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to the Patricia of rulers, he did not convey, not even a bare syllable. Wherefore I also, with many others, was amazed, wondering within myself what the reason was for which my God-guarded lord deigned to declare nothing to me through him; and such a letter caused a great murmuring, as is likely (which is wont to happen in such matters, as you know, my lord) among the faithful people; and it almost diminished the reverence for the all-praised lady Patricia in the Catholic Church of God; and it shook all who inhabit this land of the Africans, who were already possessed by good opinions concerning her, had not the aforementioned all-praised prefect, using a method suitable to his wisdom, proclaimed everywhere that the letter was false and spurious; and pretended to be indignant against the chancellor, and dealt appropriately with those of the heretics, both from Alexandria and Syria, who were stirring up trouble on the pretext of such a letter; disciplining some with imprisonment, and others even with beatings, saying not to insult the good opinions about our lady Patricia. For they were shamelessly asserting, relying, as I said, on the letter, that she rejoiced in their dogmas; (461) and they did not refrain from telling everyone, falsely, that Thomas, their so-called bishop, happens to be one of those who visit her with permission, and is greatly honored by her; which most of all both disturbed and scandalized everyone. So that I also, having been summoned then out of necessity, went both to refute to their face those who dared to say this, and to persuade those who had heard it that, by the grace of Christ the Savior, neither she, nor her husband who is among the saints, have in any way whatever been inclined toward the heretics. And likewise, many others of the most devout monks sojourning here, and especially the blessed servants of God and our Fathers, surnamed Eucratades, saying the same things, kept the many from such a false suspicion. And to speak simply, the said all-praised man has striven in every way, setting it before himself to show her pure of all blame, and to make it manifest to all that she is faithful to God, and honorable.

But I, who especially esteem your affairs, I, the small and worthy of nothing, in comparison to the great and those deemed worthy of divine grace, have not yet become free of doubt on this matter; still being distressed about this, and not knowing what to judge and decide. For on the one hand, knowing our common lady, the all-praised Patricia, to have been standing from her ancestors on the unshakeable rock of faith and to have been taught to breathe almost nothing else than the orthodox faith in God, that is proclaimed throughout the Catholic Church of God, I cannot believe the letter is hers. And on the other hand, seeing the chancellor confirming it with dreadful oaths and affirming that for this reason and this alone he was sent here by her, I consider it a fearful thing not to believe; and I stand in the middle, on the boundary of two thoughts, unable to find the prevailing one and the one able to draw to itself the soul's consent. Nevertheless, my blessed lord, to speak the truth, and to declare everything I have been able to judge; and receive me, speaking boldly out of great pain of soul, because of my love for you; if in fact by the will and counsel of your God-guarded selves the letter on behalf of the said heretical women has come from her; which I am amazed at, I do not accept; inferring that you are not without blame. For I hear the divine Scripture teaching that Jehosaphat, that pious and faithful man who became king of Judea, because he allied himself with Ahab, king of Israel, who was defiled by many pollutions of idolatry, when he once waged war against Syria, was both an object of indignation and was accused by God, who said to him thus through the prophet: To a man hated by me, and an enemy to the Lord the

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Πατρικίᾳ ἀρχόντων, οὐδ᾿ ἕως συλλαβῆς ψιλῆς διεκόμισεν. Ὅθεν κἀγώ σύν πολλοῖς ἄλλοις ἐθαύμασα, τίς, ἐν ἐμαυτῶ διαπορῶν, ὁ λόγος καθ᾿ ὅν οὐδέν μοι δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἠξίωσε δηλῶσαι ὁ θεοφύλακτός μου δεσπότης· καί πολύν, ὡς εἰκός, ὅπερ φιλεῖ συμβαίνειν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις, ὡς ἴστε, δέσποτα, τοῖς πιστοῖς λαοῖς γογυσμόν ἐποίησε τό τοιοῦτον γράμμα· καί τό περί τήν δέσποιναν τήν πανεύφημον Πατρικίαν παρά τῇ καθολικῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ σέβας μικροῦ ἐμείωσε· καί πάντας τούς ταύτην οἰκοῦντας τήν Ἄφρων χώραν, προλήψεσι χρησταῖς περί αὐτῆς ἤδη προκατειλημμένους διέσεισεν, εἰ μή πρεπούσῃ τῇ αὐτοῦ συνέσει μεθόδῳ χρησάμενος ὁ λεχθείς πανεύφημος ἔπαρχος, ψευδές εἶναι τό γράμμα καί νόθον πανταχοῦ διεφήμισε· καί ἀγανακτεῖν κατά τοῦ καγκελλαρίου προσεποιήσατο, καί τοῖς ἀνασυρεῖσι τῶν αἱρετικῶν προφάσει τοῦ τοιούτου γράμματος, τῶν τε ἀπό Ἀλεξανδρείας καί Συρίας δεόντως ἐχρήσατο· τούς μέν φυλακαῖς, τούς δέ καί πληγαῖς παιδεύσας, μή ὑβρίζειν λέγων τάς προλήψεις τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν Πατρικίας. Ἰσχυρίζοντο γάρ ἀναιδῶς, ἐρειδόμενοι, ὡς εἴπον, τῷ γράμματι χαίρειν αὐτήν τοῖς αὐτῶν δόγμασι· (461) καί πᾶσι λέγειν οὐ παρῃτοῦντο ψευδόμενοι, ὧν Θωμᾶς ὁ λεγόμενος αὐτῶν ἐπίσκοπος, τῶν ἐπ᾿ ἀδείας πρός αὐτήν παραγινομένων, καί μεγάλως παρ᾿ αὐτῆς τιμωμένων εἷς ὤν τυγχάνει· ὅπερ πάντων μαλιστα τούς πάντας ἐτάραξέ τε κααί ἐσκανδάλισεν. Ὥστε κἀμέ ἐξ ἀνάγκης τότε κληθέντα ἀπελθεῖν, ἐλέγξαι τε τούς τοῦτο εἰπεῖν τολμήσαντας κατά πρόσωπον, καί τούς ἀκούσαντας πεῖσαι, ὡς οὐδαμῶς χάριτι τοῦ Σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ ἤ αὐτήν, ἤ ὁ ἐν ἁγίοις γενόμενος σύμβιος καθοτιοῦν αἱρετικοῖς προσπεπόνθασιν. Ὁμοίως δέ καί ἀλλοι πολλοί τῶν ἐνταῦθα ἐπιξενουμένων εὐλαβεστάτων μοναχῶν, καί μάλιστα οἱ εὐλογημένοι δοῦλοι τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατέρες ἡμῶν, οἱ ἐπίκλην Εὐκρατάδης τά αὐτά λέγοντες, τούς πολλούς ἐποίουν τῆς τοιαύτης ψευδοῦς ὑπονοίας ἐκτός. Καί ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, διά παντός τρόπου ἐλήλυθεν ὁ εἰρημένος πανεύφημος ἀνήρ, παντός μέμου καθαράν αὐτήν ἀποδεῖξαι, καί πιστήν τῷ Θεῷ, καί τιμίαν οὖσαν φανερῶσαι τοῖς πᾶσι προθέμενος.

