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And how might they come to union? By human duties, just as the trigamists and polygamists (for so marriage after the third is called by the fathers), or let them too be crowned. But truly the excessive dissolution of the canons, or rather of the gospel, has now caused not only digamists and trigamists, but also adulterers to be crowned by priests, so as to persecute and anathematize as alien from Christ those who, in their adherence to the divine law, do not agree in this, those who stand up for his commandment and truth. Be astonished, O heaven, at this; things above are below, righteousness is lawlessness, light is darkness, from what the Moechians say and do, are shown, this to those blind and deaf in soul, and from this they bring forth the preliminaries of the Antichrist. Perhaps you would also say this: if one party is a virgin, how is it that some say that this one is crowned on the head, but the one from a previous marriage on the shoulder, when the crowning prayer is said? And to me, in addition to the absurdity, it seems also ridiculous. For let it be granted to marry a third time; and where would the crown be placed, on the hand or on the knee? If the woman being married were from widowhood, will she receive the crown on her shoulder? These things are absurd. And who is the one crowning, and how will the indivisible prayer be divided? One of the parties, as unstained and victorious, being blessed, but the other not? Among the ridiculous and impossible things. How will one partake of communion, but the other not? since they are under penance? And if this one were the husband, a husband is the head of the wife and both who have come together are one body; will the rest of the body receive, but the head not? Will what has been yoked together be immediately severed by the very priest who joins them, this being granted to him to do perhaps by concession (for the principal part and end of the yoking is the holy and unified body and blood of Christ), or would he give communion to both? And so we are rid of idle talk. For such a one will clearly not be a priest, but a transgressor of the divine ordinances and for this reason fallen from the priesthood, since he is not even permitted to feast at such a wedding, much less to commit so great a lawless act. What then, you might say, does the virginal party lose the crown of victory along with the blessing, and does not the undefeated one rather prevail to bless and crown along with itself and have partake of communion with itself the party defeated by digamy? If this were so, it would have been formulated by the patristic canons; but no distinction has been made. But what has not been clarified and formulated by patristic testimony, is to tread on empty ground to think and say and do. But I say this, that the virginal party would reasonably fail to obtain the tradition of monogamy; for it is possible for it to enjoy this through one of its own rank, since the pure must be joined to the pure, and a virgin to a virgin, and a victor to a victor. But one who has wished to be joined to a non-virgin falls away, and from this dishonors the glory of virginity, which perhaps he did not even have, or even having it, he cast it down in any way by the impassioned relation of the digamist; and from this he will not so much raise up, but will bring himself down to the penance of the digamist party. These things have been found and said by me according to my ability, O good child. But if the truth seems to you or to anyone else to be otherwise, only from scriptural and patristic and canonical presentation, with the intellectual application from one's own resources accompanying these, we too are ready to be guided and eager to be illumined by the torchbearing of others, being especially in need of light. 51 {1To the same}1 I have experienced these three things in your present letters, longed-for child; at once I was astonished, and I admired, and I sang, the first because of the lawless, the second because of the law-abiding, the third because of God who strengthens those who rely on his law. And concerning my sacred Athanasius and the thrice-longed-for men with him, and moreover my most manly Theosostos and his divinely-strengthened company of seventeen, since what has been written by me to them is sufficient, one must forbear to speak here, even if they should need more words and

