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I too wished that Gregory should administer a Church commensurate with his nature. And this was the whole Church under the sun, gathered into one. But since this is impossible, let him be a bishop, not deriving dignity from the place, but dignifying the place by himself. For it is truly characteristic of a great man not only to be adequate for great things, but also to make small things great by his own power. What then should be done with Palmatius, who, after so many entreaties from the brethren, is still serving Maximus in the persecutions? But yet even now they do not hesitate to write; for they are not permitted to come because of bodily weakness and domestic occupations. Know, however, most God-beloved Father, that our affairs greatly need your presence and that it is necessary for you to move your venerable old age yet once more, in order to stabilize Cappadocia, which is now tossed about and near to falling.

99.t TO TERENTIUS THE COUNT

99.1 Having made every effort to obey, at least in part, both the imperial command and the friendly letter of your honor, which I am persuaded is full of every reason and all knowledge of right purpose and good intention, I was not permitted to put my eagerness into action. The cause, first and most truly, is my own sins, which meet me everywhere and trip up my steps, and then also the alienation from us of the bishop given to us for cooperation. For I do not know what has happened to our most reverend brother Theodotus, who from the beginning promised to cooperate with us in everything and eagerly brought us down from Gethasa to Nicopolis; when he saw us in the city, he so detested and so feared our sins that he could not bear to receive us for either morning or evening prayer, acting justly as regards us and in a manner befitting my life, but not deliberating in a way that is profitable for the common state of the Churches. And he brought forward as the reason for this that we had tolerated receiving the most reverend bishop Eustathius into communion. However, what was done by us is as follows. 99.2 We, having been called to a synod being held by brother Theodotus, and having set out through love to obey the summons, so that we might not seem to be making the meeting ineffective and idle, endeavored to enter into discussions with the aforementioned brother Eustathius. And we put before him the charges concerning the faith which those around brother Theodotus bring against him, and we requested that, if he follows the orthodox faith, he make it clear to us, so that we might be in communion; but if he holds otherwise, to know precisely that we too would hold ourselves aloof from him. Therefore, after many discussions with one another and after that whole day was spent in the consideration of these matters, when evening finally came on we separated from one another, having brought the discussion to no agreed conclusion. And on the next day again, sitting together from early morning, we discussed the same things, with brother Poemenius, the presbyter of Sebasteia, having also arrived and vigorously training the contrary argument against us. Gradually, then, we were both cleared of the charges we thought we had against them, and we brought them to an agreement on the things sought by us, so that by the grace of the Lord we were found to differ from one another not even in the smallest degree. Thus, therefore, about the ninth hour we rose for prayers, giving thanks to the Lord, who granted us to be of the same mind and to say the same thing. In addition to this, I should also have received a written confession from the man, so that his agreement might become clear to those who oppose him and that for the rest the man's purpose might be a sufficient

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Γρηγόριον κἀγὼ ἠβουλόμην οἰκονομεῖν Ἐκκλησίαν τῇ αὐτοῦ φύσει σύμμετρον. Αὕτη δὲ ἦν πᾶσα εἰς ἓν συναχθεῖσα ἡ ὑφ' ἡλίῳ. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦτο ἀδύνατον, ἔστω ἐπίσκοπος, μὴ ἐκ τοῦ τόπου σεμνυνόμενος, ἀλλὰ τὸν τόπον σεμνύνων ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ. Ὄντως γὰρ μεγάλου ἐστὶν οὐ τοῖς μεγάλοις μόνον ἀρκεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μικρὰ μεγάλα ποιεῖν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει. Τί δὲ δεῖ ποιῆσαι τῷ Παλματίῳ, μετὰ τοσαύτας παρακλήσεις τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἔτι ὑπηρετοῦντι τῷ Μαξίμῳ πρὸς τοὺς διωγμούς; Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ νῦν ὀκνοῦσιν ἐπιστεῖλαι· παραγενέσθαι γὰρ καὶ ὑπὸ ἀσθενείας σώματος καὶ ὑπὸ ἀσχολιῶν οἰκειακῶν οὐκ ἐπιτρέπονται. Γίνωσκε μέντοι, θεοφιλέστατε Πάτερ, ὅτι πάνυ χρῄζει τῆς παρουσίας σου τὰ ἡμέτερα καὶ ἀνάγκη σε τὸ τίμιον γῆρας ἔτι ἅπαξ κινῆσαι, ὑπὲρ τοῦ στῆσαι περιφερομένην λοιπὸν καὶ ἐγγὺς πτώματος οὖσαν τὴν Καππαδοκίαν.

