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our affairs of assumptions and awkwardness, since we are in sins in other ways as well. But make known to us, O father, you yourself in what circumstances you are and how you are situated, not being disheartened nor despairing of the Lord's mercies; for if he should say "4be silent, be muzzled"5, the breaking wave would cease. But also pray for me unceasingly, I ask, that I may be delivered from the evil one.

77 {1To Irene the patricia}1 A hymn is truly fitting for you, not from me alone, the sinner, but from nearly the whole church of God. For what reason? Because in the present earthquake of impiety, when priests are falling, high priests are being destroyed, monks are being crushed, rulers are being thrown down, subjects are being undone, men are growing faint, women are terrified, you alone among women have appeared unfallen, unshaken, unwavering, fearless, unsoftened, unbreakable. From where is this? Because you have had the house of your soul founded upon the spiritual rock, bound fast and well-cultivated from many previous and various good works and as it were spiritual stones, against which the demonic winds and the snowstorms of assaults were shown to be stale and powerless by the power of God. Blessed are you among women, blessed are you among rulers, glorified are you among the married women. you have truly raised up a horn of salvation for the church of God, you have gladdened angels, you have shamed demons, you have conquered the heterodox, you have struck the deceivers of the people, you have strengthened the shaken, you have wounded the deserters, you have vexed the lovers of the flesh, you have confessed Christ through his holy icon, you have been numbered among his confessors. Well done, courageous soul, well done, heart of martyr-mind, well done, my venerated mother; for she who has done and is doing the will of Christ, to say nothing of me, the unworthy one. Thus has God glorified and exalted you, but may he glorify you yet more, if we persevere to the end in our most beautiful confession. And what is the gain from it? The kingdom of heaven, in which you will shine forth like the sun with all the saints. To your fellow-combatant and truly a sapling I address these fitting words.

78 {1To Zacharias the consul}1 I greet you, man of God, most excellent of friends, worker of Christ. What good have you received from us sinners that you return favors to us? And favors not from which the flesh rejoices nor from which the benefit is mortal, but those truly passing into the soul and not being emptied for ages; you know which ones I mean, I speak concerning our most God-beloved archbishop and brother, and concerning the protopresbyter, and us sinners ourselves, and any other of our children. Indeed, you have received no good at all (for from where and when?), but from a good heart and a God-loving purpose, according to which you also acted beneficently before, when the emperor was raging against us, playing Herod; for it is more dignified to say so. Therefore may He who for His love of mankind receives unto Himself the favors which you have done for us the humble, give you grace for grace, and may he deliver you with your whole household from every evil, and especially from the raging heresy against Christ.

79 {1To Athanasius, my child}1 God knew those who are his, as it is written; for this reason, my most desired child, he did not wish you to pass by in a corner in these days, but to be revealed in plain sight like some pearl of piety, so that he might be glorified as much as possible, as in some of your leading brothers, also for your steadfast heart. It is grievous, then (for how could it not be?), that you were separated from the most God-beloved archbishop, since he has no one equal to your virtue for comfort and counsel; however, God knows how to manage things for the best, so that the trial of virtue of both might be demonstrated. I rejoice in you, my child, and I take pride; You are Athanasius, but may you also be so in deed and word by the good pleasure of God who empowers all things. Endure, my child, imprisonment for Christ and with Christ. And if he is pleased for something else, receive it gladly; for it is not suffering, but not enduring sufferings for Christ's sake, that is most unbearable and damaging for those who have understanding. the

