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of our hardness of heart and contempt for God and divine things! For like an asp stopping its ears, as if we have become deaf and mute in the manner of the dead and having the senses of our soul maimed, we have no perception of what is being said, nor do we understand what Christianity is at all, but being ignorant of the mystery of the economy and not knowing precisely the mysteries of the Christians (364), but as if about the light of knowledge, or rather we shamelessly attempt to show the very light of knowledge to the many. Knowledge is not the light, but the light is knowledge, since in it and through it and from it are all things; whose sight we deny, we make it clear about ourselves that we have neither been born nor have come forth into the light from above, but are still embryos or, to speak more truly, abortions, we leap upon the sacred places and mount the apostolic thrones and, what is more grievous, most of us purchase the priesthood for money without fear of God and seek to preside over the royal flock as shepherds, we who have never even been lambs; and this only to fill our own bellies like wild beasts and to accomplish all the other things that the desire for what is worse and the downward desire and appetite demand.

Were the apostles like this from the beginning, brothers? Were the successors of the apostles like this? Were our fathers and teachers like this? Alas for the fearful audacity of such men, that not only do they become traitors of material wealth and sacrilegious, those who incline only toward the money-box, but they also dare to lay hands on the divine wealth itself, whence they are not ashamed to say: "It is ours to bind and to loose, and we have received this from above in the present life." O the shamelessness, not to say the utter madness! From whom, you there, tell me, and why did you receive this authority from above? Because, having left all things, you followed Christ? (365) Because you have despised earthly glory? Because you have become humble in spirit? Because, having sold everything, you have given to the poor? Because you have lost your soul, that is, you have died to the world and have not found it in any will of the flesh? Or did you too, like the disciples of Christ of old, hear from Him, as He clearly breathed on you and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit! If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they will be retained"?

"But it is the authority of the priests," he says. I know it too; for this is true. But not of all and simply any priests, but of those who serve the Gospel in a spirit of humility and who live a blameless life, of those who have first presented themselves to the Lord and a perfect, holy, well-pleasing sacrifice, having spiritually demonstrated their pure worship within the temple of their own body and been accepted and presented at the altar above and offered by the high priest Christ as a perfect offering to God the Father and remade and changed by the power of the Holy Spirit and transformed into Christ, who died for us and rose in the glory of the Godhead; of those who in perfect humility repent and mourn night and day and with tears pray not for themselves alone, but also (366) for the flock entrusted to them and for all the holy churches of God in the world; and not only this, but also of those who weep vehemently before God for the sins of others, of those who use nothing more than necessary food, nor in any way practice pampering or indulgence of the body but, as it is written, "walk by the Spirit and do not carry out the desire of the flesh"; furthermore, of those who, for the sake of justice and the commandment of God, do not show preference for poor or rich, ruler or ruled, nor even for him who wears the diadem, of those who not under the pretext of mercy or the giving of gifts

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πωρώσεως ἡμῶν καί τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τῶν θείων καταφρονήσεως! Ὥσπερ γάρ ἀσπίς τά ὦτα βύσαντες, ὡσεί κωφοί τε καί ἄλαλοι γεγονότες δίκην νεκρῶν καί πεπηρωμένοι ὄντες τά τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια, οὐδέ τῶν λαλουμένων λαμβάνομεν αἴσθησιν, οὐδ᾿ ὅτι ποτέ ἐστι χριστιανισμός ἐπιστάμεθα, ἀλλά καί τό τῆς οἰκονομίας μυστήριον ἀγνοοῦντες καί ἀκριβῶς τά τῶν χριστιανῶν (364) μυστήρια μή εἰδότες, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς περί τοῦ φωτός τῆς γνώσεως, μᾶλλον δέ αὐτό τό τῆς γνώσεως φῶς δεικνύειν τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀναισχύντως ἐπιχειροῦμεν. Ἡ γνῶσις οὐκ ἔστι τό φῶς, ἀλλά τό φῶς ἡ γνῶσις ὑπάρχει, ἐπειδή ἐν αὐτῷ καί δι᾿ αὐτοῦ καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ τά πάντα· οὗ ἡμεῖς τήν ὅρασιν ἀπαρνούμενοι, δήλους ἑαυτούς ποιοῦμεν μήτε γεννηθέντας μήτε εἰς φῶς τό ἄνωθεν προελθόντας, ἀλλ᾿ ἔτι ἔμβρυα ὄντες ἤ ἐκτρώματα, εἰπεῖν ἀληθέστερον, τοῖς ἱερεῖς τόποις ἐπιπηδῶμεν καί τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ἐπιβατεύομεν θρόνων καί, τό δή χαλεπώτερον, χρήμασιν οἱ πλείους τήν ἱερωσύνην ἀφοβίᾳ Θεοῦ ἐξωνούμεθα καί τῆς βασιλικῆς ποίμνης ὡς ποιμένες, οἱ μηδέ ἄρνες ποτέ γεγονότες, ζητοῦμεν προΐστασθαι· καί ταῦτα πρός τό μόνον ἐμπλῆσαι δίκην θηρῶν τάς ἑαυτῶν γαστέρας καί τἆλλα πάντα τελέσαι ὅσαπερ ἡ ἔφεσις τοῦ χείρονος ἀπαιτεῖ καί ἡ πρός τά κάτω ἐπιθυμία καί ὄρεξις.

