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the elders, their contemporary; those in authority, their leader; the people, their champion; those in need of sustenance, their provider; all calling upon him with the most familiar names, for their own suffering, each raises a lament for him that is their own and fitting. But where is my speech being carried away by the pleasure of tears? Shall we not recover our senses? Shall we not become our own selves? Shall we not look to the common Master, who, having permitted each of the saints to minister to his own generation, at the appointed times has called them back again to himself? Now is the time to remember his words, who, when addressing you in assembly, always used to command: “Beware,” he would say, “of the dogs, beware of the evil workers.” Many are the dogs. Why do I say dogs? Rather, they are grievous wolves, hiding their deceit under the appearance of sheep, everywhere in the world they tear apart the flock of Christ. You must be on your guard against them under the supervision of some watchful shepherd. It is for you to ask for him, cleansing your souls of all contentiousness and love of pre-eminence, and for the Lord to reveal him, who, from the great champion of your Church, Gregory, until this blessed man, always adding and fitting one to another, as if from a joining of precious stones, has bestowed a wondrous beauty on your Church. So you must not despair of those who will follow. For the Lord knows those who are His, and might bring into the midst those perhaps not expected by us. 28.3 For a long time the pain of my heart has not allowed me, though I wished, to cease from speaking, but I enjoin you by the Fathers, by the orthodox faith, by this blessed man, to rouse your souls, each one judging that which is striven for to be his own concern, and believing that he himself will be the first to experience the outcome of affairs, for better or worse, and not, as happens with many, to push off the care of common matters onto his neighbor, and then, when each with the same mind neglects matters, for all to find that through their carelessness they have drawn a private evil upon themselves. These things, whether as the sympathy of neighbors, or as the communion of those who hold the same belief, or, which is truer, as from those who obey the law of love and avoid the danger that comes from silence, receive with all good will, persuaded that you are our boast, just as we are yours in the day of the Lord, and that from the shepherd who will be given to you, we shall either be united more fully in the bond of love, or come to complete separation; which may it not happen, nor will it by the grace of God, nor would I now utter anything blasphemous. But we want you to know this, that although we did not have the blessed one concurring with us for the peace of the Churches, on account of certain prejudices, as he himself assured us, yet at least in our agreement of faith with him and in always calling him a partner in the struggles against the heretics, with God as our witness and those men who have experience of us, we were at no time found wanting.

29. A CONSOLATORY LETTER TO THE CHURCH OF ANCYRA

29.1 For a long time the shock of the very grievous news of the evil that has happened imposed silence upon us. But when we had recovered a little from the speechlessness which we suffered, like those whose hearing is stunned by a great thunderclap, we necessarily groaned at what happened and while lamenting we sent this letter to you, not for the sake of consolation (for what word could be found as a physician for so great a misfortune?), but signifying to you the pain of our heart, as much as possible, by this utterance. Now I needed the lamentations of Jeremiah and if any other of the blessed men has passionately lamented very great misfortunes. A man has fallen, truly a pillar and foundation of the truth; or rather, he himself to the blessed

