The eating of meat by the holy
It is from God to those called Ascetics or Monastics, since it was permitted to Abraham, who ate meat and lived with a wife. And what about Isaac, regarding the eating of the kids prepared by Rebecca his wife and brought in by Jacob his son? How, after eating the dishes and drinking the wine, he blessed Jacob, saying: 'May God give to you from the dew of heaven and from the richness of the earth, and let nations serve you and let rulers worship you, and may you become lord of your brother' (Genesis 27:28). And not one word of the blessing was divided, but the whole patriarchal blessing came upon Jacob.
And what about Jacob himself and all the saints? I say indeed Moses and Aaron, and following them all the saints who were righteous and pleasing to God: how all ate meat and gave thanks to the Creator. And the holy Samuel himself, having been dedicated at three years to the house of God and being brought up among the holy of the holies, partakes of the creatures of God and, having anointed Saul for king, permitted him to eat and all the people.
And a certain prophet regarding them: Moses and Aaron among his priests and Samuel among those calling upon his name, they called upon the Lord, and he himself heard them; in a pillar of cloud he spoke to them (Exodus 13:21). And it was possible to say following about all the saints, how all with thanksgiving partook of the creatures of God and glorified the Creator.
But so that we do not make those seeking intercession more sluggish by a multitude of words, it was sufficient to show that even God accepted from the saints the sacrifices and permitted them to eat with thanksgiving and reverence. And if even some of the saints abstained from foods for a short time, it was not as if they abstained from unclean things. For what reward is there from abstaining from the unclean? But each of the devout abstains from the pleasant and forbidden things, just as someone abstains from a woman although...
abstain from women by practicing chastity
Greek
παρὰ θεοῦ τοῖς λεγομένοις Ἐγκρατέσιν ἢ Ἀποτακτίταις, ὃ ὑπῆρξε τῷ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ ἐσθίοντι κρέα καὶ συνοικοῦντι γυναικί. Τί δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ ἐροῦσι τοῦ φαγόντος τοὺς ἐρίφους ἐσκευασμένους ὑπὸ Ῥεβέκκας τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰσενεχθέντας ὑπὸ Ἰακὼβ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, πῶς φαγὼν τῶν ἐδεσμάτων καὶ πιὼν τοῦ οἴνου εὐλόγησε τὸν Ἰακὼβ λέγων· ∆ῴη σοι ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῆς δρόσου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πιότητος τῆς γῆς καὶ δουλευσάτωσάν σοι ἔθνη καὶ προσκυνησάτωσάν σε ἄρχοντες καὶ γίνῃ κύριος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου. Καὶ οὐ διέπεσεν εἷς λόγος τῆς εὐλογίας, ἀλλ' ἐπῆλθε πᾶσα ἡ πατρικὴ εὐλογία ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰακώβ. Τί δὲ καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ καὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων, λέγω δὴ Μωϋσέως καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ ἀκολούθως πάντων τῶν ἁγίων τῶν ἐννόμων εὐαρεστησάντων τῷ θεῷ, πῶς πάντες ἤσθιον κρέας καὶ ηὐχαρίστουν τῷ δημιουργῷ; Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ ἅγιος Σαμουὴλ ὁ τριετὴς ἀποδοθεὶς τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις τῶν ἁγίων ἀνατραφείς, μεταλαμβάνει τῶν κτισμάτων τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸν Σαοὺλ χρίσας εἰς βασιλέα ἐπέτρεψε τούτῳ ἐσθίειν καὶ παντὶ τῷ λαῷ. Καί τις προφήτης περὶ αὐτῶν· Μωϋσῆς καὶ Ἀαρὼν ἐν τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ Σαμουὴλ ἐν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐπεκαλοῦντο τὸν κύριον, καὶ αὐτὸς εἰσήκουσεν αὐτῶν· ἐν στύλῳ νεφέλης ἐλάλει πρὸς αὐτούς. Καὶ ἦν ἀκολούθως εἰπεῖν περὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων, πῶς πάντες μετ' εὐχαριστίας τῶν κτισμάτων τοῦ θεοῦ μετελάμβανον καὶ τὸν δημιουργὸν ἐδόξαζον. Ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ τῷ πλήθει τῶν λόγων ὀκνηροτέρους ποιήσωμεν τοὺς ἐντυγ χάνοντας, ἠρκέσθημεν δεῖξαι ὅτι καὶ ὁ θεὸς προσεδέξατο παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων τὰς θυσίας καὶ αὐτοῖς ἐπέτρεψε μετ' εὐχαριστίας καὶ εὐλαβείας ἐσθίειν. Εἰ δὲ καί τις τῶν ἁγίων ἀπέσχετο βρωμάτων πρὸς βραχύ, οὐχ ὡς ἀπὸ ἀκαθάρτων ἀπέσχετο. Ποῖος γὰρ μισθὸς ἀπὸ ἀκαθάρτου ἀπέχεσθαι; Ἀλλ' ἕκαστος τῶν εὐλαβῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ἡδέων καὶ ἐπιτετραμμένων οἷον ἀπέχεταί τις γυναικὸς καίπερ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπιτρέψαντος μεταλαμβάνειν γυναικός· ἀλλὰ διὰ τοὺς στεφάνους τῆς ἁγνείας τοὺς κρείττονας ἀπέχεται τῆς γυναικὸς ἁγνεύων, οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀπεχόμενος μοιχείας ἢ πορνείας ἐστεφανώθη. Ταῦτα γὰρ εἰ ἔπραξε, καὶ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ νόμος καὶ ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατέκρινεν αὐτόν. Πάλιν ἀπέχεταί τις βρωμάτων ἃ ὁ θεὸς ἔκτισεν εἰς μετάληψιν τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ ἐπεγνωκόσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἀπεχόμενος τούτων, οὐχ ὡς ἀπὸ ἀκαθάρτων ἀπέχεται, εἰ δὲ μή γε, μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχει. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ εἰδωλοθύτων ἀνάγκης αὐτῷ μὴ ἐπικειμένης ἐπῃνέθη ἢ μισθὸν περὶ τούτου προσεδόκησεν, ἐν ταύταις δὲ ταῖς ἁγίαις νηστείαις καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἄρτου καὶ τοῦ ὕδατος ἀπεχόμενος. Τῷ αὐτῷ οὖν λόγῳ καὶ εἴ τις τῶν ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν ἀπέσχετό τινος γάμου ἢ βρωμάτων ἢ οἴνου· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς τοῦ θεοῦ τινα τῶν ἁγίων πάντων ἀπεχόμενον, ἵνα μὴ δῶσιν αἱρετικοῖς λαβήν. Ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ ἐπαινοῦσι τόνδε τὸν ἅγιον δι' ἁγνείαν, διὰ τὰ βρώμα τα αὐτὸν κατακρίνουσι. Πάλιν ἐὰν εὕρωσί τινα οἴνου ἀπεχόμενον, διὰ τὸν γάμον τοῦτον βδελύσσονται· καὶ ὅλως οὐχ εὑρήσεις τινὰ τῶν ἁγίων δι' ὅλου τῷ δόγματι αὐτῶν συν τρέχοντα. Πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔχουσί τι καυχήσασθαι περὶ ἐγκρατείας βρωμάτων· ὡς γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἐδείξαμεν τοὺς ἁγίους πατριάρχας καὶ θεῷ προσκομίσαντας τῶν κτισμάτων αὐτοῦ, οὕτως καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔχουσι τὸν Ἠσαῦ μήτε θεῷ θυσίας προσκομί σαντα μήτε κρεῶν ἀπογευσάμενον ἢ οἶνον πιόντα, ἀλλ' ἕψεμα φακοῦ φαγόντα καὶ οὕτως ἀποδόμενον τὰ πρωτοτόκια. Μαρτυρεῖ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος λέγων· Μήτε πόρνος ἢ βέβηλος ὡς Ἠσαῦ, ὃς ἀντὶ μιᾶς βρώσεως ἀπέδω τὰ πρωτοτόκια αὐτοῦ. Ἴστε γὰρ ὅτι καὶ μετέπειτα θέλων κληρονομῆσαι τὴν εὐλογίαν ἀπεδοκιμάσθη, μετανοίας γὰρ τόπον οὐχ εὗρε. Πορνείαν δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὴν γαστρι μαργίαν ὠνόμασεν. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης· δείξομεν δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν εὐαγγελίων, ὅτι ὁ
About this text
A fierce defense of Christian truth against deceptive heresies and their harmful influence on believers.
Original English Translation — new OET from PG Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 39 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.