Letters 1 part 21/55

Imitate your brothers, who were scourged in the same way: Bessarion, I mean, Dorotheus, Thaddaeus — who, on the second day after, departed to the Lord as a martyr — and then also James, from the community of the holy martyr Christopher, the disciple of Lucian.

But the pitiable thing is that the teacher fell, unable to bear the blows, while the disciple won the martyr's crown.

And because of my sins, four others among the last group have also fallen, among them Titus together with Philo.

For Euodius and Hypatius have neither fallen nor stood firm, having become, as it were, half-dead — because they fell in word, though not indeed in deed, having fled the heretical communion.

See to it, then, brother — and again I say — do not yield, do not lose what you have stored up as treasure, do not become one who denies the faith.

Let your contest be heard of everywhere; let the angels rejoice over you; let the demons be put to shame, together with their agents the iconoclasts; and I too, humble as I am, shall be glorified along with your brotherhood.

Grace be with you, strengthening you to endure everything, even unto death.

Those who are with me greet you.

Pray for me, as also for all your brothers.

{To Gregoras, a layman} Man of God, today the Lord has raised you up for the help and salvation of many, especially of us who are lowly.

Indeed, I hear of the care you have undertaken, as though from God, for those who contend for the Lord's sake, and I am astonished.

Yet since your ministry is appointed by God, it is not strange.

And that it is from God, the facts themselves make plain.

For how could you have been kept safe until now, without being seized, unless you were being sheltered by divine providence? Blessed is God, who has raised you up as a trainer of those who contend for his name, who guards you under his mighty hand, who grants you the spirit that is not remiss, not fainthearted, and daring.

Your work shines forth; your deed is proclaimed abroad.

And how could it be otherwise, since you have undertaken a ministry from God? You contend; you contend together with others; and, more paradoxical still, you are not merely a martyr but a martyr many times over.

For to each one of those who contend, through your visiting them, through your dressing their wounds, through supplying them with nourishment, through exhortation and encouragement, you are reckoned before God as bearing witness together with them; and you possess not one crown, but as many crowns as those you serve.

You sent forth holy Thaddaeus; you have three who bear witness, and one not yet called for from prison.

Wait a little, and you will receive others as well.

Half-dead ones — those who denied not in deed but in word.

Do not turn away from them either, man of God, as they weep and repent, even though they have made themselves unworthy of God and of holy things.

How much they must weep, how much they must suffer, in order to arrive at salvation!

May God make you steadfast, you man of adamant.

May he himself shelter you and save you into his kingdom.

Pray for me in my lowliness.

{To Anna, patrician and nun} The letters of your holiness are full of grief, and, as it were, bristling with thorns of reproach against me in my lowliness.

For remonstrance always brings forth such things.

But if your honored soul is moved to bear with him who said, 'The wounds of a friend are more trustworthy than the willing kisses of an enemy,' it would rather commend me — who am not only a friend in the Lord, but also an intercessor, and one who cherishes her as his own soul.

I will not, then, turn away from your godly love, even should I receive still more expressions of your displeasure.

For I am not so untutored as to draw close when treated kindly and to withdraw when rebuffed (for that is a merely human way); rather, my affection abounds all the more precisely when I become an object of your displeasure.

For my part, I think I said nothing burdensome, only a slight reminder, being concerned for your good name and blamelessness.

For those who flatter to one's face are not to be received, since in secret they say the opposite.

Receive from me, my lady, I beg you — if you will permit — a harsher word now and then.

For by this I too shall know that you hold me in proper regard.

For neither a son toward his mother, nor a husband toward his wife, nor a friend toward a friend speaks always in soft words; at times one must also be a reprover.

Lest perhaps, because of the flames now afflicting the Church, you should soon also receive word of my departure from this life.

Grace be with you, blessing, and salvation.

{To Spatharea} Your house is a house of piety, a house of hospitality, a house of refuge for those withdrawing from trials.

For this reason you are blessed and glorified by the Lord.

