<VI.> <1> These then are the priestly orders and allotments, their powers and energies and perfections. We must next relate the triad of orders being initiated under them. Let us say, then, that the orders being purified are the multitudes separated from the sacred rites and ceremonies, of which we have already made mention: that which is still being shaped and formed by the ministers with the maieutic oracles for a life-giving birth; that which is still being called back to the sacred life from which it departed, by the converting teaching of the good oracles; that which is still being unmanly terrified by contrary fears and strengthened by the empowering oracles; that which is still being led from worse things to the sacred energies; and that which has been led, but has not yet attained the all-holy and irreversible state in more divine and unshakeable dispositions. For these are the orders being purified by the ministerial midwifery and purifying power. The ministers perfect these by their sacred powers, so that, having been completely purified, they may be led to the illuminative vision and communion of the most manifest sacred rites. <2> The middle order is the contemplative, and a partaker of certain sacred things according to its capacity in all purity, which has been assigned to the priests for its illumination. For it is, I think, clear that the one purified of every unholy stain and having achieved an all-holy and immovable grounding of its own mind is sacredly led to the contemplative state and power, and partakes of the most divine symbols appropriate to it, being filled in their visions and communions with all sacred gladness, and is winged, according to its capacity, toward the divine love of their science by their anagogical powers. This I call the order of the sacred people, as having passed through every purification and been deemed worthy, as is right, of the vision and communion of the most manifest sacred rites. <3> The highest order of all those being initiated is the sacred order of monks, purified of every defilement by its whole power and the perfect purity of its own energies; and having come to be in noetic vision and communion of all the sacred rites which it is lawful for it to contemplate, it is handed over to the perfecting powers of the hierarchs, and by their divine illuminations and hierarchical traditions is taught the sacred rites of the sacred ceremonies it has beheld, and is led up, according to its capacity, by their sacred science to the most complete perfection. Hence our divine leaders deemed them worthy of sacred appellations, some calling them Theraputae, others Monks, from their pure service and worship of God and from their undivided and unified life, as unifying them in the sacred foldings of things