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the examination to be conducted by question and answer. However, the inquiry lasted for three days. And at the dawn of the fourth day, he set out by night for Tyre of Phoenicia. And not many days later, some of those who had gone ahead came to Peter, saying: Simon, performing great wonders in Tyre, has astonished many of those there and has caused you to be hated with many slanders. Having heard these things, Peter on the following night had the crowd of hearers assemble. When they had assembled together, he said: Since, as I was setting out for the nations that speak of many gods, to preach and teach that there is one God, “who created heaven and earth” and all things in them, so that by loving him they might be able to be saved, evil, anticipating this, has sent Simon ahead by the law of syzygy, so that men, if they should cease to speak of many gods, having condemned those spoken of on earth, might suppose that there are many gods in heaven, so that, never having honored the good of monarchy, they may perish completely with punishment. And what is most terrible, since the true doctrine has incomparable power, he, anticipating this, with his slanders persuades them not to receive it from me at all in the first place, lest the slanderer himself, being in reality a devil, be exposed, and the true doctrine, having been revealed, might be able to be believed. It is necessary, therefore, for me to overtake him quickly, so that the slander, becoming long-established, may not completely prevail over all. Since, therefore, it is necessary to appoint someone in my place to fill my position, let us all with one purpose pray to God, that he himself may make manifest the better one of those among us, so that, having been seated on the chair of Christ, he may piously administer his church. Who then will be appointed? For by the counsel of God that man is shown to be blessed, whom his lord will set over the household of his fellow servants, to give them their food in its season, not thinking and saying in his heart: My lord is delaying his coming. [and begins to beat his fellow servants, eating and drinking with both fornicators and drunkards. And the lord of that servant will come at an hour when he does not expect, and on a day which he does not know, and will cut him in two, and will place his unbelieving part with the hypocrites.] But if any of those present, being able to manage the ignorance of men, shrinks back, caring only for his own rest, let him also expect to hear: “Wicked and lazy servant, you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and I, upon coming, would have collected what is mine. Cast out the worthless servant into the outer darkness.” And reasonably so. For you (he says), O man, should have deposited my words like money with bankers and tested them like valuables. Therefore the multitude of the faithful must obey some one person, so that thus it may be able to continue in concord. For that which ends in the rule of a single authority, by the image of monarchy, causes those who submit to enjoy peace by reason of good order; but for all to be lovers of rule, not willing to submit to one alone <...> and by reason of division, they are certainly bound also to fall. But yet further, let the things happening before our eyes persuade us how now, since there are many kings throughout all the earth, wars continually happen; for each one has a pretext for war in the rule of another. But if there is one of the

