John Chrysostom, On Priesthood

place themselves with the opponents are enrolled into the order of the clergy, while others because of wickedness and so that if overlooked they might not work great evils. Could there possibly be anything more unlawful than this, when wicked men, full of countless evils, are courted for the very reasons for which they ought to be punished, and for which they ought not even to cross the threshold of the church, for these very things they ascend to the priestly dignity? Shall we then still seek, tell me, for the cause of God's wrath, when we allow matters so holy and so awful to be abused by men who are wicked, and by others who are worthless? For when some are entrusted with the charge of things that do not in the least concern them, and others with things far beyond their own capacity, they make the Church to differ in no respect from the Euripus. I for my part used to laugh at secular rulers, because in their distribution of honors they look not to virtue of soul, but to wealth and age and human patronage; but when I heard that this same irrationality had burst into our own affairs, I no longer considered their conduct so dreadful. For what is surprising in worldly men, who love the glory that comes from the many and do everything for the sake of money, committing such errors, when those who pretend to have been set free from all these things are no better disposed than they, but, though their contest is for heavenly things, as if the subject of their deliberation were about acres of land or some other such thing, they take men at random from the crowd and place them over those affairs, for the sake of which the only-begotten Son of God did not refuse to empty Himself of His glory and become a man, and take the form of a servant, and be spat upon and struck, and to die the most shameful death in the flesh? And they do not stop only at this, but they add other things even more absurd; for they not only approve the unworthy, but they also cast out the suitable. For as if it were necessary to ruin the security of the Church from both sides, or as if the first provocation were not sufficient to kindle the wrath of God, they have added a second, no less grievous; for I think it is equally dreadful both to keep out the useful and to thrust in the useless; and this is done, that the flock of Christ may be able to find no comfort from any quarter, nor even to take a breath. Are not these things worthy of a thousand thunderbolts? Are they not worthy of a Gehenna more fierce, and not just the one with which we are threatened? But yet He who does not desire the death of a sinner, but that he should turn and live, endures and bears with so many evils. How could one admire his love for mankind? how could one be amazed at his mercy? The people of Christ are destroying the things of Christ more than enemies and foes, and yet the good One is still kind and calls to repentance. Glory to you, O Lord, glory to you! What an abyss of love for mankind is with you! What a wealth of forbearance! Those who through your name have become from lowly and dishonored men, honorable and conspicuous, use the honor against Him who honored them, and dare what is undarable and commit outrage against holy things, thrusting out and rejecting the worthy, so that in great quiet and with extreme impunity the wicked may overturn everything they wish. And if you wish to learn the causes of this dreadful thing, you will find them similar to the former ones; for they have one root and, so to speak, one mother, which is envy; but the reasons themselves are not of one kind, but are diverse. For one man, they say, 'let him be cast out because he is young'; and another, 'because he does not know how to flatter'; and another, 'because he has offended so-and-so'; and another, 'so that so-and-so may not be grieved at seeing the man whom he put forward rejected, and this man approved'; another, 'because he is good and gentle'; another, 'because he is fearsome to sinners'; another, for some other such reason. For they are not at a loss for as many pretexts as they could wish. But also the multitude of the

