To all this they have added a contempt for churches and altars, alleging that ascetics have no need to frequent church services, since their prayers in their own oratories are quite sufficient. For such, they were accustomed to say, was the power of prayer as to make the Holy Ghost sensibly manifest to themselves and their disciples. They have this strange idea that those who would be saved must, without engaging in any other occupation whatsoever, pray until such time as they feel the sin being perceptibly driven out by the force of their prayers like some sort of smoke, or fire, or serpent, or other such beast; and until they sensibly experience the return of the Holy Ghost and have in their soul a manifest perception of His entrance. And this, they say, is the true communion of Christians. For those who have been baptized do by no means all participate in the Holy Ghost through the baptism of the Church or by the ordinations of clerics, unless they most assiduously have communion by their own prayers and, apart from baptism, receive the communion of the Holy Ghost, and unless they be willing to remain with them and be instructed in their doctrines. Thus, when certain priests said to them that ‘we confess that we possess the Holy Ghost in faith but not sensibly, they promised them that they, too, by praying with them should receive a share of the sensation of the Spirit. Such is the absurdity of their humbug that those of them who have supposedly participated in the sensation of the Spirit are held to be blessed, as being perfect, free of all sin, and superior. These they treat with great respect and venerate as being no longer subject to the dangers of sin. And besides all this they are indulged and exempted in the matter of food and they are shown every sort of attention, honor, and luxury. Yet, many of them, after so great a recognition of their perfection on the part of their own, have, when among outsiders, whom they do not even consider worthy to be called Christians, been observed committing various disgraceful actions, thefts of money, and fornication.

Τούτοις προσετίθεσαν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν καὶ τῶν θυσιαστηρίων ὑπεροψίαν, ὡς δέον τοὺς ἀσκητὰς ἐκκλησιαστικαῖς μὲν μὴ παραμένειν συνάξεσιν, ἀρκεῖσθαι δὲ ταῖς ἐν τοῖς εὐκτηρίοις αὐτῶν εὐχαῖς: τοσαύτην γὰρ ἔλεγον εἶναι τῆς προσευχῆς αὐτῶν δύναμιν, ὥστε αὐτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς παρ' αὐτῶν μαθητευθεῖσιν αἰσθητῶς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐπιφαίνεσθαι. Τερατεύονται γάρ, ὡς χρὴ τοὺς σωθῆναι βουλομένους ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον προσεύχεσθαι, οὐδὲν τὸ παράπαν ἕτερον διαπραττομένους, ἕως ἂν τῆς μὲν ἁμαρτίας αἴσθωνται καθάπερ καπνοῦ τινος ἢ πυρὸς ἢ δράκοντος ἤ τινος τοιούτου θηρίου διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς ἐξελαυνομένης καὶ αἰσθητῶς διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν ἐξιούσης, τοῦ πνεύματος δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου πάλιν τὴν εἴσοδον αἰσθητῶς ὑποδέξωνται καὶ φανερὰν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ ἔχωσιν αἴσθησιν τῆς εἰσόδου τοῦ πνεύματος. Καὶ ταύτην εἶναι τὴν ἀληθινὴν χριστιανῶν κοινωνίαν: οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἢ ταῖς τῶν κληρικῶν χειροτονίαις ἁγίου πνεύματος πάντως μεταλαμβάνειν τοὺς βαπτιζομένους, εἰ μὴ ταῖς αὐτῶν προσευχαῖς φιλοπονώτερον κοινωνήσειεν, καὶ λαβεῖν ἄν τινα καὶ δίχα τοῦ βαπτίσματος ἁγίου πνεύματος κοινωνίαν, εἰ παραμένειν αὐτοῖς ἐθελήσειε καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνων μαθητεύεσθαι δόγμασιν, ὡς καὶ πρεσβυτέρων τινῶν εἰπόντων αὐτοῖς, ὅτι ἐν πίστει τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὁμολογοῦμεν ἔχειν καὶ οὐκ αἰσθήσει, ἐπαγγείλασθαι καὶ αὐτοῖς διὰ τῆς σὺν αὐτοῖς προσευχῆς μεταδοθήσεσθαι τῆς αἰσθήσεως τοῦ πνεύματος. Τοσοῦτος δέ ἐστιν αὐτῶν τῆς ἀλαζονείας ὁ τῦφος, ὡς τοὺς μετασχόντας παρ' αὐτοῖς δῆθεν τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος αἰσθήσεως μακαρίζεσθαι ὑπ' αὐτῶν ὡς τελείους καὶ πάσης ἁμαρτίας ἐλευθέρους καὶ κρείττονας καὶ περιέπειν καὶ σέβεσθαι ὡς μὴ ὑποκειμένους ἔτι κινδύνοις ἁμαρτίας, ἀλλὰ λοιπὸν ἄνεσιν καὶ βρωμάτων ἄδειαν καὶ πᾶσαν ὑπάρχειν αὐτοῖς δορυφορίαν καὶ τιμὴν καὶ τρυφήν, ὧν πολλοὶ καὶ μετὰ τὴν τοιαύτην παρ' αὐτοῖς μαρτυρίαν τῆς τελειότητος εἰς τοὺς ἐκτὸς ὄντας οὔτε χριστιανοὺς προσαγορεύειν ἀξιοῦσιν: αἰσχρουργίαις διαφόροις καὶ χρημάτων κλοπαῖς καὶ πορνείαις περιπεσόντες ὤφθησαν.