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by the breath of his mouth all their host; and, All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. But Theudas, having heard these words, and that the discourse was full of God-taught wisdom, as if struck by the sound of thunder, was held speechless. Late and with difficulty coming to a sense of his own wretchedness (for the word of salvation had touched the darkened eyes of his heart, and great remorse for his former deeds entered him), and having condemned the error of idols, 500 he ran to the light of piety. And from that time on, he so renounced his wicked way of life and waged such war on his own dishonorable passions and sorceries, as great as the friendship he had formerly pledged to them. For then, standing in the midst of the council, with the king presiding, he cried out with a loud voice: Truly, O king, the Spirit of God dwells in your son; truly we are defeated, and we no longer have any defense, nor are we able to look in the face of what is said by him. Great, therefore, in truth is the God of the Christians, great is their faith, great are the mysteries. And turning to the son of the king, he said: Tell me then, O you whose soul is enlightened: will Christ receive me, if, having desisted from my evil deeds, I turn to him? Yes, says the herald of truth, yes, he receives both you and all who turn to him. And he receives not simply, but, as a son who has come from a far country, he goes to meet the one returning from the way of iniquities; and embracing him, he kisses him, and taking away the shame of sin, he immediately puts on him a garment of salvation, and clothing him in a robe of most brilliant glory, he makes a mystical gladness for the powers above, celebrating the return of the lost sheep. For the Lord himself said that there is greatest joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. And again, I came not, he says, to call the righteous, but sinners to 502 repentance. And he says also through the prophet: As I live, says the Lord, I do not desire the death of the sinner and the ungodly, as that he should turn from his way and live; Turn, turn from your evil way; and why will you die, O house of Israel? For the iniquity of the iniquitous shall not harm him; in whatsoever day he shall turn from his iniquity and do righteousness, and shall walk in the ordinance of life, he shall surely live and shall not die; all his sins which he has committed shall not be remembered; because he has done righteous judgment, in it he shall live. And again, through another prophet he cries, Wash yourselves, be clean, take away wickedness from your souls from before my eyes; cease from your wickednesses; learn to do good; and come, and let us reason together; and if your sins are as scarlet, I will make them white as snow, and if they are as crimson, I will make them white as wool. Since such promises, therefore, are set before those who turn by God, do not delay, O man, nor put it off; but come to Christ our philanthropic God, and be enlightened, and your face shall not be ashamed. For as soon as you descend into the font of divine baptism, the whole shame of the old man and the whole burden of many sins are buried in the water and pass into non-existence, and you rise from there new and clean of all filth, bearing no spot or wrinkle of sin, and it is then up to you to preserve for yourself 504 the cleansing which comes to you from there through the tender mercy of our God. Theudas, therefore, having been catechized with these words, went out immediately, and having reached that evil cave, and taking his own magical books, as the first-fruits of all wickedness, as treasures of demonic orgies, he burned them with fire. But he himself the

