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Let each of the laity hear concerning himself, considering that it has been said by the Lord: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Therefore, do not scatter yourselves, being members of Christ, by not assembling together; having Christ as your head, who is with you and partakes with you according to his promise, do not neglect yourselves, nor deprive the Savior of his own members, nor divide his body, nor scatter his members, nor prefer the needs of this life to the divine word, but each day assemble at dawn and at evening, singing psalms and praying in the Lord's houses, at dawn saying the 62nd psalm, and at evening the 140th. But especially on the day of the Sabbath and on the Lord's resurrection day, Sunday, meet together more diligently, sending up praise to God who made all things through Jesus and sent him to us and permitted him to suffer and raised him from the dead. For what defense will he who does not come together on this day to hear the saving word concerning the resurrection make to God? On which day we also perform three prayers standing, in memory of him who rose after three days, on which there are readings of the Prophets and the preaching of the Gospels and the offering of the sacrifice and the gift of holy food. How is he not an enemy of God who is diligent night and day about temporary things, but neglectful of eternal things? And partaking of baths and of every temporary food, but not turning to the things that abide forever? How will the Lord not also now say to such a one: “The gentiles have been justified rather than you,” just as he also said, reproaching Jerusalem: “Sodom has been justified by you?” For if the gentiles, rising from their sleep each day, run to their idols to worship them, and before every work and every deed they pray to them first, and at their feasts and at their festivals they are not absent, but are at leisure, not only the local people, but also those who live far away, and in their theaters they all come together as in a synagogue. Likewise also those who are vainly called Jews, resting for six days, on the seventh day come together into their synagogue, never failing or neglecting either their rest or their synagogue, they who have been emptied of the power of the Word in their unbelief, and in addition also of the name by which they call themselves Judah;
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ἕκαστος τῶν λαϊκῶν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ἀκουέτω λογιζόμενος, ὅτι εἴρηται ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου· «Ὁ μὴ ὢν μετ' ἐμοῦ κατ' ἐμοῦ ἐστιν, καὶ ὁ μὴ συνάγων μετ' ἐμοῦ σκορπίζει.» Μὴ οὖν ἑαυτοὺς μέλη ὄντες τοῦ Χριστοῦ σκορπίζετε, μὴ συναθροιζόμενοι· Χριστὸν κεφαλὴν ἔχοντες κατὰ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν αὐτοῦ συνόντα καὶ κοινωνοῦντα ὑμῖν, μὴ ἀμελεῖτε ἑαυτῶν μηδὲ ἀποστερεῖτε τὸν σωτῆρα τῶν οἰκείων μελῶν μηδὲ διαιρεῖτε τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ μηδὲ σκορπίζετε τὰ μέλη αὐτοῦ μηδὲ προκρίνετε τοῦ θείου λόγου τὰς βιωτικὰς χρείας, ἀλλ' ἑκάστης ἡμέρας συναθροίζεσθε ὄρθρου καὶ ἑσπέρας ψάλλοντες καὶ προσευχόμενοι ἐν τοῖς κυριακοῖς, ὄρθρου μὲν λέγοντες ψαλμὸν τὸν ξβ, ἑσπέρας δὲ τὸν ρμ. Μάλιστα δὲ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου καὶ ἐν τῇ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀναστασίμῳ τῇ κυριακῇ σπουδαιοτέρως ἀπαντᾶτε, αἶνον ἀναπέμποντες τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ποιήσαντι τὰ ὅλα διὰ Ἰησοῦ καὶ αὐτὸν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐξαποστείλαντι καὶ συγχωρήσαντι παθεῖν καὶ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστήσαντι. Ἐπεὶ τί ἀπολογήσεται τῷ Θεῷ ὁ μὴ συνερχόμενος ἐν τῇδε τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἀκούειν τοῦ σωτηρίου περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως λόγου; Ἐν ᾗ καὶ τρεῖς εὐχὰς ἑστῶτες ἐπιτελοῦμεν μνήμης χάριν τοῦ διὰ τριῶν ἀναστάντος ἡμερῶν, ἐν ᾗ Προφητῶν ἀναγνώσεις καὶ Eὐαγ γελίων κηρυκία καὶ θυσίας ἀναφορὰ καὶ τροφῆς ἱερᾶς δωρεά. Πῶς δὲ οὐ πολέμιος Θεοῦ ὁ περὶ τὰ πρόσκαιρα μὲν νύκτα καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν σπουδάζων, τῶν δὲ αἰωνίων ἀμελῶν; Καὶ λουτρῶν μὲν καὶ προσκαίρου τροφῆς ἑκάστης μεταποιούμενος, τῶν δὲ ἀεὶ παραμενόντων οὐκ ἐπιστρεφό μενος; Πῶς δὲ οὐχὶ καὶ νῦν ἐρεῖ τῷ τοιούτῳ ὁ Κύριος· «Ἐδικαιώθη ὑπὲρ ὑμᾶς τὰ ἔθνη», ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν Ἱερου σαλὴμ ὀνειδίζων ἔλεγεν· «Ἐδικαιώθη Σόδομα ἐκ σοῦ;» Eἰ γὰρ τὰ ἔθνη ἐξ ὕπνου αὐτῶν καθ' ἡμέραν ἀναστάντα τρέχει ἐπὶ τὰ εἴδωλα τοῦ λατρεύειν αὐτοῖς, καὶ πρὸ παντὸς ἔργου καὶ πάσης πράξεως πρῶτον αὐτοῖς προσεύχονται, καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἑορταῖς καὶ ἐν ταῖς πανηγύρεσιν αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀφυστεροῦσιν, ἀλλὰ σχολάζουσιν, οὐχ οἱ τοπικοὶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πόρρωθεν οἰκοῦντες, καὶ ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις αὐτῶν ὡς ἐν συναγωγῇ πάντες συνέρχονται. Ὁμοίως καὶ οἱ μάτην λεγόμενοι Ἰουδαῖοι καθ' ἓξ ἡμέρας ἀργοῦντες τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ συνίασιν εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν αὐτῶν, οὐδέποτε παραφίοντες ἢ παραμελοῦντες οὔτε τῆς ἀργίας αὐτῶν οὔτε τῆς συναγωγῆς αὐτῶν, οἱ τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ Λόγου ἐν τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ αὐτῶν κενωθέντες, προσέτι δὲ καὶ οὗ ὀνόματος ἑαυτοὺς καλοῦσιν Ἰούδα·