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Such is our relationship to God and thus I know that in such a manner the all-good God accepts and loves those who repent, fleeing the deceitful world and the ruler of this world, and approaching Him naked of the affairs of this life as to a king and God, unless perhaps it seems burdensome to some to leave the one who bore them and to deny their own friends and relatives and to abandon perishing wealth, since I, for my part, found nothing burdensome or painful or grievous when I fled to God and my Savior. But if I must tell you the truth and reveal what I did not wish to make known to all, (300) to strip bare these things for your love, so that I may give something good to some of you, rather, in every distress and affliction and supposed hardship I saw joy and gladness overflowing in me through the revelation and appearance of his face, so that the saying of Paul was clearly fulfilled in me which says thus: “For the momentary, light affliction produces in us a weight of glory,” and that of David, who says, “In affliction you have given me room,” so that from this I considered the coming afflictions and temptations as nothing in comparison with the glory of Jesus Christ which was revealed to me not in the future, but at once, through the Holy Spirit, by participation in and vision of which I considered even illnesses unto death and any other more unbearable pain that comes to men through labors as nothing, forgetting every pain and sorrow of the body; thus I immediately considered the burden of the commandments light and the yoke of the Lord easy, but in not finding a reason to die for him quickly, my affliction, believe me, was unbearable.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, let us leave all things and run naked, and approaching Christ the master, let us fall down and weep before his goodness, so that he too, seeing our faith and humility, may likewise—or rather, more greatly—accept and honor us, and adorn us with his own robe and diadem, and make us worthy guests of the heavenly bridal chamber. For it is not the same thing to approach from one corruptible king to another, and to succeed to an earthly kingdom, as it is to ascend from earth to heaven and be deemed worthy of eternal glory and an incorruptible kingdom and to become a co-heir (301) and sharer with God, and not only a king, but also to become a god from God, and to rejoice with God for ever and ever. Let us not, therefore, prefer any of the earthly and corruptible things, I beseech you, brothers, so that we may not fall away from the glory and communion of Christ, but from this moment on, having purified ourselves, let us be eager to receive the pledge, or rather, to possess him himself, who is over all and in all and is every good thing.

And let no one say: “I have received and possess Christ from holy baptism,” but let him learn that not all who are baptized receive Christ through baptism, but only those who are firm in faith and have prepared themselves in perfect knowledge or even in prior purification, and have thus come to baptism. And he who searches the Scriptures will know this from the words and acts of the apostles; for it is written: “Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Do you see how not all who are baptized immediately receive the Holy Spirit? Have you learned from the apostles that some, even though they believed and were baptized, did not put on Christ through baptism? For if this had happened, they would not have after this prayer and the

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Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καί τό ἡμέτερον πρός Θεόν καί οὕτως οἶδα ἐν τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ τούς μετανοοῦντας τόν φιλάγαθον Θεόν ἀποδέχεσθαι καί φιλεῖν, φεύγοντας μέν κόσμον πλάνον καί κοσμοκράτορα, γυμνούς δέ προσερχομένους αὐτῷ τῶν τοῦ βίου πραγμάτων ὡς βασιλεῖ καί Θεῷ, εἰ μή τισιν ἄρα βαρύ καταφαίνεται τό τήν γεννησαμένην καταλιπεῖν καί τούς οἰκείους φίλους καί συγγενεῖς ἀπαρνήσασθαι καί τόν πλοῦτον ἐᾶσαι τόν ἀπολλύμενον, ἐπεί οὐδέν ἔγωγε φορτικόν εὗρον ἤ λυπηρόν ἤ ἐπαχθές, προσφυγών τῷ Θεῷ καί σωτῆρί μου. Ἀλλ᾿ εἰ χρή τήν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν ἐξειπεῖν καί ἅ οὐκ ἐβουλόμην πᾶσι δῆλα ποιεῖν, (300) ταῦτα τήν ἀγάπην ὑμῶν ἀπογυμνῶσαι, ἵνα δῶ τι καλόν τισιν ἐξ ὑμῶν, ἐν πάσῃ μᾶλλον στενοχωρίᾳ καί θλίψει καί τῇ νομιζομένῃ κακοπαθείᾳ ὑπερεκβλύζουσαν τήν χαράν καί εὐφροσύνην ἔβλεπον ἐν ἐμοί διά τῆς ἀποκαλύψεως καί ἐπιφανείας τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, ὥστε πληροῦσθαι ἐναργῶς ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί τό οὕτω λέγον τοῦ Παύλου ῥητόν· «Τό γάρ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρόν τῆς θλίψεως βάρος δόξης κατεργάζεται ἐν ἡμῖν», καί τό τοῦ ∆αυίδ· «Ἐν θλίψει» λέγοντος «ἐπλάτυνάς με», ὡς ἐντεῦθεν μηδέν ἡγεῖσθαί με τάς ἐπερχομένας θλίψεις καί τούς πειρασμούς πρός τήν οὐχί μέλλουσαν, ἀλλά παραυτίκα ἀποκαλυπτομένην μοι διά Πνεύματος Ἁγίου δόξαν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἧς τῇ μετοχῇ τε καί θέᾳ καί αὐτάς τάς πρός θάνατον νόσους καί εἴ τινα ἑτέραν ἀφορητοτέραν ὀδύνην διά πόνων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐγγινομένην οὐδέν ἡγούμην, πᾶσαν ἐπιλανθανόμενος ὀδύνην καί λύπην τοῦ σώματος· οὕτω τό φορτίον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐλαφρόν καί τόν ζυγόν Κυρίου χρηστόν αὐτόθεν ἐλογιζόμην, ἐν δέ τῷ μή εὑρίσκειν με δι᾿ αἰτίας τινός ὑπέρ αὐτοῦ συντόμως ἀποθανεῖν, θλῖψις, πιστεύσατε, ἦν μοι ἀφόρητος.

