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cheerful in the Lord, praying for me, may you be kept for the Church of God by the grace of the Holy One.

203. TO THE BISHOPS OF THE SEA COAST

203.1 I had a great desire to meet with you, and always some hindrance arose blocking my eagerness. For either the weakness of my body hindered me (which you are surely not ignorant how great it has been with me from my early youth up to this old age, having been brought up with me and disciplining me according to the just judgment of God who orders all things in wisdom), or the cares of the Churches, or the struggles against those who rise up against the word of truth. Therefore, until the present I live in great affliction and sorrow, conscious that what concerns you has been neglected by me. For I, having heard from God, who for this reason condescended to his sojourn in the flesh, that he might both by examples of what should be done regulate our life and by his own voice announce to us the Gospel of the kingdom, that: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another," and that as a parting gift to his own disciples, when he was about to complete the economy in the flesh, the Lord left his own peace, saying: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you," I am not able to persuade myself that without love for one another and without, as far as it is in my power, being at peace with all, I can be called a worthy servant of Jesus Christ. For I waited a long time to see if ever some visit to us might come from your love. For you are not ignorant that we, being publicly set before all, like reefs jutting out into the sea, receive the fury of the heretical waves, and breaking against us they do not flood what is behind us. And when I say "we," I do not refer to human power, but to the grace of God, who in the weakness of men shows his own power, as the prophet says, speaking in the person of the Lord: "Will you not fear me, who set the sand as a boundary for the sea?" For with the weakest and most contemptible thing, sand, the Mighty One has bound the great and heavy sea. Since, therefore, something of this sort is also our situation, it would have been fitting for some genuine men to be sent continually by your love to visit us who are hard-pressed, and for loving letters to come to us, allow me to say, more frequently, on the one hand strengthening our zeal, and on the other hand also, if we err in anything, correcting us. For we do not deny that we are subject to countless errors, being men and living in the flesh. 203.2 But since in the time before this, either because you did not perceive what was fitting you neglected what was due to us, most honored brothers, or because you were prejudiced by certain slanders against us you did not consider us worthy of a loving visit, behold now we ourselves are beginning the letter and we confess that we are ready to clear ourselves before you of the charges brought against us, only if those who insult us condescend to stand face to face with us before your piety. For if we are convicted, we shall both recognize our sin and you, after the conviction, will have forgiveness from the Lord for withdrawing yourselves from communion with us sinners, and those who convicted us will have a reward for having made public our hidden wickedness. But if you condemn us before conviction, we for our part will have been wronged in nothing except in being deprived of what is for us the most precious possession of all, our love for you, but you will both suffer this very thing, not having us, and you will seem to fight against the Gospel which says: "Does our law judge a man unless it first hears him and knows what

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εὔθυμος ἐν Κυρίῳ, ὑπερευχόμενός μου, φυλαχθείης τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ χάριτι τοῦ Ἁγίου.

203.τ ΤΟΙΣ ΠΑΡΑΛΙΩΤΑΙΣ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΙΣ

203.1 Ἐγένετό μοι πολλὴ ὁρμὴ τῆς συντυχίας ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀεί τι ἐπεγένετο

