Chapter 10

1Be pure, then, like the first fathers—good, wise, and prudent—and put away from yourselves every evil habit and wicked custom. Choose instead the way of life. The bishop ought to walk in this way, to act as is fitting, to turn away from evildoing, to do good works, to heal the sick who desire to repent, and to cast out those who refuse to turn. For many seek pretexts and lay snares and accusations through envy, as the two elders did against Susanna in Babylon and as the Egyptian woman did against Joseph. But you, O man of God, must not act as they did. Be good and merciful, and receive those who repent. Do not favor the sinner or slay the righteous. Whoever does not receive the repentant and does not bring the sinner back is the father of anger, and there is no peace in him. For where anger is, the Lord does not dwell. Anger is the friend of Satan, who goes to and fro among false brothers—and in him there is no peace—and causes trouble in the Church. Understand, then, and do not follow the way of fools who rejoice in evil. Do not listen to their voice, but beware of them, for there is no fear of God before their eyes, but rather vengeance and envy. Evil people accuse the good who are without sin, raise an evil report against them, and bring them into great trouble and affliction. But you, O bishop, must understand and examine those who come to present their case to you. Judge between them wisely, discerning what the matter is and how it happened.

2If a man is found to have transgressed, admonish him privately, as the Lord commanded. Take him aside by yourself and speak to him so that he may turn to repentance. If he rejects you, take one or two others with you, tell him of his negligence and folly, and teach him with meekness and wisdom. Wisdom dwells in the heart of the good and rests in the minds of teachers. If he listens to the word of the three of you, he has saved his soul and gained himself. But if he refuses to listen, tell it to the Church. If he refuses to hear the Church, let him be to you as a heathen and a publican. Do not receive him, permit him to enter the Church, or reckon him among the Christians.

3But let us receive the repentance of those who repent of their sins and turn to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Behold, I, Matthew, one of the Twelve, declare to you the teaching of this new Didascalia, though I was formerly a publican. When I repented and believed in the right faith, I became an apostle and a preacher of the holy Gospel, for a man is saved by faith. In the same way, although Zacchaeus had formerly been a publican, when he turned, repented, and prayed to the Lord, the Lord received his repentance and did not despise him. And behold, just as those soldiers and publicans who entered the Church heard the word of repentance from John the Baptist and what he said after their baptism, “Do nothing beyond what is commanded you,” so you must not lay burdens on the Gentiles who turn to God, lest they rebel against the faith.

4Thus we command you: Bring those who turn into the Church so that they may hear the word of the Scriptures and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, lest they perish. But do not join them in prayer. Let them be sent out after the reading of the Scriptures of the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel. Then they shall be ready at all times to serve in the Church, so that others, when they see them, may fear, be admonished, and learn true godliness.

5O bishop, help sinners and strengthen them by the word of the Lord. Do not despise them or refuse to eat with them. Our Lord did not refuse to eat with publicans and sinners. When the Pharisees said to his disciples, “Why does your master eat with sinners and publicans?” he answered them, “The sick need a physician, not those who are well. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Therefore, it is right for you to visit and comfort them, to eat with them in love, to care for their salvation, to help them, and to say to them, “Be strong; clap your hands and dance with your feet.” You ought to console the sorrowful in heart and patiently bear with the angry, lest they turn again to folly, for a passionate man is always a fool.

6If anyone turns and shows the fruits of repentance, receive him immediately, as the prodigal son who scattered all his father’s substance by living riotously. He spent all that he had, and a great famine came upon that land, and he began to be in need. He went and joined himself to one of the men of that country, who sent him into his field to feed swine. He longed to fill himself with the berries that the swine ate, but no one gave him anything. Then he thought in his heart and said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, while I die here of hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am therefore no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your servants.’” He arose and went to his father. His father saw him from afar, was moved with compassion for him, ran to him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him. His son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I am not worthy to be called your son.” But his father said to his servants, “Quickly bring choice garments and put them on him. Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. Bring a fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry, for this son of mine was dead and has lived again; he was lost and is found.”

7Do this, O bishop, when you baptize the catechumens: Receive them and lay your hand upon them, for they have been purified by repentance. After you have prayed over them, baptize them and bring them into the good flock. For when you lay your hand upon them, the Holy Spirit descends upon them from our Lord Jesus Christ. If one of the faithful brothers asks you, “Why have you [slain] the sinner?” ought you not to rejoice with him and say to him, “This brother of yours was dead and has lived again; he was lost and is found”? God is merciful and forgives the sin of the one who has repented and done what is good.

8Hear what David did when he sinned in the matter of Uriah’s wife. After his sin he repented and said, “Turn your face from my sin, and blot out all my transgression. Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from before your face, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me joy and your salvation, and strengthen me with an excellent spirit.” You also, O bishop, must heal them as a wise physician and a faithful friend who cares for and seeks the salvation of his neighbor. In the same way, help, save, and heal from the wounds of sin those who turn to God, so that they may be saved from condemnation. If their disease is great, give them the remedy that blots out uncleanness. Anoint them with the oil of life that destroys the poison of the disease, namely, fasting and prayer. By prayer and supplication bind up the defilement of the limbs of those who are broken. If, after doing all this, you are unable to heal them, do not turn against them like a saw that cuts apart or an axe that breaks in pieces. Instead, be like a wise physician who cuts with a lancet and removes the foulness of the disease hidden within; then the whole limb shall become sound.

