書信集 第 1 章 第 34/55 段

In this way, then, brothers, let us prepare ourselves, and thus let us be encouraged by the words of our Savior Jesus Christ, awaiting the recompense.

But you know what sort of man Leontius is;

the race of eunuchs is not only dishonorable, as one of the God-bearing fathers has said, but also a denier of Christ;

and not even content with this, but savagely punishing our brothers.

he who was formerly a disciple is now a denier who Judaizes, one who among eminent brothers acts against the brethren more than all who persecute them;

He is even now burning — not merely what one might simply call 'an image,' but the holy image, be it of Christ, or of the Theotokos, or of some saint — scraping it away, blaspheming like a raving beast.

for this reason he is also beloved by the ruler, and set as ruler over our monasteries, and this wretched man does everything to the insult of Christ.

for his buffooneries are aimed at me;

yet he is like the one who begot him after the flesh, since that man too, in former times, was a first-fruit of impiety, just as was also the son of Hermias;

for both are possessed by demons, and God does not mix the crow with the dove, but like with like.

And may the Lord grant them the recognition of the truth, having been taken captive by the devil to do his will.

But as for you, together with those whom the apostate punishes, may Christ strengthen you, empower you, make you steadfast to endure still further — hungering, thirsting, being naked, being buffeted, having no fixed abode, laboring, being reviled, persecuted, blasphemed, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things, according to Paul the great — with whom may your portion also be.

Brothers, pray for us sinners, that we may be saved, being counted worthy of the lowest rank among all who stand firm.

The brother Nicholas, who is with me, greets you.

Theodore, to the brotherhoods scattered everywhere. Rejoice, my beloved brothers and fathers, for these are glad tidings of joy!

Once again we, unworthy as we are, have been counted worthy to confess the good confession; once again both of us have been maltreated for the sake of the name of the Lord;

for indeed the brother Nicholas also contended most nobly and most faithfully.

We, in our lowliness, saw blood poured out from our flesh onto the ground; we beheld bruises, discharges of wound-matter, and all that follows from these.

...an occasion of the soul's exultation? But who am I, wretched as I am, to be reckoned together with you, worthy confessors of Christ, being the most useless of all men? Now the cause on account of which this event occurred was the catechetical discourse of old, which the ruler, having received it into his hands, sent to the general in command, ordering the count of the guard to come to us;

who came with officers and soldiers at an unseasonable hour, and having surrounded the little house in which we were, suddenly and with shouting, as though upon some prey to be hunted down, they broke open the barred door with crowbars in an instant; then he brought us out, interrogated us, and produced the catechetical discourse.

We confessed that we had composed it, as God willed.

He sought one thing only: that we should come to the will of the emperor.

We said what the truth demanded (God forbid

that we should reject our God!), as well as whatever else there was for us to answer in reply, as we listened.

For these things he beat us severely.

And the brother suffered nothing so terrible in the way of pains after the immediate confinement and enclosure;

but I, humble and frail, seized with raging fevers and unbearable pains, nearly despaired even of living.

Nevertheless, the good God, having mercy little by little, showed mercy on me, the brother also helping in what was needed, though the wounds still persist, not having received complete healing.

So much for this; and I have disclosed to you our suffering, knowing that you long to learn of it, so as to share in the pain;

What then? Since these things are so, the threat is more terrible and the vigilance more forceful.

For beatings threaten also the guards and the officer of the guard, to keep us from so much as murmuring, let alone writing to anyone.

Shall we then cower and fall silent, obeying men out of fear rather than God? Certainly not!

But as long as the Lord opens a door for us, we will not cease to fulfill our duty as far as it is within our power, fearing and trembling at the judgment that hangs over silence.

'If he draws back,' it says, 'my soul takes no pleasure in him.'

But we are not of those who draw back unto perdition, but of faith unto the preserving of the soul.

For this reason my present letter is addressed to all the scattered brothers who are bearing the persecution with affliction, but especially to you, confessors of Christ.

Let us endure, my beloved brothers, growing ever stronger and stronger, not cowering amid our sufferings.

