run

And behold Isaac, the father of my father, said to us; Run and lay hold of them, each one according to his strength; and to him that seizeth them will the sun and moon belong.

And he said unto me: Even so, brother, when they had stripped me of my coat they gave me to the Ishmaelites, and they gave me a loin cloth, and scourged me, and bade me run.

O my son! let not a word issue from thy mouth till thou hast taken counsel with thy heart. And stand not betwixt persons quarrelling, because from a bad word there comes a quarrel, and from a quarrel there comes war, and from war there comes fighting, and thou wilt be forced to bear witness; but run from thence and rest thyself.

Then he said to the king. 'Be not wroth, O my lord! I will go to Egypt, and I will return the answers to Pharaoh, and I will display this letter to him, and I will reply to him about the taxes, and I will send back all those who have run away; and I will put thy enemies to shame with the help of the Most High God, and for the Happiness of thy kingdom.'

For the sake of illustration I will run over one or two points and explain them to you.

I have been united to I-run, for the Lover has found the Beloved,

And created things run in their courses, and do their works:

For after these things time will come when your people shall fall into distress, so that they shall all run the risk of perishing together.

And unto chaste men who run their race well

And all days into one shall run together

Let him be in everything as the eye of the Church, with fear admonishing," so that he may be an example to the people of piety Let him admonish thus: ADMONITION OF THE DEACON Let us arise. Let every one know his place. Let the catechumens depart. See [that] no one polluted, no one slothful [remain]. [Lift] wp the eyes of your hearts. The angels are looking on. See [that] he who trusteth not, withdraw. Let us beseech in concord. Let no fornicator, no wrathful man [remain]; if one who is a servant of evil be [here], let him withdraw. See, as children of the light, let us beg [and beseech our Lord and our God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. When the presbyter or bishop beyinneth the prayer, let the people pray and kneel. Then let the deacon say thus: For the peace which is from heaven let us beseech, that the Lord in His mercy may give us peace. For our faith let us beseech, that the Lord may grant unto us to keep truly unto the end the faith which is in Him. For harmony and concord let us beseech, that the Lord may keep us together in concord of the Spirit. For patience let us beseech, that the Lord may bestow [upon us patience unto the end in all afflictions. For the Apostles let us beseech, that the Lord may grant to us to please Him, as they also pleased Him, and may make us worthy of their inheritance. For the holy prophets let us beseech, that the Lord may number us with them. For the holy confessors let us beseech, that the Lord God may grant us to fulfil [our course] with the same mind [as they]. For the bishop let us beseech, that our Lord may grant him to us for length of days’ in faith, rightly dividing the word of truth, and standing at the head of the Church purely and without blame. For the presbyterate let us beseech, that the Lord may not take away from them the spirit of the presbyterate, but bestow on them earnestness and piety until the end. For the deacons let us beseech, that the Lord may grant unto them to run a perfect course, and to perfect holiness, and that He may remember their work and their love. For the presbyteresses let us beseech, that the Lord may hear their supplications and keep their hearts perfectly in the grace of the Spirit and help their work. For the subdeacons, readers, deaconesses let us beseech, that the Lord may grant to them to receive a reward in patience. For the faithful laymen let us beseech, that the Lord may grant unto them to keep the faith perfectly. For the catechumens let us beseech, that the Lord may grant unto them to be counted worthy of the laver of forgive- ness, and may sanctify them with the seal of holiness. For the kingdom let us beseech, that the Lord may bestow upon it tranquillity. For the exalted powers let us beseech, that the Lord may grant to them prudence and the fear of Him. For all the world let us beseech, that the Lord may provide for each one such things as are meet. For those who travel by sea, and those who go on journeys let us beseech, that the Lord may guide them with the right hand of mercy. For those who are persecuted let us beseech, that the Lord may grant to them patience and knowledge, and may bestow on them also a completed labour. For those who have fallen asleep from the Church let us beseech, that the Lord may bestow upon them a place of rest. For those who have fallen let us beseech, that the Lord may not remember their follies unto them, but moderate [His] threats unto them. And let us all also, who need prayer, beseech that the Lord may protect and keep us with the peaceful Spirit. Let us persuade and beseech the Lord, that He may receive our prayers. After the deacon commemorateth, let the bishop make a sign with his hand. Let the deacon say: Let us arise in the Holy Ghost, that, being made wise, we may grow in His grace, boasting in His Name; being built on the foundation of the Apostles,’ let us beg [and] beseech the Lord that, being persuaded, He may receive our prayers. Then let the bishop complete [the prayer]. And let the people say: Amen.