Your achievements have been made manifest in apostolic fashion: whether you have raised children, whether you have shown hospitality to strangers, whether you have washed the feet of the saints, whether you have relieved the afflicted, whether you have followed after every good work — thus outlining and displaying the true widow.

Such a lady has the Lord made you, renowned among many.

And may he continue to make you manifest yet further, guarding and tending you unto the glory of the order of widows and their company here, and in the age to come may he lead you into the bridal chamber of immortality together with the holy virgins.

{To my child Athanasius} Gladly did I receive your letter this time too, my beloved child.

And when I had read it, I was delighted all the more, finding you to be such as I had known you from the beginning — or, to put it more intimately, such as I begot you in the Holy Spirit.

And indeed this is remarkable, that through a long absence the one who cherishes another remains unchanged in longing for the beloved, and that the disciple thirsts to see the teacher's face — being so bound to the teacher as to keep this affection unquenched.

But the reason for your unfeigned submission — that you were parted from me, unworthy as I am, against your will and desire — was for the sake of a better dispensation, one which both the present time and that which preceded it have shown to be good, indeed very good.

Love, then, my child, laboring and contending together with our brother and bishop (for the praise and reward reserved for you are not small), and moreover train yourself for the contest now impending on Christ's behalf.

For you see what is now taking place.

It is a season of martyrdom, as you have heard — in addition to what has already occurred — concerning your brothers as well.

Do not, then, my beloved and longed-for brother, be carefree as though you were far removed from those who inflict punishment, but make ready a godly preparation, saying, 'My heart is ready, O God,' toward whatever end you may deem me worthy to attain.

Our brother Thaddaeus is a martyr of Christ, made perfect in the blood of his contest.

For if there be any other from our community, or even from outside it, still contending through exiles, imprisonments, and beatings, yet none has attained as Thaddaeus, the crowned one, did.

And so let us glorify God for the one we have sent on ahead from our company into the heavens.

...to those who have stumbled; and we must both pray and be watchful concerning ourselves, lest, as Paul says, 'having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.'

Therefore, brother, make your prayer for me more fervent, that with firmness of soul I may fight against the enemies both within and without;

For as for you, that I ask on your behalf, the Lord is my witness how seven times a day I bring you to mind in my humble prayer, that you may be saved and greatly glorified in the Lord.

Peace be to you, wisdom, strength, my beloved;

Those who are with me greet you.

{To Joseph, brother and archbishop} A consolation to my humble soul is your holiness's letter, whenever it arrives, and especially now, when I, humble as I am, have been struck with dismay at what has happened among our brothers.

Thaddaeus was put to death by the scourge for Christ's sake and departed together with the martyrs, since Dorotheus too, along with Bessarion and James, are to be counted with them, even though they still remain in the flesh;

Lucian, poor wretch, has been defeated, having given way somewhere in the middle of the blows and betrayed the truth, since four others also fell, some having been beaten but little, others having been terrified by the mere threat.

From the former comes joy unspeakable, but from the latter, grief hard to bear.

What of the rest? Altars have been destroyed, and every sacred house is being destroyed; every congregation is turning to heresy; every place has been set on fire; every door of piety has been shut.

Deep night; evils hang over our heads.

Do you see, brother, for what kind of days we have been kept, days differing little or not at all from paganism? Yet even so, thanks be to our good God who has chosen us for the testimony of His gospel.

And who are we, worthless as I am for my part, and whence comes this to us, that we should be witnesses of His holy image? But may it be granted, through the prayers of those who have gone before us, to complete the course of confession to the end.

I rejoice to hear that your precious body is in good health, as is also your soul;

I too am likewise, though in respect of both together, on account of my sins since then, there is nothing praiseworthy in me, even though I am extolled by your esteemed self, as you know.

I, the least, pray that you may shine forth to the end among the high priests of Christ, beaconing forth ever fresh splendors of right conduct upon those that have gone before.

Those who are with me greet with reverence my brothers who are under your sacred hand; and above all I address abundant greetings to Athanasius, my fellow-sufferer and fellow-contender.

