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salvation, nor betray it to the mouth of the devil. This also the divine apostle Paul continued to do; and the Galatians who, after the saving baptism and the provision of the divine Spirit, had run aground on Jewish weakness and accepted circumcision, he both lamented and mourned for them more than any affectionate mother, but he also healed them and declared them free from that sickness. And one can hear him crying out: My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. Thus the teacher of the Corinthians, who had dared that abominable fornication, he both disciplined in a fatherly way, and healed very skillfully, and having cut him off in the first [letter], he joined him back in the second, and says: So that you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest such a one be swallowed up by excessive sorrow. And again: so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. Thus also to those who partook of things sacrificed to idols, he both rebuked them fittingly, and exhorted them properly, and freed them from their grievous error. For this reason also our Master Christ allowed the first of the apostles, whose confession he fixed as a kind of foundation and cornerstone of the Church, to be shaken and to deny, and again he raised him up, teaching two things at the same time: neither to trust in themselves, and to support those who are shaken. Therefore, I beseech you, stretch out a hand to those who have slipped, and bring them up from the pit of misery and from the mire of the bog, and set their feet upon a rock; and put into their mouths a new song, a hymn to our God; so that their example of harm may become an example of salvation, and many will see, and will fear, and will hope in the Lord our God. And let them be prevented from partaking of the sacred mysteries, but let them not be prevented from the prayer of the catechumens, nor from the hearing of the divine Scriptures, nor from the exhortation of the teachers. But let them be prevented from the sacred mysteries, not until death, but for a specified period of time; until they recognize their disease, until they long for health, until they mourn worthily, because having abandoned the true king they deserted to the tyrant, and having left the benefactor they went over to the enemy. These things also the canons of the holy and blessed Fathers teach. I write these things, not teaching your holiness, but reminding you as a brother and knowing that even the best helmsman, in time of storm, needs also the reminder from the sailors. So also that great Moses, the all-praised, who worked those much-spoken-of wonders, accepted the counsel of Jethro, a man still held by the error concerning idols. For he did not look at the impiety, but perceived the usefulness of the counsel. In addition to these things, I beseech your holiness to offer earnest prayer to God on my behalf, so that I may live the remaining days of my life according to his laws. I have written these things through the most honorable and most pious presbyter Stephen, whom I was pleased to see because of the propriety of his manners. 78 TO EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF PERSIAN ARMENIA. When something happens to the helmsman, or the lookout, the first of the sailors fills his place, not becoming a self-appointed helmsman, but providing for the safety of the ship. So again in war, when the general has fallen, the first of the tribunes administers the generalship, not seizing the authority, but caring for his countrymen. So also the thrice-blessed Timothy filled the place of the divine Paul, being sent by him. It is fitting, therefore, for your piety also

