Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Mar Saba Monastery Was Filled With Amazing Texts Now Lost

John of Damascus not only references a collection of letters from Clement of Alexandria three times in the Sacred Parallels, he also references 'the Teaching of Peter' twice:

Of Peter: Wretched that I am, I remembered not that God seeth the mind and observeth the voice of the soul. Allying myself with sin, I said unto myself: God is merciful, and will bear with thee: and because I was not immediately smitten, I ceased not, but rather despised pardon, and exhausted the long-suffering of God.

ibid. From the Teaching of Peter: Rich is he that hath mercy on many, and he that, imitating God, giveth of that he hath. For God hath given all things unto all, of his own creatures. Understand then, ye rich, that ye ought to minister, for ye have received more than ye yourselves need. Learn that others lack the things ye have in superfluity. Be ashamed to keep things that belong to others. Imitate the fairness (equality) of God, and no man will be poor.

As I have said many times here, either the Letter to Theodore is authentic or the forger knew about the pre-existing relationship between Mar Saba and the collection of Clement's letters and had to get his forgery into the monastery. You already know which possibility is the more likely ...


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