A People Excluded

Μίαν μοῖραν, ἓν ψυχῶν γένος ἀποκηρύττω τῆς πανηγύρεως, στένων μὲν καὶ ἀλγῶν, καὶ οὐδὲ ἐπαΐον τας ἴσως πενθῶν, οὐδ' αἰσθανομένους τῆς ἑαυ τῶν ἀπωλείας ἀποδυρόμενος· τοῦτο γὰρ τῆς πληγῆς αὐτῶν τὸ ἐλεεινότατον· ἀποκηρύττω δ' ὅμως, οἳ, σπαρέντες οὐκ ἐπὶ τὴν στερεὰν πέτραν καὶ ἄσειστον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὴν ξηράν τε καὶ ἄγονον· εἰσὶ δὲ οἱ τῷ λόγῳ προσελθόντες ἐπιπολαίως καὶ ὀλιγόπιστοι, καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος γῆς, εὐθέως ἐξανατείλαντες, καὶ προκύψαντες, ἵνα τοῖς πλησίον ἀρέσωσιν, ἔπειτα ὑπὸ βραχείας τοῦ πονηροῦ προσβολῆς καὶ ὀλίγου πειρασμῶν καύσωνος, ἐξηράνθησαν καὶ ἀπέθανον. Καὶ τούτων ἔτι χείρους, καὶ μᾶλλον ἀποκηρυκτέοι τῆς πανηγύρεως, ὅσοι μηδὲ πρὸς ὀλίγον ἀντέβησαν τῷ καιρῷ, καὶ τοῖς τὴν κακὴν αἰχμαλω σίαν ἡμᾶς αἰχμαλωτίζουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀναβάντος εἰς ὕψος, καὶ καλῶς ἡμᾶς αἰχμαλωτίσαντος· ἀλλ' ἐκπεριουσίας ἐφάνησαν πονηροί τε καὶ εὔωνοι, οὐδὲ πρὸς ὀλίγον ἀντισχόντες, οὐδὲ γενομένης τινὸς αὐτοῖς θλίψεως, ἢ πειρασμοῦ, διὰ τὸν Λόγον σκανδαλισθέντες, ἀλλὰ προσκαίρου κέρδους, ἢ θεραπείας, ἢ δυναστείας μικρᾶς, οἱ δείλαιοι τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν ἀπεμπολήσαντες. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος Δ' Κατὰ Ἰουλιανοῦ βασιλέως Source: Migne PG 35.541

One group, one kind of souls, I exclude from the festive assembly,  groaning and suffering, and who are perhaps neither attentive to the causes of my distress, nor aware of their own lamentable ruin, which is the most pitiable part of their affliction, nevertheless I exclude all who have not been sown on the solid and unshakeable rock, but on the dry and sterile ground, and they are those of little faith who have come to the Word superficially, and who because they have no depth of earth, on springing up and emerging, upon a brief assault of the wicked one, and a slight blaze of trial, have withered and died. 1 And there are those yet worse than them, and indeed more worthy of exclusion from the festive assembly: as many as did not even for a little while hold out against the time and against those who were leading us away into an evil captivity, away from Him who ascended up on high and for our good made captives of us, 2 but they did most overtly show themselves wicked and worthless, for they did not resist even for a little while, though not even any affliction or trial had troubled them on account of the Word, but for the sake of present gain, or place at court, or brief power, the wretches bartered away their own salvation. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 4, Against the Emperor Julian 1 Mt 13.5-6 2 Ps 67.19