Epistle to Diognetus

SINCE I SEE THAT YOU: most excellent Diognetus, are exceedingly eager to learn the way Christians worship God, and you inquire very carefully and earnestly about them—what God they trust in and what form of religion they follow, so as to look down upon the world itself and despise death, while not considering those to be gods that the Greeks reckon as such, nor adhering to the superstition of the Jews. You also wonder about the affection they cherish among themselves and why this new practice of piety has only recently entered the world, and not long ago. I sincerely welcome your desire, and I implore God, who enables us both to speak and to hear, to grant me the ability to speak in such a way that, above all, you will be edified, and to grant you the ability to hear so that I, who speak, may have no cause for regret in doing so.

COME: then, after you have freed yourself from all biases clouding your mind, and set aside what you have been used to, as it may mislead you. Become, as if from the beginning, a new person, since, according to your own admission, you are to be the listener of a new doctrine. Come and consider, not with your eyes only, but with your understanding, the substance and form of those you declare and consider to be gods. Isn't one of them a stone similar to the one we walk on? Isn't a second brass, no better than those vessels we use daily? Isn't a third wood, and already decaying? Isn't a fourth silver, needing a watchman to prevent theft? Isn't a fifth iron, consumed by rust? Isn't a sixth earthenware, no more valuable than that made for the simplest purposes? Aren't all these made of corruptible matter? Aren't they fabricated using iron and fire? Didn't the sculptor craft one of them, the brazier another, the silversmith a third, and the potter a fourth? Weren't each of them, before being shaped by these craftsmen into these gods, subject to change in their own way? Wouldn't those things that are now vessels, made of the same materials, become like these if they encountered the same artisans? Couldn't these, which you now worship, be made again by people into vessels similar to others? Aren't they all deaf? Aren't they blind? Aren't they lifeless? Aren't they devoid of feeling? Aren't they incapable of movement? Aren't they all prone to decay? Aren't they all corruptible? These things you call gods; these you serve; these you worship; and you become entirely like them.

For this reason, you hate the Christians, because they do not regard these as gods.

But don't you yourselves, who now believe and assume such to be gods, show much more contempt for them than the Christians do? Don't you mock and insult them more when you worship those made of stone and clay without assigning anyone to guard them, but those made of silver and gold you lock up at night and appoint guards during the day to prevent theft? And with the gifts you intend to offer them, don't you, if they possess sense, actually punish them rather than honor them? But if they lack sense, don't you prove this fact by worshipping them with blood and the smoke of sacrifices? Would any one of you endure such indignities? Would any one of you tolerate such treatment to yourself? Yet no human being will, unless forced, endure such treatment, since they are endowed with sense and reason.

A stone, however, readily bears it, seeing it is insensible.

Certainly, your conduct does not show that your god is possessed of sense. As for the fact that Christians are not accustomed to serve such gods, I could easily find many other arguments to make; but if what has been said doesn't seem sufficient to anyone, I consider it pointless to say anything further.

AND NOW: I suppose you are eager to hear about this issue, that Christians do not observe the same forms of divine worship as the Jews. The Jews, if they abstain from the kind of service mentioned earlier and see it as right to worship one God as the Lord of all, are correct. But if they offer Him worship in the manner we described, they are greatly mistaken. For while the Gentiles, by offering such things to those without sense and hearing, display madness; they, by thinking to offer these things to God as if He needed them, might rightly consider it an act of foolishness rather than divine worship. For He who made heaven and earth, and everything in them, and provides us with all we need, surely requires none of those things which He Himself gives to those who think of providing them to Him. But those who believe that by means of blood, and the smoke of sacrifices and burnt-offerings, they offer sacrifices acceptable to Him, and by such honors show Him respect, seem to me to be no different from those who deliberately give the same honor to things without sense, which therefore cannot enjoy such honors.

