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be preserved by care or even come to progress? Does it perhaps mean to be occupied with their food and to provide them with clothing? Does it perhaps command the apostle to bring strangers under his roof, or to minister to the sick, or, when all the faithful are gathered together in one place, to be compelled to be anxious for the necessities of their food and clothing? Not at all; for God commanded him none of these things. From where is this clear? From the very words of the Lord; for He says to His apostles: "Acquire no gold, nor silver, nor staff, nor bag, nor two tunics." How then would He who legislated for them to possess nothing at all, command them to give to others or to be anxious at all about such things? And again He says, "Take heed lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and anxieties of this life," and again: "Do not labor for (337) the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life," legislating and commanding these things not only for them but also for us through them, and indeed many other things besides these. For having said: "Do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor for your body, what you will put on. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin," and after a little He says: "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you; therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow." Therefore, having said these things and many more than these to them, He later added and said: "And what I say to you I say to all."

He, therefore, who does not permit anyone to be anxious about tomorrow, but commands to seek only the kingdom of God and His righteousness, how then did He ever command the apostle, contrary to His own commandments, to be anxious for the nourishment and clothing of His sheep, or for the protection and vindication of them and their possessions? Not at all; and this He makes clear through the things said next; for He says: "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves," and again: "But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; and to the one who wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; and from the one who takes your things, do not demand them back." He, then, who sent out His disciples as sheep in the midst of wolves and legislated for them and through them for us, that to the one who strikes (338) the right cheek we should turn the other also, and to the one who wishes to sue and take our tunic we should give our cloak as well, and not demand back our things from the one who takes them, how did He command the one who was to shepherd His sheep to be concerned at all with the vindication of any earthly matter, or to engage in any worldly anxiety, or to cast the sheep into such cares and undertakings from which the shepherd himself was first commanded to abstain? Not at all. And this the apostles confirmed by their very deeds after the Lord's ascension into heaven. For not only did they care nothing at all for the needs of themselves and their disciples, but they did not even deign to manage the very money that was brought by those who believed in our Lord Jesus Christ and laid at their feet, and to provide for the brothers in matters of food and clothing. For they said, it says, to the people: "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Let us therefore appoint suitable men for this task, while we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

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ἐπιμελείᾳ διατηροῖντο ἤ καί εἰς ἐπίδοσιν ἔρχοιντο; Ἆρα μή περί τροφάς τάς αὐτῶν ἀσχολεῖσθαι καί παρέχειν λέγει αὐτοῖς τά ἐνδύματα; Μή ξένους ὄντας ὑπό στέγην ἄγειν τήν ἑαυτοῦ ἤ ἀσθενοῦσι διακονεῖν ἤ τούς πιστούς ἅπαντας συναχθέντας ἐπί τό αὐτό ἀναγκάζεσθαι προστάσσει τῷ ἀποστόλῳ μεριμνᾶν τά πρός τροφήν αὐτοῖς καί ἔνδυσιν ἐπιτήδεια; Οὔμενουν οὐδαμῶς· οὐδέν γάρ τούτωνπροσέταξεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός. Πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον; Ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν τῶν τοῦ Κυρίου ῥημάτων· λέγει γάρ πρός τούς ἀποστόλους αὐτοῦ· «Μή κτήσησθε χρυσόν, μηδέ ἄργυρον, μή ῥάβδον, μή πήραν, μήτε δύο χιτῶνας». Ὁ οὖν αὐτοῖς νομοθετῶν μηδέν ὅλως κεκτῆσθαι, πῶς ἄν ἄλλοις μεταδιδόναι ἤ περί τοιούτων μεριμνᾶν ὅλως κελεύσειε; Καί πάλιν «Βλέπετε» φησίν «μήποτε βαρυνθῶσιν αἱ καρδίαι ὑμῶν ἐν κραιπάλῃ καί μέθῃ καί μερίμναις βιωτικαῖς», καί αὖθις· «Ἐργάζεσθε μή (337) τήν βρῶσιν τήν ἀπολλυμένην, ἀλλά τήν βρῶσιν τήν μένουσαν εἰς ζωήν αἰώνιον», οὐ πρός ἐκείνους μόνους ἀλλά καί ἡμᾶς δι᾿ ἐκείνων ταῦτα νομοθετῶν καί προστάσσων, μᾶλλον δέ καί ἕτερα τούτων πλείονα. Καί γάρ εἰπών· «Μή μεριμνήσητε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν τί φάγητε ἤ τι πίητε, μηδέ τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν τί ἐνδύσησθε. Καταμάθετε δέ τά κρῖνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνει· οὐ κοπιᾷ, οὐδέ νήθει», καί μετ᾿ ὀλίγα φησί· «Μή οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· Τί φάγωμεν ἤ τί πίωμεν· ταῦτα γάρ πάντα τά ἔθνη ἐπιζητεῖ. Οἶδε γάρ ὁ Πατήρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ὅτι χρῄζετε τούτων ἁπάντων. Ζητεῖτε δέ πρῶτον τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τήν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ καί ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν· μή οὖν μεριμνήσητε περί τῆς αὔριον». Ταῦτα τοιγαροῦν καί ἕτερα πλείονα τούτων εἰπών πρός αὐτούς, ὕστερον ἐπήγαγε καί φησιν· «Ἅ δέ λέγω ὑμῖν πᾶσι λέγω».