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τὴν σωτηρίαν, μηδὲ προδοῦναι τῷ στόματι τοῦ διαβόλου. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος Παῦλος διετέλει ποιῶν· καὶ Γαλάτας μετὰ τὸ σωτήριον βάπτισμα καὶ τὴν τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος χορηγίαν εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν ἀσθένειαν ἐξοκείλαντας, καὶ περιτομὴν δεξαμένους, ὠδύρατο μὲν καὶ ἐθρήνησεν ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μητέρα φιλόστοργον, ἐθεράπευσε δὲ καὶ τῆς ἀρρωστίας ἐκείνης ἐλευθέρους ἀπέφηνε. Καὶ ἔστιν αὐτοῦ βοῶντος ἀκοῦσαι· Τεκνία μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω, ἄχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν . Οὕτω τὸν Κοριν θίων διδάσκαλον, τὴν μυσαρὰν ἐκείνην τετολμηκότα πορνείαν, καὶ ἐπαίδευσε πατρικῶς, καὶ ἐθεράπευσε λίαν ἐπιστημόνως, καὶ ἀποκόψας ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ συνῆψεν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ, καί φησιν· Ὥστε ὑμᾶς μᾶλλον χαρίσασθαι καὶ παρακα λέσαι, μήπως τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθῇ ὁ τοιοῦτος . Καὶ πάλιν· Ἵνα μὴ πλεονεκτηθῶμεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ· οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν . Οὕτω καὶ τοῖς τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων μεταλαμβάνουσι, καὶ ἐπε τίμησεν δεόντως, καὶ παρῄνεσεν προσηκόντως, καὶ τῆς χαλε πῆς ἠλευθέρωσε πλάνης. Τούτου χάριν καὶ ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν Χριστός, τῶν ἀποστόλων τὸν πρῶτον, οὗ τὴν ὁμολογίαν οἷόν τινα κρηπίδα καὶ θεμέλιον τῆς Ἐκκλησίας κατέπηξεν, συνε χώρησεν σαλευθῆναι καὶ ἀρνηθῆναι, καὶ πάλιν αὐτὸν ἀνώρ θωσε, δύο κατὰ ταὐτὸ διδάσκων· μήτε ἑαυτοῖς θαρρεῖν, καὶ τοὺς σαλευομένους στηρίζειν. Ὀρέξατε τοίνυν χεῖρα, παρακαλῶ, τοῖς ὀλισθήσασιν, καὶ ἀναγάγετε αὐτοὺς ἐκ λάκκου ταλαιπωρίας καὶ ἀπὸ πηλοῦ ὕλεως, καὶ στήσατε ἐπὶ πέτραν τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν · καὶ ἐμβάλετε εἰς τὸ στόμα αὐτῶν ᾆσμα καινόν, ὕμνον τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν· ἵνα γένηται αὐτῶν τὸ ὑπόδειγμα τῆς βλάβης ὑπό δειγμα σωτηρίας, καὶ ἴδωσι πολλοί, καὶ φοβηθῶσι, καὶ ἐλπί σωσιν ἐπὶ Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν. Καὶ κωλυέσθωσαν μὲν τῆς μεταλήψεως τῶν ἱερῶν μυστηρίων, μὴ κωλυέσθωσαν δὲ τῆς τῶν κατηχουμένων εὐχῆς, μηδὲ τῆς τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ἀκρο άσεως, μηδὲ τῆς τῶν διδασκάλων παραινέσεως. Τῶν δὲ ἱερῶν κωλυέσθωσαν μυστηρίων, μὴ μέχρι θανάτου, ἀλλὰ χρόνον τινὰ ῥητόν· ἕως ἂν ἐπιγνῶσι τὴν νόσον, ἕως ἂν τὴν ὑγείαν ποθή σωσιν, ἕως ἂν ἀξίως θρηνήσωσιν, ὅτι τὸν ἀληθῆ βασιλέα καταλιπόντες πρὸς τὸν τύραννον ηὐτομόλησαν, καὶ τὸν εὐεργέ την ἐάσαντες τῷ πολεμίῳ προσεχώρησαν. Ταῦτα καὶ οἱ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ μακαρίων Πατέρων κανόνες διδάσκουσι. Γράφω δὲ ταῦτα, οὐ διδάσκων ὑμῶν τὴν ὁσιότητα, ἀλλ' ἀδελφικῶς ἀναμιμνῄσκων καὶ εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ κυβερνήτης ἄρι στος, ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ χειμῶνος, καὶ τῆς παρὰ τῶν ναυτῶν ὑπομνήσεως δεῖται. Οὕτω καὶ Μωϋσῆς ἐκεῖνος ὁ μέγας, ὁ πανεύφημος, ὁ τὰ πολυθρύλητα ἐκεῖνα θαυματουργήσας, τὴν τοῦ Ἰοθὸρ ἐδέξατο συμβουλήν, ἀνδρὸς ἔτι τῇ περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα πλάνῃ κατεχομένου. Οὐ γὰρ ἀπεῖδεν εἰς τὴν ἀσέβειαν, ἀλλὰ τῆς συμβουλῆς συνεῖδε τὸ χρήσιμον. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις παρα καλῶ ὑμῶν τὴν ὁσιότητα σπουδαίαν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ τῷ Θεῷ προσ ενεγκεῖν προσευχήν, ἵνα τὰς λειπομένας μοι τῆς ζωῆς ἡμέρας κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοῦ πολιτεύσωμαι νόμους. Ταῦτα διὰ τοῦ τιμιω τάτου καὶ εὐσεβεστάτου πρεσβυτέρου Στεφάνου γέγραφα· ὃν εἶδον ἡδέως διὰ τὴν τῶν ἠθῶν κοσμιότητα. 78 ΕΥΣΕΒΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΤΗΣ ΠΕΡΣΙΚΗΣ ΑΡΜΕΝΙΑΣ. Ὅταν ὁ κυβερνήτης τι πάθῃ, ἢ ὁ πρωρεύς, ἢ τῶν ναυτῶν ὁ πρῶτος τὴν ἐκείνου χρείαν πληροῖ, οὐκ αὐτοχειροτόνητος κυβερνήτης γινόμενος, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ σκάφους προμηθούμε νος σωτηρίας. Οὕτω πάλιν ἐν πολέμῳ, τοῦ στρατηγοῦ πεσόν τος, τῶν χιλιάρχων ὁ πρῶτος τὴν στρατηγίαν κοσμεῖ, οὐ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἁρπάζων, ἀλλὰ τῶν ὁμοφύλων φροντίζων. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ τρισμακάριος Τιμόθεος τοῦ θεσπεσίου Παύλου τὸν τόπον ἐπλήρου παρ' ἐκείνου πεμπόμενος. Προσήκει τοίνυν τὴν σὴν θεοσέβειαν καὶ