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you need it, no more than the noblest of athletes need the shouting of children, nor do we teach one who is ignorant, but we intensify the impulse of one who is zealous. 66.2 So then, for the rest of the East, perhaps you need even more cooperation and it is necessary to await those from the West. However, the good order of the Church in Antioch clearly depends on your piety, so as to manage some, and to quiet others, and to restore strength to the Church through harmony. For you yourself know more accurately than anyone that you ought, like the wisest of physicians, to begin the treatment with the most critical parts. For what could be more critical for the Churches throughout the world than Antioch? If it should happen to return to concord, nothing would prevent it, like a healthy head, from supplying health to the whole body. Indeed the sicknesses of that city require your wisdom and evangelical sympathy; which has been cut apart not only by the heretics, but is also torn asunder by those who say they think the same things as one another. To unite these things and gather them into one harmony of a body belongs to Him alone who, by His ineffable power, also grants to the dry bones their return to sinews and flesh. In every way the Lord accomplishes great things through those worthy of Himself. Again, therefore, here also we hope that the ministry of such great things is fitting for your greatness of mind, so as to calm the disturbance of the people, to stop the partial leaderships, to subject all to one another in love and to restore its ancient strength to the Church.

67.τ TO ATHANASIUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA

67.1 To me it seemed sufficient in former letters to your honor to have indicated this much: that all the people of the holy Church of Antioch who are sound in the faith must be brought into one accord and union, so as to declare that it would be proper for the most God-beloved bishop Meletius to join together the parts now divided into several. But since this same beloved fellow-deacon of ours, Dorotheus, sought a clearer mention of these matters, we necessarily point out that it is desirable both to all the East through prayer and to us who are in every way united with him to see him governing the Church of the Lord, as he is blameless in faith and admits no comparison in his life with others, and as he presides over the whole body, so to speak, of the Church, while the rest are like fragments of parts. Therefore it is from all sides both necessary and expedient for the others to be joined to this man, as the smaller rivers to the great ones, and for there to be some arrangement concerning the others that is fitting for them and brings peace to the people and falls to your understanding and celebrated readiness and zeal. And surely it has not escaped your unsurpassed wisdom that these same things have already pleased your like-minded brethren in the West, as the letters brought to us by the blessed Silvanus declare.

68.τ TO MELETIUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH

68.1 For a time we wished to keep with us the most devout brother Dorotheus the fellow-deacon, so that, having sent him away at the conclusion of the matters, we might make known through him each of the things that have been done to your honor. But since, putting it off from day to day, we were prolonged for a great length of time, and at the same time, as if in difficulties, a certain plan occurred to us concerning the matters before us, we have sent

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χρῄζεις, οὐ μᾶλλόν γε ἢ τῶν ἀγωνιστῶν οἱ γενναιότατοι τῆς παρὰ τῶν παίδων ὑποφωνήσεως, οὔτε ἡμεῖς ἀγνοοῦντα διδάσκομεν, ἀλλ' ἐσπουδακότι τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐπιτείνομεν. 66.2 Πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς Ἀνατολῆς ἴσως σοι καὶ πλειόνων συνεργίας προσδεῖ καὶ ἀνάγκη ἀναμένειν τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ∆ύσεως. Ἡ μέντοι τῆς κατὰ τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν Ἐκκλησίας εὐταξία προδήλως τῆς σῆς ἤρτηται θεοσεβείας, ὥστε τοὺς μὲν οἰκονομῆσαι, τοὺς δὲ καθησυχάσαι, ἀποδοῦναι δὲ τὴν ἰσχὺν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ διὰ τῆς συμφωνίας. Καὶ γὰρ ὅτι ὀφείλεις, κατὰ τοὺς σοφωτάτους τῶν ἰατρῶν, τῆς ἐπι μελείας ἐκ τῶν καιριωτάτων ἄρχεσθαι, παντὸς ἀκριβέ στερον αὐτὸς ἐπίστασαι. Τί δ' ἂν γένοιτο ταῖς κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην Ἐκκλησίαις τῆς Ἀντιοχείας ἐπικαιριώτερον; Ἣν εἰ συνέβη πρὸς ὁμόνοιαν ἐπανελθεῖν, οὐδὲν ἐκώλυεν, ὥσπερ κεφαλὴν ἐρρωμένην, παντὶ τῷ σώματι ἐπιχορηγεῖν τὴν ὑγείαν. Τῷ ὄντι δὲ τῆς σῆς δεῖται σοφίας καὶ εὐαγγελικῆς συμπαθείας τὰ ἐκείνης τῆς πόλεως ἀρρωσ τήματα· ἥ γε οὐχ ὑπὸ τῶν αἱρετικῶν διατέτμηται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν τὰ αὐτὰ φρονεῖν ἀλλήλοις λεγόντων διασπᾶται. Ταῦτα δὲ ἑνῶσαι καὶ εἰς μίαν σώματος συναγαγεῖν ἁρμονίαν Ἐκείνου μόνου ἐστὶ τοῦ καὶ τοῖς ξηροῖς ὀστέοις τὴν εἰς νεῦρα καὶ σάρκα πάλιν ἐπάνοδον τῇ ἀφάτῳ αὐτοῦ δυνάμει χαριζομένου. Πάντως δὲ τὰ μεγάλα ὁ Κύριος διὰ τῶν ἀξίων ἑαυτοῦ ἐνεργεῖ. Πάλιν οὖν καὶ ἐνταῦθα τῇ σῇ μεγαλοφυΐᾳ πρέπειν τὴν τῶν τηλικούτων διακονίαν ἐλπίζομεν, ὥστε κατα στορέσαι μὲν τοῦ λαοῦ τὸν τάραχον, παῦσαι δὲ τὰς μερι κὰς προστασίας, ὑποτάξαι δὲ πάντας ἀλλήλοις ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἰσχὺν ἀποδοῦναι τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ.