{To Eucharistus, my child} Since you have asked, my beloved child, to have a letter from me, behold, here is your wish granted;

But what will you gain from it, wretched and worthless as it is? Yet it is a work of your faith and sincere love, by which the true and obedient disciple is made known, and the journey toward better things is made manifest.

May you be preserved for me, then, growing better in both respects, and advancing to the glory of the virtues, you who are truly grateful and named for joy; and may I see you numbered among the holy and shining together with the righteous.

Pray for me, sweetest child.

{To John, hegoumenos} Again I write to your holiness (and I would not cease writing, if only I could find a letter-bearer), at once fulfilling the debt of love, which burns in me more than in most, not diminished by past events but rekindled by later brightenings, and at the same time receiving with blessing your present manly courage -- or rather, your confession of Christ -- and how you did not judge anything present to be more valuable than divine love, for whose sake you are enduring a martyr's contest amid the hardships of exile; nor indeed were you turned aside from your steadfast resolve by the tripping-snare of the deluded false brothers, though formerly held fast by affectionate attachment to them, but, as though cut loose from everything like a mooring-cable, you came to be devoted solely to the longing for things above.

As for how grievously matters stand with the Church, this is surely being reported to you, as well as what punishments have been inflicted upon the brothers of our brotherhood, one of whom has departed to the Lord as though a martyr.

And that you may know: the monk of Phloubouton, like the one of Medikion, has stumbled;

and the one is held in custody, while the other has withdrawn from the monastery, weeping over his defeat.

May the Lord grant the same also for the others;

Except that Joseph has gained boldness of access to the ruler, and is becoming, as of old, the cause of persecutions.

Deign to greet those who are under your sacred wing;

Those who are with me send you abundant greetings.

{To Timothy, my child} How good your letter is, beloved child, adorned with faith and love toward our humble self.

And indeed I glorify the Lord for your unshaken disposition, and moreover also for your piety and good reputation, that even apart from the most God-beloved archbishop you continue to live securely with your brothers, lending yourself in all necessary things.

But to what purpose are the praises which you attribute to me? Do you not know that I am destitute of every good thing? This too, altogether, is due to your affectionate disposition.

Rather, then, brother, leave aside words and pray, especially now, when the fire of impiety is burning up the Church, when there are martyric contests, making those who choose rightly and act piously into athletes of Christ -- like Thaddaeus, our holy brother, and any others like him -- while making the faint-hearted deserters, who bring upon themselves the shame of desertion, like Lucian, our wretched brother, and any who share his character.

I entreat you, therefore, my beloved child, to be well prepared, and not to imagine that you will remain untried, as though standing far off at a distance.

The seizure will come at an hour we do not expect, since God tests each one as though in fire, and the ruler rages against us more than against the others, both because of what has gone before and because of our greater steadfastness;

For who else among the subordinates is now contending, except ours? Or who has been perfected in blood, except Thaddaeus the martyr? Stand firm, then, I entreat you, not only yourself, but also the brothers with you and my children, so that, even if such things do not come to pass, we may be martyrs in resolve.

The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit;

{To Bassian, my child} I have learned what has happened among the brothers, O child, and how you yourself remained behind, not having been sought out -- which has come to pass not to your defeat, but as a dispensation from God.

For you do not know at what hour God will command you to stand before your tormentors.

Do not, then, be made cowardly by the fall of Lucian and the faint-heartedness of the others;

for both of them, according to my sins, are pitiable, unprepared, easily captured by the devil, having lost the things eternal through sparing the flesh;

May Christ raise them up from the dead through worthy repentance.

You, then, as a good soldier of Christ, suffer hardship together with your fellow-contenders, with whom you were also secured, with whom you were also numbered;

Who are these? Thaddaeus the holy martyr, Dorotheus and Bessarion and James -- the newly recruited army of Christ.

There went out (a thing pitiable to say, yet true to say) a Judas, and in his place there came in a Matthias.

Do not, then, fear the tortures of the lawless, for it is God who lightens the pains together with us, He who is struck along with us.

Their blows became as the strokes of infants, as it is written, to your brothers;

Are they not of the same flesh as you, and of like passions? But, you say, 'I am not pure as they are.'

