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rather those of his own household? And: An hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. And: Narrow is the gate and afflicted is the way that leads to life. And: When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. And whatever is similar to these. And the divine Apostle says things in harmony with these: All who want to live piously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted; but evil men and impostors will proceed to the worse, deceiving and being deceived. These things, therefore, have provided us the greatest comfort in this storm. But since it is likely that the slanders against us have also reached your Holiness, I beseech your Piety not to lend your ears at all to the false accusations of the slanderers. For I am not aware of having ever taught, up to the present, to believe in two sons. For I was taught to believe in one Only-Begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate God the Word. However, I know the difference between flesh and divinity, and it seems to me that those are impious who divide into two sons the one Lord Jesus Christ, and those who travel the opposite road to these and call the divinity and the humanity of the Lord Christ one nature. For these are opposing cliffs; but the middle way is that of the evangelical dogmas, adorned by the footsteps of the holy prophets and apostles, and of those after them who excelled in the charism of teaching. I would have liked also to adduce their sayings and show them testifying to our way of thinking. But I need more words than is fitting for the measure of a letter. For this reason, having written in summary what we have learned about the incarnation of the Only-Begotten, I have sent it to your God-given perfection. I wrote not to offer teaching to others, but to make a defense against the slander that has arisen and to show my own way of thinking to those who do not know it. Therefore, when your Holiness has read it, if you find what has been written to be in agreement with the apostolic dogmas, confirm this way of thinking in your reply to us. But if anything included does not accord with the divine teaching, I ask to learn this also from your Piety. For even though we have spent much time in teaching, we still need a teacher. For, says the divine Apostle, we know in part. And we have heard him say again: But if anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know as he ought to know. Therefore, we ask to learn the truth from your Piety and to care for the peace of the church and to fight for the divine dogmas. For it is for these reasons that the most God-loving bishops, despising both the toils of the journey and the winter season, have set out for the imperial city, contriving to furnish some solution to the tempest. Therefore, be pleased, master, to provide them with prayers for their journey, and to support us with these. 110 To Domnus, Bishop of Antioch. Having read the letters of your Beatitude, I was reminded of Susanna, who seeing those wicked men and believing that the God of all was present, uttered that wonderful cry: I am hemmed in on every side. But nevertheless she chose rather to fall into the snares of slander than to despise the just judge. And now, master, two things lie before us. And this we have often said: either to offend God and harm the conscience, or to fall victim to the unjust votes of men. But it does not seem to me that the most pious emperor knows anything of these matters. For what prevented him from writing and permitting the ordination to take place, if this truly pleased him? Why then from outside
