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care darken me, may the honor of rulers and kings not exalt me improperly, may the weight of authority, puffing me up against the brethren, not lift me up, may I not be carried away by luxury and drunkenness beyond what is proper, lest through debauchery the carnal part of my soul, which has been made thin, be fattened, may the threats of men not frighten me and make me a transgressor of your commandments, may the entreaties of fellow bishops and friends not make me a partaker in injustices, either by being silent while they commit injustice, or by becoming a collaborator with those who do evil and not rebuking them with boldness and demonstrating opposition for the sake of your commandments. But how could I speak of all things, Master? And behold, there are countless things with me, which you know better than I, Lord. Therefore, do not make me given over to so many evils, Lover of mankind. For you know the contentiousness of men, their jests, their insults, their slanders, and especially of those who think they know more and are puffed up by the wisdom of the world, which is being brought to nothing by your grace. Have mercy on me, therefore, Lover of mankind, and do not send me down there to be tossed about in the midst of such and so many evils.”

(335) These things, therefore, and more than these you should have suspected and begged not to come down from heaven to the things here and to the earth. But if again he had said to you, having accepted your love and your humility, the philanthropic and all-good king: “Do not be afraid,” he says. “For since I promised to be with you, you will be overcome by none of all your adversaries; for you will have me as a helper in everything, and I will glorify you even more down there, and you will come back up here again with greater and more manifest splendor, and for endless ages you will reign with me,” not even then should you have been confident or at all without care, but with fear and trembling, as though being carried down from a height to the depth somewhere of a very deep well, being full of all kinds of reptiles and wild beasts, so you should have entered upon a metropolis or a patriarchate or any other office, be it an episcopate or leadership of the people.

But if you do not confess yourself to be such as my discourse has depicted, but rather you think you are ascending to a height from below, oh, the audacity, oh, the darkness, oh, the utter ignorance! For these are not the thoughts and sentiments of rational men, but of foolish and heathen men, or rather to say, of the dead, not seeing, not perceiving, not living, not knowing God at all nor what the judgment of God is that will receive us. That it is therefore beneficial to preside over a flock and to be concerned for the salvation of our neighbors, as it is perfective of love, which is the chief point of the law and the prophets, no one will deny; for indeed Christ, after asking Peter a third time if he loved him, and he had said, “Yes, Lord; (336) you know that I love you,” replied to him, “Feed my sheep,” he says, “if you love me.” But that one must not leap into this ministry without purpose nor just any chance person, but do this with careful consideration and fear, is everywhere clear to those whose eye of the soul is not completely darkened. For many, not even knowing what this saying is, nor understanding what manner it is in which the Lord commanded Peter to feed his sheep, alas, boldly take up the office, and are not ashamed to preside shamelessly over the flock of Christ.

But let us see, if you please, and let us consider what this saying is and what its power is. When the Lord says this to Peter, “Feed,” he says, “my sheep,” does he speak, then, of worldly leadership, but about the care of the affairs or monies of life, that is, of his rational sheep themselves, so that they might be safe for his

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μέριμνα συσκοτήσῃ με, μή τιμή ἀρχόντων καί βασιλέων ὑψώσῃ οὐ καλῶς, μή ἀρχῆς ὄγκος κατά τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑποφυσήσας ἐπάρῃ με, μή τρυφῇ καί μέθη τοῦ εἰκότος παρασύρομαι, μή κραιπάλῃ αἱ λεπτυνθεῖσαί μου σάρκες τῆς ψυχῆς παχυνθήσονται, μή ἀπειλαί ἀνθρώπων πτοήσουσι καί τῶν ἐντολῶν σου παραβάτην ἐργάσονται, μή συνεπισκόπων παρακλήσεις καί φίλων ἀδικίας με συγκοινωνόν ἀπεργάσονται, ἤ ἀδικούντων αὐτῶν σιωπῶντα, ἤ κακῶς πραττόντων συνεργόν γινόμενον καί μή τούτους ἐλέγχοντα παρρησίᾳ καί τήν ἔνστασιν ὑπέρ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου ἐπιδεικνύμενον. Ἀλλά πῶς πάντα ἐξείποιμι, ∆έσποτα; Καί ἰδού εἰσι παρ᾿ ἐμοί ἀναρίθμητα, ἅ μᾶλλον ἐπίστασαι σύ ἤ ἐγώ, Κύριε. Μή οὖν τοσούτοις κακοῖς ἔκδοτόν με ποιήσῃς, φιλάνθρωπε. Οἶδας γάρ τό τῶν ἀνθρώπων δυσάρεστον, τά σκώμματα τούτων, τάς λοιδορίας, τάς διαβολάς καί μάλιστα τῶν γνωστικωτέρων καί πεφυσιωμένων ὑπό τῆς καταργουμένης παρά τῆς χάριτός σου τοῦ κόσμου σοφίας. Ἐλέησον οὖν με, φιλάνθρωπε, καί μή κάτω με ἀποστείλῃς ἐκεῖ ἐν τοιούτοις καί τοσούτοις κακοῖς μέσον στρέφεσθαι».

