Letters 1 part 10/32

Yet in no way is the matter free of blame for them.

For in what way does he who is wicked of his own accord do less wrong than he who serves the wickedness of others? And to those who have suffered, the loss is the same.

We ask that he receive back what was taken from him, and that they not be permitted to lay the blame for what has been dared upon others.

And however great it is worth to escape the necessity arising from famine, so greatly shall we value the favor from your greatness of nature, if indeed you shall deign to grant it.

Without address, on the same matters. I was amazed that, while you were acting as mediator, so great an evil was dared against our fellow presbyter, that the one means of livelihood which he had should be plundered from him.

And the most terrible thing is that those who have dared this lay upon you the blame for what they have done — you, for whom it was fitting not merely to refrain from allowing such things to happen, but to prevent them with all your strength, especially in every case, or if not, at least in the case of presbyters, and among these, of those who are of one mind with us and walk the same path of piety.

If, then, you have any concern for giving us rest, cause what has happened to be swiftly set right.

I have also written to the magistrate of the district, so that, if they should not be willing of their own accord to do what is just, they may be compelled to do so through the setting in motion of the courts.

Without address, concerning the collector of money. Of all men, your honor has learned best the difficulty of gathering the tax gold owed by the merchants, and we have no witness of our poverty so reliable as you, who out of your great humanity have both sympathized with us and, up to the present, have borne with us as far as possible, never once shifting the gentleness of your settled disposition on account of the disturbance pressing upon us from above.

Since, then, out of the whole weight there remains for us still but a little gold, and this must be gathered from the collection to which we have exhorted the whole city, we beg your gentleness to extend the deadline for us a little, so that those outside the city may also be reminded.

For most of those in authority are out in the countryside, as you yourself are well aware.

If, then, it is possible that all but so many pounds be sent off — for that is what remains owing on our part — we beg you to let this be done, and the remainder will be sent afterward;

but if there is every necessity that it be sent all at once to the treasuries, then let there be granted us — as we requested from the beginning — a broader deadline.

To Meletius, Bishop. God, who is good, by affording us occasions for addressing your honor, assuages the intensity of our longing.

For He Himself is witness to the longing we have to behold your face and to enjoy your good and soul-profiting teaching.

...an obstacle to your prayers for moving the Lord to compassion.

For we, having had the good fortune to meet Sabinus, the deacon sent by them, wrote both to the Illyrians and to the bishops throughout Italy and Gaul, and to certain of those who had written to us individually.

It is reasonable, moreover, that someone be sent as from the synod in common, bearing a second letter, which do you yourself order to be drafted.

And concerning the most reverend bishop Athanasius, we remind your perfect understanding — though it knows this well already — that it is impossible for my letters to make progress, or to accomplish anything of what is owed, unless he also receive some measure of acceptance from you, who at that time deferred communion with him.

For he himself is said to be very eager to be joined with us and to contribute according to his power, but to be grieved that at that time he was passed over without communion, and that even now the promises remain unfulfilled.

How matters stand in the East has surely not escaped the hearing of your piety, and the aforementioned brother will himself relate everything more precisely in person.

Deign to send him back immediately after Easter, since we are awaiting the replies from Samosata;

and do you accept his eagerness, and, having strengthened him with your prayers, send him forward to what lies ahead.

All these things gladdened us so greatly as to dissolve our dejection and to produce a brief smile in our souls, amid this gloomy turmoil of affairs in which we now find ourselves.

The Lord increased our consolation still further through our most devout son and fellow deacon Sabinus, who, by relating in detail the good things among you, has nourished our souls, and who, having learned our affairs by firsthand experience, will report them to you plainly, so that, first of all, you may strive together with us through earnest and diligent supplication to the Lord, and then also not refuse to bring whatever comfort is possible to the churches worn down by affliction.

For here, most honored brothers, the Church has grown weary and worn out under the ceaseless assaults of adversaries, like some ship in the midst of the sea, tormented by the successive blows of the waves, unless there should come some swift visitation of the goodness of the Lord.

Just as we, then, count as our own good your concord and unity with one another, so we also urge you to sympathize with our divisions, and not, because we are separated by the position of our places, to sever us from yourselves, but, because we are united in the communion of the Spirit, to receive us into the harmony of one body.

The things that afflict us are well known, even should we ourselves say nothing.

for it has been poured out into the whole inhabited world.

The doctrines of the Fathers have been despised, the apostolic traditions have been set at naught, the inventions of newer men are made citizens within the Churches;

men now practice technical argumentation rather than theology;

having thrust away the boast of the cross

Shepherds are driven away, and in their place grievous wolves are brought in, tearing apart the flock of Christ.

The houses of prayer are empty of worshippers, while the deserts are full of those who mourn.

The elders lament, comparing the former times with the present;

the young are even more pitiable, not knowing of what they have been deprived.

These things are sufficient to move to sympathy those who have been trained in the love of Christ; yet, when compared with the truth of the actual state of affairs, our account falls far short of its worth.

If, then, there be any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, be moved to our assistance.

Take up zeal for piety; rescue us from this storm.

Let that good proclamation of the Fathers also be spoken among you with boldness — the proclamation that overthrows the ill-named heresy of Arius, but builds up the Churches in sound teaching, in which the Son is confessed to be consubstantial with the Father, and the Holy Spirit is counted together and worshipped together with equal honor, so that the boldness which the Lord has given you on behalf of the truth, and the glorying in the confession of the divine and saving Trinity, He may grant also to us, through your prayers and your cooperation.

The particulars, however, the aforementioned fellow deacon will himself report to your love.

And we have assented to all that has been done canonically by your honor, having welcomed your apostolic zeal on behalf of orthodoxy.

To Valerian, Bishop of the Illyrians. Thanks be to the Lord, who has granted us to see the fruit of ancient love in your purity — you who, though so far separated from us in body, have joined yourself to us through a letter, and, embracing us with your spiritual and holy longing, have produced in our souls an inexpressible affection.

For in very deed we have learned the force of the proverb: "As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."

And the reason is plain: because iniquity has abounded, the love of many has grown cold.

But this the Lord has greatly granted us amid present circumstances: that we hear you are in exact concord and unity with one another, and that among you the proclamation of true religion is announced without hindrance;

for at some time (if indeed the time of this world is not yet altogether closed, but days of human life still remain) it will be necessary that the faith be renewed for the East by you, and that, in due season, you render back to her a return for the good things you received from her.

For the sound portion here, which vindicates the piety of the fathers, has grown quite weary, since the devil, in his own crafty method, has shaken it with many and various assaults of contrivances.

But may it be, through your prayers, you who love the Lord, that the wicked and people-deceiving heresy of the evil doctrine of Arius be quenched, and that the good teaching of our Fathers who assembled at Nicaea shine forth again, so that the doxology rendered to the blessed Trinity may be in accord with our saving baptism.

Indeed, a groan sent up often from the depth of the heart brings some consolation to grieving souls, and at times too a tear, once shed, has dispersed the great weight of affliction.

But for us, it is not merely such consolation as groaning and tears afford that we find in relating our sufferings to your love; rather, a kinder hope also warms us, that perhaps, if we should declare to you the things that grieve us, we shall rouse you to our assistance — which assistance we long ago expected would be given by you to the Churches throughout the East, yet have not yet obtained, God, who in His wisdom administers our affairs, having no doubt ordained, according to the unsearchable judgments of His righteousness, that we should be prolonged for a longer time in these trials.

For surely you have not been ignorant, most honored brothers, of our situation, the report of which has run even to the ends of the inhabited world; nor are you at all unsympathetic toward brothers of like mind, being disciples of the Apostle who teaches that love toward one's neighbor is the fulfillment of the law.

But, as we have said, the righteous judgment of God has held back your impulse, measuring out for us the affliction ordained on account of our sins, so that it should be fulfilled.

But now, at least, we urge you to rouse yourselves both to zeal on behalf of the truth and to sympathy for us, learning everything — even whatever until now has escaped your hearing — from our most devout brother and fellow deacon Sabinus, who will also be able to relate to you of his own accord whatever escapes this letter;

through him we entreat you to put on a heart of compassion, and to lay aside all reluctance, taking up instead the labor of love, and to reckon as nothing the length of the journey, nor your occupations at home, nor anything else of human concern.

For the danger does not concern one Church alone, nor are there only two or three that have fallen into this grievous storm.

For the evil of this heresy has spread almost from the borders of Illyricum as far as the Thebaid.

The evil seeds of it were first sown by the ill-named Arius;

but, having taken deep root through the many who in between have diligently cultivated this impiety, it has now put forth its destructive fruits.

The doctrines of true religion have been overturned, and the ordinances of the Church have been thrown into confusion.

But the love of power in those who do not fear the Lord leaps upon positions of authority, and now openly the presidency is set forth as a prize for impiety, so that the man who has blasphemed most grievously is preferred for the oversight of the people.

The dignity of the priesthood has departed; those who shepherd the Lord's flock with knowledge have failed, since those who love power are forever squandering the funds meant for the poor on their own pleasures and on distributions of gifts.

The precision of the canons has been obscured, and license to sin abounds.

For those who have advanced to rule through human canvassing repay that very favor of patronage by conceding everything to gratify those who sin.

Righteous judgment has perished; everyone walks according to the will of his own heart.

Wickedness is without measure, the people are past admonition, and those who preside are without boldness of speech.

Already, indeed, for some the so-called vindication of orthodoxy has been devised as a weapon in their war against one another; and, concealing their own private enmities, they put on the appearance of being at enmity for piety's sake.

Avoiding exposure for their most shameful deeds, they incite the people to a frenzy of strife against one another, so that by the common evils they may cast a shadow over their own individual wrongdoing.

At these things the unbelievers laugh, and those of little faith are shaken;

faith has become doubtful, and ignorance has been poured out over souls, because those who corrupt the word through wickedness imitate the truth.

For the mouths of the pious are silent, while every blaspheming tongue has been set loose;

And surely by now what is happening in most of the cities has reached even you: that the people, together with women and children and even the elderly, pouring out before the walls, perform their prayers in the open air, enduring with much patience all the hardships from the weather, awaiting the help that comes from the Lord.

What lament is worthy of these calamities? What springs of tears will suffice for evils so great? Therefore, while some still seem to stand firm, while some trace of the ancient order is still preserved, before shipwreck comes wholly upon the churches, hasten to us, hasten now — yes, we beg you, most genuine brothers;

Give a hand to those who have bowed down upon their knees.

Let your brotherly bowels of compassion be moved on our behalf; let tears of sympathy pour forth.

Do not overlook half the inhabited world being swallowed up by error; do not endure that the faith be extinguished among those where it first shone forth.

As for what you must do to take hold of the situation, and how you will show your sympathy toward those who are afflicted, you will certainly have no need to learn this from us; the Holy Spirit himself will instruct you.

Except that there is need of speed for the saving of those who remain, and of the presence of a greater number of brothers, so that those who come may constitute the full complement of a synod, so that they may possess credibility for correction not only from the dignity of those who sent them, but also from their own number;

who will renew the faith that was written at Nicaea by our Fathers, and will publicly proscribe the heresy, and will speak words of peace to the churches, gathering those who think alike into concord.

For this, surely, is the most pitiable thing of all: that even what seemed to be sound has been divided against itself, and it seems that sufferings similar to those which once beset Jerusalem during the siege under Vespasian have come round upon us.

For those people were at once beset by the war from without, and at the same time consumed by the internal sedition of their own countrymen.

But for us, in addition to the open war of the heretics, the uprising raised even by those who seem to hold the same doctrine has brought the churches down to the very extremity of weakness.

It is precisely in these matters that we especially need your help: that those who confess the apostolic faith, having dissolved the schisms they have contrived, may henceforth be subject to the authority of the Church, so that the body of Christ may become whole, restored to completeness in all its members; and that we may not merely count blessed the good things found among others — which is what we now do — but may also see our own churches regaining the ancient boast of orthodoxy.

For truly worthy of the highest blessedness is the gift granted by the Lord to your piety: to discern the counterfeit from what is genuine and pure, and to proclaim the faith of the Fathers without any reservation — the very faith which we too have received and recognized as shaped from the apostolic characters, assenting both to it and to all that has been canonically and lawfully decreed in the synodal letter.

TO CAESARIA THE PATRICIAN, CONCERNING COMMUNION. Indeed, to commune every single day and to partake of the holy body and blood of Christ is good and beneficial, since he himself plainly says:

"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." For who doubts that to partake continually of life is nothing other than to live in many ways? We, for our part, commune four times each week: on the Lord's Day, on Wednesday, on Friday, and on the Sabbath, and on the other days too, if there is the commemoration of some saint.

As for the fact that, in times of persecution, when a priest or minister is not present, one is compelled to receive communion with his own hand, it is superfluous to demonstrate that this is in no way burdensome, since long custom has already confirmed this through the facts themselves.

For all who live as monks in the deserts, where there is no priest, keep communion at home and partake of it by themselves.

And in Alexandria and in Egypt, each one, even among those numbered among the laity, for the most part has communion in his own house, and partakes of it by himself whenever he wishes.

For once the priest has completed and given the sacrifice, the one who has received it as a whole all at once, partaking of it day by day, ought reasonably to believe that he is partaking of it and receiving it from the one who gave it.

For indeed even in church the priest gives the portion, and the one who receives it holds it with full authority, and thus brings it to his mouth with his own hand.

It is, then, the same in effect, whether one receives a single portion from the priest or many portions at once.

TO ELIAS, GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE. I myself, too, had set out to reach your honor in person, so that by my absence I might not be at any disadvantage compared with those who slander;

but since bodily illness prevented me, attacking much more violently than is usual, I was of necessity brought to resort to a letter.

I, then, admirable sir, having lately met with your honor, was eager to share with your good judgment all the matters concerning my life, and I was eager also to say something on behalf of the churches, so that no room might be left afterward for slanders.

But I restrained myself, reckoning it altogether officious and beyond due measure to burden a man already weighed down with such a multitude of affairs with cares beyond what is necessary. At the same time — for the truth shall be told — I also hesitated for another reason, lest we should be brought to the necessity, through mutual disputes, of wounding your soul, which ought, in pure reverence toward God, to reap the perfect reward of piety.

For truly, if we were to turn you toward ourselves, we would leave you little leisure for public affairs, and we would be doing something similar to one who, when a helmsman is steering a newly-built ship through a great swell, should weigh it down further by adding to its cargo, when instead one ought to remove some of the load and help lighten it as much as possible.

Hence it seems to me that even the great Emperor, having observed this officiousness of ours, has allowed us to administer the churches for ourselves.

...to the chief officer, while the lesser matters have been allotted in order to the ministers of the divine, whose use is common both to you the rulers and to those attending upon you.

Whom do we wrong by building lodgings for strangers, for those who happen to be passing through, and for those in need of care because of illness, and by establishing for them the necessary relief — those who tend the sick, those who heal, the beasts of burden, those who escort them? Attendant on these there must follow trades as well, both those necessary for living and those devised for a decent conduct of life, and again other buildings suited to these occupations — all of which is an ornament to the place, and a matter of glory for our governor, the praise redounding back upon him himself.

You indeed were not pressed toward the oversight of us for this reason, as though you alone were sufficient, by the greatness of your judgment, to restore what had fallen into ruin through time, to settle the uninhabited places, and altogether to transform the desert wastes into cities.

Was it then more consistent to drive away and insult the one who cooperates in these things, or rather to honor and cherish him? And do not suppose, most excellent sir, that what comes from us is mere talk;

for we are already at work, meanwhile gathering together the materials.

Such, then, are the things offered in defense to the governor.

But what must be answered to the complaints of those fond of finding fault — as befits a Christian and friend concerned for our good name — it is necessary now to pass over in silence, since it would be both longer than the measure of a letter and, besides, unsafe to entrust to lifeless writing.

But so that, in the time before our meeting, you may not be led by the slanders of some to be forced to relax somewhat your goodwill toward us, do what Alexander did.

For they say that he, when one of his intimates was being slandered, would open one of his ears to the accuser, but would carefully block the other with his hand, showing thereby that one who intends to judge rightly ought not to be led away entirely at once by what he first hears, but should keep the other half of his hearing intact for the defense of the one who is not present.

TO EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF SAMOSATA. Having written some time ago to your piety, both for certain other reasons and so that we might meet with one another, I was disappointed in my hope, since the letter did not reach the hands of your honor: the blessed deacon Theophrastus had received our letter while necessarily traveling on a certain circuit, but did not forward it to your piety, having been overtaken beforehand by the illness of which he died.

Hence I have come so much later than the proper time for writing that I cannot even hope for any benefit to come from this letter, the time having been shut up altogether into so narrow a space.

For the most God-beloved bishops Meletius and Theodotus have directed us to come over to them, both making the meeting a demonstration of love and wishing that some correction be made of the things now causing distress.

They have appointed for us the middle of the coming month of June as the time of the meeting, and as the place, the village of Phargamus, noted for the renown of its martyrs and for the great gathering of the assembly celebrated there each year.

Since, then, upon my return, having learned of the falling asleep of the blessed deacon and that the letters lay unsent with us, I could not rest, because thirty-three days still remained until the appointed time, I have sent this letter in haste by the most reverend brother Eustathius, our fellow-minister, so that through him it might be conveyed to your reverence, and the replies brought back to us again quickly.

For if it is possible, or if it otherwise pleases you for us to be present, we ourselves will also come;

...for the meeting, unless some hindrance again arises for us on account of our sins; but the conference of the bishops we will put off to another time.

TO SOPHRONIUS THE MAGISTER. And who is so devoted to his city as you yourself, honoring the fatherland that bore and nurtured you as one honors parents, praying together for good things both for the whole city in common and for each person individually, and not merely praying, but also confirming your prayers through your own actions?

But nevertheless, in your time our fatherland became rich as in a dream, having a man entrusted with its care such as those who know the most ancient things among us say no other has ever before ascended to the ruling seats; yet she was swiftly deprived of him through the spite of certain men, who made the man's freedom of speech and incorruptibility the occasion of their war against him, and fabricated slanders against him, escaping the notice of your excellency's ears.

For as to the fact that he is the most incorruptible of men we know, granting no favor contrary to justice, we have passed this over as of lesser account beside the rest of the man's virtue.

These things we testify too late in the day, like those who chant a dirge, consoling themselves, but doing nothing actually useful for the situation.

Yet it is not without use that the memory of the man should be laid up in your great soul, and that you should feel gratitude toward him as a benefactor of your homeland; and, if anyone should attack him — one of those embittered because justice was not shown him unfairly — that you should fight on his behalf and stand up for him, making it clear to all that you regard the man as your own kinsman, taking as sufficient ground for this kinship the good testimony concerning him and the proof of his conduct, which is out of all proportion to the brevity of his time in office.

For what would not have been accomplished by another even in many years, he has achieved in a short time.

It would be a sufficient favor to us, and a consolation for what has happened, if you would commend him to the Emperor and remove the slanders brought against him. Consider that the whole fatherland is speaking to you through this single voice of ours, and that it is the common prayer of all that something favorable should come to the man through your excellency.

TO THE COUNCIL OF TYANA. The Lord, who uncovers deep things and reveals the counsels of hearts, has given even to the humble understanding of schemes that some suppose to be hard to detect.

Nothing, then, has escaped our notice, nor is anything that has been done hidden from us.

But nevertheless we neither see nor hear anything other than the peace of God and whatever leads to it.

For if others are powerful and great and confident in themselves, we, who are nothing and worthy of nothing, would never so presume of ourselves as to suppose that in isolation we could prevail in these matters, knowing precisely that we need the help of each one of the brothers more than one hand needs the other.

For even from the very structure of our body the Lord has taught us the necessity of fellowship.

...with the other lending its support together; nor could an eye see soundly without having the other as its partner, engaging with visible things in harmony together with it.

Hearing is more precise when it receives sound through both passages, and the grip is stronger through the combined action of the fingers.

And, in a word, I see nothing accomplished, whether among things achieved by nature or by deliberate choice, apart from the concord of breath among those of the same kind — since even prayer itself, when it lacks those who join in agreement, is far weaker than it would otherwise be, and the Lord promised to be in the midst where two or three call upon him in concord.

And the Lord himself undertook this very dispensation, that through the blood of his cross he might make peace, whether the things on earth or the things in the heavens.

Therefore, on account of all these things, we pray that our remaining days may continue in peace, and we ask that our falling asleep may take place in peace.

For the sake of this peace I have resolved to leave out no labor whatsoever, to say or do nothing base, not to take account of the length of a journey, not to shrink from any other troublesome thing, so that I might obtain the reward of peacemaking.

And if anyone follows us as we lead the way in these things, this is best, and it is the very fulfillment of our prayer;

but if he is drawn away toward the opposite course, even so I will not depart from my own judgment.

And each one will himself recognize the fruits of his own labor on the day of recompense.