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we ask you to pray for us and for the Church of God, that the Lord might grant us to lead a quiet and tranquil life, delivered from the insolence of the enemies of the Gospel. But if it seems consistent and necessary to your wisdom for us to come together and meet one another and the other most honorable brethren, the bishops who inhabit the coastal region, you yourself appoint for us a place and a time when this will happen and write to the brethren, so that, each of us leaving behind for a set time the business at hand, we may be able to do something for the building up of the Church of God, and to remove the griefs which now arise among us towards one another from suspicions, and to confirm the love without which the Lord Himself has decreed the working of every commandment to be imperfect.

206. To Bishop Elpidius, a letter of consolation. 206.1 Now most of all I feel the weakness of my body, when I see that it

is so great a hindrance to the profit of my soul. For if matters went according to my mind, I would not be addressing you through letters or through intermediaries, but I myself through my own person would both be fulfilling the debt of love and enjoying the spiritual gain at close hand. But now I am so disposed as to barely endure even the journeys in my own country which we are compelled to make when visiting the parishes in our region. But may the Lord grant to you both strength and zeal, and to me, in addition to the eagerness I now have, the ability as well, so that, as I have urged you, we might arrange for our enjoyment of being in the diocese of Comana. But I fear for your seemliness, lest the grief for your family become an obstacle to you. For I have learned that the death of a child has afflicted you; the loss of whom it is natural to be grievous for a grandfather, but for a man who has already advanced so far in virtue and who understands the nature of human affairs both from the experience of his years and from spiritual teaching, it is fitting that the separation from his dearest ones should not be altogether unbearable. For the Lord does not demand the same things of us as of ordinary men. For they live by custom, but we use the commandment of the Lord as the rule of our conduct and the examples of the blessed men who have gone before, whose greatness of mind was shown especially in times of trial. Therefore, so that you too may leave to the world an example of courage and of a true disposition toward the things that are hoped for, show yourself not bent by suffering, but as one who is above griefs, enduring in tribulation, rejoicing in hope. Let none of these things, then, become a hindrance to the meeting we hope for. For to infants, their age is sufficient for them to be blameless, but we are responsible for serving the Master in the things He has appointed for us and for being ready in all things for the administration of the Churches, for which our Lord has stored up great rewards for faithful and wise stewards.

207. To the Clergy of Neocaesarea

207.1 The unanimity of the hatred against us and the fact that all to a man

followed the leader of the war against us persuaded me to keep silent in like manner towards all, and to initiate neither a friendly letter nor any conversation, but to digest my own grief in silence. But since it is necessary not to be silent in the face of slanders, not that we may vindicate ourselves by contradiction, but that we may not permit falsehood to prosper and may not abandon the deceived to their harm, it seemed necessary to me to add this to all the rest and to write to your

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παρακα λοῦμεν προσεύχεσθαί σε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα δῷ ἡμῖν ὁ Κύριος ἤρεμον καὶ ἡσύχιον βίον διάγειν, τῆς ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ἐπηρείας ἀπαλλαγεῖσιν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τῇ σῇ συνέσει ἀκόλουθον καὶ ἀναγκαῖον καταφαίνεται εἰς ταὐτὸν ἡμᾶς ἀλλήλοις ἐλθεῖν καὶ συντυχεῖν καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς τιμιωτάτοις ἀδελφοῖς τοῖς τὴν παραλίαν κατοικοῦσιν ἐπισκόποις, αὐτὸς καὶ ἡμῖν ἀπόδειξον τόπον καὶ καιρὸν καθ' ὃν ἔσται τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἐπίστειλον, ἵνα ἐπὶ ὡρισμένοις καταλιπόντες ἕκαστος τὴν ἐν χερσὶν ἀσχολίαν δυνηθῶμέν τι τῶν εἰς οἰκοδομὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ποιῆσαι, καὶ ἀνελεῖν μὲν τὰς ἐξ ὑπονοιῶν νῦν ἡμῖν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐγγινομένας λύπας, κυρῶσαι δὲ τὴν ἀγάπην ἧς ἄνευ ἀτελῆ εἶναι πάσης ἐντολῆς ἐργασίαν αὐτὸς ἡμῖν ὁ Κύριος διωρίσατο.