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ὑπολήψεων καὶ σκαιότητος τὰ ἡμέτερα, κἂν ὡς ἄλλως ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐσμέν. Γνώρισον δὲ ἡμῖν, ὦ πάτερ, καὐτὸς ἐν οἷς εἶ καὶ ὅπως καθέζῃ, μὴ ἀθυμῶν μηδὲ ἀπελπίζων τὰ ἐλέη Κυρίου· εἰ γὰρ εἴποι "4σιώπα, πεφίμωσο"5, ἐκόπασεν ἡ θραῦσις. ἀλλὰ καὶ προσεύχου μοι ἀδιαλείπτως, παρακαλῶ, ἵνα ῥυσθῶ ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ. 77 {1Εἰρήνῃ πατρικίᾳ}1 Σοὶ πρέπει ὕμνος ἀληθῶς, οὐ παρ' ἐμοῦ μόνου τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ἀλλὰ σχεδὸν καὶ παρὰ πάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ. τίνος χάριν; ὅτι ἐν τῷ παρόντι σεισμῷ τῆς ἀσεβείας, ὁπηνίκα ἱερεῖς πίπτουσιν, ἀρχιερεῖς ὄλλυνται, μονάζοντες συντρίβονται, ἄρχοντες καταρρήσσονται, ἀρχόμενοι καταλύονται, ἄνδρες ἐκλύονται, γυναῖκες δεδίασιν, μόνη ἐφάνης γυναικῶν ἀδιάπτωτος, ἀσάλευτος, ἀκράδαντος, ἄφοβος, ἀμάθαλκτος, ἀδιάρρηκτος. πόθεν τοῦτο; ὅτι ἐπὶ τὴν νοητὴν πέτραν τὴν σεαυτῆς ψυχικὴν οἰκίαν τεθεμελιωμένην ἔσχες, ἐκ προλαβουσῶν πολλῶν καὶ διαφόρων ἀγαθοεργιῶν καὶ λίθων οἱονεὶ πνευματικῶν συσφιγχθεῖσάν τε καὶ καλλιεργηθεῖσαν, ἐφ' οἷς ἕωλοι καὶ ἀνίσχυροι δυνάμει θεοῦ οἱ δαιμονικοὶ ἄνεμοι καὶ οἱ τῶν προσβολῶν νιφετοὶ ἐναπεδείχθησαν. Εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξί, μεμακαρισμένη σὺ ἐν ἀρχούσαις, δεδοξασμένη σὺ ἐν ταῖς ὑποζυγίοις. ἤγειρας ὄντως κέρας σωτηρίας τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ηὔφρανας ἀγγέλους, ᾔσχυνας δαίμονας, ἐνίκησας κακοδόξους, ἔπληξας λαοπλάνους, ἐστερέωσας σαλευομένους, ἐτραυμάτισας λειποτακτοῦντας, ἐδρίμυξας φιλοσαρκοῦντας, ὡμολόγησας Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς εἰκόνος αὐτοῦ, συνηριθμήθης τοῖς αὐτοῦ ὁμολογηταῖς. εὖγε ἀνδρειόφρων ψυχή, εὖγε μαρτυρόνους καρ δία, εὖγε ἐμοὶ μήτηρ προσκυνουμένη· ἡ γὰρ Χριστοῦ ποιήσασά τε καὶ ποιοῦσα τὸ θέλημα, πολλοῦ γε εἰπεῖν ἐμοῦ τοῦ ἀναξίου. οὕτως σε θεὸς ἐδόξασέν τε καὶ ὕψωσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔτι δοξάσειεν, ἐάνπερ μέχρι τέλους ἐπιμείνωμεν τῇ καλλίστῃ ἡμῶν ὁμολογίᾳ. καὶ τί τὸ ἀπ' αὐτῆς κέρδος; βασιλεία οὐρανῶν, ἐν ᾗ ἐκλάμψεις ὡς ὁ ἥλιος μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων. Τῇ συνάθλῳ σου καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς ὅρπηκι προσφωνῶ τὰ εἰκότα. 78 {1Ζαχαρίᾳ ὑπάτῳ}1 Ἀσπάζομαί σε, ἄνθρωπε τοῦ θεοῦ, κάλλιστε φίλων, ἐργάτα Χριστοῦ. τί παρ' ἡμῶν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν παθὼν ἀγαθὸν ἀνταποδίδως ἡμῖν χάριτας; καὶ χάριτας οὐκ ἐξ ὧν σὰρξ εὐφραίνεται οὐδ' ἀφ' ὧν ἐπίκηρος ἡ εὐεργεσία, ἀλλὰ τὰς ὄντως εἰς ψυχὴν διαβαινούσας καὶ οὐ κενουμένας εἰς αἰῶνας· οἶδας ἃς λέγω, ἐπί τε τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου φημὶ ἀρχιεπισκόπου καὶ ἀδελφοῦ ἡμῶν, ἐπί τε τοῦ πρωτοπρεσβυτέρου, ἡμῶν τε αὐτῶν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ οὗτινος ἄλλου τῶν ἡμετέρων τέκνων. ἦ τοῦ μὲν εὖ παθεῖν οὐδὲν οὐδαμῶς (πόθεν γὰρ καὶ πότε;), ἐξ ἀγαθῆς δὲ καρδίας καὶ προθέσεως φιλοθέου, καθ' ἣν καὶ πρότερον εὐηργέτησας, ὅτε βασιλεὺς ἐμαίνετο καθ' ἡμῶν ἡρωδιανίζων· οὕτω γὰρ εἰπεῖν σεμνοπρεπέστερον. ∆ῴη σοι τοιγαροῦν χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος ὁ εἰς ἑαυτὸν τὰς χάριτας ἃς πεποίηκας ἐν ἡμῖν τοῖς ταπεινοῖς διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν ἀναδεχόμενος, καὶ ῥύσεταί σε πανοικεὶ ἐκ παντὸς κακοῦ καὶ μάλιστά γε τῆς λυττώσης αἱρέσεως κατὰ Χριστοῦ. 79 {1Ἀθανασίῳ τέκνῳ}1 Ἔγνω ὁ θεὸς τοὺς ὄντας αὐτοῦ, καθὰ γέγραπται· διὰ τοῦτο, τέκνον μου περιπόθητον, οὐκ ἠβουλήθη ἐν παραβύστῳ σε παρεξελθεῖν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις, ἀλλ' οἷόν τινα μαργαρίτην εὐσεβείας εἰς προῦπτον φανερωθῆναι, ἵν' ὅτι μάλιστα δοξασθῇ ὡς ἔν τισι τῶν προεχόντων ἀδελφῶν σου καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ σῇ στερροκαρδίᾳ. λυπηρὸν μὲν οὖν (πῶς γὰρ οὔ;) τὸ διαζευχθῆναί σε τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου ἀρχιεπισκόπου, οὐκ ἔχοντος αὐτοῦ ἰσοστάσιον τῆς ἀρετῆς σου εἰς παρηγορίαν καὶ συμβουλίαν· πλὴν οἶδεν οἰκονομεῖν θεὸς τὰ συμφέροντα, ἵνα ἀμφοτέρων ἡ βάσανος τῆς ἀρετῆς διαδειχθῇ. Χαίρω ἐπὶ σοί, τέκνον μου, καὶ ἐναβρύνομαι· Ἀθανάσιος εἶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἴης ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ εὐδοκίᾳ τοῦ δυναμοῦντος τὰ πάντα θεοῦ. ἔνεγκε, τέκνον μου, τὴν ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ καὶ μετὰ Χριστοῦ φυλακήν. εἰ καί τι εὐδοκεῖ ἄλλο, δέξαιο ἀσπασίως· οὐ γὰρ τὸ παθεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὴ ὑποῖσαι διὰ Χριστὸν πάθη δυσφορώτατον καὶ ἐπιζήμιον τοῖς ἔχουσι νοῦν. ὁ