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many of the bishops out of a few, the lofty and those humbled with a bad and contrary humility, who hunt for the glory of men and overlook me, the creator of all, as a poor and rejected beggar, unworthily touch my body and seeking to be superior to the many, they enter uncalled into my inner sanctuary, and they set foot in the bridal chamber of the secrets without the robe of my grace, which they have not yet received, and things which it is not lawful for them to see from outside; and I, the exceedingly philanthropic one, am patient, bearing their shameless audacity. And they enter, they speak to me as to a friend, to whom they did not even remain in fear as slaves, and they show themselves as intimates, (413) who do not even know my grace, and they promise to mediate for others, they who are liable for many offenses. Outwardly adorning the body well, they are seen as brilliant and pure in appearance, but their souls, the wretched ones in their wickedness, are worse than clay and mire, or rather than any death-bearing poison. For just as of old Judas who betrayed me, having taken the bread from me, ate it unworthily himself as a piece of common bread, and for this reason Satan entered into him immediately and made him a shameless betrayer of me the teacher, taking him as a minister and a slave and a fulfiller of his own wishes, so also these suffer unknowingly, as many as boldly and audaciously and unworthily touch my divine mysteries, especially those who are prominent above others on thrones, those of the bema, those of the priesthood, who have their conscience both harmed before and in every way condemned after this and who tread my divine court,

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τῶν ἐπισκόπων οἱ πολλοί ἐξ ὀλίγων, οἱ ὑψηλοί τε καί τεταπεινωμένοι τήν κακήν ταπείνωσιν καί ἐναντίαν, οἱ δόξαν θηρώμενοι τήν τῶν ἀνθρώπων κἀμέ παραβλέποντες τόν κτίστην πάντων ὡς πτωχόν καί πένητα ἀπερριμένον, ἀναξίως ἅπτονται τοῦ σώματός μου καί ὑπερέχειν τῶν πολλῶν ἐκζητοῦντες ἀκλήτως εἰσέρχονται ἐμῶν ἀδύτων ἔνδον, τοῦ νυμφῶνός τε τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἐπιβαίνουσι χιτῶνος δίχα, τῆς χάριτός μου, ἥν ἔλαβον οὐδέπω, καί ἅ μή βλέπειν ἔξωθεν τούτοις θέμις˙ καί μακροθυμῶ ὁ φιλάνθρωπος ἄγαν, βαστάζων αὐτῶν τήν ἀναίσχυντον τόλμαν. Εἰσέρχονται δέ, ὡς φίλῳ μοι λαλοῦσιν, ᾧ οὐδ᾿ ὡς δοῦλοι ἐνέμειναν τῷ φόβῳ, καί δεικνύουσιν ἑαυτούς ὡς οἰκείους, (413) οἱ μηδέ γνωρίζοντες τήν ἐμήν χάριν, καί μεσιτεύειν τούς ἄλλους ὑπισχνοῦνται, οἱ πολλῶν ὑπεύθυνοι πταισμάντων ὄντες. Ἔξωθεν καλῶς στολίζοντες τό σῶμα λαμπροί τῷ δοκεῖν καί καθαροί ὁρῶνται, ψυχάς δέ χείρους πηλοῦ τε καί βορβόρου, μᾶλλον δέ παντός ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου κέκτηνται οἱ δείλαιοι ἐν πονηρίᾳ. Ὥσπερ γάρ πάλαι Ἰούδας ὁ προδούς με λαβών τόν ἄρτον ἐξ ἐμοῦ ἀναξίως ἔφαγεν αὐτός ὡς μέρος κοινοῦ ἄρτου, καί διά τοῦτο ὁ Σατανᾶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τοῦτον εὐθύς καί ἀναιδῆ προδότην ἀπειργάσατο ἐμοῦ τοῦ διδασκάλου, ὑπουργόν αὐτόν λαβόμενος καί δοῦλον καί ἐκπληρωτήν τῶν αὐτοῦ θελημάτων, οὕτω καί οὗτοι πανθάνουσιν ἀγνώστως, ὅσοι τολμηρῶς καί αὐθαδῶς τῶν θείων ἀναξίως ἅπτονταί μου μυστηρίων, οἱ προὔχοντες μάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων θρόνοις, οἱ τοῦ βήματος, οἱ τῆς ἱερωσύνης, οἱ τό συνειδός καί πρό τοῦ βεβλαμμένον καί μετά τοῦτο πάντως κατεγνωσμένον ἔχοντες καί βαίνοντες αὐλῇ μου θείᾳ,