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The Lord be with your spirit; may the prayer of our blessed father and of the holy brothers overtake you, and above all the intercession of the holy Theotokos with all the saints. Remember me, your sinful father. 80 {1To Timothy, my child}1 O good Timothy, I have always known you to be a lover of God, a lover of your father, well-disposed, of one mind, guileless, a keeper at home, very compassionate towards our blessed father, towards me the sinner, towards the most God-loving archbishop. Show therefore at the present time works of your power, of friendship, of good faith, of piety, of zeal for God. What are these? That you give no sleep to your eyes, nor take any rest at all until you overtake the most God-loving archbishop. Suffer with him, my beloved child, contend with him, seal up what is past with what has already arrived; for thus you will please the Lord, thus you will also minister to me the sinner, only going and overtaking him with good aim and circumspection, giving him also my letters. Pray for me always, desired child. 81 {1To Anatolius and Sabbatius, my children}1 I have received this third letter of yours, my most desired and greatly beloved children, from which I have learned of your great good disposition towards God and your relation to me the sinner; for to write more frequently and to make known your own affairs, and indeed also where and how the brothers scattered in those parts are settled, which the previous letter indicated, is a proof of your warm love for your father and of your burning zeal for God. In these things may you be preserved for me, O good children, receiving warmth from warmth and being rekindled in the spirit for every good work. The time is for endurance, brothers, for suffering evil; as soldiers of Christ, endure hardship. Are not the sufferings unworthy of the glory to come, for which our fathers, having toiled much, obtained their crowns? You know this, that Nectarius the old traitor has apostatized, acting worse than Judas; for the one, having denied and betrayed the Lord of glory, hanged himself in remorse, but the other has willfully both set Christ at nought through the denial of His holy icon and without remorse was destroying his own soul and those of many others, demanding the handwritten professions of impiety. And indeed Orestes, having deserted from the seven on account of his abominable passions, has given himself over to the bath of apostasy. Therefore, my children, let us be on our guard; for when the impious fall, the righteous, it says, shall be fearful. Take heed to yourselves, I beseech you, and give no place to the devil, but let the fear of God guard you in all things. I am zealous for you to be educated, but see that knowledge puffs up the inattentive, and being puffed up casts them down. May therefore both knowledge be added to you and humility be exalted. They are moving me from Metope to the fortress of Bonetes, to the Anatolics. And I rejoice greatly, because I am being transferred for the sake of my Lord and God. Pray for me, my children, that I may be saved, I beseech you. Extend a hand to your brothers, and especially to the ten, in word, in deed, as much as possible, that you may be fulfilling my lack. Your brothers Hypatius and Nicholas greet you warmly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. 82 {1To Peter of Nicaea}1 Often having intended to write to your desired and paternal holiness, I was prevented by my sins (for I would not blame anything else up to this point), but now, having found an opportunity and a letter-carrier, I already gladly address and greet your venerable and sacred head; for even if absolutely everyone contending for piety is beloved by my wretchedness, yet nevertheless a special reverence for your paternity is added for me. For since I am unworthily loved by it, not unreasonably I also love it more than the many. That I am loved, the greatest proof is that at the time of the sounding of affairs I was extolled by it and praised as being someone useful for the common good, and this not privately somehow and in

