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THEOD. Tell him the answer, and find out what he says; since for us to leave this way, having said nothing and heard nothing, is not reasonable.

Then Epiphanius the patrician said: EPIPH. The emperor declares this to you through us, saying: Since the entire West and

those in the East consider you a subverter, and all are in sedition on your account, not wishing to be reconciled with us concerning the faith, may God grant you compunction to enter into communion with us on the basis of the Typos set forth by us, and we ourselves will come out to the Chalke, and we will embrace you and place our hand under yours, and with all honor and glory we will lead you into the great Church, and we will stand you with ourselves where the emperors customarily stand, and we will hold the synaxis together, and we will partake together of the immaculate and life-giving mysteries of the life-giving body and blood of Christ, and we will proclaim you our Father, and there will be joy not only for our Christ-loving and imperial city, but also for the whole inhabited world. For we know for sure that if you enter into communion with the holy throne here, all those who have been separated from our communion on account of you and your teaching will be united with us.

26. And turning to the bishop, Abba Maximus said with tears

to him: 15Γ_054 MAX. My great lord, we all await the day of judgment. You know what was defined and decreed upon the holy Gospels and the life-giving cross and the icon of our God and Savior and of the all-holy Ever-Virgin Mother who bore him.

And casting his face down, the bishop says to him in a more somber voice:

THEOD. And what can I do, when something else has occurred to the most pious emperor?

And Maximus says to him: MAX. And why did you and those with you touch the holy Gospels, since the outcome of what was said was not in

your power? Truly, all the power of the heavens will not persuade me to do this. For what defense will I make, I do not say to God, but to my own conscience, that for the sake of human glory, which in its own nature has no existence, I have renounced the faith that saves those who cherish it?

27. And at this word they stood up, as anger took command of them all,

and with pulling and shoving and blows they set upon him, inundating him from head to toe with spit, the stench of which permeated the garments that had been soiled until they were washed. And standing up, the bishop said:

THEOD. This should not have happened, but one should have only heard the answer from him and gone in to report it to our good master. For canonical matters are managed in another way.

And when the bishop had with difficulty persuaded them to be quiet, they sat down again, and after taunting him with countless insults and unimaginable curses, Epiphanius said with anger and harshness:

EPIPH. Tell me, you utterly depraved glutton, was it because you consider us and our city and the emperor to be heretics that you said these words? Truly we are more Christian and orthodox than you, and 15Γ_056 we confess that our Lord and God has both a divine will and a human will and an intelligent soul, and that every intelligent

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ΘΕΟ∆. Εἴπατε αὐτῷ τήν ἀπόκρισιν, καί γνῶτε τί λέγει· ἐπεί τό οὕτως ἐξελθεῖν μηδέν εἰρηκότας καί μηδέν ἀκούσαντας, οὐκ ἐστίν εὔλογον.

Τότε Ἐπιφάνιος ὁ πατρίκιος εἶπε· ΕΠΙΦ. Τοῦτο σοι δηλοῖ δι' ἡμῶν ὁ βασιλεύς, λέγων· Ἐπειδή πᾶσα ἡ ∆ύσις καί

οἱ ἐν τῇ Ανατολῇ διαστρέφοντας εἰς σέ θεωροῦσι, καί ἅπαντες διά σέ στασιάζουσι, μή θέλοντες συμβιβασθῆναι ἡμῖν διά τήν πίστιν, κατανύξοι σε ὁ Θεός κοινωνῆσαι ἡμῖν ἐπί τῷ παρ' ἡμῖν ἐκτεθέντι Τύπῳ, καί ἐξερχόμεθα ἡμεῖς δι' ἑαυτῶν εἰς τήν Χαλκῆν, καί ἀσπαζόμεθά σε καί ὑποτιθέμεθα ὑμῖν τήν χεῖρα ἡμῶν, καί μετά πάσης τιμῆς καί δόξης εἰσάγομεν ὑμᾶς εἰς τήν μεγάλην Ἐκκλησίαν, καί μεθ' ἑαυτῶν ἱστῶμεν ἐν ᾧ κατά συνήθειαν οἱ βασιλεῖς ἵστανται, καί ποιοῦμεν ἅμα τήν σύναξιν, καί κοινωνοῦμεν ἅμα τῶν ἀχράντων καί ζωοποιῶν μυστηρίων τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ σώματος καί αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καί ἀνακηρύττομέν σε Πατέρα ἡμῶν, καί γίνεται χαρά οὐ μόνον τῇ φιλοχρίστῳ καί βασιλίδι ἡμῶν πόλει, ἀλλά καί πάσῃ τῇ οἰκουμένη. Οἴδαμεν γάρ ἀσφαλῶς, ὅτι σοῦ κοινωνοῦντος τῷ ἁγίῳ τῶν ἐνταύθα θρόνῳ, πάντες ἑνοῦνται ἡμῖν οἱ διά σέ καί τήν σήν διδασκαλίαν ἀποσχίσαντες τῆς κοινωνίας ἡμῶν.

