111

of judgment and retribution coming through him; this same one who also willed to become man and lived without sin and suffered and died and rose from the dead and ascended to the one who sent him. We say that every creature of God is good and nothing is abominable, everything partaken of rightly for sustenance is best; “For according to the scripture, all things are very good.” We believe lawful marriage and the begetting of children to be honorable and undefiled; for for the increase of the human race a difference of forms was fashioned in Adam and Eve. We confess the soul within us to be incorporeal and immortal, not corruptible like bodies, but immortal as rational and having free will. We abominate every unlawful union and that which occurs contrary to nature by some, as illicit and unholy. We confess that there is a resurrection of both the just and the unjust, and a recompense. We confess Christ not as a mere man, but as God the Word and man, mediator between God and men, high priest of the Father; nor indeed are we circumcised with the Jews, knowing that he has come for whom it was reserved and for whom the tribes were kept, the expectation of the nations, Jesus Christ, who rose from Judah, the son from the branch, the flower from Jesse, whose government is upon his shoulder. But since at that time this heresy seemed to be stronger for deception, and the whole Church was in danger, we the twelve, having come together in Jerusalem—for in place of the traitor, Matthias was chosen by vote with us to be an apostle, taking the lot of Judas, as it is said: “Let another take his office”—we considered together with James the brother of the Lord, what should be done; and it seemed good to him and to the presbyters to speak words of teaching to the people. For certain men, having come down from Judea to Antioch, were teaching the brethren there, saying, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses and walk in the other customs which he commanded, you cannot be saved.” Therefore, when no small dissension and debate arose, the brethren in Antioch, knowing that we had all come together to inquire about this, sent to us faithful men and knowledgeable in the scriptures, to learn about this question. And they, having arrived in Jerusalem, reported to us the matters being debated also in the Church of Antioch, that some were saying that it is necessary to be circumcised and to observe the other purifications. But when some were saying one thing and others another, I, Peter, stood up and said to them: “Men, brethren, you know

111

κρίσεως καὶ ἀνταποδόσεως δι' αὐτοῦ γενόμενον· τοῦτον αὐτὸν καὶ ἄνθρωπον εὐδοκήσαντα γενέσθαι καὶ πολιτευσά μενον ἄνευ ἁμαρτίας καὶ παθόντα καὶ ἀποθανόντα καὶ ἀναστάντα ἐκ νεκρῶν καὶ ἀνελθόντα πρὸς τὸν ἀποστείλαντα. Πᾶν κτίσμα Θεοῦ καλόν φαμεν καὶ οὐδὲν βδελυκτόν, πᾶν τὸ πρὸς σύστασιν δικαίως μεταλαμβανόμενον ἄριστον· «Πάντα γὰρ κατὰ τὴν γραφὴν καλὰ λίαν.» Γάμον νόμιμον καὶ παίδων γένεσιν τιμίαν καὶ ἀμόλυντον εἶναι πιστεύομεν· ἐπ' αὐξήσει γὰρ τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων διαφορὰ σχημάτων διεπλάσθη ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ καὶ τῇ Eὔᾳ. Ψυχὴν ἀσώματον καὶ ἀθάνατον ἐν ἡμῖν ὁμολογοῦμεν, ἀλλ' οὐ φθαρτὴν ὡς τὰ σώματα, ἀλλ' ἀθάνατον ὡς λογικὴν καὶ αὐτεξούσιον. Πᾶσαν μίξιν παράνομον καὶ τὴν παρὰ φύσιν γινομένην ὑπό τινων βδελυσσόμεθα ὡς ἀθέμιτον καὶ ἀνοσίαν. Ἀνάστασιν γίνεσθαι ὁμολογοῦμεν δικαίων τε καὶ ἀδίκων καὶ μισθαποδοσίαν. Τὸν Χριστὸν οὐ ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον ὁμολογοῦμεν, ἀλλὰ Θεὸν Λόγον καὶ ἄνθρωπον, μεσίτην Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἀρχιερέα τοῦ Πατρός· οὔτε μὴν μετὰ Ἰουδαίων περιτεμνόμεθα, εἰδότες, ὅτι ἐλήλυθεν ᾧ ἀπέκειτο καὶ δι' ὃν ἐφυλάσσετο τὰ γένη, ἡ προσδοκία τῶν ἐθνῶν, Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ ἐξ Ἰούδα ἀνατείλας, ὁ ἐκ βλαστοῦ υἱός, τὸ ἐξ Ἰεσσαὶ ἄνθος, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ êμου. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ τότε αὕτη ἡ αἵρεσις ἰσχυροτέρα πρὸς πλάνην ἔδοξεν εἶναι, καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὅλης κινδυνευούσης, ἡμεῖς οἱ δώδεκα συνελθόντες εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ-ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ προδότου Ματθίας σὺν ἡμῖν κατεψηφίσθη ἀπόστολος εἶναι, λαβὼν τὸν κλῆρον Ἰούδα, ὡς εἴρηται· «Τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ λάβοι ἕτερος»-ἐπεσκεπτόμεθα ἅμα Ἰακώβῳ τῷ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀδελφῷ, τί γένηται· καὶ ἔδοξεν αὐτῷ τε καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις λόγους διδασκαλίας προσλαλῆσαι τῷ λαῷ. Καὶ γάρ τινες κατελθόντες ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας εἰς Ἀντιό χειαν ἐδίδασκον τοὺς ἐκεῖ ἀδελφούς, λέγοντες, ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ περιτέμνησθε τῷ ἔθει Μωϋσέως καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἔθεσιν οἷς διετάξατο περιπατῆτε, οὐ δύνασθε σωθῆναι. Γενομένης οὖν στάσεως καὶ ζητήσεως οὐκ ὀλίγης, οἱ ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ ἀδελφοί, γνόντες, ὅτι συνεληλύθαμεν πάντες περὶ τούτου ζητήσοντες, ἐξαπέστειλαν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἄνδρας πιστοὺς καὶ τῶν γραφῶν εἰδήμονας, μαθεῖν περὶ τοῦ ζητήματος τούτου. Oἱ δέ, παραγενόμενοι εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἀνήγγειλαν ἡμῖν τὰ ζητηθέντα καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀντιοχέων Ἐκκλησίᾳ, ὡς ὅτι τινὲς ἔλεγον, ὅτι δεῖ περιτέμνεσθαι καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἁγνείας παρα φυλάττειν. Ἄλλων δὲ ἄλλο τι λεγόντων, ἐγὼ Πέτρος ἀναστὰς εἶπον πρὸς αὐτούς· «Ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί, ὑμεῖς ἐπί