Epistle to Diognetus

Since I see that you, most excellent Diognetus, are exceedingly eager to learn the way Christians worship God, and you inquire very carefully and earnestly about them—what God they trust in and what form of religion they follow, so as to look down upon the world itself and despise death, while not considering those to be gods that the Greeks reckon as such, nor adhering to the superstition of the Jews. You also wonder about the affection they cherish among themselves and why this new practice of piety has only recently entered the world, and not long ago. I sincerely welcome your desire, and I implore God, who enables us both to speak and to hear, to grant me the ability to speak in such a way that, above all, you will be edified, and to grant you the ability to hear so that I, who speak, may have no cause for regret in doing so.