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he has deemed worthy of a calling and a promise, throughout the whole inhabited world his name shines and his words illuminate the souls of men through the scripture of the gospel delivered by him, which has been translated into every tongue, both Greek and barbarian, and is proclaimed each day to be clearly heard by all the nations. 8 And since in written prophecies it was spoken prophetically in his person: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession," for this reason, as the prophetic testimony has now been fulfilled in deed, he says to his disciples: "All authority has been given to me, as in heaven, so also on earth." For he held the kingdom of things in heaven from eternity, but he says that the dominion of things "on earth" has now been given to him "by the Father," in accordance with "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance." For long ago, as Moses testifies, "when the Most High divided the nations, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of angels," the angels of God had been entrusted with all those formerly on earth. But when humanity had turned to the polytheistic error, and the supervising angels were able to do nothing to help in this, then at last the common Savior of all, through his theophany after the victory over death, teaches that no longer to angels but to him has the authority over the nations on earth been given by the Father. Therefore he commanded his disciples not before, but now to go about and make disciples of all the nations. And he necessarily adds also the mystery of purification. For it was necessary for those from the nations who had converted to be cleansed from "every defilement" and pollution through his power, having been soiled by demonic and idolatrous error, entangled in all kinds of pollutions, and having just now for the first time turned from an intemperate and lawless life. And he advises to teach these, after the purification through his mystical teaching, not the Jewish precepts nor the laws from Moses but whatever he himself commanded them to keep. And these were the things which indeed all of them, going about all the nations in agreement, have delivered to all their disciples and to all the churches throughout the whole inhabited world. And necessarily he urges them on and makes them more eager to go about and hunt all the nations and make disciples of every race of men, by the promise which he made to them, saying: "And behold, I am with you." And adding deed to this word of promise, being with each one by divine power and being present with them all together, breathing with them and working with them, he confirmed the achievement, showing them to be teachers to all the nations of the piety delivered by him. Therefore, taking courage from this promise, they fulfilled his words in deed. Immediately, putting nothing off, with all eagerness they went forth to the teaching of the nations, having in fact received him and seeing with their eyes alive the one who had died a short time before, and the one whom they had denied with an oath because of the events that had occurred, they saw this very one clearly and in person, present and conversing with them as was his custom and promising them the things foretold, and they had no way to disbelieve the promises on account of the sight they were seeing. For they truly would have shrunk from the command, conscious of their own rusticity and lack of eloquence, on account of which they might perhaps even have refused it, reasoning rightly that it was not possible for men who were Syrian in language and knew nothing more than fishing to be appointed teachers of Greeks and Romans, Egyptians and Persians, and of the other barbarian nations, and to legislate against the lawgivers and kings everywhere on earth things contrary to the traditions concerning the ancestral gods handed down from all time. But it was not possible for them to think these things, having heard indeed

