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of our Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of his holy spirit, that it may be for you a healing of all affliction and hardship, and success towards every good thing for the perfecting of the church and the building up of your souls and for the increase of the glory of his name. 17.2 But we make this defense for ourselves to your Love, that we did not neglect to render the visit owed to you, either in the past or now after the departure of the blessed Patricius, but that the occupations of our churches are many, and the frailty of our body is great, as is likely, increasing as time goes on, and great also is the indifference of your goodness towards us, because there was never a word of exhortation in a letter or an indicative communication to our church, with the blessed bishop Euphrasius through all genuineness for himself and for you, as if with certain chains, by love our lowliness 17.3 having bound. But even if the debt of love was not previously fulfilled, either by us through a visit or by your Reverence through an exhortation, now at least we pray to God, taking your prayer to God as an ally for our desire, to visit you as quickly as is possible and to be encouraged with you and to be zealous with you, as the Lord may lead, so as to find a correction for the painful things that have already happened and security for the time to come; so that you, being torn apart in this discord, with one leading himself away from the church according to one impulse, and another according to another, may no longer be set forth as a laughingstock for the devil, whose will and work, contrary to the divine will, is that no one be saved nor come to the 17.4 knowledge of the truth. For how, brothers, do you think we are afflicted at the report of those who announced to us your affairs, that there has been no turning back of those in charge, but the purpose of those who once turned aside is always carried along by the same impulse, and just as water from a channel often overflows onto the adjacent bank and, having penetrated sideways, flows away, and when the faulty spot is not secured, it becomes hard to recall, as the ground beneath is hollowed out by the force of the stream, so the impulse of the apostates, having once flowed aside from the straight and right faith out of contentiousness, has now become deep-rooted through habit 17.5 and does not easily return to its former grace. Therefore your affairs need some wise and great overseer who knows how to channel such things well, so as to be able to recall the disorderly diversion of this stream to its ancient beauty, so that for you again the crops of piety may ripen, being wat17.6ered by the inflow of peace. For these reasons, great earnestness and zeal for the matter is owed by all of you for a leader to be appointed by the Holy Spirit of such a kind that with his whole eye he will see the things of God alone, not raising his eye to any 17.7 of the things that are sought after in life. For because of this, I think, the Levitical law makes the Levite without a share in the earthly inheritance, so that, as it is written, he might have God alone as his portion and possession, and that he might always cherish this possession in himself, his soul not being dragged down to anything mater17.8ial. But if some are, or we are, indifferent, let no one, looking at this, be harmed in his own affairs; for what is done improperly by others is not a law for the rest not to do what is necessary. But you must look to your own affairs, so that the progress of the church might be for the better, with the scattered returning again to the harmony of the one body, and with spiritual peace abounding in the multitude 17.9 of those who piously glorify God. For this I think it is well for <the one> who wishes good things for the church to consider, how the one who is appointed to leadership 17.10 might be suitable. but to seek for family and wealth and worldly distinction in the qualifications for the episcopate the apostolic does not

