Epistle to the Smyrnaeans (Short Version)
Chapter 4: Beware of These Heretics
I give you these instructions, beloved, assured that you also hold the same opinions as I do. But I warn you in advance about those beasts in the form of men, whom you must not only avoid welcoming, but, if it is possible, not even encounter; only, you must pray to God for them, in the hope that they may be brought to repentance, which will be very difficult. Yet Jesus Christ, who is our true life, has the power to achieve this. But if these things were done by our Lord only in appearance, then I am only in appearance bound. And why have I surrendered myself to death, to fire, to the sword, to the wild beasts? In fact, he who is near to the sword is near to God; he that is among the wild beasts is in the company of God, provided only he is there in the name of Jesus Christ. I undergo all these things so that I may suffer together with Him, He who became a perfect man, inwardly strengthening me.