They are but flesh — let us not spare it!

Let us rejoice in being tormented for Christ's sake.

Let him who abounds in pains rejoice all the more, as one gaining the advantage in rewards;

let him who is fainthearted at enduring the pains of scourges, for this very reason cast off his fear, considering the eternal griefs;

for their blows, compared to those, are but a dream, mere arrows of infants.

Let us find sweetness in the pains suffered for Christ's sake, even though they are exceedingly painful according to the flesh;

let us contemplate the things that are to come and that remain, not the things that are present and passing away.

Let us long to mingle our blood with the blood of the martyrs, our portion with the portion of the confessors, that we may dance together with them forever.

Who is prudent, who is wise, who is a good merchant — to give blood and receive the Spirit, to despise the flesh and obtain the kingdom of God? 'He who loves his soul will lose it,' said the Lord, 'and he who hates his soul in this age will keep it unto eternal life.'

Let us give ear to his words, let us follow him;

'Where I am,' he says, 'there also will my servant be.'

Where is he? On the cross.

And we, humble as we are, are there too, as disciples eager to learn of him.

I beg you to bear with this word of exhortation;

for indeed the letter is short.

Know that we sinners rejoice and are not despondent, so long only as you stand firm in the Lord.

Nicholas, my fellow-prisoner, fellow-sufferer, and fellow-soldier — your most true brother — greets you.

Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Let the contestants greet their fellow-contestants, the persecuted greet the persecuted, and let all greet those who love us in the faith.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

{To Athanasius, my child.} Besides other things, this too is a good thing for us in these days, as we contend for the truth of God: to hear one another's voice more frequently through letters, and to share the dispositions of our hearts.

For do you see, beloved brother, how letters become like daily bulletins, joining us together in closer friendship? See how many good things the persecution for Christ's sake has provided, and may yet provide, since it may take us up more ardent for what lies ahead, cowering at nothing that is merely human, but longing to endure sufferings that imitate God — for the sake of which, being carried here and there, you yourself also contend.

But it will go well with those who help you and share your struggles with you — on whose behalf I have already made a fitting defense before, and shall make it again now.

Now since I turn to your question, I set aside the matters for which you praise me as though offering a gift, intending to raise objections against them, lest I be thought to have consented to your praises;

for I am destitute of every good thing.

Now where the great Basil, the light of the world, has given his verdict, who that has any sense at all should dare to contend against him? This is found in the Questions of the Ascetics, as you have indicated, namely:

whether one ought to lie for the sake of some allegedly useful dispensation.

The verdict of our Lord Jesus Christ does not permit this, since he once for all declared that falsehood is from the devil, indicating no distinction whatsoever among lies.

The apostle too bears witness, having written that even if one contends in the games, he is not crowned unless he contends lawfully.

So much from the Father.

But you said that a scholion is appended in that chapter, to the effect that the question concerns what is useful, not what is necessary;

and again, that in another chapter the same luminary says that one must lay down one's life for one's friends even unto death, whether the friend be a sinner or righteous — so that from this you are perplexed how, in the necessities that arise, involving a brother's coming death, one can both refrain from lying altogether and yet also lay down one's life for him;

'For if I do not lie,' you say, 'my friend will die; yet by lying I do not contend lawfully, and I fall away from God.'

This point, then, has perplexed me too, and I think many others as well.

Nevertheless, I shall try, as far as I am able, to give an answer to your charity, God being willing.

That, according to the scholion, the useful and the necessary are not the same, is true;

for the one is contingent —

for instance, it is useful for me to converse with so-and-so about such-and-such;

yet even if I do not converse with him, it is still possible to attain what is sought.

It is useful to turn away from so-and-so;

yet even if I do not turn away from him today, I might turn away from him tomorrow.

Such is the useful — that is, the contingent.

But the necessary is inescapable, that which admits absolutely no wavering between two possibilities;

for instance, if I am unbaptized, it is not possible for me to be saved without being baptized.

If I say I can live without breathing, that is a lie;

for breathing is necessary, without which it is not possible to live.

