Letters 1 part 28/55

{To the Same} How long, child, will you not cease exalting us with your words? Until when will you not stop lifting us up with your praises? But I suppose you do this for one of two reasons: the one, that you are drawn by love, by which, as the Theologian says, truth is often wont to be robbed; the other — which I consider the more likely — that through your praises you might strengthen the slackness of my wretched soul.

May the Lord grant, then, not according to your exaltations of me (for they are many, indeed exceedingly so), but that through your holy prayers I may become, if only a little, established in right conduct, and not utterly fallen from following the tracks of those who contend well.

I was stung, not a little, by your previous afflictions, and especially by the distresses of your body.

But what does the Apostle say? 'I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships;'

for when I am weak, then I am strong.

As for your illness, then, I urge you, make use of remedies;

for many have need of your health, especially I, the humble one.

For as to hidden things, may the physician of both souls and bodies give you strength, just as he indeed gives strength, whenever we should grow weak in this unrelenting struggle of the body of our humiliation, and may we in no way lose heart, but rise up again quickly;

for rising again to wrestle leads to crowns, not to condemnation.

May our good God, then, save you in all things, most honored brother.

{To Nikephoros, the most holy Patriarch} Though I often intended to write to the sacred summit of your blessedness, I was hindered, on the one hand perceiving my own unworthiness, and on the other being wanting because of the trials I was undergoing.

But now, disregarding both concerns, and, wretch that I am, taking courage in the Trinity, I speak — for I am, after all, of no account.

Hail, truly the trophy of victory over impiety, you who complete the course of faith in the four-horse chariot of the virtues;

Hail, great sun of orthodoxy, by whose confessing rays the whole world is illumined;

Hail, champion of the truth, distinguished, like the God-bearing men of old, by the renown of virtue.

You left the lofty throne for the sake of him who humbled himself unto death, even death on a cross;

You left behind the ministrations and repose of the high priesthood, choosing rather to be afflicted together with others in the manner of a confessor than to enjoy sin for a season — though indeed, not even in the midst of those comforts, even while you were in them, were you living by them, your members having been put to death for the sake of life in the Lord.

You bore the loss of your holy mother, of your honored brothers, being deprived at once of all things and all persons.

And I have not yet mentioned your Christ-like reproaches, the assaults from those in power, the quarrels, the distresses, and what amounted to near-strangulations.

You yourself, being betrayed, were confined, were removed from place to place, sitting somewhere upon a hillside, martyr of Christ.

But well done, for all things work together for good for you.

Lift up your eyes round about from the watch-tower of your mind, and see, good shepherd, your children — or rather your sheep — how, though scattered in body, they are united in spirit, occupying almost every different part of your whole church, and, like stars, beaconing forth by the rays of their confession the light of orthodoxy to those engaged in the night-battle of heresy; some having been offered to God through the perfection of martyrdom, others still contending, cowering before none of the present dangers, but being made strong by your God-inclined prayers.

This is your glory of the Church, this is your sign of testimony;

which, may the time to come, receiving it, glorify God in you, as it does even now.

Many are the praises owed to you, who contend for the icon of Christ.

But forgive me, O imitator of God, for having dared, out of longing, in what I have spoken, and grant me your sacred prayer, so that I may not fall short of being your least child, I who am, because of my sins, the most useless of all.

{To Naukratios, child} From struggles to struggles and from affliction to affliction go your affairs, my child Naukratios, longed-for and ever longed-for.

But for the sake of what are these things? For Christ's sake.

Therefore they are not grievous, but even exceedingly joyful.

For it has been granted to you by God to suffer for the sake of Christ.

'Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake' — this is the voice of the Apostle, which applies also to us unworthy ones — since all things were written for our admonition, so that, whenever we fall into similar times, we might have the remedies of salvation.

The men, as I have learned, also divided the monastery out of vindictiveness; but consider these two things: first, that God knows how to unite well what has been badly divided, whenever he wills; and second, that for the sake of Christ even paradise in Eden ought to be despised by us.

Except that both we and those who caused the division, and everyone else, are strangers and sojourners upon the whole earth.

But how your affairs now stand, I am still anxious to learn.

For as to our own affairs, they have already been determined, and day by day, with the endurance the Lord gives, we bear the affliction.

Yet what indeed have we suffered? The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us, if only, brother, we contend to the end.

Therefore I, wretched as I am, pray that you may be shown forth as crowned victors, having Christ contending together with you in all things.

You also, ask the Lord on our behalf that we may be saved in every way from the evil one.

Greet your fellow-contending brothers.

