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we may be condemned; and we may become of ourselves and of God, or rather, of God alone and wholly, and wholly; carrying nothing earthly in ourselves, so that we may draw near to God, and become gods, having received from God the being gods. For thus are the divine gifts honored, and the presence of divine peace is welcomed. And this much concerning these things.

But the God of peace who reconciled us to himself through the cross, and purchased us with His own blood from the power of darkness, may He grant His peace which surpasses all 0613 mind to my blessed master, and deem him worthy of His heavenly kingdom; where the dwelling of all who rejoice is, and the choir of those who celebrate.

LETTER 25. ... TO CONON, PRESBYTER AND ABBOT. 25. The same to Conon, presbyter and abbot. (15Β_388> I believe as I have received and was taught, that God is love;

and that as He is one, never ceasing to be one, so He makes one those who live according to His love, and grants them one heart and one soul, even if they happen to be many; so that having, as it were, one soul, they may know one another's hearts, and may not grow weary in ignorance, searching for things unseen, each one conjecturing the disposition of his neighbor toward himself. Therefore, believing in the grace of Christ at work in you, holy Father, that you are ignorant of nothing in my heart, just as perhaps, though it is bold to say, neither am I of what is in you, I dare for the time being at the present to decline the arrival to you, knowing that you believe the refusal is not from disobedience, but from a physical ailment violently preventing me from the journey, and not allowing the eagerness of the soul to proceed to the deed. But even being absent in body through this present letter, I who am always present in spirit, and never separated from you in soul, I greet you, my father and protector according to God, and the guardian of my salvation, and your holy flock, worthy of the kingdom of Christ; and I ask that you make supplications for me to the Lord, so that I may bring a living and active faith in Him, not deadened by passions, but having the power (15Β_390> of both His cross and death, and burial and resurrection; of the cross, according to the inactivity of sin; of death, according to the most complete casting off of evil; of burial, according to the putting away of the soul's imagination concerning sensible things; of the resurrection, according to the wealth of virtues, and the abundance of the true knowledge of Him, and the raising of the mind on high from corruptible things, that I may become of the same body and soul with Him. And to put it simply, according to His promise, like Him in all things, apart from identity with Him in nature; lest, having deadened the life given to me by Him through the aforesaid things by works of dishonor, I should justly receive the judgment of those who killed their own life, our Lord Jesus Christ. For it is truly fearful, and beyond all condemnation, to willingly deaden the life given to us by God as a gift of the Holy Spirit, through the love for corruptible things. And they who have practiced preferring truth to self-love certainly know this fear.

LETTER 26. ... TO THALASSIUS THE PRESBYTER, WHO ASKED... 26. 0616 The same to Thalassius the presbyter, who asked how

some of the kings among the nations, when a divinely sent wrath was laid upon the subject multitude, sacrificed children and firstborn, and the wrath ceased, as has been recorded by many of the ancients.

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κατακριθῶμεν· καί γενώμεθα ἑαυτῶν καί τοῦ Θεοῦ, μᾶλλον δέ μόνου καί ὅλου Θεοῦ, καί ὅλοι· μηδέν ἐπίγειον ἐν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς φέροντες, ἵνα Θεῷ πλησιάσωμεν, καί θεοί γενώμεθα, ἐκ Θεοῦ τό θεοί εἶναι λαβόντες. Οὕτω γάρ τιμᾶται τά θεῖα δωρήματα, καί ἡ τῆς θείας εἰρήνης φιλοφρονεῖται παρουσία. Καί ταῦτα μέν περί τούτων.

Ὁ δέ Θεός τῆς εἰρήνης ὁ καταλλάξας ἡμᾶς ἑαυτῷ διά τοῦ σταυροῦ, καί ἐξαγοράσας τῷ ἰδίῳ αἵματι τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ σκότους αὐτός τήν εἰρήνην αὐτοῦ τήν ὑπερέχουσαν πάντα 0613 νοῦν χαρίσηται τῷ εὐλογημένῳ μου δεσπότῃ, καί ἀξιώσαι αὐτόν τῆς ἐπουρανίου αὐτοῦ βασιλείας· ἔνθα πάντων τῶν εὐφραινομένων ἡ κατοικία, καί ὁ τῶν ἑορταζόντων χορός.

ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΚΕ'. ... ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΝΩΝΑ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΗΓΟΥΜΕΝΟΝ. ΚΕ´Τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρός Κόνωνα πρεσβύτερον καί ἡγούμενον. (15Β_388> Πιστεύω καθώς παρέλαβον καί ἐδιδάχθην, ὅτι ὁ Θεός ἀγάπη ἐστί·

καί ὅτι καθώς αὐτός εἷς ἐστι, μηδέποτε τοῦ εἷς εἶναι παυόμενος, οὕτω τούς κατά τήν αὐτοῦ ἀγάπης ζῶντας, ἕνα ποιεῖ, καί μίαν αὐτοῖς χαρίζεται καρδίαν καί ψυχήν, κἄν πολλοί τύχοιεν ὄντες· ἵνα ὡς μίαν ψυχή, ἔχοντες, τάς ἀλλήλων ἐπιγινώσκωσι καρδίας, καί μή κάμνωσι τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ ἐρευνῶντες περί τῶν ἀδήλων, στοχαζόμενος ἕκαστος τήν ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτῷ τοῦ πέλας διάθεσιν. ∆ιά τοῦτο πιστεύων τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Χριστοῦ τῇ ἐν σοί κινουμένῃ, ἅγιε Πάτερ, ὅτι οὐδέν ἀγνοεῖς τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ καρδίᾳ ὥσπερ ἴσως, κἄν τολμηρόν εἰπεῖν, οὔτε ἐγώ τῶν ἐν σοί, θαῤῥῶ παραιτήσασθαι τέως κατά τό παρόν τήν πρός ὑμᾶς ἄφιξιν, εἰδώς ὅτι οὐ παρακοῆς τήν παραίτησιν εἶναι πιστεύετε, ἀλλά πάθους σωματικοῦ βίᾳ με κωλύοντος τῆς ὁδοῦ, καί τό πρόθυμον τῆς ψυχῆς εἰς ἔργον προελθεῖν μή συγχωροῦντος. Ἀλλά καί ἀπών τῷ σώματι διά τοῦ παρόντος γράμματος, ὁ ἀεί παρών τῷ πνεύματι, καί μηδέποτε ὑμῶν κατά ψυχήν χωριζόμενος, ἀσπάζομαί σε τόν ἐμόν κατά Θεόν πατέρα καί προστάτην, καί τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπιμελητήν σωτηρίας, καί τήν ἁγίαν σου, καί τῆς Χριστοῦ βασιλείας ἀξίαν ποίμνην· καί παρακαλῶ δεήσεις ὑπέρ ἐμοῦ ποιεῖσθαι πρός Κύριον, ἵνα ζῶσαν καί ἔμπρακτον τήν εἰς αὐτόν πίστιν ἀπενέγκωμαι, μή νεκρωθεῖσαν τοῖς πάθεσιν, ἀλλά τήν δύναμιν ἔχουσαν (15Β_390> τοῦ τε σταυροῦ καί τοῦ θανάτου, καί τῆς ταφῆς καί τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ· τοῦ μέν σταυροῦ, κατά τήν ἀπραξίαν τῆς ἁμαρτίας· τοῦ δέ θανάτου, κατά τήν πληρεστάτην ἀποβολήν τῆς κακίας· τῆς δέ ταφῆς κατά τήν ἀπόθεσιν τῆς κατά ψυχήν περί τά αἰσθητά φαντασίας· τῆς δέ ἀναστάσεως, κατά τόν πλοῦτον τῶν ἀρετῶν, καί τήν περιουσίαν τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐπιγνώσεως ἀληθοῦς, καί τήν εἰς ὕψος τῆς διανοίας ἀπό τῶν φθειρομένων ἔγερσιν, ἵνα γένωμαι σύσσωμος αὐτοῦ καί σύμψυχος. Καί ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, κατά τήν αὐτοῦ ἐπαγγελίαν, κατά πάντα ὅμοιος, χωρίς τῆς πρός αὐτόν κατά τήν φύσιν ταυτότητος· ἵνα μή τήν δοθεῖσάν μοι παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ διά τῶν εἰρημένων ζωήν νεκρώσας, τοῖς ἔργοις τῆς ἀτιμίας, τό κρῖμα δικαίως σχῶ τῶν ἀποκτεινάντων τήν ἑαυτῶν ζωήν, τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν τόν Ἰησοῦν τόν Χριστόν. Φοβερόν γάρ ὄντως, καί πάσης κατακρίσεως ὑπερέκεινα, τό τήν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν παρά Θεοῦ κατά δωρεάν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἑκουσίως νεκρῶσαι ζωήν, διά τῆς πρός τά φθειρόμενα ἀγάπης. Καί ἴσασι πάντως τοῦτον τόν φόβον, οἱ τήν ἀλήθειαν τῆς φιλαυτίας προτιμᾷν μελετήσαντες.

ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΚS'. ... ΠΡΟΣ ΘΑΛΑΣΣΙΟΝ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΟΝ ΕΡΩΤΗΣΑΝΤΑ... Κστ´. 0616 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρός Θαλάσσιον πρεσβύτερον ἐρωτήσαντα, πῶς

ἔνιοι τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι βασιλέων, ὑπέρ ὀργῆς θεηλάτου ἐπικειμένης τῷ ὑπηκόῳ πλήθει κατέθυον τέκνα καί πρεσγενεῖς, καί ἐπαύετο ἡ ὀργή, καθώς πολλοῖς τῶν ἀρχαίων ἱστόρηται.