Receiving And Preserving

Διόπερ αἱ κατὰ τὴν βάρβαρον φιλοσοφίαν αἱρέσεις, κἂν θεὸν λέγωσιν ἕνα κἂν Χριστὸν ὑμνῶσι, κατὰ περίληψιν λέγουσιν, οὐ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν· ἄλλον τε γὰρ θεὸν παρευρίσκουσι καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν οὐχ ὡς αἱ προφητεῖαι παραδιδόασιν, ἐκδέχονται. Ἀλλ´ οὔτι γε τὰ ψευδῆ τῶν δογματισθέντων αὐτοῖς, ἔστ´ ἂν ἐναντιῶνται τῇ κατὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἀγωγῇ, καθ´ ἡμῶν ἐστιν. Αὐτίκα ὁ Παῦλος τὸν Τιμόθεον περιέτεμεν διὰ τοὺς ἐξ Ἰουδαίων πιστεύοντας, ἵνα μή, καταλύοντος αὐτοῦ τὰ ἐκ τοῦ νόμου σαρκικώτερον προειλημμένα, ἀποστῶσι τῆς πίστεως οἱ ἐκ νόμου κατηχούμενοι, εἰδὼς ἀκριβῶς ὅτι περιτομὴ οὐ δικαιοῖ· τοῖς πᾶσι γὰρ πάντα γίγνεσθαι ὡμολόγει κατὰ συμπεριφορὰν σῴζων τὰ κύρια τῶν δογμάτων, ἵνα πάντας κερδήσῃ. Δανιὴλ δὲ τὸν μανιάκην ἐβάστασεν ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν Περσῶν, μὴ ὑπεριδὼν θλιβῆναι τὸν λεών. Ψεῦσται τοίνυν τῷ ὄντι οὐχ οἱ συμπεριφερόμενοι δι´ οἰκονομίαν σωτηρίας οὐδ´ οἱ περί τινα τῶν ἐν μέρει σφαλλόμενοι, ἀλλ´ οἱ εἰς τὰ κυριώτατα παραπίπτοντες καὶ ἀθετοῦντες μὲν τὸν Kύριον τὸ ὅσον ἐπ´ αὐτοῖς, ἀποστεροῦντες δὲ τοῦ Kυρίου τὴν ἀληθῆ διδασκαλίαν, οἱ μὴ κατ´ ἀξίαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Kυρίου τὰς γραφὰς λαλοῦντές τε καὶ παραδιδόντες· παραθήκη γὰρ ἀποδιδομένη θεῷ ἡ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Kυρίου διδασκαλίαν διὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων αὐτοῦ τῆς θεοσεβοῦς παραδόσεως σύνεσίς τε καὶ συνάσκησις· Ὃ δὲ ἀκούετε εἰς τὸ οὖς, ἐπικεκρυμμένως δηλονότι καὶ ἐν μυστηρίῳ, τὰ τοιαῦτα γὰρ εἰς τὸ οὖς λέγεσθαι ἀλληγορεῖται, Ἐπὶ τῶν δωμάτων, φησί, κηρύξατε, μεγαλοφρόνως τε ἐκδεξάμενοι καὶ ὑψηγόρως παραδιδόντες καὶ κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας κανόνα διασαφοῦντες τὰς γραφάς· οὔτε γὰρ ἡ προφητεία οὔτε ὁ σωτὴρ αὐτὸς ἁπλῶς οὕτως, ὡς τοῖς ἐπιτυχοῦσιν εὐάλωτα εἶναι, τὰ θεῖα μυστήρια ἀπεφθέγξατο, ἀλλ´ ἐν παραβολαῖς διελέξατο. Λέγουσιν γοῦν οἱ ἀπόστολοι περὶ τοῦ Kυρίου, ὅτι Πάντα ἐν παραβολαῖς ἐλάλησεν καὶ οὐδὲν ἄνευ παραβολῆς ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς. Εἰ δὲ Πάντα δι´ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν, καὶ ἡ προφητεία ἄρα καὶ ὁ νόμος δι´ αὐτοῦ τε ἐγένετο καὶ ἐν παραβολαῖς ἐλαλήθησαν δι´ αὐτοῦ· πλὴν Ἅπαντα ὀρθὰ ἐνώπιον τῶν συνιέντων, φησὶν ἡ γραφή, τουτέστι τῶν ὅσοι ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ σαφηνισθεῖσαν τὴν τῶν γραφῶν ἐξήγησιν κατὰ τὸν ἐκκλησιαστικὸν κανόνα ἐκδεχόμενοι διασῴζουσι· κανὼν δὲ ἐκκλησιαστικὸς ἡ συνῳδία καὶ ἡ συμφωνία νόμου τε καὶ προφητῶν τῇ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Kυρίου παρουσίαν παραδιδομένῃ διαθήκῃ. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λόγος Ϛ', Κεφ ΙΕ' Source: Migne PG 9.348a-349b

So the sects of the barbarian philosophy, although they may speak of one God, though they may hymn Christ, speak without accuracy, not in accordance with truth, for they find another God, and do not receive Christ as the prophecies give Him. The deceit of their false teachings, in opposing the conduct according to the truth, is against us. Paul, who well knew that circumcision does not make righteous men, circumcised Timothy for the sake of the Jews who believed, lest they who had been formed by the Law, because of a loosening of things of the Law understood more carnally, fall away from the faith, and he confessed that all things were for all by accomodation, preserving the essentials of the teachings, that he might gain all. 1 And Daniel, under the king of the Persians, wore the chain, though he did not scorn the afflictions of the people. 2 The liars, then, in truth, are not those who accomodate for the sake of salvation, nor those who err in minor parts, but those who err in essentials, and reject the Lord, and, as far as they can, strip the Lord of true teaching, men who do not quote or deliver the Scriptures in a manner worthy of God and of the Lord. For the deposit given to God, according to the teaching of the Lord through His Apostles, is the understanding and the practice of the sacred tradition. He says: 'And what you hear in the ear,' that is, in a hidden manner and in a mystery, for such things are figuratively said to be spoken in the ear, 'proclaim on the housetops,' 3 That is, understanding the Scriptures sublimely, and delivering them in a lofty strain, and explaining them according to the canon of truth. For neither prophecy nor the Saviour Himself announced the Divine mysteries simply so as to be easily grasped by all, but they were expressed in mystery. Thus the Apostles say of the Lord that 'He spoke all things in parables, and without a parable He spoke nothing to them.' 4 And if 'All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made,' 5 even prophecy and the Law were by Him, and were spoken by Him in parables. Scripture says: 'All things are right before those who understand,' 6 that is, those who receive and preserve, according to the ecclesiastical rule, the clear exposition of the Scriptures explained by Him; and the ecclesiastical rule is the concord and harmony of the Law and the Prophets in the testament given in the coming of the Lord. Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 6, Ch 15 1 1 Cor 9.20-22 2 Daniel 5.7 3 Mt 10.27 4 Mt 13.34 5 Jn 1.3 6 Prov 8.9