275
then let him no longer turn back in these things, but let him abide in the words of me, the Master, in the commandments and laws of truth, and so let him do all things without transgression until death and not overlook a mere word, nor a single tittle of what is written; for this is to me a sacrifice, this is to me incense and an offering and a gift; but without these things you are worse than the gentiles. Presidents of the bishops, understand, you who are the imprint of my image, who are appointed to speak worthily with me, who are set above all the righteous as being in the name of my disciples and of me, bearing the divine character, who also have received such authority over the common, least assembly, as the Word received from the Father, he who also was incarnate, being God by nature, and became twofold in energies, in wills, and likewise in natures, who, undivided, unconfused, exist as God-man, man-God again; for as man I condescended to be held in your hands, but as God I am altogether incomprehensible to hands of clay and invisible to those who do not see and unapproachable, I who was slain for all, (412) I, the twofold one in one hypostasis; you bishops who because of this exalt yourselves over all the least as though they were humble and seated below; you bishops who are far from worthiness, not those whose life runs together with their word and is a seal of their God-inspired teaching and divine speech, but those whose life is opposed to their word and to whom my awesome and divine things are unknown, who also think they hold bread that is fire and despise it as my mere bread and seem to see and eat a morsel, not seeing my invisible glory;
275
ἔπειτ᾿ ἐν τούτοις μηκέτι ἐπιστρέψῃ, ἀλλ᾿ ἐμμένῃ μου τοῦ ∆εσπότου τοῖς λόγοις, τοῖς προστάγμασι καί νόμοις ἀληθείας, καί οὕτως ποιῇ ἀπαραβάτως πάντα μέχρι θανάτου καί μηδέν ψιλόν λόγον, μηδέ κεραίαν μίαν τῶν γεγραμμένων παραβλέψηται˙ τοῦτο γάρ μοι θυσία, τοῦτό μοι θυμίαμα καί προσφορά καί δῶρον˙ χωρίς δέ τούτων ἐθνικῶν ὑμεῖς χείρους. Τῶν ἐπισκόπων οἱ πρόεδροι, σύνετε, οἱ ὄντες ἐκσφράγισμα ἐμῆς εἰκόνος, οἱ συλλαλεῖν μοι ἀξίως τεταγμένοι, οἱ τῶν δικαίων ὑπερκείμενοι πάντων ὡς ὄντες εἰς ὄνομα τῶν μαθητῶν μου κἀμοῦ φέροντες τόν θεῖον χαρακτῆρα, οἱ καί τοῦ κοινοῦ ἐλαχίστου συλλόγου τήν ἐξουσίαν τοιαύτην εἰληφότες, οἵαν ἔλαβον ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός ὁ Λόγος, ὁ καί σαρκωθείς, Θεός ὤν κατά φύσιν, καί διπλοῦς γενόμενος ταῖς ἐνεργείαις, ταῖς θελήσεσι, ταῖς φύσεσιν ὡσαύτως, ὅς ἀμέριστος, ἀσύγχυτος ὑπάρχω Θεός ἄνθρωπος, ἄνθρωπος Θεός πάλιν˙ ὡς γάρ ἄνθρωπος χερσίν ὑμῶν κρατεῖσθαι κατηξίωσα, ὡς Θεός δέ ὑπάρχων παντάπασιν ἄληπτός εἰμι πηλίναις χερσί καί ἀόρατος τοῖς μή ὁρῶσι καί ἀπρόσιτος ὁ σφαγείς ὑπέρ πάντων, (412) ὁ διπλοῦς ἐγώ ἐν μιᾷ ὑποστάσει˙ τῶν ἐπισκόπων οἱ διά τοῦτο πάντων κατεπαίρεσθε τῶν ἐλαχίστων ὡς ταπεινῶν τε καί κάτω καθημένων˙ τῶν ἐπισκόπων οἱ πόρρω τῆς ἀξίας, οὐχ ὧν τῷ λόγῳ καί συντρέχει ὁ βίος καί σφραγίς ἐστι τῆς τούτων θεοπνεύστου διδασκαλίας καί θεορρημοσύνης, ἀλλ᾿ ὧν τῷ λόγῳ ἀντίκειται ὁ βίος καί οἷς ἄγνωστα τά φρικτά μου καί θεῖα, οἵ καί κρατεῖν οἴονται ἄρτον πῦρ ὄντα καί ὡς ψιλοῦ μου καταφρονοῦσιν ἄρτου καί ψωμόν ὁρᾶν καί ἐσθίειν δοκοῦσι, τήν ἀόρατον μή ὁρῶντές μου δόξαν˙