Apostolic canons Abṭelisāt (81)

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. This is the Synod of the holy Apostles, and it is the narrative of Clement concerning Peter his teacher, and it is called the Abṭelisāt, which the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ assembled over, all eighty-one of them. Abṭelis. First Abṭelis, 1. It tells us concerning those who are worthy to be bishops for the office of archbishop. For this is not completed without the presence of the assembly of the bishops and the presence of the metropolitan, who is the archbishop. And it tells also for those who are in that place, and it commands the people by the counsel of their teachers. Abṭelis, 2. When a man whom they have brought is to be ordained bishop, and this shall be with the consent of all the people of his region, and there shall be an archbishop or a metropolitan who ordains him. And there shall be for his office two or three bishops, for this is what confers authority and the office of priest and deacon. And what is inferior to that bishop alone, and he ordains them into their rank by the ordinance of their priesthood, and he shall be with the consent of those who share with them.

Abṭelisāt 3. If a bishop, priest, or deacon transgresses the law of Christ at the time of the Eucharist and offers upon the altar milk or honey, and if he offers there must or wine, must of beer, or any other must or wine that is cooked by fire, or wine that is cooked by the sun, or any from birds or from animals, and not only that which is offered without the Eucharist, which our Lord Jesus Christ commanded from pure bread, unleavened, and wine that is pure from the grape, which is taken from the vine; and he who does otherwise than this shall be expelled from his office and shall be punished, and they shall not accept him. The grape of wine, when its taste reaches its time, and it is the fruit of the Lord who is called the Lord of John the Baptist, and they shall place the grape upon the altar and offer it as a sacrifice at its time. The first fruits and the sacrifice shall be consumed. And without it, the dead shall bring to the altar. And any oil without chrism that is consecrated, and the oil of myron that is made, which God commanded, and the oil of the olive, and incense of frankincense of good fragrance, which is zeal and prayer at the time of the liturgy and prayer, and when they anoint.

Abṭelisāt 4. All the faithful are to bring the firstfruits of their produce and the firstborn of their animals—from sheep, goats, and cattle—to the church, as the Lord commanded. Also from the fruit of trees, the second [tithe] which is similar to this, they are to bring them to the church or to the bishop’s residence, for it is his portion, and he alone is authorized over it by reason of the office of the church, and he is not to set aside any of it, nor anything else, upon the altar. And the bishop is to distribute them to the priests according to their rank, and the priests are to distribute their portion to the deacons and to all the servants of the church. Abṭelisāt 5. If a bishop, priest, or deacon puts away his wife from his house on a pretext of fasting, and he [thus] declares that she is a menstruating woman, he is [guilty of] a sin, by her consent and his own consent. As for those who have joined together [in marriage], they are to go to a monastery. And if they have consented and agree, it is better for them, for it is a yoke, as it were, that they bear between them. And whoever has done such a deed, the people are to rebuke him and remove him from his office. And if he persists in this, he is to be excommunicated and deposed.

Abṭelisāt 6. For they are to give to the bishops, the priests, and the deacons who are pure, for the service of the church, a portion from the works of the world. And if they have done thus, they are not to be cast out, but rather they are to be punished from the property of the church. Abṭelisāt 7. If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon has celebrated Pascha before the completion of forty days and forty nights, and hastens, in this he is to be likened to the Jews, and he celebrates Pascha with them; he is to be excommunicated and cut off, without [any possibility of reconciliation]. After the completion of forty days and forty nights, he who celebrates Pascha is to be excommunicated and cut off from his rank, and he is to be cast out. Abṭelisāt 8. If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon, or one of the clergy of the church has not approached and has not communicated the offering with the people at the time when they complete the liturgy, he is to declare his reason and his illness. And if his reason is that which is worthy of his being excused, that time, and not another, is to be forgiven him. And if he has done thus and it has become his custom, they are to rebuke him and remove him from the people, for he has become an example and a stumbling block to many, and he brings shame upon the priest who consecrates the offering, as one who has consecrated with a pure mind and a right faith, and as one who is within the congregation.

