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watering the Churches of the martyrs, nourished many more champions of piety, as those who followed were spurred on by the zeal of those who had gone before. At that time we Christians kept peace with one another, that peace which the Lord left to us, of which now not even a trace is left to us, so harshly have we driven it away from each other. But still, our souls returned to that ancient blessedness, since a letter came from a distant land, blossoming with the beauty of love, and a martyr visited us from the barbarians beyond the Ister, proclaiming in his own person the exactness of the faith practiced there. Who could describe the gladness of our souls at these things? What power of speech could be devised able to declare clearly the disposition hidden in our heart? Yet when we saw the athlete, we counted his trainer blessed, who will himself also receive the crown of righteousness from the righteous Judge, having strengthened many for the struggle for piety. 164.2 And since you have brought us to the memory of the blessed man Eutychus and have honored our fatherland as providing the seeds of piety, you have gladdened us by the reminder of the old things, but you have grieved us by the refutation of what is seen now. For none of us is like Eutychus in virtue, we who are so far from taming barbarians by the power of the Spirit and the working of His gifts, that even those who are tame have become savage through the excess of our sins. For we reckon to ourselves and to our own sins the cause of the heretics' power being poured out to such an extent. For scarcely any part of the world has now escaped the conflagration from the heresy. But your accounts are an athletic resistance, bodies torn for the sake of piety, barbarian rage despised by those undaunted in heart, the various tortures of the persecutors, the steadfast endurance through all things of the contestants, the wood, the water, the things that perfect the martyrs. But what of our affairs? Love has grown cold. The teaching of the Fathers is ravaged, shipwrecks concerning the faith are frequent, the mouths of the pious are silent, the people, driven from the houses of prayer, raise their hands in the open air to the Master in heaven. And the afflictions are heavy, but there is no martyrdom anywhere, because those who harm us have the same name as us. For these things, both pray yourself to the Lord and take along with you all the noble athletes of Christ in prayer for the Church, so that, if any time still remains for the constitution of the world and all things are not driven towards the opposite course, God, being reconciled to his own Churches, might lead them back to their ancient peace.

165. To Ascholius, Bishop of Thessalonica

165.1 The holy God has fulfilled an old prayer for us by deeming us worthy to encounter the letters of your true piety. For the greatest thing and that worthy of the greatest effort is to see you yourself and to be seen by you and to enjoy in person the gifts of the Spirit in you. But since both the distance of the place and the particular circumstances holding each of us back prevent this, it is worthy of a second prayer to nourish the soul on the love in Christ through continuous letters. And this has now been granted to us, when we received into our hands the letter of your wisdom. For we became more than twice ourselves in the enjoyment of what you had written. For it was possible in reality to see your very soul shining through your words, as through a mirror. And it made our gladness many times greater not only that you are such a person as the testimony of all presents you, but that the good things in you of

