Against Celsus 8.13

Then he thinks it follows, from our worshipping his Son together with God, that on our view not only God but also his servants are to be served. Now if he meant those who are truly servants of God after the Only-begotten of God, Gabriel and Michael and the rest of the angels, and said that these ought to be served, perhaps, having clarified what he means by “serve” and what the actions of one who serves are, we would have said on the subject, as discussing such great matters, what we were able to understand about them. But as it is, since he thinks the demons worshipped by the nations are servants, he does not bring us by any logical consequence to serve such beings, whom the Word shows to be servants of the evil one and of the ruler of this age, who draws away from God whomever he can. It is, then, because they are not servants of God that we decline to reverence and serve all those whom the rest of mankind reverence; for if we had been taught that they were servants of the God over all, we would not have called them demons. That is why we reverence the one God and his one Son, Word and Image, with supplications and petitions as far as we are able, bringing our prayers to the God of the universe through his Only-begotten; to whom we offer them first, asking him, who is “the propitiation for our sins,” as high priest to bring our prayers and sacrifices and intercessions to the God over all. Our faith, then, is directed to God through his Son, who confirms it in us, and Celsus can show no sedition of ours concerning the Son of God. And we reverence the Father, admiring his Son, who is Word, Wisdom, Truth, Righteousness, and everything that we have learned the Son of God to be; and so too we reverence the one begotten of such a Father. So much for this.