62

that the aforementioned man should reach your Holiness and both report each matter in person and show our memorandum, so that, if what we have conceived should appear to be useful, it might be zealously put into effect by your Perfection. To speak briefly, the opinion prevailed that this same brother of ours, Dorotheus, should cross over to Rome to stir up some of those from Italy to visit us, using the sea, so that they might escape those who would hinder them. For I have seen those who have influence with the rulers being neither willing nor able to remind him concerning the exiled, but considering it a gain not to see something worse happening in the Churches. If, therefore, this plan should also seem useful to your Prudence, you will deign both to draft letters and to dictate memoranda concerning what things he must discuss and with whom. And so that the letters may have some credibility, you will by all means include those of like mind, even if they are not present. Matters here are still uncertain, for Euippius has arrived, but has so far revealed nothing. They threaten, however, a certain gathering of like-minded people for them, both from Armenia of the Tetrapolis and from Cilicia.

69. TO ATHANASIUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA

69.1 The opinion which we have long held concerning your Honor, time as it goes on always confirms, and rather even increases it with the addition of particular events. For while for most others it suffices for each to look after his own affairs, for you this is not enough, but the care for all the Churches lies upon you, as great as that for the one particularly entrusted to you by our common Master, seeing that you never cease conversing, admonishing, writing letters, and sending out men on each occasion to suggest what is best. And now we have received with much joy the most reverend brother Peter, sent from the sacred body of the clergy under you, and we have approved the good purpose of his journey, which he demonstrates, according to the commands of your Honor, by winning over those who are opposed and joining together those who are separated. Wherefore, wishing to contribute something ourselves to this endeavor, we thought we would give a most suitable beginning to the matter if we were to run up, as it were, to your Perfection as the head of all things, and use you as both counselor and leader of our actions. Therefore, to send back to your Godliness our brother Theodore, the deacon of the Church under the most honorable bishop Meletius, a man possessed of a good zeal for the orthodoxy of the faith and himself desiring to see the peace of the Churches, so that by following your suggestions (which you are able to make more secure by time, by experience of affairs, and by having counsel from the Spirit beyond others), he may thus undertake the matters of concern. Whom you will of course receive and look upon with peaceful eyes, and having strengthened him with the help of your prayers and supplied him with letters, or rather, having also joined to him some of the zealous men from your own see, you will guide him to the tasks at hand. And it seemed to us fitting to write to the bishop of Rome to visit the affairs here and to give his judgment, so that, since it is difficult for any to be sent from there by a common and synodical decree, he himself should take authority in the matter, having chosen men able to bear the toils of travel, and able by meekness and firmness of character to admonish the perverse among us, using reason aptly and prudently, and having with them all the proceedings after Ariminum, for the annulling of what was done there of necessity, and, with no one knowing this, to arrive by sea without noise to the

62

τὸν προειρημέ νον ἄνδρα καταλαβεῖν ὑμῶν τὴν ὁσιότητα καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ τε ἀνενεγκεῖν ἕκαστα καὶ τὸ ὑπομνηστικὸν ἡμῶν ἐπιδεῖξαι, ἵνα, εἰ φανείη χρησίμως ἔχειν τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν ἐννοηθέντα, εἰς ἔργον ἐλθεῖν παρὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας τελειότητος σπου δασθείη. Ὡς δὲ συντόμως εἰπεῖν, γνώμη ἐκράτησεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥώμην διαβῆναι τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν ∆ωρό θεον διαναστῆσαί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰταλίας πρὸς τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν ἡμῶν θαλάσσῃ χρησαμένους, ἵνα τοὺς ἐμποδίζοντας διαφύγωσι. Τοὺς γὰρ παραδυναστεύοντας τοῖς κρατοῦσιν εἶδον μηδὲν βουλομένους μήτε δυναμένους ὑπομιμνήσκειν αὐτὸν περὶ τῶν ἐκβεβλημένων, ἀλλὰ τὸ μή τι χεῖρον ἰδεῖν ἐν ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις γιγνόμενον κέρδος τιθεμένους. Εἰ οὖν καὶ τῇ σῇ φρονήσει χρήσιμον εἶναι τὸ βούλευμα παρασταίη, καταξιώσεις καὶ ἐπιστολὰς τυπῶσαι καὶ ὑπομνηστικὰ ὑπαγορεῦσαι περὶ ὧν χρὴ διαλεχθῆναι αὐτὸν καὶ πρὸς τίνας. Ὥστε δὲ ἔχειν τινὰ ἀξιοπιστίαν τὰ γράμματα, συμπαραλήψει πάντως τοὺς ὁμογνώμονας, κἂν μὴ παρῶσι. Τὰ δ' ἐνταῦθα ἔτι ἐστὶν ἐν ἀδήλῳ, τοῦ Εὐιππίου παραγενομένου μέν, μηδὲν δὲ τέως ἐκφήναντος. Ἀπειλοῦσι μέντοι καὶ συνδρομήν τινα ὁμογνωμόνων αὐτοῖς ἔκ τε τῆς Ἀρμενίας τῆς Τετραπόλεως καὶ ἐκ τῆς Κιλικίας.