But for this very reason it must all the more be endured, so that through our own blood we may be cleansed, being made white as snow and conformed to Christ.

May God be your helper, O my good child;

Remember me, humble as I am, in your labors.

{To two sisters, Irene and Kale} I am solicitous for your honored selves, both as being set apart in the ascetic life, and indeed also as being pious in the keeping of virginity and the holding fast of orthodoxy, and thirdly as those who always do us good.

For this reason, having nothing else to give in return, I offer a word.

Neither wealth, nor youth, nor noble birth, nor glory, nor friendship with the world, nor kinship of blood, nor human preference, nor anything else pleasant and fair under heaven persuades you to sink into the mire of this life; but you choose that life which consists in celibacy, in possessionlessness, and in the renunciation of all things;

For this is your desire, to live the monastic life.

Blessed is God, who has espoused you through virginity, and is preparing for you the heavenly bridal chamber.

Except that, even though you are outside the monastic life, you carry out the works of true nuns -- chanting the psalms, rising early at the appointed hours, fasting, praying, raising orphans, giving alms, wearing humble clothing, and doing whatever else for Him who sees in secret -- all of which are the works of the solitary life.

But may the Lord grant you according to your heart, and fulfill all your counsel -- you, the shoots of a good root, the blood-sisters of a good brother, the brides of the heavenly bridal chamber.

Pray also for me, I beseech you.

{To Anthony, hegoumenos of the monastery of Auletes} Again I write to your piety, sharing in your zeal and rejoicing with you over the pains and labors, the persecutions and excommunications, endured for Christ's sake;

The times have brought it about that there should be crown-bearers, contestants, confessors -- and indeed also persecutors, fighters against Christ;

For those who fight against the image of Christ, what else could they be but persecutors of the truth and rebels against Christ? For the honor and dishonor shown to the image passes over to the prototype.

Let us, then, honored father, bear the ill-treatment from our enemies, whose recompense is eternal life and rejoicing together with the martyrs.

You are praiseworthy, man of God, in that, of almost all the hegoumenoi in the city and beyond the city, you alone came forth to put yourself in danger for the sake of piety, becoming a light to those in darkness, a reproof to your fellow-ranked colleagues who act impiously.

What profit is there in clinging, for a few short days, to a monastery, to glory, to fleeting comfort, only to be carried off with the heretics into eternal shame? But how good and blessed it is to labor a little while and to be separated from all one's own, or perhaps even to give up the body itself, and to find God gracious, and the kingdom of heaven.

Thus, as the least of all, I have been led to speak, asking you, most holy father, to make mention of me, sinner that I am, that I may be delivered from the passions of dishonor, and be ready to undergo whatever else God may yet command for the sake of His name.

{To Arcadius, monk} I have heard how excellently you have ordered your affairs, beloved brother, and I glorified God;

What is this? That you were not carried away with those who have betrayed the truth through communion with heretics, even though they held the rank of teachers; but tearing yourself away from association separated from God, you hid yourself, dwelling in mountains and caves together with your attendants, choosing rather to suffer ill-treatment and hardship than to give up eternal life for the sake of transitory pleasure, having as your guide and teacher Christ our God, for whose sake it is right also to suffer.

Thanks, then, be to Him who gave you to become perfect in mind;

Truly the world is not worthy of you, who live in a manner transcending the world according to the divine apostle; truly yours is the blessedness of Christ, since you have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

And indeed it was fitting that one who for the love of God had forsaken the greatest of earthly honors and the pursuits of royal life—I would add also bodily beauty and abundant possessions—should not be captured basely and inhumanly, but should prefer things divine, and should take possession of desert and mountain lands.

in which it is granted you to live as the angels, breathing God, beholding heaven, going about together with the angels.

Endure, brother, the Lord who has called you, and he will exalt you in the greatest glory, both as an example of virtue to those in this life, and unto the inheritance of the good things laid up in hope for those who love him.

But remember also us, unworthy though we are, who love you at all times, that we may end our lives well-pleasing to Christ in the present struggle.

