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I and those with me greet all the brotherhood in Christ with your piety. 84 TO THE BISHOPS IN CILICIA. Your love of God has surely learned of the slanders that have been made against us. For those who think things contrary to the truth say that we divide our one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, into two sons. But some say that they derive the pretexts for the slander from a few among you who think these things, and who divide the incarnate God the Word into two persons. These must hear the apostolic voice clearly crying out: “One Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.” And again: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” And it was necessary for them also to follow the Lord's teachings. For the Lord himself says thus: “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.” And again: “If then you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before.” And the tradition of holy baptism teaches us that there is one Son, just as one Father, and one Holy Spirit. Therefore, let your love of God deign, if indeed any such exist at all—for I am not persuaded—who disobey the apostolic doctrines, both to silence them, and to correct them ecclesiastically, and to teach them to follow in the footsteps of the holy Fathers, and to keep inviolate the faith set forth at Nicaea in Bithynia by the holy and blessed Fathers, since it teaches the evangelical and apostolic doctrine in summary. For it is fitting for you, most God-beloved, both to take thought for the glory of God and for the common good repute, and not to overlook the reproach that is proceeding against the community on account of the ignorance, or contentiousness, of these few men, if indeed any such exist at all, even if it is against us, and not them, that the slanderers have whetted their tongues. But deign to remember us in your prayers to the Lord. For this the law of love commands. 85 TO BISHOP BASIL. The divine Paul called love the chief of good things, and commanded the disciples of the faith to be nourished by it. Your piety, possessing the wealth of this, has both proposed what was necessary and has announced what is pleasing. For what is more pleasing to those who fear the Lord than the soundness and harmony of right doctrines? Know well, then, most God-beloved, that we were exceedingly pleased having learned the things concerning our common friend; and as much as we were formerly pained, hearing that he says there is one nature of flesh and divinity, and that he openly attaches the saving passion to the impassible divinity, so we were gladdened upon reading the letters of your holiness, and having learned that he keeps inviolate the properties of the natures, and he says that neither the God Word has been turned into flesh, nor the flesh has been changed into the nature of divinity; but he says that in the one Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate God the Word, the properties of each nature have remained unconfused; and we praised the God of all for the harmony of the divine faith. We have, however, written to both Cilicias, although not knowing clearly, if there are any who think things contrary to the truth, and we have instructed the most God-beloved bishops to track down and seek out, if indeed there are any who divide the one Lord Jesus Christ into two sons; and either