69.τ ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΑΛΕΞΑΝ∆ΡΕΙΑΣ

69.1 Ἣν ἔκπαλαι περὶ τῆς σῆς τιμιότητος ὑπόληψιν ἔσχο μεν, ταύτην ὁ

χρόνος προϊὼν ἀεὶ βεβαιοῖ, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ συναύξει ταῖς προσθήκαις τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἐπιγινομένων. Ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἄλλων τοῖς πλείστοις ἐξαρκεῖ τὸ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστον περισκοπεῖν, σοὶ δὲ οὐχ ἱκανὸν τοῦτο, ἀλλ' ἡ μέριμνά σοι πασῶν τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν τοσαύτη ὅση καὶ τῆς ἰδίως παρὰ τοῦ κοινοῦ ∆εσπότου ἡμῶν ἐμπιστευθείσης ἐπίκειται, ὅς γε οὐδένα χρόνον διαλείπεις διαλεγόμενος, νουθετῶν, ἐπιστέλλων, ἐκπέμπων τινὰς ἑκάστοτε τοὺς ὑποτιθεμένους τὰ βέλτιστα. Καὶ νῦν δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ πληρώματος τοῦ ὑπὸ σὲ κλήρου τὸν αἰδεσιμώτατον ἀδελφὸν Πέτρον ἐκπεμφθέντα μετὰ πολλῆς χαρᾶς ἐδεξάμεθα καὶ τὸν ἀγαθὸν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀποδημίας σκοπὸν ἀπεδεξάμεθα, ὃν ἐπιδείκνυται, κατ' ἐντολὰς τῆς σῆς τιμιότητος, τὰ ἀντι τείνοντα προσαγόμενος καὶ τὰ διεσπασμένα συνάπτων. Ὅθεν τι καὶ ἡμεῖς συμβαλέσθαι τῇ περὶ τοῦτο σπουδῇ βουληθέντες, ἐνομίσαμεν ἐπιτηδειοτάτην ἀρχὴν τοῖς πράγμασι δώσειν, εἰ, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ κορυφὴν τῶν ὅλων τὴν σὴν ἀναδράμοιμεν τελειότητα καί σοι συμβούλῳ τε χρησαίμεθα καὶ ἡγεμόνι τῶν πράξεων. Ὅθεν καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Θεόδωρον τὸν διάκονον τῆς ὑπὸ τὸν τιμιώτατον ἐπίσκοπον Μελέτιον Ἐκκλησίας, ἀγαθῷ κεχρημένον περὶ τὴν τῆς πίστεως ὀρθότητα ζήλῳ καὶ ἐπιθυμοῦντα καὶ αὐτὸν τὴν εἰρήνην τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν ἐπιδεῖν, πρὸς τὴν σὴν θεοσέβειαν ἀναπέμψαι, ὥστε ταῖς σαῖς ὑποθήκαις ἀκολουθοῦντα (ἃς καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ καὶ τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων πείρᾳ καὶ τῷ ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἄλλους ἔχειν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος συμβουλίαν ἀσφαλεστέρας ποιεῖσθαι δύνασαι), οὕτως ἐγχειρεῖν τοῖς σπουδαζομένοις. Ὃν καὶ ὑποδέξῃ δηλονότι καὶ προσ βλέψεις εἰρηνικοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς, στηρίξας τε αὐτὸν τῇ διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν βοηθείᾳ καὶ ἐφοδιάσας γράμμασι, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ παραζεύξας τινὰς τῶν αὐτόθεν σπουδαίων ἐπὶ τὰ προκείμενα ὁδηγήσεις. Ἐφάνη δὲ ἡμῖν ἀκόλουθον ἐπιστεῖλαι τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ Ῥώμης ἐπισκέψασθαι τὰ ἐνταῦθα καὶ δοῦναι γνώμην, ἵνα, ἐπειδὴ ἀπὸ κοινοῦ καὶ συνοδικοῦ δόγματος ἀποσταλῆναί τινας δύσκολον τῶν ἐκεῖθεν, αὐτὸν αὐθεντῆσαι περὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἐκλεξάμενον ἄνδρας ἱκανοὺς μὲν ὁδοιπορίας πόνους διενεγκεῖν, ἱκανοὺς δὲ πραότητι καὶ εὐτονίᾳ ἤθους τοὺς ἐνδιασ τρόφους τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν νουθετῆσαι, ἐπιτηδείως δὲ καὶ οἰκονομικῶς κεχρημένους τῷ λόγῳ καὶ πάντα ἔχοντας μεθ' ἑαυτῶν τὰ μετὰ Ἀριμῖνον πεπραγμένα, ἐπὶ λύσει τῶν κατ' ἀνάγκην ἐκεῖ γενομένων, καί, τοῦτο μηδενὸς εἰδότος, ἀψοφητὶ διὰ θαλάσσης ἐπιστῆναι τοῖς