[That the Deacon Must Not Make Any Distributions Without the Consent of the Bishop, Because that Will Turn to the Reproach of the Bishop. ]

XXXII. If therefore, O deacon, thou knowest any one to be in distress, put the bishop in mind of him, and so give to him; but do nothing in a clandestine way, so as may tend to his reproach, lest thou raise a murmur against him; for the murmur will not be against him, but against the Lord God: and the deacon, with the rest, will hear what Aaron and Miriam heard, when they spake against Moses: “How is it that ye were not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”  159  Num. xii. 8. And again, Moses says to those who rose up against him: “Your murmuring is not against us, but against the Lord our God.”  160  Ex. xvi. 8. For if he that calls one of the laity Raka,  161  Matt. v. 22. or fool, shall not be unpunished, as doing injury to the name  162  Capellius reads, “the law of Christ.” of Christ, how dare any man speak against his bishop, by whom the Lord gave the Holy Spirit among you upon the laying on of his hands, by whom ye have learned the sacred doctrines, and have known God, and have believed in Christ, by whom ye were known of God, by whom ye were sealed with the oil of gladness and the ointment of understanding, by whom ye were declared to be the children of light, by whom the Lord in your illumination testified by the imposition of the bishop’s hands, and sent out His sacred voice upon every one of you, saying, “Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee?”  163  Ps. ii. 7. By thy bishop, O man, God adopts thee for His child. Acknowledge, O son, that right hand which was a mother to thee. Love him who, after God, is become a father to thee, and honour him.

[32] Εἰ οὖν γινώσκεις, ὦ διάκονε, θλιβόμενόν τινα, ὑπομνήσας τὸν ἐπίσκοπον, οὕτως δίδου: ἀλλὰ μὴ λαθραίως εἰς λοιδορίαν αὐτοῦ τι ἐπιτέλει, ἵνα μὴ καὶ γογγυσμὸν ἐπεγείρῃς κατ' αὐτοῦ. Οὐ γὰρ κατ' αὐτοῦ ὁ γογγυσμὸς γενήσεται, ἀλλὰ κατὰ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἀκούσεται ὁ διάκονος καὶ οἱ λοιποί, ὡς Ἀαρὼν καὶ Μαριὰμ καταλαλήσαντες Μωϋσέως ἤκουσαν: »Πῶς οὐκ ἐφοβήθητε καταλαλῆσαι κατὰ Μωϋσῆ τοῦ θεράποντός μου;« Καὶ πάλιν αὐτὸς ὁ Μωϋσῆς φησιν τοῖς ἐπισυναχθεῖσιν αὐτῷ: »Οὐ γὰρ καθ' ἡμῶν ὁ γογγυσμός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν.« Εἰ γὰρ ὁ λαϊκὸν εἰρηκὼς ῥακὰν ἢ μωρὸν οὐκ ἀτιμώρητος, ὡς ὑβρίσας τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὄνομα, τί ἄν τις κατὰ ἐπισκόπου εἴπῃ; Δι' οὗ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ἐν ὑμῖν ὁ Κύριος ἔδωκεν ἐν τῇ χειροθεσίᾳ, δι' οὗ ἅγια δόγματα μεμαθήκατε καὶ Θεὸν ἐγνώκατε καὶ εἰς Χριστὸν πεπιστεύκατε, δι' οὗ ἐγνώσθητε ὑπὸ Θεοῦ, δι' οὗ ἐσφραγίσθητε ἐλαίῳ ἀγαλλιάσεως καὶ μύρῳ συνέσεως, δι' οὗ υἱοὶ φωτὸς ἀνεδείχθητε, δι' οὗ Κύριος ἐν τῷ φωτισμῷ ὑμῶν, τῇ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου χειροθεσίᾳ μαρτυρῶν, ἐφ' ἑκατέρων ὑμῶν τὴν ἱερὰν ἐξέτεινεν φωνὴν λέγων: »Υἱός μου εἶ σύ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε.«