Οὕτως ὑπῆρχον ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἀδελφοί, οἱ ἀπόστολοι; Οὕτως οἱ τῶν ἀποστόλων διάδοχοι; Οὕτως οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν καί διδάσκαλοι; Βαβαί τῆς τόλμης τῶν τοιούτων τῆς φοβερᾶς, ὅτι οὐ μόνον εἰς τά χρήματα προδόται τά αἰσθητά καί ἱερόσυλοι γίνονται, οἱ πρός μόνον τό γλωσσόκομον ἀπονεύοντες, ἀλλα καί αὐτοῦ τοῦ θείου πλούτου κατατολμῶσιν ἐφάψασθαι, ὅθεν οὐδέ αἰσχύνονται λέγειν· "Ἡμέτερόν ἐστι τό δεσμεῖν καί λύειν, καί τοῦτο κατά τήν παροῦσαν ἐλάβομεν ζωήν ἡμεῖς ἄνωθεν". Ὤ τῆς ἀναισχυντίας, ἵνα μή λέγω τῆς ἐσχάτης παραπληξίας! Ἀπό τίνος, ὦ οὗτος, εἰπέ μοι, καί διατί τήν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην ἄνωθεν ἔλαβες; Ὅτι πάντα καταλιπών τῷ Χριστῷ ἠκολούθησας; (365) Ὅτι τῆς ἐπιγείου δόξης καταπεφρόνηκας; Ὅτι ταπεινός τῷ πνεύματι γέγονας; Ὅτι πάντα πωλήσας τοῖς πένησι δέδωκας; Ὅτι τήν σεαυτοῦ ψυχήν ἀπώλεσας ἤτοι τῷ κόσμῳ ἐνέκρωσας καί ἐν οὐδενί σαρκός θελήματι ταύτην εὕρηκας; Ἤ καί σύ, ὥσπερ πάλαι οἱ μαθηταί τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἤκουσας παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ἐμφυσήσαντός σοι δηλονότι καί εἰπόντος· "Λάβε Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον! Ἄν τινων ἀφήσῃς τάς ἁμαρτίας, ἀφίενται αὐτοῖς· ἄν τινων κρατήσῃς, ἐπισχεθήσονται";

"Ἀλλά τῶν ἱερέων ἡ ἐξουσία" φησίν. Οἶδα κἀγώ· τοῦτο γάρ ἀληθές. Οὐ πάντων δέ καί τῶν ἁπλῶς ἱερέων, ἀλλά τῶν ἐν πνεύματι ταπεινώσεως ἱερουργούντων τό Εὐαγγέλιον καί ἐν ἀμέμπτῳ βίῳ πολιτευομένων, τῶν ἑαυτούς πρότερον τῷ Κυρίῳ παραστησάντων καί θυσίαν τελείαν, ἁγίαν, εὐάρεστον, τήν καθαράν αὐτῶν λατρείαν ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ ἑαυτῶν σώματος ἔνδον πνευματικῶς ἐπιδειξαμένων καί προσδεχθέντων καί ἐμφανισθέντων εἰς τό ἄνω θυσιαστήριον καί παρά τοῦ ἀρχιερέως Χριστοῦ προσφορά τελεία τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί προσενεχθέντων καί δυνάμει Πνεύματος Ἁγίου μεταποιηθέντων καί ἀλλαγέντων καί εἰς Χριστόν, τόν δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἀποθανόντα καί ἐν δόξῃ ἀναστάντα Θεότητος, μεταμορφωθέντων· τῶν ἐν ταπεινώσει τελείᾳ νυκτός καί ἡμέρας μετανοούντων καί πενθούντων καί μετά δακρύων οὐχ ὑπερ ἑαυτῶν μόνων δεομένων, ἀλλά καί (366) ὑπέρ τῆς ἐμπιστευθείσης αὐτοῖς ποίμνης καί ὑπέρ πασῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἁγίων ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ· οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί τῶν σφοδρῶς κλαιόντων ὑπέρ ἀλλοτρίων ἁμαρτημάτων ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῶν μηδέν πλέον τῆς ἀναγκαίας τροφῆς καταχρωμένων, μηδέ ἐν μηδενί θεραπείαν ἤ ἀπόλαυσιν ἐπιτηδευόντων τοῦ σώματος ἀλλά, καθώς γέγραπται, "πνεύματι περιπατούντων καί ἐπιθυμίαν μή ἐπιτελούντων σαρκός"· ἔτι δέ τῶν μήτε πτωχόν μήτε πλούσιον μήτε ἄρχοντα μήτε ἀρχόμενον μήτε αὐτόν ἐκεῖνον τόν τό διάδημα περικείμενον ἕνεκα τοῦ δικαίου καί τῆς ἐντολῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προτιμωμένων, τῶν μή προφάσει ἐλέους ἤ δώρων δόσεως