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Κύριος μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματός σου· καταλάβοι σε ἡ εὐχὴ τοῦ μακαρίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ τῶν ὁσίων ἀδελφῶν, προηγουμένως ἡ πρεσβεία τῆς ἁγίας Θεοτόκου σὺν πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις. Μιμνήσκου μου τοῦ σοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ πατρός. 80 {1Τιμοθέῳ τέκνῳ}1 Ὦ καλὲ Τιμόθεε, πάντοτέ σε οἶδα φιλόθεον, φιλοπάτορα, εὔνουν, σύμψυχον, ἄδολον, οἰκοῦρον, εὐσυμπάθητον πρὸς τὸν μακάριον πατέρα ἡμῶν, πρός με τὸν ἁμαρτωλόν, πρὸς τὸν θεοφιλέστατον ἀρχιεπίσκοπον. δεῖξον οὖν τὸ παρὸν ἔργα δυνάμεώς σου, φιλίας, εὐπιστίας, θεοσεβείας, θεοζηλίας. τί ταῦτα; ἵνα μὴ δῷς ὕπνον σοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς, μηδ' ὁπωσοῦν λαμβάνων ἄνεσιν ἕως ἂν καταλάβῃς τὸν θεοφιλέστατον ἀρχιεπίσκοπον. συμπόνησον αὐτῷ, τέκνον μου ἠγαπημένον, συνάθλησον, σφράγισον τὰ παρελθόντα τοῖς ἤδη φθάσασιν· οὕτω γὰρ εὐαρεστήσεις Κυρίῳ, οὕτω κἀμὲ τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν θεραπεύσεις, μόνον εὐσκόπως καὶ τετηρημένως ἀπιὼν καὶ καταλαμβάνων αὐτόν, διδοὺς καὶ τὰ γράμματά μου. Εὔχου μοι ἀεί, τέκνον ποθεινόν. 81 {1Ἀνατολίῳ καὶ Σαββατίῳ τέκνοισ}1 Τρίτην ταύτην ἐπιστολὴν ὑμῶν ἐδεξάμην, ἐπιπόθητά μου τέκνα καὶ λίαν ἠγαπημένα, ἀφ' ἧς πολλὴν ὑμῶν κατέμαθον τὴν ἀγαθὴν πρὸς θεὸν διάθεσιν καὶ τὴν πρός με τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν σχέσιν· τὸ γὰρ πυκνοτέρως γράφειν καὶ γνωρίζειν τὰ οἰκεῖα, καὶ μὴν καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν ἐν τοῖς αὐτόθι διεσπαρμένων ποῦ καὶ πῶς αὐτοὺς καθέζεσθαι, ὅπερ ἐδήλου ἡ προγενεστέρα συλλαβή, ἀπόδειξιν ἔχει τῆς θερμῆς ὑμῶν φιλοπατορίας καὶ τῆς διακαοῦς θεοζηλίας. ἐν αἷς φυλαχθείητέ μοι ὦ καλοὶ παῖδες, θέρμην ἐκ θέρμης προσλαμβάνοντες καὶ ζωπυρούμενοι τῷ πνεύματι εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν. ὑπομονῆς ὁ καιρός, ἀδελφοί, κακοπαθείας· ὡς στρατιῶται Χριστοῦ ταλαιπωρήσατε. οὐκ ἄξια τὰ παθήματα πρὸς τὴν μέλλουσαν δόξαν, ὑπὲρ ἧς πολλὰ ἐνιδρώσαντες ἐπέτυχον οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τῶν στεφάνων; Οἴδατε τοῦτο, ὅτι Νεκτάριος ὁ ἀρχαῖος προδότης ἀπεστάτησεν, χεῖρον τοῦ Ἰούδα πράττων· ὅτι ὁ μὲν ἔξαρνος γενόμενος καὶ προδοὺς τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης ἀπήγξατο μεταμελείᾳ, ὁ δὲ αὐτομόλως καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἠθέτησεν διὰ τῆς ἀρνήσεως τῆς ἁγίας αὐτοῦ εἰκόνος καὶ ἀμεταμελήτως μετὰ τῆς οἰκείας ψυχῆς ἀπώλλυ καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν, ἀπαιτῶν τὰ τῆς ἀσεβείας χειρόγραφα. καί γε Ὀρέστης λειποτακτήσας ἐκ τῶν ἑπτὰ διὰ τὰ μυσαρὰ πάθη ἀπέδωκεν ἑαυτὸν τῷ βαλανείῳ τῆς ἀποστασίας. ∆ιό, τέκνα μου, φυλαττοίμεθα· ἀσεβῶν γὰρ καταπιπτόντων οἱ δίκαιοι, φησίν, ἔμφοβοι ἔσονται. προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς, παρακαλῶ, καὶ μὴ δῶτε τόπον τῷ διαβόλῳ, ἀλλ' ἔστω ὁ φόβος τοῦ θεοῦ φρουρῶν ὑμᾶς ἐν πᾶσιν. ζηλῶ ἐφ' ὑμᾶς τοῦ εἶναι πεπαιδευμένους, ἀλλὰ βλέπετε ὅτι ἡ γνῶσις φυσιοῖ τοὺς ἀπροσέκτους καὶ ἡ φυσίωσις καταρράσσει. ὑμῖν οὖν καὶ ἡ γνῶσις προστεθείη καὶ ἡ ταπείνωσις ὑψωθείη. Μεθορίζουσίν με ἐκ τῆς Μετώπης εἰς Βονήτης τὸ κάστρον, εἰς Ἀνατολικούς. καὶ χαίρω λίαν, ὅτι διὰ τὸν Κύριόν μου καὶ θεὸν μεταβιβάζομαι. εὔχεσθε ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, τέκνα μου, ἵνα σῴζωμαι, παρακαλῶ. ὀρέγοιτε χεῖρα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὑμῶν καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς δέκα λόγῳ, ἔργῳ, κατὰ τὸ δυνατόν, ἵνα ἀναπληροῦντες ἦτε τὸ ὑστέρημά μου. Οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ὑμῶν Ὑπάτιος καὶ Νικόλαος θερμῶς προσαγορεύουσιν. ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἔστω μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν. ἀμήν. 82 {1Πέτρῳ Νικαίασ}1 Πολλάκις προθέμενος ἐπιστεῖλαι τῇ ἐμοὶ ποθητῇ καὶ πατρικῇ ἁγιωσύνῃ σου ἐκωλύθην ὑπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν μου (οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἄλλο τι αἰτιάσομαι μέχρι τοῦ δεῦρο), νῦν δὲ ἐπιτυχὼν καιροῦ καὶ γραμματηφόρου ἡδέως ἤδη προσφθέγγομαι καὶ προσαγορεύω τὴν ἐμοὶ σεβασμίαν καὶ ἱερὰν κεφαλήν· εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἅπας ἐναθλῶν ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας ἐραστὸς τῇ ἐμῇ οἰκτρότητι, ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐξαίρετόν μοί τι σέβας ἐπὶ τῇ σῇ πατρότητι πρόσεστιν. ἐπεὶ γὰρ φιλοῦμαι ἀναξίως παρ' αὐτῆς, οὐκ ἀπεικότως καὶ φιλῶ παρὰ τοὺς πολλούς. ὅτι δὲ στέργομαι, δεῖγμα μέγιστον τὸ ἐν καιρῷ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων κωδωνίσεως ὡς εἴς τι χρήσιμον ὄντα με τὸ κοινῇ συμφέρον ἐκθειάζεσθαι πρὸς αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπαινεῖσθαι, καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ ἰδίᾳ πως καὶ ἐν