Abṭelisāt 9. If there is a man, a faithful one, who has a church, at the time of the liturgy and heard the holy books and did not wait until they finish the prayer and the liturgy, and did not receive the Eucharist, he is to be expelled from the church, for he has despised the law and has diminished his stature before the heavenly king, the king of flesh and spirit. Abṭelisāt 10. If there is a man who spoke with a priest who has been excommunicated, or a deacon who has been expelled on account of a sin which he committed, or another transgression, and if he again prays with the priests in secret, he is to be expelled from the priesthood, and they are to deny him the Eucharist and the communion of the people. Abṭelisāt 11. If there is a man who spoke with one who does not approach the Eucharist on account of a sin found upon him, or who has been expelled, and if he has participated with him in prayer, or invited him into his house for a meal, he is to be expelled and cast out and prevented. Abṭelisāt 12. If there is a priest who went from his region to another region without the permission of the bishop, and who performed the priesthood, they are not to receive him into the number of priests. And if they have received him, he himself and the one who received him are to be expelled. And if he was an expelled or excommunicated one, and he went out in that same deed for which he was expelled from the gates of the morning and evening, he is not to have his expulsion hidden from the people, for he is a secret one and has deceived the Lord and the church and has diminished the faith.

Abṭelisāt 13. If there is a bishop who abandons his see and his work and the commandment which is incumbent upon him, the good order of his people, and goes to another country, and if by suffering and hardship and evil he is driven out and cast out from his diocese, not if the bishops asked him to dwell with them for his penance, or for him to serve them by the excommunication of the men of his city who are planted in it, and they excommunicate him until his penance is completed. Abṭelisāt 14. If there is a priest or a deacon or a layman from the clergy who abandoned his place and his church, the place where the bishop or the archbishop or the pope set him, not by the command of his own head, so that he seeks by excommunication and removes honor from the men of that country, his diocese shall be diminished from both places together, and he shall not be counted in the number of the clergy, but his place shall be in the church with the faithful. And moreover, if the bishop summons him to return to his place and he does not do this and does not obey him so that he may be reconciled to his place, he shall be removed from his priesthood and from their assembly, and his dwelling shall be with the faithful, because he chose to despise the order of the priesthood, and he shall be like the faithful people.

Abṭelisāt 15. And if one of the bishops, a man who is like his example and his stature, and who causes this to be forgotten, and that man has honor with him, and he is one who turns away in the likeness of those who are with him among the priests, they shall rebuke that bishop, and he shall be among them in the likeness of one who acts in violation of the law, and he shall cut off the law of the church and its ordinance. Abṭelisāt 16. If there is a man, a faithful one and a priest, who has taken two women and has brought together between them fornication, or has placed a seal upon the woman, or has divorced his wife and taken another, and if he has taken a second woman who is a virgin, because it is not lawful for him, he shall be anathematized: bishop, presbyter, deacon, and any one of the order of priesthood. Abṭelisāt 17. If there is a man who has taken a woman who is a companion, one whom he has divorced in adultery and in fornication, in what we have said, or a pagan woman, or one who is in captivity, because it is not lawful for him, that he may be a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, and he who is separated from these from the order of priesthood.

Abṭelisāt 18. If a man takes two sisters, or takes his sister’s daughter, or his brother’s daughter, because it is not lawful for him, he shall be deposed as bishop, priest, deacon, and from any rank of the priesthood, and he shall be expelled from the people, and he has no communion with the faithful. Abṭelisāt 19. If a man from among the priests gives his own food for the sake of his face, and gives himself to another for the sake of another, or takes another man’s wife as the pagans do, he shall be expelled from the church. Abṭelisāt 20. If a man is a eunuch who was castrated, and if he was made a eunuch, or was born a eunuch like that from his mother’s womb, or by a disease that befell him, which prevents him from taking a wife, and his faith is good, it is lawful for him to be ordained bishop, and it is fitting for him to be ordained. Abṭelisāt 21. If a man castrates himself by his own will, without being made a eunuch, it is not lawful for him to be ordained bishop, priest, deacon, or any rank of the priesthood, because he has become an enemy to himself by his killing, and he has become an enemy to the creation of God.