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τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις αὐτῶν· καί, πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἓν ὃ γέγονεν. Ὁ δὲ Θευδᾶς, τούτων ἀκούσας τῶν ῥημάτων, καὶ ὅτι πλήρης ὁ λόγος θεοδιδάκτου σοφίας ἐτύγχανεν, οἷα βροντῆς ἤχῳ καταπλαγείς, ἀφωνίᾳ συνείχετο. ὀψὲ δὲ καὶ μόλις εἰς αἴσθησιν ἐλθὼν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀθλιότητος (ἥψατο γὰρ τῶν ἐσκοτισμένων ὀφθαλμῶν τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ ὁ σωτήριος λόγος, καὶ πολὺς τῶν προτέρων αὐτοῦ εἰσῄει μετάμελος), καὶ τῆς τῶν εἰδώλων πλάνης κατα 500 γνούς, τῷ φέγγει τῆς εὐσεβείας προσέδραμε. καὶ τὸ ἀπ' ἐκείνου οὕτω τῆς μοχθηρᾶς ἀγωγῆς ἀπέστη καὶ τοσοῦτον ἑαυτὸν τοῖς ἀτίμοις ἐξεπολέμωσε πάθεσι καὶ μαγείαις, ὅσην ἄρα πρὸ τούτου τὴν πρὸς αὐτὰ φιλίαν ἐσπείσατο. τότε μὲν γὰρ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ συνεδρίου ἑστώς, τοῦ βασιλέως προκαθεζομένου, μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ἐβόησεν· Ἀληθῶς, ὦ βασιλεῦ, πνεῦμα Θεοῦ οἰκεῖ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ σου· ἀληθῶς ἡττήμεθα, καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἔτι ἀπολογίαν ἔχομεν, οὔτε ἀντοφθαλμῆσαι πρὸς τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ λεγόμενα ἰσχύομεν. μέγας οὖν τῷ ὄντι ὁ τῶν Χριστιανῶν Θεός, μεγάλη ἡ πίστις αὐτῶν, μεγάλα τὰ μυστήρια. Ἐπιστραφεὶς δὲ πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν ἔφη τοῦ βασιλέως· Λέγε μοι τοίνυν, ὦ πεφωτισμένε τὴν ψυχήν· δέχεταί με ὁ Χριστός, εἰ, ἐκ τῶν πονηρῶν μου πράξεων ἀποστάς, ἐπιστρέψω πρὸς αὐτόν; Ναί, φησὶν ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας κῆρυξ, ναί, δέχεται καὶ σὲ καὶ πάντας τοὺς εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπιστρέφοντας. δέχεται δὲ οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ', ὡς υἱῷ ἀπὸ μακρᾶς ἐπιδημήσαντι χώρας, προσυπαντᾷ τῷ ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῶν ἀνομιῶν ἐπιστρέφοντι· καὶ τοῦτον περιλαβὼν κατασπάζεται, καὶ τὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αἶσχος περιελὼν αὐτίκα ἱμάτιον περιτίθησι σωτηρίου, καὶ στολὴν λαμπροτάτης περιβαλὼν δόξης, μυστικὴν ταῖς ἄνω δυνάμεσιν ἐπιτελεῖ εὐφροσύνην, τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν ἑορτάζων τοῦ ἀπολωλότος προβάτου. αὐτὸς γὰρ ἔφη ὁ Κύριος χαρὰν γίνεσθαι ἐν οὐρανῷ μεγίστην ἐπὶ ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι. καὶ πάλιν, Οὐκ ἦλθον, φησί, καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετά 502 νοιαν. φησὶ δὲ καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου· Ζῶ ἐγώ, λέγει Κύριος· οὐ βούλομαι τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ καὶ ἀσεβοῦς, ὡς τὸ ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ ζῆν αὐτόν· ἀποστροφῇ ἀποστρέψατε ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ ὑμῶν τῆς πονηρᾶς· καὶ ἱνατί ἀποθνήσκετε, οἶκος Ἰσραήλ; ἀνομία γὰρ ἀνόμου οὐ μὴ κακώσῃ αὐτόν· ἐν ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ ἀποστρέψῃ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνομίας αὐτοῦ καὶ ποιήσῃ δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ἐν προστάγματι ζωῆς διαπορεύσηται, ζωῇ ζήσεται καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ· πᾶσαι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αὐτοῦ ἃς ἥμαρτεν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶσιν· ὅτι κρῖμα δικαιοσύνης ἐποίησεν, ἐν αὐτῇ ζήσεται. καὶ αὖθις, Λούσασθε, δι' ἑτέρου βοᾷ προφήτου, καθαροὶ γένεσθε, ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου· παύσασθε ἀπὸ τῶν πονηριῶν ὑμῶν· μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν· καὶ δεῦτε καὶ διαλεχθῶμεν· καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ, ἐὰν δὲ ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡσεὶ ἔριον λευκανῶ. τοιούτων οὖν προκειμένων ἐπαγγελιῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς ἐπιστρέφουσι, μὴ μέλλε, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, μηδὲ ἀναβάλλου· ἀλλὰ πρόσελθε πρὸς Χριστὸν τὸν φιλάνθρωπον Θεὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ φωτίσθητι, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. ἅμα γὰρ τῷ καταδῦναί σε τῇ κολυμβήθρᾳ τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος, ὅλον τὸ αἶσχος τοῦ παλαιοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ ὅλος ὁ φόρτος τῶν πολλῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐνθάπτεται τῷ ὕδατι καὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν χωρεῖ, νέος δὲ σὺ ἐκεῖθεν καὶ παντὸς ῥύπου καθαρὸς ἀνέρχῃ, μηδένα σπίλον ἢ ῥυτίδα ἁμαρτίας ἐπιφερόμενος, καὶ λοιπὸν ἐπὶ σοί ἐστι τὸ διαφυλάξαι ἑαυτῷ 504 τὴν ἐκεῖθέν σοι προσγινομένην κάθαρσιν διὰ σπλάγχνα ἐλέους Θεοῦ ἡμῶν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Θευδᾶς, τούτοις κατηχηθεὶς τοῖς ῥήμασιν, ἔξεισιν εὐθέως, καὶ τὸ πονηρὸν ἐκεῖνο καταλαβὼν ἄντρον, καὶ τὰς ἑαυτοῦ λαβὼν μαγικὰς βίβλους, ὡς κακίας πάσης ἀπαρχάς, ὡς ὀργίων δαιμονικῶν θησαυρούς, πυρὶ κατέκαυσεν. αὐτὸς δὲ τὸ