67.τ ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΑΛΕΞΑΝ∆ΡΕΙΑΣ

67.1 Ἐμοὶ μὲν ἐξαρκοῦν ἐφάνη ἐν τοῖς προτέροις γράμμασι πρὸς τὴν σὴν

τιμιότητα τοσοῦτον ἐνδείξασθαι ὅτι πᾶν τὸ κατὰ τὴν πίστιν ἐρρωμένον τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἁγίαν Ἐκκλησίαν Ἀντιοχείας λαοῦ εἰς μίαν συμφωνίαν χρὴ καὶ ἕνωσιν ἐναχθῆναι, πρὸς τὸ δηλῶσαι ὅτι τῷ θεοφιλεστάτῳ ἐπι σκόπῳ Μελετίῳ δέοι τὰ εἰς μέρη πλείονα νῦν διῃρημένα συνάψαι. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς οὗτος ὁ ἀγαπητὸς συνδιάκονος ἡμῶν ∆ωρόθεος ἐναργεστέραν τὴν περὶ τούτων ἐπεζήτησε μνήμην, ἀναγκαίως ἐπισημαινόμεθα ὅτι καὶ πάσῃ τῇ Ἀνα τολῇ δι' εὐχῆς καὶ ἡμῖν τοῖς παντοίως αὐτῷ συνημμένοις ἐπιθυμητὸν αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν διέποντα τοῦ Κυρίου, τῇ τε πίστει ἀνεπίληπτον ὄντα καὶ τῷ βίῳ οὐδε μίαν πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπιδεχόμενον σύγκρισιν καὶ τῷ τοῦ παντός, ὡς εἰπεῖν, σώματος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας αὐτὸν προε στάναι, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ οἷον μερῶν ἀποτμήματα εἶναι. Ὥστε πανταχόθεν ἀναγκαῖόν τε ὁμοῦ καὶ συμφέρον τῷ ἀνδρὶ τούτῳ συναφθῆναι τοὺς ἄλλους, ὥσπερ τοῖς μεγάλοις τῶν ποταμῶν τοὺς ἐλάττους, περὶ δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους γενέσθαι τινὰ οἰκονομίαν τὴν κἀκείνοις πρέπουσαν καὶ τὸν λαὸν εἰρη νεύουσαν καὶ τῇ σῇ συνέσει καὶ περιβοήτῳ ἐντρεχείᾳ καὶ σπουδῇ ἐπιβάλλουσαν. Πάντως δὲ οὐκ ἔλαθέ σου τὴν ἀνυπέρβλητον φρόνησιν ὅτι ἤδη καὶ τοῖς ὁμοψύχοις σου τοῖς κατὰ τὴν ∆ύσιν τὰ αὐτὰ ταῦτα συνήρεσεν, ὡς δηλοῖ τὰ γράμματα τὰ διὰ τοῦ μακαρίου Σιλουανοῦ κομισθέντα ἡμῖν.

68.τ ΜΕΛΕΤΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΙΑΣ

68.1 Τέως μὲν ἠβουλήθημεν κατασχεῖν παρ' ἑαυτοῖς τὸν εὐλαβέστατον

ἀδελφὸν ∆ωρόθεον τὸν συνδιάκονον, ὥστε ἐπὶ τῷ τέλει τῶν πραγμάτων ἀποπεμψάμενοι γνωρίσαι δι' αὐτοῦ ἕκαστα τῶν πεπραγμένων τῇ τιμιότητί σου. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ὑπερτιθέμενοι εἰς πολὺ τοῦ χρόνου παρετάθημεν, καὶ ἅμα, ὡς ἐν ἀπόροις, βουλή τις ἡμῖν ἐνέ πεσε περὶ τῶν προκειμένων, ἀπεστείλαμεν