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I was among those judged, forbidden to run there by imperial letters, and condemned in my absence. For after twenty-six years of my episcopate, after many and countless labors, after struggles for the sake of piety, after bringing to the Savior of all many myriads of heretics delivered from their former error, they have stripped me of the priesthood, and they are driving me from the city, having no respect for my old age, nor for my grey hair nurtured in piety. For this reason, I beseech your Holiness to persuade the most holy and most devout archbishop to use his apostolic authority and to command me to hasten to your council. For that all-holy throne has the leadership of the churches throughout the world for many reasons, and above all others, because it has remained uninitiated into heretical stench, and no one holding contrary opinions has sat upon it, but it has preserved the apostolic grace undefiled. For whatever shall be judged by you, we will accept, whatever it may be, trusting in your just judgment; and we ask to be judged from my writings. For I have composed more than thirty books, against Arius and Eunomius, against Marcion, against Macedonius, against the Hellenes, against the Jews; and I have also interpreted the divine Scripture; and it is easy for anyone who wishes to learn that I have followed the apostolic footsteps, preaching one Son, as one Father, and one Holy Spirit; one godhead of the Trinity, one kingdom, one authority, eternity, immutability, impassibility, one will, the perfect divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect humanity, which was assumed for our salvation, and for our sake was delivered to death. I do not know one Son of man, and another Son of God; but the same, Son of God and God begotten of God; and Son of man, because of the form of a servant assumed from the seed of Abraham and David. These things and things like them I continue to teach. These things I also found contained in the letters of the most holy and most devout archbishop, my lord Leo, and I praised the Master of all that I agree with his apostolic doctrines. Receive, therefore, I pray, my supplication, and do not overlook one who has been wronged. For this reason, I have sent the most God-beloved presbyters Hypatius and Abramius the chorepiscopi, and Alypius the exarch of the monks among us, to your God-lovingness, men adorned with a splendid life, and able also through their speech to instruct you accurately concerning my humble self. 117 TO FLORENTIUS THE BISHOP. The grace of our God and Savior has not, then, completely abandoned the human race; but has left us a seed in your Holiness, so that we should not become like Sodom and be made like Gomorrah. This does not permit us to despair utterly, but encourages us to await the end of the harsh winter; this makes us hopeful. For this reason we have sent the most God-beloved presbyters Hypatius and Abramius the chorepiscopi, and Alypius the exarch of the monks among us, to your Holiness, so that you may put an end to the calamity that has befallen the Churches of the East. And first, that you may strengthen the faith handed down to us from above by the holy apostles, and denounce the heresy that has risen up, and openly convict those who dare to falsify the proclamation of the economy, and then also that you may defend those who are warred against for the sake of piety. For it is for the sake of the apostolic faith, most holy ones, that we have endured this unjust slaughter, as not betraying the truth of the evangelical doctrines.