{To Silvanos, child} You have penned me a letter worthy of your devoutness, longed-for child;

And indeed I was refreshed, and I glorified my good God, that your faith toward me the sinner is alive, and your love blazes like fire, and your longing flourishes.

So also I, toward you, grieve you a little, rebuke you a little, and this in fear, so that what has been aforementioned may be preserved, since indeed he who loves disciplines diligently.

May you then be kept for me, my beloved son, as a son of light in this dark time of frenzy against Christ.

But how I have been shut up after being scourged together with brother Nicholas, you will learn exactly, by observing the [sign] 600;

For I wish that you meet with him wherever it is convenient for you, since there is also need for discussion by word of mouth.

And why have you thus roped yourself off, brother? Do not, I beg you.

Come together into the same place, that it may be profitable to you both, and indeed also to me, the humble one;

Do not neglect always to take him up in your prayer, that I may be well-pleasing to the Lord and be preserved safe from the evil one.

The brother Nicholas greets you.

{To Anna, a nun} The estrangements of mothers from their children are, in a sense, only temporary;

For by nature they are at once drawn together and turn back to themselves, doubling their mutual affection and displaying to one another in all things what is dear to the heart.

What then does this preamble mean to show? That your reverence, having been a little vexed with us lowly ones, again could not bear not to display the compassion of your accustomed freedom from passion in the Lord.

You brought gifts, and clothed me, and spoke in my defense, doubling the compassion of your mercy.

Thanks be to God, then, who through sorrow has begotten joy even in us sinners;

For who is it, he says, that gladdens me, if not the one who grieves on my account (even though we are not worthy of the saying)? May you long be granted to me, both grieving and gladdening me, and indeed also praying for my salvation, just as I too always pray concerning your holiness.

{To Ignatius, my child} As often as I receive your letter, finding in it your true faith and love, which you hold toward God and toward my humility, I rejoice and together glorify my Lord, beloved child, praying that you remain steadfast in these things, through which the soul is purified and readiness for the contest is at hand;

For do not by any means suppose that you have escaped the persecutors, seeing your brothers handed over.

Prepare yourself, then, from now on, without cowering;

But I say this not so that you should thrust yourself forward, but that, in fleeing, you may not somehow be left behind and found unprepared.

May God, then, be with you, so that he may also order your life;

I beg you, child, glorify God in your body and in your spirit.

As for the matter you reminded me of, I am not as you suppose, but a sinner, a corrupt man, speaking now not rashly but rather with much anguish and dread, neither overstating nor understating the case—even though now, having struck us, they have securely shut us up together with brother Nicholas.

Pray then, my son, that I may be kept safe in the Lord within this confinement, and that I may be ready for whatever else he calls me to suffer for his sake.

Greet brother Synetos for me.

{To Theophanes, abbot and confessor} A father's greeting is dear to a child, as is likewise the reverse;

For this reason your letter comes to me again, since I am your son in the Lord—though, alas, I do not resemble my father's virtue.

Yet the sufferings of your confession are a glory to me.

A man in old age, in a most grievous illness, wholly bedridden, suffering greatly, dying daily—yet exiled from the holy monastery, separated from the sacred brotherhood, kept under guard, deprived of necessary care, and bowed down by none of the aforesaid on account of the love of Christ, but standing firm and confessing, and giving answer to every inquiry—

Such a one is truly crowned as a martyr, O blessed father.

How great is your renown, how full of many contests your struggle, since even the involuntary pains of your infirmity are reckoned to you, both by God and by right-minded men, as voluntary, on account of your witness to Christ.

You have strengthened the orthodox, you have put the adversaries to shame—and I would add, too, those who make excuses for their sins under the pretext of infirmities or certain other reasons.

But may Christ, the author and perfecter of your confession, be with you, as you pray the same on behalf of me, your child.

If my father and superior is present, I, the humble one, greet him.

{To the nuns} Hearing a good report concerning your honored selves, I, the humble one, rejoice, and especially because you are the blood and spirit of the man of God who is also our common father.

And I rejoice yet more, and glorify God, learning that you have remained undefiled until now by communion with the heretics.

For indeed those who keep their bodies untouched ought also to preserve their virginity in faith;

For it is also adultery, O most wise ones, to partake of heretical communion—from which may the Lord keep you untouched to the end, he who has betrothed you to himself through your profession of virginity.

But why do you seek teaching from me, a sinner? You are taught by God through the grace of Christ;

for you both, born of pious parents, excel both in knowledge and in life, setting forth the school of the commandments.

But if you should need anything from us who are unlearned as well, the fear of God is what is sought;

for this, once received into the heart, shines forth as light and diminishes the passions; from it come compunction, tears, hatred of the world, and longing for the heavens.

