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we hymned the grace of the All-holy Spirit that had spoken; and we exhort, and we entreat, and we pray, and we beseech your holiness, to come to the aid of the storm-tossed Churches of God. For having expected that there would be a release from the tempest through those sent by your holiness to Ephesus, we have fallen into a more grievous surge. For the most just president of the Alexandrian <city> was not content with this lawless and most unjust deposition of the most holy and most God-beloved bishop of the Constantinopolitans, the lord Flavian, nor did the similar slaughter of the other bishops fill his rage, but he also slaughtered me, who was absent, in like manner with a pen, neither summoning me to a tribunal, nor judging me when present, not asking what I think concerning the incarnation of our God and Savior. And while judges do not condemn murderers, and tomb-robbers, and those who have violated others' beds, until they either confirm the accusations with their own confessions, or are clearly convicted by others. But he who was nurtured in the divine laws condemned us, being thirty-five stations away, as he wished. And he has not only done this now, but also last year, after two men who had received the disease of Apollinaris ran there and wove slanders against us, rising up in the church he anathematized us; and this, although I had written to him and declared what I think through letters. But I lament the tempest of the Church, while I embrace tranquility. For having for twenty-six years guided the Church entrusted to me by the God of all through your prayers, not under the most blessed Theodotus, president of the East, nor under those after him who succeeded to the throne of the Antiochenes, did I suffer any blame whatsoever, but with divine grace working with me, I freed more than a thousand souls from the disease of Marcion, and I brought many others from the faction of Arius and Eunomius to the Lord Christ; and I was allotted to shepherd eight hundred Churches; for Cyrrhus has so many parishes, in which not one weed has remained, thanks to your prayers; but our flock has been freed from every heretical error. He who sees all things knows how many stones I received, sent against me by the ill-named heretics, how many struggles I had in most of the cities of the East against Greeks, against Jews, against every heretical error. And after so much sweat and toil, I was condemned without a trial. But I await the vote of your apostolic throne; and I beseech and entreat your holiness, to come to my aid as I call upon your upright and just tribunal, and to command me to run to you, and to show my teaching following in the apostolic footsteps. For I have things written twenty years ago, and eighteen, and fifteen, and twelve years ago, some against Arians and Eunomians, others against Jews and Greeks, others against the magi in Persia, others concerning universal Providence, and others concerning theology and the divine incarnation. By divine grace, both the apostolic writings and the prophetic decrees have been interpreted by me. And it is easy to learn from these whether I have kept the rule of faith unswerving, or whether I have transgressed its straightness. But do not reject my supplication, I beg, nor overlook my wretched grey hair, insulted after many toils. But above all, I entreat to learn from you, whether I should accept this unjust deposition, or not; for I await your vote. And if you should command me to abide by what has been voted against me, I will abide and will trouble no man any longer, but I will await the unswerving tribunal of our God and Savior. For me