Ὁ οὖν τινα περί τῆς αὔριον μή συγχωρῶν μεριμνᾶν, ἀλλά μόνην κελεύων ζητεῖν τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τήν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, πῶς ἄρα τῶν αὐτοῦ προσταγμάτων ἀπ᾿ ἐναντίας τῷ ἀποστόλῳ ποτέ προσέταξε μεριμνᾶν τά εἰς διατροφήν καί ἔνδυσιν τῶν προβάτων αὐτοῦ, ἤ περί προστασίας καί ἐκδικήσεως αὐτῶν τε καί τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτοῖς; Οὐδαμῶς· καί τοῦτο διά τῶν ἑξῆς εἰρημένων δηλοῖ· φησί γάρ· «Ἰδού ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων», καί πάλιν· «Ἐγώ δέ λέγω ὑμῖν μή ἀντιστῆναι τῷ πονηρῷ· ἀλλ᾿ ὅστις σε ῥαπίσει εἰς τήν δεξιάν σιαγόνα, στρέψον αὐτῷ καί τήν ἄλλην· καί τῷ θέλοντί σοι κριθῆναι καί τόν χιτῶνα λαβεῖν, ἄφες αὐτῷ καί τό ἱμάτιον· καί τῷ αἴροντι τά σά μή ἀπαίτει». Ὁ τοίνυν ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων τούς αὐτοῦ μαθητάς ἐκπέμψας καί αὐτοῖς καί δι᾿ αὐτῶν ἡμῖν νομοθετήσας τῷ τύπτοντι (338) εἰς τήν δεξιάν σιαγόνα καί στρέφειν αὐτῷ καί τήν ἄλλην, καί τῷ θέλοντι κριθῆναι καί λαβεῖν ἡμῶν τόν χιτῶνα ἀφεῖναι τούτῳ καί τό ἱμάτιον καί μή ἀπαιτεῖν τῷ αἴροντι τά ἡμέτερα, πῶς περί ἐκδικήσεως ὅλως γηΐνου τινός πράγματος τῷ ποιμαίνειν μέλλοντι τά πρόβατα αὐτοῦ προσέταξεν, ἤ μερίμνης βιωτικῆς ποσῶς ἅπτεσθαι, ἤ τά πρόβατα εἰς τοιαύτας ἐμβάλλειν φροντίδας καί ἐγχειρήσεις, ὧν αὐτός πρῶτος ὁ ποιμήν προσετάγη ἀπέχεσθαι; Οὐδαμῶς. Καί τοῦτο μετά τήν εἰς οὐρανούς τοῦ Κυρίου ἀνάληψιν αὐτοῖς ἔργοις οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἐβεβαίωσαν. Οὐ μόνον γάρ οὐδέν ὅλως εἰς χρείαν αὐτῶν τε καί τῶν παρ᾿ αὐτοῖς μαθητευομένων ἐφρόντισαν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ αὐτά τά παρά τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν προσφερόμενα καί παρά τούς πόδας αὐτῶν προτιθέμενα χρήματα ὅλως αὐτοί καταδέξαντο διοικεῖν καί τήν τῶν ἀδελφῶν πρόνοιαν εἰς τροφάς καί ἐνδύσεις ποιεῖσθαι. Εἶπον γάρ, φησί, πρός τόν λαόν· «Οὐ δίκαιόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς καταλείψαντας τόν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ διακονεῖν τραπέζαις. Καταστήσωμεν δέ ἐπί τούτῳ ἄνδρας ἱκανούς, ἡμεῖς δέ τῇ εὐχῇ καί τῇ διακονίᾳ τοῦ λόγου προσκαρτερήσωμεν».