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you know, that from ancient days God chose among you that through my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe; and God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them. For an angel of the Lord once appeared to Cornelius, a centurion of Roman authority, and spoke to him about me, that he should send for me and hear words of life from my mouth; and he sent for me from Joppa to Caesarea Stratonis. But when I was about to go out to him, I wanted to take some food; and as they were preparing it, I was in the upper room praying, and I saw heaven opened and a certain vessel, like a bright sheet, bound at the four corners and let down to the earth, in which were all the four-footed animals and the creeping things of the earth and the birds of the air; and a voice came from heaven to me, saying: Rise, Peter, kill and eat. And I said: By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common and unclean. And again a voice came a second time, saying: What God has cleansed, you must not call common. This happened three times, and the vessel was taken up into heaven. And as I was pondering what the vision might be, the Spirit said to me: Behold, men are looking for you; but rise and go with them, without hesitating, because I have sent them; and these were the men from the centurion. And so, reflecting, I understood the word of the Lord that is written, that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And again: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before him, for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he rules over the nations.” And understanding how it is said everywhere concerning the calling of the Gentiles, I arose and went with them and entered the man's house; and while I was still proclaiming the word, the Holy Spirit fell upon him and upon those present with him, just as also upon us in the beginning; and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. And I knew that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation the one who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him; and the believers from the circumcision were amazed at this. Now therefore, why do you test God, to place a heavy yoke on the neck of the disciples, which

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στασθε, ὅτι ἀφ' ἡμερῶν ἀρχαίων ἐν ὑμῖν ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τοῦ στόματός μου ἀκοῦσαι τὰ ἔθνη τὸν λόγον τοῦ Eὐαγγελίου καὶ πιστεῦσαι· καὶ ὁ καρδιογνώστης Θεὸς ἐμαρτύρησεν αὐτοῖς. Κορνηλίῳ γάρ ποτε ἑκατοντάρχῃ ·ωμαϊκῆς ἀρχῆς êφθη ἄγγελος Κυρίου καὶ περὶ ἐμοῦ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, ὅπως μεταστείληταί με καὶ ἀκούσῃ ·ήματα ζωῆς ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου· ὁ δὲ μετεπέμψατό με ἀπὸ Ἰόππης εἰς Καισάρειαν τὴν Στράτωνος. Ὁπότε δὲ ἔμελλον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐκπορεύεσθαι, ἐβουλήθην τροφῆς μεταλαβεῖν· καὶ παρασκευαζόντων, ἤμην ἐν τῷ ὑπερóῳ προσευχόμενος, καὶ θεωρῶ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνεῳγότα καὶ τέσσαρσιν ἀρχαῖς δεδεμένον σκεῦός τι ὡς ὀθόνην λαμπρὰν καὶ καθιέμενον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἐν ᾧ ὑπῆρχεν πάντα τὰ τετράποδα καὶ τὰ ἑρπετὰ τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· καὶ ἐγένετο φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πρὸς μὲ λέγουσα· Ἀναστάς, Πέτρε, θῦσον καὶ φάγε. Κἀγὼ εἶπον· Μηδαμῶς, Κύριε, ὅτι οὐδέποτε ἔφαγον πᾶν κοινὸν καὶ ἀκάθαρτον. Καὶ ἐγένετο πάλιν φωνὴ ἐκ δευτέρου λέγουσα· Ἃ ὁ Θεὸς ἐκαθάρισεν, σὺ μὴ κοίνου. Τοῦτο δὲ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ τρίς, καὶ ἀνελήφθη τὸ σκεῦος εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. Ὡς δὲ διηπόρουν, τί ἂν εἴη τὸ ὅραμα, εἶπέν μοι τὸ Πνεῦμα· Ἰδοὺ ἄνδρες ζητοῦσιν σε· ἀλλὰ ἀναστὰς πορεύθητι σὺν αὐτοῖς μηδὲν διακρινόμενος, διότι ἐγὼ ἀπέσταλκα αὐτούς· οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν οἱ παρὰ τοῦ ἑκατοντάρχου. Καὶ οὕτως ἀναλογισάμενος ἔγνων τὸ ῥῆμα Κυρίου τὸ γεγραμ μένον, ὅτι «Πᾶς, ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου, σωθήσεται.» Καὶ πάλιν· «Μνησθήσονται καὶ ἐπιστρα φήσονται πρὸς Κύριον πάντα τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς, καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ πᾶσαι αἱ πατριαὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὅτι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ βασιλεία, καὶ αὐτὸς δεσπόζει τῶν ἐθνῶν.» Καὶ ὡς πανταχοῦ περὶ τῆς κλήσεως τῶν ἐθνῶν εἴρηται ἐννοήσας, ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθην σὺν αὐτοῖς καὶ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ ἀνδρός· καὶ ἔτι μου διαγγέλ λοντος τὸν λόγον, ἐπέπεσεν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐπ' αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς παρόντας σὺν αὐτῷ, καθὼς καὶ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς ἐν ἀρχῇ· καὶ οὐθὲν διέκρινεν μεταξὺ ἡμῶν τε καὶ αὐτῶν, τῇ πίστει καθαρίσας τὰς καρδίας αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἔγνων ἐγώ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήπτης ὁ Θεός, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει ὁ φοβούμενος αὐτὸν καὶ ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστιν· ἐξέστησαν δὲ ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς πιστοί. Νῦν οὖν τί πειράζετε τὸν Θεόν, ἐπιθεῖναι ζυγὸν βαρὺν ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον τῶν μαθητῶν, ὃν