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φθεγξαμένην τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύ ματος ἀνυμνήσαμεν χάριν· καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν, καὶ ἀντιβολοῦ μεν, καὶ δεόμεθα, καὶ ἱκετεύομέν σου τὴν ἁγιωσύνην, ἐπαμῦναι ταῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίαις χειμαζομέναις. Λύσιν γὰρ ἔσεσθαι τοῦ κλύδωνος προσδοκήσαντες διὰ τῶν παρὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἁγιωσύνης εἰς τὴν Ἔφεσον ἀποσταλέντων, χαλεπωτέρᾳ περιπεπτώκαμεν ζάλῃ. Ὁ γὰρ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων <πόλεως> δικαιότατος πρόεδρος οὐκ ἠρκέσθη τῇ ἀνόμῳ ταύτῃ καὶ ἀδικωτάτῃ καθαιρέσει τοῦ ἁγιωτάτου καὶ θεοφιλεστάτου τῆς Κωσταντινουπολιτῶν ἐπισκόπου τοῦ κυρίου Φλαβιανοῦ, οὐδὲ ἐνέπλησεν αὐτοῦ τὸν θυμὸν τῶν ἄλλων ἐπισκόπων ἡ παραπλησία σφαγή, ἀλλὰ κἀμὲ τὸν ἀπόντα ὁμοίως καλάμῳ κατέσφαξεν, οὔτε καλέσας εἰς κριτήριον, οὔτε παρόντα κρί νας, οὐκ ἐρωτήσας τίνα φρονῶ περὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆ ρος ἡμῶν ἐνανθρωπήσεως. Καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀνδροφόνους, καὶ τυμβωρύχους, καὶ τοὺς τὰς ἀλλοτρίας συλήσαντας εὐνάς, οὐ πρότερον κατακρίνουσιν οἱ δικάζοντες, ἕως ἂν ἢ αὐτοὶ τὰς κατηγορίας ταῖς ὁμολογίαις κυρώσωσιν, ἢ παρ' ἑτέρων ἐναρ γῶς ἐλεγχθῶσιν. Ἡμᾶς δὲ ὁ τοῖς θείοις νόμοις ἐντεθραμμένος πέντε καὶ τριάκοντα σταθμοῖς ἀφεστηκότας κατέκρινεν ὡς ἠθέλησε. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐ νῦν μόνον πεποίηκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πέρυσι μετὰ δύο ἄνδρας τῶν τὴν Ἀπολιναρίου νόσον εἰσδεξαμένων ἐκεῖσε δραμόντας, καὶ συκοφαντίας καθ' ἡμῶν ὑφήναντας, ἀναστὰς ἐπ' ἐκκλησίας ἡμᾶς ἀνεθεμάτισε· καὶ ταῦτα ἐμοῦ γράψαντος πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἃ φρονῶ διὰ γραμμάτων δηλώσαν τος. Ἐγὼ δὲ ὀδύρομαι μὲν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὸν κλύδωνα, τὴν δὲ ἡσυχίαν ἀσπάζομαι. Ἓξ γὰρ καὶ εἴκοσι ἔτη τὴν ἐγχειρισθεῖ σάν μοι παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων Ἐκκλησίαν ἰθύνας διὰ τὰς ὑμετέρας εὐχάς, οὐκ ἐπὶ τοῦ μακαριωτάτου Θεοδότου τοῦ τῆς Ἀνατολῆς προέδρου, οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν μετ' ἐκεῖνον, τῶν τὸν Ἀντιοχέων διαδεξαμένων θρόνον, τὴν τυχοῦσαν μέμψιν ὑπέμεινα, ἀλλὰ τῆς θείας μοι χάριτος συνεργησάσης, πλείους μὲν ἢ χιλίας ψυχὰς ἠλευθέρωσα τῆς Μαρκίωνος νόσου, πολλοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἐκ τῆς Ἀρείου καὶ Εὐνομίου συμμορίας προσήγαγον τῷ ∆εσπότῃ Χριστῷ· καὶ ἐν ὀκτακοσίαις Ἐκκλησίαις ἔλαχον ποιμαίνειν· τοσαύτας γὰρ ἡ Κύρρος παροικίας ἔχει, ἐν αἷς οὐδὲ ἓν διὰ τὰς ὑμετέρας εὐχὰς μεμένηκε ζιζάνιον· ἀλλὰ πάσης αἱρετικῆς ἠλευθέρωται πλάνης τὸ ἡμέτερον ποίμνιον. Οἶδεν ὁ πάντα ἐφορῶν πόσους ἐδεξάμην λίθους ὑπὸ τῶν δυσωνύμων κατ' ἐμοῦ πεμφθέντας αἱρετικῶν, πόσους ἐν ταῖς πλείοσι τῆς Ἀνατολῆς πόλεσι ἔσχον ἀγῶνας πρὸς Ἕλληνας, πρὸς Ἰουδαίους, πρὸς πᾶσαν πλάνην αἱρετικήν. Καὶ μετὰ τοσούτους ἱδρώτας καὶ πόνους μὴ δικασάμενος κατεκρίθην. Ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ ὑμῶν θρόνου περιμένω τὴν ψῆφον· καὶ ἱκετεύω, καὶ ἀντιβολῶ τὴν σὴν ἁγιότητα, ἐπαμῦναί μοι τὸ ὀρθὸν ὑμῶν καὶ δίκαιον ἐπικαλουμένῳ κριτήριον, καὶ κελεῦ σαι δραμεῖν παρ' ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἐπιδεῖξαί μου τὴν διδασκαλίαν τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς ἴχνεσιν ἑπομένην. Ἔστι γάρ μοι τὰ μὲν πρὸ εἴκοσι ἐτῶν συγγεγραμμένα, τὰ δὲ πρὸ ὀκτωκαίδεκα, τὰ δὲ πρὸ πεντεκαίδεκα, τὰ δὲ πρὸ δυοκαίδεκα, τὰ μὲν πρὸς Ἀρειανοὺς καὶ Εὐνομιανούς, τὰ δὲ πρὸς Ἰουδαίους καὶ Ἕλληνας, τὰ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἐν Περσίδι μάγους, ἄλλα περὶ τῆς κα θόλου Προνοίας, ἕτερα δὲ περὶ θεολογίας καὶ τῆς θείας ἐναν θρωπήσεως. Ἡρμήνευταί μοι διὰ τὴν θείαν χάριν, καὶ τὰ ἀποστολικὰ συγγράμματα, καὶ τὰ προφητικὰ θεσπίσματα. Καὶ ῥᾴδιον ἐκ τούτων καταμαθεῖν, εἴτε ἀκλινῆ τὸν κανόνα τῆς πίστεως διετήρησα, εἴτε τὴν τούτου παρέβην εὐθύτητα. Ἀλλὰ μὴ διαπτύσητέ μου τὴν ἱκετείαν, παρακαλῶ, μηδὲ τὴν ἀθλίαν μου παρίδητε πολιὰν μετὰ πολλοὺς ὑβρισμένην καμάτους. Πρὸ δὲ πάντων, μαθεῖν ἀντιβολῶ παρ' ὑμῶν, εἴτε χρή με στέρξαι τὴν ἄδικον ταύτην καθαίρεσιν, εἴτε μή· τὴν γὰρ ὑμε τέραν προσμένω ψῆφον. Κἂν κελεύσητε τοῖς καταψηφισαμέ νοις ἐμμεῖναι, ἐμμενῶ καὶ οὐδενὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐνοχλήσω λοιπόν, ἀλλὰ μενῶ τὸ ἀκλινὲς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν κριτήριον. Ἐμοὶ