BUT REGARDING THEIR STRICTNESS ABOUT MEATS: their superstition about the Sabbaths, their boasting about circumcision, and their notions about fasting and the new moons, which are utterly ridiculous and unworthy of attention—I do not think you need to learn anything from me. For, to accept some of the things created by God for human use as properly made, and to reject others as useless and redundant—how can this be lawful? And to falsely speak of God, as if He forbade us to do good on the Sabbath days—how is this not impious? And to take pride in the circumcision of the flesh as proof of being chosen, and as if, because of it, they were specially loved by God—how is this not a cause for ridicule? And regarding their observing months and days, as if relying on the stars and the moon, and organizing, according to their own preferences, the appointments of God and the changes of the seasons, some for celebrations and others for mourning—who would consider this part of divine worship rather than a demonstration of folly? I suppose, then, you are sufficiently convinced that the Christians properly abstain from the vanity and error common to both Jews and Gentiles, and from the meddlesome spirit and vain boasting of the Jews; but you must not hope to learn the mystery of their unique mode of worshipping God from any mortal.

FOR CHRISTIANS ARE NOT DISTINGUISHED FROM OTHER PEOPLE BY COUNTRY: language, or the customs they observe. They do not inhabit cities of their own, use a peculiar form of speech, or lead a life marked by any particular uniqueness. The way they live has not been devised by the speculation or deliberation of inquisitive people, nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves to be advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, while living in both Greek and barbarian cities, as each of them has been assigned, and following the customs of the natives in terms of clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us a wonderful and undoubtedly striking way of life.

They live in their own countries but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, yet endure all things as if they were foreigners. Every foreign land is to them like their native country, and every land of their birth is like a land of strangers. They marry, like everyone else; they have children, but they do not destroy their offspring. They share a common table, but not a common bed. Though they are in the flesh, they do not live according to the flesh.

They spend their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all people and are persecuted by all. They are unknown yet condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they lack all things, yet abound in everything; they are dishonored, yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are spoken evil of, yet they are justified; they are reviled, and they bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honor; they do good, yet are punished as evildoers.

When punished, they rejoice as if brought to life. They are attacked by the Jews as foreigners and persecuted by the Greeks, yet those who hate them cannot provide any reason for their hatred.

To sum up everything in one word—what the soul is in the body, that Christians are in the world. The soul is spread throughout all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians live in the world, yet are not of the world. The invisible soul is protected by the visible body, and Christians are known to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The flesh hates the soul and wars against it, though it suffers no harm, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates Christians, though it is not harmed, because they reject pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and loves the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them. The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as if in a prison, and yet they are the preservers of the world. The immortal soul lives in a mortal body; and Christians dwell as travelers in corruptible bodies, looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when poorly provided with food and drink, becomes better; similarly, the Christians, though subjected to punishment day by day, increase more in number. God has assigned them this illustrious position, which it would be unlawful for them to leave.

FOR: as I said, this was not just a mere earthly invention given to them, nor is it simply a human system of opinion that they believe is right to preserve so carefully. Nor has it been a dispensation of merely human mysteries entrusted to them. Instead, it is truly God Himself, who is almighty, the Creator of all things and invisible, who has sent from heaven and placed among men the truth and the holy and incomprehensible Word, establishing Him firmly in their hearts.

He did not send a servant, or angel, or ruler, or any of those who have power over earthly things, or anyone to whom the governance of heavenly things has been given. Instead, He sent the very Creator and Fashioner of all things—by whom He made the heavens and enclosed the sea within its bounds—whose commands all the stars faithfully follow—from whom the sun has received its daily course to observe—whom the moon obeys, commanded to shine at night, and whom the stars also obey, following the moon in her course.

By whom all things have been arranged and placed within their limits, and to whom all are subject—the heavens and what is therein, the earth and what is therein, the sea and what is therein—fire, air, and the abyss—the things in the heights, the things in the depths, and what lies between. This messenger He sent to them. Was it, then, as one might think, for the purpose of exercising tyranny, or of inspiring fear and terror? By no means, but under the influence of clemency and meekness.

