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to the enemy of our life, so that he has a web for whatever he wants; whom it was necessary to live through our longsuffering and gentleness; and let us be justly accused, as having neglected divine things, both wills and sufferings. For similarly, even if the word is harsh, it is nevertheless true, they dishonor the good will of God, and despise His philanthropic emptying for our sake, as far as it is in their power, both those who are unwilling to repent, and those who do not accept the repentant; because they ought to make the misfortunes of one another their own, on account of the equal honor of nature; not even reverencing the goodness of God towards us; if we have not been shown to imitate something else concerning our kind.

Since then you know, blessed handmaid of God, that divine justice is rightly applied to the dispositions of our souls, becoming such to us as we have made ourselves to one another; and making God such to ourselves as we have previously disposed ourselves to those who suffer like things, do not delay to receive with open hands your supplicant and handmaid; but 15Β_152 without delay, in imitation of God, with all haste, place the sheep on your shoulders, and bring it together to the safe fold, and henceforth guard it from being consumed by wolves; so that you too may obtain such a philanthropic God and Savior, Christ, and judge of all, at his fearful and most glorious epiphany, who will render to you the eternal fruits of what you have sown. May we too find Him merciful by His grace and philanthropy; by the prayers and intercessions of our Lady, the all-glorious Theotokos, and of all His saints. Amen.

EPISTLE 12. ... CONCERNING THE CORRECT DOGMAS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD

... 0460 12. By the same, to John the cubicularius, Concerning the correct

dogmas of the Church of God; and against Severus the heretic. 15Β_154 Having reckoned it good, not to withhold from you anything of what comes to me

concerning you, O divinely protected ones; for this our law and lawgiver of true love, Christ who is love itself, commands; teaching us to appropriate one another through ourselves; I have made the present letter of this epistle; declaring how, in the month of November of the present fifteenth indiction, a certain chancellor named Theodore arrived here; truly noble, and not lacking in freedom of manners, as it is possible for me at least to conjecture from what is seen, carrying a letter from our common mistress, the divinely protected Patricia, written as he said, to the blessed servant of God, the all-honored prefect here; for the sake of releasing the nuns dwelling here; both from the monastery of Amma Joannia, from Alexandria, and of the so-called monastery of Sacerdos, which belong to the heresy of Severus; who used so great a madness of both falsehood and excess against the truth, that it is enough to trouble the holy Church of God even to this day. But to no one else, from no other of the officials appointed to serve there for the divinely protected Patricia, did he deliver so much as a single syllable. Therefore I, along with many others, was amazed, being at a loss in myself 15Β_156 what the reason was for which my divinely protected master deigned to declare nothing to me through him; and a great murmuring, as is likely, which is wont to happen in such cases, as you know, master, such a letter caused among the faithful people; and it nearly diminished the reverence for the all-honored mistress Patricia in the Catholic Church of God; and all the

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ἐχθρῷ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν, πρός τό ἔχειν ὑφήνιον εἰς ὅπερ ἄν καί βούλεται· ἥν ἔδει ζῇν διά τῆς ἡμῶν μακροθυμίας καί ἠπιότητος· καί ἐγκληθῶμεν δικαίως, ὡς τῶν θείων ἀμελήσαντες καί θελημάτων καί παθημάτων. Ὁμοίως γάρ, κἄν εἰ σκληρός ὁ λόγος, ἀλλ' οὖν ἀληθής, τό ἀγαθόν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀτιμάζουσι θέλημα, καί τήν ὑπέρ ἡμῶν αὐτοῦ φιλάνθρωπον κένωσιν ἐξουδενοῦσιν, ὅσον τό ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς, οἵ τε μετανοεῖν οὐκ ἐθέλοντες, καί τούς μετανοοῦντας μή προσδεχόμενοι· ὅτι ἀλλήλων ὀφείλοντες οἰκειοῦσθαι τάς συμφοράς, διά τήν ὁμοτιμίαν τῆς φύσεως· οὐδ᾿ αὐτήν τήν περί ἡμᾶς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαθότητα αἰδεσθέντες· εἰ μή τι ἀλλο περί τό ὁμόφυλον μιμησάμενοι, διεδείχθημεν.