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ἠξίωσε κλήσεώς τε καὶ ἐπαγγελίας, καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐκλάμπει τοὔνομα καὶ οἱ λόγοι τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχὰς καταυγάζουσι διὰ τῆς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ παραδοθείσης τοῦ εὐαγγελίου γραφῆς παντοίᾳ γλώττῃ Ἑλληνικῇ τε καὶ βαρβάρῳ μεταβληθείσης εἰς ἐξάκουστόν τε πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἡμέρας κηρυττομένης. 8 καὶ ἐπειδήπερ ἐν προφητείαις ἀναγράπτοις εἰς αὐτοῦ πρόσωπον εἴρηται προφητικῶς· «αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσίν σου τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς», διὰ τοῦτο ὡς ἂν τῆς προφητικῆς μαρτυρίας ἔργῳ νῦν πληρωθείσης, φησὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς· «ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς» . τῶν μὲν γὰρ κατ' οὐρανὸν ἐξ αἰῶνος ἐπεῖχε τὴν βασιλείαν, τῶν δ' «ἐπὶ γῆς» νῦν αὐτῷ δεδόσθαι φησὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν «ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς» ἀκολούθως τῷ «αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου». πάλαι μὲν γάρ, ὡς Μωσῆς μαρτυρεῖ, «ὅτε διεμέριζεν ὁ ὕψιστος ἔθνη, ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων», ἄγγελοι θεοῦ ἦσαν πάντας τοὺς πρότερον ἐπὶ γῆς ἐγκεχειρισμένοι. διατραπείσης δὲ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος ἐπὶ τὴν πολύθεον πλάνην καὶ τῶν ἐπιστατούντων ἀγγέλων μηδὲν πρὸς τοῦτο ἐπικουρεῖν δυναμένων, αὐτὸς δὴ λοιπὸν ὁ κοινὸς τῶν ὅλων σωτὴρ διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ θεοφα νείας μετὰ τὴν κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου νίκην διδάσκει, ὅτι μηκέτ' ἀγγέλοις ἀλλ' αὐτῷ πρὸς τοῦ πατρὸς ἡ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἐθνῶν ἐξουσία δέδοται. διὸ τοῖς αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς οὐ πρότερον, ἀλλὰ νῦν παρεκελεύσατο περιελθεῖν καὶ μαθητεῦσαι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. ἀναγκαίως δὲ προστίθησι καὶ τὸ μυστήριον τῆς ἀποκαθάρσεως. ἐχρῆν γὰρ τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐπιστραφέντας «παντὸς μολυσμοῦ» καὶ μιάσματος διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως ἀποκαθαίρεσθαι, ἐκ τῆς δαιμονικῆς καὶ εἰδωλολάτρου πλάνης ἐρρυπωμένους μιάσμασί τε παντοίοις ἐνεσχημένους ἄρτι τε πρῶτον ἐξ ἀκολάστου καὶ παρανόμου βίου μεταβεβλημένους. τούτους δὲ καὶ διδάσκειν παραινεῖ μετὰ τὴν ἀποκάθαρσιν τὴν διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ μυστικῆς διδασκαλίας, οὐ τὰ Ἰουδαϊκὰ παραγγέλματα οὐδὲ τὰ παρὰ Μωσεῖ νόμιμα ἀλλ' ὅσα αὐτὸς αὐτοῖς ἐνετείλατο φυλάττειν. ταῦτα δ' ἦν, ἃ δὴ συμφώνως οἱ πάντες ἐκπεριελθόντες πάντα τὰ ἔθνη παραδεδώκασι πᾶσι τοῖς γνωρίμοις καὶ πάσαις ταῖς καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐκκλησίαις. ἀναγκαίως δὲ αὐτοὺς προτρέπει καὶ προθυμοτέρους ἀπεργάζεται ἐπὶ τὸ θηρεῦσαι περιελθεῖν τε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη καὶ μαθητεῦσαι πᾶν γένος ἀνθρώπων, δι' ἧς πεποίηται πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὑποσχέσεως εἰπών· «καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγώ εἰμι μεθ' ὑμῶν». τούτῳ δὲ τῷ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας λόγῳ ἔργον ἐπιθεὶς θεϊκῇ τε δυνάμει ἑκάστῳ συνὼν καὶ πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ παρὼν συμπνέων τε αὐτοῖς καὶ συνεργῶν ἐπιστώσατο τὸ κατόρθωμα, διδασκάλους τε αὐτοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων τῆς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ παραδοθείσης θεοσεβείας ἀποδεικνύμενος. ταύτῃ γοῦν ἐπιθαρσήσαντες τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ, ἔργῳ τοὺς αὐτοῦ λόγους ἐπλήρουν· αὐτίκα μηδὲν ὑπερθέμενοι σὺν πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ προῆλθον ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν διδασκαλίαν, ἔργῳ μὲν αὐτῷ παραλαβόντες καὶ ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρῶντες ζῶντα τὸν πρὸ μικροῦ θανόντα, καὶ ὃν ἐξωμόσαντο ἀρνησάμενοι διὰ τὰ συμβεβηκότα, τοῦτον αὐτὸν ἐναργῶς καὶ αὐτοπροσώπως παρόντα καὶ συνήθως προσδιαλεγόμενον ἐπαγγελλόμενόν τε αὐτοῖς τὰ προλελεγμένα, οὐκ ἔχοντες δὲ ὅπως ἀπιστήσωσι ταῖς ἐπαγγελίαις διὰ τὴν θεωρουμένην ὄψιν. ἦ γὰρ ἂν καὶ ἀπώκνησαν πρὸς τὸ ἐπίταγμα ἀγροικίαν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ λόγων ἰδιωτείαν συγγινώσκοντες, δι' ἣν τάχα ἂν καὶ παρῃτήσαντο, εἰκότως λογισάμενοι, ὡς οὐχ οἷόν τε ἦν Σύρους τὴν γλῶτταν καὶ πλέον ἁλιείας μηδὲν ἐπισταμένους, διδασκάλους Ἑλλήνων ὁμοῦ καὶ Ῥωμαίων Αἰγυπτίων τε καὶ Περσῶν καὶ τῶν. λοιπῶν βαρβάρων ἐθνῶν καταστῆναι ἀντινομοθετῆσαί τε τοῖς ἁπανταχοῦ γῆς νομοθέταις τε καὶ βασιλεῦσι τἀναντία τοῖς περὶ τῶν πατρῴων θεῶν ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς αἰῶνος δεδομένοις. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐξῆν αὐτοῖς ταῦτα διανοεῖσθαι, ἀκούσασι μὲν