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κριθέντων ἐγώ, δραμεῖν μὲν αὐτόθι κωλυθεὶς διὰ γραμμάτων βασιλικῶν, ἀπὼν δὲ κατακριθείς. Μετὰ γὰρ ἓξ καὶ εἴκοσιν ἔτη τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς, μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ μυρίους πόνους, μετὰ τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀγῶνας, μετὰ τὸ προσενέγκαι τῷ Σωτῆρι τῶν ὅλων πολλὰς αἱρετικῶν μυριάδας τῆς προτέρας πλάνης ἀπηλλαγμένας, ἐγύμνωσαν μὲν ἱερωσύνης, ἐξελαύ νουσι δὲ καὶ πόλεως, οὐδὲ τὸ γῆρας αἰδεσθέντες, οὐδὲ τὴν πολίαν τὴν ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ τραφεῖσαν. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο τὴν ὑμετέραν ἁγιωσύνην παρακαλῶ πεῖσαι τὸν ἁγιώτατον καὶ ὁσιώτατον ἀρχιεπίσκοπον τῇ ἀποστολικῇ χρήσασθαι ἐξουσίᾳ καὶ εἰς τὸ ὑμέτερον ἀναδραμεῖν κελεῦσαι συνέδριον. Ἔχει γὰρ ὁ πανάγιος θρόνος ἐκεῖνος τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην Ἐκκλησιῶν τὴν ἡγε μονίαν διὰ πολλά, καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων, ὅτι αἱρετικῆς μεμένηκε δυσωδίας ἀμύητος, καὶ οὐδεὶς τἀναντία φρονῶν εἰς ἐκεῖνον ἐκάθισεν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀποστολικὴν χάριν ἀκήρατον διεφύλαξε. Τὰ γὰρ παρ' ὑμῶν κριθησόμενα στέρξομεν, ὁποῖα ἂν ᾖ, τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ δικαιοκρισίᾳ θαρροῦντες· καὶ ἀξιοῦμεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐγγράφων κριθῆναι. Πλείους γὰρ ἢ τριάκοντα συνέγραψα βίβλους, κατὰ Ἀρείου καὶ Εὐνομίου, κατὰ Μαρκίωνος, κατὰ Μακεδονίου, κατὰ Ἑλλήνων, κατὰ Ἰουδαίων· ἡρμήνευσα δὲ καὶ τὴν θείαν Γραφήν· καὶ ῥᾴδιον τῷ βουλομένῳ καταμαθεῖν, ὡς τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς ἴχνεσιν ἠκολούθησα, ἕνα κηρύττων Υἱόν, ὡς ἕνα Πατέρα, καὶ ἓν ἅγιον Πνεῦμα· μίαν τῆς Τριάδος θεό τητα, μίαν βασιλείαν, μίαν ἐξουσίαν, ἀϊδιότητα, ἀτρεπτότητα, ἀπάθειαν, ἓν θέλημα, τελείαν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν θεότητα, τελείαν τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, τὴν διὰ τὴν ἡμετέ ραν σωτηρίαν ληφθεῖσαν, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τῷ θανάτῳ παρα δοθεῖσαν. Οὐκ ἄλλον οἶδα τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ἄλλον τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἀλλὰ τὸν αὐτόν, Υἱὸν μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ γεγενημένον· Υἱὸν δὲ ἀνθρώπου, διὰ τὴν ἐκ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ∆αβὶδ ληφθεῖσαν τοῦ δούλου μορφήν. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τούτοις παραπλήσια διατελῶ διδάσκων. Ταῦτα καὶ ἐν τοῖς γράμμασι τοῦ ἁγιωτάτου καὶ ὁσιωτάτου ἀρχι επισκόπου τοῦ δεσπότου μου Λέοντος εὗρον ἐγκείμενα, καὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων ὕμνησα ∆εσπότην ὅτι τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς αὐτοῦ δόγμασι συμφωνῶ. ∆έξασθέ μου τοίνυν, παρακαλῶ, τὴν ἱκε σίαν, καὶ μὴ παρίδητε ἠδικημένον. Τούτου γὰρ δὴ χάριν καὶ τοὺς θεοφιλεστάτους πρεσβυτέρους Ὑπάτιον καὶ Ἀβράμιον τοὺς χωρεπισκόπους, καὶ Ἀλύπιον τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν μοναζόντων τὸν ἔξαρχον, πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν φιλοθεΐαν ἀπέστειλα, βίῳ μὲν λαμπρῷ κοσμουμένους, δυναμένους δὲ καὶ διὰ τῆς γλώτ της ἀκριβῶς ὑμᾶς διδάξαι τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν εὐτέλειαν. 117 ΦΛΩΡΕΝΤΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ. Οὐ παντελῶς ἄρα τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ γένος ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιλέλοιπε χάρις· ἀλλ' ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα τὴν ὑμετέραν ἁγιωσύνην, ἵνα μὴ ὡς Σόδομα γενηθῶ μεν καὶ Γομόρροις ὁμοιωθῶμεν. Τοῦτο ἡμᾶς ἀπαγορεύειν παντάπασιν οὐκ ἐᾷ· ἀλλὰ τοῦ χαλεποῦ χειμῶνος προσμένειν τὴν λύσιν παρεγγυᾷ· τοῦτο ἡμᾶς εὐέλπιδας ἀπεργάζεται. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ τοὺς θεοφιλεστάτους πρεσβυτέρους Ὑπάτιον καὶ Ἀβράμιον τοὺς χωρεπισκόπους, καὶ Ἀλύπιον τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν μοναζόντων τὸν ἔξαρχον, πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀπεστείλαμεν ἁγιότητα, ἵνα τὴν ἐπισκήψασαν ταῖς τῆς Ἀνατολῆς Ἐκκλησίαις διαλύσητε συμφοράν. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ἄνωθεν παρὰ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων παραδοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν κρατύνητε πίστιν, καὶ τὴν ἐπαναστᾶσαν αἵρεσιν στηλιτεύσητε, καὶ τοὺς παρα χαράττειν τολμῶντας τῆς οἰκονομίας τὸ κήρυγμα προφανῶς ἐξελέγξητε, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας πολεμου μένων ὑπερμαχήσητε. Ὑπὲρ γὰρ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς πίστεως, ἁγιώτατοι, τὴν ἄδικον ταύτην σφαγὴν ὑπεμείναμεν, ὡς τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν δογμάτων οὐ προιέμενοι τὴν ἀλήθειαν.