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intending to restore to the churches their stolen adornment on account of the impending wars. 6.3.2 And having returned to the Queen of Cities, he could not bear to become a pretext for those who wished to slander his affairs. Therefore he proclaims an assembly and a great council at the palace in Blachernae, wishing first to make himself liable to judgment and thus to make a defense for himself. And now the entire senate was present and the military and as many of the priestly order, waiting eagerly to see what the purpose of this general assembly might be. And it was, in fact, nothing other than an inquiry into the things rumored against the emperor. So at that time the guardians of the holy monasteries were present, and the books were then set forth in their midst (custom knows to call these *brevia*), in which were registered the treasures in each sanctuary. And in appearance the emperor sat as judge on the imperial throne, but in truth he himself was about to be examined. Therefore, the things dedicated long ago by many to the holy houses and later taken away by them or by the emperor himself were investigated. 6.3.3 And since nothing else was found to have been taken away, but only the adornment of gold and silver placed on the coffin of that empress Zoe and a few other vessels not so much used for sacred liturgy, the emperor openly makes himself liable to judgment, and anyone who wished to be his judge. And after a little, changing his tone: ‘I,’ he says, ‘having found the empire surrounded on all sides by barbarians and having nothing worthy of battle against the impending enemies, you know into how many dangers I have fallen, having almost become the work of a barbarian sword. For those shooting at us from both sides were many times more numerous. For you are not ignorant of the invasions of the Persians and the raids of the Scythians, nor have you forgotten the sharpened spears from Lombardy. The money was gone along with the arms, and the circle of the empire was contracting to an indivisible point. But you know how the entire armed force has been increased, being trained and gathered from all sides and organized; and you all know that all these things required much money, and that the things taken away were spent for a necessary purpose, according to that famous Pericles, and were expended for the sake of our honor. 6.3.4 But if we have appeared to the fault-finders as having transgressed the canons, it is no wonder. For we hear that the prophet David among the kings, having come into the same necessity, tasted of the sacred bread with his troops, and this though it was not permitted for a layman to touch the food specially reserved for priests. And in other cases, it is possible to learn that the sacred canons permit sacred objects to be sold for the ransom of captives. But if, with the civilized world being taken captive and the cities already taken by the spear and even Constantine's own city being in danger of becoming so, we, having laid hands on a few things, and not even those partaking fully of the dignity of sacred objects, in such a crisis, used them for the freedom of these cities, we then leave no reasonable accusation for the mockers.’ 6.3.5 Having said these things and turned his speech, he makes himself, as it were, guilty and condemns himself. Then he again commands those who had them to unroll the *brevia*, so that the things taken away might be made manifest. And immediately he reckoned for the *sekreton* of the Antiphonetes a sufficient quantity of gold to be brought in each year to the public administrators, a provision which has remained unshaken even to the present; for there the coffin of the aforementioned empress was deposited; and for the Chalkoprateia he ordered that a yearly income of sufficient gold be provided from the imperial treasuries for those who customarily perform the hymns in the divine sanctuary of the Mother of God.