This, then, is the indwelling of God;

and where God is, there is the fountain of good things: peace, joy, love.

I beg you, then, I the humble one, not to look to the examples of your neighbors, and especially to the feigned conduct displayed by most nuns—lukewarm, so to speak, and disordered—but to the archetypal beauties, whose lives are in your hands, radiant like lightning with divine loves;

since even a painter would copy an image not from poor works, but from those adorned and distinguished by antiquity.

What was known to you in those women? The loosing of the bonds of attachment, flight from the sight of men so far as possible, a humbled disposition, humble clothing, an eye bowed downward, an ear fleeing useless hearsay, a mouth speaking things inspired by God, and subjection of the body;

For thus did they overcome the mind of the flesh, since the flesh lusts against the Spirit, as it is written, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are opposed to one another, and there is an undeclared war.

And we must, every day—I might say every hour—arm ourselves manfully against the passions, with God and by God's help, overcoming in much struggle the enemy who ever thirsts for our destruction, whose swords have utterly failed against those who keep watch securely.

It is not possible for one who struggles to avoid altogether being defeated and struck, in word and thought and in similar sins not unto death; but one must the more quickly wrestle back and stand in the state one ought to be in;

For transgressions—who can understand them, and who can boast of having a pure soul? And he who lives in the Lord lives in affliction, since narrow and afflicted is the way that leads to life, just as the opposite way is for those who are its opposite;

but when the end of the struggles comes, then you will know, O brides of Christ, what your manner of life has procured for you beforehand;

for you will be lifted up in inexpressible joy by good angels, and will enter into the bridal chamber not made with hands, into the heavenly bridal room, being forever with the Lord unto eternity.

There was indeed more to say, but since I judge that I have exceeded the measure fitting for a letter, I shall here bring my discourse to a close;

in return for which, grant to me, a sinner, your holy prayers.

{To Leo the Patrician} I am a debtor obliged to send, not paper and ink, but, were it possible, skin and blood, to your holy soul, which has thus given itself over long ago to my humility, and has yearned for what pertains not only to the body, but also to the spirit.

And do not disbelieve what I am about to say, my lord;

for it is true that what neither hierarchs nor priests nor even monks and laymen, nor almost any other close friend, ever did for me as benefaction or care, your piety has shown toward me exceedingly.

And if it were possible for your greatness to behold my heart, you would greatly marvel at yourself.

But let these things stand as they are, and I shall by no means cease writing to you—perhaps even after death, invisibly to one who is invisible.

But now this I, wretched one, pray: that you may be preserved unharmed in soul and body, and may escape, if not the smoke, then at least the fire of the heretics.

Pray also, my lord, concerning my humble self, that what Christ has begun freely in us, the unworthy, he may also bring to completion, delivering us from enemies visible and invisible.

{To Macarius the Abbot} What are you doing, O divine father, humbling yourself—you who are exalted in virtue—and exalting me in your honored words, me who am lowly in wickedness, besieged as I am each day by countless passions? I, then, am your servant and child, longing rather to be a disciple than able to teach.

Nevertheless, the good man brings forth good things out of the good treasure of his heart;

such are you, both when seen and when read.

Now concerning the bishop of Demetrias and his disciples, that they have fallen away—so that you may know the tree by its fruits—pray for them, for repentance, and for me, the wretched one, for strength against those who war against me both invisibly and visibly, that I may be counted worthy, even though last, to come among all who are now confessors of Christ;

for everyone who stands firm is a confessor.

Such is what occurs to me regarding these chief points.

A presbyter who has signed his name to the impiety ought to repent and weep fervently that his impious act may be forgiven him; but as for celebrating the liturgy—even if he does not commemorate the impious one—by no means, but he must be kept from the sacred ministry, until the Lord looks upon us and grants a time for an orthodox synod, in which each matter will receive its due according to God's judgment.

But I advise that, if he partook of the impious communion in receiving the sacrament, he should also abstain from the holy things for one or two years;

for it is written: 'You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.'

The same holds true also in the case of the churches;

'What agreement has the temple of God with idols?' It has therefore been enjoined upon us by the holy synod not to enter into the shrines of the heretics; I do not know what to say, unless the church should come entirely under the authority of an orthodox person, so that it is no longer served by a heretic;

for then the orthodox may both enter it and celebrate the liturgy there, the prior circumstances constituting no prejudgment against it.

Thus I think, my father, I the humble one, reviewing the examples set by the divine fathers; but it belongs to your perfection to discern what is better still, and to show it to my eyes.

May you be preserved for me still, strong and contending for God, you who are renowned among the fathers, at the same time also praying for my unworthiness;

the one out of love, the other because of the commandment that requires it.