Abṭelisāt 22. If a man harms himself anew after the priesthood, he shall be deprived of his communion and shall be expelled from the church for three years, because he became an enemy of his life and desired to kill himself. Abṭelisāt 23. If a believer harms himself, he shall be expelled from the church for three years, because he became an enemy of the creation of God and a killer of his soul. Abṭelisāt 24. If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon, or one of their rank of the priesthood, is found in fornication, or in a false oath, or steals, he shall be deposed from the priesthood, but shall not be expelled from the church, because the Lord said in the Scripture: The Lord does not punish twice for one sin. Abṭelisāt 25. If a man enters the church and receives the priesthood unjustly, we command that he be removed, if he wishes this; and beyond that, nothing.

Abṭelisāt 26. If a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, who has betrayed the faith, when he repents of the sin of the flesh, or confesses his confession in his truth, or one who has betrayed and denied, when he repents or is silent, he shall be judged from his communion as one who fears him, the second, because we have seen our Lord and God when they betray him, he betrayed; and likewise, when they revile him, he reviled. Abṭelisāt 27. If a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, who has been expelled from the church on account of a sin he committed, or a bond greater than he has come upon him, and he does not grieve over that sin, and he receives a letter from the letter of the church, having changed without fear, and he does not mourn, that sin which he committed, he shall fear that he be judged from the church for this. Abṭelisāt 28. If a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, who has married, and there is no degree of priesthood that he has in it, by force concerning her, and he gave life, or he caused her to live, so that she has life, so that he may be named in her stead, and in falsehood, they shall not accept him for communion concerning her. And if he dies concerning her, by change, he shall not be among them except as a worshipper of idols, and he is foul, and cursed, and excommunicated, and he shall be beaten and expelled from the church, and his matter and his anathema shall be as I, Peter, anathematized Simon Magus and expelled him from the church of God by the command of the Holy Spirit.

Abṭelisāt 29. If a bishop who has been deceived concerning his office by men of violence and by princes and by the appointed ones of this world, so that they might help him against the office of the church, and he wishes to defile the people of God, pure and holy, who have borne him the pure vessel which is holy baptism, and he exalts himself over them by what is not fitting, and he seizes for himself a church which is not his own, and he is not the one appointed over her; and likewise a church in which there is a chief of priests and priests under the hand of that chief of priests, and he has stretched forth his hand, he himself being a bishop, against the command of that church and against the command of its priests or monks, who are the portion without share, he being the chief of priests of them; he is accursed and excommunicated and shall be expelled from the church of God, he himself, and all those who helped him in this and persuaded him therein.

Abṭelisāt 30. If a presbyter who has been deceived concerning the office of a bishop, and he says, "I have sinned," or if he knows a command of the faith which is due to him, or if he has been deceived concerning the bishop, and that from the first day, with fasting and purity and faith, he has brought the bishop to agreement and has made for himself a synod and has brought the people and has divided the church into two parts, he shall be cut off from the church for the sake of God, because he preferred the people to himself and abandoned the command of the bishop and became a schismatic. And they shall condemn him and do this to him. And all those who contend with him from among the presbyters and deacons and all the priests who have followed him, and the faithful, they shall put them to shame without fault. And this is after the bishop has made known to those faithful priests and to the people, and he shall go to their dwelling place, a cave and a den, so that they may not do and may not receive according to their deeds. And if they do not hear him, then he shall dwell among them.

Abṭelisāt 31. If a presbyter or a deacon who has been deceived by a bishop concerning a word of denial which he speaks, or a blasphemy against God, by reason of a cause of falsehood, and if he is not one of the bishops, he is not to be received. But if it is he who has been deceived, who has abandoned, or who has erred, or who has died, because he is a substitute for the one who was appointed in his place, and he is also a substitute for another, he is to be examined in his work, and he is to be the one who is examined in his work according to the bond of his law. Abṭelisāt 32. No bishop is to be received from among the presbyters or from among the deacons, except those who come from distant regions and who do not know the ordinance of the priesthood. But if they have a letter of commendation in which it is commanded for them, and if they have a letter, their works are to be inquired into. And if they have a reputation among the faithful and righteous people as being trustworthy, as that work is, as they say, they are to be received with a good reception. And if they do not have a reputation, as it is that which gives them what they desire, they are not to mingle with the children of the church, because it will be that which is like this: many in their madness write letters for them while they do not know their subtle deceit of understanding.

