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by their mediation it might be dissolved; 6.43.9 when these men arrived, being, as we have already said, rather simple men concerning the schemes and villainies of the wicked, he shut them up with certain disturbed men like himself, and at the tenth hour, when they were drunk and sick from wine, he forced them by violence to give him the episcopate by a certain phantom and vain laying on of hands, which, not belonging to him, he claims through treachery and craftiness; 6.43.10 one of whom not long after returned to the church, bewailing and confessing his own sin, with whom we held communion as with a layman, as all the people present interceded for him; and for the other bishops, we have ordained and sent successors to the places where they were. 6.43.11 "This avenger of the Gospel, then, did not understand that there should be one bishop in a catholic church, in which he was not ignorant—for how could he be?—that there are forty-six presbyters, seven deacons, seven sub-deacons, forty-two acolytes, and exorcists and readers along with doorkeepers, fifty-two, widows with the afflicted over one thousand five hundred, all of whom the grace and loving-kindness of the Master nourishes; 6.43.12 whom not even so great a multitude and so necessary in the church, a number rich and abounding through the providence of God, with a very great and innumerable people, turned aside from such desperation and renunciation and recalled to the church." 6.43.13 And again after other things he adds these words to them: "Come now, let us say next by what works or what conduct, having taken courage, he laid claim to the episcopate. Was it because he had been conversant in the church from the beginning and had endured many conflicts on its behalf and had been in many and great dangers for the sake of piety? But it is not so; 6.43.14 for whom Satan became the occasion for believing, having entered into him and dwelt in him for a considerable time; who, being helped by the exorcists, fell into a grievous sickness, and being thought to be on the point of death, received baptism by affusion on the very bed where he lay, if indeed one must say that such a person has received it. 6.43.15 Nor indeed, having escaped the sickness, did he obtain the other things which one must receive according to the canon of the church, namely, the being sealed by the bishop; and not having obtained these things, how could he have obtained the Holy Spirit?" 6.43.16 And again after a little he says: "He who through cowardice and love of life denied that he was a presbyter in the time of persecution. For when requested and entreated by the deacons to come out of the small room in which he had shut himself up, to help the brethren in whatever ways it is right and possible for a presbyter to help brethren in danger and in need of assistance, he was so far from obeying the entreating deacons, that he went away and departed in anger; for he said he no longer wished to be a presbyter, for he was a lover of another philosophy." 6.43.17 And passing over a few things, he again adds these words, saying: "For this illustrious man, having abandoned the church of God, in which, having believed, he was deemed worthy of the presbyterate by the grace of the bishop who laid his hand on him for the lot of the presbyterate, who, though hindered by all the clergy, and also by many of the laity, since it was not lawful for one who had been baptized by affusion in bed on account of sickness, as this man also, to enter any clerical order, requested that it be granted to him to ordain this one man only." 6.43.18 Then he adds to these another, the worst of the man's offenses, speaking thus: "For having made the offerings and distributing to each his portion, and as he gives it, he compels the wretched men to swear instead of to give thanks, holding with both his hands those of the one who has received and not letting go, until swearing they say these things—for I will use his own words—: "Swear to me by the blood and the body of our Lord Jesus Christ that you will never forsake me and return to Cornelius." 6.43.19 And the miserable man not before

