Library › The Church Fathers › Hermas › Hermas › Similitude 9, chapter 27

Hermas

The Pastor (Shepherd) of Hermas

Similitude 9, chapter 27

The great mysteries in the building of the militant and triumphant church.

“And from the tenth mountain, where were trees which overshadowed certain sheep, they who believed were the following: bishops1 given to hospitality, who always gladly received into their houses the servants of God, without dissimulation. And the bishops never failed to protect, by their service, the widows, and those who were in want, and always maintained a holy conversation. All these, accordingly, shall be protected by the Lord for ever. They who do these things are honourable before God, and their place is already with the angels, if they remain to the end serving God.”

Notes

  1. Bishops. Bishops, that is, presidents of the churches.—Vat.↩

Translation by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and Frederick Crombie: The Ante-Nicene Christian Library, vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1870).
Text from Project Gutenberg eBook #77576, proofread by Distributed Proofreaders from Internet Archive scans. Public domain.