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Πᾶσαν τὴν σὺν τῇ σῇ θεοσεβείᾳ ἐν Χριστῷ ἀδελφότητα ἐγώ τε καὶ οἱ σὺν ἐμοὶ προσαγορεύομεν. 84 ΤΟΙΣ ΕΝ ΚΙΛΙΚΙΑ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΙΣ. Τὰς καθ' ἡμῶν γεγενημένας συκοφαντίας μεμάθηκεν πάν τως ἡ ὑμετέρα φιλοθεΐα. Οἱ γὰρ τἀναντία τῇ ἀληθείᾳ φρο νοῦντες εἰς δύο μερίζειν ἡμᾶς υἱούς φασι τὸν ἕνα Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν μονογενῆ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱόν. Λέγουσι δέ τινες τῆς συκοφαντίας αὐτοὺς λαμβάνειν τὰς ἀφορμὰς ἔκ τινων εὐαριθμήτων παρ' ὑμῖν ταῦτα φρονούντων, καὶ εἰς δύο πρόσωπα διαιρούντων τὸν ἐνανθρωπήσαντα Θεὸν Λόγον. Οὓς δεῖ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς ἐπακοῦσαι φωνῆς διαρρήδην βοώσης· Εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα . Καὶ πάλιν· Εἷς Κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα . Ἔδει δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ ταῖς ∆εσποτικαῖς ἀκολουθῆσαι διδασκαλίαις. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος οὕτω φησίν· Οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ . Καὶ πάλιν· Ἐὰν οὖν ἴδητε τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀναβαίνοντα ὅπου ἦν τὸ πρότερον . Καὶ ἡ παράδοσις δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου βα πτίσματος ἕνα Υἱὸν ἡμᾶς εἶναι διδάσκει, ὡς ἕνα Πατέρα, καὶ ἓν ἅγιον Πνεῦμα. Καταξιωσάτω τοίνυν ἡ ὑμετέρα φιλοθεΐα, εἴπερ ἄρα τινὲς ὅλως εἰσὶν-ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐ πείθομαι-, τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς δόγμα σιν ἀπειθοῦντες, καὶ ἐπιστομίσαι αὐτούς, καὶ ἐκκλησιαστικῶς σωφρονίσαι, καὶ διδάξαι τοῖς τῶν ἁγίων Πατέρων ἀκολουθεῖν ἴχνεσι, καὶ τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ τῆς Βιθυνίας ἐκτεθεῖσαν πίστιν ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ μακαρίων Πατέρων ἀκήρατον φυλάττειν, ἅτε δὴ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν καὶ ἀποστολικὴν διδασκαλίαν ἐν κεφα λαίῳ διδάσκουσαν. Πρέπει γὰρ ὑμῖν, θεοφιλέστατοι, καὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξης καὶ τῆς κοινῆς εὐκλείας φροντίσαι, καὶ μὴ περιιδεῖν τὴν κατὰ τοῦ κοινοῦ χωροῦσαν λοιδορίαν διὰ τὴν τῶν ὀλίγων τούτων ἀνθρώπων ἀμαθίαν, ἢ φιλονεικίαν, εἴπερ τινὲς ὅλως εἰσίν, εἰ καὶ μὴ κατὰ τούτων, ὡσπεροῦν καὶ καθ' ἡμῶν, παρέθηξαν τὰς γλώσσας οἱ συκοφάνται. Καταξιοῦτε δὲ μνη μονεύειν ἡμῶν ἐν ταῖς πρὸς τὸν Κύριον προσευχαῖς. Τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ τῆς ἀγάπης παρακελεύεται νόμος. 85 ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ. Κεφάλαιον τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὴν ἀγάπην ὁ θεσπέσιος προσηγό ρευσε Παῦλος, καὶ ταύτῃ τρέφεσθαι τῆς πίστεως τοὺς τρο φίμους παρεκελεύσατο. Ταύτης ἔχουσα τὸν πλοῦτον ἡ σὴ θεοσέβεια, καὶ ἅπερ ἐχρῆν εἰσηγήσατο, καὶ τὰ θυμήρη μεμή νυκε. Τί γὰρ θυμηρέστερον τοῖς φοβουμένοις τὸν Κύριον τῆς τῶν ὀρθῶν δογμάτων ὑγείας τε καὶ συμφωνίας; Εὖ ἴσθι τοίνυν, θεοφιλέστατε, ὡς ἄγαν ἥσθημεν τὰ περὶ τοῦ κοινοῦ φίλου μεμαθηκότες· καὶ ὅσον πρώην ἠλγήσαμεν, ἀκούσαντες ὡς μίαν εἶναι φύσιν σαρκὸς καὶ θεότητος λέγει, καὶ ὡς ἄντικρυς τῇ ἀπαθεῖ θεότητι τὸ σωτήριον πάθος προσάπτει, οὕτως ηὐφράν θημεν τοῖς τῆς σῆς ὁσιότητος γράμμασιν ἐντυχόντες, καὶ με μαθηκότες ὡς ἀκεραίους φυλάττει τὰς τῶν φύσεων ἰδιότητας, καὶ οὔτε τὸν Θεὸν Λόγον εἰς σάρκα τετράφθαι φησίν, οὔτε τὴν σάρκα εἰς θεότητος μεταβεβλῆσθαι φύσιν· ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ Υἱῷ, τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ, τῷ ἐνανθρωπήσαντι Θεῷ Λόγῳ, ἀσυγχύτους μεμενηκέναι φησὶν τὰς ἑκατέρας φύσεως ἰδιό τητας· καὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν ἀνυμνήσαμεν ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς θείας πίστεως συμφωνίᾳ. Εἰς μέντοι Κιλικίαν ἑκατέραν γεγράφαμεν, καίτοι σαφῶς οὐκ εἰδότες, εἴπερ τινές εἰσιν ἐναντία τῇ ἀληθείᾳ φρονοῦντες, καὶ παρηγγυήσαμεν τοῖς θεοφιλεστάτοις ἐπισκόποις ἰχνεῦσαι καὶ ζητῆσαι, εἴπερ ἄρα τινές εἰσιν εἰς δύο υἱοὺς διαιροῦντες τὸν ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν· καὶ ἢ