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αὐτῶν μεσιτευόντων διαλυθῇ· 6.43.9 οὓς παραγενομένους, ἅτε δή, ὡς ἔφθημεν λέγοντες, ἀνθρώπους ἁπλουστέρους περὶ τὰς τῶν πονηρῶν μηχανάς τε καὶ ῥᾳδιουργίας, συγκλεισθέντας ὑπό τινων ὁμοίων αὐτῷ τεταραγμένων ἀνθρώπων, ὥρᾳ δεκάτῃ, μεθύοντας καὶ κραιπαλῶντας, μετὰ βίας ἠνάγκασεν εἰκονικῇ τινι καὶ ματαίᾳ χειρεπιθεσίᾳ ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτῷ δοῦναι, ἣν ἐνέδρᾳ καὶ πανουργίᾳ, μὴ ἐπιβάλλουσαν αὐτῷ, ἐκδικεῖ· 6.43.10 ἐξ ὧν εἷς μετ' οὐ πολὺ ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ἀποδυρόμενος καὶ ἐξομολογούμενος τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἁμάρτημα, ᾧ καὶ ἐκοινωνήσαμεν λαϊκῷ, ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ δεηθέντος παντὸς τοῦ παρόντος λαοῦ· καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν δὲ ἐπισκόπων διαδόχους εἰς τοὺς τόπους, ἐν οἷς ἦσαν, χειροτονήσαντες ἀπεστάλκαμεν. 6.43.11 «ὁ ἐκδικητὴς οὖν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου οὐκ ἠπίστατο ἕνα ἐπίσκοπον δεῖν εἶναι ἐν καθολικῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἐν ᾗ οὐκ ἠγνόει, πῶς γάρ; πρεσβυτέρους εἶναι τεσσαράκοντα ἕξ, διακόνους ἑπτά, ὑποδιακόνους ἑπτά, ἀκολούθους δύο καὶ τεσσαράκοντα, ἐξορκιστὰς δὲ καὶ ἀναγνώστας ἅμα πυλωροῖς δύο καὶ πεντήκοντα, χήρας σὺν θλιβομένοις ὑπὲρ τὰς χιλίας πεντακοσίας, οὓς πάντας ἡ τοῦ δεσπότου χάρις καὶ φιλανθρωπία διατρέφει· 6.43.12 ὃν οὐδὲ τοσοῦτο πλῆθος καὶ οὕτως ἀναγκαῖον ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, διὰ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ προνοίας πλούσιός τε καὶ πληθύων ἀριθμὸς μετὰ μεγίστου καὶ ἀναριθμήτου λαοῦ, ἀπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀπογνώσεώς τε καὶ ἀπαγορεύσεως ἐνέτρεψέν τε καὶ ἀνεκαλέσατο εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν». 6.43.13 καὶ αὖθις μεθ' ἕτερα τούτοις προστίθησιν ταῦτα· «φέρε δή, ἑξῆς εἴπωμεν τίσιν ἔργοις ἢ τίσιν πολιτείαις τεθαρρηκὼς ἀντεποιήθη τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς. ἆρά γε διὰ τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀνεστράφθαι καὶ πολλοὺς ἀγῶνας ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἠγωνίσθαι καὶ ἐν κινδύνοις πολλοῖς τε καὶ μεγάλοις ἕνεκα τῆς θεοσεβείας γεγονέναι; ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστιν· 6.43.14 ᾧ γε ἀφορμὴ τοῦ πιστεῦσαι γέγονεν ὁ σατανᾶς, φοιτήσας εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ οἰκήσας ἐν αὐτῷ χρόνον ἱκανόν· ὃς βοηθούμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπορκιστῶν νόσῳ περιπεσὼν χαλεπῇ καὶ ἀποθανεῖσθαι ὅσον οὐδέπω νομιζόμενος, ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ κλίνῃ, οὗ ἔκειτο, περιχυθεὶς ἔλαβεν, εἴ γε χρὴ λέγειν τὸν τοιοῦτον εἰληφέναι. 6.43.15 οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τῶν λοιπῶν ἔτυχεν, διαφυγὼν τὴν νόσον, ὧν χρὴ μεταλαμβάνειν κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας κανόνα, τοῦ τε σφραγισθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου· τούτων δὲ μὴ τυχών, πῶς ἂν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἔτυχεν;» 6.43.16 καὶ πάλιν μετὰ βραχέα φησίν· «ὁ διὰ δειλίαν καὶ φιλοζωΐαν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς διώξεως πρεσβύτερον εἶναι ἑαυτὸν ἀρνησάμενος. ἀξιούμενος γὰρ καὶ παρακαλούμενος ὑπὸ τῶν διακόνων, ἵν' ἐξελθὼν τοῦ οἰκίσκου, ἐν ᾧ καθεῖρξεν ἑαυτόν, βοηθήσῃ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὅσα θέμις καὶ ὅσα δυνατὸν πρεσβυτέρῳ κινδυνεύουσιν ἀδελφοῖς καὶ ἐπικουρίας δεομένοις βοηθεῖν, τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχεν τοῦ πειθαρχῆσαι παρακαλοῦσι τοῖς διακόνοις, ὡς καὶ χαλεπαίνοντα ἀπιέναι καὶ ἀπαλλάττεσθαι· μὴ γὰρ ἔτι βούλεσθαι πρεσβύτερος εἶναι ἔφη, ἑτέρας γὰρ εἶναι φιλοσοφίας ἐραστής». 6.43.17 ὑπερβὰς δ' ὀλίγα, τούτοις πάλιν ἐπιφέρει λέγων· «καταλιπὼν γὰρ ὁ λαμπρὸς οὗτος τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν ᾗ πιστεύσας κατηξιώθη τοῦ πρεσβυτερίου κατὰ χάριν τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τοῦ ἐπιθέντος αὐτῷ χεῖρα εἰς πρεσβυτερίου κλῆρον, ὃς διακωλυόμενος ὑπὸ παντὸς τοῦ κλήρου, ἀλλὰ καὶ λαϊκῶν πολλῶν, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐξὸν ἦν τὸν ἐν κλίνῃ διὰ νόσον περιχυθέντα, ὥσπερ καὶ οὗτος, εἰς κλῆρόν τινα γενέσθαι, ἠξίωσεν συγχωρηθῆναι αὐτῷ τοῦτον μόνον χειροτονῆσαι». 6.43.18 εἶτ' ἄλλο τι τούτοις χείριστον προστίθησιν τῶν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀτοπημάτων, λέγων οὕτως· «ποιήσας γὰρ τὰς προσφορὰς καὶ διανέμων ἑκάστῳ τὸ μέρος καὶ ἐπιδιδοὺς τοῦτο, ὀμνύειν ἀντὶ τοῦ εὐλογεῖν τοὺς ταλαιπώρους ἀνθρώπους ἀναγκάζει, κατέχων ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς χερσὶ τὰς τοῦ λαβόντος καὶ μὴ ἀφιείς, ἔστ' ἂν ὀμνύοντες εἴπωσιν ταῦτα τοῖς γὰρ ἐκείνου χρήσομαι λόγοις· «ὄμοσόν μοι κατὰ τοῦ αἵματος καὶ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μηδέποτέ με καταλιπεῖν καὶ ἐπιστρέψαι πρὸς Κορνήλιον». 6.43.19 καὶ ὁ ἄθλιος ἄνθρωπος οὐ πρότερον