{To Gregory, a layman} I have recognized your letter, O man of God;

but behold, you have other confessors too—I mean those around the steward.

Hold fast to your holy work, to your offering in the Lord; consecrate yourself through your service.

Even if the undertaking is perilous, yet God is the one who delivers;

For he himself has appointed you a servant of his martyrs, a trainer of the confessors, a helper of those who falter.

Go forward in your divine ministry; Christ goes before you—do not be afraid.

I received the dried figs in word but not in deed, on account of my confinement.

I wrote to the priest, and thanks be to God that, having been called by God, he serves together with you.

Pray for us, brother and partaker of our sufferings.

{To Naucratius, my child} Having learned through your letter that you live in the Lord and remain unshaken in the truth of the faith in God, my child and beloved brother, I gave thanks with exceedingly great joy to our good God;

for indeed, though I, a sinner, have care for all, yet you especially cause me anguish, you who are exceedingly beloved and honored—not simply so, but as one who excels all others in the brotherhood, and because you are the more entangled in the snares of the impious.

But wherever God is, and the truth of God, there human things are weak;

for nothing whatsoever could ever move one who is so firm in faith, even should the earth be shaken, even should the mountains be removed into the heart of the seas, as holy David sings.

Therefore, laying aside every doubt of mind, let us run with endurance the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith;

may he grant us power and strength to bear the sufferings for his sake even unto blood, that is, unto death; and blessed is he who believes that there will be a fulfillment of the things spoken by him.

Time does not allow me to speak at length of anything else; I add only this, that you cleave to God all the more in fervent prayer, that I, unworthy because of my sins, may become a partaker of the same portion as you and those like you.

The brother who is with me greets you.

{To Proterius, my child} How heavy is your letter, child, reporting such things and so great, that on hearing it I was struck in my hearing and groaned with pain;

but nevertheless we must endure, and we must pray earnestly that God, out of his love for mankind, may become gracious, and spare his holy churches, and not give over his inheritance to reproach.

For smoke indeed is the herald of a great fire;

which, unless it be dispersed by the breezes of the Holy Spirit, would set everything ablaze.

Watch, says the Apostle, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong;

Blessed is he who is founded upon the rock, Christ, who shall not be terrified, but shall prevail, and shall conquer with Christ, and shall dance forever with the martyrs.

For it is necessary that offenses come, that those approved of Christ may be made manifest.

Show this letter, then, if possible, to the confessor brothers, and also to those not shut up in confinement;

for blessed are they also who are persecuted and who, under the shelter of God, bear the persecution.

As for us, there is nothing to report, except only this, that a man of the general came and, having relieved the guard, sought to see us;

but when he had seen us, he neither bowed—though we, through the window, made a gesture of reverence—nor did he greet us, but as soon as he had seen us, he departed.

If anything else should happen, time will make it known.

Let H. take the letters which the letter-carrier brings, and let him go on his way in the Lord.

But you yourself, after the emperor has gone out on campaign, go then, bringing us news of what has happened and of the health of the brothers.

May you also be kept safe, my beloved child, in the Lord, unharmed by the trials that beset us.

The blessed brothers who have fallen asleep in the Lord will pray for us.

{To John, abbot} Because our brother, the most God-beloved archbishop, was taken away from that place, and then because we did not receive copies of what we sent to your paternal holiness—which is the reason for the lack of our humble letters—and thirdly because we are now securely held in confinement, these things have given us no occasion for the sweetest converse of your letters.

But now, the Lord having prospered our way, we both write and greet you most genuinely, as it were beholding you face to face in the contemplation of the mind, and embracing your spiritual and holy longing;

for indeed your godly love is not outside our humble soul, but is exceedingly cherished and loved, and forever dwelling within it.

I praise your love of God, I glorify your self-control, your love toward your neighbor, your simplicity, your graciousness, your affability;

for you possess not only these things, but even more than I have named, by the grace of Christ.

And now, moreover, I extol also your steadfastness in the confession of Christ; and indeed it would not have been right for you, who have been adorned with so many good things, to be without so great a commendation, but rather to be crowned, as it were, like a capital upon the rest.

But if the persecution has been prolonged, let us not marvel, father;

for what is happening now is not yet as it was in the days of the ancients.

We must still be tried, if indeed we desire to be found in the footsteps of our holy fathers.

Nevertheless I believe that the Lord will not delay to make his visitation, provided only that we preserve our thankfulness toward him amid our afflictions.

Write to us also yourself, I beg you, and at the same time pray that we, the unworthy, may be kept safe, that we may have occasion to write back.

