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he was taught to make no distinction. Because I, it says, have sent them. See how great is the authority of the Spirit. What God does, this the Spirit is said to do. The angel then not so; but first having said, Your prayers and your alms, then he says, Send, to show that he was sent from there; but the Spirit, since He is Lord, [says,] I have sent them. And Peter went down to the men and said: Behold, I am he whom you seek. What is the reason for which you are here? And they said: Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that fears God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for you into his house, and to hear words from you. They speak his praises, so as to persuade him that an angel also appeared to him. So he called them in and lodged them. Do you see, from whence the beginning of the Gentiles comes? From a devout man, who was shown to be worthy by his works. For if even this happened, and yet they are offended, if this had not been, what would the Jews not have said? Calling them in therefore, he says, he lodged 60.174 them. See how great the security. So that they should suffer no harm, he calls them in, and for the rest consorts with them with boldness. And on the next day Peter rose and went forth with them, and certain of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him, and on the next day they entered into Caesarea. The man was of note, as being in a notable city. Wherefore also all things are ordered together in his case, and the matter takes its beginning from Judaea; for instance, that he was seen not while sleeping, but while awake, in the daytime; for it was about the ninth hour; so attentive was he to himself. But let us look at what was said above. And the angel said: Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. From this it is clear, that the angel called by voice, and thus he saw him; as if he had not called, he would not have seen; so absorbed was he in the matter in which he was engaged. And send for Simon, whose surname is Peter. For the time being, he indicated that he would send for him for good things; but for what good things, not yet. Thus Peter also does not say the whole thing; but everywhere the narratives are partial, so as to rouse the hearers. Thus also He calls Philip alone into the desert. And Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour, and a trance fell upon him, and he beholds a certain vessel as a sheet. Observe that not even hunger compelled him to run to the linen sheet. But that Peter might not be in greater perplexity, he hears a voice saying: Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Perhaps kneeling he saw the vision; but it seems to me that he saw it on account of the preaching. But that what was happening was also divine, is clear both from seeing it descending from above, and from being in a trance. And that a voice was brought from thence, and that this happened three times, and that heaven was opened, and that it came from thence, and that it was caught up there again, is a great sign that the matter was divine. 