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Prologus 6 (prooemium ad Hypotyposin)

Our Lord Jesus Christ commanding: what I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you have heard in the ear, preach on the housetops; and the apostle showing the terrible judgment of silence, through what he says to the elders of Ephesus: I testify to you on this day that I am innocent of the blood of all; for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God; and commanding us to do the same, in what he writes: Remind them of these things, testifying solemnly before God; since I am not able to testify face to face to all concerning the Lord's commandments, I thought it necessary to write at least to the love of you all in Christ, both to free myself from judgment, and to fully inform you about what is incumbent upon you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; so that you may not through ignorance fall somewhere into the sting of death, which is sin, or transgress any commandment of God, about which it is written that His commandment is eternal life, and fall from it, as the Lord says: He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him; nor may we be found guilty through silence of the blood of those put to death by sin.

And my discourse will set forth: first, the cause and the danger of so much discord and division of the churches of God and of each one against the other; second, the proofs from the divinely-inspired scripture that every transgression of a command of God is severely and fearfully punished, so that even if someone seems to have accomplished most things, but somewhere neglects a few, or even any single command, or indifferently remains quiet toward the one who has sinned, and does not show good zeal according to the judgment of God, for this alone he pays the penalty, and even if he suffers such a thing through ignorance, not even so does he escape unpunished; after these things, it will contain the pious confession of God the Father, and of His only-begotten Son and God, and of the Holy Spirit; then, the knowledge of those things distinguished for us by scripture, from which it is necessary to abstain, and about which those who long for eternal life and the kingdom of heaven should be especially diligent, and it will likewise set forth separately the specific things for each rank or order; in addition to these, the discourse will attempt to give us from the holy scriptures a kind of essential and concise character of a Christian, serving as a type of rule, and again a similar character of those who preside over the word of the Lord's teaching; in which both the precision and extreme purity of the way of life will be revealed, and, so to speak, the dignity of those who excel in it will shine forth. Following these things will be appended what I answered when questioned by the brethren concerning the common practice of the life according to God. Copies of all these I have sent to your love in Christ, so that what was said by the apostle might be fulfilled in you or through us, that you entrust these things to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

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Prologus 6 (prooemium ad Hypotyposin)

Τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ προστάσσοντος· ὃ λέγω ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ, εἴπατε ἐν τῷ φωτί· καὶ ὃ πρὸς τὸ οὖς ἠκούσατε, κηρύξατε ἐπὶ τῶν δωμάτων· καὶ τοῦ ἀποστόλου τῆς σιωπῆς φοβερὸν τὸ κρῖμα δεικνύντος, δι' ὧν φησι πρὸς τοὺς Ἐφεσίων πρεσβυτέρους· διαμαρτύρομαι ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ σήμερον ἡμέρᾳ ὅτι καθαρός εἰμι ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος πάντων· οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι ὑμῖν πᾶσαν τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ· καὶ ἡμῖν δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιεῖν παραγγέλλοντος, ἐν οἷς γράφει· ταῦτα ὑπομίμνησκε, διαμαρτυρούμενος ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐπειδὴ κατὰ πρόσωπον διαμαρτύρασθαι πᾶσι περὶ τῶν τοῦ κυρίου προσταγμάτων οὐχ οἷός τε εἰμί, ἀναγκαῖον ἐνόμισα γράψαι γοῦν πρὸς τὴν πάντων ὑμῶν ἀγάπην ἐν Χριστῷ, καὶ ἐμαυτὸν μὲν τοῦ κρίματος ἐλευθερῶσαι, ὑμᾶς δὲ περὶ τῶν ἐπιβαλλόντων ὑμῖν πληροφορῆσαι ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· ἵνα μήτε ὑμεῖς ἐξ ἀγνοίας περιπέσητέ που τῷ κέντρῳ τοῦ θανάτου, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἢ παρέλθητέ τινα ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ, περὶ ἧς γέγραπται ὅτι ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιός ἐστι, καὶ ἐκπέσητε ταύτης, τοῦ κυρίου λέγοντος· ὁ ἀπειθῶν τῷ υἱῷ οὐκ ὄψεται τὴν ζωήν, ἄλλ' ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ μένει ἐπ' αὐτόν· μήτε ἡμεῖς ἔνοχοι τοῦ αἵματος τῶν ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τεθανατωμένων διὰ τῆς σιωπῆς εὑρεθῶμεν.

Παραθήσεται δέ μοι τὸ κρῖμα· πρῶτον μὲν τὴν αἰτίαν καὶ τὸν κίνδυνον τῆς τοσαύτης τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἑκάστου πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον διαφωνίας καὶ διαστάσεως· δεύτερον τὰς ἐκ τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς ἀποδείξεις περὶ τοῦ πᾶσαν παράβασιν ἐντολῆς θεοῦ σφοδρῶς καὶ φοβερῶς ἐκδικεῖσθαι, ὥστε εἰ καὶ τὰ πλεῖστά τις κατωρθωκέναι δοκεῖ, ὀλίγων δέ που, ἢ καὶ μιᾶς ἡστινοσοῦν ἐντολῆς ἀμελήσει, ἢ τῷ πλημμελήσαντι ἀδιαφόρως ἐφησυχάσει, καὶ μὴ ζῆλον ἀγαθὸν κατὰ τὸ κρῖμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπιδείξεται, ἐπὶ ταύτῃ μόνῃ δίκας ὑπέχει, κἂν ἐξ ἀγνοίας πάθῃ τι τοιοῦτον, οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀτιμώρητος διαφεύγει· μετὰ ταῦτα περιέξει τὴν εὐσεβῆ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρός, καὶ τοῦ μονο-γενοῦς υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ θεοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ὁμολογίαν· ἔπειτα τῶν ὑπὸ τῆς γραφῆς ἡμῖν διεσταλμένων τὴν γνῶσιν ὅσων ἀπέχεσθαι χρή, καὶ περὶ ἃ μάλιστα ἐσπουδακέναι, τοὺς αἰωνίου ζωῆς καὶ βασιλείας οὐρανῶν ἐφιεμένους, καὶ τὰ ἑκάστου δὲ βαθμοῦ ἢ τάγματος ἐξαίρετα κατ' ἰδίαν ὁμοίως παραθήσεται· ἐπὶ τούτοις οἱονεὶ χαρακτῆρα χριστιανοῦ κεφαλαιώδη καὶ σύντομον, ὅρου τύπον ἐπέχοντα, πειράσεται δοῦναι ἡμῖν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων γραφῶν ὁ λόγος, καὶ χαρακτῆρα πάλιν παραπλήσιον τῶν προεστώτων τοῦ λόγου τῆς τοῦ κυρίου διδασκαλίας· ἐν οἷς τό τε ἀπηκριβωμένον καὶ ἄκρως κεκαθαρμένον τῆς πολιτείας διαφανήσεται, καὶ τό, ἳν' οὕτως ὀνομάσω, ἀξίωμα τῶν ἐν ταύτῃ διαπρεπόντων ἐκλάμψει. Τούτοις ἀκολούθως ἐπισυναφθήσεται ἡμῖν ὅσα πρὸς τὴν συνάσκησιν τῆς κατὰ θεὸν ζωῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπερωτηθεὶς ἀπεκρινάμην. Ὧν ἀπάντων τὰ ἀντίγραφα διεπεμψάμην πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν ἐν Χριστῷ ἀγάπην, ἵνα πληρωθῇ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ δι' ἡμῶν τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου εἰρημένον, ὅτι ταῦτα παράθου πιστοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οἵτινες ἱκανοὶ ἔσονται καὶ ἑτέρους διδάξαι.