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of the ambassadors, if the affair should somehow be hindered, he himself would again be the patriarch, having ascended to the patriarchal palace, and would be at peace with the hierarchs, taking no account of what had happened; but if the proposed matter should proceed and be brought successfully to a conclusion, he himself would henceforth be completely inactive, and another would be appointed to the church in his place, as it was not permissible for him to be patriarch, being previously bound by oaths. When they had agreed these things among themselves, the patriarch, having come down, took up residence in the monastery of the Peribleptos on the eleventh of the month of Hekatombaion 495 of the second indiction of the year #22ψπβʹ, holding his own privileges inalienably; but the affairs of the church were still in a state of calm, except for those of the church who were ranked as rulers.

18. Concerning the emperor's compulsion of the clerics. For the emperor was extremely suspicious of them, as they would not readily agree, and the more so, since Bekkos often reasoned with them and put forward the sayings of the saints, they were not at all persuaded, but made it clear that they would not accept the affair, if it should proceed. Whence the emperor also fabricated accusations against them, that they were rebellious toward their service to him and that they reproached the hierarchs who had yielded, while cursing the emperor, for forcing such things to happen. And so, of course, he first decided to win them over with flattery and summoned them and treated them with honor, seating them in a circle and putting forward the usual arguments; for he was working for peace for no other reason than to stop the terrible wars and to spare the blood of the Romans, which was in danger of being shed; and again the church was to remain without innovation, with not even the slightest thing being overlooked; and the matter being negotiated with the church of the Romans would be confined to three points only: primacy, appeal, and commemoration, each of which, if one were to examine it carefully, must be empty. “For when would the pope, being present, preside over the others? And when would it occur to anyone having a lawsuit to cross so great a sea and measure so vast an ocean, in order to obtain their supposed rights? And as for the pope being commemorated in our one and only church, and in the second and great one among you, when the patriarch is celebrating the liturgy, what would stand in the way of what is right? How many economies did the fathers use for whatever it was expedient to do? And the very fact that God became man and endured the cross and accepted death, things otherwise unbecoming for God, or indeed for God united with a body, yet it happened according to the highest economy, and, with things unbecoming for the incarnate God having occurred, the whole world was saved. So wonderful a thing is economy. And we too, if by economy we should escape the impending danger, not only will it not be counted as a sin, but those who possess the best knowledge will even approve. 497 But you, as I hear, turn away even from the hierarchs who have consented to this, and you are trying to divide the church, and, as has been heard, you curse us. Therefore, it is time to set these matters straight and to give full assurance and in turn to be fully assured; for it is neither seemly for us to hear such things, nor safe for you to say such things and to strike fear into many that we will not stand by these points, but will use further force to change customs and to confess as they say. It is time to give full assurance on these things, and we shall give it. But for now we also need counsel from you, and let each man say what seems best to him; only let him not openly adhere to his own self-pleasing will, but being a churchman, let him also speak as a churchman. For the urgent matter is one: to escape a necessary danger, if we were to do these things. Let each man, considering how great this is in itself, thus put forward his opinion, seeing that without it these things are not to be moved by us and it is useless for you to consider them at all.” While the emperor was haranguing the leaders of the church with these and other such arguments, they considered it both unbecoming for them and otherwise dangerous to curse the emperor, and entirely from its

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πρέσβεων, εἰ μὲν ἡ πρᾶξις ὁπωσδήποτε διακωλυθείη, αὐτὸν καὶ πάλιν εἶναι τὸν πατριάρχην, εἰς τὸ πατριαρχεῖον ἀνελθόντα, καί γε μετὰ τῶν ἀρχιερέων εἰρηνεύειν, μηδὲν τῶν συμβάντων ὑπολογιζόμενον· εἰ δὲ προβαίη καὶ εὐοδοῖτο εἰς τέλος τὸ προτεθέν, αὐτὸν μὲν ἐντεῦθεν ἀργῆσαι πάμπαν, ἄλλον δὲ ἀντ' αὐτοῦ ἐπιστῆναι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ὡς μὴ χωροῦν ἐκεῖνον εἶναι, τοῖς ὅρκοις προκατειλημ μένον. Ταῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους συνθεμένων, ὁ μὲν πατριάρχης, κατελθών, εἰς τὴν τῆς Περιβλέπτου μονὴν προσκαθίζει ἑνδεκάτῃ μηνὸς ἑκατομβαιῶνος 495 δευτέρας ἐπινεμήσεως τοῦ #22ψπβʹ ἔτους, κατέχων καὶ τὰ αὐτοῦ προνόμια ἀναφαίρετα· τὰ δὲ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἔτι ἐν γαλήνῃ ἦσαν, πλὴν τῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας τεταγμένων εἰς ἄρχοντας.

