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having become spectators of His wonders and of His life and of His conduct and of His words and of His sufferings and of His death and of His resurrection from the dead, and having associated with Him for forty days after His rising, and having received a command from Him to preach the gospel to the whole world and to make disciples of all the nations and to baptize them into His death by the authority of the God of all, who is His Father, and by the testimony of the Spirit, who is the Paraclete: we teach you all these things, which, having commanded us, He was taken up in our sight into heaven to Him who sent Him. And if you believe, you will be blessed; but if you do not believe, we shall be found guiltless and pure of your unbelief. And concerning the martyrs we say to you, that they should be held in all honor by you, as also by us have been honored the blessed James the bishop and our holy fellow-deacon Stephen. For these have been blessed by God and honored by holy men, pure from all offense, unswerving toward sin, unpersuaded from good things, beyond doubt for praises, concerning whom David also said: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." And Solomon: "The memory of the just is with praises." Concerning whom the prophet also said: "Righteous men are taken away." These things have been said about those who have truly testified for Christ, but not about the false witnesses, concerning whom the oracle says: "But the name of the wicked is extinguished; for a faithful witness does not lie, but an unjust witness kindles falsehoods." For he who has gone forth in martyrdom without falsehood for the truth, this is a true witness, trustworthy in those things for which he contended for the word of godliness through his own blood. But we exhort you, brothers and fellow-servants, to flee from vain talking and shameful speech and buffoonery, drunkenness, lust, effeminacy, and immoderate anger, along with foolish talk, because not even on the Lord's days of your festivities do we permit you to speak or do anything unseemly. For somewhere the Scripture also says: "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling." Therefore, your rejoicings ought also to be with fear and trembling. For the faithful Christian ought neither to speak a pagan song nor a licentious tune, since it will happen that through the song he will call to mind the demonic names of idols, and instead of the Holy Spirit, there will enter into him

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θεαταὶ γενόμενοι τῶν αὐτοῦ τεραστίων καὶ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τῆς πολιτείας καὶ τῶν λόγων καὶ τῶν παθημάτων καὶ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀναστάσεως, καὶ συνα ναστραφέντες αὐτῷ ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα μετὰ τὴν ἔγερσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαβόντες ἐντολὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ κηρῦξαι τὸ εὐαγγέ λιον εἰς ὅλον τὸν κόσμον καὶ μαθητεῦσαι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη καὶ βαπτίσαι εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ αὐθεντίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων, ὅς ἐστιν αὐτοῦ Πατήρ, καὶ μαρτυρίᾳ Πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστι παράκλητος· διδάσκομεν ὑμᾶς ταῦτα πάντα, ἃ διαταξάμενος ἡμῖν ἀνελήφθη ἐπ' ὄψει ἡμῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν πρὸς τὸν ἀποστείλαντα αὐτόν. Καὶ ἐὰν μὲν πιστεύσητε, μακάριοι γενήσεσθε· εἰ δὲ μὴ πιστεύσητε, ἀθῶοι ἡμεῖς εὑρεθησόμεθα καὶ καθαροὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας δυσπι στίας. Περὶ δὲ τῶν μαρτύρων λέγομεν ὑμῖν, ὅπως πάσῃ τιμῇ ὦσιν παρ' ὑμῖν, ὡς καὶ παρ' ἡμῖν τετίμηνται ὁ μακάριος Ἰάκωβος ὁ ἐπίσκοπος καὶ ὁ ἅγιος ἡμῶν συνδιάκονος Στέφα νος. Oὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν καὶ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ μεμακαρισμένοι καὶ ὑπὸ ὁσίων ἀνδρῶν τετιμημένοι, καθαροὶ πάσης πλημμελείας, ἄτρεπτοι πρὸς ἁμαρτίαν, ἀμετάπειστοι τῶν καλῶν, ἀνεν δοίαστοι πρὸς ἐγκώμια, περὶ ὧν καὶ ὁ ∆αυὶδ ἔλεγεν· «Τίμιος ἐναντίον Κυρίου ὁ θάνατος τῶν ὁσίων αὐτοῦ.» Καὶ ὁ Σολομών· «Μνήμη δικαίων μετ' ἐγκωμίων.» Περὶ ὧν καὶ ὁ προφήτης ἔλεγεν· «Ἄνδρες δίκαιοι αἴρονται.» Ταῦτα δὲ περὶ τῶν κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ μαρτυρησάντων εἴρηται, ἀλλ' οὐ περὶ τῶν ψευδομαρτύρων, περὶ ὧν τὸ λόγιόν φησιν· «"Oνομα δὲ ἀσεβῶν σβέννυται· μάρτυς γὰρ πιστὸς οὐ ψεύδεται, ἐκκαίει δὲ ψευδῆ μάρτυς ἄδικος.» Ὁ γὰρ ἐν μαρτυρίῳ ἐξελθὼν ἀψευδῶς ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας, οὗτος ἀληθινὸς μάρτυς, ἀξιόπιστος ἐν οἷς συνηγωνίσατο τῷ λόγῳ τῆς εὐσεβείας διὰ τοῦ οἰκείου αἵματος. Παραινοῦμεν δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοὶ καὶ σύνδουλοι, φεύ γειν τὰς ματαιολογίας καὶ τὰς αἰσχρολογίας καὶ τὰς εὐτρα πελίας, μέθας, λαγνείας, θρύψεις καὶ τὰς ἀμέτρους ὀργὰς σὺν ταῖς μωρολογίαις, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐν ταῖς κυριακαῖς ἡμέραις τῶν εὐφροσυνῶν ὑμῶν ἐπιτρέπομεν ὑμῖν ἄσεμνόν τι ἢ φθέγγεσθαι ἢ πράττειν. Λέγει γάρ που καὶ ἡ γραφή· «∆ουλεύσατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν φόβῳ καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ.» Καὶ τὰς ἀγαλλιάσεις οὖν ὑμῶν μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου γίνεσθαι χρή. Ὁ γάρ τοι χριστιανὸς ὁ πιστὸς οὐδὲ ᾠδὴν ἐθνικὴν ὀφείλει λέγειν οὔτε ¶σμα πορνικόν, ἐπεὶ συμβήσεται αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς ᾠδῆς εἰδώλων μνημονεύειν ὀνόματα δαιμονικά, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος εἰσφρήσει ἐν αὐτῷ