174

Do you help God? But if perhaps she has done this, persuaded by others who suggested it, not even so do I approve of what has happened, (464) remembering that Rehoboam, the son of the great Solomon, who, by preferring the counsel of the younger men to that of the elders, cut off the greatest part of his own kingdom; and at the same time knowing it to be forbidden to meddle with canonical matters for those for whom it is not lawful, and especially for women, for whom the divine word has declared that to be silent is more fitting than to breathe.

Therefore one must not help heretics in any way whatsoever, as heretics, even if it were permitted for all to pursue all things without fear; both for the reasons stated, lest we unwittingly offend God; and that it is not good to give them license to parade their own falsehood, and to be stirred up against piety; lest, having appeared through our means, they might be able, like a serpent, to shake some of the more simple from the secure foundation of the faith with the bite of deceit; and lest we too be found, as we do not wish, to be partakers in the judgment that hangs over them for this. For so at first the all-praised prefect, using his customary sympathy towards them, so as even to present them with wine worth much gold for their stay along with a lavish provision of other necessities; when he found them blinded by the conceit of their arrogance, he turned away. For immediately, as if by command, they began to gather and to entice the daughters of the faithful; and to hide and deny them to their parents, who sought them for a considerable time; and to dare to perform expiations and rebaptisms; and having learned these things by coming to them many times with much entreaty, and having for a long time exhorted them to cease from such practices and to be united to the holy Church of God, and having accomplished nothing; finally, when he saw that the evil was becoming great and already unbearable, and that the communities of the faithful were murmuring about what was happening, fearing lest some disorder might befall them, as the faithful multitude of the Romans was boiling with anger against them, not enduring even the mere name of heretics, considering it fitting and lawful that an imperial counsel and decision be made concerning this, he reported everything by means of a dispatch, together with the most holy archbishop, and the most glorious officials here, to our most pious emperor, and to the most holy patriarchs of both Rome and Constantinople. And indeed having received a serene letter from our most faithful emperor, and a sacred one from the most blessed patriarchs, commanding that all heretics be driven from the country, those who persisted in their own evil opinion; but that the said women, if they were willing to come over to the holy, undefiled, and life-giving catholic Church, should have their own monasteries unmolested; but if they refused the truth and were not persuaded to yield to the imperial edict, they were to be divided one by one permanently among the monasteries of the orthodox, and that their property, according to the law, by which they especially (465) boldly nourished lavishly those who were misleading them, should be assigned to the public treasury; he did all things diligently as he was commanded. He persuaded, by the grace of Christ, all the heretics from Syria, Egypt, Alexandria, and Libya, to come over to the holy Church of God; but of the said women, those from the monastery of Sacerdos, who foolishly bore themselves against the command of the pious master on account of their ingrained arrogance, he distributed to the holy monasteries of the orthodox, for the sake of fulfilling what had been piously commanded, and being all things to all of them for God's sake, some by exhortation, and others by condescension; having at last persuaded them, having learned what was proper, to be united to the catholic Church of God, along with many other monasteries; but those of Amma Joannias, very prudently and reasonably, on account of the resplendent truth of the ecclesiastical dogmas,

174

Θεῷ σύ βοηθεῖς; Εἰ δέ ἄλλοις ἴσως ὑποθεμένοις τοῦτο πεισθεῖσα πεποίηκεν, οὐδ᾿ οὕτως τῷ γενομένῳ προστίθεμαι, (464) τόνῬοβοάμ ἐκεῖνον τόν τοῦ μεγάλου Σολομῶντος υἱόν ἐνθυμούμενος, τόν διά τοῦ προκρῖναι τῆς τῶν πρεσβευτέρων βουλῆς τήν τῶν νεωτέρων, τό πλεῖστον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείας ὑποτεμόμενον· ἅμα δέ καί κανονικοῖς πράγμασι ἐγχειρεῖν οἷς μή θέμις ἀπώμοτον γινώσκων, καί μάλιστα γυναιξίν, αἷς τό σιωπᾷν ἀναπνοῆς προσφορώτερον ὁ θεῖος ἀπεφήνατο λόγος.