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καὶ πῶς ἔλθωσιν ἐπὶ τὴν συνάφειαν; τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις καθήκουσιν, ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ τρίγαμοι καὶ πολύγαμοι (οὕτω γὰρ κέκληται ἡ μετὰ τὴν τρίτην πρὸς τῶν πατέρων), ἢ στεφανούσθωσαν κἀ κεῖνοι. ἀλλ' ὄντως ἡ ἄγαν διάλυσις τῶν κανόνων, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, οὐ διγάμους νῦν καὶ τριγάμους, ἀλλὰ καὶ μοιχοὺς στεφανοῦσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἱερέων πεποίηκεν, ὡς καὶ τοὺς τῇ ἀντοχῇ τοῦ θείου νόμου μὴ ἐν τούτῳ συναιρουμένους διώκουσα καὶ ἀναθεματίζουσα ὡς ἀλλοτρίους Χριστοῦ, τοὺς ὑπὲρ ἐντολῆς καὶ ἀληθείας αὐτοῦ ἐνισταμένους. ἔκστηθι, οὐρανέ, ἐπὶ τούτῳ· τὰ ἄνω κάτω, ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἀνομία, τὸ φῶς σκότος, ἐξ ὧν οἱ μοιχειανοὶ λέγουσιν καὶ πράττουσιν, δείκνυνται, τοῦτο τοῖς τυφλοῖς καὶ κωφοῖς κατὰ ψυχήν, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν τοῦ Ἀντιχρίστου τὰ πρόλαβα φέρουσιν. Τάχα δ' ἂν κἀκεῖνο εἴποις· εἰ τὸ ἓν μέρος εἴη παρθένον, πῶς λέγουσί τινες ὡς τὸ μὲν στεφανοῦται ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ γάμου ἐν τῷ ὤμῳ γενομένης τῆς στεφανικῆς εὐχῆς; καί μοι πρὸς τῇ ἀτοπίᾳ ἔτι καὶ γελοῖον φαίνεται. δεδόσθω γὰρ τριγαμεῖν· καὶ ποῦ τεθείη ὁ στέφανος, ἐν τῇ χειρὶ ἢ εἰς τὸ γόνυ; εἴ γε καὶ ἡ γημωμένη εἶεν ἀπὸ χηρείας, ἐν τῷ ὤμῳ τὸν στέφανον δέξεται; ἄτοπα ταῦτα. τίς δὲ ὁ στεφανῶν καὶ πῶς ἡ ἀμέριστος εὐχὴ μερισθήσεται; θάτερον τῶν μερῶν, ὡς ἀκηλίδωτον καὶ νικῆσαν, εὐλογούμενον, θάτερον δὲ μή; τῶν γελοίων καὶ ἀμηχάνων. πῶς τὸ μὲν ἓν μεθέξει τῆς κοινωνίας, τὸ δὲ ἕτερον οὔ; ἐπείπερ ἐν ἐπιτιμίοις; εἴ γε καὶ εἴη τοῦτο ὁ ἀνήρ, ἀνὴρ κεφαλὴ γυναικὸς καὶ εἰς ἓν σῶμα ἄμφω τὰ συνελθόντα· μεταλήψεται τὸ λοιπὸν σῶμα, ἡ κεφαλὴ δὲ οὔ; τμηθήσεται τὸ ζευχθὲν εὐθὺς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ συνάπτοντος ἱερέως, τοῦτό γε κατὰ συγχώρησιν δοθέντος τυχὸν ποιεῖν αὐτὸν (κεφάλαιον γὰρ καὶ τέλος τῆς ζεύξεως τὸ ἅγιον καὶ ἑνιαῖον σῶμα καὶ αἷμα Χριστοῦ), ἢ ἀμφοῖν μεταδοίη; Καί γε ἀπηλλάγμεθα ἀδολεσχίας. ἔσται γὰρ ἀριδήλως ὁ τοιοῦτος οὐχ ἱερεύς, ἀλλὰ παραβάτης τῶν θείων διατάξεων καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἔκπτωτος, ὁπότε οὐδὲ ἑστιαθῆναι τῷ τοιούτῳ γάμῳ παρακεχώρηται, οὐχ ὅτι τοσοῦτον ἀνομῆσαι. τί οὖν, φαίης, ἀπόλλυσι τὸ παρθενικὸν μέρος τὸν νικητικὸν στέφανον σὺν τῇ εὐλογίᾳ καὶ οὐκ ἐκνικᾷ τὸ μὴ ἡττηθὲν μᾶλλον συνευλογῆσαι καὶ συστεφανῶσαι καὶ συμμεθέξαι τῆς κοινωνίας ἑαυτῷ τὸ ἡττημένον διὰ τῆς διγαμίας μέρος; εἰ ἦν τοῦτο, ἐτυπώθη ἂν παρὰ τῶν πατρικῶν κανόνων· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγεγόνει τις διαφορά. ὃ δὲ ὑπὸ πατρικῆς μαρτυρίας μὴ ᾖ διευκριθὲν καὶ ὑποτυπωθέν, κενεμβατεῖν ἐστι καὶ ἐννοεῖν καὶ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκεῖνό φημι, ὅτι εἰκότως ἂν τὸ παρθενικὸν μέρος ἀποτυγχάνῃ τῆς μονογαμικῆς παραδόσεως· ἐξὸν γὰρ δι' ὁμοταγοῦς ἀπόνασθαι ταύτης, ἐπειδὴ καθαρὸν καθαρῷ συναπτέον καὶ παρθένον παρθένῳ καὶ νικῶν νικῶντι. ἀποπίπτει δέ τις μὴ παρθένῳ ἐθελήσας συναφθῆναι, κἀντεῦθεν ἀτιμάζοι τὸ παρθενικὸν κλέος, ὃ μηδὲ εἶχεν τυχόν, ἢ καὶ ἔχων τῇ προσπαθητικῇ σχέσει τοῦ διγαμοῦντος καθ' οἱονοῦν τρόπον κατέβαλεν· κἀκ τούτου οὐ μᾶλλον ἀνάξει, ἀλλὰ κατάξει αὑτὸν εἰς τὸ ἐπιτίμιον τοῦ διγαμοῦντος μέρους. Ταῦτά μοι κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν εὕρηται καὶ λέλεκται, ὦ παῖ καλέ. εἰ δέ σοι ἑτέρως ἔχειν δοκεῖ τἀληθὲς ἤ τινι ἄλλῳ, μόνον ἐκ γραφικῆς καὶ πατρικῆς καὶ κανονικῆς παραστάσεως, συνεπομένης τούτοις καὶ τῆς οἴκοθεν διανοηματικῆς ἐπιδόσεως, καὶ ἡμεῖς γε ποδηγηθῆναι ἕτοιμοι καὶ ἐλλαμφθῆναι πρόθυμοι τῆς παρ' ἄλλων δᾳδουχίας, ἐνδεεῖς φωτὸς ὑπάρχοντες ὅτι μάλιστα. 51 {1Τῷ αὐτῷ}1 Τρία ταῦτα πέπονθα ἐν τοῖς παροῦσί σου γράμμασι, ποθητὸν τέκνον· ὁμοῦ τε ἐξεπλάγην, ἠγάσθην τε καὶ ᾖσα, τὸ μὲν διὰ τοὺς παρανόμους, τὸ δὲ διὰ τοὺς εὐνόμους, τὸ τρίτον διὰ τὸν δυναμοῦντα θεὸν τοὺς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ ἐπερειδομένους. καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ ἱεροῦ μου Ἀθανασίου καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ τριποθήτων, ἔτι μὴν καὶ τοῦ ἀνδρικωτάτου μου Θεοσώστου τῆς τε αὐτοῦ δυοπεντεκαιδεκάδος θεοσθενοῦς συνοδίας, ὡς ἐν τοῖς πρὸς αὐτούς μοι γραφεῖσιν ἱκανοῦ ὄντος, ἐατέον ἐνταῦθα λέγειν, εἰ καὶ ὅτι πλειόνων δέοιντο λόγων καὶ