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a second voice from heaven: what God has cleansed, you must not call common. And immediately, behold, two men stood at the house, and the Spirit said to me, ‘Go with them, doubting nothing.’" And then he relates how these things were spoken to him in a parable, and how he hesitated at that time, until the Lord clearly showed him what he was teaching him through words and types. For as soon as he opened his mouth, when he came to Caesarea, 1.316 the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius. And when Peter saw it, he said, "Can anyone forbid water from these who have been deemed worthy to receive the Holy Spirit, just as we did from the beginning?" And this whole thing was a mystery and a work of God's love for humankind, so that Saint Peter and everyone might know that the salvation of the Gentiles is not from men, but from God. For God first gave the gift of the Holy Spirit and the vision of the angel and the acceptance of his prayer and fasts and good works, so that what the apostles were entrusted with, especially Saint Peter and the other apostles, they might not withhold from the one truly called by God. 4. But these things were then brought up, stirred by the aforementioned false apostle Cerinthus, just as at another time he and those with him caused a dissension in Jerusalem itself, when Paul went up with Titus and as this one said that "he brought uncircumcised men with him," speaking now of Titus, "and has defiled, he says, the holy place." For this reason Paul also says, "But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised; but because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ, to whom we did not yield in subjection even for an hour"; and giving orders to those in uncircumcision he would say, "Do not be circumcised; for if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing." But circumcision lasted for a time, having served its purpose, until the greater circumcision came, that is, the washing of regeneration, as is clear to everyone and is shown more plainly from the things spoken by the apostles, especially by the holy apostle Paul; for he speaks thus: "to whom we did not yield in subjection even for an hour." But for anyone who wishes to understand the things accomplished by the apostles at that time, it is possible to marvel how the things activated in this heresy by the inspiration of a spirit of er1.317ror show the character of those who worked the agitation among the apostles through these heresies. For when these apostatized and turned into false apostles and sent other false apostles, as has already been said, to Antioch in the beginning and to other places, saying that, "Unless you are circumcised and keep the law of Moses, you cannot be saved," no small disturbance then arose, as has been said before. And these are the ones mentioned by the apostle Paul: "false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ." 5. For they use the Gospel according to Matthew—in part and not in whole, but because of the genealogy in the flesh—and they bring this testimony, again speaking from the Gospel that "It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher." What then, he says? Jesus was circumcised, you be circumcised too. Christ lived according to the law, he says, you do the same. From this some of them, as if seized by poisons, are persuaded by the specious arguments because Christ was circumcised. But they reject Paul because he did not obey circumcision, and they even cast him out because he said, "You who are justified by the law have fallen from grace," and that "if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing."