I greet warmly those who are with you.

…your excellent deeds and piety, which you exercise toward our brothers who are there, whether residing or passing through; and I glorify God, that like a father or a guide or some angel sent from God you act practically toward them—admonishing one, reconciling another; feeding one, sending another on his way; bringing one who lives alone into fellowship with others; clothing one, and provisioning another.

And why need I say much? I feel as though I myself were present in you, or as though you were one of those who serve as my right eye.

Whence comes to you, O most venerable master, this care? Whence this friendship? Whence this consolation—but from God, who in every place and region has his own laborers and attendants? You yourself, even in the former exile, did not cease to act likewise, sheltering and caring for us.

For all these things, therefore, you have made us indebted to you in prayers of thanksgiving—or rather, you have made God so indebted, who takes upon himself the good deeds you have done for the brothers.

from whom comes to you the forgiveness of sins and the kingdom of heaven.

{To my child Naucratius} I was pondering deeply, wondering what would become of the brothers.

And when, child, through the report of your letter I learned that they had still been kept safe, together with Hypatius as well (for this is what is meant by 'sent back to the former guards'), what need is there to say how greatly I rejoiced, took courage, gave thanks, and exulted? For just as the blessed end of my holy Thaddaeus became a strength—not only to me in my lowliness and to you his brothers, but to the whole church—so too is the manly courage and endurance of those still contending; and, likewise, the contrary produces the contrary effect.

There is, then, God who gives strength for them also in what follows to contend most excellently—and indeed for us as well, together with them.

For they have run and conquered, even if not forever, since we do not know what the future will bring; but we are still only in preparation, not yet having run.

Therefore I remind you, I exhort you, I even prostrate myself in entreaty through you, that all be prepared and trained, on account of the sudden seizure that may come.

No one standing at the clash of battle is free from care, or quarrelsome, or dissipated, or given to jesting, or censorious, or treading empty ground in vain.

But what does he do? He watches, he prays, he closes ranks, he engages in close combat; and even before the engagement he thrusts away his desires, he is content with sufficient sustenance, he holds himself detached from the world, from life, from his own body—he considers all things, according to the apostle, to be refuse for the sake of Christ.

You know what the lowly Lucian has suffered—to say nothing of others, as though they were of no account. How he has fallen, how he has come under the hand (woe is me to say it) of the emperor, or rather of the devil! I beseech you, pray for me, that the power of Christ—in which is the victory—may come to dwell upon me, profligate, feeble, and useless as I am.

For, he says, 'apart from me you can do nothing.'

These things I too ask on your behalf with tears every day.

Yes, I beseech you, prepare yourselves, arm yourselves, rise up, having the Lord as your champion and protector, who surely saves the one who believes.

‘Do you believe,’ he says, ‘that I am able to do this?’ And they said…

‘Go your way; as you have believed, so let it be done to you.’

And they obtained what they sought.

May this also now come to pass for us who are lowly.

Show this letter, my brother, to those who are foremost; and above all, may you who were sent out from the inner confinement by the emperor be more secure than before.

And may the Lord be with you.

{To my child Peter} Writing a letter is, indeed, a good thing (for I always love, my beloved child, to converse with you through a letter); but sending—why, and indeed so many and such great things? You have utterly astonished me with this astonishment.

Was not the care of the brothers enough for you? But longing is a forceful thing.

Stop, I beg you, exhausting yourself any further.

Nevertheless I have accepted it; nevertheless I have returned thanks for it, because, unworthy as I am, such a disposition of yours has been poured out from God.

What shall I repay, wretch that I am? For what good thing do I have, or have you—or any other of your fellow students—received from me? It is God's gift, not something purchased from me.

Toward my lowliness, O good child, may you find Christ well disposed, granting you the rewards of your confidence.

For it is on his account that you do whatever you do.

But I exhort you to watch, to stand firm in the faith, to be manly, to be strong, and to let all that you do be done in love.

Consider how some who seemed to be standing have fallen, and others in other ways.