The commandments of God, therefore, were proclaimed by the mouth that cannot lie, in accordance with what is necessary, and must of necessity be kept — not turned into something that may be kept in one case but not in another, or by this person yes but by that person no, or at one time yes but at another time no, but always, and for every person and occasion.

It is on this basis that the great Basil spoke, indicating no distinction among lies, since his verdict proceeds from what is necessary, even though the question was posed as though it concerned what is contingent;

for, as I said, the useful and the contingent are the same thing.

Then what will happen, as you said before, in the case where the brother dies because I chose not to lie? But this, I think, is not falsehood.

For example, let me apply to myself a case such as this:

A girl came to me, being pursued by a certain seducer, asking me not to reveal to the seducer, should he ask, that you are hiding me — since he will certainly violate me.

'No' — I am not lying; not because I am reckoning that I do not have the girl, but because, speaking according to what is left unspoken, I mean that he will not do this wicked deed in my presence.

Someone entrusted a sword to me for the purpose of killing himself; then he comes and demands it back from me.

If therefore I say that I do not know, nor did I take it, I am not lying.

For I say, I do not know, nor did I take it, so as to hand you the sword for death;

since, if I say yes, the girl would have been violated, and the one who gave the sword would have slain himself;

but evil does not come from good, but from falsehood;

for the father of falsehood is the inventor of wickedness.

But that the girl was not violated, and that the sword-giver did not kill himself, is good, and the good is truth;

for God is at once good and truth.

So what seemed to be a lie was found to be truth, acknowledged as such;

and I laid down my soul in that seemingly false statement for the sake of my friend, and the commandment stood firm on both counts, having been perfected not in falsehood, but in truth.

Not, however, for one's own sake, so as not to die, ought one to do this (for here it would indeed be a lie), nor indeed ought one at all to swear, either concerning one's own safety or another's;

So it appears to me.

since Sarah also said to Abimelech, 'I am the sister of Abraham';

and the prophet Jeremiah, to the officials who asked him, 'What did the king say to you?', answered one thing instead of another, just as the king had instructed him, out of fear of death — at that time, fear for his own life.

Such a thing is also recorded in the Sayings of the Fathers.

But if you yourself should find anything, either on your own or from another, do not refuse to make it known to us, for the knowledge of truth and the illumination of our dim mind.

I greet the one who suffers together with you.

He who is with me sends you greeting.

{To my child Naukratios} You are always accustomed to make the preface of your letter long, heaping upon us, the unworthy, many praises, which are not true, but are tokens of a friendly disposition.

What is this for? That you may be in good health in the Lord, my brother, ever growing warmer in the love of Christ so as to bear what is for his sake, and never in any way slackening through indolence.

And may you have yet greater kindling, so that you may sing together with holy David: 'As the deer longs for the springs of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.'

And this one might sing it effectually who has a heart that has been purified, or is being purified;

for where there is purification, as the Theologian says, there is illumination.

How blessed is that soul for which to suffer all things for Christ's sake is exceedingly longed for, and every work of the flesh is regarded as an abomination.

Pray, brother, that I, who reek of the passions, may catch the scent of this fragrance.

The second point concerns Anatolios;

How grievous his fall is to me!

Nevertheless, I have accepted your remedy;

Still, then, care for him with a brotherly disposition.

The third point concerns the matters you put forward.

If an orthodox person, being slandered as not being in communion, makes a sign to say 'I am in communion', without being questioned any further by the heretics, while he himself secretly holds in his own reasoning, 'I am in communion with an orthodox priest' — such a thing is not economy, but a betrayal of the truth.

The penance is halved, compared to that imposed on one who communed wholly with the heresy.

As for how much this penance should be — since this has already been asked and answered — it is superfluous to go over the same matters twice.

If someone, in order to give the impious full assurance, brings before their eyes a priest who is hiding in accordance with the doctrine of orthodoxy and who does not commemorate the heretic, and partakes of the holy things from him in their presence, this person too, as a betrayer of the truth, shall bear the penance of a year's abstinence from the holy things.

