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for she does not offer prayer to the Lord with her whole heart, but with a divided mind. But she who wishes to attend to God, sitting within, thinks on the things of the Lord, night and day with unceasing mouth offering sincere prayer. Just as, therefore, the most wise Judith, who is attested for her moderation, prayed to God night and day on behalf of Israel, so also the widow who is like her will offer unceasing intercession to God on behalf of the Church, and she will be heard because her mind is fixed on this alone and is not given over either to greed or to extravagant desire; and her eye is pure and her hearing clean and her hands undefiled and her feet at rest and her mouth is not ready either for gluttony or for idle talk, but speaking what is necessary, and partaking of what is proper for sustenance alone; thus being respectable and tranquil she will be well-pleasing to God, and as soon as she asks for anything, the gift will precede her; “For while you are yet speaking,” He says, “I will say, ‘Behold, I am here.’” Being such a one, let her be free from the love of money, not proud, not greedy for shameful gain, not insatiable, not gluttonous; but temperate, meek, tranquil, pious, modest, sitting in her house, singing psalms, praying, reading, keeping vigil, fasting, always conversing with God in spiritual songs and hymns. And taking up wool, let her rather provide for others, than be in need of anything herself, remembering the widow attested to by the Lord in the Gospel, who, coming into the temple, cast into the treasury two mites, which is a quadrans; and Christ, the knower of hearts, our Lord and Teacher, seeing her, said: “Amen I say to you, that this widow has cast more into the treasury than all of them, for all of them cast in from their abundance, but she cast in her whole living, which she had.” Therefore, the widows ought to be respectable, obedient to the bishops and the presbyters and the deacons, and furthermore also to the deaconesses, being pious, reverent, fearful, not acting on their own authority nor wishing to do anything against the command without the consent of the deacon, such as wishing to go to someone to eat or drink with them or to receive anything from anyone. But if she should do any of these things without being ordered, let her be rebuked with fasting or with separation as being rash. For what does she know, what sort of person she is, from whom

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οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας προσφέρει τὴν δέησιν τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀλλὰ μεμερισμένῃ διανοίᾳ. Ἡ δὲ Θεῷ βουλομένη προσα νέχειν καθημένη ἔνδον φρονεῖ τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ἀκαταπαύστῳ στόματι δέησιν προσφέρουσα εἰλικρινῆ. Ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἡ σοφωτάτη Ἰουδίθ, μαρτυρουμένη ἐπὶ σωφροσύνῃ, νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ἐδέετο τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἡ ὁμοία αὐτῇ χήρα ἔντευξιν ἀκατά παυστον ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας προσοίσει τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ εἰσακούσεται αὐτῆς διὰ τὸ τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῆς πρὸς μόνῳ τούτῳ ἠρτῆσθαι καὶ μήτε πρὸς ἀπληστίαν μήτε πρὸς ἐπιθυμίαν πολυδάπανον ἐκκεῖσθαι· ὅ τε ὀφθαλμὸς αὐτῆς ἁγνὸς καὶ ἡ ἀκοὴ καθαρὰ καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἀμόλυντοι καὶ οἱ πόδες ἥσυχοι καὶ τὸ στόμα οὔτε πρὸς λαιμαργίαν οὔτε πρὸς φλυαρίαν ἕτοιμον, ἀλλὰ λαλοῦν μὲν τὰ δέοντα, μετα λαμβάνον δὲ ὧν προσῆκεν διὰ μόνην τὴν σύστασιν· οὕτως οὖν σεμνὴ καὶ ἀτάραχος ὑπάρχουσα εὐάρεστος ἔσται τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἅμα τῷ αἰτήσασθαι αὐτήν τι προφθάσει αὐτὴν ἡ δόσις· «Ἔτι γάρ σου λαλοῦντος, φησίν, ἐρῶ· ἰδοὺ πάρειμι.» Τοιαύτη δὲ οὖσα ὑπαρχέτω ἀφιλάργυρος, ἄτυφος, μὴ αἰσχροκερδής, μὴ ἄπληστος, μὴ λίχνη· ἀλλ' ἐγκρατής, πραεῖα, ἀτάραχος, εὐλαβής, αἰδήμων, καθημένη ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτῆς ψάλλουσα, προσευχομένη, ἀναγινώσκουσα, ἀγρυ πνοῦσα, νηστεύουσα, Θεῷ πάντοτε προσομιλοῦσα ᾠδαῖς καὶ ὕμνοις πνευματικοῖς. Ἔριά τε ἐκλαμβάνουσα ἑτέροις μᾶλλον ἐπιχορηγείτω, ἤπερ αὐτή τινος δεέσθω, μιμνησκο μένη τῆς ἐν τῷ Eὐαγγελίῳ μεμαρτυρημένης ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου χήρας, ἤτις ἐλθοῦσα ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἔβαλεν εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον τὰ δύο λεπτά, ὅπερ ἐστὶ κοδράντης· καὶ θεασάμενος αὐτὴν ὁ καρδιογνώστης Χριστὸς ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν καὶ διδάσκαλος εἶπεν· «Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι αὕτη ἡ χήρα πλεῖον πάντων ἔβαλεν εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον, ὅτι οἱ πάντες ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύ ματος αὐτῶν ἔβαλον, αὕτη δὲ ὅλον τὸν βίον αὐτῆς, ὃν εἶχεν ἔβαλεν.» Σεμνὰς οὖν δεῖ εἶναι τὰς χήρας, πειθομένας τοῖς ἐπισκόποις καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις καὶ τοῖς διακόνοις, ἔτι μὴν καὶ ταῖς διακόνοις, εὐλαβουμένας, ἐντρεπομένας, φοβου μένας, μὴ κατεξουσιαζούσας μηδὲ παρὰ τὴν διαταγήν τι ποιεῖν θελούσας δίχα γνώμης τοῦ διακόνου, οἷον τὸ πρός τινα ἀπελθεῖν θελούσας ἐπὶ τὸ φαγεῖν παρ' αὐτῷ ἢ πιεῖν ἢ λαβεῖν τι παρά τινος. Eἰ δὲ μὴ κελευσθεῖσα ποιήσει ἕν τι τῶν τοιούτων, ἐπιτιμάσθω νηστείᾳ ἢ ἀφορισμῷ ὡς προ πετής. Τί γὰρ ἐπίσταται, ὁποία τίς ἐστιν, παρ' ἧς