We said before that judgment should not be given upon hearing only one of the parties; for if you hear one of them when the other is not there, and so cannot make his defense to the accusation brought against him, and rashly give your votes for condemnation, you will be found guilty of that man's destruction, and partaker with the false accuser before God, the just Judge.
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (author and date unknown, quite probably second or third century), Book II, Section 5, LI, (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, Hendricksen Publishers, Vol. 7, pp. 418-419)
How can we avoid accepting false accusations? What methods should we use?
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