Worthy of Double Punishment

Τό οὔν περὶ αὐτοῦ γράμμα ὁ μὲν συνεγνωκὼς ἑαυτῷ δεξάσθω ὡς ἴαμα, ὁ δέ μὴ συνεγνωκὼς ὡς προφυλακτήριον· ὁ δὲ ἀδιάφορος, ὀπερ ἀπεύχομαι ἐφ’ ὑμῖν εὑρεθῆναι, ὡς διαμαρτυρίαν. Τί δέ ἐστιν ὁ λέγω; φασί τινας ὑμων παρὰ τῶν χειροτονουμένων λαμβάνειν χρήματα· ἐπισκιάζειν δὲ ὀνόματι εὐσεβείας. Τοῦτο δὲ χεῖρον ἐστιν. Ἐὰν γὰρ τις τὸ κακόν έν προσχὴματι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ποιῇ. διπλασίονος τιμωρίας ἐστὶν ἀξιος· διότι αὐτό τε τὸ οὐκ ἀγαθὸν ἐργάζεται, καὶ κέχρηται εἰς τὸ τελέσαι τὴν ἄμαρτίαν, ὡς ἄν εἰποι τις, τῷ καλῷ συνεργῷ. Ταύτα εἰ οὔτως ἔχει, τοῦ λοιποῦ μὴ γινέσθω, ἀλλὰ διοργωθήτω· ἐπεὶ ἀνάγκη λέγειν πρός τὸν δεχόμενον τὸ ἀργύριον, ὃπερ ἐῥῥήθη παρὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων πρὸς τὸν θέλοντα δοῦναι, ἲνα Πνεύματος ἀγίου μετουσίαν ὠνήσηται· Τό ἀργύριον σου σὺν σοὶ εἴη εἰς ἀπώλειαν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος Καισαρείας, Ἐπιστολη ΗΓ’ , Χωρεπισκόποις

About that which I am writing, may it be received by the one guilty as medicine, by the one not guilty as a warning, by the one indifferent, where I would not wish to find any of you, as an obstructive plea. And of what do I speak? It is said that some among you take money from those to be ordained and cover it up under the name of religion. This is worse, for if someone does evil under the mask of good he is worthy of double punishment; he does what is itself not good and has done it to accomplish a further sin. If the report is so, let it not be hereafter but let there be improvement. And then it must be said to those who have received such money, as was said by the Apostles to him who would give money to buy association with the Holy Spirit: Your money perish with you. 1 Saint Basil of Caesarea, Letter 53, To the Suffragan Bishops  1 Acts 8.20