Ἐγώ δέ οὔπω τῆς ἐπί τοῦτο ἀμφιβολίας ἐλεύθερος γέγονα, ὁ μάλιστα τά ὑμέτερα οἰκειούμενος, ὁ μικρός καί οὐδενός ἄξιος, τῶν μεγάλων καί τῆς θείας ἠξιωμένων χάριτος· ἀσχάλλων ἔτι περί τούτου, και οὐκ ἔχων τί κρίνας ψηφίζομαι. Τήν τε γάρ κοινήν ἡμῶν δέσποιναν τήν πανεύφημον Πατρικίαν ἐπί τῆς ἀῤῥαγοῦς τῆς πίστεως πέτρας βεβηκυΐαν ἐκ προγόνων εἰδώς καί μηδέν ἄλλο σχεδόν ἀναπνεῖν δεδιδαγμένην, ἤ τήν ὀρθήν εἰς Θεόν πίστιν, τήν κατά τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ καθολικήν Ἐκκλησίαν κηρυττομένην, πιστεύειν οὐκ ἔχω αὐτῆς ὑπάρχειν τό γράμμα. Καί πάλιν ὁρῶν ὅρκοις φρικτοῖς πιστούμενον καγκελλάριον, καί ἐπί τούτῳ καί μόνον παρ᾿ αὐτῆς πεπέμφθαι ἐνταῦθα διβεβαιούμενον, φοβερόν ἡγοῦμαι τό μή πιστεύειν· καί μέσος εἰμί δύο λογισμῶν ἑστώς μεθόριος, οὐκ ἔχων τόν νικῶντα εὑρεῖν, καί πρός ἑαυτόν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπισπᾶσθαι δυνάμενον τήν συγκατάθεσιν. Πλήν, δέσποτά μου εὐλογημένε, ἵνα τἀληθές εἴπω, καί πᾶν ὅ κρίνειν δεδύνημαι ἐξαγορεύσω· καί δέξασθέ με ἐκ πολλοῦ πόνου ψυχῆς διά τήν πρός ὑμᾶς ἀγάπην τολμηρῶς παῤῥησιαζόμενον· εἰ τῷ ὄντι βουλήσει καί γνώμῃ τῶν θεοφυλάκτων ὑμῶν, τό ὑπέρ τῶν εἰρημένων αἱρετικῶν γυναικῶν γράμμα παρ᾿ αὐτῆς γεγένηται· ὅπερ θαυμάζω, οὐκ ἀποδέχομαι· οὐκ ἔξω βάρους εἶναι ὑμᾶς τεκμαιρόμενος. Ἀκούω γάρ τῆς θείας διδασκούσης Γραφῆς, ὡς Ἰωσάφατ ὁ εὐσεβής ἐκεῖνος καί πιστός τῆς Ἰουδαίας γενόμενος βασιλεύς, τῷ Ἀχαάβ βασιλεῖ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, πολλοῖς ῥεπυπωμένῳ εἰδωλολατρείας μολυσμοῖς, κατά τῆς Συρίας ποτέ κινήσαντι πόλεμον συμμαχήσας, ἠγανακτήθη τε καί ἐνεγκλήθη ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ, πρός αὐτόν οὕτω διά τοῦ προφήτου φήσαντος· Εἰ ἀνθρώπω μισουμένῳ μοι, καί ἐχθραίνοντι Κυρίῳ τῷ