Abṭelisāt 33. And it is fitting for the bishop to know what is fitting for him, for he is a steward; he should do his work a second time and do it over all the people, so that he may know that God is with him. And if it is so, he should do everything according to his will, and he should be one who knows the honor of the clergy above him, especially the archbishop or bishop, and he should not do anything without their counsel, except only what all the people of his diocese desire, for he is the one who orders his conduct and his way of life for the see. And a second time, it is fitting for the archbishop and bishop to honor the bishops. And if the archbishop wishes to appoint a bishop, he should bring one from among the bishops within his diocese, and that one is a great work. Abṭelisāt 34. They should depose a bishop who is not blameless, if he is a presbyter or a deacon in his conduct. And if he has transgressed and done likewise, or if there are witnesses against him that he has done this without the counsel of the people, he is a place to be judged, and those who appointed him also.

Abṭelisāt 35. If there is a man who was appointed bishop and did not stand firm for the episcopate, and did not stand in his rank, but withdrew from it, and [there was] delay and concealment of mind in his embassy, as is fitting, he should serve the church of God which was planted in it, and if he cannot complete them as is fitting, he should do [what he can] from them until he leaves this. And if there is a man whom they took by force, and he was not [willing] from himself, they chose him and he was appointed bishop by the consent of the people of that city, and he went to that city, and the people did not receive him, and they did not come, because his episcopacy was not by his will but God chose him and named him, and the people of the region chose him, and only the priests who rejected him opposed him and cursed him among themselves, so that he should not be a bishop over them, and the bishop knows this among them, and he is bishop as they loved him or hated him. And if the priests of that place are separated from him, and they built for themselves a church by themselves, the priests of that place should be excommunicated, and the people of that church should be bound, because they did not unite with him and did not know his character and did not obey him, and woe to them, they say.

Abṭelisāt 36. We have commanded that there be a synod. They shall assemble twice each year, and they shall consult among themselves for renewal, fearing God, and so that there be no defect in the faith. And they shall know everything that is renewed in their presence, with diligence, concerning law and concerning the ordinance of their churches and concerning their judgment, and everything that has been hidden from a person concerning a decision, and anything whatsoever, according to what their bishop or their archbishop has seen. And if there is a disturbance among the people, strife and discord, the synod shall be in the first [period], on the fourth Sunday from Pentecost and before May, which is the month of Iyar, and in the Egyptian reckoning in Sans, which is Genbot. At Pentecost and the second synod, on the 12th of the first Təsrīn, and in the Egyptian reckoning in the middle of the month in Aba, which is Ṭəqəmt, after the Feast of the Cross. Abṭelisāt 37. All the property of the church and everything that belongs to it shall be in the hand of the bishop. He shall administer its revenues and its expenditures, for he is worthy of it and is a trustee over it. And he, moreover, shall be the one who administers its portions among the priests, according to what is fitting and according to what God has commanded in this, so that the priests may be in their respective sees and in their respective ranks according to the law. Some of them take two portions, and some take three portions, and some take one portion, as we have prescribed in the Book of Portions.

And they shall not deprive him. He shall do this by his own will and consent, or he shall divide it in their presence, for those whom he wishes from among his beloved or his relatives, or he shall not divide it. He himself is upright, as is fitting, according to their assemblies of priests and deacons, according to their greatness, and for the poor according to their understanding. And if the needy come, he shall give them food according to understanding, and not in excess, for it is theirs, that of the priests, and he shall not increase food for himself. Abṭelisāt 38. And no one among the priests or deacons, nor any other in the church, shall act without the permission of the bishop, for he is the one entrusted over the church of God, and he is the one who is accountable for the soul of the people. Abṭelisāt 39. The property of the bishop shall be separate from the property of the church, so that the bishop may be free over his own property, to do as he wishes and as he desires, and to bequeath it to whomever he wishes and loves among his people, or to bequeath it to the church. Likewise, it is much for him, and it is fitting for him, and he shall not mix his property with the property of the church, nor the property of the church with his property, for if the bishop has a wife, or a woman, or children, or relatives, or another, or a servant who desires a place, or a companion who has attached himself, he may bequeath to them as he loves. And this, our brother, is right before God.

