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which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord we shall be saved, in the same way as they. For the Lord freed us from the bonds and lightened our burden and with gentleness removed the yoke of weight from us. And when I had said these things, all the multitude kept silent, and James, the brother of the Lord, answered, saying: Men, brothers, hear me. Simeon has declared how God at the first visited to take from the Gentiles a people for His name. And with this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written: ‘After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up, so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles upon whom My name is called, says the Lord who does these things.’ Known to God from eternity are all His works. Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from the pollutions of the Gentiles, from things sacrificed to idols and from sexual immorality and from blood and from what is strangled. These things were also legislated by nature for the ancients who were before the law: Enos, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Job, and if anyone else of this kind existed. Then it seemed good to us, the apostles, and to bishop James and to the elders, with the whole Church, to choose men from among ourselves to send with those with Barnabas and Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles from Tarsus, and Judas who is called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, writing by their hand these things: The apostles and the elders and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some from among us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, to whom we gave no such commandment, it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom you sent word; and we have sent with them Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these things

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οὔτε ἡμεῖς οὔτε οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἰσχύσαμεν βαστάσαι; Ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Κυρίου πιστεύομεν σωθῆναι, καθ' ὃν τρόπον κἀκεῖνοι· ἔλυσεν γὰρ ἡμᾶς ὁ Κύριος ἐκ τῶν δεσμῶν καὶ ἠλάφρυνεν τὸ φορτίον ἡμῶν καὶ τὸν ζυγὸν τοῦ βάρους πραότητι ἔλυσεν ἀφ' ἡμῶν. Ταῦτα δέ μου εἰπόντος, ἐσίγησεν ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος, ἀπεκρίθη δὲ Ἰάκωβος ὁ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀδελφὸς λέγων· Ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί, ἀκούσατέ μου. Συμεὼν ἐξηγήσατο, καθὼς πρῶτον ὁ Θεὸς ἐπεσκέψατο λαβεῖν ἐξ ἐθνῶν λαὸν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ· καὶ τούτῳ συμφωνοῦσιν οἱ λόγοι τῶν προφητῶν, καθὼς γέγραπται· «Μετὰ ταῦτα ἀναστρέψω καὶ ἀνοικοδομήσω τὴν σκηνὴν ∆αυὶδ τὴν πεπτωκυῖαν, καὶ τὰ κατεστραμμένα αὐτῆς ἀνοικοδομήσω καὶ ἀνορθώσω αὐτήν, ὅπως ἂν ἐκζητήσωσιν οἱ κατάλοιποι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸν Κύριον καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, ἐφ' οὓς ἐπικέκληται τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐπ' αὐτούς, λέγει Κύριος ὁ ποιῶν ταῦτα.» Γνωστὰ ἀπ' αἰῶνός ἐστι τῷ Θεῷ πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ· διὸ ἐγὼ κρίνω μὴ παρενοχλεῖν τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιστρέφουσιν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, ἀλλ' ἐπιστεῖλαι αὐτοῖς τοῦ ἀπέχεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλισγημάτων τῶν ἐθνῶν, εἰδωλο θύτου καὶ πορνείας καὶ αἵματος καὶ πνικτοῦ· ἅπερ καὶ τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἦν νενομοθετημένα τοῖς πρὸ τοῦ νόμου φυσικοῖς, Ἐνώς, Ἐνώχ, Νῶε, Μελχισεδέκ, Ἰὼβ καὶ εἴ τις τοιοῦτος ἐγεγόνει. Τότε ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις καὶ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ Ἰακώβῳ καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις σὺν ὅλῃ τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἐκλεξαμένους ἄνδρας ἐξ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν πέμψαι σὺν τοῖς περὶ Βαρνάβαν καὶ Παῦλον τὸν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀπόστολον τὸν Ταρσέα καὶ Ἰούδαν τὸν καλούμενον Βαρσαββᾶν καὶ Σίλαν, ἄνδρας ἡγουμένους ἐν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, γράψαντες διὰ χειρὸς αὐτῶν τάδε· Oἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν καὶ Συρίαν καὶ Κιλικίαν ἀδελφοῖς τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν χαίρειν. Ἐπειδὴ ἠκούσαμεν, ὅτι τινὲς ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐτάραξαν ὑμᾶς λόγοις ἀνασκευάζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν, οἷς οὐ διεστειλάμεθα, ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν γενομένοις ὁμοθυμαδόν, ἐκλεξαμένους ἄνδρας ἐκπέμψαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς σὺν τοῖς ἀγαπητοῖς ἡμῶν Βαρνάβᾳ καὶ Παύλῳ, ἀνθρώποις παραδεδωκόσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' ὧν ἐπεστείλατε· ἀπεστάλκαμεν δὲ μετ' αὐτῶν Ἰούδαν καὶ Σίλαν, καὶ αὐτοὺς διὰ λόγου ἀπαγγέλλοντας τὰ αὐτά. Ἔδοξεν γὰρ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι καὶ ἡμῖν μηθὲν πλέον ἐπιτίθεσθαι ὑμῖν βάρος πλὴν τούτων