divided into a godlike monad and God-loving perfection. Wherefore also the sacred legislation has bestowed upon them a perfecting grace and has deemed them worthy of a certain consecratory invocation, not a hierarchical one (for that is performed only upon the priestly orders), but a sacramental one, performed secondarily by the holy priests in the hierarchical ceremony. Mystery of monastic perfection. The priest stands before the divine altar, intoning the monastic invocation. The one being initiated stands behind the priest, not kneeling on both knees nor on one, not having the divinely transmitted oracles upon his head, but only standing by the priest as he intones the mystical invocation over him. When the priest has completed it, he goes to the one being initiated and first asks him if he renounces all divided lives, not only lives but also imaginations. Then he sets before him the most perfect life, testifying that he must have risen above the middle station. And when the one being initiated has carefully confessed all these things, the priest, having sealed him with the sign of the cross, shears him, having invoked the triple subsistence of the divine blessedness, and having taken off all his clothing clothes him with another, and after embracing him along with the other holy men who are present, makes him a partaker of the divine-ruling

<VI.> <1> Aὗται μὲν αἱ ἱερατικαὶ τάξεις τε καὶ ἀποκληρώσεις δυνάμεις τε αὐτῶν καὶ ἐνέργειαι καὶ τελειώσεις. Τὴν δὲ ὑπ' αὐτὰς τριάδα τῶν τελουμένων τάξεων ἑξῆς ἀφηγητέον. Λέγωμεν τοίνυν, ὅτι καθαιρόμεναι μέν εἰσι τάξεις αἱ τῶν ἱερουργιῶν καὶ τελετουργιῶν ἀποδιαστελλόμεναι πληθύες, ὧν ἤδη μνήμην ἐποιησάμεθα, τῆς μὲν ὡς ἔτι πρὸς τῶν λειτουργῶν τοῖς μαιευτικοῖς λογίοις πρὸς ζωτικὴν ἀπότεξιν μορφουμένης τε καὶ διαπλαττομένης, τῆς δὲ ὡς ἔτι πρὸς τὴν ἱερὰν ἧς ἀπέστη ζωῆς, ἀνακικλησκομένης τῇ τῶν ἀγαθῶν λογίων ἐπιστρεπτικῇ διδασκαλίᾳ, τῆς δὲ ὡς ἔτι πρὸς τῶν ἐναντίων πτοιῶν ἀνάνδρως ἐκδειματουμένης καὶ πρὸς τῶν δυναμοποιῶν λογίων ἐπιρρωννυμένης, τῆς δὲ ὡς ἔτι πρὸς τὰς ἱερὰς ἐνεργείας ἐκ τῶν χειρόνων μεταγομένης, τῆς δὲ ὡς μεταχθείσης μὲν οὔπω δὲ τὸ πανάγνως ἀνεπίστροφον ἐν θειοτέραις ἕξεσι καὶ ἀσαλεύτοις ἐσχηκυίας. Aὗται γάρ εἰσιν αἱ καθαιρόμεναι τάξεις ὑπὸ τῆς λειτουργικῆς μαιεύσεως καὶ καθαρτικῆς δυνάμεως. Ταύτας οἱ λειτουργοὶ ταῖς ἱεραῖς αὐτῶν δυνάμεσι τελεσιουργοῦσι πρὸς τὸ τελέως ἐκκαθαρθείσας αὐτὰς εἰς τὴν φωτιστικὴν τῶν φανοτάτων ἱερουργιῶν θεωρίαν τε καὶ κοινωνίαν μεταχθῆναι. <2> Μέση δὲ τάξις ἐστὶν ἡ θεωρητικὴ καί τινων ἱερῶν ἀναλόγως ἐν καθαρότητι πάσῃ κοινωνός, ἡ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν εἰς τὸ φωτίζειν αὐτὴν ἀπονεμηθεῖσα. Καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ὡς οἶμαι δῆλον, ὡς ἡ καθαρθεῖσα πάσης ἀνιέρου κηλίδος καὶ πάναγνον ἐσχηκυῖα τὴν τοῦ οἰκείου νοὸς ἀκίνητον