If there be a command like this, he shall not be deprived of the property of the church, nor of the property of the bishop, nor of anything else. And the heirs of the bishop shall not touch anything without their consent. And the people of the church shall not meddle with the property of the bishop, nor the people of the bishop with the property of the church, without the consent of the one who is appointed from his own soul. And the people of the house of the bishop and his relatives shall not meddle with his property and the property of the church. And he shall be a curse and a lie and an evil report for the bishop after his death, and he shall be a stumbling block for the people of God. Abṭelisāt 81. The law of command: The bishop shall be ruler over the property of the church, while he is severe and strict, more than he is trusted over the soul of a person, honorable and great. And it is fitting for him also, as he is trusted over all the property of the church, to distribute it to the priests and deacons. And he shall be in the fear of God, in purity and in fear. And the bishop shall take from it as much as he wishes for himself and for his brothers the priests, so that he may not lack anything if they consent, for the law of God has commanded thus: All that is consecrated for the service of the altar shall be his sustenance from the property of the altar. And likewise, the guardian who guards the gates of the king shall be fed from the property of the king.

And he who seeks the sustenance prescribed for his soul, which was established for the office and planted for it, he is the one. And in what is sown and the produce of the field, in what is killed in the battle of the enemy of the king. Abtelis 41: If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon has been baptized with the baptism of the pagans, or partakes of their offering, he shall be removed from his office, for he has no place between Christ and Satan, nor fellowship nor communion with the faithful, but with the pagan and the heretic. Abtelis 42: If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon seeks help or assistance from one who has been deposed, he shall be removed from his rank, unless he desists from that deed and repents of it. Abtelis 43: If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon has prayed with pagans, for a bishop he shall be removed by an archbishop or patriarch; and for a priest and a deacon, their authority is great: the bishop shall do to them what he wills, and they shall be deposed from that time. And if they repent of that, and if not, the bishop shall remove them. And if they have been with him, they shall go with him into the sanctuary and sit in the order of the clergy; he shall be removed from his office.

Abtelis 44: A man from among the laity who has expelled his wife from his house without cause that is fitting for this, according to what we have prescribed, or has taken another wife with her and brought both together, or who has taken a wife who is divorced, or who has died—let him be expelled from the church. Abtelis 45: If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon, or one who is inferior to these, from among the laity or from among the lesser clergy, has refused to take [the Eucharist] and has eaten meat and drunk wine together, and has made himself a head who is ashamed before others in this, and as one who is not fitting, they shall consume him in this cause, as a defiled one and a doer of this in his own will. If it happened concerning him, because he is pure, let him be judged as one who does thus. Abtelis 46: And likewise, a faithful one who has done this, who has abandoned all this for the sake of worship, fasting, and abandonment of desire, for fear of God and for his favor—he is indeed blessed.

Abtelis 47: If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon has concealed the repentance of a sinner, if he has sinned and repented and confessed to him, let him be removed from the church, because he has transgressed the word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "For there will be great joy in heaven on account of one sinner who repents and confesses to God." Abtelis 48: If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon eats meat and drinks wine on feast days and on the Sabbath days, let him be removed from the church, because he has become a guide to corruption for the people and a follower of the enemies of Christ. Abtelis 49: If a man from among the clergy has eaten offerings within taverns, which are a den of evil, and if he has drunk intoxicating drink in a den of magicians, and he associates with those who have no good, but only if he is a merchant and eats in a merchant's tavern, or buys from a sale of what is eaten, and there is no fault, he goes to the tavern where he dwells within it. And as for what he has done, which we have previously spoken, let him be deposed from his office.

Abtelis 50: If a priest who has cursed a bishop, or a monk, and has reviled him as one speaks of a man of the mouth, and he is one who has no sin, let him be removed from his office. And likewise, a second time, they shall judge the bishop if one of the priests has accused him and says against him that this matter is for removal from his office, because it is said in the law: "Do not speak a word against the ruler of the people." Abtelis 51: If a man from among the faithful priests has reviled a priest or a deacon, or one who is inferior to these, or one who is superior, and if they have cursed him as we have previously said, let him be expelled. Abtelis 52: If a man from among the priests or the laity has mocked or laughed at a blind man, or a lame man, or a leper, or a cripple, or a sick man, or a maimed man, or a mutilated man, let him be punished, because thus says the Lord in the law: "Do not make a mockery of the blind, and do not mock the leper, and do not despise anyone who has met with affliction, because he is from the Lord; He makes rich and makes poor, He humbles and exalts, He kills and makes alive, He impoverishes and enriches." And whoever has done thus, if he is a priest, let him be punished by removal from his priesthood; and if he is a layman, let him be denied the Eucharist, and he is excommunicated from the law of the Lord, both the Old and the New.