On the Saturday let the bishop assemble them who receive the laver, and let him bid them to kneel while the deacon proclaimeth. And when there is silence let him exorcise [them], laying a hand on them, and saying: EXORCISM BEFORE THE LAVER O God of heaven, God of the lights," God of the arch- angels who are under Thy power, God of the angels who are under Thy might, King of glories and of dominions,’ God of saints, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; who hast loosed the souls that were bound by‘ death; who hast enlightened him that was bound in darkness and fixed firm, by the firm-fixing of the suffering of Thy Only-begotten; who hast loosed our cords and hast loosed every weight from [off] us; who hast repelled from us every attack of the Evil One; O Son and Word of God, who hast made us immortal by Thy death; who hast glorified us with Thy glory; who hast loosed all the bands of our sins by Thy passion; who hast borne the curse of our sins by Thy cross, and by Thy resurrection hast taught [mankind] to pass from [being] sons of men to become gods; who hast taken on Thee our humiliation’; who hast trodden the way to heaven for us; who hast changed us from corrup- tion to incorruptibility; hear me, O Lord, who cry to Thee in pain and fear,O Lord God, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, before Him before whom stand the holy hosts of archangels and of cherubim and armies without number, of princes and of seraphim; whose veil [is] the light, and before whose face [is] fire; the throne of whose glory is ineffable; the habitations of whose delights, which Thou hast prepared for Thy saints, are ineffable, the raiments and treasures of which are visible to Thee alone and to Thy holy angels; before whom all things tremble, giving praise; whose glance measureth the mountains, and whose Name, when uttered, cleaveth the depths; whom the heavens which are shut up by Thy hand, hide from view; before whom the earth and the depths together tremble; before whom the sea and the dragons that [are] in it quake; of whom the wild beasts trembling, stand in awe; through whom the mountains and the firmament of the earth melt with fear; at whose power the tempest of the winter quaketh and trembleth, and the raging whirlwind keepeth its limits; because of whom the fire of vengeance doth not overpass that which hath been prescribed to it, but abideth when reproved by Thy command- ment; because of whom the whole creation travaileth, groaning with groans, being bidden to tarry till its time; from whom all nature and creation that opposeth itself fleeth; because of whom the whole army of the adversary is subdued, and the Devil is fallen, and the serpent is trodden down, and,the dragon is killed; because of whom the nations which have confessed Thee are enlightened‘ and strengthened in Thee, O Lord; because of whom life is revealed and hope confirmed, and faith strengthened and the Gospel preached; because of whom corruption is brought to naught and incorruptibility waxeth strong; through whom man was fashioned from the earth, but having believed in Thee he is no longer” earth; O Lord God Almighty, I exorcise these in the Name of Thee and of Thy beloved Son Jesus Christ. Drive away from the souls of these Thy servants every disease and illness, and every stumbling block and all un- belief, all doubt and all contempt,’ every unclean spirit that worketh, that is a witch, that killeth, that is under the earth, that is fiery, dark, evil-smelling, given to witchcraft, lascivious, loving gold, uplifted, money loving, wrathful. Yea, O Lord God, overthrow from these Thy servants who have been named in Thee the weapons of the Devil, all magic, witchcraft, fear of idols, divination, astrology,” necro- mancy, observation of the stars, astronomy,” pleasure of the passions, love of disgraceful things, sadness, love of money, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, lasciviousness, contumacy, contentiousness, wrath, confusion, wickedness, evil suspicion.' Yea, O Lord God, hear me, and breathe on these Thy servants the spirit of tranquillity, that, being guarded by Thee, they may bring forth in Thee fruits of faith, of virtue, of wisdom, of purity, of self-discipline of patience, of hope, of concord, of modesty,’ of praise. For by Thee they have been called as servants, in the Name of Jesus Christ, being baptized in the Trinity, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the angels, glories, dominions, all the heavenly army being witnesses. O Lord, the real-essence of our life and theirs, guard their hearts, O God, for Thou art mighty and glorious’ for ever and ever. And let all the people, also the priests, say: Amen, So be it, so be it, so be it. If any one be in the endurance of any thing, rise suddenly while the bishop is saying [these words], and weep or cry out, or foam [at the mouth] or gnash with his teeth, or stare’ or be much uplifted or altogether run away, being quickly carried off, let such an one be put aside by the deacons, so that there be no disturbance while the bishop is speaking, and let such an one be exorcised by the priests until he be cleansed, and so let him be baptized. After the priest exorciseth those who have drawn near, or him who is found unclean, let the priest breathe on them and seal them between their eyes, on the nose, on the heart, on the ears; and so let him raise them up.