Let us be roused to emulation by those who are struggling in the contest, of whom Christ is the firm foundation, and among whom I too, wretch that I am, would wish to be a partaker.

among whom you also are numbered in Christ Jesus, who long ago made your manner of life illustrious—from which, I dare say, the present zeal of this time has also been kindled.

I have written to those to whom you told me I should send letters.

Greet your good company.

Those with me warmly greet you.

{To Patricia} As yet, I think, I have neither come into the sight of your nobility, nor into the matter of an epistolary address; but I have been led, moved by our spiritual child—Peter, I mean, your own kinsman.

For he strings together many praises of you, and says that many have enjoyed honor and favor from you.

And this is the mark of a good soul: to do good to all, and especially to one's own household and kin.

And the brother says also that you are not defiled by the abominable heresy of the Christ-fighters.

And indeed for this too great is your praise, in that you keep faith with your Master Christ, just as also with your blessed husband.

But oh, how did I come to remember your husband? For even if I am unknown to your honored self, yet I am not unknown to that ever-memorable man.

For I loved him greatly on account of his piety in all things and his fear of God, and I am persuaded that I was loved in return as well.

But it has happened as it has happened, and may God give him rest.

For it is not simply an evil to die in war, but to die in sin—which may overtake one even upon a bed.

Henceforth, my lady, be of good cheer concerning your husband, whom you will see again a little later, I hope, in joy, when at the last trumpet all shall rise for the recompense of the deeds done in life.

See how, having begun in one way, I have finished in another.

For this letter has turned out for me to have been composed, as a debt owed, to the wife of my lord and true friend.

May you be granted to me, living out your life in piety.

{To another Patricia} My writing now to my lady has come about on the occasion of our spiritual child, Abba Peter, who is also a kinsman of your piety.

And what have you left undone in doing good also to him, just as also to those around Abba Euodius and the others before them belonging to our most humble monastery? For which things, and on account of which, it is fitting to give thanks to you, to render acknowledgment, and to pray that good things may prosper for you.

May he, then, who supplies seed to the sower and bread for eating, supply and multiply the spiritual seed, and increase the fruits of your righteousness in every way, as you are enriched by divine labor.

For this is your praise in this present life, and your provision for eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.

We enjoy your good gifts from every side; and we have before our eyes a kindling of memory—even the pillow—resting upon which we, as a debt owed, earnestly pray for you.

What next? That also the faith, as I learn, you guard as your chief treasure, having, according to Scripture, the prudence of the serpent and the innocence of the dove.

Oh, your praiseworthy piety!

You know that nothing is to be preferred above God; you have truly been instructed in divine things; you truly know that human things are passing away.

And indeed, may the Lord preserve you, blameless unto the end, without any part in the God-estranged fellowship of the heretics—you who are in every way most praiseworthy and most prudent.

{To my child Hilarion} Rejoice, child, Abba Hilarion.

I inquire how you are, how you are passing through this time of persecution.

For even if now unconfined, yet formerly you were not only confined, but also struck with blows for the sake of Christ.

Nevertheless, even now, though persecuted, blessedness too is near at hand.

I have entreated, both before and now, the same thing: that you conduct your life in the Lord in a manner well-pleasing to him.

May your company be the company of Christ; may your fishing be apostolic fishing.

For indeed, this is the occupation of Christ's disciples.

While fishing, you yourself were caught by the Lord for the holy habit;

so may your catch always be such, in your being caught by God unto what is good.

When you look upon the deep, marvel at God your maker; when you catch the fish, glorify the Lord who feeds you; when you sell out of need, do so in a monastic manner, not a worldly one;

while plaiting the fishing-line, weave together with it good thoughts on my behalf.

You have a psalm, you have a hymn, you have a melody.

In eating, let there be nothing to cause offense; in drinking, moderation; in sleeping, sufficiency;

Let all things be done decently and in order, so that the Lord may be glorified by those who see you.

Watch out also for temptation, lest you too be caught.

Therefore one must neither be free of care nor live indifferently, but with fear and watchfulness and hope in God, so as to bear all things for Christ's sake.

Yes, my child, I exhort you to walk in this way.