Letter 29: The celebrated vision of the divine Daniel represents the succession of empires that would rule the world: the...

To Timotheos, reader. On those who are sick with the love of money. If the deacons of the venerable altar are the eyes of a bishop, and you, by God's permission, govern them, then you ought to be wholly an eye, like the living creatures that are full of eyes [Ezekiel 1:18; Revelation 4:6] (since you too imitate them in nearness to God, yet not in your manner of life, as I am informed, but only in your liturgical service); and you ought not to darken, by base practices, both that honorable company and choir and the bishop who obeys you without examination, nor to defile that divine sanctuary with greed, nor to amass for yourself revenues from the price of ordinations. For the Lord, after scourging them, cast out from the temple those who sold the doves [Matthew 21:12; John 2:14-16]. Therefore, that you may not be thrust out together with them, cease from growing rich in this way and from preparing fuel for the fire that is to come. "I have appointed you as a watchman," says the divine Scripture, "and you shall see the sword coming, and you shall give warning" [Ezekiel 33:7; cf. 3:17]. And if indeed, once roused, they grow sober, and as obedient men stay awake toward virtue, then there will come a benefit of salvation both to you and to them. But if they stop up their ears like asps [Psalm 58:4-5 (57:5 LXX)], you for your part have accomplished what falls to you. Take care, therefore, that you do not appear to bear witness with your voice alone while being overcome in your deeds, surrendering the reins of your office to those around you, and impiously selling the grace. For one must neither entrust ordinations to gold, nor be ignorant of the manner of life of those who are brought forward, nor put forward others as the ones responsible for the sin, before that incorruptible and dread tribunal. For not even Adam was released from blame and from judgment by his reply and excuse concerning the woman, when he pleaded that he had partaken of the forbidden things at her instigation [Genesis 3:12].

Πρὸς φιλαργυρίαν νοσοῦντας. Εἰ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἐπισκόπου τυγχάνουσιν οἱ τοῦ σεπτοῦ θυσιαστηρίου διάκονοι, σὺ δὲ τούτων κατὰ συγχώρησιν θεοῦ ἄρχεις, ὅλος ὀφθαλμὸς ὀφείλεις ὑπάρχειν, ὡς τὰ ζῶα πολυόμματα (ἐπειδὴ καὶ τῇ πρὸς [τὸν] Θεὸν ἐκεῖνα μιμῇ (29) ἐγγύτητι, οὐχὶ βίῳ, ὡς μανθάνω, ἀλλὰ μόνη τῇ λειτουργίᾳ), καὶ μὴ σκοτίζειν τοῖς φαύλοις ἐπιτηδεύμασι, καὶ τὸν τίμιον ἐκεῖνον θίασον καὶ χορὸν, καὶ τὸν πειθόμενον σοὶ ἀκρίτως ἐπίσκοπον, καὶ χραίνειν τὸ θεῖον βῆμα πλεονεξίᾳ, καὶ πόρους σεαυτῷ ἀπὸ τιμῆς χειροτονιῶν ἀθροίζειν. Τοὺς γὰρ πωλοῦντας τὰς περιστερὰς ἐξέβαλεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ναοῦ μαστίξας ὁ Κύριος. Ἵνα τοίνυν μὴ σὺν ἐκείνοις ὠσθῇς, παῦσαι οὕτω πλουτῶν, καὶ ὕλην τῷ μέλλοντι ἑτοιμάζων πυρί. « Σκοπὸν σὲ δέδωκα, » φησὶν ἡ θεία Γραφή, « καὶ ὄψει τὴν ῥομφαίαν ἐρχομένην, καὶ ἀναγγελεῖς. » Καὶ εἰ μὲν νήψουσιν ἐξυπνισθέντες, καὶ πρὸς ἀρετὴν ὑπήκοοι γρηγορήσουσι, καὶ σοὶ κἀκείνοις σωτηρίας γενήσεται ὄνησις. Εἰ δὲ τὰ ὦτα βύσουσιν ὡς ἀσπίδες, αὐτὸς τό γε ἧκον ἐπὶ σοὶ ἐξετέλεσας. Σκόπει τοίνυν μὴ μόνον φωνῇ μαρτυρόμενος φανῇς, τοῖς ἔργοις ἠττώμενος, ἐνδιδοὺς τὰς ἡνίας τῆς ἀρχῆς, τοῖς περὶ σὲ, καὶ πιπράσκων τὴν χάριν ἀσεβῶς. Οὔτε γὰρ χρυσίῳ ἔστιν ἐπιτρέπειν χειροθεσίας, οὔτε ἀγνοεῖν τῶν τῶν προσαγομένων βίον, οὔτε ἑτέρους προβάλλεσθαι τῆς ἁμαρτίας αἰτίους, ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀδέκαστου καὶ φρικτοῦ κριτηρίου. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸν Ἀδὰμ τῆς μέμψεως καὶ τῆς δίκης ἀπέλυσεν ἡ περὶ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀπόκρισις καὶ σκῆψις, τῇ αὐτῆς ὑποθέσει μετειληφέναι τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων ἀπολογούμενον.