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to the common body of the Church and to the teaching, as not doing those things which we say are good; and we ourselves will be reproached by the Lord, because “They say and do not do.” Therefore, the bishop will openly reject such men who have been truly convicted, unless they change their way. For the bishop must not only be blameless, but also impartial, correcting sinners in kindness. But if he himself, not having a good conscience, becoming partial through some sordid bribe-taking, spares the one who has sinned lawlessly, allowing him to remain in the Church, disobeying the divine and masterly voice which says: “You shall justly pursue justice; you shall not be partial in judgment; you shall not justify the wicked; you shall not take bribes for a soul, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the words of the righteous.” And elsewhere it says: “Remove the evil one from among you;” and Solomon says in Proverbs: “Cast out a pest from the council, and strife will go out with him.” But he who does not heed these things will spare indiscriminately the one who deserves punishment, as Saul did with Agag and Eli with his sons who did not know the Lord; such a one has profaned both his own dignity and the Church of God in his parish. This man is therefore unjust both to God and to holy men, having become a cause of scandal to many newly-enlightened and catechumens, and also to young men and women; for whom the “woe” awaits, and the millstone about the neck and the deep sea, to which he is liable. For because of the lawlessness of his lack of judgment, seeing such a one as their ruler, they will be divided among themselves, and using the same disease, they will be compelled to perish with him, as the people did with Jeroboam and as those who joined with Korah did with him. But if the sinner sees the bishop and the deacons innocent of any charge and the flock pure, first, he will not dare, out of contempt, to enter the Church of God, being stricken in his conscience; but if, counting it as nothing, he should enter, he will either be immediately convicted, as Uzzah was for touching the ark to steady it, and as Achan was for the theft of the devoted thing, and as Gehazi was for the money of Naaman, and he will be punished at once, or being admonished by the shepherd, he will be led to repentance. For looking around at each one and finding no fault in anyone, neither in the bishop

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τῷ κοινῷ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας σώματι καὶ τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ, ὡς μὴ ποιούντων ἐκεῖνα ἃ λέγομεν εἶναι καλά· καὶ ὀνει δισθησόμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, ὅτι «Λέγουσιν καὶ οὐ ποιοῦσιν». Ὅθεν τοὺς τοιούτους ἐλεγχθέντας ἀληθῶς παραιτήσεται μετὰ παρρησίας ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, εἰ μὴ μεταβάλωνται τὸν τρόπον. Oὐ γὰρ μόνον ἀπρόσκοπον εἶναι χρὴ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπροσωπόληπτον, ἐν χρηστότητι σωφρονίζοντα τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας. Eἰ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ εὐσυνείδητος ὑπάρχων, προσωπολήπτης γενόμενος διά τινα αἰσχροκερδῆ δωροληψίαν φείσεται τοῦ ἀνόμως ἁμαρτήσαντος, ἐάσας ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ μένειν αὐτόν, παρακούσας τῆς θείας καὶ δεσποτικῆς φωνῆς τῆς λεγούσης· «∆ικαίως διώξει τὸ δίκαιον· οὐ λήψῃ πρόσωπον ἐν κρίσει· οὐ δικαιώσεις τὸν ἀσεβῆ· οὐ λήψῃ δῶρα ἐπὶ ψυχῇ, τὰ γὰρ δῶρα ἐκτυφλοῖ ὀφθαλμοὺς σοφῶν καὶ λυμαίνεται ·ήματα δικαίων.» Καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις φησίν· «Ἐξαρεῖτε τὸν πονηρὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶνή· καὶ ὁ Σολομῶν λέγει ἐν Παροιμίαις· «Ἔκβαλε λοιμὸν ἐκ συνεδρίου, καὶ συνεξελεύσεται αὐτῷ νεῖκος.» Ὁ δὲ μὴ προσέχων τούτοις ἀκρίτως φείσεται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀφείλοντι τιμωρίαν, ὡς ὁ Σαοὺλ ἐπὶ τῷ Ἀγὰγ καὶ ὁ Ἡλεὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῖς οὐκ εἰδόσι τὸν Κύριον, ὁ τοιοῦτος ἐβεβήλωσεν καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀξίαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκ κλησίαν τὴν κατὰ τὴν παροικίαν αὐτοῦ. Ἄδικος οὖν οὗτος καὶ Θεῷ καὶ ὁσίοις ἀνθρώποις, ὡς αἴτιος σκανδάλου πολλοῖς νεοφωτίστοις καὶ κατηχουμένοις γενόμενος, ἔτι δὲ νέοις καὶ νέαις τὴν ἡλικίαν· ὃν τὸ οὐαὶ περιμένει καὶ ὁ ὀνικὸς μύλος ἐν τῷ τραχήλῳ καὶ ὁ βυθός, ἐν ᾧ ὑπόδικος ὑπάρχει. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τὴν τῆς ἀκρισίας ἀνομίαν, βλέποντες τὸν τοιοῦτον αὐτῶν ἄρχοντα, ἐν ἑαυτοῖς διακριθήσονται, καὶ χρησάμενοι τῇ αὐτῇ νόσῳ συναπολέσθαι αὐτῷ ἀναγκασθήσονται, ὡς τῷ Ἱεροβοὰμ ὁ λαὸς καὶ τῷ Κορὲ οἱ συναράμενοι αὐτῷ. Eἰ δὲ βλέποι ὁ ἁμαρτὼν τὸν ἐπίσκοπον καὶ τοὺς δια κόνους ἀθώους ἐγκλήματος καὶ τὸ ποίμνιον καθαρὸν ὑπάρχον, πρῶτον μὲν οὐ τολμήσει καταφρονήσας εἰς Ἐκκλησίαν Θεοῦ εἰσελθεῖν, πλησσόμενος τῇ συνειδήσει αὐτοῦ· εἰ δὲ καὶ παρ' οὐδὲν ἡγησάμενος εἰσέλθοι, ἢ παραχρῆμα ἐλεγχθήσε ται, ὡς ὁ Ὀζᾶ ἐπὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ ἁψάμενος ὥστε ἑδράσαι, καὶ ὡς Ἄχαρ ἐπὶ τῇ κλοπῇ τοῦ ἀναθέματος, καὶ ὡς ὁ Γιεζεῖ ἐπὶ τοῖς τοῦ Νεεμὰν χρήμασιν, καὶ παραυτίκα τιμωρηθήσεται, ἢ νουθετούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιμένος εἰς μετάνοιαν ὑπαχθήσεται. Περιβλεψάμενος γὰρ τοὺς καθ' ἕνα καὶ ἐν οὐδενὶ μῶμον εὑρίσκων οὔτε παρὰ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