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tyrant, nor is a bishop oppressed by ignorance or ill-will still a bishop, but a false-named one, not appointed by God, but by men, like Hananiah and Shemaiah in Jerusalem, and Zedekiah and Ahab the false prophets in Babylon. But also Balaam the soothsayer paid the penalty for corrupting Israel at Baal-peor, and Caiaphas later became his own murderer, and the sons of Sceva, attempting to drive out demons, were wounded by them and fled disgracefully, and the kings of Israel and Judah who acted impiously paid all kinds of penalties. It is clear, therefore, that the falsely-named bishops and presbyters will not escape the judgment from God; for it will be said to them even now: “You priests who despise my name, I will deliver you to slaughter like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted,” as says Jeremiah the prophet. But we say these things not to despise true prophecies, for we know that they are worked in the holy ones by the inspiration of God, but to restrain the audacity of the boasters, and adding this, that from such people God takes away grace; “For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Silas, therefore, and Agabus, who prophesied in our time, did not exalt themselves to the level of the apostles nor exceed their own measures, although they were beloved of God. And women also prophesied; in ancient times Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, and after her Deborah, and after her Huldah and Judith, the one in the time of Josiah, the other in the time of Darius; and the mother of the Lord also prophesied, and Elizabeth her kinswoman, and Anna, and in our times the daughters of Philip; but these were not lifted up against the men, but kept to their own measures. Therefore, among you also, if any woman or man should happen to have such a grace, let them be humble-minded, so that God may be well-pleased with them. “For on whom,” He says, “will I look, but on the one who is humble and quiet and trembles at my words?” We have, therefore, in the first part of our discourse set forth concerning the spiritual gifts which God has granted to men according to His own will, and how He has reproved the manner of those who attempt to speak falsely or are moved by a foreign spirit, and that God has often made use of wicked men for both prophecy and the working of wonders. But now our discourse urges us on to the chief point of ecclesiastical constitution, so that having learned this ordinance from us, those appointed by us as bishops by the will of Christ, everything according to the

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τύραννος, οὔτε ἐπίσκοπος ἀγνοίᾳ ἢ κακονοίᾳ πεπιεσμένος ἔτι ἐπίσκοπός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ ψευδώνυμος, οὐ παρὰ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ παρὰ ἀνθρώπων προβληθείς, ὡς Ἀνανίας καὶ Σαμαίας ἐν Ἱερουσα λήμ, καὶ Σεδεκίας καὶ Ἀχίας οἱ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι ψευδοπροφῆται. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Βαλαὰμ ὁ μάντις τιμωρίαν ἔτισε διαφθείρας τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἐν τῷ Βεελφεγώρ, καὶ Καϊάφας ὕστερον αὐτο φονευτὴς ἑαυτοῦ γέγονεν, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Σκευᾶ ἐπιχειροῦντες δαίμονας ἐλαύνειν ὑπ' αὐτῶν τραυματίαι γενόμενοι ἔφυγον ἀπρεπῶς, καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τοῦ Ἰούδα ἀσεβή σαντες παντοίας τιμωρίας ἔτισαν. ∆ῆλον οὖν ὡς καὶ οἱ ψευδώνυμοι ἐπίσκοποι καὶ πρεσβύτεροι οὐκ ἐκφεύξονται τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δίκην· ·ηθήσεται γὰρ αὐτοῖς καὶ νῦν· «Ὑμεῖς οἱ ἱερεῖς οἱ φαυλίζοντές μου τὸ ὄνομα, παραδώσω ὑμᾶς εἰς σφαγὴν ὡς Σεδεκίαν καὶ Ἀχίαν, οὓς ἀπετηγάνισεν βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος», ὥς φησιν Ἱερεμίας ὁ προφήτης. Ταῦτα δέ φαμεν οὐ τὰς ἀληθεῖς προφητείας ἐξουθενοῦν τες, ἴσμεν γὰρ αὐτὰς κατ' ἐπίπνοιαν Θεοῦ ἐν τοῖς ὁσίοις ἐνερ γεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸ θράσος τῶν ἀλαζονευομένων καταστέλλοντες καὶ προστιθέντες ἐκεῖνο, ὅτι τῶν τοιούτων ὁ Θεὸς περιαιρεῖ τὴν χάριν· «Ὑπερηφάνοις γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπει νοῖς δὲ δίδωσι χάριν.» Σίλας μὲν οὖν καὶ Ἄγαβος ἐφ' ἡμῶν προφητεύσαντες οὐ παρεξέτειναν ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς ἀποστόλοις οὐδὲ ὑπερέβησαν τὰ ἑαυτῶν μέτρα, καίτοι θεοφιλεῖς ὄντες. Προεφήτευσαν δὲ καὶ γυναῖκες, τὸ μὲν παλαιὸν Μαριὰμ ἡ Μωϋσέως καὶ Ἀαρὼν ἀδελφή, μετὰ δὲ αὐτὴν ∆εββῶρα, καὶ μετ' αὐτὴν Ὀλδὰ καὶ Ἰουδίθ, ἡ μὲν ἐπὶ Ἰωσίου, ἡ δὲ ἐπὶ ∆αρείου· καὶ ἡ μήτηρ δὲ τοῦ Κυρίου προεφήτευσεν καὶ Ἐλισαβὲτ ἡ συγγενὴς αὐτῆς καὶ Ἄννα, καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν αἱ Φιλίππου θυγατέρες· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπήρθησαν κατὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν αὗται, ἀλλ' ἐφύλαξαν τὰ οἰκεῖα μέτρα. Oὐκοῦν καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν κἂν γυνή τις ᾖ κἂν ἀνήρ, καὶ τύχῃ τοιαύτης τινὸς χάριτος, ταπεινοφρονείτω, ἵνα ἐπ' αὐτῷ εὐδοκῇ ὁ Θεός. «Ἐπὶ τίνα γάρ, φησίν, ἐπιβλέψω, ἀλλ' ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν ταπεινὸν καὶ ἡσύχιον καὶ τρέμοντά μου τοὺς λόγους;» Τὰ μὲν οὖν πρῶτα τοῦ λόγου ἐξεθέμεθα περὶ τῶν χαρισμάτων, ὅσαπερ ὁ Θεὸς κατ' ἰδίαν βούλησιν παρέσχεν ἀνθρώποις, καὶ ὅπως τῶν ψευδῆ ἐπιχειρούντων λέγειν ἢ ἀλλοτρίῳ πνεύματι κινουμένων ἤλεγξε τὸν τρόπον, καὶ ὅτι πονηροῖς πολλάκις ἀπεχρήσατο ὁ Θεὸς πρός τε προφητείαν καὶ τερατοποΐαν. Νυνὶ δὲ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ κορυφαιότατον τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς διατυπώσεως ὁ λόγος ἡμᾶς ἐπείγει, ὅπως καὶ ταύτην μαθόντες παρ' ἡμῶν τὴν διάταξιν, οἱ ταχθέντες δι' ἡμῶν γνώμῃ Χριστοῦ ἐπίσκοποι, πάντα κατὰ τὰς παρα