Abtelis 53: If a man from among the priests or the faithful has cursed a presbyter or a deacon and has reviled them, let him be expelled. Abtelis 54: If a bishop or a presbyter who rules a region has diminished the priesthood and the people and has not guarded them by the commandment and has not taught them the fear of God, let him be corrected from among them; and if he persists in this, let him be corrected from his office. Abtelis 55: If a bishop or one who rules a region sees a man from among the priests who is sinful and stubborn and does not give him permission for his penance and does not restrain his stubbornness and does not help him, let him be corrected, and punishment will find him. Abtelis 56: If a man has taken false books which the enemies of Christ, the heretics, have composed and has brought them into the church and mixed them with the holy books, and he is one who leads the people astray and corrupts them, let him be expelled from the church and let him be corrected. Abtelis 57: If a man from among the faithful has fallen into much fornication and it has become his habitual custom, or he has known a male—for this desire is forbidden in this—and likewise, from among women, that which is like their nature, and also from among beasts, that which is like their nature, from reason and from what is called "abomination" in the book of the law, he brings that upon his soul; and his repentance is not accepted into any rank of the priesthood. But if he has repented of this and has repented well, they shall accept him.

Abtelis 58: If a man from among the priests or from the laity has denied his faith from fear of Jews, and of pagans and of heretics, and has not confessed his faith, he is a companion to heresy and to the denial of Christ; let him be expelled from the church. And if he has denied the priesthood, let him be deposed from his rank. And if he has repented, let him be received with the faithful. Abtelis 59: If a bishop or a presbyter or a deacon or one of those who are beneath these from among the priests has eaten flesh that has not been slaughtered, or that which a wild beast or a dead thing has killed, and that which resembles this from among unclean things, let him be deposed from his rank. Abtelis 60: If a man from among the priests and from the laity has performed a fast on the day of the Sabbath and on the great Sunday, which is Pascha, let the priest be deposed from his rank, and for the layman let them withhold the Eucharist from him. Abtelis 61: If a priest or a faithful layman has entered a synagogue of the Jews, or a house of prayer of heretics, to pray within it, or has been healed by its blessing, let him be deposed from his rank and let him be expelled from the church.

Abtelis 62: If a man from among the priests has quarreled with another man and struck him, and he died, he is to be set free from punishment. If he (the victim) was saved, it is he who turned him away from the killing. And if he was a layman, he is to be expelled from the church of God the holy. Abtelis 63: If a man has seduced a virgin daughter, or has corrupted her, or has betrothed her to another, and she was not his, and he has seduced her against her will, and if it was he with her consent and he has violated her virginity, he is to be expelled from the church. If she was betrothed and he did not corrupt her, he is to marry her, as he loved her, to himself. And if she was poor, and they are united, according to this, in the former law and also in the new, both of them. Abtelis 64: If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon has married two women before his ordination into his rank, he is to be deposed, he also, and the one he married, if they did not know that he had married, not knowing his deed, it is fitting for him to be deposed alone, because he concealed his sin out of love of priesthood. And this is written in another book. And if a priest who was ordained a second time and who was like him, he is to be set free from punishment, he also, and the one he married. But if he told that he had married before, he is a liar, because he accepted their baptism and their priesthood, and it is not a priesthood, and it is not to be accepted from him. This is faithful in faith.

Abtelis 65: If a man from among the priests who does not fast has fasted a great fast, forty days of purity, and the day of Wednesday and the day of Friday according to the law of the church, he is to be set free from his sin. But if another disease of the flesh or an illness that is known has prevented him, he is to be set free. And if a layman has done likewise, he is to be expelled. Abtelis 66: If a man from among the priests or from among the laity has fasted with the Jews in their fasts and has made Passover with them, or has partaken from them of their unleavened bread and their sacrifices, and what resembles them, and what is believed by them, and what is given to them—if he was a priest, he is to be set free; and if he was a layman, he is to be expelled from the church. Abtelis 67: If a man from among the priests or from among the laity has gone to a synagogue of the Jews, or to heretics, or to a temple of idols, or to a place of pagans and heathens, to receive anointing or ordination, he is to be expelled from the church.