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τῶν μαρτύρων ἄρδον τὰς Ἐκκλησίας πολυπλασίονας τοὺς ἀγωνιστὰς τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐξέτρεφε, τῷ ζήλῳ τῶν προλαβόντων ἐπαποδυομένων τῶν ἐφεξῆς. Τότε Χριστιανοὶ μὲν πρὸς ἀλλήλους εἰρήνην ἤγομεν, εἰρήνην ἐκείνην ἣν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῖν κατέλειπεν, ἧς νῦν οὐδ' ἴχνος ἡμῖν ὑπολέ λειπται, οὕτως αὐτὴν ἀπηνῶς ἀπ' ἀλλήλων ἀπεδιώξαμεν. Πλὴν ἀλλ' ὅτι αἱ ψυχαὶ ἡμῶν πρὸς τὴν παλαιὰν ἐκείνην μακαριότητα ἐπανῆλθον, ἐπειδὴ γράμματα μὲν ἦλθεν ἐκ γῆς μακρόθεν ἀνθοῦντα τῷ τῆς ἀγάπης κάλλει, μάρτυς δὲ ἡμῖν ἐπεδήμησεν ἐκ τῶν ἐπέκεινα Ἴστρου βαρβάρων δι' ἑαυτοῦ κηρύσσων τῆς ἐκεῖ πολιτευομένης πίστεως τὴν ἀκρίβειαν. Τίς ἂν τὴν ἐπὶ τούτοις εὐφροσύνην τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν διηγήσαιτο; Τίς ἂν ἐπινοηθείη δύναμις λόγου ἐναργῶς ἐξαγγεῖλαι τὴν ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν διάθεσιν δυναμένη; Ὅτε μέντοι εἴδομεν τὸν ἀθλητήν, ἐμακαρίσαμεν αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀλείπτην, ὃς παρὰ τῷ δικαίῳ Κριτῇ τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης στέφανον καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπολήψεται, πολλοὺς εἰς τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐπιρρώσας ἀγῶνα. 164.2 Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τοῦ μακαρίου ἀνδρὸς Εὐτυχοῦς εἰς μνήμην ἡμᾶς ἤγαγες καὶ ἐσέμνυνας ἡμῶν τὴν πατρίδα ὡς αὐτὴν παρεχομένην τῆς εὐσεβείας τὰ σπέρματα, ηὔφρανας μὲν ἡμᾶς τῇ ὑπομνήσει τῶν παλαιῶν, ἐλύπησας δὲ τῷ ἐλέγχῳ τῶν ὁρωμένων. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἡμῶν Εὐτυχεῖ τὴν ἀρετὴν παραπλήσιος, οἵ γε τοσοῦτον ἀπέχομεν βαρβάρους ἐξημερῶσαι τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ Πνεύματος καὶ τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ χαρισμάτων, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς ἡμέρως ἔχοντας τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐξηγριῶσθαι. Ἑαυτοῖς γὰρ λογιζόμεθα καὶ ταῖς ἡμετέραις ἁμαρτίαις τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον χυθῆναι τῶν αἱρετικῶν τὴν δυναστείαν. Σχεδὸν γὰρ οὐδὲν μέρος ἔτι τῆς οἰκουμένης διαπέφευγε τὸν ἐκ τῆς αἱρέσεως ἐμπρησμόν. Τὰ δὲ σὰ διηγήματα ἔνστασις ἀθλητική, σώματα ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας καταξαινόμενα, θυμὸς βαρβαρικὸς ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκαταπλήκτων τὴν καρδίαν καταφρονούμενος, αἱ ποικίλαι βάσανοι τῶν διωκόντων, αἱ διὰ πάντων ἐνστάσεις τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων, τὸ ξύλον, τὸ ὕδωρ, τὰ τελειωτικὰ τῶν μαρτύρων. Τὰ δὲ ἡμέτερα οἷα; Ἀπέψυκται ἡ ἀγάπη. Πορθεῖται ἡ τῶν Πατέρων διδασκαλία, ναυάγια περὶ τὴν πίστιν πυκνά, σιγᾷ τῶν εὐσεβούντων τὰ στόματα, λαοὶ τῶν εὐκτηρίων οἴκων ἐξελαθέντες ἐν τῷ ὑπαίθρῳ πρὸς τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ∆εσπότην τὰς χεῖρας αἴρουσι. Καὶ αἱ μὲν θλίψεις βαρεῖαι, μαρτύριον δὲ οὐδαμοῦ διὰ τὸ τοὺς κακοῦντας ἡμᾶς τὴν αὐτὴν ἡμῖν ἔχειν προσηγορίαν. Ὑπὲρ τούτων αὐτός τε δεήθητι τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ πάντας τοὺς γενναίους ἀθλητὰς τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας προσ ευχὴν συμπαράλαβε, ἵνα, εἴπερ ἔτι χρόνοι τινὲς ὑπολεί πονται τῇ συστάσει τοῦ κόσμου καὶ μὴ πρὸς τὴν ἐναντίαν φορὰν συνελαύνεται πάντα, διαλλαγεὶς ὁ Θεὸς ταῖς ἑαυτοῦ Ἐκκλησίαις ἐπαναγάγῃ αὐτὰς πρὸς τὴν ἀρχαίαν εἰρήνην.

165.τ ΑΣΧΟΛΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗΣ

165.1 Παλαιὰν ἡμῖν εὐχὴν ὁ ἅγιος Θεὸς ἐξεπλήρωσε κατα ξιώσας ἡμᾶς

γράμμασι τῆς ἀληθινῆς σου θεοσεβείας ἐντυχεῖν. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ μέγιστον καὶ τῆς μεγίστης σπουδῆς ἄξιον αὐτόν σε ἰδεῖν καὶ ὀφθῆναί σοι καὶ τῶν ἐν σοὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος χαρισμάτων δι' ἑαυτῶν ἀπολαῦσαι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦτο ἥ τε τοῦ τόπου διάστασις ἀφαιρεῖται καὶ αἱ ἰδίᾳ ἑκάτερον ἡμῶν κατέχουσαι περιστάσεις, δευτέρας εὐχῆς ἄξιον γράμμασι συνεχέσι τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ ἀγάπης τρέφεσθαι τὴν ψυχήν. Ὃ καὶ νῦν ἡμῖν ὑπῆρξεν, ὅτε ἐλάβομεν εἰς χεῖρας τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τῆς συνέσεώς σου. Πλέον γὰρ ἢ διπλασίους ἐγενόμεθα τῇ ἀπολαύσει τῶν ἐπεσταλμένων. Καὶ γὰρ ἦν τῷ ὄντι καὶ αὐτήν σου καθορᾶν τὴν ψυχὴν οἷον δι' ἐσόπτρου τινὸς τῶν λόγων διαφαινομένην. Πολυπλασίονα δὲ ἡμῖν τὴν εὐφροσύνην ἐποίει οὐ μόνον τὸ τοιοῦτον εἶναί σε ὁποῖον ἡ πάντων μαρτυρία παρίστησιν, ἀλλ' ὅτι τὰ ἐν σοὶ καλὰ τῆς