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she receives, or from what sort of ministry she is provided with food? Whether from robbery or some other not good conduct? The widow not knowing that for each one of these things she will give an account to God, receiving unworthily of God. For neither will the priests ever accept a voluntary offering from such a one, as from a robber or a harlot; for it is written: “You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.” And: “You shall not bring the hire of a harlot to the Lord your God.” Therefore, it is not right to receive from such persons, nor indeed from the excommunicated. Let the widows, therefore, be ready for obedience to the things commanded them by their superiors, and according to the ordinance of the bishop let them act as obeying God. For he who receives from such a forbidden or excommunicated person and prays for him, while that person chooses to persevere in evil and is unwilling ever to repent, communicates with him in prayer and grieves Christ who turns away the unjust, and edifies them through the unworthy gift and is defiled with them, not permitting them to come to repentance, so as to weep and beseech God. But concerning the baptizing of women, we make known to you that there is no small danger to those who attempt it; therefore we do not advise it; for it is perilous, or rather, unlawful and impious. For if the man is the head of the woman, and he is appointed to the priesthood, it is not right to set aside the creation and, leaving the head, to come to the last part of the body; for the woman is the body of the man, from his rib, and subject to him, from whom she was also separated for the begetting of children. “For he,” it says, “shall rule over you.” For the head of the woman is the man, since he is also the head. But if in the foregoing we do not permit them to teach, how can anyone allow them, contrary to nature, to perform the office of a priest? For this is an error of the impiety of the Greeks, to ordain priestesses for female goddesses, but it is not of the ordinance of Christ. And if it were necessary to be baptized by women, the Lord would certainly have been baptized by His own mother and not by John, or when sending us to baptize, He would have sent women with us for this purpose; but now He has nowhere commanded or handed down in writing, knowing both the sequence of nature and the decorum of the matter, as both the creator of nature and the lawgiver of the ordinance. But neither do we permit laymen to perform any of the priestly functions, such as sacrifice or baptism or laying on of hands or a blessing, small or great. “For no one to himself

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λαμβάνει, ἢ ἐκ ποταπῆς διακονίας παραβάλλει τὴν τροφήν; Πότερον ἐξ ἁρπαγῆς ἢ ἑτέρας τινὸς οὐ καλῆς ἀγωγῆς; Oὐκ ἐπισταμένη ἡ χήρα, ὅτι ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου τούτων δώσει λόγον τῷ Θεῷ δεχομένη ἀναξίως Θεοῦ. Oὔτε γὰρ οἱ ἱερεῖς τοιαύτης ἑκουσιασμὸν δέξονταί ποτε οἷον ἅρπαγος ἢ πόρνης· γέγραπται γάρ· «Oὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις τὰ τοῦ πλησίον σου.» Καί· «Oὐ προσοίσεις μίσθωμα πόρνης Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ.» Oὐ δεῖ οὖν δέχεσθαι παρὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὔτε μὴν παρὰ ἀφωρισμένων. Γινέσθωσαν τοίνυν αἱ χῆραι ἕτοιμοι πρὸς ὑπακοὴν τῶν ἐντεταλμένων αὐταῖς ὑπὸ τῶν κρειττόνων, καὶ κατὰ τὴν διάταξιν τοῦ ἐπισκόπου ποιείτωσαν ὡς Θεῷ ὑπακούουσαι. Ὁ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοιούτου ἐπιρρήτου ἢ ἀποσυναγώγου δεχόμενος καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτου προσευχόμενος, ἐμμένειν τοῖς κακοῖς προαιρουμένου καὶ μὴ θέλοντος μεταμε ληθῆναί ποτε, κοινωνεῖ τούτῳ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ λυπεῖ Χριστὸν τὸν τοὺς ἀδίκους ἀποστρεφόμενον, καὶ οἰκοδομεῖ αὐτοὺς διὰ τῆς ἀναξίου δόσεως καὶ συμμολύνεται αὐτοῖς, μὴ ἀφίων αὐτοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν ἐλθεῖν, ὥστε προσκλαῦσαι καὶ δεηθῆναι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ γυναῖκας βαπτίζειν γνωρίζομεν ὑμῖν, ὅτι κίνδυνος οὐ μικρὸς ταῖς τοῦτο ἐπιχειρούσαις· διὸ οὐ συμβουλεύομεν· ἐπισφαλὲς γάρ, μᾶλλον δὲ παράνομον καὶ ἀσεβές. Eἰ γὰρ κεφαλὴ γυναικὸς ὁ ἀνήρ, οὗτος δὲ προ χειρίζεται εἰς ἱερωσύνην, οὐ δίκαιον ἀθετῆσαι τὴν δημιουργίαν καὶ καταλιπόντα τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ἔσχατον ἐλθεῖν σῶμα· γυνὴ γὰρ σῶμα ἀνδρὸς ἐκ πλευρᾶς ×ν καὶ ὑποκείμενον ἐκείνῳ, ἐξ οὗπερ καὶ διῃρέθη εἰς παίδων γένεσιν. «Aὐτὸς γάρ σου, φησίν, κυριεύσει.» Ἀρχὴ γὰρ γυναικὸς ἀνήρ, ἐπειδὴ καὶ κεφαλή. Eἰ δὲ ἐν τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν διδάσκειν αὐταῖς οὐκ ἐπιτρέπομεν, πῶς ἱερατεῦσαι ταύταις παρὰ φύσιν τις συγχωρήσει; τοῦτο γὰρ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀθεότητος τὸ ἀγνόημα θηλείαις θεαῖς ἱερείας χειροτονεῖν, ἀλλ' οὐ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ διατάξεως. Eἰ δὲ καὶ ἔδει ὑπὸ γυναικῶν βαπτίζεσθαι, πάντως ἂν καὶ ὁ Κύριος ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας μητρὸς ἐβαπτίζετο καὶ οὐχ ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου, ἢ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀποστέλλων ἐπὶ τὸ βαπτίζειν συναπέστειλεν ἂν ἡμῖν καὶ γυναῖκας ἐπὶ τούτῳ· νῦν δὲ οὐδαμοῦ οὔτε προσέταξεν οὔτε ἐγγράφως παρέδωκεν, εἰδὼς καὶ τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῆς φύσεως καὶ τὴν εὐπρέπειαν τοῦ πράγματος, ὡς καὶ τῆς φύσεως δημιουργὸς καὶ τῆς διατάξεως νομοθέτης. Ἀλλ' οὔτε λαϊκοῖς ἐπιτρέπομεν ποιεῖν τι τῶν ἱερα τικῶν ἔργων, οἷον θυσίαν ἢ βάπτισμα ἢ χειροθεσίαν ἢ εὐλογίαν μικρὰν ἢ μεγάλην. «Oὐχ ἑαυτῷ γάρ τις