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Sometimes on the third day, sometimes on the fifth, sometimes on the Sabbath, or as it may happen, they celebrate the memory of the passion. And they also use the errant Acts of the apostles, and other spurious writings, or rather, things foreign to grace, which they call apocrypha. And they agree with those of Navatus; for these too reject the teaching concerning repentance. 5. -Concerning Navatus. And Navatus was a presbyter of the Roman Church. And when a most severe winter had befallen the Churches, it happened that some of those nurtured in piety, after many tortures, lost heart, and used the words of denial. When peace was restored, these men besought to receive the remedies of repentance. And indeed it seemed good to the best shepherds to fear the Lord's accusation, which says: "O shepherds, you have not bound up the broken, and you have not brought back the straying, and you have not raised up the fallen;" and to extend a hand to the fallen, and to strengthen them according to the Lord's commandment. For indeed the Lord said to the great Peter: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked for you to sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail." Navatus was not pleased with these counsels, but openly spoke against them, saying that those who had denied ought not to attain salvation; doing something similar to those who prevent the sick from enjoying medical remedies. But those who besought to receive healing refuted him, (saying that he had) often been exhorted to run to them, and at least with words to support them as they were being assailed by the tyrant's devices; but that he, hiding himself and trying to remain unnoticed, had even denied 83.408 being a presbyter. But nevertheless, even after hearing these words, the bishops who had assembled in Rome tried to persuade him to agree with what had been best decided. But when they saw him raging and legislating a God-hated cruelty, they separated him from the body of the Church, while Cornelius was then governing Rome. This Navatus, having persuaded a certain few and very easily counted men to share in his heresy, went out to Italy, and having deceived three bishops of small towns, he brought them, as if to act as envoys on his behalf to the bishop of Rome. And having arrived with them at a certain village, he forced them to impart to him episcopal ordination, and they themselves lamented this violence upon reaching Rome and explaining what had happened. Thus having stolen the ordination, the wretch became the leader of the heresy. And he named those of his own faction not only Navatians, but also Cathars. And he did not even fear the accusation of the Lord God, which he made against certain ones, saying: "Those who say: 'I am pure, do not touch me';" and he added: "This is the smoke of my wrath, a fire that burns in it all the days." For the Lord "opposes the proud." And his successors have also added other things to the doctrine; for they drive out from the sacred mysteries those who have entered into second marriages; and they completely banish the teaching of repentance from their own assemblies; and to those baptized by them they do not offer the all-holy chrism. For this very reason the all-praised Fathers also commanded to anoint those from this heresy who are joined to the body of the Church. Against this heresy Cornelius wrote many letters, and Dionysius the bishop of the Alexandrians many, and many other bishops of that time, through which the cruelty of Navatus immediately became very clear to all.