Just as a king sends his son, who is also a king, so He sent Him; as God He sent Him; as to men He sent Him; as a Savior He sent Him, seeking to persuade, not to compel us; for violence has no place in God's character. As calling us He sent Him, not as vengefully pursuing us; as loving us He sent Him, not as judging us. For He will send Him again to judge us, and who shall endure His appearing? … Do you not see them facing wild beasts, that they might be persuaded to deny the Lord, yet they are not overcome? Do you not see that the more of them are punished, the greater the number of the rest becomes? This does not seem to be the work of man; this is the power of God; these are the evidences of His manifestation.

For who among people understood what God is before His coming? Do you accept the vain and silly doctrines of those considered trustworthy philosophers? Some of them claimed that fire was God, calling that God which they themselves would eventually encounter; some said water; and others named other elements formed by God.

BUT IF ANY OF THESE THEORIES DESERVE APPROVAL: then every other created thing might also be declared to be God. Such declarations are merely the startling and erroneous statements of deceivers, and no one has either seen Him or made Him known, but He has revealed Himself.

He has manifested Himself through faith, to which alone it is given to behold God. For God, the Lord and Creator of all things, who made everything and assigned them their specific positions, proved Himself not only a friend of humanity but also patient in His dealings with them.

Indeed, He was always of such a character, and still is, and will always be kind and good, free from wrath, and true, and the only one who is absolutely good; and He conceived in His mind a great and indescribable plan, which He communicated to His Son alone.

As long as He kept and preserved His wise counsel in secrecy, He seemed to neglect us and have no care for us.

But after He revealed and made known, through His beloved Son, the things prepared from the beginning, He granted every blessing all at once upon us, so that we could both share in His benefits and see and be active in His service. Who among us would have ever expected these things? He was aware of everything in His own mind, together with His Son, according to their relationship.

AS LONG AS THE FORMER TIME LASTED: He allowed us to be carried along by unruly impulses, drawn away by the desire for pleasure and various lusts. This was not because He took any pleasure in our sins, but because He simply endured them; nor because He approved of that time of working iniquity, but because He aimed to develop a mind aware of righteousness. This was so that, realizing in that time our unworthiness of attaining life through our own works, it would now, through the kindness of God, be granted to us; and having shown that we were unable on our own to enter the kingdom of God, we might through the power of God be made able.

But when our wickedness had reached its peak, and it had been clearly shown that its reward—punishment and death—was looming over us, and when the time came that God had previously appointed for manifesting His own kindness and power, how God's love, through exceeding regard for humanity, did not look at us with hatred, nor push us away, nor remember our iniquity against us, but showed great patience and bore with us. He Himself took on the burden of our iniquities, giving His own Son as a ransom for us—the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for those who are mortal.

For what else could cover our sins but His righteousness? By whom else could we, the wicked and ungodly, be justified, but by the only Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! That the wickedness of many should be hidden in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!

Having therefore convinced us previously that our nature could not attain life, and now revealing the Saviour who can save even those things which it was formerly impossible to save, He desired through both these facts to lead us to trust in His kindness, to consider Him our Nourisher, Father, Teacher, Counsellor, Healer, our Wisdom, Light, Honour, Glory, Power, and Life, so that we would not worry about clothing and food.

IF YOU ALSO DESIRE TO POSSESS THIS FAITH: you too shall first receive the knowledge of the Father. For God has loved mankind, for whose sake He made the world, to whom He made subject all the things in it, to whom He gave reason and understanding, to whom alone He granted the privilege of looking upwards to Himself, whom He formed in His own image, to whom He sent His only-begotten Son, to whom He has promised a kingdom in heaven and will give it to those who have loved Him.

And when you have attained this knowledge, with what joy do you think you will be filled? Or, how will you love Him who has first so loved you? And if you love Him, you will be an imitator of His kindness. Do not be surprised that a person may become an imitator of God. He can, if he is willing. For happiness is not found by ruling over his neighbors, or by seeking to hold supremacy over those who are weaker, or by being rich and showing violence towards those who are inferior; nor can anyone by these things become an imitator of God.

