1-61:61
Ὃν τρόπον δὲ καὶ ἀνεθήκαμεν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ θεῷ καινοποιηθέντες διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐξηγησόμεθα, ὅπως μὴ τοῦτο παραλιπόντες δόξωμεν πονηρεύειν τι ἐν τῇ ἐξηγήσει. Ὅσοι ἂν πεισθῶσι καὶ πιστεύωσιν ἀληθῆ ταῦτα τὰ ὑφ ἡμῶν διδασκόμενα καὶ λεγόμενα εἶναι, καὶ βιοῦν οὕτως δύνασθαι ὑπισχνῶνται, εὔχεσθαί τε καὶ αἰτεῖν νηστεύοντες παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν προημαρτημένων ἄφεσιν διδάσκονται, ἡμῶν συνευχομένων καὶ συννηστευόντων αὐτοῖς. Ἔπειτα ἄγονται ὑφ ἡμῶν, ἔνθα ὕδωρ ἐστί, καὶ τρόπον ἀναγεννήσεως, ὃν καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ ἀνεγεννήθημεν, ἀναγεννῶνται· ἐπ ὀνόματος γὰρ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ πνεῦματος ἁγίου τὸ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι τότε λουτρὸν ποιοῦνται. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς εἶπεν· Ἂν μὴ ἀναγεννηθῆτε, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἀδύνατον εἰς τὰς μήτρας τῶν τεκουσῶν τοὺς ἅπαξ γεννωμένους ἐμβῆναι, φανερὸν πᾶσίν ἐστι. Καὶ διὰ Ἡσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου, ὡς προεγράψαμεν, εἴρηται, τίνα τρόπον φεύξονται τὰς ἁμαρτίας οἱ ἁμαρτήσαντες καὶ μετανοοῦντες. Ἐλέχθη δὲ οὕτως· Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε, ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν, κρίνατε ὀρφανῷ καὶ δικαιώσατε χήραν, καὶ δεῦτε καὶ διαλεχθῶμεν, λέγει κύριος· καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡσεὶ ἔριον λευκανῶ, καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ. Ἐὰν δὲ μὴ εἰσακούσητέ μου, μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται· τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα. Καὶ λόγον δὲ εἰς τοῦτο παρὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐμάθομεν τοῦτον. Ἐπειδὴ τὴν πρώτην γένεσιν ἡμῶν ἀγνοοῦντες κατ ἀνάγκην γεγεννήμεθα ἐξ ὑγρᾶς σπορᾶς κατὰ μῖξιν τὴν τῶν γονέων πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ ἐν ἔθεσι φαύλοις καὶ πονηραῖς ἀναστροφαῖς γεγόναμεν, ὅπως μὴ ἀνάγκης τέκνα μηδὲ ἀγνοίας μένωμεν ἀλλὰ προαιρέσεως καὶ ἐπιστήμης, ἀφέσεώς ἁμαρτιῶν ὧν προημάρτομεν τύχωμεν, ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ἐπονομάζεται τῷ ἑλομένῳ ἀναγεννηθῆναι καὶ μετανοήσαντι ἐπὶ τοῖς ἡμαρτημένοις τὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῦ ὄνομα, αὐτὸ τοῦτο μόνον ἐπιλέγοντος τοῦ τὸν λουσόμενον ἄγοντος ἐπὶ τὸ λουτρόν. Ὄνομα γὰρ τῷ ἀῤῥήτῳ θεῷ οὐδεὶς ἔχει εἰπεῖν· εἰ δέ τις τολμήσειεν εἶναι λέγειν, μέμηνε τὴν ἄσωτον μανίαν. Καλεῖται δὲ τοῦτο τὸ λουτρὸν φωτισμός, ὡς φωτιζομένων τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν ταῦτα μανθανόντων. Καὶ ἐπ ὀνόματος δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῦ σταυρωθέντος ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, καὶ ἐπ ὀνόματος πνεύματος ἁγίου, ὃ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν προεκήρυξε τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν πάντα, ὁ φωτιζόμενος λούεται
