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Open-air faith surpasses costly piety
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The author continues his maxims by contrasting simple, open-air faith with expensive piety and three gathered in the Lord's name with many who deny the divinity.
Open-air faith is better than costly piety, and three gathered in the name of the Lord are better than many who deny the divinity (Matthew 18:20 ).
Greek Κρεῖσσονὑπαίθριος πίστις πολυτελοῦς εὐσεβείας, καὶ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου πολλῶν ἀρνουμένων θεότητα.
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About this text Six short sentences on piety, knowing God, and purified speech attributed to Gregory Thaumaturgus.
Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. 213–c. 270) wrote these Sentences as a collection of brief moral and theological maxims, apparently preserved as excerpts. They urge piety as the foundation of the virtues and contrast sincere faith with costly but empty religion.
The work opens by insisting that piety must be cultivated above all things, since it is rightly called the mother of the virtues and is their beginning and end. Knowledge of God as the sustaining and creating cause of all things is taught both by sight and by the natural law. The remaining sentences contrast simple, open-air faith with costly piety, and three gathered in the Lord's name with many who deny the divinity.
The work affirms that piety alone is an unchangeable and abiding good, and warns that what is not attainable is somehow not believed because of envy, since to profane souls nothing of good things is credible.
This work has passed our source check. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.
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