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μᾶλλον τοὺς οἰκειακοὺς αὐτοῦ ; Καί· Ἔρχεται ὥρα, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ ἀποκτείνας ὑμᾶς δόξῃ λατρείαν προσφέ ρειν τῷ Θεῷ . Καί· Στενὴ ἡ πύλη καὶ τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ζωήν . Καί· Ὅταν διώκω σιν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ, φεύγετε εἰς τὴν ἑτέ ραν . Καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ἐστὶ παραπλήσια. Συνῳδὰ δέ φησι καὶ ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος· Πάντες οἱ θέλοντες ζῆν εὐσεβῶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, διωχθήσονται· πονηροὶ δὲ ἄν θρωποι καὶ γόητες προκόψουσιν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον, πλα νῶντες καὶ πλανώμενοι . Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἡμῖν παραψυχὴν ἐν τῇδε τῇ ζάλῃ παρέσχε μεγίστην. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰκὸς καὶ μέχρι τῆς σῆς ἁγιωσύνης τὰς καθ' ἡμῶν διαβῆναι συκοφαν τίας, παρακαλῶ σου τὴν ὁσιότητα μηδ' ὅλως ὑποσχεῖν ταῖς τῶν συκοφαντῶν ψευδολογίαις τὰς ἀκοάς. Ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδα μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος διδάξας εἰς δύο πιστεύειν υἱούς. Εἰς ἕνα γὰρ ἐδιδάχθην πιστεύειν Μονογενῆ τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν ἐνανθρωπήσαντα Θεὸν Λόγον. Σαρκὸς μέντοι καὶ θεότητος ἐπίσταμαι τὸ διάφορον, καὶ δυσσεβεῖν μοι δοκοῦ σιν οἱ εἰς δύο υἱοὺς μερίζοντες τὸν ἕνα Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, καὶ οἱ τὴν ἐναντίαν τούτοις ὁδεύοντες καὶ μίαν φύσιν ἀποκαλοῦντες τὴν θεότητα τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα. Ἐναντίοι γὰρ ἀλλήλοις οὗτοι κρημνοί· μέση δὲ ἡ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν δογμάτων ὁδός, τοῖς τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν καὶ ἀποστόλων ἴχνεσι κοσμουμένη, καὶ τῶν μετὰ τούτους ἐν τῷ διδασκαλικῷ διαπρεψάντων χαρίσματι. Ἐβου λόμην δὲ καὶ τὰς τούτων παραθεῖναι χρήσεις καὶ δεῖξαι τῷ ἡμετέρῳ μαρτυρούσας φρονήματι. Ἀλλὰ πλειόνων δεῖ μοι λό γων ἢ κατὰ μέτρον ἐπιστολῆς. Οὗ δὴ χάριν ἐν κεφαλαίῳ γράψας, ἃ περὶ τῆς τοῦ Μονογενοῦς ἐνανθρωπήσεως μεμαθή καμεν, ἀπέστειλά σου τῇ κατὰ Θεὸν τελειότητι. Ἔγραψα δὲ οὐκ ἄλλοις προσφέρων διδασκαλίαν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν γεγενημέ νην συκοφαντίαν ἀπολογίαν ποιούμενος καὶ τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ φρό νημα τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι τοῦτο δεικνύς. Ἀναγνοῦσα τοίνυν ἡ ἁγιω σύνη σου, εἰ μὲν εὕροι τὰ γεγραμμένα τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς συμβαίνοντα δόγμασι, τοῖς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀντιγράφοις βεβαιω σάτω τὸ φρόνημα. Εἰ δέ τι τῶν ἐγκειμένων τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ τῇ θείᾳ μὴ συμφωνεῖ, καὶ τοῦτο μαθεῖν παρὰ τῆς σῆς ὁσιότητος ἀξιῶ. Καὶ γὰρ πολὺν ἐν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ καταναλώσαντες χρό νον, ἔτι δεόμεθα τοῦ διδάσκοντος. Ἐκ μέρους γὰρ, φησὶν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, γινώσκομεν . Ἠκούσαμεν δὲ αὐτοῦ πάλιν λέγοντος· Εἰ δέ τις δοκεῖ ἐγνωκέναι τι, οὐδέπω ἔγνω καθὼς δεῖ γνῶναι . Καὶ τἀληθὲς τοίνυν παρὰ τῆς σῆς ὁσιότητος παρακαλοῦμεν μαθεῖν καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς φροντίσαι γαλήνης καὶ τῶν θείων ὑπερμαχῆσαι δογμάτων. Τούτων γὰρ δὴ χάριν καὶ οἱ θεοφιλέστατοι ἐπίσκοποι, καὶ τῶν τῆς ὁδοιπορίας πόνων καὶ τῆς χειμερινῆς καταφρονή σαντες ὥρας, ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλεύουσαν ὥρμησαν πόλιν, λύσιν τινὰ πορίσαι τῷ κλύδωνι μηχανώμενοι. Καὶ αὐτοὺς τοίνυν ἐφοδιάσαι ταῖς προσευχαῖς, καὶ ἡμᾶς ταύταις ἐρεῖσαι παρα κλήθητι, δέσποτα. 110 ∆ΟΜΝΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΙΑΣ. Ἀναγνοὺς τὰ γράμματα τῆς μακαριωτάτης ἀνεμνήσθην Σουσάννης, ἣ τοὺς ἀλάστορας ἐκείνους ὁρῶσα καὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν παρεῖναι πιστεύουσα, τὴν θαυμασίαν ἐκείνην ἀφῆκε φωνήν· Στενά μοι πάντοθεν . Ἀλλ' ὅμως εἵλετο μᾶλλον ταῖς τῆς συκοφαντίας πάγαις περιπεσεῖν, ἢ τοῦ δικαίου καταφρονῆσαι κριτοῦ. Καὶ νῦν δέσποτα, δύο πρόκειται. Τοῦτο δὲ πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν· ἢ Θεῷ προσκροῦσαι, καὶ βλάψαι τὸ συνειδός, ἢ ταῖς ἀδίκοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψήφοις περιπεσεῖν. Ἐμοὶ δὲ οὐδὲ δοκεῖ τούτων εἰδέναι τι τὸν εὐσεβέστατον βασιλέα. Τί γὰρ ἐκώλυσεν αὐτὸν γράψαι, καὶ ἐπιτρέψαι τὴν χειροτονίαν γενέσθαι, εἴπερ ἀληθῶς αὐτὸν ἐθεράπευε τοῦτο; Τί δήποτε δὲ ἔξωθεν