206.τ ΕΛΠΙ∆ΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΠΑΡΑΜΥΘΗΤΙΚΗ 206.1 Νῦν μάλιστα τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἀσθενείας αἰσθάνομαι, ὅτε ὁρῶ μοι

τοσοῦτον ἐμποδίζουσαν τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς ὠφε λείᾳ. Εἰ γάρ μοι κατὰ νοῦν ἐχώρει τὰ πράγματα, οὐκ ἂν δι' ἐπιστολῶν οὐδὲ διὰ μέσων ἀνθρώπων προσεφθεγγόμην ὑμᾶς, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἂν δι' ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης ἀπεπλήρουν χρέος καὶ ἐγγύθεν ἀπέλαυον τοῦ πνευματικοῦ κέρδους. Νῦν δὲ οὕτω διάκειμαι ὡς ἀγαπητῶς καὶ τὰς τῆς πατρίδος κινήσεις ὑφίστασθαι ἃς ἀναγκαίως ποιού μεθα ἐπισκεπτόμενοι τὰς κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἡμῶν παροι κίας. Ἀλλὰ παράσχοι ὁ Κύριος καὶ ὑμῖν ἰσχὺν καὶ προθυ μίαν καὶ ἐμοὶ πρὸς τῇ σπουδῇ ἣν ἔχω νῦν καὶ δύναμιν, ὥστε, καθὼς παρεκάλεσα ὑμᾶς, πραγματεύσασθαι ἡμῖν τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν γενομένοις ἐπὶ τῆς Κομανικῆς ἐνορίας. Φοβοῦμαι δὲ περὶ τῆς σῆς κοσμιότητος μήπου σοὶ ἐμπόδιον γένηται ἡ περὶ τῶν οἰκείων λύπη. Καὶ γὰρ ἔμαθον ὅτι σε ἔθλιψε παιδίου τελευτή· οὗ τὴν στέρησιν ὡς μὲν πάππῳ λυπηρὰν εἰκὸς εἶναι, ὡς δὲ ἀνδρὶ πρὸς τοσοῦτον ἤδη διαβεβηκότι τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ ἐπισταμένῳ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων τὴν φύσιν ἔκ τε τῆς κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ἐμπειρίας καὶ ἐκ τῆς πνευματικῆς διδασκαλίας ἀκόλουθον μὴ πάντη δύσφορον εἶναι τῶν οἰκειοτάτων τὸν χωρισμόν. Καὶ γὰρ οὐ τὰ αὐτὰ ἀπαιτεῖ ἡμᾶς τε καὶ τοὺς τυχόντας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὁ Κύριος. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ συνηθείᾳ ζῶσιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ κανόνι τῆς πολιτείας τῇ ἐντολῇ τοῦ Κυρίου κεχρήμεθα καὶ τοῖς προλαβοῦσι τῶν μακαρίων ἀνδρῶν ὑποδείγμασιν, ὧν τὸ μεγαλοφυὲς τῆς διανοίας ἐπὶ τῶν περιστατικῶν καιρῶν μάλιστα διεδείκνυτο. Ἵνα οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπόδειγμα ἀνδρείας καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐλπιζομένοις ἀληθινῆς διαθέσεως καταλείπῃς τῷ βίῳ, δεῖξον σαυτὸν μὴ καμπτόμενον τῷ πάθει, ἀλλ' ὑψηλότερον ὄντα τῶν λυπηρῶν, τῇ μὲν θλίψει ὑπομένων, τῇ δὲ ἐλπίδι χαίρων. Μηδὲν οὖν τούτων γένηται κώλυμα πρὸς τὴν ἐλπιζομένην ἡμῖν συντυχίαν. Τοῖς μὲν γὰρ νηπίοις αὐτάρκης ἡ ἡλικία πρὸς τὸ ἀνέγκλητον, ἡμεῖς δὲ ὑπεύ θυνοί ἐσμεν τὰ διατεταγμένα ἡμῖν ὑπηρετεῖν τῷ ∆εσπότῃ καὶ εἰς πάντα εὔθετοι εἶναι τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ τῶν Ἐκκλη σιῶν, ἧς μεγάλους τοὺς μισθοὺς τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ φρο νίμοις οἰκονόμοις ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐταμιεύσατο.

207.τ ΤΟΙΣ ΚΑΤΑ ΝΕΟΚΑΙΣΑΡΕΙΑΝ ΚΛΗΡΙΚΟΙΣ

207.1 Ἡ μὲν συμφωνία τοῦ καθ' ἡμῶν μίσους καὶ τὸ μέχρις ἑνὸς πάντας

ἀκολουθῆσαι τῷ προεστῶτι τοῦ καθ' ἡμῶν πολέμου ἔπειθέ με ὁμοίως ἀποσιωπᾶν πρὸς ἅπαντας, καὶ μήτε γράμματος φιλικοῦ μήτε τινὸς ὁμιλίας κατάρχειν, ἀλλ' ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ πέσσειν τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ λύπην. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ χρὴ μήτε πρὸς τὰς διαβολὰς ἀποσιωπᾶν, οὐχ ἵνα διὰ τῆς ἀντι λογίας ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐκδικῶμεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ συγχωρήσωμεν εὐοδωθῆναι τῷ ψεύδει καὶ τοὺς ἠπατημένους μὴ ἐναφῶμεν τῇ βλάβῃ, ἀναγκαῖον ἐφάνη μοι καὶ τοῦτο προσθεῖναι τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ ἐπιστεῖλαι ὑμῶν τῇ