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τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡ κοινωνία τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι ὑμῖν θεραπείαν μὲν πάσης θλίψεως καὶ δυσχερείας, εὐοδίαν δὲ πρὸς πᾶν ἀγαθὸν εἰς καταρτισμὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ οἰκοδομὴν τῶν ὑμετέρων ψυχῶν καὶ εἰς προσθήκην τῆς δόξης τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ. 17.2 ἡμεῖς δὲ ταύτην ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν τὴν ἀπολογίαν πρὸς τὴν ἀγάπην ὑμῶν ποιούμεθα, ὅτι οὐκ ἠμελήσαμεν πρὸς τὴν ἀπόδοσιν τῆς κεχρεωστημένης ὑμῖν ἐπισκέψεως ἢ ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι χρόνῳ ἢ καὶ νῦν μετὰ τὴν γενομένην τοῦ μακαρίου Πατρικίου μετάστασιν, ἀλλ' ὅτι πολλαὶ μὲν αἱ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐκκλησιῶν ἀσχολίαι, πολλὴ δὲ καὶ ἡ τοῦ σώματος σαθρότης, ὡς εἰκὸς προϊόντι τῷ χρόνῳ συνεπιδιδοῦσα, πολλὴ δὲ καὶ ἡ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγαθότητος εἰς ἡμᾶς ῥᾳθυμία, ὅτι οὐδεὶς οὐδέποτε λόγος εἰς προτροπὴν ἐν γράμματι ἢ δηλωματικὴ σχέσις πρὸς τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐκκλησίαν, τοῦ μακαρίου Εὐφρασίου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου διὰ πάσης γνησιότητος ἑαυτῷ τε καὶ ὑμῖν οἷον σειραῖς τισι τῇ ἀγάπῃ τὴν βραχύτητα ἡμῶν 17.3 συνδήσαντος. ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ μὴ πρότερον τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης χρέος ἢ παρ' ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς ἐπισκέψεως ἢ παρὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας εὐλαβείας διὰ τῆς προτροπῆς ἀπεπληρώθη, νῦν γοῦν εὐχόμεθα τῷ θεῷ, σύμμαχον πρὸς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἡμῶν καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν πρὸς θεὸν συμπαραλαβόντες εὐχήν, διὰ τάχους ὥς ἐστι δυνατόν, ἐπιδημῆσαί τε ὑμῖν καὶ συμπαρακληθῆναι καὶ συσπουδάσαι, ὡς ἂν ὑφηγῆται ὁ κύριος, ὥστε καὶ τῶν ἤδη γεγενημένων λυπηρῶν διόρθωσιν ἐξευρεῖν καὶ εἰς τὸν ἐφεξῆς χρόνον ἀσφάλειαν· ὥστε μηκέτι ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἀσυμφωνίᾳ ταύτῃ διεσπασμένους, ἄλλου κατ' ἄλλην ὁρμὴν ἑαυτὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀπάγοντος, γέλωτα προκεῖσθαι τῷ διαβόλῳ, ᾧ βούλημα καὶ ἔργον ἐστὶν ἐξ ἐναντίου τῷ θείῳ θελήματι τὸ μηδένα σωθῆναι μηδὲ εἰς 17.4 ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν. πῶς γὰρ οἴεσθε ἡμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, θλίβεσθαι πρὸς τὴν ἀκοὴν τῶν διαγγειλάντων ἡμῖν τὰ ὑμέτερα, ὅτι οὐδεμία γέγονεν τῶν ἐφεστώτων ἐπιστροφή, ἀλλ' ἡ τῶν ἅπαξ ἀποκλινάντων προαίρεσις ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ὁρμῆς ἀεὶ φέρεται, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐκ τοῦ ὀχετοῦ ὕδωρ πολλάκις εἰς τὴν παρακειμένην ὄχθην ὑπερεκχεῖται καὶ κατὰ τὸ πλάγιον διαδυὲν ἀπορρέει, μὴ ἀπασφαλισθέντος δὲ τοῦ ὑπαιτίου τόπου δυσανάκλητον γίνεται κοιλανθέντος τοῦ ὑποκειμένου πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ῥείθρου φοράν, οὕτως ἡ τῶν ἀποστάντων ὁρμή, ἅπαξ τῆς εὐθείας τε καὶ ὀρθῆς πίστεως ἐκ φιλονεικίας παραρρυεῖσα, ἐνεβάθυνεν ἤδη τῇ συνηθείᾳ 17.5 καὶ οὐκ εὐχερῶς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἐπανέρχεται χάριν. διὸ σοφοῦ τινος καὶ μεγάλου χρῄζει τὰ καθ' ὑμᾶς ἐπιστάτου καλῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα ὀχετηγεῖν ἐπισταμένου, ὥστε δυνηθῆναι πάλιν τὴν ἄτακτον τοῦ ῥεύματος τούτου παρατροπὴν εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον κάλλος ἀνακαλέσασθαι, ὡς ἂν πάλιν ὑμῖν τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἁδρύνοιτο λήια τῇ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐπιρροῇ κατ17.6 αρδόμενα. διὰ ταῦτα πολλὴ χρεωστεῖται τῷ πράγματι παρὰ πάντων ὑμῶν σπουδή τε καὶ προθυμία πρὸς τὸ ἀναδειχθῆναι προστάτην ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος τοιοῦτον ὃς ὅλῳ τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ὄψεται μόνα, πρὸς οὐδὲν 17.7 τῶν ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σπουδαζομένων μετεωρίζων τὸ ὄμμα. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ οἶμαι τὸν λευιτικὸν νόμον ἀπόκληρον τῆς γηΐνης κληρονομίας τὸν λευίτην ποιεῖν, ὡς ἂν μερίδα κτήσεως, καθὼς γέγραπται, τὸν θεὸν μόνον ἔχοι καὶ τοῦτο περιέποι διὰ παντὸς ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ κτῆμα, πρὸς οὐδὲν ὑλῶδες τῆς 17.8 ψυχῆς καθελκομένης. εἰ δέ τινές εἰσιν ἢ καί ἐσμεν ἀδιάφοροι, μηδεὶς πρὸς τοῦτο βλέπων ἐπὶ τῶν ἰδίων βλαπτέσθω· οὐ γὰρ νόμος ἐστὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις πρὸς τὸ μὴ τὰ δέοντα πράσσειν τὸ παρ' ἑτέροις μὴ δεόντως γινόμενον. ἀλλ' ὑμᾶς χρὴ τὰ ἑαυτῶν βλέπειν, ὅπως ἂν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον γένοιτο ἡ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐπίδοσις, τῶν διεσκορπισμένων πάλιν εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἑνὸς σώματος ἁρμονίαν ἐπανελθόντων καὶ τῆς πνευματικῆς εἰρήνης ἐν τῷ πλήθει 17.9 τῶν εὐσεβῶς τὸν θεὸν δοξαζόντων εὐθηνουμένης. πρὸς τοῦτο καλῶς ἔχειν οἶμαι σκοπεῖν <τὸν> τὰ καλὰ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ βουλόμενον, ὅπως ἂν ὁ ἀναδεικνύμενος εἰς προστασίαν 17.10 ἐπιτηδείως ἔχοι. γένος δὲ καὶ πλοῦτον καὶ κοσμικὴν περιφάνειαν ζητεῖν ἐν τοῖς ἐπισκοπικοῖς κατορθώμασιν ὁ ἀποστολικὸς οὐκ