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make them sound, restore them whole to the Church. Shepherd the flock not with power with mockery as lording it over them, but as a good shepherd gathering the lambs in his bosom and comforting those that are with young. Be kind, good, gentle, guileless, truthful, not harsh, not arrogant, not abrupt, not boastful, not merciless, not puffed up, not a man-pleaser, not cowardly, not double-minded, not mocking the peoples under you, not hiding from them the ordinances of God and the words concerning repentance, not ready to push out and to cast out, but steadfast, not fond of rebuking, not rash, not receiving testimony against someone without three witnesses, and these if their character has long been testified to, and if they are not moved by enmity and envy. For there are many who rejoice in evil, forward of speech, having a threefold tongue, haters of the brethren, making it their work to scatter the sheep of Christ, whose words if you are willing to receive without examination, you will scatter your flock and deliver it to wolves to be devoured, that is, to demons and to wicked men, or rather not men, but beasts in human form, to gentiles and Judaizers and godless heretics. For destroyers immediately approach the one cast out of the Church as wolves and consider him prey like a lamb, considering his destruction their own gain; for their father the devil is a murderer of men; and he who is unjustly excommunicated through your lack of judgment and seized by despondency and becomes fainthearted will either wander away to the gentiles or be entangled in heresies, and will be utterly alienated from the Church and from the hope in God and will be ensnared by impiety, and you will become liable for his destruction. For it is not just to be ready to cast out the one who has sinned, but to be slow to receive the one who is returning, and ready to cut off, but merciless to heal the one who is in pain; but concerning such things the divine scripture says: «Their feet run to evil and they are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes.» And the way of peace is our savior Jesus the Christ, who also taught us, saying: «Forgive, and it will be forgiven you; give, and it will be given to you,» that is, give forgiveness of sins, and your transgressions will be forgiven you, as he also instructed us through the prayer to say to God: «Forgive

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ὑγίαζε, σώους ἀποκαθίστα τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ. Ποίμαινε τὸ ποίμνιον μὴ ἐν κράτει μετὰ ἐμπαιγμοῦ ὡς κατεξου σιάζων, ἀλλ' ὡς ποιμὴν χρηστὸς τῷ κόλπῳ συνάγων τὰ ἀρνία καὶ τὰς ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσας παρακαλῶν. Ἔσο δὲ χρηστός, ἀγαθός, ἤπιος, ἄδολος, ἀψευδής, μὴ σκληρός, μὴ αὐθάδης, μὴ ἀπότομος, μὴ ἀλαζών, μὴ ἀνηλεής, μὴ τετυφωμένος, μὴ ἀνθρωπάρεσκος, μὴ δειλός, μὴ δίγνωμος, μὴ ἐμπαίζων τοῖς ὑπὸ σὲ λαοῖς, μὴ ἀπο κρύπτων ἀπ' αὐτῶν τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ νόμιμα καὶ τοὺς περὶ μετανοίας λόγους, μὴ πρόχειρος πρὸς τὸ ἐξῶσαι καὶ ἐκβαλεῖν, ἀλλὰ ἀσφαλής, μὴ φιλεπιτιμητής, μὴ προπετής, μὴ παρα δεχόμενος κατά τινος μαρτυρίαν ἄνευ τριῶν μαρτύρων, καὶ τούτων ἂν ὁ τρόπος ᾖ μεμαρτυρημένος πάλαι, καὶ εἰ μὴ ἀπὸ ἔχθρας κινούμενοι καὶ φθόνου. Eἰσὶ γὰρ πολλοὶ ἐπιχαιρεσίκακοι, πρόγλωσσοι, τριττὴν γλώσσαν ἔχοντες, μισάδελφοι, ἔργον τιθέμενοι σκορπίζειν τὰ Χριστοῦ πρόβατα, ὧν εἰ παραδέχεσθαι θέλεις τοὺς λόγους ἀκρίτως, διασπερεῖς σου τὸ ποίμνιον καὶ παραδώσεις λύκοις εἰς κατάβρωμα, τοῦτ' ἔστι δαίμοσιν καὶ πονηροῖς ἀνθρώποις, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ θηρίοις ἀνθρωποειδέσιν, ἐθνικοῖς καὶ Ἰουδαϊσταῖς καὶ αἱρεσιώταις ἀθέοις. Τῷ γὰρ ἐκβληθέντι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας εὐθὺς προσπε λάζουσιν οἱ λυμεῶνες ὡς λύκοι καὶ ὡς ἄρνα βορὰν ἡγοῦνται, κέρδος ἴδιον ἡγούμενοι τὴν ἐκείνου ἀπώλειαν· καὶ γὰρ ὁ τούτων πατὴρ διάβολος ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐστίν· καὶ ὁ διὰ τῆς σῆς ἀκρισίας ἀδίκως ἀφορισθεὶς καὶ ἀθυμίᾳ συσχεθεὶς καὶ ὀλιγοψυχήσας ἢ εἰς ἔθνη ἀποπλανηθήσεται ἢ εἰς αἱρέσεις συμποδισθήσεται, καὶ παντελῶς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καὶ τῆς εἰς Θεὸν ἐλπίδος ἀπαλλοτριωθήσεται καὶ συμποδισθήσεται ὑπὸ ἀσεβείας, καὶ γενήσῃ σὺ τῆς ἐκείνου ἀπωλείας ἔνοχος. Oὐ γὰρ δίκαιόν ἐστιν, ἕτοιμον μὲν εἶναι ἐκβάλλειν τὸν ἡμαρτηκότα, ὀκνηρὸν δὲ ὑπάρχειν εἰς τὸ προσδέχεσθαι τὸν ἐπιστρέφοντα, καὶ πρόχειρον μὲν εἰς τὸ ἀποκόπτειν, ἀνηλεῆ δὲ εἰς τὸ τὸν ἀλγοῦντα ἰᾶσθαι· περὶ δὲ τῶν τοιούτων λέγει ἡ θεία γραφή· «Oἱ πόδες αὐτῶν εἰς κακίαν τρέχουσιν καὶ ταχινοί εἰσιν τοῦ ἐκχέειν αἷμα· σύντριμμα καὶ ταλαιπωρία ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν, καὶ ὁδὸν εἰρήνης οὐκ ἔγνωσαν· οὐκ ἔστιν φόβος Θεοῦ ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτῶν.» Ὁδὸς δὲ εἰρήνης ἐστὶν ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστός, ὃς καὶ ἐδίδαξεν ἡμᾶς λέγων· «Ἄφετε, καὶ ἀφεθήσεται ὑμῖν· δίδοτε, καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν», τοῦτ' ἔστιν δίδοτε ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν, καὶ ἀφεθήσεται ὑμῖν τὰ παραπτώματα, ὡς καὶ διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς ἡμᾶς ἐπαίδευσεν λέγειν πρὸς Θεόν· «Ἄφες