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is now unblamed and undefiled, having been delivered from wicked, deceitful, reviling, savage, treacherous, beauty-hating, pleasure-loving, vainglorious, deceptive, wise-in-their-own-conceit men, who made it their work to disperse, or rather to scatter, the lambs of the Lord. You, therefore, O bishop, be diligent along with the clergy under you to rightly divide the word of truth, for the Lord says: "If you walk crookedly, I also will walk crookedly toward you." And elsewhere: "With the holy you will be holy, and with the blameless you will be blameless, and with the crooked you will show yourself twisted." Walk holily, therefore, that you may be counted worthy of praise from the Lord rather than of blame from the adversary. Therefore, being of one mind with each other, O bishops, be at peace with one another, as sympathetic and brotherly, and shepherd the people with accuracy, teaching with one accord those under you to be of one mind and to think the same thing about the same matters, so that there may be no divisions among you, but that you may be one body and one spirit, perfected in the same mind and in the same judgment according to the Lord's ordinance. And let the deacon refer all things to the bishop, as Christ does to the Father; but let him manage by himself what he can, having received authority from the bishop, as Christ received from the Father the power to provide; but let the bishop judge the more weighty matters. Nevertheless, let the deacon be the bishop's ear and eye and mouth, and heart and soul, so that the bishop may not be anxious about many things, but only about the more important matters, just as Jethro commanded Moses, and his counsel was accepted. It is therefore a fine commendation for a Christian to have matters with no one; but if through some operation or temptation a matter should arise for someone, let him be diligent to resolve it, even if it is necessary to suffer some loss, and let him not go to a Gentile court. But indeed, do not tolerate worldly rulers judging against our people; for through them the devil schemes against the servants of God, and raises a reproach as though we have not one wise man who is able to arbitrate justice between us or resolve disputes. Do not, therefore, let the Gentiles know your differences with one another, nor receive testimony from unbelievers against yourselves, nor be judged by them, nor owe them anything for tribute or tax, but "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's," such as tribute or poll-tax or the didrachma, as our Lord also did by giving the stater

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τοῦ νῦν ἀβλασφήμητός ἐστιν καὶ ἀσκυβάλιστος, πονηρῶν ἀπαλλαγεῖσα, δολίων, λοιδόρων, ἀνημέρων, προδοτῶν, μισο κάλων, φιληδόνων, κενοδόξων, ἀπατηλῶν, δοξοσόφων, ἔργον θεμένων διασπείρειν, μᾶλλον δὲ διασκορπίζειν τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀρνία. Σὺ οὖν, ὦ ἐπίσκοπε, σπούδαζε ἅμα τῷ ὑπὸ σὲ κλήρῳ ὀρθοτομεῖν τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, ὅτι λέγει Κύριος· «Ἐὰν πλάγιοι πορεύησθε, κἀγὼ πρὸς ὑμᾶς πλαγίως πορεύσομαι.» Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· «Μετὰ ὁσίου ὁσιωθήσῃ, καὶ μετὰ ἀθώου ἀθῶος ἔσῃ, καὶ μετὰ στρεβλοῦ διαστρέψεις.» Ὁσίως οὖν πορεύεσθε, ἵνα μᾶλλον ἐπαίνου καταξιωθῆτε ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου ἢ μέμψεως ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου. Ὁμόφρονες οὖν ὄντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ὦ ἐπίσκοποι, εἰρηνεύετε μετ' ἀλλήλων, ὡς συμπαθεῖς καὶ φιλάδελφοι, καὶ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ποιμαίνετε τὸν λαόν, ὁμοφρόνως διδάσ κοντες τοὺς ὑφ' ὑμᾶς ὁμογνωμονεῖν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν δοξάζειν, ὅπως μὴ ᾖ ἐν ὑμῖν σχίσματα, ἦτε δὲ ἓν σῶμα καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα, κατηρτισμένοι τῷ αὐτῷ νοΐ καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ γνώμῃ κατὰ τὴν κυριακὴν θέσιν. Καὶ πάντα μὲν ὁ διάκονος τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ ἀναφερέτω, ὡς ὁ Χριστὸς τῷ Πατρί· ἀλλ' ὅσα δύναται, εὐθυνέτω δι' ἑαυτοῦ, λαβὼν παρὰ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ὡς ὁ Χριστὸς παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸ προνοεῖν· τὰ δὲ ὑπέρογκα ὁ ἐπίσκοπος κρινέτω. Πλὴν ἔστω ὁ διάκονος τοῦ ἐπισκόπου ἀκοὴ καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς καὶ στόμα, καρδία τε καὶ ψυχή, ἵνα μὴ ᾖ τὰ πολλὰ μεριμνῶν ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, ἀλλὰ μόνα τὰ κυριώτερα, ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ Ἰοθὼρ τῷ Μωϋσῇ διετάξατο, καὶ ἀπεδέχθη αὐτοῦ ἡ συμβουλία. Καλὸν μὲν οὖν ἐστι τῷ Χριστιανῷ ἐγκώμιον πρὸς μηδένα ἔχειν πράγματα· εἰ δὲ ἔκ τινος ἐνεργείας ἢ πειρασμοῦ ἐπισυμβῇ τινι πρᾶγμα, σπουδαζέτω διαλύεσθαι αὐτό, κἂν δέῃ βλαβῆναί τι, καὶ μὴ ἐρχέσθω ἐπὶ κριτήριον ἐθνικόν. Ἀλλὰ μὴν μηδὲ ἀνέχεσθε κοσμικοὺς ἄρχοντας κατὰ τῶν ἡμετέρων δικάζειν· διὰ γὰρ αὐτῶν ὁ διάβολος ἐπιτηδεύει τοῖς δούλοις τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὄνειδος ἐπεγείρει ὡς μὴ ἐχόντων ἡμῶν ἕνα σοφὸν τὸν δυνάμενον μεταξὺ ἡμῶν βραβεῦσαι τὸ δίκαιον ἢ τὰς ἀντιλογίας διαλῦσαι. Μὴ οὖν γινωσκέτωσαν τὰ ἔθνη τὰς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὑμῶν διαφοράς, μήτε καθ' ἑαυτῶν μαρτυρίαν παραδέχεσθε τοὺς ἀπίστους, μήτε κρίνεσθε ἐπ' αὐτῶν, μήτε ὀφείλετέ τι τούτοις πρὸς συντέλειαν ἢ φόρον, ἀλλὰ ἀπόδοτε τὰ Καίσα ρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ, οἷον φόρον ἢ κῆνσον ἢ δίδραχμον, ὡς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν δοὺς τὸν στατῆρα