139

Since she died while those things were being performed, 467 and had not yet, by ways of repentance, been purified of the communion, so that she did not even receive holy communion and what was then necessary, she failed to receive last memorials during my reign, and the ecclesiastical roll read out from the pulpit each year for the praise of those who lived orthodoxly and for holy remembrance bears the names of other empresses, even of those perhaps not her equal in virtues, but has completely ignored her alone, and this while I am alive and ruling, O sun. Except if one must tell the truth, this too was done by me in abundance, and no one like this man has yet appeared to remind me, and her memorial was cut off. Thus I am concerning these things. And you, seeing these things, wrapping yourselves around with many things, are thus divided; you put forward the excommunication by the patriarch Arsenios against Joseph who was patriarch after him, and you propose his testaments, and what seems to be a just suspicion of a supposed forgery, as a thoughtful person might think, namely the forgery 468 of the signature, you attribute to the pain in the finger of the one signing (for it was weak from a carbuncle, clearly). What then? Can you justly attribute to anything both the wickedness of the opinion and the evil of the intention that follows from it? which you reasonably attach to him by saying such things. Any man at his death pardons all, so to speak; and a patriarch, when dying, instead of loosing as is customary, chose rather to bind, and this, a man who stands up for the church? I, for my part, bear him filial honor, and in many things I know that I have received from him those things which justly demand in return a debt of gratitude from me to him, and what is greater, that he even preferred me for the empire itself over my father, while he was ruling, choosing at the same time to resign the pastoral office himself, thus judging the remedy worthy of the sin against John, and at the same time demanding that my father lay down the empire, because, he said, the deeds against John were a transgression by both, by him for having relaxed his vigilance 469 and, as it were, betrayed him, and by my father for having wrongly calculated things concerning the empire, as it is not permitted for those who have sinned to rule, either him spiritually or my father the secular and imperial office itself; but that he had one from him sufficient for this, meaning me. And what excess of love does this not show? to call to lawful rule the one who no longer completely knew mankind? Thus are the dues of gratitude owed by me to him, and it is otherwise a pain to hear such things being put forward against him. Cease therefore from prattling those things about him, which could neither have been done nor, if said, preserve any honor for the one who did them. But you even place your own priesthood in the category of the irreproachable, and you render impossible