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strengthened by the myrrh. Therefore, baptism is given unto the death of the Son, the water for burial, the oil for the Holy Spirit, the seal for the cross, the myrrh a confirmation of the confession. The remembrance of the Father as cause and sender, the inclusion of the Spirit as witness. The immersion is dying with, the emersion is rising with. The Father is God over all, Christ the only-begotten God, the beloved Son, the Lord of glory, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, sent by Christ and taught by Him and proclaiming Him. Let the one being baptized be a stranger to all impiety, inactive toward sin, a friend of God, an enemy of the devil, an heir of the Father, and a co-heir of His Son, having renounced Satan and his demons and his deceptions, chaste, pure, holy, God-loving, a son of God, praying as a son to a father and saying thus as from the common assembly of the faithful: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever; amen. Let the deacons also be blameless in all things, just as the bishop, but only more active, in proportion to the size of the Church, so that they may be able to minister to the infirm also as workmen who need not be ashamed. And the woman [deaconess] being diligent to care for the women, and both for messages, travel, service, ministry, as also Isaiah said concerning the Lord, saying: “to justify the righteous one who serves many well.” Let each one therefore know his own place and fulfill it with diligence, with one mind, with one soul, knowing the reward of the ministry. And let them not be ashamed to minister to those in need, just as our Lord Jesus Christ did not come to be ministered to, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. So therefore must they also do. And if it be necessary to lay down a life for a brother, let them not hesitate; for neither did our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ hesitate to lay down His life, as He Himself said, for His friends.
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σθέντας τῷ μύρῳ. Ἔστι τοίνυν τὸ μὲν βάπτισμα εἰς τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Υἱοῦ διδόμενον, τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ ἀντὶ ταφῆς, τὸ ἔλαιον ἀντὶ Πνεύματος ἁγίου, ἡ σφραγὶς ἀντὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ, τὸ μύρον βεβαίωσις τῆς ὁμολογίας. Τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡ μνήμη ὡς αἰτίου καὶ ἀποστολέως, τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ συμπαράληψις ὡς μάρτυρος. Ἡ κατάδυσις τὸ συναποθανεῖν, ἡ ἀνάδυσις τὸ συναναστῆναι. Πατὴρ ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων Θεός, Χριστὸς ὁ μονογενὴς Θεός, ὁ ἀγαπητὸς Υἱός, ὁ τῆς δόξης Κύριος, Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ὁ παράκλητος τὸ ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ πεμπόμενον καὶ ὑπ' ἐκείνου διδασκόμενον καὶ ἐκεῖνον κηρύττον. Ὁ δὲ βαπτιζόμενος ὑπαρχέτω ἀλλότριος ἀσεβείας πάσης, ἀνενέργητος πρὸς ἁμαρτίαν, φίλος Θεοῦ, ἐχθρὸς διαβόλου, κληρονόμος Πατρός, συγκληρονόμος δὲ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἀποτεταγμένος τῷ σατανᾷ καὶ τοῖς δαίμοσιν καὶ ταῖς ἀπάταις αὐτοῦ, ἁγνός, καθαρός, ὅσιος, θεοφιλής, υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, προσευχόμενος ὡς υἱὸς πατρὶ καὶ λέγων ὡς ἀπὸ κοινοῦ τοῦ τῶν πιστῶν συναθροίσματος οὕτως· Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου· ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου· γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον· καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν· καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν, ἀλλὰ ·ῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ, ὅτι σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἀμήν. Ἔστωσαν δὲ καὶ οἱ διάκονοι ἐν πᾶσιν ἄμωμοι ὡς καὶ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, μόνον δὲ εὐσκυλτότεροι, ἀνάλογοι πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἵνα καὶ τοῖς ἀδυνάτοις ὑπηρετεῖσθαι δύνωνται ὡς ἐργάται ἀνεπαίσχυντοι· καὶ ἡ μὲν γυνὴ τὰς γυναῖκας σπουδάζουσα θεραπεύειν, ἀμφότεροι δὲ τὰ πρὸς ἀγγελίαν, ἐκδημίαν, ὑπηρεσίαν, δουλείαν, ὡς καὶ περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου Ἡσαΐας ἔλεγεν φάσκων· «∆ικαιῶσαι δίκαιον εὖ δουλεύοντα πολλοῖς.» Ἕκαστος οὖν τὸν ἴδιον γνωριζέτω τόπον καὶ ἐκτελείτω αὐτὸν σπουδαίως, ὁμοφρόνως, ὁμοψύ χως, γινώσκοντες τὸν τῆς διακονίας μισθόν. Ἔστωσαν δὲ καὶ ἀνεπαίσχυντοι εἰς τὸ ὑπηρετεῖσθαι τοῖς δεομένοις, ὡς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονη θῆναι, ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν· οὕτως οὖν καὶ αὐτοὺς δεῖ ποιεῖν. Κἂν δέῃ ψυχὴν ὑπὲρ ἀδελφοῦ ἀποθέσθαι, μὴ διστάσωσιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν καὶ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐδίστασεν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ θείς, ὡς αὐτὸς ἔφη, ὑπὲρ τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ.