Letters 1 part 26/32

For if the one who seemed from childhood into deep old age to have exercised care for himself was so easily provoked to savagery on such pretexts, taking no account of anything of ours, nor reckoning his past experience of so trivial a slander as of greater weight, but, like some untamed colt not yet taught to bear its rider well, reared up at a slight suspicion, threw off, and cast to the ground those very things it had earlier gloried in — what must one suspect concerning others, toward whom we have neither so many pledges of friendship, nor from them such a display of careful character? Turning these things over in my soul and continually revolving them in my heart — or rather, having my heart turned over by them, so bitingly and tearingly do they gnaw at me through memory — I made no answer to that letter, not out of contempt did I keep silent (do not think this, brother—

for we do not make our defense to men, but speak before God in Christ) — but out of perplexity and helplessness, and from having nothing to say that was worthy of my grief.

Some say that the messengers of these good tidings passed through Bithynia and reached even as far as the Hellespont.

For they did not set you so far from their own friendship as to leave you alone without a share of that honor.

But if the letter has not reached you, then I am sending it to you.

In it you will find us accused of deceit and villainy, of the corruption of churches and the destruction of souls, and — what they themselves consider truest of all — that we devised that proposal of faith as a trap, not in service to the Nicopolitans, but ourselves scheming to obtain a confession by deceit.

Of these things, then, the Lord is judge.

For indeed, what clear proof could there be of the reasonings within the heart? But this I marveled at concerning them: that although they subscribed to the document we submitted, they employ such inconsistency that they confound both what is and what is not, in order to satisfy those who accuse them.

They submitted to the synod at Tyana the document from Rome, which lies in our possession, containing this very same faith.

And they forgot their own public speech, in which, standing forth in the assembly at that time, they lamented the deception by which they had been led to assent to the tome drawn up by the party of Eudoxius—

for this was the defense they devised for that error: that, going to Rome, they would receive from there the faith of the Fathers, so that the harm they had done to the churches by their agreement to the evil might be corrected by the introduction of the better.

But they who undertook the longest journeys for the sake of the faith and delivered these wise speeches now revile us as walking in deceit and, under the guise of love, doing the deeds of those who plot against others.

For they saw Cyzicus, and returned with a different faith.

And why do I speak of their fickleness in words, when I have far greater proofs, drawn from the actual facts, of their reversal to the opposite? For though five hundred bishops issued a decree against them, they would not yield, nor would they consent to withdraw from the administration of the churches, even though so many had agreed in the judgment for their deposition — on the ground, it was said, that they were not partakers of the Holy Spirit, nor administering the churches by the grace of God, but had seized the presidencies by human power, out of a desire for empty glory—

these same men now accept as bishops those ordained by those very ones.

Ask them on my behalf whether they hold all men in such contempt, as though they had neither eyes nor ears nor a perceiving heart — at least enough to discern the incongruity of what is happening — what understanding they have in their own hearts. How can there be two bishops, both the one deposed by Euippius and the one ordained by the same man? For both are the work of the same hand.

If he did not possess the grace given to Jeremiah — to tear down and to build up, to root out and to plant — he could neither have uprooted the one nor planted the other.

But if you grant him the one, you must also concede to him the other.

But there is, it seems, one single aim: to seek their own interest everywhere, to regard as a friend whoever cooperates with their desires, and to judge as an enemy — sparing him no slander — whoever resists their desires.

For what sort are their present dealings against the Church? Terrible, on account of the ease with which those who commit them act; pitiable, on account of the insensibility of those who suffer them.

Children of Euippius and offspring of Euippius, having been recalled from exile to Sebasteia through a trustworthy embassy, were entrusted with the people.

They took possession of the altar; they became the leaven of the church there.

By whom we are persecuted as Homoousians—

But Eustathius, who carried the word 'homoousios' in written form all the way from Rome to Tyana, is now mingled together with them, even though he was not able to be admitted into their much-longed-for communion — either because they feared the multitude of those who had agreed against him, or because they were ashamed before the credibility of the charge.

For as to who those were who assembled, and how each one was ordained, and from what sort of life at the outset he came to this present power — may I never have so much leisure as to recount their doings.

For I have learned to pray, 'that my mouth may not speak of the deeds of men.'

But you yourself, upon inquiry, will learn—

and even if it escapes you, it will certainly not escape the Judge.

I will not, however, refrain from confessing to your charity the experience I underwent: that last year, having fallen ill with a most severe fever and having come near even to the very gates of death, and then being recalled by the loving-kindness of God, I was reluctant about returning, reckoning what evils I was coming back to once more—

...of God, on account of which the days of my life in the flesh were granted to me once more.

But when I understood these things, I reasoned that the Lord willed us to see the churches at rest from the storm which I had previously suffered on account of the separation of those who, because of their feigned dignity, were trusted in everything.

Or perhaps the Lord willed to strengthen my soul and to make it more watchful for what follows, so that I should not pay heed to men, but be perfected through the commandments of the gospel, which change neither with the times nor with the circumstances of human affairs, but remain the same, enduring forever just as they were first uttered from that truthful and blessed mouth.

But men are like clouds, which are borne now toward one part of the sky, now toward another, according to the shifting of the winds—

and especially those of whom I am speaking have shown themselves to be the most changeable of all who have come within our experience.

Whether also in the other affairs of life, those who have lived alongside them could say—

but as for what has appeared to me — their fickleness regarding the faith — I do not know, up to now, of its like in others, neither having witnessed it myself nor heard of it from others.

At first they followed Arius—

then they shifted to Hermogenes, who was diametrically opposed to the false doctrine of Arius, as is shown by that very faith of Nicaea, which was originally proclaimed by that man.

Hermogenes fell asleep, and again they moved over to Eusebius, a leading man of the Arian circle, as those who experienced it say.

Falling out from there, for whatever reasons, they ran back again to their own country, and once more concealed their Arian sentiment.

Having entered upon the episcopate — to pass over what happened in between — how many creeds did they set forth? Another at Ancyra, another at Seleucia, at Constantinople the much-talked-of one, another at Lampsacus, after that the one at Nicaea in Thrace, and now again the one from Cyzicus, of whose other contents I am not informed, but this much I hear: that having silenced the term 'homoousios,' they now circulate 'like in essence,' and together with Eunomius they compose blasphemies against the Holy Spirit.

As for these creeds which I have enumerated, even if they are not all mutually contradictory, they nonetheless equally demonstrate the changeableness of their character, in that they never stand fast upon the same words.

These things are true, though countless others have been passed over in silence.

But since they have now crossed over to you as well, we ask that you write back through this same man (I mean our fellow presbyter Strategius), whether you have remained the same toward us, or have been altered by this encounter.

For it was not likely that they would remain silent, nor that you yourself, who wrote such things to us, would fail to speak with the same frankness to them as well.

If, then, you remain in communion with us, this is the best thing, and worthy of the highest prayer.

But if they have won you over to their side, this is grievous indeed—

For how could it not be? The separation of such a brother!

Yet, if nothing else, we have at least been sufficiently trained by those very men themselves to bear such losses.

TO THEOPHILUS, BISHOP. Having long ago received the letter from your charity, I was waiting to reply through a trustworthy person, so that whatever escaped the letter, the bearer of the letter might supply in person.

Since, then, our most beloved and most devout brother Strategius has come to us, I thought it right to make use of him as courier, since he both knows our mind and is able both faithfully and reverently to convey our message.

Know, then, most beloved and most honored by us, that we count our love toward you of great worth — a love from which, as far as the disposition of our soul is concerned, we are conscious of having fallen short not a single day, even though many great occasions for justified grief have arisen.

yet, as on a balance-scale, weighing the more agreeable things against the more unpleasant, we chose to incline our judgment to the side of the better.

But since matters have been altered by those from whom this ought least of all to have happened, forgive us also, who have not changed our judgment, but have altered our position.

Rather, we shall remain in the same position, while it is others who are constantly shifting, and who now are openly deserting to the opposing side—

and how highly we valued communion with them, as long as they belonged to the sound party, you yourself are not unaware.

But now, if we neither follow them nor associate with those who think as they do, we should justly obtain pardon, since we set nothing above the truth and the safety of our own souls.

TO THE NICOPOLITANS. Whenever I see evil prospering and your devout piety worn out and giving up in despair before the ceaseless outrages, I am filled with despondency.

But when, on the other hand, I consider the mighty hand of God, and that He knows how to raise up those who are broken down and to love the righteous, but to crush the proud and to cast down rulers from their thrones, then again my spirit changes, I become lighter in hope, and I know that through your prayers the Lord will soon show us calm.

Only do not grow weary in prayer, but strive, at this present time, to add to your teaching in word the clear examples of the same things in deed, visible to all.

TO THE NICOPOLITANS. When I read the letter of your reverence, how greatly I groaned and lamented, that I too received into my own hearing these evils — blows and outrages against you yourselves, the plundering of houses, the desolation of the city, and the overthrow of the whole homeland, the persecution of the church and the flight of the priests, the uprising of wolves and the scattering of the flocks.

For what we have suffered, we have suffered on account of our own sins; but His help, because of His own love and compassion for the churches, the lover of mankind will show us.

We have not, however, neglected, both being present to beseech those in power, and writing to those who love us in the army camp, that the raging man might be restrained from his wrath.

And I think condemnation will come upon him from many quarters, unless perhaps the present time, being so full of turmoil, allows those in charge of affairs no leisure to attend to such matters.

TO AMPHILOCHIUS, BISHOP OF ICONIUM. When we look to our own desire, we are grieved to be separated by so great a distance from your reverence—

But when we turn to the peaceful state of your own conduct, we give thanks to the Lord, who rescued your piety from this conflagration, which has spread further over the district around us.

And believe that all the rest follows consistently upon that.

Persecutions of presbyters and teachers, and all the other things that men would do who use the power derived from authority to serve their own will.

But the Lord, through your prayers, will grant us release from these things, and also the endurance to bear the weight of our trials worthily of our hope in him.

But do you also deign to write to us continually about your own affairs, and if you find someone who can faithfully convey to you the book we have labored over, deign to send for it, so that, taking courage from your judgment, we may also send it into the hands of others.

Farewell, be of good cheer in the Lord, and above all praying for us, may you be granted to me and to the Church of the Lord by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

For he has chosen, as a good provision for the age to come, a good manner of life spent with those who fear the Lord.

Him also I commend to your honor, and I beg you to pray through him for our pitiable life, that, delivered from these trials, we may begin to serve the Lord according to the Gospel.

TO PATROPHILUS, BISHOP OF AEGAE. I received late the reply to my former letter;

I received it nevertheless through our most beloved Strategius, and I gave thanks to the Lord that you remain the same in your love toward us.

What you have now deigned to write concerning the same matter is proof of your good disposition, that you have the right frame of mind and counsel us to what is profitable.

But since I see again that my discourse would grow long were I to reply to each of the points written by your prudence, I will say only this much: that if the good of peace is circumscribed by the name of peace alone, it is ridiculous to select this man and that man and impart the good of peace only to them, while shutting out countless others from communion in the good.

But if agreement with harmful men, under the pretext of peace, produces in those who accept it the works of enemies, consider who they are with whom those who hated us with an unjust hatred have joined themselves — namely, the party of those out of communion with us.

for I have no need now to mention them by name.

These men were called by them to Sebasteia and took over the church, and they officiated at the altar and distributed their own bread to all the people, being proclaimed bishops by the clergy there, and being commended throughout the whole region by them as holy men in communion.

But if one must choose their party, it is ridiculous to begin from the fingernails and not to address oneself to their very heads.

If, then, no one at all ought to be considered a heretic nor avoided, then for what reason, tell me, do you separate yourself and shrink back from the communion of certain men? But if there are some who are to be avoided according to the standard of strictness, let those who are so precise about everything tell us to which party belong the men whom they drew to themselves out of Galatia.

If these things appear to you worthy of grief, then reckon the separation to those responsible for them;

but if you judge them matters of indifference, then you will pardon us for not consenting to become partakers of the leaven of those who teach otherwise.

Setting aside their arguments, with all boldness reprove those who do not walk uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel.

TO THE PEOPLE OF EUAESA. Although the multitude of affairs surrounding us is great, and our mind is held fast by countless cares, nevertheless we have never cast out of our memory our concern for your love, beseeching our God that you may remain in the faith in which you stand and boast in hope of the glory of God.

For indeed it is now hard to find, and altogether rare, a church that is genuine and unharmed in any way by the difficulty of the times, but preserving the apostolic teaching intact and unbroken — such as he who raises up in every generation men worthy of his own calling has shown yours to be in the present time.

And may the Lord grant you the good things of the Jerusalem above, in return for the fact that you sent back the false slanders against us upon the heads of the liars themselves, refusing to give them entrance into your hearts.

And I know and am persuaded in the Lord that your reward is great for this deed.

For you reasoned wisely within yourselves — and it is indeed true — that those who repaid me evil for good, and hatred instead of my love toward them, now slander me concerning the very things for which they themselves are found to have set forth written confessions.

And they have fallen into this self-contradiction not only by bringing forward their own writings against us as an accusation, but also because, having been deposed by unanimous vote of those assembled at Constantinople, they did not accept their own deposition, calling it the act of a repudiated synod and refusing to allow those men to be called bishops, so as not to ratify the sentence issued against themselves.

And they added the reason why those men were not bishops, namely, because — they said — they presided over a wicked heresy.

Now these things happened not quite seventeen years ago.

And the leaders of those who deposed them were Eudoxius, Euippius, George, Acacius, and the rest, whose names are unknown to us.

But those who now hold sway over those churches are their successors;

some ordained in their place, others promoted by those very men themselves.

Now, therefore, let those who charge us with false doctrine tell us how those men, whose deposition they did not accept, were heretics, and how these men, promoted by those very heretics and preserving the same mindset as their fathers, are orthodox.

For if Euippius is orthodox, how is Eustathius, who was deposed by him, not a layman? But if that man was a heretic, how is the man now in communion with Eustathius — the one advanced by his hand — not also a heretic? But these are games played against the churches of God for their own advantage, by men who attempt both to slander people and, again, to reconcile with them.

Eustathius, passing through Paphlagonia, overturned the altars of Basilides the Paphlagonian and officiated on tables of his own devising; and now he is a suppliant of Basilides, begging to be received.

He excommunicated Elpidius, our most devout brother, on account of his association with the men at Amasea; and now he is a suppliant of the Amaseans, seeking their association.

You yourselves know how dreadful were the pronouncements made against Euippius; and now he honors as orthodox those who share his opinions, provided only that they cooperate in the effort for his own restoration.

But we are slandered, not because we have done any wrong, but because he thought this would win him a good reputation among the people of Antioch.

As for those whom they summoned last year from Galatia, thinking that through them they might regain the boldness of the episcopate, they are such men as even those who kept company with them but briefly know them to be —

long enough, on occasion, to enumerate their deeds.

Nevertheless, escorted by his most honored bodyguards and fellow-initiates, they traveled through the whole of his region, receiving the honors and attentions due to bishops.

And they were brought into the city with great pomp, holding church assemblies with authority.

For the people were handed over to them, the altar was handed over.

But when they had proceeded as far as Nicopolis, they were unable to accomplish any of what they had promised; how they returned, and how they appeared upon their return, those who were present know.

Thus they always appear to do everything for their own advantage.

But if they say that they have repented, let them show their repentance in writing, together with an anathematizing of the faith set forth at Constantinople and a separation from the heretics, and let them not deceive the more guileless.

And such, then, are their affairs.

But we, beloved brothers, though small and humble, are nevertheless always the same by the grace of God, and have never been altered along with the shifting changes of circumstances.

Our faith is not one thing at Seleucia, another at Constantinople, another at Zela, another still at Lampsacus, and yet another at Rome, with the one now current differing from the earlier ones — but one and the same.

For as we received from the Lord, so we are baptized;

as we are baptized, so we believe;

as we believe, so also we give glory;

neither separating the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, nor saying that the Spirit is set before the Father, or that it is older than the Son, as the tongues of blasphemers contrive.

For who is so bold as to reject the Master's own ordinance and dare to devise his own order for the names? But we neither call the Spirit, who is ranked together with the Father and the Son, a created thing, nor do we dare to call the one who governs a servant.

And we exhort you, remembering the threat of the Lord, who said:

Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the age to come;

guard yourselves from harmful teachings against the Spirit.

Stand firm in the faith; look around at the whole world, and see that this diseased portion is small;

whereas the whole rest of the Church, which has received the Gospel from one end of the earth to the other, stands upon this sound and unperverted teaching.

Of whose communion we also pray not to fall short, and we pray together with you to receive your portion on that righteous day of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he comes to give to each of us according to his deeds.

Since, then, a great work lies before you among a people seeking edification from you, with rewards laid up in the honor of the martyrs, receive our exhortation and consent to this act of grace, granting us a great benefit with little labor.

and in part he will also rouse you and stir you up further, having clearly set before you in person how much zeal the present circumstances demand.

For each of the others reported to us, as it were, only half of both the opinions of the men there and the state of affairs;

but he himself, being capable both of discerning the disposition of men and of accurately investigating the state of affairs, will tell you everything and will guide your good zeal in every respect.

So that you have material suited to that perfect resolve which you have always shown in your concern for the churches of God.

For we have begun writing late, and we have great need of an apology.

And concerning those things he will indeed bring gladness;

but in telling of the disturbances that have beset us, he will perhaps add some grief and concern to those already lodged within your good heart.

Yet it is not without benefit for you, who are able to move the Lord to compassion, to grieve.

For your concern will turn out to our benefit, and I know that we shall obtain God's help, having the cooperation that comes from your prayers.

And if you will pray together with us for release from our cares, and ask also for some increase to the strength of our body, the Lord will prosper us so that our desire may be fulfilled and we may come into the presence of your Grace.

TO VITUS, BISHOP OF CARRHAE. Would that it were possible for me to write to your Reverence every single day.

For ever since I came to experience your love, I have had a great longing, most of all to live together with you, but if not that, at least to write and receive letters, so that I may be able both to make known my own affairs and to learn of your disposition.

But since we do not have as much as we wish, but only what the Lord gives, we ought to accept these things with thanksgiving;

for which we ought also to give thanks to the Lord and to worship him, that he may grant us also that same peace, and that we may recover one another in freedom.

Greet all the brotherhood in Christ on our behalf.

When I heard of that grievous persecution which rose up against you, and that immediately after Pascha those who fast for strife and contention fell upon your tents and gave your labors over to the fire — thereby preparing for you the house in the heavens not made with hands, while storing up for themselves the fire which they used to your harm — I groaned over what had happened, not sharing your pain, brothers (God forbid!), but grieving for those who have been so submerged in wickedness as to stretch their malice to such a degree.

And I expected that you would all run at once to a ready refuge, our humble self;

and I hoped that the Lord would grant me some respite from my continual pains in embracing you, and that, by receiving upon this idle body of mine the noble sweat which you shed for the truth, I would have some share in the prizes laid up for you by the Judge of truth.

But since this did not even occur to you, nor did you expect to have any rest from us, I longed at least to find continual occasions for writing to you, that, like those who cry out encouragement to competitors in the games, I too might shout out to you through letters some word of exhortation for your good contest.

But even this was not easy for us, for two reasons:

one, that we did not know where you were living; the other, that not many from among us set out to travel to you.

But now the Lord has brought to us our most beloved and most reverend brother Sanctissimus, our fellow-presbyter, through whom we also address your love, and beseech you to pray for us, rejoicing and exulting that your reward is great in the heavens; and, as having confidence before the Lord, not to cease crying out to him night and day, that this storm of the Churches may cease, that the shepherds may be restored to the peoples, and that the Church may return to her proper dignity.

For I am persuaded that, if a voice be found that can move the good God to compassion, he will not delay his mercies, but will grant us, along with the trial, the way of escape as well, that we may be able to bear it.

Greet all the brotherhood in Christ on our behalf.

TO THE MONKS WHO WERE MALTREATED BY THE ARIANS. What I said to myself when I heard of the trial brought upon you by the enemies of God, I thought it well to declare also to you in writing: that in a time supposed to be one of peace, you have won for yourselves the blessing laid up for those who are persecuted for the sake of the name of Christ.

For it is not because a gentle and mild name is attached to those who do evil deeds, that on this account one must therefore suppose that their actions are not those of enemies.