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Formerly in the sanctuary no holy thing was offered or anything done without the priest. “For a priest’s lips will guard knowledge, and they will seek the law from his mouth,” says the prophet somewhere. For if even the ministers of demons in their foul and abominable and unclean offenses even to this day imitate the holy things; and indeed let the abomination be far separated in comparison from the holy things, but in their mockeries they offer or perform nothing without their "miereus," but they consider the "miereus" to be the mouth of the stones, waiting for what he will command them to do, and whatever he commands them, that they also perform, and without him they do nothing; and they honor this "miereus" and consider his name venerable in honor of the lifeless idols and for the worship of wicked spirits. If therefore those men, holding vain and false opinions and having their hope placed on nothing certain, make it their practice to imitate the holy things, how much more just is it for you, who have the most manifest faith and unfailing hope and await a glorious and eternal and steadfast promise, to honor the Lord God through those who preside, considering the bishops to be the mouth of God? For if Aaron, because he announced the words from Moses to Pharaoh, is called a prophet, and Moses a god to Pharaoh as king and high priest, as God says to him: “I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet,” why should not you also consider your mediators of the word to be prophets and reverence them as gods? For now to you the deacon is Aaron, and the bishop is Moses; if therefore Moses was called god by the Lord, let the bishop also be honored by you as a god and the deacon as his prophet. For as Christ does nothing without the Father, so also the deacon does nothing without the bishop; and just as the Son is not without the Father, so also a deacon is not without the bishop; and just as the Son is subject to the Father, so also is every deacon to the bishop; and just as the Son is the messenger and prophet of the Father, so also is the deacon the messenger and prophet of the bishop. Therefore also let all things performed by him for anyone be made known to the bishop and be ratified through him, and let him do absolutely nothing without the bishop nor give anything to anyone without his consent. For if he should give to someone as to one in distress, secretly from the bishop, to the reproach

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πρότερον ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἁγίασμά τι προσεφέρετο ἢ ἐγίνετό τι ἄνευ τοῦ ἱερέως. «Χείλη γὰρ ἱερέως φυλάξεται γνῶσιν, καὶ νόμον ἐκζητήσουσιν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ», φησίν που ὁ προφήτης. Eἰ γὰρ καὶ οἱ τῶν δαιμόνων θεραπευταὶ ἐν τοῖς μυσαροῖς καὶ βδελυκτοῖς καὶ ἀκαθάρτοις προσ οχθίσμασιν αὐτῶν ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο τὰ ἅγια μιμοῦνται· καὶ μακρὰν μὲν ἐπὶ συγκρίσεως τὸ βδέλυγμα κεχωρίσθω τῶν ἁγίων, πλὴν ἐν τοῖς ἐμπαίγμασιν αὐτῶν ἄνευ τοῦ μιερέως οὐδὲν προσφέρουσιν οὐδὲ ἐπιτελοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ στόμα νομίζουσι τῶν λίθων τὸν μιερέα, περιμένοντες τί προστάξει ποιεῖν αὐτοῖς, καὶ πάντα ἃ ἂν προστάξῃ αὐτοῖς, ἐκεῖνα καὶ ἐπιτελοῦσι καὶ ἄνευ αὐτοῦ ποιοῦσιν οὐδὲν καὶ τιμῶσιν αὐτὸν τὸν μιερέα καὶ σεπτὸν αὐτοῦ ἡγοῦνται τὸ ὄνομα εἰς τιμὴν τῶν ἀψύχων ξοάνων καὶ εἰς λατρείαν τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων. Eἰ οὖν ἐκεῖνοι, μάταια καὶ ἐψευσμένα δοξάζοντες καὶ ἐπ' οὐδενὶ βεβαίῳ ἔχοντες τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἐλπίδα, ἐπιτηδεύουσι μιμεῖσθαι τὰ ἅγια, πόσῳ δίκαιον ὑμᾶς, τοὺς τὴν φανοτάτην πίστιν καὶ ἀψευδῆ ἐλπίδα ἔχοντας καὶ ἔνδοξον καὶ αἰώνιον καὶ ἀδιάπτωτον ἐπαγγελίαν ἀπεκδε χομένους, τιμᾶν διὰ τῶν προεστώτων Κύριον τὸν Θεόν, ἡγουμένους στόμα Θεοῦ εἶναι τοὺς ἐπισκόπους; Eἰ γὰρ Ἀαρών, ἐπειδὴ ἤγγελλεν τῷ Φαραὼ παρὰ Μωϋσέως τοὺς λόγους, προφήτης εἴρηται, Μωϋσῆς δὲ θεὸς τοῦ Φαραὼ ὡς βασιλεὺς καὶ ἀρχιερεύς, ὥς φησιν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς αὐτόν· «Θεὸν τέθεικά σε τῷ Φαραώ, καὶ Ἀαρὼν ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἔσται σου προφήτης», διατί μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς τοὺς μεσίτας ὑμῶν τοῦ λόγου προφήτας εἶναι νομίσητε καὶ ὡς θεοὺς σεβασθήσεσθε; Νῦν γὰρ ὑμῖν μέν ἐστιν Ἀαρὼν ὁ διάκονος, Μωϋσῆς δὲ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος· εἰ οὖν ἐρρέθη Μωϋσῆς ὑπὸ κυρίου θεός, καὶ ὑμῖν ὁ ἐπίσκοπος εἰς θεὸν τετιμήσθω καὶ ὁ διάκονος ὡς προφήτης αὐτοῦ. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς ἄνευ τοῦ Πατρὸς οὐδὲν ποιεῖ, οὕτως οὐδὲ ὁ διάκονος ἄνευ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου· καὶ ὥσπερ Υἱὸς ἄνευ τοῦ Πατρὸς οὐκ ἔστιν, οὕτως οὐδὲ διάκονος ἄνευ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου· καὶ ὥσπερ ὑπόχρεως Υἱὸς Πατρί, οὕτω καὶ πᾶς διάκονος ἐπισκόπῳ· καὶ ὥσπερ ὁ Υἱὸς ἄγγελός ἐστιν καὶ προφήτης τοῦ Πατρός, οὕτως καὶ ὁ διάκονος ἄγγελος καὶ προφήτης ἐστὶν τοῦ ἐπισκόπου. ∆ιὸ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐπιτελούμενα ὑπ' αὐτοῦ εἴς τινα ἐμφανῆ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ γινέσθω καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τελειούσθω, μηδὲν δὲ ποιείτω τὸ σύνολον ἄνευ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου μηδέ τινι διδότω τι ἄνευ τῆς ἐκείνου γνώμης. Ἐὰν γὰρ ὡς θλιβομένου τινὸς λάθρα τοῦ ἐπισκόπου δῷ τινι, εἰς λοιδορίαν