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πρὸς πεῦσιν καὶ ἀπόκρισιν γενέσθαι τὴν ἐξέτασιν. πλὴν ἡ ζήτησις τριῶν ἐπεκράτησεν ἡμερῶν. ἐπιφωσκούσης δὲ τῆς τετάρτης νύχιος ὡς ἐπὶ Τύρον τῆς Φοινίκης ἐξώρμησεν. καὶ οὐ μετὰ πολλὰς ἡμέρας ἦλθόν τινες τῶν προόδων Πέτρῳ λέγοντες· Σίμων μεγάλα θαυμάσια ἐν Τύρῳ ποιῶν πολ- λοὺς τῶν ἐκεῖ κατεπλήξατο καί σε πολλαῖς διαβολαῖς μισεῖσθαι ἐποίησεν. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Πέτρος τῇ ἐπιούσῃ νυκτὶ τῶν ἀκροατῶν τὸν ὄχλον συνελθεῖν ἐποίησεν. ὁμῶς συνελθοῦσιν ἔφη· Ἐπειδὴ ὁρμῶντός μου εἰς τὰ ἔθνη τὰ πολλοὺς θεοὺς λέγοντα, κηρύξαι καὶ διδάξαι ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεός, «ὃς οὐρανὸν ἔκτισε καὶ γῆν» καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς πάντα, ὅπως ἀγαπήσαντες αὐτὸν σωθῆναι δυνηθῶσιν, προλαβοῦσα ἡ κακία τῷ τῆς συζυγίας νόμῳ προαπέστει- λεν Σίμωνα, ἵνα οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἐὰν τοὺς πολλοὺς θεοὺς λέγειν παύσωνται, καταγνόντες τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς λεγομένων, ἐν οὐρανῷ πολλοὺς θεοὺς εἶναι νομί- σωσιν, ἵνα μηδέποτε τὸ τῆς μοναρχίας τιμήσαντες καλὸν εἰς τὸ παντελὲς μετὰ κόλασιν ἀπόλωνται. καὶ τὸ δεινότατον, ἐπεὶ ἀληθὴς λόγος ἀπαράβλητον ἰσχὺν ἔχει, προλαμβάνων ταῖς διαβολαῖς πείθει αὐτοὺς αὐτὸ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀναδέξασθαί μου, μήπως ὁ διαβάλλων αὐτὸς τῷ ὄντι διάβολος ἐλεγχθῇ καὶ ὁ ἀληθὴς λόγος ἀναδειχθεὶς πιστευθῆναι δυνηθῇ. χρὴ οὖν με ταχέως αὐτὸν ἐπικαταλαβεῖν, ἵνα μὴ ἡ διαβολὴ ἐνχρονίσασα παντε- λῶς πάντων ἐπικρατήσῃ. ἐπεὶ οὖν δεῖ τινα ὁρίσαι ἀντ' ἐμοῦ τὸν ἐμὸν ἀναπληροῦντα τόπον, μιᾷ προαιρέσει τοῦ θεοῦ δεηθῶμεν οἱ πάντες, ὅπως τῶν ὄντων ἐν ἡμῖν τὸν κρείττονα αὐτὸς πρόδηλον ποιήσῃ, ἵνα ἐπὶ τῆς Χριστοῦ καθέδρας καθεσθεὶς τὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκκλησίαν εὐσεβῶς οἰκονομῇ. τίς ἄρα ὁρισθήσεται; θεοῦ γὰρ βουλῇ ἀναδείκνυται μακάριος ὁ ἄνθρω- πος ἐκεῖνος, ὃν καταστήσει ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς θεραπείας τῶν συν- δούλων αὑτοῦ, τοῦ διδόναι αὐτοῖς τὰς τροφὰς ἐν καιρῷ αὐτῶν, μὴ ἐν- νοούμενον καὶ λέγοντα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὑτοῦ· Χρονίζει ὁ κύριός μου ἐλ- θεῖν. [καὶ ἄρξηται τύπτειν τοὺς συνδούλους αὑτοῦ, ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων μετά τε πορνῶν καὶ μεθυόντων. καὶ ἥξει ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἐν ὥρᾳ, ᾗ οὐ προσδοκᾷ, καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, ᾗ οὐ γινώσκει, καὶ διχοτομήσει αὐτόν, καὶ τὸ ἀπιστοῦν αὐτοῦ μέρος μετὰ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν θήσει.] εἰ δέ τις τῶν παρεστώτων, διοικεῖν δυνάμενος τὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην τῶν ἀνθρώ- πων, ὑποστέλλεται, τῆς αὑτοῦ ἀναπαύσεως φροντίζων μόνης, καὶ αὐτὸς προσδοκάτω ἀκοῦσαι· «∆οῦλε πονηρὲ καὶ ὀκνηρέ, ἔδει σε τὸ ἀργύ- ριόν μου προβαλεῖν ἐπὶ τῶν τραπεζιτῶν, καὶ ἐγὼ ἂν ἐλθὼν ἔπραξα τὸ ἐμόν· ἐκβάλετε τὸν ἀχρεῖον δοῦλον εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον». καὶ εὐλόγως. σοῦ γάρ (φησίν), ἄνθρωπε, τοὺς λόγους μου ὡς ἀργύριον ἐπὶ τραπεζιτῶν βαλεῖν καὶ ὡς χρήματα δοκιμάσαι. τὸ οὖν πλῆθος τῶν πιστῶν δεῖ ἑνί τινι πείθεσθαι, ἵνα οὕτως ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ διατελεῖν δυνηθῇ. τὸ γὰρ εἰς ἀρχὴν μιᾶς λῆγον ἐξουσίας μοναρχίας εἰκόνι τοὺς ὑπείκοντας αἰτίᾳ εὐταξίας εἰρήνης ἀπολαύειν τίθησιν, τὸ δὲ πάντας φιλαρχοῦντας ἑνὶ μόνῳ ὑπεῖξαι μὴ θέλειν <...> καὶ αἰτίᾳ διαιρέσεως πάντως καὶ πεσεῖν ἔχουσιν. ἀλλ' ἔτι μὴν πειθέτω τὰ παρ' ὀφθαλμοῖς γινόμενα πῶς νῦν πολ- λῶν κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ὄντων βασιλέων συνεχῶς πόλεμοι γίνονται· ἔχει γὰρ ἕκαστος πρόφασιν εἰς πόλεμον τὴν ἑτέρου ἀρχήν. ἐὰν δὲ εἷς ᾖ τοῦ