the very sort you deem worthy to establish. For come now, by the very security concerning sacred things, whether the real one or the one you have held to, if the affairs of the church were in your hands, 470 could this expected hierarchy of yours be established by bishops, since you have disowned these of ours? And who of the former men lived so long untouched, able to ordain priests worthily? For those whom we know, we know all to be in communion. And there being three periods for what has happened, the first in which the affairs concerning John, or rather the empire, advanced; a second again in which the affairs of the Italians and the pope burst in; and this third and last one of ours, in which the things that were done were set straight, as was fitting and seemed best; the perpetrators of the first are for the most part long gone, and of the second some have departed from among men, while others, having been deposed by the penance, a thing which seemed entirely right also to you, remain so still. But as for those of this third state of affairs, if you accept 471 them, then we have an argument with you, but if you do not accept them, you are altogether burdensome as being eager to completely destroy the principles of the priesthood. But if you do, then show us whom you have, who was ordained long ago, living in security, guarded in every way. I know that you put forward the one of the

139

ἐπεὶ μεταξὺ τελουμέ 467 νων ἐκείνων ἐκείνη τέθνηκε, καὶ οὔπω τρόποις μετανοίας τὸ τῆς κοινωνίας ἐκαθήρατο, ὡς μηδὲ τῆς ὁσίας τυχοῦσα καὶ ὧν ἔδει τότε, τῶν ἐς νέωτα μνημοσύνων ἐπὶ τῆς ἐμῆς αὐταρχίας ἀπέ τυχε, καὶ ὁ ἐπ' ἐκκλησίας τόμος ὁ εἰς εὐφημίαν τῶν ὀρθοδόξως βιωσάντων καὶ μνήμην ὁσίαν κατ' ἔτος ἐπ' ὀκρίβαντος ἀναγι νωσκόμενος ἄλλων μὲν δεσποινῶν ὀνόματα φέρει, καὶ τῶν μὴ κατ' ἐκείνην ἴσως τὰς ἀρετάς, αὐτὴν δὲ μόνην ἐς ἅπαν ἠγνόησε, ζῶντος ἐμοῦ καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ἄρχοντος, ἥλιε. πλὴν εἰ χρὴ λέγειν τἀληθές, ἐμοὶ καὶ τοῦτο ἐκ περιουσίας πέπρακται, καὶ οὔπω τις οἷος οὗτος ὑπομνήσας ἔφθασε, καὶ τὸ ταύτης μνημόσυνον ἀπεκόπτετο. οὕτως ἐγὼ περὶ ταῦτα. καὶ ὑμεῖς ταῦθ' ὁρῶν τες, πόλλ' ἄττα κύκλῳ περιβαλλόμενοι καὶ ἐς τόδε σχίζεσθε, ἀφορισμὸν τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἀρσενίου κατὰ τοῦ μετ' αὐτὸν ποι μεναρχήσαντος Ἰωσὴφ προβάλλεσθε, καὶ διαθήκας ἐκείνου προ τείνετε, καὶ τὸ δοκοῦν εἰς ὑποψίαν δικαίαν τοῦ ὡς δῆθεν πλά σματος, ὡς ἂν φρονῶν οἰηθείη τις, τὴν τῆς ὑπογραφῆς δηλαδὴ 468 παραχάραξιν, εἰς τὸν τοῦ ὑπογράφοντος πόνον δακτύλου (ἠσθέ νει γὰρ ἐξ ἄνθρακος δῆλον) ἀνάγετε. τί δαί; ἔχετέ που καὶ ἐπί τι δικαίως ἀνάγειν καὶ τὸ μοχθηρὸν τῆς γνώμης καὶ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ὑποτρέχον φαῦλον τῆς προαιρέσεως; ὃ δὴ ἐκείνῳ τοιαῦτα λέ γοντες ἐκ τοῦ εἰκότως προσάπτετε. ὁ τυχὼν μεταλλάττων πᾶσιν ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν συγχωρεῖ· καὶ πατριάρχης θνήσκων, ἀντὶ τοῦ συνήθως λύειν, δεσμεῖν καὶ μάλιστα εἵλετο, καὶ ταῦτα τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἱστάμενον; ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καὶ υἱϊκὴν ἐκείνῳ φέρω τιμήν, κἀν πολλοῖς οἶδα ἐκεῖνα λαβὼν παρ' ἐκείνου ἃ δὴ καὶ ὀφειλὴν εὐγνωμοσύνης παρ' ἐμοῦ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον δικαίαν ἀνταπαι τεῖ, καὶ τὸ μεῖζον, ὅτι καὶ ἐς βασιλείαν αὐτὴν ἐμὲ προυτίμα τοῦ μου πατρός, ἐκείνου γ' ἄρχοντος ἅμα μὲν αὐτὸς τὴν ποιμαντικὴν αἱρούμενος παραιτεῖσθαι, ἐπικρίνων οὕτω τὴν θεραπείαν ἀξίαν τοῦ εἰς τὸν Ἰωάννην πλημμελήματος, ἅμα δ' ἀξιῶν καὶ τὸν πα τέρα τὴν βασιλείαν ἐκτίθεσθαι, ὅτι, λέγων, τὰ πρὸς Ἰωάννην καὶ ἀμφοῖν παρηνόμηται, αὐτῷ μὲν καθυφέντι τῆς πολυωρίας 469 καὶ οἷον προδόντι, ἐκείνῳ δὲ τὰ εἰς βασιλείαν παραλογισαμένῳ, ὡς οὐκ ἐξὸν ἁμαρτόντας ἄρχειν ἢ αὐτὸν πνευματικῶς ἢ ἐκεῖνον αὐτὴν δὴ τὴν κοσμικὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ βασίλειον· ἔχειν δ' εἰς ταύτην αὐτάρκη τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, λέγων ἐμέ. ὃ δὴ καὶ ποίαν ὑπερβολὴν ἀγάπης οὐχ ὑποφαίνει; καλεῖν εἰς ἀρχὴν ἔννομον τὸν μηκέτι εἰ δότα τελέως τὸν ἄνθρωπον; οὕτως ἐμοὶ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον τὰ τῆς εὐ γνωμοσύνης ὀφείλεται, καὶ πόνος ἄλλως ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου τοιαῦτα προβαλλομένων ἀκούοντι. παύσασθε τοιγαροῦν ἐκεῖνα περὶ ἐκείνου θρυλλοῦντες, τὰ μήτε πραχθῆναι μήτε τιμὴν λεγόμενα περισώζειν τῷ εἰργασμένῳ δυνάμενα. ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν ἱερωσύνην ἐν μέρει τίθετε τῶν ἀνεπιλήπτων, καὶ οἵαν συνιστᾶν ἀξιοῦτε, ἀδύνατον καθιστᾶτε. φέρε γάρ, πρὸς αὐ τῆς τῆς περὶ τὰ ἱερὰ ἀσφαλείας, εἴτε τῆς ὄντως εἴτε καὶ ᾗ προσεσχήκατε, εἰ παρ' ὑμῖν τὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας γένωνται πράγμα 470 τα, ἀρχιερέων, ἐπεὶ τοὺς ἡμετέρους τούτους ἀπήρτησθε, ἡ καθ' ὑμᾶς αὕτη καὶ προσδοκωμένη ἱεραρχία συσταίη; καὶ τίς ἐπὶ το σοῦτον τῶν προτέρων ἄθικτος διεβίω, δυνατὸς ὢν ἐξ ἀξίας χει ροτονεῖν ἱερέας; οὓς γὰρ οἴδαμεν, κοινωνικοὺς οἴδαμεν πάντας. καὶ τριῶν καιρῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς ξυμβεβηκόσιν ὄντων, πρώτου μὲν καθ' ὃν τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην εἴτ' οὖν τὴν βασιλείαν προέβη, δευτέρου δ' αὖθις καθ' ὃν τὰ τῶν Ἰταλῶν καὶ τοῦ πάπα ἐπεισ εκώμασαν, καὶ τρίτου τοῦ ἡμετέρου τούτου δὴ καὶ ὑστάτου καθ' ὃν τὰ πραχθέντα, ὡς ἦν τε καὶ ἔδοξεν, ἀπηυθύνθησαν, οἱ μὲν τοῦ προτέρου ῥέκται ἐκποδὼν ἐπιεικῶς πάλαι, οἱ δὲ τοῦ δευτέρου οἱ μὲν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ᾤχοντο, οἱ δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐπιτιμίας καθαιρεθέντες, οὕτω δοκοῦν καὶ ὑμῖν πάντως, μένουσιν οὕτω καὶ ἔτι. τοὺς δὲ τῆς τρίτης ταυτησὶ καταστάσεως εἰ μὲν δέ 471 χεσθε, λόγος ἡμῖν ἔστι γε πρὸς ὑμᾶς, εἰ δ' οὐ δέχεσθε, φορτι κοὶ πάντως ὡς τὰς ἀρχὰς τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἀναιρεῖν πάμπαν ἐσπου δακότες. εἰ δ' οὖν, ἀλλὰ δείξατε ὃν ἀπὸ παλαιᾶς χειροτονίας ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ διαβιοῦντα παντοίᾳ πεφυλαγμένον ἔχετε. οἶδα προ βαλλομένους τὸν τῶν