Abtelis 68: If a priest or a layperson steals from the church—oil or wax—and it is not from the portion of the deacons, he is to be bound and shall return what he took together with a fifth. Abtelis 69: All that is of the church, whether sacred vessels or silver vessels, it is not permitted for anyone to use them in his own house, for this is the transgression of the law which the Lord commanded to his beloved ones, to you, the faithful. Believe what the Lord did to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. And if one uses the vessels of the church for the Lord, and what he did is like that, he shall be punished and expelled from the church. Abtelis 70: For a bishop, if the priests, the ordained, and the faithful accuse him, and if there is no one in that region who is a metropolitan like an archbishop or a bishop, they shall be judged before those who are near them, for the law has been transgressed and the order of their faith has been violated. And they shall not be judged by what we have ordained, but they shall be judged before the bishops who are near them. And the bishops shall summon them to them, and they shall examine the deed, and they shall see concerning what they have accused him. And if he comes to them and confesses his sin, they shall forgive him for what has happened from him, and they shall judge him concerning this, and they shall keep what we have ordained concerning him who has violated the law of their country.

If a bishop comes to them, they shall send to him again; and if he does not come to them, they shall send to him two other bishops a second and a third time. And if he despises and does not separate himself from the people, he shall be expelled from the people and shall be punished, and his fathers shall not intercede for him among the people who condemn him. Abtelis 71: The testimony of two laymen is not accepted against a bishop, nor the testimony of one faithful person, because it is written in the law: "By the mouth of two or three every matter stands." Abtelis 72: A bishop may not bequeath to his mother, nor to any of the people of his house, nor to his brother, nor to his sister, nor to his son, nor to any of his relatives or his beloved. Nor may he transfer the priesthood, and he shall abandon the commandment of God. And the commandment of a bishop shall not be as he wishes and desires, that he may bequeath his church to God. Abtelis 73: He who is appointed bishop shall not be hindered even if he is a eunuch or a castrated person, nor indeed if his testimony is good and excellent, and humility, wisdom, faith, and the works of the church are in him, because he does not change, for the blemish of the body is not a blemish, but the blemish of the soul is a blemish, which is envy, hatred, anger, mockery, and oppression of people, and speaking evil against them in what is not with them, while he seeks to add good news.

And this entire form of blasphemy against God, which says in the Holy Gospel that all sins are forgiven to man except blasphemy against God and against the Holy Spirit, and again it says, "No, everything that enters the mouth which defiles man, or that which comes out of the mouth." Abṭelis 74: They shall not ordain a blind bishop, or a mute one, or a deaf one, or a crippled one, or one who is possessed, or one with an unclean spirit. It is not that he is evil in himself, but because he is unable to administer what is permitted from the canons of the angels and to stand in the commandment of the church and the commandment of his priesthood. Abṭelis 75: If a man is possessed by a demon or is possessed, he shall not be ordained a priest, nor shall he be counted among the faithful. But if he is healed and lives, he shall be counted among the faithful. And if he is found worthy of the priesthood by his wisdom and his understanding of the order of the church, he shall be ordained.

Abṭelis 76. If there is a man, a pagan, who was baptized and became an evil man, and his evil deeds were known before him, and then he repented after he received pure baptism among the people for appearance, and they do not know his hidden sins of shame, they should not appoint him bishop, nor priest, nor deacon, nor one who resembles him in the first work, because he who is not worthy should not be a teacher, because he has not learned. But if he became a scholar, they should say to him from God, and his deeds were known as good and excellent. And if he stands in this, he should be appointed bishop and priest. Abṭelis 77. As for one who is not worthy, a bishop who removes his head from the order of Christ and anoints a spiritual mother, he should not be appointed, nor any of the works of the canons, but he should come into the church and anoint a mother who is worthy and good. And if he persists in the work of the canons and comes into the order of the earthly king and abandons the order of the heavenly king, he will be deprived of his anointing, because as our Lord said, "No one can serve two masters," and if not, he will be subject to one and rebel against the other.

