And do ye reverence them as Christ Jesus, of whose place they are the keepers, even as the bishop is the rep- resentative of the Father of all things, and the presbyters are the sanhedrim of God, and assembly ^ of the apostles of Christ. Apart from these there is no elect Church, no congregation of holy ones, no assembly of saints. I am persuaded that ye also are of this opinion. For I have received the manifestation 5 of your love, and still have it with me, in your bishop, whose very appearance is highly instructive, and his meekness of itself a power ; whom I imagine even the ungodly must reverence. Loving you as I do, I avoid writing in any severer strain to you, that I may not seem harsh to any, or wanting [in tenderness]. I am indeed bound for the sake of Christ, but I am not yet worthy of Christ. But when I am perfected, perhaps I shall then become so. I do not issue ofders like an apostle.