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he will reward you with his own gifts and will deliver you from the abominable communion of the iconoclasts and will save you unto his heavenly kingdom. 99 {1To Hypatus}1 I received your note, brother, and, since you have compelled my lowliness, in the mercy of God who overlooks every sin, may your penance be forgiven. Therefore, from now on, partake of the holy gifts, securing yourself lest you fall again into the same transgressions, so that the judgment may not be without mercy for us for ages, nor for those who have come to their senses after healing and swift forgiveness. God will forgive you, brother, your sins. Pray for us sinners. 100 {1Without an address}1 It was not right for the treasure of piety to lie in plain sight; for it would have been ravaged by the footpads of impiety, even unwillingly. Reasonably, therefore, it has now been set apart by God for an abundance of orthodoxy for the church of God. Such is your glory, O best of fathers to me, and most excellent and longed-for of the right-minded. The things brought upon you are grievous (for how could they not be?), removal from home, deprivation of friends, separation from children, and not a few other things which cause pain, especially given the preeminence of person you held. But take courage, O all-wise one, for you have been revealed as a champion of piety, great in earthly worth, greater in heavenly dignity, renowned in worldly service, more renowned in monastic contemplation. I always have you before the eyes of my soul, I embrace you with the kisses of my heart, I pray as a sinner for you to be healthy in body and to be encompassed in the hand of God in all things. which may my lord also not cease to do for your child, greeting, if possible, Kalogeros; if not, then at least my lord, the man of God, I mean the spatharios. 101 {1To Isidore of Byzantium}1 You always remember me, O good friend, but my God will remember you in return. I consider it a small thing to receive a hefty purse from the mighty in power compared to what is sent from your God-loving honor, even if it happens to be of one obol; and yet the things sent are great and beyond me. In return for which may the Lord grant you all sufficiency of life, keeping you unpartaking of the heresy of the Christ-fighters. Farewell in the Lord, you who are in all things venerable to me. 102 {1To George the innkeeper}1 I learn that your lodging is the blessed dwelling of our brothers; and the grace is great always, but especially now, when almost every house of friends is closed to us because of human fear. But the fear of God presents your door as open to us, upon entering which we as sinners call out to you the peace from the Lord, blessing and praising you as being a house of God. May your portion be with Abraham who received angels as guests, may every good thing, conceived and seen, be multiplied for you, may you rejoice both in the present age and in the age to come. But then with this virtue of yours, let there also be guarding you abstinence from communion with those who are heretics against Christ, the Theotokos and every saint. 103 {1To my child Naucratius}1 Since the good God was pleased for us to see brother Adrian, we considered it opportune, my beloved child, to greet you and through you the rest of your brothers and our children. And how are things with us? By your prayers we have been restored; and the dwelling is good, and the quiet is pleasant, and God is near, but also our enemy the devil, who is present to everyone for temptation. I beseech you, do not forget to remember me in your prayers so that I may be saved along with the brothers with whom I am, who also greet you. But I also exhort you to remain in faith and hope and in no way to lose heart in the present tribulations; for the Lord is near to those who endure for him. And you, my child, as my soul and strength, lend yourself to our brothers wherever they may be found, in whatever you can and for whatever need may call; for it was certainly for this reason that it was arranged by God for you not to be shut up.

