First Lessons

Ἀρχὴ δὲ πάντων χαλεπῶν φιλαργυρία. εἰδότες οὖν ὅτι οὐδὲν εἰσηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι ἔχομεν, ὁπλισώμεθα τοῖς ὅπλοις τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ διδάξωμεν ἑαυτοὺς πρῶτον προεύεσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐντολῇ τοῦ Kυριοῦ· ἔπειτα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ δοθείσῃ αὐταῖς πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἁγνείᾳ στεργούσας τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἄνδρας ἐν πάσῃ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἀγαπώσας πάντας ἐξ ἴσου ἐν πάσῃ ἐγκρατείᾳ, καὶ τὰ τέκνα παιδεύειν τὴν παιδείαν τοῦ φόβου τοῦ θεοῦ· τὰς χήρας σωφρονούσας περὶ τὴν τοῦ Kυρίου πίστιν, ἐντυγχανούσας ἀδιαλείπτως περὶ πάντων, μακρὰν οὔσας πάσης διαβολῆς, καταλαλιᾶς, ψευδομαρτυρίας, φιλαργυρίας καὶ παντὸς κακοῦ, γινωσκούσας ὅτι εἰσὶ θυσιαστήριον θεοῦ καὶ ὅτι πάντα μωμοσκοπεῖται, καὶ λέληθεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲν οὔτε λογισμῶν οὔτε ἐννοιῶν οὔτε τι τῶν κρυπτῶν τῆς καρδίας. Ἅγιος Πολύκαρπος Σμύρνης, Πρὸς Φιλιππήσιους Έπιστολή Source: Migne PG 5.1008c-1009a

'But the love of money is the root of all evils.' 1 Knowing, therefore, that 'as we brought nothing into the world, so we can bear nothing out,' 2 let us arm ourselves with the armour of righteousness, 3 and first let us teach ourselves to walk in the commandments of the Lord. Then teach your wives to walk in the faith given to them, and to love their own husbands dearly and tenderly and in all truth, and to love everyone equally and in chastity, and to raise their children in the knowledge and fear of God. Teach widows to be sensible regarding the faith of the Lord, praying continually for all, 4 being far from all slandering, evil-speaking, false-witnessing, land the love of money, and every sort of evil, knowing that they are the altar of God, and that He sees all things clearly and nothing is hidden from Him, neither reasoning, nor reflections, nor any one of the secret things of the heart. Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, from the Letter to the Philippians. 1 1 Tim 6.10 2 1 Tim 6.7 3 Ephes 6.11 4 1 Thes 5.17