ἵδρυσιν ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρητικὴν ἕξιν καὶ δύναμιν ἱερουργικῶς μετάγεται καὶ κοινωνεῖ τοῖς κατ' αὐτὴν θειοτάτοις συμβόλοις ἐν ταῖς θεωρίαις αὐτῶν καὶ κοινωνίαις ἁπάσης ἱερᾶς εὐφροσύνης ἀποπληρουμένη καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεῖον τῆς ἐπιστήμης αὐτῶν ἔρωτα ταῖς ἀναγωγικαῖς αὐτῶν δυνάμεσιν ἀναλόγως ἀναπτερουμένη. Ταύτην ἐγώ φημι τὴν τοῦ ἱεροῦ λαοῦ τάξιν ὡς διὰ πάσης ἐληλυθυῖαν καθάρσεως καὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς τῶν φανοτάτων τελετῶν ἐποψίας καὶ κοινωνίας ὡς θεμιτὸν ἠξιωμένην. <3> Ἡ δὲ τῶν τελουμένων ἁπασῶν ὑψηλοτέρα τάξις ἡ τῶν μοναχῶν ἐστιν ἱερὰ διακόσμησις πᾶσαν μὲν ἀποκεκαθαρμένη κάθαρσιν ὁλικῇ δυνάμει καὶ παντελεῖ τῶν οἰκείων ἐνεργειῶν ἁγνότητι, πάσης δὲ ὅσης θεμιτὸν αὐτῇ θεωρεῖν ἱερουργίας ἐν νοερᾷ θεωρίᾳ καὶ κοινωνίᾳ γεγενημένη καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἱεραρχῶν τελειωτικαῖς δυνάμεσιν ἐγχειριζομένη καὶ ταῖς ἐνθέοις αὐτῶν ἐλλάμψεσι καὶ ἱεραρχικαῖς παραδόσεσιν ἐκδιδασκομένη τὰς ἐποπτευθείσας τῶν κατ' αὐτὴν ἱερῶν τελετῶν ἱερουργίας καὶ πρὸς τῆς ἱερᾶς αὐτῶν ἐπιστήμης ἀναλόγως εἰς τελεωτάτην ἀναγομένη τελείωσιν. Ἔνθεν οἱ θεῖοι καθηγεμόνες ἡμῶν ἐπωνυμιῶν αὐτοὺς ἱερῶν ἠξίωσαν οἱ μὲν θεραπευτάς, οἱ δὲ μοναχοὺς ὀνομάσαντες ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ καθαρᾶς ὑπηρεσίας καὶ θεραπείας καὶ τῆς ἀμερίστου καὶ ἑνιαίας ζωῆς ὡς ἑνοποιούσης αὐτοὺς ἐν ταῖς τῶν διαιρετῶν ἱεραῖς συμπτύξεσιν εἰς θεοειδῆ μονάδα καὶ φιλόθεον τελείωσιν. ∆ιὸ καὶ τελεστικὴν αὐτοῖς ἐδωρήσατο χάριν ἡ ἱερὰ θεσμοθεσία καί τινος αὐτοὺς ἠξίωσεν ἀφιερωτικῆς ἐπικλήσεως οὐχ ἱεραρχικῆς (ἐκείνη γὰρ ἐπὶ μόναις γίνεται ταῖς ἱερατικαῖς τάξεσιν), ἀλλ' ἱερουργικῆς ὑπὸ τῶν ὁσίων ἱερέων τῇ ἱεραρχικῇ τελετουργίᾳ δευτέρως ἱερουργουμένης. Μυστήριον μοναχικῆς τελειώσεως. Ὁ μὲν ἱερεὺς ἕστηκεν ἐπίπροσθεν τοῦ θείου θυσιαστηρίου τὴν μοναχικὴν ἐπίκλησιν ἱερολογῶν. Ὁ δὲ τελούμενος ὀπίσω τοῦ ἱερέως ἕστηκεν οὐκ ἄμφω τὼ πόδε κλίνων οὐχ ἕνα τοῖν ποδοῖν οὐκ ἐπὶ κεφαλῆς ἔχων τὰ θεοπαράδοτα λόγια, μόνον δὲ τῷ ἱερεῖ παρεστὼς ἱερολογοῦντι τὴν ἐπ' αὐτῷ μυστικὴν ἐπίκλησιν. Τελέσας δὲ αὐτὴν ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐπὶ τὸν τελούμενον ἐλθὼν ἐπερωτᾷ πρῶτον αὐτόν, εἰ πάσαις ἀποτάσσεται ταῖς διαιρεταῖς οὐ μόνον ζωαῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ φαντασίαις. Eἶτα τὴν τελεωτάτην αὐτῷ ζωὴν ὑφηγεῖται μαρτυρόμενος, ὅτι χρὴ τῆς μέσης αὐτὸν ὑπερανεστηκέναι. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα τοῦ τελουμένου προσεχῶς ὁμολογήσαντος τῷ σταυροειδεῖ τύπῳ σφραγισάμενος αὐτὸν ὁ ἱερεὺς ἀποκείρει τὴν τρισσὴν τῆς θείας μακαριότητος ἐπιβοήσας ὑπόστασιν καὶ τὴν ἐσθῆτα πᾶσαν ἀπαμφιέσας ἑτέραν ἀμφιέννυσι καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἱερῶν ἀνδρῶν, ὅσοι πάρεισιν, ἀσπασάμενος αὐτὸν κοινωνὸν ἀποτελεῖ τῶν θεαρχικῶν