9But if you see a deceitful man who refuses to turn to repentance and continues in folly and error, cut him off from the Church. For it is said, “Remove all evil from among you.” It is right for you to admonish him, but it is also right that you not regard him as an enemy, for he is a member of yours. Show no partiality in judgment, and favor neither the rich nor the poor.

10You, O shepherds of the sheep and deacons, must not listen to words of falsehood or accusations against an innocent man in whom there is no sin, so that you might put him out of the Church while seeking occasions to receive bribes and show favoritism. Those who act in this way are friends of the devil. Know that you shall answer for this before the judgment seat of the Lord, for it is written, “You shall not slay the righteous with the sinner, nor take a bribe to destroy life, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the word of righteousness.” Do not honor a transgressor because of a bribe or exchange righteousness for falsehood. Take heed to yourselves and do no such thing. Do not judge unrighteously or become partners with evildoers. For Isaiah the prophet says, “Woe to those who call good evil and evil good; who call light darkness and darkness light; who call sweet bitter and bitter sweet. Woe to those who are wise in evil and say, ‘We are like the wise.’”

11If you pervert judgment through iniquity, know that you shall bring grievous condemnation upon yourselves. For our Lord says, “As you have judged, so shall you be judged; and with the measure with which you have measured, others shall measure to you.” But if you have understanding and inquire carefully into matters of judgment, you shall discern the evil, the false, and the slanderers who desire to slay their neighbors through wrongdoing. These are the ones who cause trouble, pay heed to vain words, and make snares for themselves through the words of their lips. Put far away those who act in this way, lest they destroy the Church of God. But if they turn, repent, forsake their wickedness, and do good, receive them so that they may enter the Church, for they have received the Body of Christ.

12If a man is born with something superfluous among his members, will he not cut away that which is superfluous so that it may not be a shame to him? In the same way, you shepherds of the sheep, drive the ungodly and unbelieving out of the Church of God. It is a shame if there are among you those who do not believe in the name of Jesus Christ. Cut them off entirely from the Church. You are truly members of Christ and sons of the Church. If a superfluous member is found among you, one who has evil thoughts and goes to and fro among you with murder, slander, and blasphemy, the one who acts in this way has accomplished all the devices of Satan and has blasphemed against the Church. Let such people be put out of the Church, repaid according to their works, and entirely cut off from the people of the Lord. Behold, then, the Church of the Lord is made beautiful because the evil member who dwelt within and troubled her has gone out from her. Such people are destroyers, haters of good, and lovers of wealth and empty praise. They are wise in evil and scatter the sheep of the flock of Jesus Christ.

13Bishops and people ought to judge in righteousness, for our Lord says, “If you walk in a crooked way, I also will walk with you in a crooked way.” And elsewhere it is said, “With a righteous man you shall be righteous; with a pure man you shall be pure; with the elect you shall be elect; and with the crooked you shall be crooked.” Walk, then, in the way of purity so that you may find honor and favor with the Lord. Be of one heart and love one another, and let there be peace among you. You, O bishops, feed the people with firmness, with one heart, in uprightness and fellowship, so that you may glorify God in one faith. Be one body, one spirit, and one faith, even as the Lord has granted to you, in uprightness.

14Let the deacon tell the bishop everything that is done, just as Christ did nothing without the Father, for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have one will. When the deacon has received ordination from the bishop, let him be an ear, an eye, and a mouth to the bishop, and let him report the cares of the people as is fitting, just as Jethro advised Moses the prophet and Moses received his word. This honor befits a Christian people. Let neither the layman nor the elders judge, but rather those who have been placed in authority in the Church. For Satan lays snares for the servants of God through the ungodly and teaches them reproaches and blasphemies. Is there not one among us with understanding who is able to judge between us in uprightness? Therefore, do not allow the heathen to know the mystery of your hidden affairs. Do not accept against yourselves the testimony of those who do not believe, but keep that which has been given to you. For it is said, “Give what belongs to the King to the King, and what belongs to God to God.” If you have a debt to pay, do not delay payment, saying, “I will pay my believing brother, but I will not pay the one who does not believe.” Rather, do as our Lord did when he paid tribute.

15You, O servants of God, keep the commandments of Christ. If you see a quarrel or dispute among the brothers, it is right for you to report it to those who have been placed in authority. If those involved are men of evil habits, causes of trouble, haters of good, and people who do not walk in the right way, admonish them and put them to shame. But when they repent, receive them. If you act in this way, you have made peace between brothers and saved them from sin. You ought to forgive and pardon the trespasses of your neighbors, just as the Lord commanded Peter when Peter said to him, “If my neighbor sins against me, how often shall I forgive him? Seven times?” Jesus answered him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” Thus the Lord wills his disciples to act. They must never allow vengeance, envy, anger, or evil desire to dwell in their hearts, but must make peace between brothers so that they may live in unity. For our Lord says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.”