ιηʹ. Περὶ τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως πρὸς τοὺς κληρικοὺς ἀνάγκης. Ἐκείνοις γὰρ καὶ λίαν ὑπόπτως ὁ κρατῶν εἶχεν, ὡς οὐ συνθησομένοις ῥᾳδίως, καὶ μᾶλλον, πολλάκις αὐτοῖς τοῦ Βέκκου διαλεγομένου καὶ προ βαλλομένου τὰ τῶν ἁγίων ῥητά, μὴ πειθομένοις πάμπαν, ἀλλὰ δήλοις οὖσι μὴ καταδεξομένοις, εἰ προβαίη, τὴν πρᾶξιν. Ὅθεν καὶ αἰτίας σφίσιν ὁ κρατῶν ἐπλάττετο, ὡς πρὸς τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν δουλείαν ἀφηνιάζουσι καὶ ὡς ὀνειδίζουσι μὲν ἀρχιερεῦσιν ὑποκλιθεῖσι, καταρωμένοις δὲ βασιλεῖ, τοιαῦτ' ἀναγκάζοντι γίνεσθαι. Ἀμέλει τοι καὶ πρῶτον σφᾶς θωπείαις ὑπελθεῖν ἔγνω καὶ προσεκαλεῖτο καὶ τιμητικῶς προσεφέρετο, κύκλῳ καθίσας καὶ τὰ συνήθη προβαλλόμενος· μηδὲ γὰρ χάριν ἄλλου πραγμα τεύεσθαι τὴν εἰρήνην ἢ τοῦ δεινοὺς πολέμους ἀνακοπῆναι καὶ Ῥωμαίων αἵματα περιποιηθῆναι, ἐκχυθήσεσθαι κινδυνεύοντα· μένειν δὲ καὶ πάλιν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἀκαινοτόμητον, μηδὲ τοῦ τυχόντος παροφθησομένου· τρισὶ δὲ κεφαλαίοις καὶ μόνοις τὸ πρὸς τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐκκλησίαν πραττόμενον περιστήσεσθαι, πρωτείῳ, ἐκκλήτῳ καὶ μνημοσύνῳ, ὧν ἕκαστον, εἴ τις ἀκριβῶς σκοποίη, κενὸν εἶναι ἀνάγκη. «Πότε γὰρ καὶ παρουσιάσας ὁ πάπας προκαθίσει τῶν ἄλλων; Πότε δέ τισι καὶ ἐπέλθοι δίκην ἔχουσι θάλασσαν τοσαύτην ταμέσθαι καὶ τόσον ἀναμετρῆσαι πέλαγος, ἐφ' ᾧ τῶν νομιζομένων δικαίων τυχεῖν; Τὸ δ' ἐπὶ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ καὶ μόνῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ δευτέρᾳ τῇ καθ' ὑμᾶς καὶ μεγάλῃ τὸν πάπαν μνημονεύεσθαι, τοῦ πατρι άρχου λειτουργοῦντος, τί ἂν τῷ ὀρθῷ προσσταίη; Πόσαις οἰκονομίαις οἱ πατέρες πρὸς ὅ τι γενέσθαι συμφέρον ἐχρήσαντο; Καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ τὸν Θεὸν γενέσθαι ἄνθρωπον καὶ σταυρὸν ὑπομεῖναι καὶ θάνατον καταδέξασθαι, ἄλλως ὄντα Θεῷ ἀπρεπῆ ἢ μὴν καὶ Θεῷ συνειλημμένῳ σώματι, ἀλλ' οὖν κατ' οἰκονομίαν τὴν ἀνωτάτω γέγονε καί, τῶν μὴ πρεπόντων Θεῷ σαρκο φόρῳ γενομένων, πᾶσα ἡ οἰκουμένη σέσωσται. Οὕτω χρῆμα θαυμαστὸν ἡ οἰκονομία. Καί γ' ἡμεῖς, εἴπερ οἰκονομικῶς τὸν ἐπηρτημένον κίνδυνον φύγοιμεν, οὐχ ὅπως εἰς ἁμαρτίαν λογισθήσεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσαποδέξονται 497 οἱ γνώσεως ἀρίστης ἐπήβολοι. Ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀκούω, καὶ ἀρχιερεῖς, εἰς τοῦτο συγκατανεύσαντας, ἀποστρέφεσθε καὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν πειρᾶσθε σχίζειν καὶ ἡμῖν, ὡς ἤκουσται, καταρᾶσθε. Τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ τούτων ἐστὶ καιρὸς εὐθετεῖν καὶ πληροφορεῖν καὶ ἀνὰ μέρος πληροφορεῖσθαι· οὔτε γὰρ ἡμῖν εὐπρεπὲς τοιαῦτ' ἀκούειν, οὔθ' ὑμῖν ἀσφαλὲς τοιαῦτα λέγειν καὶ φόβον ἐμβάλλειν πολλοῖς ὡς οὐ στησόμεθα ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ τούτοις, ἀλλὰ προσβια σόμεθα ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ ἔθη ἀλλάττειν καὶ ὁμολογεῖν ὡς ἐκεῖνοι λέγουσι. Ταῦτα πληροφορεῖν ἐστι καιρός, καὶ πληροφορήσομεν. Τὸ δὲ νῦν καὶ βουλῆς τῆς ἐξ ὑμῶν χρῄζομεν, καὶ λεγέτω ἕκαστος ὅ οἱ δοκοίη· μόνον μὴ τῷ οἰκείῳ στοιχείτω θελήματι αὐταρεσκῶν ἄντικρυς, ἀλλ' ἐκκλησιαστικὸς ὤν, ἐκκλη σιαστικῶς καὶ λεγέτω. Τὸ γὰρ κατεπεῖγον ἕν ἐστι, τὸ φυγεῖν κίνδυνον ἀναγκαῖον, εἰ ταῦτα πράττοιμεν. Ὁπόσον δὲ τοῦτο καθ' αὑτὸν ἕκαστος ἐννοῶν, οὕτω προφερέτω τὴν γνώμην, ὡς ἄνευ γ' ἐκείνου οὔθ' ἡμῖν κινητέα ταῦτα καὶ ὑμῖν τὸ περὶ τούτων ὅλως σκοπεῖν ἀνόνητον.» Τούτοις καὶ τοιούτοις ἑτέροις τοῦ βασιλέως καταδημαγωγοῦντος τοὺς τῆς ἐκκλησίας προέχοντας, ἐκεῖνοι καταρᾶσθαι μὲν βασιλεῖ καὶ ἀπρεπὲς σφίσι καὶ ἄλλως κινδυνῶδες ἡγοῦντο καὶ πάμπαν ἐξ αὐτῆς