If someone swears neither to venerate a divine icon nor to receive an orthodox monk, and after taking the oath, knowing his fault, repents and venerates in secret, the fall is grave;

for he has already denied Christ, the Theotokos, and the saints;

let him be barred from the holy things for a period of three years, together with much loving-kindness.

If someone, out of fear, defaces an icon of Christ or of one of the saints, let him be barred from communion for a year.

If a priest commemorates the heretic publicly, but privately, when invited by some orthodox person into an oratory, refrains from commemorating the heretic — should the strict observer pray in such an oratory? By no means.

If someone, under his own penance, may reasonably take on something for the lightening of the penance — as regards communion, by no means; but as regards other matters, it is not to be rejected.

Nor could he, through almsgiving, diminish anything of the prescribed penance on his own initiative;

for the one who imposes the penance certainly knows how to weigh the person, the time, and the external circumstances, in order to relax it.

for it is not possible to encompass such matters within a fixed rule concerning canons that are laid down so as to allow exceptions, as the Great Basil himself has said;

for having given the bishop authority for addition and relaxation, he established the canon not as something necessary, that is, unalterable, but as something admitting exceptions.

So let the one who grants relaxation take heed how he grants it;

for I too, in my humility, answer not in a decisive manner, but by way of urging, that is, by way of counsel, as I have often said, to the questions put to me, whether by you or by another.

For the rest, pray for my humble self, helping to the extent of your power those who are struggling at Stoudios, since indeed, wherever you have strength, act in the Lord.

Brother Nicholas greets you.

{To Theophilos of Ephesus} I received your sacred letter as though it were a book written by God's own hand, and together with it I welcomed the blessing, as kindling for my longing.

And who am I, wretched man, to be praised in such terms by your holy mouth — I who am not even worthy to loose the strap of your sandal? Behold the marks of a God-imitating humility!

You, O most blessed forefather, great and much spoken of, magnified and praised in both East and West, who have adorned the throne of the greatest apostle, evangelist, and theologian in a manner worthy of the things for which you have contended and still contend, having illumined your life with the blood of your holy flesh, and confessing Christ to be inscribed as embodied — not denying this as the impious do, since they do not accept him to be depicted in icons;

for what is not depicted in an image is not embodied either.

I pass over saying that even an angel, though bodiless, has been handed down by the theologians to be portrayed in perceptible images.

But they have denied that the embodied Master, and the bodiless servant, and moreover the Mother of God together with all the servants of the Lord, are to be depicted, and thereby, through denying the images, they clearly deny along with them the prototypes as well — not even considering this: that it is through the acceptance of its own proper likeness that the prototype holds its dominion, and that when this likeness is taken away or dishonored, it is evident that its dominion too is thereby taken away and dishonored;

but nevertheless they refuse to understand, so as to be made good.

For them, then, it is only to kick against the goads;

but may the mighty hand keep watch over you, for the glory of his own church, as a pillar, as a foundation, as a champion.

And may we, the humble, see you either returning from here to the land of Asia, as those of old saw the sun of the Gospel returning from his imprisonment on Patmos, or being gloriously honored in the heavens, in hierarchical rank, above ten cities.

{To my child Thalelaios} What you indicated in your letter, I have understood, my child; and this is what I answer you:

'That we withdraw from every brother who walks in a disorderly manner' — so the holy Apostle commands.

How then can Gregory of the Adelphioi say that you turn away from him unreasonably, when he himself was carried away, not merely in a disorderly manner but wholly, along with the iconoclasts, having subscribed to the heresy, eating and drinking and associating with them? But if he claims to have repented and to be keeping penances, let him demonstrate this through a written confession, anathematizing the heretics together with their heresy, and in no way associating with them.

But until he does this, let him be abhorrent to you who fear the Lord;

for he is treacherous in his pretense of conversion, drawing you in and secretly sowing pernicious words, supposedly as though on behalf of the adversaries.

Hence you, being drawn, as one less experienced, into discourse with him, have fallen into perplexity about this matter and that.

But since you have asked for the resolution, receive it with understanding:

As for Chrysostom's statement, in his encomium of Saint Romanos, that 'our Christ is not circumscribed by walls' — this must not be taken simply, at face value; rather, one must know to whom he was speaking when he said it, since in discourses one must take note of the time, the person, and the manner;

the time — because the same things were not legislated for those of old as for those under grace;

the person — because a heretic's case is one thing, and an orthodox person's another;

the manner — since speaking dogmatically is not the same as putting forth an argument in a more plain and simple fashion.

To whom, then, was Chrysostom speaking? Was it perhaps to an orthodox person setting up an icon of Christ? By no means;

but rather to a certain Greek, who characterizes the Cause that transcends all things even by the lowest of existing beings — as the divine Dionysius says — and claims that it in no way surpasses the godless and multiform shapes fashioned by him.

Well, therefore, and very fittingly did the father say, 'Our Christ is not circumscribed by walls.'

This must be understood with reference to the nature of divinity, inasmuch as the gods of that pagan are set up within walls and confined there, having nothing else conceivable apart from what is seen by those who behold them,

'they have eyes and see not, ears and hear not, hands and handle not, feet and walk not, noses and smell not,' as they are accused by the prophet.

But our Christ, as regards what is seen, is not only truly and properly man—since he became like us in all things, embodied, breathing, of a definite age, and whatever else is known of human nature except sin alone—but he is also God by nature and in truth, and the same one is both.

What I mean is this—as the same Chrysostom says somewhere: below he grows weary, and above he holds the elements together; below he hungers, and from above he supplies the rains; below he is afraid, and above he thunders; below he stands before a tribunal, and from above he beholds all things.

It is in this sense, therefore, that he said to the Greek, 'Our Christ is not circumscribed by walls.'

And he did not consider it necessary to speak with precision on this statement, because of the heresy that is now raging.

But it is clear that the saint surely knew that the one who grows weary and hungers, who is afraid and stands before the tribunal, is circumscribed by the character of a body, whether in colors on a wall or on a panel.

and in matters so evident there was for him no need of further clarification.

For if he said that he saw the bodiless angel in an image, does he not see the embodied Christ being depicted in an icon? It is therefore foolish to suppose any such thing about the saint.

If, then, they hold him as a witness for their wicked doctrine, why do they reject the very same man, refusing to accept that an angel may be depicted in an icon, nor again any of the God-bearing saints, seeing that Chrysostom himself says somewhere again:

'What you did with names, this same thing you have also done with his icon' (that is, of the holy Meletius).

For indeed, many have engraved that holy image on the bezels of rings, on cups and bowls, on the walls of chambers, and everywhere.

But nevertheless they cannot even bear to listen to him.

Concerning the account of Saint Pancratius, that it does not indicate by whom it was written—what of that? Almost all the martyrologies are anonymous.

But nevertheless they are reliable, and from them the teachers take their starting-point for composing the encomia of those who bore witness as martyrs.

Saint Pancratius is honored in Sicily with a very great temple, in which, it is said, signs also have occurred.

So whoever does not accept the account has thereby also, evidently, rejected the martyr.

But you, my child, fare well and be saved, and keep far away from Gregory, lest he destroy you through your inattention.

{To a Recluse} I have read your reverent letter.

But what is this praise you have bestowed on us, who are strangers to every good thing? And what is this seeking of a word of instruction from one who has not enough even for himself, let alone to water others with living streams? Yet since it is written, 'Give to everyone who asks of you,' accept some brief word from our poverty.

...of the glory of God, being, as it were, made short-sighted by some plague—the passionate attachment to the flesh;

But for us, who must renounce all things and are commanded only to take up the cross of Christ, the vision of God is easily attained—that is, to have and to think of nothing else than how we might please the Lord, serving him with a pure heart, in the utter severance of every fleshly attachment.

Let, then, the enclosure of your seclusion be a city of God, adorned with golden achievements—enclosed not only in body, but also in spirit.

It is fitting, then, that you flee the sight of men, relations with blood-kin, and friendships with the whole world, and instead associate with one another, having one soul and one heart, in imitation of those who believed from the beginning, in the time of the apostles.

Let the superior lead in such a way that she bears the character of Christ—doing first, and only then teaching, leaving nothing undone in practically demonstrating what is commanded; and let her who is subject obey and yield in such a way, rendering her obedience as to Christ himself.

Where these things are, there is the fruit of every good work; but where they are not, there without fail are the opposite things—factions, contentiousness, whisperings, private possessions, arrogant swellings, and passionate attachments both to one another and to those outside, whether of kin or of some other friendship.

Such, then, in brief, is my reminder concerning this matter.

But I, in my lowliness, exhort you to possess, along with your life, a resplendent faith as well, and in no way to have communion with the Christ-fighting heresy, which differs in nothing from Judaism, denying the saving economy of Christ through the destruction of the venerable icons of Christ himself, of the Theotokos, and of all the saints.

since the icon is identical with the prototype in honor and veneration, just as in the case of the life-giving cross itself and its image.

Do not, then, O Christ-bearing women, deny Christ for the sake of the holy habit, nor lose the reward of so many labors which you endure, spending your life of virginity in enclosure, thereby becoming—far be it even to think or say it—part of the opposing side; but knowing that neither a life without right faith, nor again faith without divine practice, is able to save, be you illumined from both sides, unto the glory of God, unto the renown of the Church, unto the attainment of the eternal goods promised, praying also for us sinners, that we too may be saved.

{To Symeon, his child} Late indeed, but nevertheless I have received your letters, my child, and I gave thanks to the Lord for your defense, your understanding and preservation, and that you keep so many brothers safe with you from the hunting of the heretics—who tear apart not flesh, but souls, though bodies too, through the wounds and deaths they inflict.

Fare well, my beloved son; excel in virtue; lead your brothers; encourage them; set forth the things of the truth; sharpen them unto martyrdom.

For such is the time, even though you are lawfully hiding yourselves.

For to cast oneself into trial, as you sought to learn—this is when someone moves of his own accord and reveals himself to those who would kill him.

But as for Saint Gordius, like certain other martyrs, coming forward self-summoned—the manner of the times demanded this, since no one, as it happened, was speaking out freely, and godlessness was blazing up more fiercely; moreover they had, with a pure heart, beheld God as in a mirror and been pierced by him;

since indeed the great Forerunner, at risk to himself, boldly rebuked Herod; and even now, by the grace of God, many stand firm and bear witness—yet it is not lawful to cast oneself into danger.

I rejoiced greatly that other fathers also are of one mind with you, whose names are in the book of life;

whom I also greet through you, and I have entreated their holy prayers for help unto salvation.

I have profited from this, that from brother Hypatius you found some good thing;

'Let brothers be useful in times of necessity'—so Scripture commands.

for from my own lowliness there is no benefit, even though you yourself, out of love, speak so grandly of us.

I received the wooden cup, and I keep it as a more vivid remembrance of you.

I greet the nine of my brothers and children, earnestly asking also for their prayer.

Brother Nicholas, who is enclosed together with me, greets you along with all.

{To Basil, Abbot} I read your letter with pleasure, O holy fatherhood, as one offered from a pure heart; yet I did not delight in the praises, being a stranger to what was said.

But you yourself, if you are willing, should rather pray to sharpen, from close at hand, your own portion and standing.

May it be, according to your word, that brother Hypatius and whoever else among those contending may be useful to God, so that through them we too, in our lowliness, may find the divine favor propitious.

The question concerning those who have fallen into sins according to nature or contrary to nature has this answer: that true repentance is shown in the demonstration of the fruits appropriate to it.

Abstention from the holy mysteries according to the canons, together with the self-restraint that accompanies it, obtains forgiveness of sins even without scourgings and without martyrdom.

For as long as the door is not shut against us, as it is written (and the shutting is death), even if true repentance should arrive on the very last day of life, it has saved the one who turned back from sin.

Thus God determined through Ezekiel the theologian.