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τοὺς ἐπικειμένους πολέμους ἀποδώσων ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τὸν ἀφῃρημένον κόσμον αὐτῶν. 6.3.2 Καὶ οὐκ ἔφερεν ἐπαναζεύξας τῇ βασιλίδι πόλει ὑπόθεσιν γίνεσθαι τοῖς ἐθέλουσι διασύρειν τὰ ἐκείνου. Ἔνθεν τοι καὶ ἐκκλη σίαν κηρύττει καὶ συνέδριον μέγιστον εἰς τὰ ἐν Βλαχέρ ναις ἀνάκτορα ἑαυτὸν ἐθέλων ὑπόδικον πρῶτον κατα στήσασθαι καὶ οὕτω τὰ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ ἀπολογήσασθαι. Παρῆν δὲ ἤδη καὶ ἡ σύγκλητος ἅπασα καὶ τὸ στρατιωτικὸν καὶ ὅσον τοῦ ἱερατικοῦ καταλόγου καραδοκοῦντες τὸ τί ἂν βούλοιτο ἡ τῶν ἁπάντων συνέλευσις. Τὸ δὲ ἦν ἄρα ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἢ ἡ τῶν κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως θρυλλουμένων ἀνάκρισις. Παρῆσαν οὖν τηνικαῦτα οἱ τῶν ἱερῶν φροντιστηρίων κηδεμόνες καὶ τὰ βιβλία ἐς μέσον τηνικαῦτα προὐτίθετο (βρέβια ταῦτα ἡ συνήθεια οἶδε καλεῖν), ἐν οἷς ἀναγεγρά φαται τὰ ἐν ἑκάστῳ τεμένει κειμήλια. Καὶ τῷ μὲν φαινο μένῳ κριτὴς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ καθῆστο θρόνου, τῇ δ' ἀληθείᾳ αὐτὸς ἐξετασθησόμενος. Ἐξητάζετο τοίνυν τὰ πάλαι παρὰ πολλῶν ἀνατεθέντα τοῖς εὐαγέσιν οἴκοις καὶ παρὰ τούτων ἐς ὕστερον ἢ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἀφαιρεθέντα. 6.3.3 Καὶ ἐπεὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον ἀφαιρεθὲν κατε φαίνετο, ἀλλ' ἢ μόνον ὁ τῇ σορῷ τῆς βασιλίδος ἐκείνης Ζωῆς ἐκ χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου ἐπικείμενος κόσμος καὶ ὀλίγα τινὰ ἄλλα σκεύη μὴ τοσοῦτον εἰς ἱερὰν λειτουργίαν χρηματίζοντα, ἑαυτὸν εἰς τοὐμφανὲς ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ὑπό δικον καθίστησι, κριτὴν δὲ τὸν βουλόμενον ὁντιναοῦν. Καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν μεταβαλὼν τῇ γλώττῃ· «Ἐγώ» φησι «τὴν βασιλείαν πανταχόθεν κυκλουμένην βαρβάροις εὑράμενος καὶ μηδέν τι πρὸς τοὺς ἐπικειμένους ἐχθροὺς ἀξιόμαχον ἔχουσαν, ἴστε ὁπόσοις κινδύνοις περιπέπτωκα, μικροῦ καὶ βαρβαρικοῦ ξίφους ἔργον γεγονώς. Καὶ γὰρ πολλαπλα σίους ἦσαν οἱ ἑκατέρωθεν ἡμᾶς τοξεύοντες. Τὰς γὰρ τῶν Περσῶν ἐπελεύσεις καὶ τὰς τῶν Σκυθῶν ἐκδρομὰς οὐκ ἀγνοεῖτε καὶ τῶν ἐκ Λογγιβαρδίας ὀξυνομένων δοράτων οὐκ ἐπιλέλησθε. Τὰ δὲ χρήματα συναπῆρε τοῖς ὅπλοις καὶ ὁ κύκλος τῆς ἡγεμονίας εἰς τὸ ἀμερὲς συνένευε κέντρον. Ὅπως δὲ τό τε ὁπλιτικὸν ἅπαν ηὔξηται γυμναζόμενον καὶ ἁπανταχόθεν συλλεγόμενον καὶ ξυγκροτούμενον οἴδατε· καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ὅτι πολλῶν ἐδεῖτο χρημάτων ἴστε πάντες, καὶ ὅτι τὰ ἀφαιρεθέντα εἰς δέον ἀνήλωτο κατὰ τὸν Περικλέα ἐκεῖνον καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡμῶν τιμῆς δεδα πάνηται. 6.3.4 Εἰ δὲ τοῖς μεμψιμοίροις ὡς τοῖς κανόσι προσκεκρουκότες κατεφάνημεν, θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν. Ἀκούο μεν γὰρ ὅτι καὶ ὁ ἐν βασιλεῦσι προφήτης ∆αβὶδ εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν ἀνάγκην ἐληλυθὼς τῶν ἱερῶν ἐγεύσατο ἄρτων μετὰ τῶν στρατευμάτων αὐτοῦ καὶ ταῦτα μὴ ἐνδεχομένου τῆς ἐξιδιαζομένης ἱερεῦσι τροφῆς ἰδιώτην ἅψασθαι. Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ καταμαθεῖν ἐστι τοὺς ἱεροὺς κανόνας ἐν ἑτέροις ἐνδι δόντας τὰ ἱερὰ πιπράσκεσθαι ὑπὲρ ἀναρρύσεως αἰχμα λώτων. Εἰ δ' αἰχμαλωτιζομένης οἰκουμένης καὶ δορυα λώτων ἤδη τῶν πόλεων καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς Κωνσταντίνου γενέσθαι κινδυνευουσῶν, ὀλίγων τινῶν καὶ οὐδὲ πάνυ τῆς τῶν ἱερῶν μετεχόντων ἀξίας ἐν βίᾳ τοσαύτῃ ἁψάμενοι εἰς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τούτων κατεχρησάμεθα, οὐδεμίαν ἄρα κατηγορίαν εὔλογον τοῖς φιλοσκώμμοσι καταλιμπάνομεν.» 6.3.5 Ταῦτ' εἰπὼν καὶ μεταστρέψας τὸν λόγον ἔνοχον οἷον ἑαυτὸν ποιεῖται καὶ καταδικάζει αὐτὸς ἑαυτόν. Εἶτ' αὖθις τὰ βρέβια ἀνελίττειν προστάττει τοῖς ἔχουσιν, ἵνα καταφανῆ γένηται τὰ ἀφῃρημένα. Καὶ παραχρῆμα τῷ μὲν σεκρέτῳ τοῦ Ἀντιφωνητοῦ χρυσίου ποσότητα ἱκανὴν ἐλο γίσατο κατ' ἔτος εἰσκομιζομένου τοῖς τοῦ δημοσίου φροντισταῖς, ὃ καὶ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ἀπαρασάλευτον διαμε μενήκει· ἐκεῖσε γὰρ ἡ τῆς δηλωθείσης βασιλίδος σορὸς ἐναπέκειτο· τοῖς δὲ Χαλκοπρατίοις ἐτησίαν εἴσοδον χρυ σίου ἀρκοῦντος τοῖς τῷ θείῳ τεμένει τῆς θεομήτορος συνήθως τοὺς ὕμνους ἐπιτελοῦσιν ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν ταμιείων πρυτανεύεσθαι παρεκελεύσατο.