3. But why does this happen? For the sake of those after these things, to whom he is about to explain; since he himself had already heard, that You shall not go into the way of the Gentiles. And do not be surprised. For if Paul needed circumcision and sacrifice, much more then at the beginning of the preaching, when they were weaker, were these things needed. And behold the men, it says, who were sent from Cornelius stood at the gate; and calling out they asked whether Simon, whose surname is Peter, was lodging there. As it was a humble house, they asked from below, they did not ask the neighbors. And while Peter was thinking, the Spirit said to him: Arise, go down, and go, making no distinction, because I have sent them. See; He did not say: For this reason the vision appeared to you; but, I have sent them; showing that thus one must obey, not demanding an account. For it is sufficient for all full assurance to hear from Him: Do this, speak that, and to seek nothing more. And Peter went down and said: Behold, I am he whom you seek. Why did he not receive them immediately, but asks questions? He saw that the men who had come were soldiers. Therefore he does not ask simply, but first having confessed that it was he, then the

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ἐπαιδεύθη μηδὲν διακρίνεσθαι. Ὅτι ἐγὼ, φησὶν, αὐτοὺς ἀπέσταλκα. Ὅρα ὅση τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ ἐξουσία. Ὃ δὲ ποιεῖ ὁ Θεὸς, τοῦτο λέγεται τὸ Πνεῦμα ποιεῖν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἄγγελος οὐχ οὕτως· ἀλλὰ πρῶτον εἰπὼν, Αἱ εὐχαί σου καὶ αἱ ἐλεημοσύναι σου, τότε φησὶν, Ἀπόστειλον, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι ἐκεῖθεν ἀπέσταλται· τὸ δὲ Πνεῦμα, ἐπεὶ Κύριον, Ἐγὼ αὐτοὺς ἀπέσταλκα. Καταβὰς δὲ ὁ Πέτρος πρὸς τοὺς ἄνδρας, εἶπεν· Ἰδοὺ ἐγώ εἰμι, ὃν ζητεῖτε. Τίς ἡ αἰτία δι' ἣν πάρεστε; Οἱ δὲ εἶπον· Κορνήλιος ὁ ἑκατοντάρχης, ἀνὴρ δίκαιος καὶ φοβούμενος τὸν Θεὸν, μαρτυρούμενός τε ὑπὸ ὅλου τοῦ ἔθνους τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἐχρηματίσθη ὑπὸ ἀγγέλου ἁγίου μεταπέμψασθαί σε εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκοῦσαι ῥήματα παρὰ σοῦ. Λέγουσι τὰ ἐγκώμια, ὥστε πεῖσαι, ὅτι καὶ ἄγγελος ὤφθη αὐτῷ. Εἰσκαλεσάμενος οὖν αὐτοὺς ἐξένισεν. Ὁρᾷς, πόθεν ἡ ἀρχὴ γίνεται τῶν ἐθνῶν; Ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς εὐσεβοῦς, ἀξίου φανέντος ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο γέγονε, καὶ ὅμως σκανδαλίζονται, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο ἦν, τί οὐκ ἂν εἶπον Ἰουδαῖοι; Εἰσκαλεσάμενος οὖν, φησὶν, αὐτοὺς ἐξέ 60.174 νισε. Θέα πόση ἀσφάλεια. Ὥστε μηδὲν αὐτοὺς παθεῖν δεινὸν, εἰσκαλεῖται, καὶ μετὰ παῤῥησίας λοιπὸν συνδιαιτᾶται. Τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον ἀναστὰς ὁ Πέτρος, ἐξῆλθε σὺν αὐτοῖς, καί τινες τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν ἀπὸ Ἰόππης συνῆλθον αὐτῷ, καὶ τῇ ἐπαύριον εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὴν Καισάρειαν. Ἐπίσημος ἦν ὁ ἀνὴρ, ὡς ἐν ἐπισήμῳ πόλει τυγχάνων. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῷ πάντα ὁμοῦ οἰκονομεῖται, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἀρχὴν λαμβάνει τὸ πρᾶγμα· οἷον τὸ μὴ ὑπνοῦντι ὀφθῆναι, ἀλλ' ἐγρηγορότι, τὸ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ· περὶ ἐνάτην γὰρ ὥραν· οὕτως ἑαυτῷ προσεῖχεν. Ἀλλ' ἴδωμεν ἄνωθεν τὰ εἰρημένα. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος· Αἱ εὐχαί σου καὶ αἱ ἐλεημοσύναι σου ἀνέβησαν εἰς μνημόσυνον ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐντεῦθεν δῆλον, ὅτι διὰ φωνῆς ἐκάλεσεν ὁ ἄγγελος, καὶ οὕτως εἶδεν αὐτόν· ὡς εἰ μὴ ἐκάλεσεν, οὐδ' ἂν εἶδεν· οὕτω συντεταμένος ἦν ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος, ἐν ᾧ ἦν. Καὶ μετάπεμψαι Σίμωνα τὸν ἐπικαλούμενον Πέτρον. Τέως, ὅτι ἐπὶ χρηστοῖς αὐτὸν μετακαλέσεται, ἐδήλωσε· ποίοις δὲ χρηστοῖς, οὐκ ἔτι. Οὕτως οὐδὲ Πέτρος λέγει τὸ πᾶν· ἀλλὰ πανταχοῦ ἐκ μέρους τὰ διηγήματα, ὥστε διεγείρειν τοὺς ἀκούοντας. Οὕτω καὶ Φίλιππον καλεῖ μόνον εἰς τὴν ἔρημον. Ἀνέβη δὲ Πέτρος ἐπὶ τὸ δῶμα προσεύξασθαι περὶ ὥραν ἕκτην, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἔκστασις, καὶ θεωρεῖ σκεῦός τι ὡς ὀθόνην. Σκόπει, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἡ πεῖνα ἠνάγκασεν αὐτὸν προσδραμεῖν τῇ σινδόνι. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ ἐν πλείονι ἀπορίᾳ ὁ Πέτρος ᾖ, ἀκούει λεγούσης φωνῆς· Ἀναστὰς, Πέτρε, θῦσον καὶ φάγε. Ἴσως ἐπὶ γόνατα κείμενος εἶδε τὴν ὀπτασίαν· ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεῖ διὰ τὸ κήρυγμα ταύτην ἑωρακέναι. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ θεῖον ἦν τὸ γινόμενον, δῆλον ἔκ τε τοῦ ἄνωθεν ἰδεῖν καταβαῖνον, ἔκ τε τοῦ ἐν ἐκστάσει γενέσθαι. Τὸ δὲ καὶ φωνὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἐνεχθῆναι, καὶ τὸ τρὶς τοῦτο γενέσθαι, καὶ τὸ οὐρανὸν ἀνεῳχθῆναι, καὶ τὸ ἐκεῖθεν ἥκειν, καὶ τὸ ἐκεῖ ἀναρπασθῆναι πάλιν, μέγα δεῖγμα τοῦ θεῖον εἶναι τὸ πρᾶγμα. γʹ. ∆ιὰ τί δὲ τοῦτο γίνεται; ∆ιὰ τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα, οἷς μέλλει ἐξηγεῖσθαι· ἐπεὶ αὐτὸς ἤδη ἀκούσας ἦν, ὅτι Εἰς ὁδὸν ἐθνῶν μὴ ἀπέλθητε. Καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς. Εἰ γὰρ περιτομῆς ἐδεήθη καὶ θυσίας Παῦλος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τότε ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ κηρύγματος ἀσθενεστέρων ὄντων αὐτῶν, τούτων ἔδει. Καὶ ἰδοὺ οἱ ἄνδρες, φησὶ, οἱ ἀπεσταλμένοι ἀπὸ τοῦ Κορνηλίου ἐπέστησαν ἐπὶ τὸν πυλῶνα· καὶ φωνήσαντες ἐπυνθάνοντο, εἰ Σίμων ὁ ἐπικαλούμενος Πέτρος ἐνθάδε ξενίζεται. Ἅτε ὡς εὐτελῆ οἰκίαν, κάτωθεν ἐπυνθάνοντο, οὐ τοὺς γείτονας ἠρώτων. Τοῦ δὲ Πέτρου διενθυμουμένου, εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὸ Πνεῦμα· Ἀναστὰς κατάβηθι, καὶ πορεύου μηδὲν διακρινόμενος, διότι ἐγὼ ἀπέσταλκα αὐτούς. Ὅρα· οὐκ εἶπε· ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ ὅραμά σοι ὤφθη· ἀλλ', Ἐγὼ αὐτοὺς ἀπέσταλκα· δεικνὺς, ὅτι οὕτω δεῖ πείθεσθαι, εὐθύνας οὐκ ἀπαιτοῦντα. Ἀρκεῖ γὰρ πρὸς πᾶσαν πληροφορίαν τὸ ἀκοῦσαι παρ' αὐτοῦ· Τόδε ποίησον, τόδε λάλησον, καὶ μηδὲν πλέον ζητεῖν. Καταβὰς δὲ Πέτρος εἶπεν· Ἰδοὺ ἐγώ εἰμι, ὃν ζητεῖτε. Τί δήποτε οὐκ εὐθέως αὐτοὺς ἐδέξατο, ἀλλὰ πυνθάνεται; Εἶδε στρατιώτας ὄντας τοὺς ἐπιστάντας. ∆ιὸ οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐρωτᾷ, ἀλλὰ πρότερον ὁμολογήσας αὐτὸς εἶναι, τότε τὴν