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ποτὲ μὲν τρίτῃ, ποτὲ δὲ πέμπτῃ, ποτὲ δὲ Σαββάτῳ, ἢ ὅπως ἂν τύχῃ, πανηγυρί ζουσι τοῦ πάθους τὴν μνήμην. Κέχρηνται δὲ καὶ ταῖς πεπλανημέναις τῶν ἀποστόλων Πράξεσι, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις νόθοις, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀλλοτρίοις τῆς χάριτος, ἃ καλοῦσιν ἀπόκρυφα. Συμφέρονται δὲ καὶ τοῖς Ναυάτου· καὶ οὗτοι γὰρ τὸν περὶ τῆς μετανοίας ἀποστρέφονται λόγον. Εʹ. -Περὶ Ναυάτου. Ὁ δὲ Ναυᾶτος τῆς Ῥωμαίων Ἐκκλησίας πρεσβύτερος ἦν. Χειμῶνος δὲ σφοδροτάτου ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις προσπεσόντος, συνέβη τινὰς τῶν εὐσε βείᾳ συντεθραμμένων, μετὰ πολλὰς αἰκίας ἀπ αυδῆσαι, καὶ τοῖς τῆς ἀρνήσεως καταχρήσασθαι ῥήμα σιν. Οὗτοι γαλήνης γενομένης τῶν τῆς μετανοίας φαρμάκων τυχεῖν ἠντιβόλησαν. Καὶ δὴ τοῖς ἀρίστοις ἔδοξε ποιμέσι τὴν ∆εσποτικὴν δεῖσαι κατηγορίαν, τὴν λέγουσαν· "Ὦ οἱ ποιμένες, τὸ συντετριμμένον οὐ κατεδήσατε, καὶ τὸ πεπλανημένον οὐκ ἐπεστρέψατε, καὶ τὸ καταπεπτωκὸς οὐκ ἀνωρθώσατε·" καὶ ὀρέξαι χεῖρα τοῖς πεπτωκόσι, καὶ στηρίξαι τούτους κατὰ τὴν ∆εσποτικὴν ἐντολήν. Πρὸς γὰρ δὴ τὸν μέγαν ἔφησε Πέτρον ὁ Κύριος· "Σίμων, Σίμων, ἐξῃτήσα το ὁ Σατανᾶς σινιάσαι ὑμᾶς ὡς τὸν σῖτον· κἀγὼ ἐδεήθην περὶ σοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐκλίπῃ ἡ πίστις σου." Ταύταις ὁ Ναυᾶτος ταῖς βουλαῖς οὐκ ἠρέσθη, ἀλλ' ἄντικρυς ἀντεῖπε, μὴ χρῆναι λέγων τοὺς ἀρνηθέντας σωτηρίας τυχεῖν· παραπλήσιον ποιῶν τοῖς τοὺς ἀῤῥω στοῦντας κωλύουσι τῶν ἰατρικῶν ἀπολαύειν φαρμά κων. Οἱ δὲ τῆς θεραπείας ἀντιβολοῦντες τυχεῖν, διήλεγχον αὐτὸν, πολλάκις μὲν παρακληθέντα δρα μεῖν παρ' αὐτοὺς, καὶ λόγοις γοῦν ὑπερεῖσαι ταῖς τοῦ τυράννου μηχαναῖς βαλλομένους· τὸν δὲ κρυπτόμενον, καὶ λανθάνειν πειρώμενον, ἀρνηθῆναι 83.408 καὶ τὸ εἶναι πρεσβύτερον. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τῶνδε τῶν λόγων ἀκούσαντες οἱ συνεληλυθότες εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἐπίσκοποι, ἐπειράθησαν πεῖσαι συνθέσθαι τοῖς ἄριστα δόξασιν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἶδον λυττῶντα, καὶ τὴν θεομισῆ νομοθετοῦντα ὠμότητα, τοῦ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐχώρι σαν σώματος, Κορνηλίου τότε τὴν Ῥώμην ἰθύνοντος. Οὗτος ὁ Ναυᾶτος, ὀλίγους τινὰς καὶ λίαν εὐαριθμή τους κοινωνῆσαι τῆς αἱρέσεως πείσας, εἰς τὴν Ἰτα λίαν ἐξῆλθε, καὶ τρεῖς πολιχνίων ἐπισκόπους ἐξαπα τήσας ἦγεν, ὡς δῆθεν πρεσβευσομένους ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν τῆς Ῥώμης ἐπίσκοπον. Εἴς τινα δὲ κώμην σὺν αὐτοῖς ἀφικόμενος, ἠνάγκασεν ἐπισκοπικῆς αὐ τῷ μεταδοῦναι χειροτονίας, καὶ ταύτην αὐτοὶ τὴν βίαν ὠδύραντο, καταλαβόντες τὴν Ῥώμην, καὶ τὰ γεγενημένα διδάξαντες. Οὕτω κλέψας τὴν χειροτονίαν ὁ δείλαιος, γέγονε τῆς αἱρέσεως ἀρχηγός. Τοὺς δὲ τῆς οἰκείας συμμορίας οὐ Ναυατιανοὺς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ Καθαροὺς προσηγόρευσεν. Καὶ οὐδὲ τὴν τοῦ ∆εσπότου Θεοῦ κατηγορίαν ἔδεισεν, ἣν κατά τινων ἐποιήσατο λέγων· "Οἱ λέγοντες· Καθαρός εἰμι, μή μου ἅπτου·" καὶ ἐπήγαγεν· "Αὐτὸς καπνὸς τοῦ θυμοῦ μου, πῦρ καίεται ἐν αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας." Κύριος γὰρ "ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται." Οἱ δὲ τούτου διάδοχοι καὶ ἕτερα τῷ δόγματι προστεθεί κασι· τοὺς γὰρ δευτέροις γάμοις ὡμιληκότας τῶν ἱερῶν ἐξελαύνουσι μυστηρίων· καὶ παντελῶς τὸν τῆς μετανοίας τῶν οἰκείων συλλόγων ἐξορίζουσι λόγον· καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ σφῶν βαπτιζομένοις τὸ πανάγιον οὐ προσφέρουσι χρίσμα. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τῆσ δε τῆς αἱρέσεως τῷ σώματι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας συναπτο μένους χρίειν οἱ πανεύφημοι Πατέρες προσέταξαν. Κατὰ ταυτησὶ τῆς αἱρέσεως πολλὰς μὲν ἐπιστο λὰς ὁ Κορνήλιος ἔγραψε, πολλὰς δὲ ∆ιονύσιος ὁ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων ἐπίσκοπος, καὶ ἕτεροι δὲ πολ λοὶ τῶν τηνικάδε ἐπισκόπων, δι' ὧν κατάδηλος εὐθὺς ἐγένετο πᾶσιν ἡ τοῦ Ναυάτου ὠμότης.