κώλυμα ἐμποδίζον μου τὴν προθυμίαν. Ἢ γὰρ ἡ τοῦ σώματος ἀσθένεια ἐνεπόδισέ μοι (ἣν οὐκ ἀγνοεῖτε πάντως ὅση μοι πάρεστιν ἐκ τῆς πρώτης ἡλικίας μέχρι τοῦ γήρως τούτου, συντραφεῖσά μοι καὶ παιδεύουσά με κατὰ τὴν δικαίαν κρίσιν τοῦ πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ οἰκονο μοῦντος Θεοῦ) ἢ αἱ τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν ἐπιμέλειαι ἢ οἱ πρὸς τοὺς ἐπανισταμένους τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀγῶνες. ∆ιὸ μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος ἐν θλίψει πολλῇ καὶ λύπῃ διάγω συνειδὼς ὅτι τὸ καθ' ὑμᾶς ἐλλέλειπταί μοι. Ἐγὼ γὰρ ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν διὰ σαρκὸς ἐπιδημίαν καταδεξαμένου, ἵνα καὶ τοῖς ὑποδείγμασι τῶν πρακτέων ῥυθμίσῃ τὸν βίον ἡμῶν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἰδίας φωνῆς ἀναγγείλῃ ἡμῖν τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας, ὅτι· «Ἐν τούτῳ γνώσονται πάντες ὅτι ἐμοὶ μαθηταί ἐστε, ἐὰν ἀγάπην ἔχητε ἐν ἀλλήλοις», καὶ ὅτι ἐξιτήριον δῶρον τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, μέλλων συμπληροῦν τὴν ἐν σαρκὶ οἰκο νομίαν, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ εἰρήνην ὁ Κύριος κατέλιπεν εἰπών· «Εἰρήνην ἀφίημι ὑμῖν, εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν», οὐ δύναμαι πεῖσαι ἐμαυτὸν ὅτι ἄνευ τῆς εἰς ἀλλήλους ἀγάπης καὶ ἄνευ τοῦ εἰς ἐμὲ ἥκοντος εἰρηνεύειν πρὸς πάντας δύναμαι ἄξιος κληθῆναι δοῦλος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Πολὺν μὲν γὰρ ἀνέμεινα χρόνον εἴ ποτε καὶ παρὰ τῆς ὑμε τέρας ἀγάπης γένηταί τις πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐπίσκεψις. Οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοεῖτε ὅτι δημοσίᾳ προκείμενοι πᾶσιν, ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ προβεβλημένοι σκόπελοι, ἡμεῖς τὸν θυμὸν τῶν αἱρετικῶν κυμάτων ὑποδεχόμεθα, καὶ περὶ ἡμᾶς ῥηγνύμε νοι τὰ κατόπιν ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐπικλύζουσι. Τὸ δὲ ἡμεῖς ὅταν εἴπω, οὐκ εἰς τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀναφέρω δύναμιν, ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριν τοῦ ἐν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ δυνατὸν ἑαυτοῦ δεικνύντος, καθά φησιν ὁ προφήτης ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Κυρίου λέγων· «Ἢ ἐμὲ οὐ φοβηθήσεσθε τὸν τιθέντα ἄμμον ὅριον τῇ θαλάσσῃ;» Τῷ γὰρ ἀσθενεστάτῳ καὶ εὐκαταφρονήτῳ πράγματι, τῇ ψάμμῳ, τὴν μεγάλην καὶ βαρεῖαν θάλασσαν ἐπέδησεν ὁ ∆υνατός. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τοιοῦτόν τι ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ καθ' ἡμᾶς, ἀκόλουθον ἦν παρὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπης καὶ τῶν γνησίων τινὰς ἀπο στέλλεσθαι συνεχῶς εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν ἡμῶν τῶν καταπονου μένων καὶ γράμματα ἀγαπητικὰ φοιτᾶν πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ἐπιτρέψατε, συνεχέστερον, τοῦτο μὲν στηρίζοντα ἡμῶν τὴν προθυμίαν, τοῦτο δὲ καί, εἴ τι σφαλλόμεθα, διορθού μενα. Οὐκ ἀρνούμεθα γὰρ μυρίοις σφάλμασιν ὑποκεῖσθαι ἄνθρωποι ὄντες καὶ ἐν σαρκὶ ζῶντες. 203.2 Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὸν πρὸ τούτου χρόνον ἢ διὰ τὸ μὴ συνιδεῖν τὸ πρέπον παρελίπετε τὰ ὀφειλόμενα ἡμῖν, ἀδελφοὶ τιμιώτατοι, ἢ διὰ τὸ προληφθῆναι παρά τινων εἰς τὰς καθ' ἡμῶν διαβολὰς οὐκ ἐνομίσατε ἡμᾶς ἀξίους εἶναι ἀγαπητικῆς ἐπισκέψεως, ἰδοὺ νῦν καὶ κατάρχομεν τοῦ γράμματος αὐτοὶ καὶ τὰς ἐπιφερομένας ἡμῖν αἰτίας ὁμολο γοῦμεν ἑτοίμως ἔχειν ἐφ' ὑμῶν ἀποδύσασθαι, μόνον ἐὰν καταδέχωνται οἱ ὑβρίζοντες ἡμᾶς ἀντιπρόσωποι ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας εὐλαβείας καταστῆναι. Ἐλεγχθέντες μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἡμῶν ἐπιγνωσόμεθα καὶ ὑμεῖς μετὰ τοὺς ἐλέγχους συγγνώμην ἕξετε παρὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν ἡμῶν κοινωνίας ἑαυτοὺς ὑποστέλ λοντες καὶ οἱ ἐλέγξαντες μισθὸν ἕξουσιν ὡς τὴν κεκρυμ μένην ἡμῶν κακίαν δημοσιεύσαντες. Ἐὰν δὲ πρὸ τῶν ἐλέγχων καταδικάζητε ἡμᾶς, ἡμεῖς μὲν οὐδὲν ἐσόμεθα ἠδικημένοι ἐκτὸς τοῦ ζημιωθῆναι τὸ πάντων ἡμῖν τιμιώ τατον κτῆμα τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀγάπην, ὑμεῖς δὲ καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ πείσεσθε ἡμᾶς οὐκ ἔχοντες καὶ τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ δόξετε μάχεσθαι τῷ εἰπόντι· «Μὴ ὁ νόμος ἡμῶν κρίνει τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσῃ πρῶτον καὶ γνῷ τί