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ἀμείψεται τοῖς παρ' ἑαυτοῦ χαρίσμασι καὶ ἐξελεῖταί σε τῆς μυσαρᾶς κοινωνίας τῶν εἰκονομάχων καὶ σώσει εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπουράνιον. 99 {1Ὑπάτῳ}1 Ἐδεξάμην σου, ἀδελφέ, τὸ πιττάκιον καί, ἐπειδὴ ἐκβεβίακάς μου τὴν ταπείνωσιν, ἐν τῷ ἐλέει τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ παρορῶντος πᾶν ἁμάρτημα συγχωρηθείη σοι τὸ ἐπιτίμιον. κοινώνησον οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ δεῦρο τῶν ἁγιασμάτων, ἀσφαλιζόμενος ἑαυτὸν μηκέτι ἐμπεπτωκέναι ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς παραπτώμασιν, ἵνα μὴ ἀνίλεως ἡμῖν γένηται ἡ κρίσις εἰς αἰῶνας, μηδὲ μετὰ ἰατρείαν καὶ ταχεῖαν ἄφεσιν σωφρονήσασιν. Ὁ θεὸς συγχωρήσει σοι, ἀδελφέ, τὰ ἁμαρτήματα. εὔχου περὶ ἡμῶν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν. 100 {1Ἀνεπίγραφοσ}1 Οὐκ ἔδει τὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας θησαυρὸν εἰς προῦπτον κεῖσθαι· ἐλυμαίνετο γὰρ ἂν ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἀσεβείας λωποδυτῶν καὶ μὴ βουλόμενος. εἰκότως οὖν λοιπὸν ὑπὸ θεοῦ περιώρισται εἰς εὐπορίαν ὀρθοδοξίας τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίᾳ. τοιοῦτόν σοι τὸ κλέος, ὦ μοι πατέρων ἄριστε καὶ ὀρθοφρόνων κράτιστε καὶ ἐπιπόθητε. λυπηρὰ τὰ ἐπαχθέντα (πῶς γὰρ οὔ;), οἴκου ἀφαίρεσις, φίλων στέρησις, τέκνων διάζευξις, ἑτέρων ὅτι μάλιστα οὐκ ὀλίγων τῶν ἐμποιούντων τὰ ἀλγεινά, καθ' ἣν μάλιστα ἔσχες καὶ ὑπεροχὴν προσώπου. Ἀλλὰ θάρσει, ὦ πανσύνετε, ὅτι πρόβολος ἐγνωρίσθης εὐσεβείας, μέγας ἐν τῇ περιγείῳ ἀξίᾳ, μείζων ἐν τῷ οὐρανίῳ ἀξιώματι, περιβόητος ἐν τῇ κοσμικῇ χρησιμεύσει, περιβοητότερος ἐν τῇ μοναδικῇ θεωρίᾳ. ἔχω σε ἀεὶ κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς ψυχῆς μου, περιπτύσσομαι ἀπὸ φιλημάτων μου καρδίας, προσεύχομαι ὡς ἁμαρτωλὸς ὑγιαίνειν σε τῷ σώματι περιέπεσθαί τε ἐν χειρὶ θεοῦ κατὰ πάντα. ὃ καὶ ὁ δεσπότης μου ὑπὲρ τέκνου σου ποιεῖν μὴ διαλείποις, προσαγορεύων, εἰ οἷόν τε, τὸν Καλόγηρον· εἰ δ' οὖν, κἂν τὸν κύριόν μου, τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον, τὸν σπαθάριον λέγω. 101 {1Ἰσιδώρῳ Βυζαντίῳ}1 Μνημονεύεις μου ἀεί, ὦ φίλε καλέ, ἀλλὰ ἀντιμνημονεύσει σοι ὁ θεός μου. μικρὸν ἡγοῦμαι παρὰ τῶν μεγάλων ἐν δυνάμει λαβεῖν ἁδρὸν βαλάντιον ὡς παρὰ τῆς θεοφιλοῦς σου τιμιότητος τὸ πεμπόμενον, κἂν ἑνὸς ὀβολοῦ τυγχάνῃ· καίτοι γε μεγάλα καὶ ὑπὲρ ἐμὲ καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ πεμφθέντα. ἀνθ' ὧν δῴη σοι Κύριος πᾶσαν αὐτάρκειαν βίου, ἀμέτοχον τῆς τῶν χριστομάχων αἱρέσεως διαφυλάττων σε. Ἔρρωσο ἐν Κυρίῳ, τὰ πάντα μοι σεβάσμιε. 102 {1Γεωργίῳ ξενοδόχῳ}1 Καταγώγιόν σου μανθάνω εἶναι τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν τὸ εὐλογημένον οἴκημα· καὶ μεγάλη ἡ χάρις πάντοτε μέν, ἄρτι δὲ μάλιστα, ὅτε ἀποκέκλεισται ἡμῖν σχεδὸν πᾶς οἶκος φίλων φόβῳ ἀνθρωπίνῳ. ἀλλ' ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ φόβος τὴν σὴν θύραν ἀνεῳγμένην ἡμῖν παρίστησιν, ἐφ' ἣν εἰσερχόμενοι ὡς ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὴν παρὰ Κυρίου εἰρήνην σοι προσφωνοῦμεν, εὐλογοῦντες καὶ εὐφημοῦντές σε ὡς οἰκίαν θεοῦ ὑπάρχοντα. εἴη τὸ μέρος σου μετὰ Ἀβραὰμ τοῦ ξενοδοχοῦντος ἀγγέλους, πληθυνθείη σοι πᾶν ἀγαθὸν νοούμενον καὶ ὁρώμενον, εὐφρανθείης καὶ ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι. ἀλλ' οὖν μετὰ ταύτης σου τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔστω φυλάττουσά σε καὶ ἡ ἀποχὴ τῆς κοινωνίας τῶν αἱρετιζόντων κατὰ Χριστοῦ, τῆς Θεοτόκου καὶ παντὸς ἁγίου. 103 {1Ναυκρατίῳ τέκνῳ}1 Ἐπειδὴ εὐδόκησεν ὁ ἀγαθὸς θεὸς ἰδεῖν ἡμᾶς τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἀδριανόν, εὔκαιρον ἡγησάμεθα, τέκνον μου ἠγαπημένον, προσαγορεῦσαί σε καὶ διὰ σοῦ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀδελφούς σου καὶ τέκνα ἡμῶν. πῶς δὲ τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς; εὐχαῖς ὑμῶν ἀπεκατέστημεν· καὶ ἡ οἴκησις καλή, καὶ ἡ ἡσυχία τερπνή, καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐγγύς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἡμῶν διάβολος, ὃς παντὶ πάρεστιν εἰς τὸ πειράζειν. δέομαι ὑμῶν, μὴ ἐπιλάθησθε μνημονεύειν μου ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς ὑμῶν ἵνα διασῴζωμαι μεθ' ὧν εἰμι ἀδελφῶν, οἳ καὶ προσαγορεύουσιν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ παρακαλῶ ἐμμένειν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ πίστει καὶ ἐλπίδι καὶ μηδαμῶς ἐκκακεῖν ἐν ταῖς παρούσαις θλίψεσιν· ἐγγὺς γὰρ Κύριος τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν αὐτόν. σύ τε, ὦ τέκνον μου, ὡς ψυχή μου καὶ δύναμις κιχρῶ σαυτὸν τοῖς ὁπουδηποτοῦν εὑρισκομένοις ἀδελφοῖς ἡμῶν ἐν ᾧ τ' ἂν ἰσχύῃς καὶ ἐφ' ὅτῳ ἡ χρεία καλοίη· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ πάντως καὶ ᾠκονομήθη παρὰ θεῷ ἀναπόκλειστόν σε εἶναι.