Which servants of God we worship
Then he thinks that, because we worship His Son together with God, it follows for us that on our own view not only God but also His servants are to be worshipped. Now if he had meant those who are truly servants of God after the Only-begotten of God, Gabriel and Michael and the rest of the angels, and had said that these ought to be worshipped, then perhaps, after clearing up what he means by worship and what acts the worshipper performs, we would have said on the subject, as men discussing matters so great, whatever we were able to understand about them. But as it is, since he takes as God’s servants the demons whom the nations worship, he does not bind us by any logic to worship such beings; for our teaching shows them to be servants of the evil one, and of the ruler of this age (John 12:31; 1 Corinthians 2:6), who draws away from God whomever he can.
So it is because they are not God’s servants that we refuse to revere and worship all those whom the rest of mankind reveres; for had we been taught that they were servants of the God who is over all, we would not call them demons. Therefore we revere the one God and His one Son, His 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 Him we first offer them, and we ask Him, who is “the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2), to bring our prayers and sacrifices and intercessions as High Priest (Hebrews 2:17) to the God who is over all.
Our faith, then, is directed to God through His Son, who confirms it in us; and Celsus can show no faction of ours concerning the Son of God. And we do revere the Father, as we admire His Son, the Word and Wisdom and Truth and Righteousness, and all that we have learned the Son of God to be; and so we revere also Him who was begotten of such a Father. So much for this.
Greek
Εἶτ᾿ οἴεται ἐκ τοῦ θρησκεύειν ἡμᾶς μετὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἀκολουθεῖν ἡμῖν τὸ καὶ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς οὐ μόνον τὸν θεὸν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ὑπηρέτας αὐτοῦ θεραπεύεσθαι. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐνόει τοὺς ἀληθῶς ὑπηρέτας τοῦ θεοῦ μετὰ τὸν μονογενῆ τοῦ θεοῦ. τὸν Γαβριὴλ καὶ τὸν Μιχαὴλ καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀγγέλους [ἀρχαγγέλους]. καὶ τούτους ἔλεγε δεῖν θεραπεύεσθαι. ἴσως ἂν τὸ περὶ τοῦ θεραπεύειν αὐτοῦ σημαινόμενον ἐκκαθήραντες καὶ τῶν τοῦ θεραπεύοντος πράξεων εἴπομεν ἂν εἰς τὸν τόπον ὡς περὶ τηλικούτων διαλεγόμενοι ἅπερ ἐχωροῦμεν περὶ αὐτῶν νοῆσαι· νυνὶ δὲ ὑπηρέτας νομίζων τοὺς προσκυνουμένους ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαίμονας οὐχ ὑπάγει ἡμᾶς ἀκολουθίᾳ τῇ περὶ τοῦ θεραπεύειν τοὺς τοιούτους. οὓς ὑπηρέτας τοῦ πονηροῦ ὁ λόγος ἀποδείκνυσι καὶ ἄρχοντος τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, ἀφιστάντος ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ οὓς ἂν δύνηται. ὡς οὐχ ὑπηρέτας οὖν, οὓς οἱ λοιποὶ ἄνθρωποι σέβουσι, πάντας σέβειν καὶ θεραπεύειν ἐκκλίνομεν· οὐκ ἂν γὰρ ὑπηρέτας αὐτοὺς διδαχθέντες εἶναι τοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεοῦ ἐλέγομεν εἶναι δαιμόνια. διὸ τὸν ἕνα θεὸν καὶ τὸν ἕνα υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ λόγον καὶ εἰκόνα ταῖς κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν ἱκεσίαις καὶ ἀξιώσεσι σέβομεν, προσάγοντες τῷ θεῷ τῶν ὅλων τὰς εὐχὰς διὰ τοῦ μονογενοῦς αὐτοῦ· ᾧ πρῶτον προσφέρομεν αὐτὰς, ἀξιοῦντες αὐτὸν „ἱλασμὸν“ ὄντα „τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν“ προσαγαγεῖν ὡς ἀρχιερέα τὰς εὐχὰς καὶ τὰς θυσίας καὶ τὰς ἐντεύξεις ἡμῶν τῷ ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεῷ. περὶ τὸν θεὸν οὖν ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν διὰ τοῦ ταύτην βεβαιοῦντος ἐν ἡμῖν υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἡμῶν ἔχει δεῖξαι στάσιν περὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ Κέλσος. καὶ σέβομέν γε τὸν πατέρα, θαυμάζοντες αὐτοῦ τὸν υἱὸν λόγον καὶ σοφίαν καὶ ἀλήθειαν καὶ δικαιοσύνην καὶ πάντα, ἅπερ εἶναι μεμαθήκαμεν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸν γεννηθέντα ἀπὸ τοιούτου του πατρός. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ταύτῃ.