μετὰ τῶν ἐναντίων τάξωσιν ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τὴν τοῦ κλήρου καταλέγονται τάξιν, οἱ δὲ διὰ πονηρίαν καὶ ἵνα μὴ παροφθέντες μεγάλα ἐργάσωνται κακά. Ἆρα γένοιτ' ἄν τι τούτου παρανομώτερον, ὅταν ἄνθρωποι μοχθηροὶ καὶ μυρίων γέμοντες κακῶν διὰ ταῦτα θεραπεύονται δι' ἃ κολάζεσθαι ἔδει καὶ ὧν ἕνεκεν μηδὲ τὸν οὐδὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ὑπερβαίνειν ἐχρῆν, ὑπὲρ τούτων καὶ εἰς τὴν ἱερατικὴν ἀναβαίνωσιν ἀξίαν; Ἔτι οὖν ζητήσομεν, εἰπέ μοι, τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς ὀργῆς τὴν αἰτίαν, πράγματα οὕτως ἅγια καὶ φρικωδέστατα ἀνθρώποις τοῖς μὲν πονηροῖς, τοῖς δὲ οὐδενὸς ἀξίοις λυμαίνεσθαι παρέχοντες; Ὅταν γὰρ οἱ μὲν τῶν μηδὲν αὐτοῖς προσηκόντων, οἱ δὲ τῶν πολλῷ μειζόνων τῆς οἰκείας δυνάμεως προστασίαν ἐμπιστευθῶσιν, οὐδὲν Εὐρίπου τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν διαφέρειν ποιοῦσιν. Ἐγὼ δὲ πρότερον τῶν ἔξωθεν ἀρχόντων κατεγέλων ὅτι τὰς τῶν τιμῶν διανομὰς οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς τῆς ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ χρημάτων καὶ πλήθους ἐτῶν καὶ ἀνθρωπίνης ποιοῦνται προστασίας· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἤκουσα ὅτι αὕτη ἡ ἀλογία καὶ εἰς τὰ ἡμέτερα εἰσεκώμασεν, οὐκέτι ὁμοίως ἐποιούμην τὸ πρᾶγμα δεινόν. Τί γὰρ θαυμαστὸν ἀνθρώπους βιωτικοὺς καὶ δόξης τῆς παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν ἐρῶντας καὶ χρημάτων ἕνεκα πάντα πράττοντας ἁμαρτάνειν τοιαῦτα, ὅπου γε οἱ πάντων ἀπηλλάχθαι προσποιούμενοι τούτων οὐδὲν ἄμεινον ἐκείνων διάκεινται, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τῶν οὐρανίων τὸν ἀγῶνα ἔχοντες ὡς περὶ πλέθρων γῆς ἢ ἑτέρου τινὸς τοιούτου τῆς βουλῆς αὐτοῖς προκειμένης, ἁπλῶς ἀνθρώπους ἀγελαίους λαβόντες ἐφιστᾶσι πράγμασι τοιούτοις ὑπὲρ ὧν καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ κενῶσαι δόξαν καὶ ἄνθρωπος γενέσθαι καὶ δούλου μορφὴν λαβεῖν καὶ ἐμπτυσθῆναι καὶ ῥαπισθῆναι καὶ θάνατον τὸν ἐπονείδιστον ἀποθανεῖν διὰ τῆς σαρκὸς οὐ παρῃτήσατο ὁ μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ παῖς; Καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἵστανται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτερα προστιθέασιν ἀτοπώτερα· οὐ γὰρ τοὺς ἀναξίους ἐγκρίνουσι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους ἐκβάλλουσιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ δέον ἀμφοτέρωθεν λυμήνασθαι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἢ ὥσπερ οὐκ ἀρκούσης τῆς προτέρας προφάσεως ἐκκαῦσαι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ὀργήν, οὕτω τὴν δευτέραν συνῆψαν, οὐχ ἧττον οὖσαν χαλεπήν· καὶ γὰρ ἐξ ἴσης οἶμαι εἶναι δεινὸν τό τε τοὺς χρησίμους ἀπείργειν καὶ τὸ τοὺς ἀχρείους εἰσωθεῖν· καὶ τοῦτο δὲ γίνεται ἵνα μηδαμόθεν παραμυθίαν εὑρεῖν μηδὲ ἀναπνεῦσαι δυνηθῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ ποίμνιον. Ταῦτα οὐ μυρίων ἄξια σκηπτῶν; ταῦτα οὐ γεέννης σφοδροτέρας, οὐ ταύτης μόνον τῆς ἠπειλημένης ἡμῖν; Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἀνέχεται καὶ φέρει τὰ τοσαῦτα κακὰ ὁ μὴ βουλόμενος τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ὡς τὸ ἐπιστρέψαι αὐτὸν καὶ ζῆν. Πῶς ἄν τις αὐτοῦ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν θαυμάσειε; πῶς ἂν ἐκπλαγείη τὸν ἔλεον; Οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διαφθείρουσιν ἐχθρῶν καὶ πολεμίων μᾶλλον, ὁ δὲ ἀγαθὸς ἔτι χρηστεύεται καὶ εἰς μετάνοιαν καλεῖ. ∆όξα σοι, Κύριε, δόξα σοι. Πόσης φιλανθρωπίας ἄβυσσος παρὰ σοί; πόσης ἀνεξικακίας πλοῦτος; Οἱ διὰ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ σὸν ἐξ εὐτελῶν καὶ ἀτίμων ἔντιμοι καὶ περίβλεπτοι γεγονότες τῇ τιμῇ κατὰ τοῦ τετιμηκότος κέχρηνται καὶ τολμῶσι τὰ ἀτόλμητα καὶ ἐνυβρίζουσιν εἰς τὰ ἅγια, τοὺς σπουδαίους ἀπωθούμενοι καὶ ἐκβάλλοντες ἵνα ἐν ἠρεμίᾳ πολλῇ καὶ μετὰ ἀδείας τῆς ἐσχάτης οἱ πονηροὶ πάντα ὅσαπερ ἂν ἐθέλωσιν ἀνατρέπωσι. Καὶ τούτου δὲ τοῦ δεινοῦ τὰς αἰτίας εἰ θέλεις μαθεῖν, ὁμοίας ταῖς προτέραις εὑρήσεις· τὴν μὲν γὰρ ῥίζαν καί, ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι, μητέρα μίαν ἔχουσι, τὴν βασκανίαν· αὐταὶ δὲ οὐ μιᾶς εἰσιν ἰδέας, ἀλλὰ διεστήκασιν. Ὁ μὲν γάρ, ἐπειδὴ νέος ἐστίν, ἐκβαλλέσθω, φησίν, ὁ δέ, ἐπειδὴ κολακεύειν οὐκ οἶδεν, ὁ δέ, ἐπειδὴ τῷ δεῖνι προσέκρουσεν· καὶ ὁ μέν, ἵνα μὴ ὁ δεῖνα λυπῆται, τὸν μὲν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ δοθέντα ἀποδοκιμασθέντα, τοῦτον δὲ ἐγκεκριμένον ὁρῶν, ὁ δέ, ἐπειδὴ χρηστός ἐστι καὶ ἐπιεικής, ὁ δέ, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι φοβερός, ὁ δέ, δι' ἄλλην αἰτίαν τοιαύτην· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀποροῦσι προφάσεων ὅσων ἂν ἐθέλωσιν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν