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despising the holy virgin, and others again glorifying her beyond what is proper. For who are these who teach this but women? For the female sex is easily slipped, unstable and lowly in mind. For there too it seemed that the devil vomited this forth from women, just as above, among Quintilla and Maximilla and Priscilla, the teachings were ridiculous, so also here. For some women, adorning a certain stool or square chair, spreading a linen cloth over it, on a certain appointed day of the year for some days set out bread and offer it in the name of Mary, and they all partake of the bread, as we have discussed in part concerning this in the letter to Arabia. But now we will speak clearly concerning her, and having asked God, we will set forth the refutations against her as far as possible, so that by cutting out the roots of this idol-making heresy, we may be able in God to put an end to such madness from certain people. 2. Come then, servants of God, let us put on a manly mind, and let us scatter the madness of these women. For the whole thing is the suggestion of the female and again the disease of Eve who was deceived, or rather still of the serpent, the provocative beast, and the promise of error of the one who spoke in her, bringing forth nothing sound, nor fulfilling what it promises, but only working death, calling things that are not as though they are, and through the sight of the tree working disobedience and a turning away from the truth itself through turning to many things. And it will be to think such things as 3.477 the deceiver sowed, saying, “you shall be as gods,” so also the mind of these women is made foolish by the elation of the aforementioned beast, by which nature it again works death, as I have often said. For in the first place, to one who is about to examine from the beginning of time until now, to whom is it not clear that the teaching and form and altered undertaking is of demons? For from the beginning of time no woman has ever served as a priest to God, not even Eve herself, although she was in transgression, but she did not dare to carry out such an impious undertaking; not one of her daughters, although Abel immediately offered sacrifice to God and Cain offered sacrifices before the Lord, but not accepted, and Enoch pleased God and was translated, and Noah offered thanksgiving offerings to the Lord from the remainder of the ark, showing a sign of a grateful disposition, acknowledging the grace to the one who saved him. And Abraham the righteous offers sacrifice to God, and Melchizedek the priest of the most high God, and Isaac is found well-pleasing to God, and Jacob offered according to his ability upon the stone, pouring oil from the flask. And his sons: Levi is found to have received the priesthood in succession; and from his lineage those who received the priestly order, I mean Moses the prophet and hierophant, and Aaron and his sons, Eleazar and Phinehas and Ithamar his descendant. And why should I speak of the multitudes of those who sacrificed to God in the old testament? As Ahitub is found sacrificing, and the Korahites and the Gershonites and the Merarites, entrusted with the Levitical order, and the house of Eli and those after him from his kinship in the house of Abimelech and Abiathar, Hilkiah and Buzi, up to Jesus the high priest, Ezra the priest and the others. And nowhere has a woman served as a priest. 3. But I will come also to the new testament. If women were commanded to serve as priests to God or to perform any canonical work in the church, it would have been more fitting for Mary herself to have performed the priestly office in the new testament, she who was deemed worthy to receive in her own womb the king of all, the heavenly God, the son of God, whose womb became a temple and a dwelling place, prepared for the Lord's economy in the flesh according to the philanthropy of God and an astonishing mystery. But it was not his good pleasure. But

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κατευτελιζόντων τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον, τῶν δὲ πάλιν ὑπὲρ τὸ δέον δοξαζόντων. οὗτοι γὰρ οἱ τοῦτο διδάσκοντες τίνες εἰσὶν ἀλλ' ἢ γυναῖκες; γυναικῶν γὰρ τὸ γένος εὐόλισθον, σφαλερὸν δὲ καὶ ταπεινὸν τῷ φρονήματι. καὶ αὐτόθι γὰρ ἔδοξεν ἀπὸ γυναικῶν ὁ διάβολος ἐξεμεῖν, ὡς καὶ ἄνω παρὰ Κυϊντίλλῃ καὶ Μαξιμίλλῃ καὶ Πρισκίλλῃ περιγέλαστα τὰ διδάγματα, οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα. τινὲς γὰρ γυναῖκες κουρικόν τινα κοσμοῦσαι ἤτοι δίφρον τετράγωνον, ἁπλώσασαι ἐπ' αὐτὸν ὀθόνην, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τινὶ φανερᾷ τοῦ ἔτους ἐν ἡμέραις τισὶν ἄρτον προτιθέασι καὶ ἀναφέρουσιν εἰς ὄνομα τῆς Μαρίας, αἱ πᾶσαι δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄρτου μεταλαμβάνουσιν, ὡς ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ εἰς τὴν Ἀραβίαν ἐπιστολῇ γράφοντες ἐκ μέρους περὶ τούτου διελέχθημεν. νῦν δὲ σαφῶς τὰ περὶ αὐτῆς λέξομεν, καὶ τὰς κατ' αὐτῆς ἀνατροπὰς θεὸν αἰτησάμενοι κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν παραθησόμεθα, ὅπως τῆς εἰδωλοποιοῦ ταύτης αἱρέσεως τὰς ῥίζας ἐκτεμόντες ἀπό τινων τὴν τοιαύτην λύσσαν καταλῦσαι ἐν θεῷ δυνηθῶμεν. 2. Ἄγε τοίνυν, θεοῦ δοῦλοι, ἀνδρικὸν φρόνημα ἐνδυσώμεθα, γυναικῶν δὲ τούτων τὴν μανίαν διασκεδάσωμεν. τὸ πᾶν γὰρ θήλεος ἡ ὑπόνοια καὶ Εὔας πάλιν τῆς ἀπατωμένης τὸ νόσημα, μᾶλλον δ' ἔτι τοῦ ὄφεως τοῦ ἐρεθιστικοῦ θηρὸς καὶ τοῦ λαλήσαντος ἐν αὐτῇ ἡ τῆς πλάνης ὑπόσχεσις, μηδὲν ὑγιὲς εἰς μέσον φέρουσα οὐδὲ τὰ ὑπισχνούμενα τελειοῦσα ἀλλ' ἢ μόνον θάνατον ἀπεργαζομένη, τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα καλοῦσα καὶ διὰ τῆς ὁράσεως τοῦ ξύλου παρακοὴν ἐργαζομένη καὶ ἀποστροφὴν ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας διὰ τοῦ ἐπὶ πολλὰ τρέπεσθαι. νομίζειν δὲ ἔσται ὁποῖα 3.477 ὁ ἀπατεὼν ἔσπειρε λέγων «ἔσεσθε ὡς θεοί», οὕτω καὶ τούτων τὸ φρόνημα κεπφούμενον τῇ τοῦ προειρημένου θηρὸς ἐπάρσει, ἐφ' ᾗ φύσει πάλιν τὸν θάνατον ἐργάζεται, ὡς καὶ πολλάκις εἶπον. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ εὐθὺς διασκοπεῖν μέλλοντι ἀπ' αἰῶνος καὶ δεῦρο, τίνι οὐ σαφές ἐστιν ὅτι δαιμόνων ἐστὶ τὸ δίδαγμα καὶ σχῆμα καὶ ἠλλοιωμένον τὸ ἐπιχείρημα; θεῷ μὲν ἀπ' αἰῶνος οὐδαμῶς γυνὴ ἱεράτευσεν, οὐκ αὐτὴ Εὔα, καίτοι γε ἐν παρεκβάσει γενομένη, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν ἔτι ἀσεβὲς τοιοῦτον ἀποτελέσαι ἐπιχείρημα· οὐ μία τῶν ταύτης θυγατέρων, καίτοι γε τοῦ Ἄβελ εὐθὺς ἱερουργήσαντος θεῷ καὶ τοῦ Κάϊν θύσαντος ἐνώπιον κυρίου θυσίας, ἀλλ' οὐ προσδεδεγμένας, Ἐνώχ τε εὐαρεστήσαντος καὶ μετατεθέντος, Νῶε δὲ προσενέγκαντος ἐκ τῶν τῆς κιβωτοῦ περισσευμάτων εὐχαριστηρίους προσφορὰς κυρίῳ, εὐγνώμονος διαθέσεως ὑποδεικνύοντος τεκμήριον, ὁμολογοῦντος τὴν χάριν τῷ σεσωκότι. Ἀβραὰμ δὲ ὁ δίκαιος ἱερουργεῖ θεῷ, καὶ Μελχισεδὲκ ὁ ἱερεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου, καὶ Ἰσαὰκ θεῷ εὐάρεστος εὑρίσκεται, καὶ Ἰακὼβ κατὰ δύναμιν προσήνεγκεν ἐπὶ τοῦ λίθου, ἀπὸ τοῦ φακοῦ ἐπιχέας ἔλαιον. οἱ τούτου δὲ υἱεῖς· Λευὶς μὲν εὑρίσκεται καθεξῆς ἱερωσύνην ἀναδεδεγμένος· ἐξ αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ γένους οἱ τὸ ἱερατικὸν τάγμα ἀναδεδεγμένοι, φημὶ δὲ Μωυσῆς ὁ προφήτης καὶ ἱεροφάντωρ, Ἀαρών τε καὶ οἱ τούτου παῖδες, Ἐλεάζαρ τε καὶ Φινεὲς καὶ Ἰθάμαρ ὁ τούτου ἔκγονος. καὶ τί μοι τὰ πλήθη λέγειν τῶν ἱερουργησάντων θεῷ ἐν παλαιᾷ διαθήκῃ; ὡς Ἀχιτὼβ εὑρίσκεται ἱερουργῶν, οἵ τε Κορῖται καὶ οἱ Γερσωνῖται καὶ Μεραρῖται, τὴν Λευιτικὴν πεπιστευμένοι τάξιν, ὅ τε οἶκος Ἠλεὶ καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς συγγενείας αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ Ἀβιμέλεχ καὶ Ἀβιάθαρ, Χελκίας τε καὶ Βουζεί, ἄχρι Ἰησοῦ τοῦ ἱερέως τοῦ μεγάλου, Ἔσδρα τε τοῦ ἱερέως καὶ τῶν ἄλλων. καὶ οὐδαμοῦ γυνὴ ἱεράτευσεν. 3. Ἐλεύσομαι δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν καινὴν διαθήκην. εἰ ἱερατεύειν γυναῖκες θεῷ προσετάσσοντο ἢ κανονικόν τι ἐργάζεσθαι ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἔδει μᾶλλον αὐτὴν τὴν Μαρίαν ἱερατείαν ἐπιτελέσαι ἐν καινῇ διαθήκῃ, τὴν καταξιωθεῖσαν ἐν κόλποις ἰδίοις ὑποδέξασθαι τὸν παμβασιλέα, θεὸν ἐπουράνιον, υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἧς ἡ μήτρα ναὸς γενομένη καὶ κατοικητήριον εἰς τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἔνσαρκον οἰκονομίαν κατὰ φιλανθρωπίαν θεοῦ καὶ ἔκπληκτον μυστήριον ἡτοιμάσθη. ἀλλ' οὐκ εὐδόκησεν. ἀλλ'