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shaking off the accusations against himself, which was especially both against the canons and against all the laws.

2. But we, conscious that we had not come to a court of justice—or we would have attended ten thousand times—but to an enemy and a foe, as both what had happened before and what happened afterwards showed, we sent to him bishops, Demetrius of Pessinus, Eulysius of Apamea, Lupicinus of Appiaria, and presbyters, Germanus and Severus, responding with the gentleness that became us, and saying that we did not refuse a trial, but a manifest enemy and an open foe. For he who had not yet received the bills of indictment, and had done such things from the very outset, and had torn himself away from the Church, from communion, from prayer, and was anointing accusers, and transferring clergy, and making a church desolate; how could he be justified in ascending the judge's throne which was in no way fitting for him? For it is not fitting that one from Egypt should judge those in Thrace, especially when he himself is liable to accusation, and is an enemy and a foe. 52.532 But nevertheless, showing no respect, but hastening to fulfill what he had planned, when we declared that we were ready in the presence of even a hundred or a thousand bishops to refute the charges, and to show ourselves to be pure, as indeed we are, he would not endure it; but in our absence, though we were appealing for a synod, and demanding a trial, and not shrinking from a hearing, but from open enmity, he received accusers, and absolved those who had been excommunicated by me, and from those very men who had not yet cleared themselves of the charges, he received bills of indictment, and he drew up records, all of which was against ordinance and the sequence of the canons. But why must I say much? Did he not stop at doing everything? And intriguing, until he cast us out of both the city and the church with all power and authority, and in the deep evening, with all the people following after us. Being dragged by the city's curial official in the middle of the city, and being hauled away by force, I was taken down, and thrown into a ship, and I sailed through the night, because I was demanding a synod for a just hearing. Who could hear these things without tears, even if he had a heart of stone? But since, as I have already said, one must not only mourn the things that are done wrongly, but also correct them, I beseech your charity to rise up, and to suffer with me, and to do everything, so that these evils may be stopped. For their lawlessness did not cease even here, but after these things they set about their former practices. For when the most pious emperor shamelessly cast them out for having rushed upon the church, and many of the bishops present, seeing their lawlessness, withdrew to their own sees, fleeing their assault which was, as it were, a fire devouring everything, we were called back to the city, and to the church from which we had been unjustly expelled, with more than thirty bishops leading us in, and the most God-loving emperor having sent a notary for this purpose, but he immediately ran away. For what reason and why? Upon entering we besought the most God-loving emperor to convene a synod for the avenging of what had happened. Therefore, being conscious of what he had done, and fearing the examination, and as imperial letters were sent everywhere, gathering everyone from all sides, he threw himself secretly into a small boat in the middle of the night, and thus he escaped, taking all those with him.

3. But not even so did we stop, because of our confidence in our conscience, again entreating the same things from the most pious emperor. And he, acting in a manner befitting his piety, sent to him again, summoning him from Egypt, and all those with him, so that he might give an account of what had been done, and not think that those things which were so unjustly dared by one party, and in our absence, and against so many canons, were sufficient for his own defense. But he did not even endure the imperial 52.533

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τὰς καθ' ἑαυτοῦ ἀποδυσάμενος αἰτίας, ὃ μάλιστα καὶ παρὰ κανόνας καὶ παρὰ πάντας τοὺς νόμους ἦν.

βʹ. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς συνειδότες ὅτι οὐ πρὸς δικαστήριον ἀφικόμεθα ἢ γὰρ ἂν μυριάκις παρεγενόμεθα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἐχθρὸν καὶ πολέμιον, καθάπερ τά τε ἔμπροσθεν γεγενημένα καὶ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐδήλωσεν, ἀπεστάλκαμεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπισκόπους, τὸν Πισινοῦντος ∆ημήτριον, τὸν Ἀπαμείας Εὐλύσιον, τὸν Ἀππιαρίας Λουπίκινον, πρεσβυτέρους δὲ, Γερμανὸν καὶ Σευῆρον, μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης ἡμῖν ἐπιεικείας ἀποκρινόμενοι, καὶ λέγοντες μὴ παραιτεῖσθαι κρίσιν, ἀλλ' ἐχθρὸν πρόδηλον καὶ πολέμιον φανερόν. Ὁ γὰρ μηδέπω λιβέλλους δεξάμενος, καὶ τοιαῦτα ἐκ προοιμίων ποιήσας, καὶ ἀποῤῥήξας ἑαυτὸν Ἐκκλησίας, κοινωνίας, εὐχῆς, καὶ κατηγόρους ἀλείφων, καὶ κλῆρον μεθιστὰς, καὶ ἐκκλησίαν ἐρημῶν· πῶς ἂν ᾖ δίκαιος ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ δικαστοῦ θρόνον ἀναβαίνειν οὐδαμόθεν αὐτῷ προσήκοντα; Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀκόλουθόν ἐστι τὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου τοὺς ἐν Θρᾴκῃ δικάζειν, καὶ τοῦτον ὑπεύθυνον αἰτίας ὄντα, καὶ ἐχθρὸν καὶ πολέμιον. 52.532 Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲν αἰδεσθεὶς, ἀλλὰ ἅπερ βεβούλευτο πληρῶσαι ἐπειγόμενος, ἡμῶν δηλωσάντων, ὅτι ἕτοιμοί ἐσμεν καὶ ἑκατὸν καὶ χιλίων ἐπισκόπων παρόντων ἀποδύσασθαι τὰ ἐγκλήματα, καὶ δεῖξαι ὄντας καθαροὺς ἑαυτοὺς, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἐσμὲν, οὐκ ἠνέσχετο· ἀλλὰ ἀπόντων ἡμῶν, καὶ σύνοδον ἐπικαλουμένων, καὶ κρίσιν ἐπιζητούντων, καὶ οὐκ ἀκρόασιν φευγόντων, ἀλλ' ἀπέχθειαν φανερὰν, καὶ κατηγόρους ἐδέχετο, καὶ τοὺς παρ' ἐμοῦ γενομένους ἀκοινωνήτους ἔλυε, καὶ παρ' αὐτῶν ἐκείνων οὐδέπω τὰ ἐγκλήματα ἀποδυσαμένων λιβέλλους ἐλάμβανε, καὶ ὑπομνήματα ἔπραττε, ἅπερ ἅπαντα παρὰ θεσμὸν καὶ κανόνων ἀκολουθίαν ἦν. Τί δὲ δεῖ πολλὰ λέγειν; Οὐκ ἀπέστη πάντα ποιῶν; καὶ πραγματευόμενος, ἕως ἡμᾶς μετὰ δυναστείας καὶ αὐθεντίας πάσης καὶ τῆς πόλεως καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐξέβαλε, καὶ πρὸς ἑσπέραν βαθεῖαν, τοῦ δήμου παντὸς ἠμῖν ἐπισυρομένου. Ἑλκόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ κουριώσου τῆς πόλεως ἐν μέσῃ τῇ πόλει, καὶ πρὸς βίαν συρόμενος κατηγόμην, καὶ εἰς πλοῖον ἐνεβαλλόμην, καὶ διὰ νυκτὸς ἔπλεον, ἐπειδὴ σύνοδον πρὸς δικαίαν ἀκρόασιν προεκαλούμην. Τίς ταῦτα ἀδακρυτὶ, κἂν λιθίνην ἔχῃ καρδίαν, ἀκούσειεν; Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ, καθάπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, οὐ θρηνεῖν μόνον τὰ κακῶς γινόμενα, ἀλλὰ καὶ διορθοῦν δεῖ, παρακαλῶ τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην διαναστῆναι, καὶ συναλγῆσαι, καὶ πάντα ποιῆσαι, ὥστε στῆναι ταύτῃ τὰ κακά. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τὰ τῆς παρανομίας αὐτοῖς κατέλυσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τοῖς προτέροις ἐπαποδύετο. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ εὐσεβέστατος βασιλεὺς ἐπιπηδήσαντας αὐτοὺς τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀναισχύντως ἐξέβαλε, καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν παρόντων ἐπισκόπων ἰδόντες αὐτῶν τὴν παρανομίαν, εἰς τὰς αὐτῶν ἀνεχώρησαν, τὴν ἔφοδον αὐτῶν ὥσπερ πυράν τινα πάντα ἐπινεμομένην φεύγοντες, ἡμεῖς μὲν πάλιν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐκαλούμεθα, καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ἧς ἀδίκως ἐξεβλήθημεν, ἐπισκόπων τε ἡμᾶς πλειόνων ἢ τριάκοντα εἰσαγόντων, καὶ τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου βασιλέως νοτάριον εἰς τοῦτο ἀποστείλαντος, ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἐδραπέτευσεν εὐθέως. Τίνος ἕνεκεν καὶ διὰ τί; Εἰσιόντες παρεκαλοῦμεν τὸν θεοφιλέστατον βασιλέα, σύνοδον συναγαγεῖν εἰς ἐκδικίαν τῶν γεγενημένων. Συνειδὼς τοίνυν ἅπερ ἕδρασε, καὶ τὸν ἔλεγχον δεδοικὼς, καὶ γραμμάτων βασιλικῶν πανταχοῦ διαπεμφθέντων, πάντοθεν πάντας συναγόντων, λάθρα μέσων νυκτῶν εἰς ἀκάτιον ἑαυτὸν ἐμβαλὼν, οὕτως ἀπέδρα τοὺς μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ πάντας ἐπαγόμενος.

γʹ. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς οὐδὲ οὕτως ἔστημεν, διὰ τὸ τῷ συνειδότι θαῤῥεῖν τῷ ἡμετέρῳ, τὰ αὐτὰ πάλιν παρακαλοῦντες τὸν εὐσεβέστατον βασιλέα. Ὃς καὶ πρεπόντως αὐτοῦ ποιῶν τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ, ἔπεμψε πρὸς αὐτὸν πάλιν καλῶν αὐτὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, καὶ τοὺς μετ' αὐτοῦ πάντας, ὥστε δοῦναι λόγον τῶν γεγενημένων, καὶ μὴ τὰ ἀδίκως οὕτως ἐκ μιᾶς μοίρας, καὶ ἀπόντων ἡμῶν τολμηθέντα, καὶ παρὰ τοσούτους κανόνας, νομίζειν ἀρκεῖν εἰς ἀπολογίαν ἑαυτῷ. Ὁ δὲ οὐδὲ τῶν βασιλικῶν 52.533 ἠνέσχετο