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πρεσβῦται τὸν ἡλικιώτην, οἱ ἐν τέλει τὸν ἔξαρχον, ὁ δῆμος τὸν προστάτην, οἱ βίου δεό μενοι τὸν τροφέα· πάντες ἐκ τῶν οἰκειοτάτων αὐτὸν ὀνομά των ἀνακαλούμενοι, ἐπὶ οἰκείῳ πάθει οἰκεῖον αὐτῷ καὶ προσήκοντα ἕκαστος τὸν θρῆνον αἴρουσιν. Ἀλλὰ ποῦ μοι ὁ λόγος ὑφ' ἡδονῆς τῶν δακρύων ἐκφέρεται; Οὐκ ἀνανήψο μεν; Οὐχ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν γενησόμεθα; Οὐκ ἀποβλέψομεν πρὸς τὸν κοινὸν ∆εσπότην, ὅς, ἕκαστον τῶν ἁγίων τῇ ἰδίᾳ γενεᾷ ἐπιτρέψας ὑπηρετήσασθαι, τοῖς καθήκουσι χρόνοις πρὸς ἑαυτὸν πάλιν ἀνεκαλέσατο; Νῦν ἐν καιρῷ τῶν ἐκεί νου φωνῶν ὑπομνήσθητε, ὅς, ἐκκλησιάζων ὑμῖν ἀεὶ διεστέλλετο· «Βλέπετε, λέγων, τοὺς κύνας, βλέπετε τοὺς κακοὺς ἐργάτας.» Πολλοὶ οἱ κύνες. Τί λέγω κύνες; Λύκοι μὲν οὖν βαρεῖς, ἐν ἐπιφανείᾳ προβάτων τὸ δολερὸν ὑπο κρύπτοντες, πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης τὸ Χριστοῦ ποίμνιον διασπῶσιν. Οὓς φυλακτέον ὑμῖν ἐγρηγορικοῦ τινος ποιμέ νος ἐπιστασίᾳ. Ὃν ὑμέτερον μὲν αἰτῆσαι, φιλονεικίας πάσης καὶ φιλοπρωτίας τὰς ψυχὰς καθαρεύοντας, τοῦ Κυρίου δὲ ἀναδεῖξαι, ὅς, ἀπὸ τοῦ μεγάλου προστάτου τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὑμῶν Γρηγορίου μέχρι τοῦ μακαρίου τούτου, ἄλλον ἐπ' ἄλλῳ προστιθεὶς καὶ συναρμόζων ἀεί, οἷον ἔκ τινος ἁρμοῦ λίθων πολυτελῶν, θαυμαστὸν οἷον τὸ κάλλος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὑμῶν ἐχαρίσατο. Ὥστε οὐδὲ τῶν ἐφεξῆς ἀπελπιστέον. Οἶδε γὰρ Κύριος τοὺς ὄντας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀγάγοι ἂν εἰς τὸ μέσον τοὺς παρ' ἡμῶν τυχὸν οὐ προσδο κωμένους. 28.3 Πάλαι με θέλοντα τῶν λόγων παύσασθαι ἡ ὀδύνη τῆς καρδίας οὐκ ἐπιτρέπει, ἀλλ' ἐπισκήπτω ὑμῖν πρὸς τῶν Πατέρων, πρὸς τῆς ὀρθῆς πίστεως, πρὸς τοῦ μακαρίου τούτου, διαναστῆναι τὴν ψυχήν, οἰκεῖον ἕκαστον ἑαυτοῦ τὸ σπουδαζόμενον κρίναντα καὶ τῆς ἐφ' ἑκάτερα τῶν πραγ μάτων ἐκβάσεως πρῶτον αὐτὸν ἀπολαύσειν ἡγούμενον, μηδέ, τὸ τοῖς πολλοῖς συμβαῖνον, πρὸς τὸν πλησίον τὴν τῶν κοινῶν ἐπιμέλειαν ἀπωθεῖσθαι, εἶτα, ἑκάστου τῇ αὐτῇ διανοίᾳ τῶν πραγμάτων ὀλιγωροῦντος, λαθεῖν ἅπαντας ἴδιον ἑαυτοῖς κακὸν διὰ τῆς ἀμελείας ἐπισπασαμένους Ταῦτα εἴτε ὡς γειτόνων συμπάθειαν, εἴτε ὡς ὁμοδοξούν των κοινωνίαν, εἴτε καί, ὅπερ ἀληθέστερόν ἐστι, τῷ τῆς ἀγάπης πειθομένων νόμῳ καὶ τὸν ἐκ τοῦ σιωπῆσαι κίνδυνον ἐκκλινόντων, μετὰ πάσης εὐνοίας δέξασθε, πεπεισμένοι ὅτι καύχημα ἡμῶν ἐστε, καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ὑμῶν εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ δοθησομένου ποιμένος ὑμῖν, ἢ ἐπὶ πλέον τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς ἀγάπης ἑνωθησόμεθα, ἢ πρὸς παντελῆ διάστασιν· ὃ μὴ γένοιτο, οὐδὲ ἔσται τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι, οὐδ' ἂν αὐτὸς νῦν εἴποιμι βλάσφημον οὐδέν. Τοῦτο δὲ εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς βουλόμεθα, ὅτι εἰ καὶ πρὸς τὴν εἰρήνην τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν συντρέχοντα ἡμῖν οὐκ ἔσχο μεν τὸν μακάριον, διά τινας, ὡς αὐτὸς ἡμῖν διεβεβαιοῦτο, προλήψεις, ἀλλ' οὖν γε τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμοδοξίας καὶ τοῦ ἀεὶ κοινωνὸν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τῶν πρὸς τοὺς αἱρετικοὺς ἀγώνων, ὑπὸ μάρτυρι τῷ Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις τοῖς πεπειρα μένοις ἡμῶν, οὐδένα καιρὸν ἀπελείφθημεν.

29.τ ΤΗ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΑΓΚΥΡΑΣ ΠΑΡΑΜΥΘΗΤΙΚΗ

29.1 Πολὺν ἡμῖν χρόνον σιωπὴν ἐνεποίησεν ἡ ἔκπληξις τῆς βαρυτάτης

ἀγγελίας τοῦ συμβάντος κακοῦ. Ἐπεὶ δὲ μικρόν πως τῆς ἀφασίας ἀνηνέγκαμεν ἥν, ὡς οἱ βροντῇ μεγάλῃ τὰς ἀκοὰς ἐκπλαγέντες, πεπόνθαμεν, ἀναγκαίως ἐπεστε νάξαμεν τῷ συμβάντι καὶ μεταξὺ ὀδυρόμενοι τὴν ἐπιστο λὴν ὑμῖν ἐξεπέμψαμεν, οὐ παρακλήσεως ἕνεκεν (τίς γὰρ ἂν καὶ λόγος εὑρεθείη τοσαύτης συμφορᾶς ἰατρός;), ἀλλὰ τὴν ὀδύνην τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν, καθ' ὅσον δυνατόν, ἐκ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης ὑμῖν διασημαίνοντες. Νῦν ἐδεόμην τῶν Ἱερεμίου θρήνων καὶ εἰ δή τις ἄλλος τῶν μακαρίων ἀνδρῶν συμφορὰς μεγίστας ἐμπαθῶς ἀπωδύρατο. Πέπτω κεν ἀνήρ, στῦλος τῷ ὄντι καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας· μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὸς μὲν πρὸς τὴν μακαρίαν