99.τ ΤΕΡΕΝΤΙΩ ΚΟΜΗΤΙ

99.1 Πάνυ πολλὴν σπουδὴν ἐνστησάμενος πειθαρχῆσαι, μερι κῶς γοῦν, καὶ

τῷ βασιλικῷ προστάγματι καὶ τῷ φιλικῷ τῆς σῆς τιμιότητος γράμματι, οὗ ἐγὼ πάντα λόγον καὶ πᾶσαν γνῶσιν γέμειν ὀρθῆς προαιρέσεως καὶ ἀγαθῆς διανοίας πεπίστευκα, εἰς ἔργον ἀγαγεῖν τὴν προθυμίαν οὐκ ἐπετρά πην. Αἴτιον δέ, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον καὶ ἀληθέστατον αἱ ἐμαὶ ἁμαρτίαι, πανταχοῦ μοι προαπαντῶσαι καὶ ὑποσκελίζουσαί μου τὰ διαβήματα, ἔπειτα καὶ ἡ τοῦ δοθέντος ἡμῖν εἰς συνεργίαν ἐπισκόπου πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀλλοτρίωσις. Οὐκ οἶδα γὰρ ὅ τι παθὼν ὁ αἰδεσιμώτατος ἀδελφὸς ἡμῶν Θεόδοτος, ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἡμῖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς πάντα συμπράξειν καὶ προθύμως ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ Γητασῶν ἐπὶ Νικόπολιν καταγαγών, ἐπειδὴ εἶδεν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τῆς πόλεως, οὕτως ἐβδελύξατο καὶ οὕτως ἐφοβήθη τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ὡς μήτε εἰς ἑωθινὴν εὐχὴν μήτε εἰς ἑσπερινὴν ἀνασχέσθαι ἡμᾶς παραλαβεῖν, δίκαια μὲν ποιῶν ὡς πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ πρέποντα τῷ ἐμῷ βίῳ, οὐ λυσιτελοῦντα δὲ τῇ κοινῇ καταστάσει τῶν Ἐκκλη σιῶν βουλευόμενος. Τὴν δὲ αἰτίαν τούτων προέφερεν ἡμῖν ὅτι ἠνεσχόμεθα εἰς κοινωνίαν τὸν αἰδεσιμώτατον ἐπίσκο πον Εὐστάθιον παραδέξασθαι. Τὸ μέντοι γενόμενον παρ' ἡμῶν τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. 99.2 Ἡμεῖς κληθέντες εἰς σύνοδον παρὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Θεο δότου τελουμένην καὶ ὁρμήσαντες δι' ἀγάπην ὑπακοῦσαι τῇ κλήσει, ἵνα μὴ δόξωμεν ἄπρακτον καὶ ἀργὴν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν συντυχίαν, ἐσπουδάσαμεν εἰς λόγους ἐλθεῖν τῷ προει ρημένῳ ἀδελφῷ Εὐσταθίῳ. Καὶ προετείναμεν αὐτῷ τὰ περὶ τῆς πίστεως ἐγκλήματα ὅσα προφέρουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ περὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Θεόδοτον, καὶ ἠξιώσαμεν, εἰ μὲν ἕπεται τῇ ὀρθῇ πίστει, φανερὸν ἡμῖν καταστῆσαι, ὥστε ἡμᾶς εἶναι κοινω νικούς· εἰ δὲ ἀλλοτρίως ἔχει, ἀκριβῶς εἰδέναι ὅτι καὶ ἡμεῖς ἕξομεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀλλοτρίως. Πολλῶν τοίνυν γενο μένων λόγων πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ πάσης ἐκείνης τῆς ἡμέρας ἐν τῇ περὶ τούτων σκέψει δαπανηθείσης, καταλαβούσης λοιπὸν τῆς ἑσπέρας διεκρίθημεν ἀπ' ἀλλήλων εἰς οὐδὲν ὁμολογούμενον πέρας τὸν λόγον προαγαγόντες. Τῇ δὲ ἑξῆς πάλιν, ἕωθεν συγκαθεσθέντες, περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν διελεγόμεθα, ἐπελθόντος ἤδη καὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Ποιμενίου, τοῦ πρεσβυ τέρου τῆς Σεβαστείας, καὶ σφοδρῶς ἡμῖν τὸν ἐναντίον γυμνάζοντος λόγον. Κατὰ μικρὸν οὖν ἡμεῖς τε ὑπὲρ ὧν ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν ἐγκαλεῖν ἀπελυόμεθα κἀκείνους εἰς τὴν τῶν ἐπιζητουμένων ὑφ' ἡμῶν συγκατάθεσιν προσηγάγομεν, ὥστε χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου εὑρεθῆναι ἡμᾶς μηδὲ εἰς τὸ μικρό τατον πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαφερομένους. Οὕτω τοίνυν περὶ ἐνάτην που ὥραν ἀνέστημεν ἐπὶ τὰς προσευχὰς εὐχαρι στήσαντες τῷ Κυρίῳ, τῷ δόντι ἡμῖν τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ λέγειν. Ἐπὶ τούτοις ἔδει με καὶ ἔγγραφόν τινα παρὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ὁμολογίαν λαβεῖν, ὥστε καὶ τοῖς ἐναντιουμένοις αὐτῷ φανερὰν γενέσθαι τὴν συγκατάθεσιν καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἱκανὴν εἶναι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τῆς προαιρέσεως τὴν