Those who have been deemed worthy to serve your holiness I greet most heartily.

{To Nicholas, the baker} That I remember you, good friend, behold, this letter is witness;

and how could I forget you, who are so very well disposed toward us—or rather, toward Christ? What is this? That in the midst of the fire of the heretics you remain unburned, having orthodoxy welling up within your own heart, in which may you also be preserved until the end.

This is the first and greatest thing;

second, that our brothers, when they enter that place, all find you to be a harbor of salvation from the surging heresy;

in which, being refreshed through your kindly reception in all things, they return again to us.

How much joy, then, does this fill us with, and how great a reward for divine service will be reckoned to you, since he says, 'He who receives you receives me.'

You are receiving Christ, then, brother, through the brothers, and you give him rest;

and he will receive you into the kingdom of heaven, in return for the hospitality you show him here through the brothers.

{To Constantine, a layman} God has opened for us the paths of salvation in many ways at all times, but now especially, when offenses have entered into the church of Christ and the faithful of God are being tested as in a furnace.

Some, then, contend, kept in prisons for the word of truth; others have been beaten and examined under torture; others have chosen flight, taking second place in the sufferings.

Some run about, carrying word of help; others secretly minister to those under guard; others along the road receive those who pass by for the Lord's sake.

These are the ways, and there are yet more;

you, then, O man of God and faithful servant, as I learn, are one of these, guiding our brothers as they journey in Christ.

Blessed are you, and it will be well with you;

hold fast, I beseech you, to the work which you undertake, so that, contending together with those who labor in this, you may also together receive the rewards from God, who measures all that is done.

{Theodore, to the beloved brothers kept in various prisons for the Lord's sake, greeting in the Lord} What of our present state? Joy and exultation, that we have been deemed worthy to contend in the martyrdoms for Christ, that we have been delivered up to prisons and afflictions for the word of God, that we have been subjected to blows and insults for the sake of Christ, who for us was scourged and reviled, and then also crucified.

Who would not praise? Who would not glorify? The East rejoices, the West is glad, every church of the four-cornered creation exults.

And why do I speak of the earthly world? Heaven itself is filled with gladness, since not only the foremost of our hierarchs, hierarchs and priests, superiors and disciples, but also nuns together with their superiors have chosen the arena of martyrdom—I say nothing of those who, in deserts and mountains and caves and holes of the earth, are afflicted, destitute, and ill-treated through their flight, on account of the persecution for Christ's sake.

Rightly, then, my beloved and longed-for brothers, my joy and my crown, I rejoice and rejoice together with you; and do you likewise rejoice and rejoice together with me.

These are the words of the blessed Paul, yet fitting for the present time, since all things have been written for our admonition, and he entreats us to become imitators of him.

First, it is true to say that we are not delivered up to afflictions and hardships to the extent that those who mistreat us intend and wish (for otherwise the trial would be unbearable, just as that which assails us invisibly from the demons), but only to the degree that Christ, who presides over the contest and contends together with us, permits, sending forth the contests by the measure and weight of each one's strength in just judgment, either for the payment of sins (even though we have come to suffering of our own free will) or as recompense for crowns of victory, as we advance from glory to glory;

For have we been tortured as Peter or Paul with their fellows, or as George and Theodore with those of like renown, or as Thecla and Febronia with those of like glory, to whom, since they loved much, the sufferings of Christ were correspondingly bestowed in abundance? But for those in whom the measure of love is little, the suffering also is more scant—so that we ought to grieve and be distressed that we do not suffer much, not that we should waver and grow weary in the little for which we are but moderately chastened.

But if we should fall away (which may it be far even to think of), it would not be on account of the touch ordained by God's judgment, but on account of the weakness, faintheartedness, and godlessness of the one who has grown soft;

for he has given the strength to prevail over the dominion of the evil one, wishing the contestant to be victorious; but the one who, through negligence, has cast away the weapons of endurance has perished.

Witness to this word is he who cries out: 'God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.'

Here is endurance, O brothers; here are the God-woven crowns of good faith.

Let us not, then, be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor let us be left behind Thaddaeus, the newly-called martyr, and those who confessed together with him and journeyed abroad after him, whose names indeed you know.

By the blood of martyrs even now the church of God has been watered, since it is also being watered through those who still contend and are pressed in manifold ways by afflictions.

the one who is shut up, the one who is isolated, the one who is confined in straits, the one who is snatched away from every human face, the one who is deprived of necessities, the one who hungers, the one who thirsts, the one who does not receive the ray of the sun, dying daily, as Paul cries out, and being put to death all the day long, as David sings.

But if we die, we shall also live together with Christ;