These things do not at all constitute His majesty. On the contrary, he who takes upon himself the burden of his neighbor; he who, in whatever respect he may be superior, is ready to benefit another who is deficient; he who, whatever things he has received from God, by sharing these with the needy, becomes a god to those who receive his benefits: he is an imitator of God. Then you shall see, while still on earth, that God in the heavens rules over the universe; then you shall begin to speak the mysteries of God; then you shall both love and admire those who suffer punishment because they will not deny God; then you shall condemn the deceit and error of the world when you shall know what it is to truly live in heaven, when you shall despise what is here considered to be death, when you shall fear what is truly death, which is reserved for those who shall be condemned to the eternal fire, which shall afflict those to the end who are committed to it.

Then you shall admire those who, for righteousness’ sake, endure the fire that is but for a moment and count them happy when you shall know the nature of that fire.

I DO NOT SPEAK OF THINGS UNFAMILIAR TO ME: nor do I aim at anything inconsistent with right reason; but having been a disciple of the Apostles, I have become a teacher of the Gentiles. I minister the things delivered to me to those who are disciples worthy of the truth. For who that is rightly taught and begotten by the loving Word, would not seek to learn accurately the things which have been clearly shown by the Word to His disciples, to whom the Word being manifested has revealed them, speaking plainly to them, not understood by the unbelieving, but conversing with the disciples, who, being esteemed faithful by Him, acquired a knowledge of the mysteries of the Father? For this reason He sent the Word, that He might be manifested to the world; and He, being despised by the people (of the Jews), was believed on by the Gentiles when preached by the Apostles.

This is He who was from the beginning, who appeared as if new, and was found old, and yet who is ever born afresh in the hearts of the saints. This is He who, being from everlasting, is today called the Son; through whom the Church is enriched, and grace, widely spread, increases in the saints, furnishing understanding, revealing mysteries, announcing times, rejoicing over the faithful, giving to those who seek, by whom the limits of faith are not broken through, nor the boundaries set by the fathers passed over.

Then the fear of the law is chanted, the grace of the prophets is known, the faith of the gospels is established, the tradition of the Apostles is preserved, and the grace of the Church exults; which grace if you do not grieve, you will know those things which the Word teaches, by whom He wills, and when He pleases. For whatever things we are moved to utter by the will of the Word commanding us, we communicate to you with pains, and from a love of the things that have been revealed to us.

WHEN YOU HAVE READ AND CAREFULLY LISTENED TO THESE THINGS: you will know what God gives to those who rightly love Him. You are made to be a paradise of delight, presenting within yourselves a tree bearing all kinds of produce and flourishing well, adorned with various fruits. For in this place, the tree of knowledge and the tree of life have been planted; but it is not the tree of knowledge that destroys—it is disobedience that is destructive.

Furthermore, the words written about how God from the beginning planted the tree of life in the midst of paradise are not without significance, revealing through knowledge the way to life. When those who were first formed did not use this knowledge properly, they were stripped naked through the fraud of the Serpent. For neither can life exist without knowledge, nor is knowledge secure without life.

Therefore, both were planted close together. The Apostle, understanding the significance of this connection and criticizing that knowledge which, without true doctrine, is allowed to influence life, declares, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” For anyone who thinks they know anything without true knowledge, and such knowledge that is supported by life, knows nothing but is deceived by the Serpent, as they do not love life.

But whoever combines knowledge with fear and seeks after life, plants in hope, looking for fruit. Let your heart be your wisdom, and let your life be true knowledge inwardly received. Bearing this tree and showing its fruit, you shall always gather those things which are desired by God, which the Serpent cannot reach, and to which deception does not come close. Then Eve is not corrupted but is trusted as a virgin; salvation is manifested, the Apostles are filled with understanding, the Passover of the Lord advances, the choirs are gathered together and arranged in proper order, and the Word rejoices in teaching the saints, by whom the Father is glorified: to whom be glory forever.

Amen.