(335) Ταῦτα τοίνυν καί τούτων πλείονα ἔδει σε ὑφορᾶσθαι καί παρακαλεῖν μή κατελθεῖν σε ἀπό τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πρός τά ὧδε καί πρός τήν γῆν. Εἰ δέ καί αὖθις πρός σέ εἶπεν, ἀποδεξάμενός σου τήν ἀγάπην καί τήν ταπείνωσιν, ὁ φιλάνθρωπος καί πανάγαθος βασιλεύς· «Μή φοβοῦ φησίν. Ἐπεί γάρ ὑπεσχόμην συνεῖναί σοι, ὑπ᾿ οὐδενός κυριευθήσῃ τῶν ἐναντίων ἁπάντων· ἕξεις γάρ με ἐν παντί βοηθόν καί μειζόνως καί ἐκεῖ κάτω δοξάσω σε καί ὧδε πάλιν ἐπανελεύσῃ μετά μείζονος καί περιφανεστέρας λαμπρότητος καί εἰς τούς ἀτελευτήτους αἰῶνας συμβασιλεύσεις μοι», οὐδέ τότε θαρρῆσαι ἤ ἀμεριμνῆσαι ὅλως ἐχρῆν σε, ἀλλά μετά φόβου καί τρόμου, ὡς ἀπό ὕψους πρός βάθος που φρέατος βαθυτάτου καταφερόμενος, ἑρπετῶν παντοίων καί θηρίων ὄντος μεστοῦ, οὕτω τῇ μητροπόλει ἤ τῇ πατριαρχίᾳ ἤ τινι ἑτέρᾳ ἐπιβῆναι ἀρχῇ, ἐπισκοπῆς τυχόν ἤ προστασίας λαοῦ.

Εἰ δέ μή τοιοῦτον οἷον ὁ λόγος ἀνεζωγράφησε σεαυτόν εἶναι ὁμολογεῖς, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς πρός ὕψος ἀνέρχεσθαί σε ἀπό τῶν κάτω μᾶλλον δοκεῖς, ὤ τῆς τόλμης, ὤ τῆς σκοτώσεως, ὤ τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀγνοίας. Οὐ γάρ ἀνθρώπων εἰσί ταῦτα λογικῶν τά νοήματα καί φρονήματα, ἀλλά ἀνοήτων καί ἐθνικῶν, ἤ μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν νεκρῶν, οὐ βλεπόντων, οὐκ αἰσθανομένων, οὐ ζώντων, οὐκ εἰδότων ὅλως Θεόν καί τί ἐστι τό μέλλον ὑποδέξασθαι ἡμᾶς κριτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὅτι μέν οὖν τό προΐστασθαι ποίμνης καί ὑπέρ σωτηρίας μεριμνᾶν τῶν πλησίον ἡμῶν ὠφέλιμον, ὡς ἀγάπης τελειωτικόν τῆς νόμου καί τῶν προφητῶν οὔσης κεφάλαιον, οὐδείς ἀντερεῖ· καί γάρ καί τῷ Πέτρῳ ὁ Χριστός, τρίτον ἐρωτήσας εἰ φιλοῖτο πρός αὐτοῦ, κἀκείνου «Ναί, Κύριε,» (336) εἰρηκότος «σύ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε», «Ποίμανε, φησίν, εἰ φιλεῖς με, τά πρόβατά μου» πρός αὐτόν ἀνθυπέφερεν. Ὅτι δέ οὐκ ἀσκόπως οὐδέ παντί τῷ τυχόντι ταύτῃ τῇ διακονίᾳ ἐπιπηδᾶν χρή, ἀλλά μετά περισκέψεως ἀκριβοῦς καί φόβου τοῦτο ποιεῖν, πάντῃ που δῆλον τοῖς μή τελείως ἐσκοτισμένοις τόν τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμόν. Πολλοί γάρ, οὐδέ αὐτό τοῦτο εἰδότες τό ῥῆμα ὅπερ ἐστίν, οὐδέ τόν τρόπον ἐπιστάμενοι ὁποῖός ἐστι καθ᾿ ὅν ὁ Κύριος τῷ Πέτρῳ προσέταξε ποιμαίνειν τά αὐτοῦ πρόβατα, φεῦ, ἐπιβαίνουσι τολμηρῶς τῇ ἀρχῇ, καί τῇ ποίμνῃ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀναιδῶς ἐπιστατεῖν οὐκ αἰσχύνονται.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἴδωμεν, εἰ δοκεῖ, καί σκοπήσωμεν τί τό ῥῆμα τοῦτο καί τίς ἡ δύναμις αὐτοῦ. Λέγοντος αὐτό τοῦ Κυρίου τῷ Πέτρῳ «Ποίμανε, φησί, τά πρόβατά μου», περί προστασίας ἆρα λέγει βιωτικῆς, ἀλλά περί φροντίδος πραγμάτων ἤ χρημάτων τοῦ βίου, αὐτῶν δηλαδή τῶν λογικῶν προβάτων αὐτοῦ, ὅπως ἄν σῷα τῇ ἐκείνου