Abṭelis 78. Servants shall not be ordained to any rank of the priesthood without the consent of their masters, for by this [the master] becomes a servant and a stranger among them. And if there is a servant who is worthy of the priesthood, as [in the case of] Abṣiris, and his masters saw him, and they made him a slave, and they cast him out, and they expelled him from among them, and he became worthy of this, he shall not be ordained a priest. Abṭelis 79. If a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon becomes free and opens a letter of divorce for a wife of the church, and becomes free for the magistrates, he shall be deposed, for the blessed Lord, whose name is blessed, said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Abṭelis 80. Everyone who curses a king without authority, or curses one of the magistrates without judgment and without the punishment that they punished him, he shall be judged by a judgment that pleases him. And if he is a priest, he shall be deposed; and if he is a layman, he shall be excommunicated.

Abṭelis 81. And the faithful shall beware of these books and these names which we have commanded for the faithful in Christ, from the Old and the New. And it is the book of the history which came down from the Lord God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which is the ordinance of the number of eighty-one books, together with the book of the Synod which we have related to Clement. The Old also tells concerning the end and the end of its completion of the first. Hearing became to it concerning it, one thing from one word, from one utterance, God the Lord and his Creator by his word and by his spirit. First the Law, and that is the Old. In it are the five books. First book of Genesis, and the second book of Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, and the third book of the Priests, and the fourth book of Numbers of the children of Israel, and the fifth book of Deuteronomy. The book of Joshua son of Nun, of the Judges, the book of Ruth, the four books of Kings and the supplements of Kings, the book of Ezra, the two books of Zephaniah, of Malachi, of Micah, of Joel, of Obadiah son of Dophoniah, of Job the Righteous, the Psalms of David 150, the Proverbs of Solomon, of the Church, the Song of Songs, the Twelve Minor Prophets, of Habakkuk, of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of Ezekiel, of Daniel, of Hosea, of Zechariah son of Berechiah, of the instruction of your children, this is the Wisdom of Solomon, and Judith, and the book of Jubilees, three, of Jesus son of Sirach, the scribe of Solomon son of David.

The ten and two minor prophets, the ten and two great prophets. It is completed from the Old Law, the number of their books. And our books, which are ours, of the apostles, from the New Law: the four Gospels, that of Matthew, that of Mark, that of Luke, that of John; and the Acts of the Apostles, which are ours; two of Peter; three of John; one of James; one of Jude; of Paul, fourteen epistles. The Father Clemens: this is the Apocalypse of John. Fifty-six canons of Clement from the apostles, eight books. And in it, the Medāle. It shall not go out that which the Fathers omitted. They knew the epistle of Clement, and all that I have commanded you in it, O fathers, bishops, archbishops, and patriarchs, by the hand of Clement, the helper of Peter the apostle. And those eight books, which are not to be shown to all the faithful, concerning the law and ordinance in it, which are not to be commanded in it except to the leaders from the ordained priests.

The completion of the knowledge of the books and their names. O assembly of the faithful, hear our word and our commandment, for it is from the Holy Spirit, the Lord the Life-Giver, and we have commanded you. And if you keep it, it will be indeed your salvation, and it will be a bond of peace and tranquility among you. And if you do not keep it, you will be condemned because of it, and strife will seize you, and you will be reproached for what you have done in transgressing his commandment, and you will violate the commandment and commit sin. And we ask the Lord God the Father alone, and Christ who was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and from Mary the Virgin, that he may strengthen you for his ordinance by the Holy Spirit, the Lord the Life-Giver, who is the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who descended upon his disciples in the upper room of Zion, that he may clothe you with this spiritual [gift], and that he may help you to do good works by the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, his Son and beloved, God the Savior, our Creator, who was incarnate from the Holy Spirit, and became man, and was crucified, and rose on the third day, as the prophets prophesied concerning him. To him is praise and glory with his Father, the Wise and Great, and the Son the Word and Creator, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord the Life-Giver. Now and forever, for ever and ever, Amen. The Abṭelisāt is completed by the grace of God.