We will now explain the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to God, having been made new through Christ, lest by omitting this we should seem to be acting deceitfully in our exposition. As many as are persuaded and believe that the things we teach and declare are true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly, are taught to pray and to ask God, with fasting, for the forgiveness of their past sins, while we pray and fast together with them. Then they are led by us to a place where there is water, and in the manner of regeneration by which we ourselves were regenerated, they are regenerated; for in the name of God the Father and Master of all, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing in the water. For Christ also said, "Unless you are born again, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." And that it is impossible for those once born to enter again into the wombs of their mothers is plain to all. And it has been declared through Isaiah the prophet, as we wrote before, in what manner those who have sinned and repent shall escape their sins. It was said thus: "Wash yourselves, become clean, put away the wickedness from your souls, learn to do good, give justice to the orphan and defend the widow, and come, let us reason together, says the Lord. And though your sins be as crimson, I will make them white as wool, and though they be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow. But if you do not listen to me, the sword shall devour you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things." And we learned from the apostles this reason for this rite. Since at our first birth we were born without our knowledge, of necessity, from a moist seed by the union of our parents with one another, and grew up in evil customs and wicked ways of life, in order that we might not remain children of necessity and of ignorance, but of free choice and knowledge, and might obtain forgiveness of the sins we had previously committed, there is named over the one who chooses to be born again, and has repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and Master of all, the one who leads to the washing the person to be washed pronouncing this name alone. For no one can utter a name for the ineffable God; and if anyone should dare to say that there is one, he is afflicted with a hopeless madness. And this washing is called illumination, since those who learn these things are illumined in their understanding. And the one being illumined is also washed in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets foretold all things concerning Jesus.
我們現在要說明，我們是如何藉著基督得以更新而將自己獻給神的，免得因略過此事，使人以為我們在敘述中有所隱瞞作惡。凡被勸服並相信我們所教導、所宣講的都是真實的，且願意立志照此而活的人，便受教與我們一同禁食，向神祈求並懇求赦免他們從前所犯的罪，我們也與他們一同禱告、一同禁食。然後我們將他們帶到有水的地方，照著我們自己也曾如此重生的重生之法，使他們重生；因為他們是奉萬有之父、主宰之神，並我們救主耶穌基督，以及聖靈的名，在水中受洗。因為基督也說過：「你們若不重生，就斷不能進天國。」那已經出生一次的人不可能再進入母腹，這是人人都明白的。先知以賽亞也曾說過——如我們先前所寫的——犯了罪而悔改的人當以何法脫離他們的罪。經上這樣說：「你們要洗濯、自潔，從你們的心中除掉惡行，學習行善，為孤兒伸冤，為寡婦辨屈。耶和華說：你們來，我們彼此辯論。你們的罪雖像硃紅，必變成雪白；雖紅如丹顏，必白如羊毛。你們若不聽從我，必被刀劍吞滅;這是耶和華親口說的。」我們也從使徒們學到關於此事的這個道理：我們的頭一次出生，是在我們不知情之下，出於必然，由父母彼此交合的濕種而生，並生長於敗壞的習俗與邪惡的生活方式中；為要叫我們不再作必然與無知之子，乃作出於自願與知識之子，並得著從前所犯之罪的赦免，於是便在那願意重生、且為所犯的罪悔改之人身上，宣稱萬有之父、主宰之神的名，由帶領受洗者前往洗禮的人單單稱呼這名。因為沒有人能說出那不可言喻之神的名;若有人膽敢說有此名，便是患了無可救藥的瘋狂。這洗禮被稱為光照，因為學習這些事的人，他們的悟性得了光照。而受光照的人，也是奉那在本丟彼拉多手下被釘十字架的耶穌基督的名，並奉那藉眾先知預先宣告有關耶穌一切之事的聖靈的名，而受洗。