22

the Lord.” See, our beloved children, how compassionate with righteousness is the Lord our God, good and loving mankind, and he will not acquit the guilty, and he receives and gives life to the one who returns, not leaving a place of suspicion for those who wish to judge harshly and to turn away completely the sinners and not to share with them words of exhortation that can bring them back to repentance, to whom, on the contrary, God says through Isaiah to the bishops: “Comfort, comfort my people, you priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” It is necessary, therefore, for you who hear him to exhort those who have sinned and to urge them to repentance and to make them hopeful, and not to suspect that you become sharers in their transgressions on account of your love for them. Gladly, then, receive those who repent, rejoicing over them, judging the sinners with mercy and compassion; for if you push with poles into the river one who is walking by the river and about to slip, instead of rather offering a hand, you have murdered your brother, when you should rather give a right hand to the one who is slipping, so that he may not utterly perish, so that both the people may be admonished and the sinner may not perish completely. But it is necessary for you, O bishop, neither to overlook the sins of the people, nor to turn away those who repent, so that you may not, as one inexperienced, destroy the flock of Christ and bring into contempt his new name that has been placed upon his people, and you be reproached just as the old shepherds, about whom God said to Jeremiah: “Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have defiled my inheritance.” And in another place: “My anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I will be angry with the lambs.” And in another: “You are the priests who despise my name.” But when you have seen the one who has sinned, being angered, command him to be cast out; and when he has gone out, let the deacons be angered at him, and seeking him out, let them keep him outside the church, and having come in, let them ask you on his behalf; for even the Savior pleaded with the Father for those who had sinned, as it is written in the Gospel: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Then you shall command him to enter, and having examined whether he repents and is at all worthy to be received into the church, assigning him days of fasting according to his sin, two weeks or

22

Κύριος.» Ὁρᾶτε, τέκνα ἡμῶν ἠγαπημένα, πῶς εὔσπλαγχνος μετὰ δικαιοσύνης Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἀγαθὸς καὶ φιλάνθρωπος, καὶ ἀθωῶν οὐκ ἀθωώσει τὸν ἔνοχον, καὶ τὸν ἐπιστρέφοντα προσιέμενος καὶ ζωοποιῶν, μὴ καταλιπὼν τόπον ὑπονοίας τοῖς ἀπηνῶς βουλομένοις κρίνειν καὶ τέλεον ἀποστρέφεσθαι τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας καὶ μὴ κοινωνεῖν αὐτοῖς λόγων παρακλητικῶν πρὸς μετάνοιαν ἐπαναγαγεῖν δυναμένων, οἷς ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων ὁ Θεὸς διὰ Ἡσαΐου λέγει πρὸς τοὺς ἐπισκόπους· «Παρακαλεῖτε, παρακαλεῖτε τὸν λαόν μου, ἱερεῖς, λαλήσατε εἰς τὴν καρδίαν Ἱερουσαλήμ.» Χρὴ οὖν ὑμᾶς αὐτοῦ ἀκούοντας παρακα λεῖν τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας καὶ πρὸς μετάνοιαν παρορμᾶν καὶ εὐέλπιδας ποιεῖν, καὶ μὴ ὑπονοεῖν ὡς κοινωνικοὺς γινομένους τῶν πλημμεληθέντων αὐτοῖς ἕνεκεν τῆς εἰς αὐτοὺς ἀγάπης. Ἀσμένως δὲ τοὺς μετανοοῦντας προσδέχεσθε, χαίροντες ἐπ' αὐτοῖς, μετὰ ἐλέους καὶ οἰκτιρμῶν κρίνοντες τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας· ἐὰν γὰρ τὸν παρὰ ποταμὸν βαδίζοντα καὶ μέλλοντα ὀλισθαίνειν κεραίαις êσας εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν ἐμβάλῃς ἀντὶ τοῦ χεῖρα μᾶλλον ὀρέξαι, ἐφόνευσάς σου τὸν ἀδελφόν, δέον μᾶλλον τῷ ὀλισθαίνοντι ἐπιδοῦναι δεξιάν, ἵνα μὴ τελείως ἀπόληται, ὅπως καὶ ὁ λαὸς νουθετῆται καὶ ὁ ἁμαρτήσας μὴ κατὰ πᾶν ἀπόληται. ∆εῖ δέ σε, ὦ ἐπίσκοπε, μήτε παρορᾶν τὰ ἁμαρτήματα τοῦ λαοῦ, μήτε τοὺς μετανοοῦντας ἀπο στρέφεσθαι, ὅπως μὴ διαφθείρῃς ὡς ἄπειρος τὸ ποίμνιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ φαυλίσῃς αὐτοῦ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ καινὸν τὸ εἰς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπιτεθέν, καὶ ὀνειδισθήσῃ καθάπερ καὶ οἱ παλαιοὶ ποιμένες, περὶ ὧν ἔλεγεν ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Ἱερεμίᾳ· «Ποιμένες πολλοὶ διέφθειραν τὸν ἀμπελῶνά μου, ἐμόλυναν τὴν κληρονομίαν μου.» Καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις· «Ἐπὶ τοὺς ποιμένας παρωξύνθη ὁ θυμός μου, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀμνοὺς ὀργισθήσομαι.» Καὶ ἐν ἑτέροις· «Ὑμεῖς οἱ ἱερεῖς οἱ φαυλίζοντες τὸ ὄνομά μου.» Ἰδὼν δὲ σὺ τὸν ἡμαρτηκότα, πικρανθεὶς κέλευσον αὐτὸν ἔξω βληθῆναι· καὶ ἐξελθόντι αὐτῷ πικραινέσθωσαν οἱ διάκονοι, καὶ ἐπιζητοῦντες κατεχέτωσαν αὐτὸν ἔξω τῆς ἐκκλησίας, καὶ εἰσελθόντες ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ σε ἐρωτάτωσαν· καὶ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμαρτηκότων ὁ Σωτὴρ τὸν Πατέρα ἠξίου, ὡς γέγραπται ἐν τῷ Eὐαγγελίῳ· «Πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς, οὐ γὰρ οἴδασιν, τὶ ποιοῦσι.» Τότε σὺ κελεύσεις εἰσελθεῖν αὐτόν, καὶ ἀνακρίνας, εἰ μετανοεῖ καὶ ἄξιός ἐστιν εἰς ἐκκλησίαν ὅλως παραδεχθῆναι, στιβώσας αὐτὸν ἡμέραις νηστειῶν κατὰ τὸ ἁμάρτημα, ἑβδομάδας δύο ἢ