ΚΣΤ'. Καί στραφείς πρός τόν ἐπίσκοπον ὁ ἀββᾶς Μάξιμος, μετά δακρύων εἶπεν

αὐτῷ· 15Γ_054 ΜΑΞ. Κύριε ὁ μέγας, ἡμέραν κρίσεως ἐκδεχόμεθα πάντες. Οἶδας τά τυπωθέντα καί δόξαντα ἐπί τῶν ἁγίων Εὐαγγελίων καί τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ σταυροῦ καί τῆς εἰκόνος τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καί τῆς αὐτόν τεκούσης Παναγίας Ἀειπαρθένου Μητρός.

Καί βαλών κάτω τό πρόσωπον ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, στυγνότερᾳ, τῇ φωνῇ λέγει πρός αὐτόν·

ΘΕΟ∆. Καί τί ἔχω ποιῆσαι ἐγώ, ἐπάν ἕτερόν τί παρέστη τῷ εὐσεβεστάτῳ βασιλεῖ;

Καί φησι πρός αὐτόν Μάξιμος· ΜΑΞ. Καί διά τί ἥψω τῶν ἁγίων Εὐαγγελίων καί οἱ μετά σοῦ, οὐκ οὔσης ἐφ'

ὑμῖν τῆς τῶν λαληθέντων ἐκβάσεως; Ὄντως πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις τῶν ουρανῶν τοῦτο οὐ πείθει με ποιῆσαι. Τί γάρ ἀπολογήσομαι, οὐ λέγω τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλά τῷ ἐμῷ συνειδότι, ὅτι διά δόζαν ἀνθρώπων, τῷ κατ' αὐτήν λόγῳ μηδεμίαν ἔχουσαν ὕπαρξιν, τήν σώζουσαν τούς στέργοντας αὐτήν πίστιν ἐξωμοσάμην;

ΚΖ'. Καί ἐπί τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ ἀναστάντες, θυμοῦ στρατηγήσαντος πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς,

τιλμοῖς καί ὠθισμοῖς καί σφαιρισμοῖς παρέλυσαν αὐτόν, ἀπό κεφαλής ἕως ὀνύχων κατακλύσαντες αὐτόν πτύσμασιν, ὧνπερ, μέχρις ἄν ἐπλύνθησαν ἅπερ ἐβέβλητο ἱμάτια, διεπνέετο ὁ βρόμος. Καί ἀναστάς ὁ ἐπίσκοπος εἶπεν·

ΘΕΟ∆. Οὕτως οὐκ ἔδει γενέσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀκοῦσαι μόνον παρ' αὐτοῦ τήν ἀπόκρισιν καί εἰσελθεῖν ἀναγγεῖλαι τῷ δεσπότη ἡμῶν τῷ ἀγαθῷ. Τά γάρ κανονικά πράγματα, ἑτέρῳ διοικοῦνται τρόπῳ.

Καί μόλις πείσας αὐτούς ὁ ἐπίσκοπος ἡσυχάσαι, πάλιν ἐκάθισαν, καί μυρίαις ὕβρεσι καί ἀραῖς ἀνεπινοήτοις μωμώσαντες αὐτόν, μετά θυμοῦ καί τραχύτητος εἶπεν Ἐπιφάνιος·

ΕΠΙΦ. Εἰπέ, κακέσχατε φαγοπόλιε, ὡς αἱρετικούς ἔχων ἡμᾶς καί τήν πόλιν ἡμῶν καί τόν βασιλέα, τούτους εἶπας τούς λόγους; Ὄντως πλεῖόν σου Χριστιανοί ἐσμεν καί ὀρθόδοξοι, καί 15Γ_056 τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν καί Θεόν ὁμολογοῦμεν ἔχειν καί θεϊκήν θέλησιν καί ἀνθρωπίνην θέλησιν καί νοεράν ψυχήν, καί ὅτι πᾶσα νοερά