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both now and unto the age. 128 {1To Bessarion, my child}1 I have joy in you, my beloved child Bessarion, because you have become God’s chosen one among your brothers, in every way choosing what is best and speaking boldly for the truth. You entered like gold into a furnace through imprisonment, you showed yourself a man, you were imprisoned beforehand, you confessed, the Lord has recorded your testimony. For what else did the martyrs do? To die, it is clear, for Christ. This you also do by your choice; for you are always dying in prison. Glory to God who glorified you, grace to him who called you to so great a glory. Alas for those who have denied him, for the wretched Orestes and Aphratius; for a little comfort they have fallen away from Christ, behaving shamefully now and in the age to come they will be denied by the Christ whom they have denied. They are thus, like old tares. But you, my child, finish your course, enduring the afflictions, choosing also to be perfected through blood, that you may dance with the martyrs, that through you I also, the sinner, may be glorified. Yes, my child, strive valiantly as you have begun until the end, praying also for me, the sinner. Brother Nicholas greets you. 129 {1To Titus and Philo, my children}1 I visit you, my beloved children, now also through this letter, loving to learn how you are, how you are enduring your imprisonment in the Lord. Thanks be to God that you have been shown to be confessors of Christ, pillars and foundations of the church; for though you are small among your brothers and considered as nothing by the pious, yet with God you are great and numbered with the saints. Therefore, brothers, see your calling, what a height, what a gift; enduring, wait for the Lord, awaiting his mercy from day to day, conducting yourselves as brothers with one another. See, Titus, my brother, see, Philo, my child, your imprisonment is for God and with God. Having Christ, do not be idle; come out from the prison when Christ wills, like gold from a crucible, wholly pure, honored, glorified, crowned. Remembering this end, be content, endure, rejoice; the Lord is near to those who wait for him. Pray also for me, your humble father, that I may be saved. Brother Nicholas greets you. 130 {1To Ignatius, my child}1 Although I was not able to write to you personally before, now, my beloved child, having received your letter, I write cheerfully. Be healthy in both soul and body, pursuing the kingdom of heaven, for which is also the present persecution from the enemies of the truth. You did well, therefore, to be there, in the presence of the archbishop, the oikonomos and the rest of the brothers, both those sent from the emperor and those administering the monastery from the beginning. Therefore, whether in Boskytion or in Saint George, as I instructed brother Tithoïos, remain. You are a man of God, trained by my humility in the matters of the monastic state, advanced in virtue and thence led to the priesthood to the rank of epistemonarch, not to mention protokalligraphos and chrysophylax. All these things are for your renown, for my glory. Show yourself therefore from now on, my child, to your brothers, both superiors and equals and subordinates, as Ignatius the God-bearer, from whom you are also called, giving grace in your speech, breathing forth the myrrh of good deeds, that your fragrance may spread to the whole of your brotherhood, that you may shine forth in the kingdom of heaven like the sun a little later. For death is always at work, as we see from our own brothers; and blessed is he who has purified himself and so departs, leaving behind a holy name to those who are still living. May it be so for you, my child, to be perfected. The brothers greet you warmly. 131 {1To the same}1 O my good Ignatius, know that they are taking me from here and sending me into further exile where my Lord has prepared for me a place of rest; do not be grieved, therefore, but rejoice, that I have been deemed worthy

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τοῦ νῦν καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος. 128 {1Βησσαρίωνι τέκνῳ}1 Χαρά μοι ἐπὶ σοί, τέκνον μου ἠγαπημένον Βησσαρίων, ὅτι ἐκλογὴ θεοῦ ἐγένου ἐν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς σου, πάντως ὡς τὰ κάλλιστα προαιρούμενος καὶ ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας παρρησιαζόμενος. εἰσῆλθες ὡς χρυσοῦς ἐν καμίνῳ διὰ τῆς φρουρᾶς, προηνδρίσω, προεφυλακίσθης, ὡμολόγησας, ἀπεγράψατο Κύριος τὴν μαρτυρίαν σου. τί γὰρ ἄλλο οἱ μάρτυρες ἐποίησαν; τὸ ἀποθανεῖν δῆλον ὅτι ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ. τοῦτο καὶ σὺ τῇ προαιρέσει· ἀεὶ γὰρ ἀποθνήσκεις ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ. δόξα τῷ δοξάσαντί σε θεῷ, χάρις τῷ καλέσαντί σε εἰς τηλικαύτην δόξαν. φεῦ τοῖς ἐξαρνησαμένοις, Ὀρέστῃ τῷ ἀθλίῳ καὶ Ἀφρατίῳ· διὰ μικρὰν εὐπάθειαν ἐξέπεσαν Χριστοῦ, ἀσχημονοῦντες τανῦν κἀν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι ἀπαρνηθησόμενοι ὑφ' οὗ Χριστοῦ ἠρνήσαντο. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὕτως, ὡς ἀρχαῖα ζιζάνια. σὺ δέ, τέκνον μου, τελείωσόν σου τὸν δρόμον ὑποφέρων τὰ θλιπτικά, προαιρούμενος καὶ τὸ δι' αἵματος τελειωθῆναι, ἵνα σὺν μάρτυσι χορεύσῃς, ἵνα διὰ σοῦ κἀγὼ ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς εὐδοξήσω. ναί, τέκνον μου, ἀρίστευσον ὡς ἐνήρξω ἕως τέλους, προσευχόμενος καὶ περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ. ὁ ἀδελφὸς νικόλαος προσαγορεύει σε. 129 {1Τίτῳ καὶ Φίλωνι τέκνοισ}1 Ἐπισκέπτομαι ὑμᾶς, τέκνα μου ἠγαπημένα, καὶ νῦν διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, πῶς ἔχετε φιλῶν μαθεῖν, πῶς ὑπομένετε τὴν ἐν Κυρίῳ φυλακήν. χάρις τῷ θεῷ, ὅτι ἀνεδείχθητε ὁμολογηταὶ Χριστοῦ, στῦλοι καὶ ἑδραιώματα τῆς ἐκκλησίας· κἂν γὰρ μικροί ἐστε ἐν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὑμῶν καὶ μηδαμινοὶ λογίζεσθε τοῖς εὐσεβέσιν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ μεγάλοι ὑμεῖς καὶ ἁγίοις συναρίθμιοι. λοιπὸν βλέπετε, ἀδελφοί, τὴν κλῆσιν ὑμῶν, οἷον τὸ ὕψος, ποταπὸν τὸ χάρισμα· ὑπομένοντες ὑπομείνατε τὸν Κύριον, ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ἀπεκδεχόμενοι τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀδελφοὶ μετ' ἀλλήλων ἀναστρεφόμενοι. βλέπε σύ, Τῖτε, ἀδελφέ μου, βλέπε Φίλων, τέκνον μου, διὰ θεὸν καὶ μετὰ θεοῦ ἡ φυλακὴ ὑμῶν. Χριστὸν ἔχοντες μὴ ῥαθυμῆτε· ἐξέλθετε ἀπὸ τῆς φυλακῆς ὅτε βούλεται Χριστὸς ὡς χρυσὸς ἀπὸ χωνευτηρίου, ὅλως καθαροί, τετιμημένοι, δεδοξασμένοι, στεφανίται. Τοῦτο τὸ πέρας ἐνθυμούμενοι στέργετε, φέρετε, χαίρετε, ἐγγὺς Κύριος τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν αὐτόν. προσεύχεσθε καὶ περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ταπεινοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν ἵνα σῴζωμαι. ὁ ἀδελφὸς Νικόλαος προσαγορεύει. 130 {1Ἰγνατίῳ τέκνῳ}1 Κἂν οὐκ ἠδυνήθην τὸ πρότερον ἰδίᾳ σοι ἐπιστεῖλαι, νῦν, τέκνον μου ἠγαπημένον, δεξάμενός σου τὸ γράμμα εὐθύμως ἐπιστέλλω. ὑγιαίνων ἔσο ψυχῇ τε καὶ σώματι, πραγματευόμενος τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὑπὲρ ἧς καὶ ὁ ὁρώμενος διωγμὸς παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τῆς ἀληθείας. καλῶς οὖν ἐποίησας γεγονὼς ἐν τοῖς αὐτόθι, ὄντος τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου, τοῦ οἰκονόμου καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀδελφῶν, τῶν τε παρὰ βασιλέως ἀποσταλέντων καὶ τῶν διοικούντων ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὸ μοναστήριον. εἴτε οὖν ἐν τῷ Βοσκυτίῳ εἴτε ἐν τῷ Ἁγίῳ Γεωργίῳ, καθὼς διεταξάμην τῷ ἀδελφῷ Τιθοΐῳ, ἐπίμεινον. ἄνθρωπος εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐγγεγυμνασμένος παρὰ τῆς ταπεινώσεώς μου τὰ τῆς μοναδικῆς καταστάσεως, προβεβηκὼς ἐν ἀρετῇ κἀντεῦθεν ἀχθεὶς εἰς ἱερωσύνην εἰς βαθμὸν ἐπιστημονάρχου, ἀφῶ λέγειν πρωτοκαλλιγράφου καὶ χρυσοφύλακος. ταῦτα πάντα εἰς κλέος σου, εἰς δόξαν μου. Φάνηθι οὖν καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ δεῦρο, τέκνον μου, τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς σου, τοῖς τε προέχουσι καὶ ἴσοις καὶ ὑφειμένοις, ὡς Ἰγνάτιος ὁ θεοφόρος, ἐξ οὗ καὶ καλεῖσαι, χάριν διδοὺς ἐν τῷ λόγῳ σου, ἀποπνέων τὰ μύρα τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων, ἵνα ἡ εὐωδία σου διαδράμοι εἰς τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς ἀδελφότητός σου, ἵνα ἐκλάμψοις ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν ὡς ἥλιος μικρὸν ὕστερον. ὁ γὰρ θάνατος ἐνεργεῖται ἀεί, ὡς ὁρῶμεν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν· καὶ μακάριος ὁ καθάρας ἑαυτὸν καὶ οὕτως ἀποδημῶν, ὄνομά τε ἐγκαταλιμπάνων ὅσιον τοῖς ἔτι ζῶσιν. οὕτως εἴη σοι, τέκνον μου, τελειωθῆναι. Οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ἀσπάζονταί σε θερμῶς. 131 {1Τῷ αὐτῷ}1 Ὦ καλέ μου Ἰγνάτιε, γίνωσκε ὅτι με αἴρουσι τῶν ἐνταῦθα καὶ μετεξορίζουσιν ὅπου ὁ Κύριός μου ἡτοίμασέ μοι τόπον καταπαύσεως· μὴ οὖν λυποῦ, ἀλλὰ χαῖρε, ὅτι κατηξίωμαι ὁ