χάρισμα, τοῖς δαίμοσιν ἐπιτιμῶντας. Καὶ ἐπὰν ἴδωσι σκληρυνόμενον τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἀλλ' ἢ τὸ ἅγιον καὶ φοβερὸν ὄνομα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὀνομάσαντες οὕτως τὸν πικρὸν δαίμονα ἀπελαύνουσι· δαίμονες ἐπακούοντες τοῦ ὀνόμα τος τοῦ Χριστοῦ φρίττουσι καὶ μὴ φέροντες τὸ φοβερὸν τοῦ μυστηρίου ὑποχωροῦσι. Καὶ αἱρετικοὶ τοῦτο διαφόρως βλασφημοῦσιν· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οὐδεὶς εὑρέθη αὐτοῖς πλησίον ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῆς οἰκουμένης ἄχρι καὶ σήμερον, οὐχ ἱερεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ λειτουργῶν τῷ θυσιαστη ρίῳ, οὐ μονάζων ἐκκλησιαστικῶς χρημάτων ἀποταξάμενος καὶ ἐν νηστείαις καὶ ἀγρυπνίαις διάγων, οὐ παρθένος φρονίμη μετὰ τῆς παρθενίας φυλάττουσα καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ χρῖσμα τοῦ βαπτίσματος· ἀλλὰ νομίζουσι τοὺς συναιχμαλωτισθέντας αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου πλησίον τυγχάνειν. Κατάμαθε, εἰ κἂν τοῦτο φυλάττωσιν, ἵνα ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων πληροφορήσωμεν αὐτούς, ὅτι ὁ διάβολος συνείδησιν οὐ φυλάσσει οὐδὲ φείδεται τῶν μαθητῶν τῶν ἰδίων, ἀλλὰ πολυτρόπως καὶ πολυμερῶς αὐτοὺς καταμερίζει. Μόνον γὰρ ἵνα ἀποστήσῃ τινὰς τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὥσπερ λύκος πρόβατα ἀπὸ μάνδρας ἀποσπά σας μεληδὸν κατατέμνει καὶ οὐ φείδεται, οὐ γὰρ ἔχει σπλάγ χνον, οὕτως καὶ ὁ διάβολος, ὅταν χωρίσῃ τινὰς ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ποικίλως καὶ ἀφειδῶς τούτους καταμερίζει, ἵνα μή ποτε ἀνανήψωσι καὶ