16Therefore, you must not cause contention on the Christian Sabbath, but rather make peace. Let judgment be given on other days. It is right, O bishops, that presbyters and deacons should sit with you in judgment. Do not judge with partiality or favoritism, but judge in righteousness and uprightness as servants of God. If anyone has a suit against his fellow, let both of them come together and stand in the court, as it is written in the Law. Then judge in righteousness and uprightness. Take heed and quickly bring them to agreement and make peace between them before the judgment of death comes forth from the bishop upon the one who has sinned. For Christ, the Son of God, is with you in the court of judgment. If anyone says, “Such a one has blasphemed against the name of God and does not walk in the way of righteousness,” do not give judgment hastily before his fellow appears. When both have come, judge between them. For the judgment that proceeds from you leads to life, while on the other hand it goes down to eternal condemnation. Our Lord says, “Follow righteousness and uprightness.”

17But the one whose sin is manifestly known and who has justly been brought to judgment shall be far from eternal life. He shall not see the glory of God but shall be put to shame before the saints. If you judge wrongfully, however, you shall find condemnation and shall be repaid according to your works, just as God repaid the two elders who spoke falsely against Susanna. Beware, then, of speaking falsely, for the one who speaks falsely shall find great condemnation. Do not be like the men who transgressed the Law and spoke falsely against Naboth in Samaria, or like the council of the Jews who spoke falsely against Stephen, the first martyr. Those who bear witness must be faithful and meek men, free from anger, pure, good, faithful, worshipers of God, and without evil. Such pure and blameless people are worthy to bear witness, and their testimony is sure. Do not accept the testimony of those who do not live in this way. Even if the testimony of many false witnesses agrees with one consent, do not listen to their words, for it is said, “Let me have no fellowship with their assembly of blood.” Moreover, the Law commands, “Do not listen to a false accusation or sit with one who is unjust, lest you become an unjust witness. Do not join yourself to a multitude to commit iniquity.”

18If anyone comes before you in judgment, examine his life and see what his character and habits are. If witnesses concerning him declare that there is no evil in him, but that he pursues righteousness, loves God, receives strangers, loves the poor and the brothers, does not love gain, is no extortioner, drunkard, or sluggard, and does not stretch out his hand for oppression, then judge in righteousness the man whose deeds are like these. But admonish the one who speaks falsely against his neighbor, for he is his brother’s murderer, so that others, when they see, may fear and not follow his way. If anyone’s sin becomes manifest in judgment, admonish him and put him to shame.

19As we have said before, if anyone makes an accusation, do not give judgment for one party until both are present together in court. If you wrongfully give judgment for one before his fellow stands in the court of judgment, you have become speakers of lies, like the priests who spoke falsely against Susanna in Babylon and brought her down to the court for a judgment of death. But Daniel the prophet saved Susanna and brought those who had spoken falsely against her down to condemnation and death. In the same way, if you do not judge in righteousness and uprightness, you shall find condemnation, and the scourge of God shall come upon you. But if you judge in righteousness and uprightness, you shall find a good reward and eternal life.

20Take heed, then, beloved brothers, and do good at all times, so that you may find honor before God with the holy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven and in eternal life, for this is right before God. Judge, then, in righteousness and peace, without anger, for the portion of the one who provokes his neighbor to anger without cause shall be in Gehenna. For it is said, “Before the sun sets, cool your anger, and give no place to Satan. [Let the one who stole steal no more.]” Again David says, “Be angry and do not sin.” Love one another, remove evil from your hearts, and be at peace among yourselves.

21Hear what our Master, our Lord, and our Savior Jesus Christ says in the Gospel: “When you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something with which to reproach you, leave your offering there before the altar. Go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then return and offer your gift.” The sacrifice of God is a meek spirit and a humble heart, prayer, and thanksgiving. But if you provoke your neighbor to anger and grieve his heart, God will not receive your sacrifice or your prayer.

22Beloved brothers, you ought at all times to pray, make supplication, and utter your supplication to God, so that he may remove indignation and anger from you. Praise the Lord continually in every season, and make mention of his name, which is Most High, so that he may remove hatred, anger, and vengeance from you and enable you to pray with a pure heart in which there is no defilement. For the Lord has commanded us to love our enemies, and much more our friends. Again it is said, “Hate no one, but admonish some of them and teach some of them.” Do not hate your brother with your whole heart, listen to an accusation against him, or find an occasion of stumbling because of him. Do not persecute the stranger who dwells with you, for you were a stranger in the land of Egypt. Do not hate an Edomite, for he is your brother. David also says, “If I have repaid with evil those who repaid me, let my enemies cause me to fall down naked.”