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to Antioch of Syria and strengthening the brethren to keep the decrees and commandments of the apostles, certain believers who had come from the circumcision taught the proselytes, saying that Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. When no little dissension and debate arose with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others of them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this question. So when they had gone up and related both the conversion of the Gentiles and the progress of the churches, they also laid this question before them. And the apostles, having gathered together, sent to them thus: The apostles and the elders and the brethren, to the brethren from the Gentiles in Antioch and Cilicia and Syria, greetings. Since we have heard that some from among us have troubled you, unsettling your souls, to whom we gave no such command, it seemed good to us, being of one accord; and having chosen men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report these things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. This is the letter of the apostles written by the Holy Spirit through the evangelist Luke. For since the Holy Spirit knew that some, having come to such madness, would not hesitate to slander the apostles, which also happened, being of one accord they write this letter, not forbidding marriage, not prohibiting eating meat or drinking wine, but, as has been written before, that every Christian should abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. Above you were taught by God himself that you may eat all meat as the green herb; here you have learned from the apostles from what things you must abstain. Why do you dare to blaspheme the creatures of God and through them to dishonor the Creator? For if God made all things in wisdom and praised them, saying they were very good, and when gifts and fruits were brought to him, he accepted them and blessed those who brought them and permitted them to eat, why are you foolish and daring? For just as you condemn the people who partake of meats, so also you blaspheme the Creator himself. Why did he make these things? Perhaps you also abominate him and judge him foreign to righteousness, because he himself also accepted sacrifices; perhaps you will even attack the holy Abraham, because he offered sacrifices to God and, receiving the angels, did not entertain them with vegetables, but taking a calf from the herd he commanded it to be prepared with butter and milk. And thus he received the angels, and not only the angels, but even Christ himself; which is also worthy of wonder, that even before the incarnate economy he sanctified his own creatures and partook of them, so that no one might think that the Father thinks one thing and the Son another, as the heresies of the Manichaeans and Marcionists have imagined, and so that what is said might be made manifest, that the Son of God came to Abraham. Then as he was sitting by his tent in the middle of the day and watching those passing by, lest any stranger escape his notice, he saw three men coming and went to meet them and did not say, “Lords, if I have found favor in your sight,” but rather, If I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Do you see how he who eats meats and entertains visitors with meats discerned? Did you see how a pure heart knew who was the master and who were the servants? Truly blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. For this reason also after a little while the Lord himself sending

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εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν τῆς Συρίας καὶ ἐπιστηριζόντων τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς φυλάσσειν τὰ δόγματα καὶ τὰς παραγγελίας τῶν ἀποστόλων, τινὲς πιστοὶ παραγενόμενοι ἐκ περιτομῆς ἐδίδασκον τοὺς προσηλύτους λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐὰν μὴ περιτέμνησθε τῷ ἔθει τοῦ Μωϋσέως, οὐ δύνασθε σωθῆναι. Γενομένης δὲ στάσεως καὶ ζητή σεως οὐκ ὀλίγης πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἔταξαν ἀναβαίνειν Παῦλον καὶ βαρνα βᾶν καί τινας ἄλλους ἐξ αὐτῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἀποστόλους καὶ πρεσβυτέ ρους εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ περὶ τοῦ ζητήματος τούτου. Ἀνελθόντες οὖν καὶ διηγησάμενοι τήν τε ἐπιστροφὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ τὴν προκοπὴν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, ἀνέθεντο αὐτοῖς καὶ περὶ τοῦ ζητήματος τούτου. Οἱ δὲ ἀπόστολοι συναχθέντες ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἀπέστειλαν αὐτοῖς οὕτως· Οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν καὶ Κιλικίαν καὶ Συρίαν ἀδελφοῖς τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν χαίρειν. Ἐπειδὴ ἠκούσαμεν ὅτι τινὲς ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐτάραξαν ὑμᾶς ἀνασκευάζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν, οἷς οὐ διεστειλάμεθα, ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν γενομένοις ὁμοθυ μαδόν· καὶ ἐκλεξαμένους ἄνδρας πέμψαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς σὺν τοῖς ἀγαπητοῖς ἡμῶν βαρναβᾶ καὶ Παύλῳ ἀνθρώποις παραδεδωκόσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἀπεστάλκαμεν οὖν Ἰούδαν καὶ Σιλᾶν καὶ αὐτοὺς διὰ λόγου ἀπαγγέλλοντας ταῦτα. Ἔδοξε γὰρ τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν μηδὲν πλέον ἐπιτίθεσθαι βάρος ὑμῖν πλὴν τούτων τῶν ἐπάναγκες, ἀπέχεσ θαι εἰδωλοθύτου, αἵματος καὶ πνικτοῦ καὶ πορνείας· ἐξ ὧν διατηροῦν τες ἑαυτοὺς εὖ πράσσετε. Ἔρρωσθε. Αὕτη ἡ ἐπιστολὴ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἡ γραφεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ Λουκᾶ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ᾔδει τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὅτι τινὲς εἰς τοσαύτην ἀπόνοιαν ἐλθόντες οὐκ ὀκνήσουσι συκο φαντῆσαι τοὺς ἀποστόλους, ὅπερ καὶ γέγονεν, ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ὄντες γράφουσι τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ταύτην μὴ διακόψαντες γάμον, μὴ κωλύσαντες κρέας ἐσθίειν ἢ πίνειν οἶνον, ἀλλά, καθὼς προγέ γραπται, ἀπέχεσθαι πάντα χριστιανὸν ἀπὸ εἰδωλοθύτων καὶ αἵμα τος καὶ πνικτοῦ καὶ πορνείας. Ἄνω ἐδιδάχθης ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι φάγῃ πᾶν κρέας ὡς λάχανα χόρτου, ἐνταῦθα ἔμαθες παρὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων τίνων δεῖ ἀπέχεσθαι. ∆ιὰ τί τολμᾷς βλασφημεῖν τὰ κτίσματα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ δι' αὐτῶν τὸν δημιουργὸν ἀτιμάζειν; Εἰ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησε καὶ ἐπῄνεσεν εἰπὼν καλὰ λίαν καὶ προσενεχθέντων αὐτῷ δώρων καὶ καρπωμάτων ἐδέξατο καὶ τοὺς προσκομίσαντας εὐλόγησε καὶ αὐτοῖς ἐπέτρεψεν ἐσθίειν, σὺ διὰ τί ἄνους καὶ τολμηρός; Πάντως γὰρ ὡς τοὺς μεταλαμβάνοντας κρεῶν ἀνθρώπους κατα κρίνεις, οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν δημιουργὸν βλασφημεῖς. ∆ιὰ τί ἐποίησε ταῦτα; Τάχα δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν βδελύξῃ καὶ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀλλότριον κρίνεις, ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἐδέξατο θυσίας· ἴσως δὲ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Ἀβραὰμ ἐπισκήψεις, ὅτι τῷ θεῷ θυσίας προσήνεγκε καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους ὑποδεξάμενος οὐ διὰ λαχάνων τούτους ἐξένισεν, ἀλλὰ λαβὼν μόσχον ἐκ τῆς ἀγέλης ἐκέλευσε τοῦτον γενέσθαι μετὰ βουτύρου καὶ γάλακτος. Καὶ οὕτως ἐδεξιώσατο τοὺς ἀγγέλους, καὶ οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀγγέλους, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Χριστόν· ὃ καὶ θαυμάσαι ἄξιον, ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐνσάρκου οἰκονομίας τὰ ἑαυτοῦ κτίσματα ἡγίασε καὶ τούτων μετέσχεν, ἵνα μή τις φρονήσῃ ἄλλο μὲν φρονεῖν τὸν πατέρα, ἄλλο δὲ τὸν υἱόν, καθὼς αἱ αἱρέσεις τῶν Μανιχαίων καὶ Μαρκιωνιστῶν ἐφαντάσθησαν, καὶ ἵνα φανερὸν γένηται τὸ λεγόμενον, ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ παρεγένε το πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραάμ. Τότε καθεζομένου αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τὴν σκηνὴν ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ καὶ ἐπιτηροῦντος τοὺς διοδεύοντας, μή τις αὐτὸν διαλάθῃ ξένος, εἶδε τρεῖς ἄνδρας ἐρχομένους καὶ ὑπήντησεν αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐκ εἶπε· «Κύριοι, εἰ εὗρον χάριν ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν «, ἀλλὰ καί· Εἰ εὗρον χάριν ἐνώπιόν σου, μὴ παρέλθῃς τὸν παῖδά σου. Βλέπεις πῶς ἐσκόπησεν ὁ τὰ κρέα ἐσθίων καὶ διὰ κρεῶν ξενίζων τοὺς ἐπιδημοῦντας; Εἶδες καρδίαν καθαρὰν πῶς ἔγνω τίς ὁ δεσπότης καὶ τίνες οἱ δοῦλοι; Ὄντως μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἀποστέλλων