Letters 1 part 26/55

Thus those men, besides their own fall, also became a stumbling block for many others; except that the monk of Medikion, recognizing his defeat, both confessed that he had stumbled and repented exceedingly, as I have learned, and for this reason fled away, leaving behind a very great example of repentance and benefit both to his own disciples and to those of sound mind.

But by the grace of Christ, those who have already fought the good fight in the Lord stand firmly established: among the bishops [so-and-so]; among the abbots, the abbot of Kathara, of Pikridion, of Paulopetrion, of Agros; the abbot of Dalmatos; Makarios of Pelekete.

Pray, then, O most longed-for father, for the peace of the Church, and then also for me the sinner and least of all, that together with you, the holy fathers, I may attain to God, being deemed worthy to walk behind you.

{To John, abbot} This present letter is a repayment for two letters of your holiness, delayed because I did not obtain a letter-bearer — or, to speak more truly, because we received an illusory report, which the one who brought the letter conveyed.

May you continue in health, most honored father, bearing the reproach of Christ, for whom and on account of whom is your exile and hardship, and the removal of your own kin, and the alienation of your own possessions.

You receive distressing reports of those who transgress against the affairs of the monastery;

and I know that this word stings (for how could it not?), seeing that these are the labor of your hands, the sweat of your struggles, the substance of your parents, the contributions and collections of many others — since indeed you once held office in imperial affairs, receiving no small salaries and rations, inasmuch as you were born of noble stock, and were supported by your kinsmen, and built a well-endowed ascetic house.

But what must one suffer, since the times have brought this about? Take courage then, most honored one, for you will receive these things back a little later, when the good God, as in fire, has tested with sufficient trial the proof of our trust in him;

and moreover Christ will store up for you a better and abiding possession in the heavens, in place of all that you have now left behind for his sake, having carried off eternal glory both in the monastic order and in the whole Church of God.

Do not, then, I beg you, let the memory and report of these grievous things lacerate your heart;

for it is written, I remind you, 'Not yet unto blood have we resisted, struggling against sin.'

But God is powerful to make, together with the trial, also the way of escape for our hope, and he is faithful to reckon to us as testimony both what has already befallen and what is yet to come.

Therefore we still have need of endurance, O father, that we may obtain the promises pledged by God.

I have received, and indeed received exceedingly well, the persuasion — your confession and assent for the sake of the truth — concerning the things about which I had asked you;

and may it, let me say, be reckoned to you as grace and as forgiveness of the debts owed in common, since this too the chief of the hierarchy was not ashamed to confess, both to God and to certain persons.

But come, let me turn my discourse to the notable men among us.

Where now are those around Abbot Joseph, who even now, under the pretext of economy, have committed impiety and have been torn away not only from us the humble ones, but indeed also from the head? And him whom at first they blessed to his face, they showed themselves not joined to him in spirit, but only according to man;

for having received and communed with the adversary and Christ-fighter, they thrust away, together with Christ, our true patriarch as well.

May the Lord look upon and swiftly visit his Church, ravaged by the wild boar, being propitiated, clearly, by your prayers and the prayers of all the saints.

Do not forget to remember me the sinner, O beloved one, that I may be delivered from every evil work, following behind you, the confessors of Christ.

{To Gregory, my child} I am only now answering, my child, what you wrote to me long ago; and I answer not on account of what you wrote — which was not even in keeping with due obedience — but on account of what has been reported to me: that a pastoral judgment has been imposed upon me, and woe to me, wretched man, if I do not declare it sufficiently.

For if I saw that my word was addressed to one who had never come to be under my obedience, perhaps I would not need to speak even once;

but since it is addressed to such a one, as before God and the angels as witnesses, my letter to you is again both exhortatory and declaratory at once, and I know that I am speaking to one who has an ear to hear.

Brother Gregory, remember the days of old, remember your filial devotion, remember my love — humble indeed, but true, as all know;

remember that emperors and high priests, though stirred up in many ways, did not find the strength to tear us apart from one another, the bond of love never being broken.

Then, when many were fighting and the contests were more numerous, we were unconquered and victorious and undivided; but once there came a respite, then defeat and division? Alas for my wretchedness, alas for this demonic assault!

What a strong man you were, from all you did in obedience—honored, trustworthy, renowned, offering many gifts to all who met you.

What has happened, my child? What has cut you apart, O my very heart? Is it that I grieved you by rebuking you, by cutting off your will? I confess it, but it was for God's sake and for your soul's.

But if perhaps it was even done unjustly, forgive me.

For I did violence, I should say, even to my own nature, and I injured the very justice of obedience, in pursuing your rest.

I acknowledge your part as well, for I am not ungrateful, my son: that because of me, in following Christ, you were reproached, and struck, and imprisoned, and gave up your very soul even unto blood.

You know the imperial replies; you know the imprisonments in the palace, the deportations at Hagios Mamas.

You know the imprisoned life we both lived, the mutual bond we shared, which both emperors and priests and everyone else marveled at.

Then what was it that tore us apart? That when our persecutors had been swallowed up and the scandal removed out of the way, we made an agreement with the high priest.

'And what did you wish,' he says, 'but that a synod should have been convened and the cause deposed?'

And who was to convene the synod, or to depose him? Do you not see you are saying impossible things? Rather, the point was that the hierarch ought not to have joined together with the emperor.

Admittedly so—just as neither did the one before him, in whose case the danger was even greater, from which affair the second likewise now proceeds, so it is claimed, by way of accommodation.

It happened as it happened, and God is the judge of such things.

Therefore I believe, before my God, that union is more glorious and more holy than resistance, for the one who thinks rightly and knows the due measure both of rank and of resistance.

And indeed time itself has shown this, when the high priest, together with many others, bound on the crown of confession, and I, the humble one, accompanied him who exercised the high priesthood.

Him I both received and still receive, laying the responsibility for the matter upon the one who then reigned.

And do not think, brother, that I say these things out of love of power, as though wishing to boast or to prevail over your obedience.

If it were possible for this to be pleasing to God, I would accept not only to say to you, 'I have sinned,' but even to submit myself to you.

And I beg you, my beloved child, do not be hardened; God is exhorting you through me.

See that you also bear the judgment concerning my children who are with you.

I beseech you, let me not be disappointed of my hope concerning you both—I mean also my beloved brother Basil, to whom I had nothing further of my own to write separately.

But if, God forbid, you should disobey, I, the humble one, absolve myself of your blood, while you will see—as indeed you know—what judgment and what bond disobedience brings before God.

{To the Protospatharia} Sparing you, my lady, and being wary lest by writing I should become a burden to you, I did not write before.

But you yourself, I know not how, on seeing the letter-carrier, filled his right hand with silver and sent it for the comfort of my lowliness.

And why did you impose this new expense upon your blessed household? And why have I become a drain upon your abundance? Yet may He who weighs and measures all things render you, as recompense and as a hospitable reward, His own kingdom, hearkening to your trust and to the prayer you have set before Him, soothing away all your affliction and anxious care, and granting you a calm and peaceful life.

Remember us also in your orthodox and pure worship.

For I hear that you hold fast to piety; may you be strengthened still further.

{To Paschal, Pope of Rome} To the most holy in all things, the great luminary, the foremost high priest, our lord and master, the apostolic Pope: John, Theodosios, Athanasios, John, Theodore, the least of presbyters and abbots of Kathara, of Pikridios, of Paulopetrion, of Eukairia, of Stoudios.

By now, no doubt, your supreme Beatitude has surely heard of the things that have befallen our Church on account of our sins (for we have become, to speak in the words of Scripture, a byword and a tale among all the nations)—though perhaps not the report in its entirety and in due epistolary form.

Therefore we, the least, even though we happen to be the last member of the body of Christ, nevertheless—since our head is hindered from writing, and those who are foremost in the brotherhood are scattered here and there—have been able, by being near at hand and through communicating with one another, to come to be of one spirit and one word, and so we write, even if boldly, as follows.

...of the sheep, key-holder of the kingdom of heaven, rock of the faith upon which the catholic Church has been built;

For you are Peter, adorning and governing the throne of Peter.

Grievous wolves have broken in and ravaged the fold of the Lord; the gates of Hades, as of old, have again dashed against it.

What is this? Christ is persecuted together with his Mother and his servants, since indeed the assault upon the icon is a persecution of the prototype.

From this comes the deposing of the patriarchal head, the exiles and confinements of bishops and priests, of monks and nuns, imprisonments and irons, tortures, and finally deaths.

O what a fearful thing to hear!

The venerable icon of our Savior God, before which even demons tremble, has been insulted and treated with contempt, not only in the reigning city, but throughout every land and town.

Altars have been obliterated, churches defiled, holy things profaned to common use; the blood of those who cling to the Gospel has been shed and continues to be shed; there is persecution and flight for those still remaining.

Every pious mouth has fallen silent for fear of death, while the opposing and blasphemous tongue has been let loose; all flesh is shaken, wavering between two minds.

'Woe is me,' it is said, 'for we have become like one gathering stubble at the harvest, and like a gleaning in the vintage, when there is no cluster left.'

Upon us, O blessed one, all these things have come.

Who would not be grieved at these things, seeing in his neighbor's sufferings his own? And who would not reckon them the forerunners of the coming of the Antichrist, differing from it only as much as an image differs from its archetype—the very archetype against which the enemy rages? Come, then, O imitator of Christ, from the west; arise, and do not reject us utterly to the end.

To you Christ our God has said: 'And you, when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.'

Behold, the time and the place have come;

help us, you who have been appointed by God for this very purpose; stretch out your hand as far as it is possible.

You have this power before God from the very fact that you hold first place over all, in which office you have also been established.

Terrify, we beseech you, the heretical beasts with the shepherd's pipe of your divine word;

O good shepherd, lay down your soul for the sheep of Christ, we implore you.

Let all that is under heaven hear that those who have dared these things—and who indeed anathematize our holy fathers—are, by you, anathematized in synod;

may this be acceptable to God, joyful to angels and saints, a support to those wavering, a seal to those standing firm, a raising-up to those fallen, a rejoicing to every Church of the Orthodox, and, for your Supreme Holiness, an eternal memorial like those who went before of old;

who, in like times, having done, moved by the Spirit, the very things now requested by us sinners, are both remembered and called blessed.

But we altogether believe that, moved by merciful compassion, you will receive our humble letter, imitating Christ, who, though God of all, did not disdain to receive the letter from Abgar and to write back in reply to it.

{To the Same} To the most holy Father, the foremost ecumenical luminary, our lord and master, the apostolic Pope: John, Theodosios, Athanasios, Theodore, the least of presbyters and abbots of Kathara, of Pikridios, of Paulopetrion, of Stoudios.

The dawn from on high, Christ our God, has visited us, setting your Beatitude in the West like a certain God-radiant lampstand, upon the foremost apostolic throne, for the illumination of the Church beneath heaven.

For indeed we, who were held fast in darkness and the shadow of death by the wicked heresy, have perceived a spiritual light, and have laid aside the cloud of despondency, and have looked up again to good hopes, having learned through the brothers and fellow-servants whom we sent what great things your holy Highness has done and said—not admitting the heretical legates even into your sacred presence, as though they were thieves, but rightly sending them away while they were still far off; and, upon hearing the letters and the account of those we sent concerning our sufferings, grieving and groaning in a manner that imitates God, as over your own members.

And truly we, the humble, have come to know that a manifest successor of the chief of the apostles presides over the Roman Church;

we are persuaded that the Lord has not utterly forsaken our Church, since, by the providence of God, the aid coming from you alone has, from above and from the beginning, been present to her in whatever circumstances have befallen.

You, then, are truly the untroubled and unadulterated fountain of orthodoxy from the beginning; you are the calm harbor of the whole Church, set high above every heretical storm; you are the God-chosen city of refuge for salvation.

But since it would be presumptuous for us, wretched and unworthy as we are, to heap up praises upon your God-given renown, long ago blessed by divine tongues, we ought rather to come to the matter that troubles us.

Now those who act impiously do not cease doing their accustomed deeds with all zeal and madness, dragging and pulling everyone down into the pit of heresy, terrifying them with death;

for it is an utter necessity that whoever does not yield to the wicked flame is subjected to scourges along with all that follows, so that little by little (most grievous of all) even some of those who had already contended fall away.

But we, once again, the humble and the least among the members, daring to speak for the sake of our own sacred head and of the surpassing fatherhood and brotherhood now at stake, both intercede and earnestly entreat that your holy and apostolic soul be moved: first, to do what we also believe you are already doing—not to cease from the God-inclined prayer for the confirmation and preservation of all (yes, we beseech your most sacred inmost heart); and then, to bring to completion, together with God, whatever you have counseled and determined, moved by the Spirit, both for the benefit of us the humble and for the eternal blessedness of your own virtue.

{To Basil, Archimandrite of Rome} Even earlier I did not write, on account of some misfortune; but now I write to my beloved and holy father.

For with whom else do I have to converse in those parts, but with one who has, from of old and from the beginning, been my acquaintance and friend and father and champion, one soul with me and of the same mind, a fellow-zealot, a helper and a counselor, and whatever else may be said to express intimacy and forethought and support—for God's sake alone, and for the virtue with which you have clothed yourself through your godly way of life? Truly beloved, and preeminent in rank, you shine forth in the foremost of the Churches of God, and from it you cast your rays, as it were, to the ends of the earth, through your renown heard everywhere and through your truly 'royal' title.

Such and so great are you, O man of God and admirable father;

as for us, our purpose is to write and once again to send Euphemianos, our faithful son.

The matter is for no other reason than the very cause of the former letters as well, which Dionysios and the same Euphemianos, our most genuine and beloved sons, safely delivered.

They, even though they did not bring back any written reply, nevertheless, through their own account and through the letter of the sacred Methodios together with that of the most God-beloved bishop of Monembasia, sufficiently rekindled our humble souls, reporting things most desirable and pleasing to God, and truly worthy of an apostolic soul—things spoken with sympathy and in imitation of Christ, and indeed formulated, moved by the Spirit and according to the tradition of the fathers, by the most holy apostolic Pope.

For thus we also, the humble, have longed that aid should come, by the favor of Him who rules the world in your parts, through the mediation of the first throne and its God-given authority; but we had not yet dared to ask for this, on account of its surpassing excellence;

but since it has been breathed by the finger of God into your sacred heart, this is what our petition seeks, this is what we, the unworthy, pray may be brought to completion—first and foremost for the glory of God, which would be the greatest benefit of His own Church.

For as there is one Lord, one faith, one God, so it is clear that there is also one Church, even though its headship rests with you.

Therefore secure what is your own, my masters, while taking thought for what is ours.

These words, then, proceed, by God's judgment, from the most blessed apostolic father.

Who then could there be, besides you, the good supporter and right-hand counselor, apostolic in every respect, to join in agreeing, cooperating, and striving eagerly for the completion of the things sought of God, just as you showed of old, in the old affairs, deeds pleasing to God, being zealous for the Lord as champion of truth and protector, next after the apostolic summit, of the Church of Christ? I beg your holy soul to make mention of me, a sinner in all things, that I may be saved in every way.

{To John, Bishop of Monembasia, and Methodius, Abbot} To my God-honored and spiritual fathers, John, the most God-beloved bishop of Monembasia, and Methodius, the most devout abbot, Theodore, sinful monk and abbot of the Studites.

Your harmonious holiness has taken good counsel, departing from the soul-destroying heretical storm here, and sailing a straight course to the calm harbor of the see that holds first rank among all the churches — securing not so much your own safety as, by God's will, looking to the common good, which is a matter of the highest renown.

For this was made clear both by your sacred letter and indeed also by the report of our beloved sons who have recanted their former error.

But blessed be God, who implanted the thought, suggested the manner, and granted you success in being graciously received there, even though one of you outran the other, as at the God-receiving tomb.

For both journeys are glad tidings of joy, through which the guards of the heresy were rendered ineffective, and our humble petition came more readily to the ears of the apostolic see, and from both there was stamped, by the finger of God, that which had been resolved in the apostolic heart.

How venerable was your voyage, how glorious the contest, having wrought an achievement more precious than that of those who struggle here, if indeed the salvation of all has been accomplished through two men.

Not a wreath of wild olive of mere words, but a hymnic crown woven by God from a garden of roses, is due to the one who follows in the footsteps of the Forerunner (and it would be fitting to say this also of him who bears the same name), and to him who is truly Methodius, if indeed your conduct is a beneficial method of virtues for the Church of Christ.

What then remains, you who are wise know, even if we remain silent.

May God, who began in you a good work, and so great a saving work for His own Church, bring it to completion.

Therefore we remind and exhort you — though we are not unaware that you are certainly doing this — do not relax, but persist and entreat earnestly, until what has been divinely approved by the holy first throne is brought to completion.

For this very purpose we have sent Euphemianus, our beloved son, so that he might also become an accurate messenger of all that is being done here.

Deign to greet all who share our zeal, and the saints, especially my most reverend archimandrite.

since we too, concerning you, will endeavor, if we are able in any way, to announce good tidings and to offer greetings as is fitting.

{To the Pope of Alexandria} To the Father of fathers, holiest in all things, the Light of lights, my lord and most blessed master, the Pope of Alexandria, Theodore, least of presbyters and abbot of the Studites.

It is as the greatest gift to my lowliness, and the achievement of the highest prayer, to be deemed worthy, by means of a letter, to come into converse with your apostolic summit — a thing rare not only because of the meanness of my littleness, whose deficiency makes even writing to equals inadequate, let alone to so great and divine a head, but also because of the passage across so great a distance, hindered above all by the barrier set up by the heathen nation.

Nevertheless, by the good pleasure of the all-good God, it has become possible for me, for two reasons: one, that I, a sinner, might fulfill the desire I have long held, by a mental touching of your sacred footsteps (for there was no other way that this heart's desire could be fulfilled); the other, and more urgent, in order to set forth more clearly to your most divine summit the terrible things that have befallen us here, since you share in the suffering of the members of the whole body of the Church.

even to the ends of the inhabited world, on account of the notoriety of this wickedness.

A persecution has overtaken us, O most blessed one, and the heaviest of persecutions.

Long ago, then, Ahab, seeking the prophet Elijah, is said to have set fire to every place, the conflagration betraying the wrath of the impious man.

But now the man who is an Ahab both in rank and in heart seeks out and searches not only for Elijah depicted, but also for his Master Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, the Theotokos, and every saint; and having found them, he obliterates them with great fury from every city and region under his hand.

Hence altars have been torn down, the temples of the Lord rendered useless — both in private houses and in the cathedral churches, both in men's monasteries and in convents of virgins, whether built long ago or raised only recently.

A pitiful sight it is, to see the churches of God, stripped of their proper adornment and rendered shapeless, just as one might see men disfigured into some kind of monsters.

Who has heard or seen such a thing among those who were impious of old? Perhaps the Arab who presses upon you, out of a certain sense of shame, conducts himself in this matter in a more Christian-loving way — but not so our own 'son of Tabeel.'

Spare, O Lord, and do not give your inheritance over entirely to reproach.

He burns the figures on panels, those on sacred votive offerings, and the books that record accounts of them; he mocks, ridicules, and derides as abominations, as things hateful to God, the very things that are dear to God and salutary for the world.

Oh, who would not shed a tear? Who would not let out a groan sent up from the depth of the heart? The roads of Zion mourn, because there are none who travel them piously.

And indeed all have turned aside, together they have become worthless.

Those who seem to hold hierarchical rank, and priests, monastics and laypeople, every class and every age — some have utterly shipwrecked concerning the faith, while others, even though not submerged in their reasoning, nevertheless, through communion with the heretics, are half endangered together with them, out of fear of bodily death.

Except that there remain those who have not bent the knee to Baal, and just as many as have been numbered by the Lord.

Before all, the very first — our sacred head, who ranks together with your perfection — then the hierarchs and priests of the Lord, monks and nuns.

Of these, some experienced the trial of mockery and scourges, others of bonds and imprisonment, being fed with meager bread and water; others were confined in exile; still others dwelt in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.

And some, having been scourged on the spot, departed to the Lord as martyrs.

And there are those who, having been put into sacks, were cast into the sea before their time, as has become clear from those who witnessed this.

What of the rest? Our holy fathers are anathematized, while the impious are proclaimed as orthodox.

The little children are being brought up in the doctrines of impiety, according to the decree given to the teachers.

There is nowhere in the inhabited world a refuge for the body.

One cannot utter a single pious word without the hunt for informers being close at hand, so that a man must guard himself even from his own bedfellow.

Informers and note-bearers have been hired for this very purpose by the ruler, to report anywhere anyone might say something displeasing to Caesar, or might not be a participant in the impiety, or might possess a book about images containing some statement in their favor, or indeed an icon itself.

And if anyone, in receiving a fugitive, or in ministering to those imprisoned for the Lord's sake, should be detected, he is immediately seized, subject to beating, and exiled — so that masters have even come to be at the mercy of their own slaves, out of fear of denunciation.

It is fitting for us to say that in this present time there is neither ruler, nor prophet, nor leader, nor place to offer sacrifice before the Lord and find mercy.

For this reason we, unworthy as we are, have cried out these things to your holy soul, as from the mouth of all who hold fast to the truth, calling it forth to our assistance and compassion.

For we know that, even if it is not possible to help in another way, yet by the aid of your prayers you will provide us great benefit in our most pressing needs, having God favorable toward you.

And that you might know in part what sort of impious doctrines the godless hold, I have sent along with this letter these documents also, in booklets.

I ask to be visited by your divine magnanimity, that what is lacking in me be set right, and that I be granted pardon for my debts, and that I be taken into remembrance in your God-inclined prayers, as an unworthy child.

{To the Patriarch of Jerusalem} To the Father of fathers, holiest in all things, the Light of lights, my lord and master, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theodore, least of presbyters and abbot of the Studites.

'Who shall announce to Abraham that Sarah is nursing a child?' says the sacred word somewhere.

And who would bring good news to me, unworthy as I am, that my humble letter has reached the sacred hands of your most blessed apostolic summit? Yet I believe that it will happen.

For, moved not by an unreasonable desire but by a necessary matter, I, a sinner, have dared both to send this letter and to send along with it the letter-bearer Dionysius, our most beloved brother, who is faithful and capable of explaining, on his own account, whatever is lacking in the letter.

Therefore, as one absent in body but present in spirit, I, in my lowliness, first of all kiss its God-trodden footsteps (for this is to me a blessing and a sanctification); then, as one permitted by it, I go about the venerable places.

I embrace the divine ground where the divine footsteps have trodden, the life-giving tomb upon which the all-holy body of our God and Savior Jesus Christ was laid, the place of the Holy Skull, where the Lord of glory was crucified.

I see holy Bethlehem, I venerate the divine manger, more precious than the golden jar, in which was placed not manna, but the Bread of Life.

And indeed I see the holy mountain, where the most divine Transfiguration took place; the Mount of Olives, from which the Lord of all ascended to the heavens; holy Gethsemane, where is the tomb of our all-venerable Lady the Theotokos; this and that, lest I extend my discourse too long.

Oh, how even from the mere mention of these things there is a partaking of sanctification!

Oh, of what great and awesome objects of veneration is the summit of your beatitude in charge!

You are first among the patriarchs, even though you rank fifth in number.