Οὐ δεῖ οὖν αἱρετικοῖς καθ᾿ οἷόν δήποτε τρόπον, ὡς αἱρετικοῖς, βοηθεῖν, εἰ καί πᾶσι πάντα μετελθεῖν ἀδεῶς ἐπετέτραπτο· διά τε τάς εἰρημένας αἰτίας, ἵνα μή τῷ Θεῷ προσκρούοντες λάθωμεν· καί μή καλόν εἶναι διδόναι αὐτοῖς ἄδειαν ἐμπομπεύειν τῷ οἰκείῳ ψεύδει, καί ἀνασείεσθαι κατά τῆς εὐσεβείας· ἵνα μή δι᾿ ἡμῶν ἐμφανισθέντες, ὄφεως δίκην, τῶν ἀφελεστέρων τινάς ἀπάτης δήγματι δυνηθῶσι τῆς κατά τήν πίστιν ἀσφαλοῦς βάσεως κατασεῖσαι· καί εὑρεθῶμεν καί ἡμεῖς, ὡς οὐ θέλομεν, τῆς ὑπέρ τούτου ἐπηρτημένης αὐτοῖς συμμετέχοντες δίκης. Οὕτω γάρ καταρχάς τῇ συνήθει χρησάμενος καί περί αὐτάς συμπαθείᾳ ὁ πανεύφημος ἔπαρχος, ὡς καί πολλοῦ χρυσίου ἄξιον οἶνον αὐταῖς δωρήσασθαι πρός καταμονήν μετά τῆς λοιπῆς τῶν χρειῶν δαψιλοῦς ἐπιδόσεως· ὥς ηὗρε τῇ οἰήσει τῆς ὑπερηφανίας τυφωθείσας αὐτάς, ἀπετράπη. Εὐθύς γάρ, ὥσπερ ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος, τοῦ συνάγειν ἤρξαντο, καί ὑποσείρειν πιστῶν θηγατέρας· κρύπτειν τε καί ἀρνεῖσθαι τούς γονέας, ἐφ᾿ ἱκανόν αὐτάς ἐπιζητοῦνταας χρόνον· καί ἱλασμούς, καί παραβαπτίσματα ποιεῖν τολμᾷν· καί διά πολλῆς πολλάκις ἐλθών πρός αὐτάς παρακλήσεως ταῦτα μαθών, καί τῶν μέν τοιούτων παύσασθαι πραγμάτων, ἑνωθῆναι δέ τῇ ἁγίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐπί πολύ παραινέσας, καί μηδέν ἀνύσας· τέλος, ὡς μέγα εἶδε καί ἄσχετον ἤδη γινόμενον τό κακόν, καί τούς δήμους τῶν πιστῶν ὑπολαλοῦντας τά γινόμενα, φοβηθείς μή τι εἰς αὐτάς ἄτακτον προέλθοι, θυμῷ ζέσαντος ἐπ᾿ αὐταῖς τοῦ πιστοῦ πλήθους τῶνῬωμαίων, μηδ᾿ αὐτῆς ψιλῆς ὀνομασίας τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἀνεχομένου, βουλῆς καί γνώμης περί τούτου γενέσθαι βασιλικῆς πρέπον καί ἔννομον ἡγησάμενος, πάντα δι᾿ ἀναφορᾶς, ἅμα τῷ ἁγιωτάτῳ ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ, καί τοῖς ἐνδοξοτάτοις τῶν ἐνταῦθα λογάσι, τῷ εὐσεβεστάτῳ ἡμῶν βασιλεῖ, καί τοῖς ἁγιωτάτοις πατριάρχαις τῷ τεῬώμης καί τῷ Κωσταντινουπόλεως ἀνήγαγε. Καί δή γαληνόν τοῦ πιστοτάτου ἡμῶν βασιλέως, καί ἱερόν τῶν μακαριωτάτων πατριαρχῶν δεξάμενος γράμμα, παρακελευόνενον πάντας μέν αἱρετικούς τῆς χώρας ἐλαύνεσθαι, τούς τῇ ἰδίᾳ κακοδοξίᾳ ἐμμένοντας· τάς δέ εἰρημένας γυναῖκας βουλομένας μέν τῇ ἁγίᾳ καί ἀχράντῳ καί ζωοποιῷ τῆς καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας προσελθεῖν, ἔχειν τά ἴδια κοινόβια ἀπαρεγχείρητα· ἀνανευούσας δέ τῇ τε ἀληθείᾳ, καί τῷ βασιλικῷ εἴκειν μή πειθομένας θεσπίσματι, διηνεκῶς ἐν τοῖς τῶν ὀρθοδόξων ἀσκητηρίοις κατά μίαν διῃρῆσθαι, καί τά πράγματα αὐτῶν κατά τόν νόμον, οἷς μάλιστα (465) θαῤῥοῦσαι τούς αὐτάς πλανῶντας δαψιλῶς παρέτρεφον, τῷ δημοσίῳ προσχωρηθῆναι ταμείῳ· ἐποίησε πάντα σπουδαίως καθώς ἐκελεύσθη. Πάντας μέν χάριτι Χριστοῦ πείσας τούς ἀπό Συρίας αἱρετικούς, Αἰγύπτου τε καί Ἀλεξανδρείας καί Λιβύης, προσελθεῖν τῇ ἁγίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ· τῶν δέ εἰρημένων γυναικῶν, τάς μέν ἀπό τῆς μονῆς τῶν Σακερδῶτος, ἀφρόνως πρός τήν κέλευσιν τοῦ εὐσεβοῦς δεσπότου διά τήν σύντροφον ὑπερηφανίαν ἐνεχθείσας, διανείμας εἰς τά εὐαγῆ τῶν ὀρθοδόξων ἀσκητήρια, πληρώσεως ἕνεκεν τῶν εὐσεβῶς κεκελευσμένων, καί τάς μέν παρακλήσει, τάς δέ καί ὑποπτώσει, καί πάντα πάσαις διά τόν Θεόν γενόμενος· ὀψέ ποτε τό δέον μεταμαθούσας, ἑνωθῆναι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ καθολικῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ πείσας, σύν ἄλλοις πολλοῖς κοινοβίοις· τάς δέ τῆς ἀμμᾶς Ἰωαννίας, ἐμφρόνως μάλα γε εἰκότως, διά τήν προλάμπουσαν τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν δογμάτων ἀλήθειαν,