Ὡς οὖν γινώσκουσα, δούλη τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐλογημένη, ὅτι ταῖς τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν διαθέσεσιν ἡ θεία δεόντως ἐφαρμόζεται δικαιοσύνη, τοιαύτη ἡμῖν γινομένη, οἵους ἀλλήλοις ἑαυτούς πεποιήμεθα· καί τοιοῦτον ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς τόν Θεόν καθιστῶσα, οἵους φθάσαντες τοῖς ὁμοιοπαθέσιν ἑαυτούς διεθήκαμεν, μή ἀναβάλῃ προσδέξασθαι ὑπτίαις χερσί τήν σήν ἱκέτην καί δούλην· ἀλλ᾿ 15Β_152 ἀμελλητί θεομιμήτως διά πάσης σπουδῆς ἐπίθες τοῖς ὤμοις τό πρόβατον, καί πρός τήν ἀσφαλῆ μάνδραν συγκόμισον, καί τοῖς λύκοις ἀνάλωτον πρός τό ἑξῆς διαφύλαξον· ἵνα καί αὐτή τοιούτου τύχοις τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ καί Σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ καί κριτοῦ τῶν ὅλων, κατά τήν αὐτοῦ φοβεράν καί ὑπερένδοξον ἐπιφάνειαν, ἀποδώσοντός σοι ὧν ἔσπειρας τούς αἰωνίους καρπούς. Οὗ καί ἡμεῖς τύχοιμεν ἵλεω τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι καί φιλανθρωπίᾳ· εὐχαῖς καί πρεσβείαις τῆς ∆εσποίνης ἡμῶν, τῆς πανενδόξου Θεοτόκου, καί πάντων τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ. Ἀμήν.

ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΙΒ'. ... ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΟΡΘΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ∆ΟΓΜΑΤΩΝ

... 0460 ΙΒ´. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ, πρός Ἰωάννην κουβικουλάριον, Περί τῶν ὀρθῶν τῆς

Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ δογμάτων· καί κατά Σευήρου τοῦ αἱρετικοῦ. 15Β_154 Καλῶς ἔχειν λογισάμενος, μηδέν ὑμῖν τῶν εἰς ἐμέ ἐρχομένων

περί ὑμῶν αὐτῶν, θεοφύλακτοι, ἀναγγεῖλαι ὑποστείλασθαι· τοῦτο γάρ κελεύει ὁ ἡμέτερος τῆς ἀληθοῦς ἀγάπης νόμος καί νομοθέτης καί αὐτοαγάπη Χριστός· δι᾿ ἑαυτῶν ἀλλήλους ἡμᾶς οἰκειοῦσθαι διδάσκων· τό παρόν τῆς ἐπιστολῆς γράμμα πεποίημαι· δηλῶν, ὡς κατά τόν Νοέμβριον μῆνα τῆς ἐνεστώσης πεντεκαιδεκάτης ἐπινεμήσεως, κατέλαβε τά ἐνταῦθα Θεόδωρός τις τοὔνομα καγκελλάριος· εὐγενής ὄντως, καί τρόπων ἐλευθερίας οὐκ ἀμοιρῶν, ὡς ἐμέ γε ἐκ τῶν ὁρωμένων στοχάσασθαι δυνατόν, γράμμα ἐπιφερόμενος παρά τῆς κοινῆς ἡμῶν δεσποίνης τῆς θεοφυλάκτου Πατρικίας, ὡς ἔλεγε κεχαραγμένον, πρός τόν εὐλογημένον δοῦλον τοῦ Θεοῦ, τόν ἐνταῦθα πανεύφημον ἔπαρχον· χάριν τοῦ ἀπολυθῆναι τάς οἰκούσας ἐνταῦθα μοναζούσας· τῆς τε μονῆς τῆς ἀμμᾶς Ἰωαννίας, τῆς ἀπό Ἀλεξανδρείας, καί τῆς ἐπιλεγόμενης μονῆς τῶν Σακερδῶτος, τῆς Σευήρου οὔσας αἱρέσεως· τοῦ τοσαύτῃ χρησαμένου κατά τῆς ἀληθείας μανίᾳ τε ψεύδους καί περιουσίᾳ, ὡς καί μέχρι τῆς σήμερον τῇ ἁγίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ διοχλῆσαι ἀρκεῖν. Οὐδενί δέ ἄλλῳ ἀπ᾿ οὐδενός ἑτέρου τό σύνολον τῶν ὑπουργεῖν ἐκεῖσε ἀποταγέντων τῇ θεοφυλάκτ·ω Πατρικίᾳ ἀρχόντων, οὐδ᾿ ἕως συλλαβῆς ψιλῆς διεκόμισεν. Ὅθεν κἀγώ σύν πολλοῖς ἄλλοις ἐθαύμασα, τίς, ἐν ἐμαυτῶ 15Β_156 διαπορῶν, ὁ λόγος καθ᾿ ὅν οὐδέν μοι δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἠξίωσε δηλῶσαι ὁ θεοφύλακτός μου δεσπότης· καί πολύν, ὡς εἰκός, ὅπερ φιλεῖ συμβαίνειν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις, ὡς ἴστε, δέσποτα, τοῖς πιστοῖς λαοῖς γογγυσμόν ἐποίησε τό τοιοῦτον γράμμα· καί τό περί τήν δέσποιναν τήν πανεύφημον Πατρικίαν παρά τῇ καθολικῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ σέβας μικροῦ ἐμείωσε· καί πάντας τούς