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ἐκ δευτέρου φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· ἃ ὁ θεὸς ἐκαθέρισε, σὺ μὴ κοίνου. καὶ ἐξαυτῆς ἰδοὺ δύο ἄνδρες εἱστήκεισαν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ εἶπέν μοι τὸ πνεῦμα· πορεύου σὺν αὐτοῖς μηδὲν διακρινόμενος». καὶ λοιπὸν διηγεῖται, ὡς ἐν παραβολῇ ταῦτα πρὸς αὐτὸν εἴρηται καὶ ὡς τότε ἐδίσταξεν, ἕως ὅτε ὁ κύριος ἐναργῶς ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ ἃ διὰ τῶν λόγων καὶ τύπων αὐτὸν ἐδίδασκεν. εὐθὺς γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἀνοίξαντος τὸ στόμα, ὅτε ἦλθεν εἰς Καισάρειαν, ἐπέπεσε 1.316 τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐπὶ Κορνήλιον. καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ Πέτρος εἶπε «μή τις δύναται κωλῦσαι τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν καταξιωθέντων τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον λαβεῖν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐξ ἀρχῆς;» τὸ πᾶν δὲ ἦν τοῦτο μυστήριον καὶ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας ἔργον, ὅπως ὅ τε ἅγιος Πέτρος καὶ πᾶς τις γνώσεται ὅτι οὐκ ἀπ' ἀνθρώπων ἡ τῶν ἐθνῶν σωτηρία, ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ. προὔλαβεν γὰρ ὁ θεὸς δοῦναι τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἀγγέλου ὀπτασίαν καὶ τὴν ἀποδοχὴν τῆς εὐχῆς καὶ νηστειῶν καὶ ἀγαθοποιιῶν, ἵνα ὃ ἐπιστεύθησαν οἱ ἀπόστολοι, μάλιστα ὁ ἅγιος Πέτρος καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι, μὴ ἀποστερήσωσιν τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν κεκλημένον. 4. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν τότε ἐπραγματεύθη κινηθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ προειρημένου ψευδαποστόλου Κηρίνθου, ὡς καὶ ἄλλοτε στάσιν αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ εἰργάσαντο ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Ἱερουσαλήμ, ὁπηνίκα Παῦλος ἀνῆλθε μετὰ Τίτου καὶ ὡς οὗτος ἔφη ὅτι «ἄνδρας ἀκροβύστους εἰσήνεγκε μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ», ἤδη περὶ Τίτου λέγων, «καὶ κεκοίνωκε φησί τὸν ἅγιον τόπον». διὸ καὶ Παῦλος λέγει «ἀλλ' οὐδὲ Τίτος ὁ σὺν ἐμοί, Ἕλλην ὤν, ἠναγκάσθη περιτμηθῆναι· διὰ δὲ τοὺς παρεισάκτους ψευδαδέλφους, οἵτινες παρεισῆλθον κατασκοπῆσαι τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἡμῶν ἣν ἔχομεν ἐν Χριστῷ, οἷς οὐδὲ πρὸς ὥραν εἴξαμεν τῇ ὑποταγῇ»· καὶ τοῖς ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ παραγγέλλων ἔλεγεν «μὴ περιτέμνεσθε· ὅτι ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει». διήρκεσε δὲ ἡ περιτομὴ χρόνῳ ὑπηρετήσασα, ἕως ἡ μείζων περιτομὴ παρεγένετο, τουτέστιν τὸ λουτρὸν τῆς παλιγγενεσίας, ὡς παντί τῳ δῆλόν ἐστι καὶ σαφέστερον δείκνυται ἀπὸ τῶν παρὰ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις εἰρημένων, μάλιστα παρὰ τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀποστόλῳ Παύλῳ· φάσκει γὰρ οὕτως «οἷς οὐδὲ πρὸς ὥραν εἴξαμεν τῇ ὑποταγῇ». παντὶ δὲ τῷ βουλομένῳ κατανοεῖν τὰ παρὰ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις τότε πεπραγματευμένα θαυμάσαι ἔπεστι, πῶς τὰ παρὰ τῇ αἱρέσει ταύτῃ ἐξ ἐπιπνοίας πνεύματος πλά1.317 νης ἐνεργηθέντα τὸν χαρακτῆρα ὑποδείκνυσι τῶν διὰ τῶν αἱρέσεων τούτων ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις τὴν κίνησιν ἐργασαμένων. ἀποστάντων γὰρ τούτων καὶ εἰς ψευδαποστόλους τραπέντων καὶ ἄλλους ψευδαποστόλους ἀποστειλάντων ὡς καὶ ἤδη προείρηται εἰς τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν ἐν ἀρχῇ καὶ εἰς ἄλλους τόπους, λέγοντας ὅτι «ἐὰν μὴ περιτμηθῆτε καὶ φυλάξητε τὸν νόμον Μωυσέως, οὐ δύνασθε σωθῆναι», οὐχ ἡ τυχοῦσα τότε ταραχὴ ἐγένετο ὡς προείρηται. καὶ οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ Παύλῳ εἰρημένοι «ψευδαπόστολοι, ἐργάται δόλιοι, μετασχηματιζόμενοι εἰς ἀποστόλους Χριστοῦ». 5. Χρῶνται γὰρ τῷ κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγελίῳ-ἀπὸ μέρους καὶ οὐχὶ ὅλῳ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν γενεαλογίαν τὴν ἔνσαρκον-καὶ ταύτην μαρτυρίαν φέρουσιν, ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου πάλιν λέγοντες ὅτι «ἀρκετὸν τῷ μαθητῇ ἵνα γένηται ὡς ὁ διδάσκαλος». τί οὖν, φησί; περιετμήθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς, περιτμήθητι καὶ αὐτός. Χριστὸς κατὰ νόμον, φησίν, ἐπολιτεύσατο, καὶ αὐτὸς τὰ ἴσα ποίησον. ὅθεν καί τινες ἐκ τούτων ὡς ὑπὸ δηλητηρίων ὑφαρπαχθέντες πείθονται ταῖς πιθανολογίαις διὰ τὸ τὸν Χριστὸν περιτετμῆσθαι. τὸν δὲ Παῦλον ἀθετοῦσι διὰ τὸ μὴ πείθεσθαι τῇ περιτομῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκβάλλουσιν αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ εἰρηκέναι «ὅσοι ἐν νόμῳ δικαιοῦσθε, τῆς χάριτος ἐξεπέσατε», καὶ ὅτι «ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει».