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neither was she entrusted to give baptism, since Christ could have been baptized by her rather than by John. But John, the son of Zacharias, continued in the desert, 3.478 having been entrusted with a baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and his father served as a priest to God and at the hour of incense he saw a vision. Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas, Thaddaeus, and James son of Alphaeus, and Judas son of James and Simon the Canaanite, and Matthias who was chosen to complete the twelve, all these were chosen as apostles throughout the land "ministering the gospel" along with Paul and Barnabas and the rest, and leaders of the mysteries along with James the brother of the Lord and first bishop of Jerusalem. From this very bishop and the aforementioned apostles, successions of bishops and presbyters were established in the house of God, and nowhere was a woman established among them. "Now Philip the evangelist," it says, "had four daughters who prophesied," but they were not ministering as priests, and "there was Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel," but she was not entrusted with the priesthood. For it was necessary to fulfill the saying, "your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, they shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." And that there is an order of deaconesses in the church is clear; but not for ministering as a priest, nor is she permitted to undertake anything, but for the sake of the modesty of the female sex, or at the time of a bath, or an examination of a suffering or ailment, and when the body of a woman might be unclothed, so that it might not be seen by the ministering men, but by the deaconess, who is instructed by the priest to care for the woman in need at the hour of the uncovering of her body, of the order of propriety and ecclesiastical good order, knowingly within the measure of a very secure rule. Therefore the divine word permits neither a woman "to speak" in church nor "to have authority over a man." And there is much that can be said about this. 4. But it must be observed that the ecclesiastical order has had need only as far as deaconesses, and it has named widows and of these the even older ones as "elders," but nowhere has it appointed female presbyters or priestesses. For not even deacons in the ecclesiastical order have been entrusted to perform any mystery, but only to minister to what is being performed. From where again has this new myth arisen for us? From where the arrogance of women and womanish madness? From where is this evil nourished, which through the † again female 3.479 pours into our minds the female aspect of suspicion and works its own pleasure, attempting to compel the wretched nature of men to go outside of what is set forth? But let us receive the firm mind of Job the athlete, let us arm ourselves with the just response, taking it upon our lips, and let us also say, "You have spoken as one of the foolish women speaks." For how will such a thing not appear thunderstruck to everyone who has understanding and * possesses it in God? How is this practice not idolatrous and the undertaking diabolical? For under the pretext of righteousness, the devil, always infiltrating the mind of men, deifying mortal nature, has fashioned statues in the likeness of men before the eyes of men through a variety of arts. And those who are worshipped are dead, but their statues, which have never lived (for things that have never lived cannot be called dead), they introduce as objects of worship, through an adulterous mind * away from the one and only God, like a common prostitute who has been aroused to the great absurdity of promiscuity and has cast off the modesty of the good rule of one husband. Yes, indeed, the body of Mary was holy, but not God. Yes, indeed, the Virgin was a virgin and honored, but not given to us for worship, but one who worships the one born from her in the flesh, who came from heaven from the Father's bosom. And because of this the

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οὐδὲ βάπτισμα διδόναι πεπίστευται, ἐπεὶ ἠδύνατο ὁ Χριστὸς μᾶλλον παρ' αὐτῆς βαπτισθῆναι ἤπερ παρὰ Ἰωάννου. ἀλλὰ Ἰωάννης μὲν παῖς Ζαχαρίου ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ 3.478 διετέλεσε βάπτισμα ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτιῶν πεπιστευμένος, ὁ δὲ τούτου πατὴρ θεῷ ἱεράτευσε καὶ τῇ ὥρᾳ τοῦ θυμιάματος ὀπτασίαν εἶδε. Πέτρος τε καὶ Ἀνδρέας, Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωάννης, Φίλιππος καὶ Βαρθολομαῖος, Θωμᾶς, Θαδδαῖος, καὶ Ἰάκωβος Ἀλφαίου, καὶ Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου κα Σίμων ὁ Καναναῖος, καὶ Ματθίας ὁ εἰς πλήρωσιν τῶν δώδεκα ἐκλελεγμένος, οὗτοι πάντες ἐξελέγησαν ἀπόστολοι κατὰ τὴν γῆν «ἱερουργοῦντες τὸ εὐαγγέλιον» ἅμα Παύλῳ καὶ Βαρνάβᾳ καὶ λοιποῖς, καὶ μυστηρίων ἀρχηγέται σὺν Ἰακώβῳ τῷ ἀδελφῷ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ πρώτῳ ἐπισκόπῳ Ἱεροσολύμων. ἐξ οὗπερ ἐπισκόπου καὶ τῶν προειρημένων ἀποστόλων κατεστάθησαν διαδοχαὶ ἐπισκόπων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ, καὶ οὐδαμοῦ γυνὴ ἐν τούτοις κατεστάθη. «ἦσαν δέ, φησί, τέσσαρες θυγατέρες Φιλίππῳ τῷ εὐαγγελιστῇ προφητεύουσαι», οὐ μὴν ἱερουργοῦσαι, καὶ «ἦν Ἄννα προφῆτις θυγάτηρ Φανουήλ», ἀλλ' οὐχ ἱερατείαν πεπιστευμένη. ἔδει γὰρ πληροῦσθαι τὸ «προφητεύσουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες ὑμῶν ἐνυπνίοις ἐνυπνιασθήσονται, καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὁράσεις ὄψονται». καὶ ὅτι μὲν διακονισσῶν τάγμα ἐστὶν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν δῆλον· ἀλλ' οὐχὶ εἰς τὸ ἱερατεύειν οὐδέ τι ἐπιχειρεῖν ἐπιτρέπεται, ἕνεκεν δὲ σεμνότητος τοῦ γυναικείου γένους ἢ δι' ὥραν λουτροῦ ἢ ἐπισκέψεως πάθους ἢ πόνου καὶ ὅτε γυμνωθείη σῶμα γυναίου, ἵνα μὴ ὑπὸ ἀνδρῶν ἱερουργούντων θεαθείη, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῆς διακονούσης, ἣ ἐπιτάσσεται ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱερέως ἐπιμελεῖσθαι πρὸς τὴν ὥραν τῆς ἐπιδεομένης γυναικὸς ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς τοῦ σώματος αὐτῆς γυμνώσεως, τοῦ τάγματος τῆς εὐταξίας καὶ ἐκκλησιαστικῆς εὐνομίας ἐπιστημόνως ἐν μέτρῳ κανόνος σφόδρα ἠσφαλισμένου. διὸ οὔτε ἐπιτρέπει ὁ θεῖος λόγος γυναικὶ ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ «λαλεῖν» οὔτε «αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός». καὶ πολλὰ ἔστι περὶ τούτου λέγειν. 4. Παρατηρητέον δὲ ὅτι ἄχρι διακονισσῶν μόνον τὸ ἐκκλησιαστικὸν ἐπεδεήθη τάγμα, χήρας τε ὠνόμασε καὶ τούτων τὰς ἔτι γραοτέρας πρεσβύτιδας, οὐδαμοῦ δὲ πρεσβυτερίδας ἢ ἱερίσσας προσέταξε. καὶ γὰρ οὔτε διάκονοι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησιαστικῇ τάξει ἐπιστεύθησάν τι μυστήριον ἐπιτελεῖν, ἀλλὰ μόνον διακονεῖν τὰ ἐπιτελούμενα. πόθεν δὲ πάλιν ἡμῖν ὁ καινὸς μῦθος οὗτος ἐγήγερται; πόθεν γυναικῶν τῦφος καὶ μανία γυναικωνῖτις; πόθεν τρεφομένη ἡ κακία, διὰ τῆς † πάλιν θήλεος ἡμῖν τὸ θῆλυ 3.479 τῆς ὑπονοίας τοῖς φρονήμασιν ἐπιχέουσα τὸ σφέτερόν τε ἡδυπαθείας ἐργαζομένη, ἀπὸ τοῦ προκειμένου ἔξω βαίνειν τὴν τάλαιναν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν ἐπιχειρεῖ ἀναγκάζειν; ἀλλὰ μὴν τοῦ Ἰὼβ δεξώμεθα τὸ φρόνημα τὸ στερεὸν τοῦ ἀθλητοῦ, ἐξοπλισώμεθα τὴν δικαίαν ἀπόκρισιν ἐπὶ τοῖς χείλεσιν ἀναλαβόντες, εἴπωμεν καὶ αὐτοί «ὥσπερ μία τῶν ἀφρόνων γυναικῶν ἐλάλησας». πόθεν γὰρ οὐκ ἐμβρόντητον τὸ τοιοῦτον φανήσεται παντὶ τῷ σύνεσιν ἔχοντι καὶ * ἐν θεῷ κεκτημένῳ; πόθεν οὐκ εἰδωλοποιὸν τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα καὶ τὸ ἐγχείρημα διαβολικόν; προφάσει γὰρ δικαίου ἀεὶ ὑπεισδύνων τὴν διάνοιαν ὁ διάβολος τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν θνητὴν φύσιν θεοποιῶν εἰς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀνθρώπων ἀνδροείκελα ἀγάλματα διὰ ποικιλίας τεχνῶν διέγραψε. καὶ τεθνήκασι μὲν οἱ προσκυνούμενοι, τὰ δὲ τούτων ἀγάλματα μηδέποτε ζήσαντα οὔτε γὰρ νεκρὰ δύναται λέγεσθαι τὰ μηδέποτε ζήσαντα προσκυνητὰ παρεισάγουσι, διὰ μοιχευσάσης διανοίας * ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑνὸς καὶ μόνου θεοῦ, ὡς ἡ πολύκοινος πόρνη ἐπὶ πολλὴν ἀτοπίαν πολυμιξίας ἐρεθισθεῖσα καὶ τὸ σῶφρον ἀποτριψαμένη τῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς εὐνομίας. ναὶ μὴν ἅγιον ἦν τὸ σῶμα τῆς Μαρίας, οὐ μὴν θεός, ναὶ δὴ παρθένος ἦν ἡ παρθένος καὶ τετιμημένη, ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰς προσκύνησιν ἡμῖν δοθεῖσα, ἀλλὰ προσκυνοῦσα τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς σαρκὶ γεγεννημένον, ἀπὸ οὐρανῶν δὲ ἐκ κόλπων πατρῴων παραγενόμενον. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