Τοιγαροῦν, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί, πάντα ἀφέντες δράμωμεν γυμνοί, καί προσελθόντες τῷ δεσπότῃ Χριστῷ προσπέσωμεν καί προσκλαύσωμεν ἐνώπιον τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητος, ἵνα καί αὐτός, θεασάμενος τήν πίστιν καί τήν ταπείνωσιν ἡμῶν, ὁμοίως ἡμᾶς, μᾶλλον δέ μειζόνως, ἀποδέξηται καί τιμήσῃ, καί στολῇ καί διαδήματι τῷ ἑαυτοῦ κατακοσμήσῃ καί ἀξίους τοῦ ἐπουρανίου νυμφῶνος δαιτυμόνας ἐργάσηται. Οὐ γάρ ἴσον τό ἀπό βασιλέως εἰς βασιλέα φθαρτόν προσελθεῖν, ἐπιγείου τε βασιλείας ἐν ἐπιτυχίᾳ γενέσθαι καί τό ἀπό γῆς εἰς οὐρανούς ἀνελθεῖν καί δόξης αἰωνίου καί βασιλείας ἀφθάρτου ἀξιωθῆναι καί Θεοῦ συγκληρονόμος (301) συγκοινωνός γενέσθαι, καί οὐχί βασιλεύς μόνον, ἀλλά καί θεός γενέσθαι ἀπό Θεοῦ, καί σύν τῷ Θεῷ εἰς αἰῶνας αἰώνων εὐφραίνεσθαι. Μή οὖν προτιμήσωμέν τι τῶν γηΐνων καί φθειρομένων, παρακαλῶ, ἀδελφοί, ἵνα μή τῆς Χριστοῦ δόξης καί κοινωνίας ἐκπέσωμεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη, ἑαυτούς ἐκκαθάραντες, τούς ἀρραβῶνας λαβεῖν, μᾶλλον δέ αὐτόν ἐκεῖνον, τόν ἐπί πάντων καί ἐν πᾶσι καί πᾶν ἀγαθόν ὄντα, σπουδάσωμεν κτήσασθαι.

Μηδέ εἴπῃ τις· «Ἐγώ ἀπό τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος τόν Χριστόν λαβών ἔχω», ἀλλά μανθανέτω ὅτι οὐχί πάντες οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι λαμβάνουσι διά τοῦ βαπτίσματος τόν Χριστόν, μόνοι δέ οἱ βεβαιόπιστοι καί ἐν γνώσει τελείᾳ ἤ καί προκαθάρσει ἑαυτούς εὐτρεπίσαντες καί οὕτως ἐλθόντες ἐπί τό βάπτισμα. Καί τοῦτο εἴσεται ὁ ἐρευνῶν τάς Γραφάς ἀπό τῶν ἀποστολικῶν λόγων καί πράξεων· γέγραπται γάρ· «Ἀκούσαντες δέ οἱ ἐν Ἱερουσαλύμοις ἀπόστολοι ὅτι δέδεκται ἡ Σαμάρεια τόν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀπέστειλαν πρός αὐτούς τόν Πέτρον καί Ἰωάννην, οἵτινες καταβάντες προσηύξαντο περί αὐτῶν ὅπως λάβωσι Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον· οὔπω γάρ ἦν ἐπ᾿ οὐδενί αὐτῶν ἐπιπεπτωκός, μόνον δέ βεβαπτισμένοι ὑπῆρχον εἰς τό ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Τότε ἐπετίθουν τάς χεῖρας ἐπ᾿ αύτούς καί ἐλάμβανον Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον». Εἶδες πῶς οὐ πάντες οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι εὐθύς τό Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα λαμβάνουσιν; Ἔμαθες παρά τῶν ἀποστόλων ὅτι, καί πιστεύσαντές τινες καί βαπτισθέντες, τόν Χριστόν διά τοῦ βαπτίσματος οὐκ ἐνεδύσαντο; Εἰ γάρ τοῦτο ἐγένετο, οὐκ ἄν μετά ταῦτα εὐχῆς καί τῆς