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of the sheep, key-bearer of the kingdom of heaven, rock of the faith, upon which the catholic church has been built; for you are Peter, adorning and governing the throne of Peter; grievous wolves have entered the Lord's courtyard, the gates of hades, as of old, have dashed against it. What is this? Christ is persecuted with his mother and servants, if indeed the attack on the icon is a persecution of the prototype; hence the downfall of a patriarchal head, exiles and confinements of high priests and priests, of monks and nuns, imprisonments and chains, tortures and, in the end, deaths. O the dreadful news; the venerable icon of our Savior God, before which even demons shudder, has been insulted, has been despised, not only in the reigning city, but indeed also throughout every land and town. Altars have been destroyed, churches have been darkened, sacred things have been profaned, the blood of those who hold to the gospel has been and is being shed, persecutions and banishments of those still left. Every pious mouth has fallen silent from fear of death, the opposing and blasphemous tongue has been opened, all flesh has been shaken, being of two minds. Woe is me, it says, for we have become as one gathering stubble in the harvest, and as a gleaning in the vintage, when there is no cluster of grapes. Upon us, O blessed one, have all these things come. Who would not be saddened by these things, considering the sufferings of his neighbor as his own, and who would not reckon them to be preludes of the coming of the Antichrist, differing only as an image from its archetype, against which he also rages? Come then from the West, O imitator of Christ, arise and do not cast us off forever; to you Christ our God has said, "and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren." Behold the time and the place; help us, you who have been appointed by God for this, stretch out a hand as far as it is possible; you have the power from God from being first among all, in which position you were also placed. Terrify, we pray, the heretical beasts with the pipe of your divine word; O good shepherd, lay down your life for the sheep of Christ, we beseech you. Let it be heard under heaven that by you are synodically anathematized those who have dared these things and who indeed anathematize our holy fathers. May this be acceptable to God, joyful to angels and saints, a support to those who are shaken, a confirmation to those who are steadfast, a restoration to those who have fallen, a cause of rejoicing to the whole orthodox church, and indeed to your Eminence, according to your predecessors of old, an eternal memorial; who in similar times, moved by the Spirit, did the things now requested by us sinners, and are remembered and blessed. And we certainly believe that, moved by the mercy of compassion, you will receive our humble letter, imitating Christ, who, being God of all, did not disdain to both receive the letter from Abgar and to write back to it. 272 {1To the same}1 To the most holy father, chief universal luminary, our lord master apostolic pope, John, Theodosius, Athanasius, Theodore, least presbyters and abbots of Kathara, of Pikridion, of Paulopetrion, of Stoudios. The dayspring from on high has visited us, Christ our God, having set your Blessedness in the West like some divinely-shining lamp for the illumination of the church under heaven upon the first apostolic throne. For we, who were held in darkness and the shadow of death by the wicked heresy, perceived the intelligible light, and we cast off the cloud of despondency and looked up to good hopes, having learned from our brothers and fellow servants whom we sent what great things your holy Eminence has both done and said, how you did not even admit the heretical apocrisiaries to your sacred presence, as if they were robbers, but justly sent them away while they were still far off, and how, imitating God, you were saddened and groaned over our afflictions upon hearing the letters and the account of those who were sent, as if over your own members. And truly we, the humble, recognized that a true successor of the chief of the apostles presides over the Roman church; truly

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προβάτων, κλειδοῦχε τῆς οὐρανῶν βασιλείας, πέτρα τῆς πίστεως, ἐφ' ᾗ ᾠκοδόμηται ἡ καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία· Πέτρος γὰρ σύ, τὸν Πέτρου θρόνον κοσμῶν καὶ διέπων· λύκοι βαρεῖς εἰσεφθάρησαν ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ Κυρίου, πύλαι ᾅδου ὡς πάλαι προσερράγησαν αὐτῇ. τί τοῦτο; διώκεται Χριστὸς σὺν μητρὶ καὶ θεράπουσιν, εἴπερ ἡ τῆς εἰκόνος καταδρομὴ τοῦ πρωτοτύπου διωγμός· ἐντεῦθεν κατένεξις πατριαρχικῆς κεφαλῆς ἐξορίαι τε καὶ περιορισμοὶ ἀρχιερέων τε καὶ ἱερέων, μοναστῶν τε καὶ μοναζουσῶν, εἱρκταί τε καὶ σιδηρώσεις, βάσανοί τε καὶ τέλος θάνατοι. ὢ τοῦ φοβεροῦ ἀκούσματος· ἡ σεπτὴ εἰκὼν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ, ἣν καὶ δαίμονες φρίττουσιν, ἐνύβρισται, ἐξουδένωται, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇ βασιλευούσῃ πόλει, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ κατὰ πᾶσαν χώραν καὶ πολίχνην. θυσιαστήρια ἠφανίσθη, ναοὶ ἠμαυρώθησαν, ἱερὰ ἐκοινώθη, ἐχέθη αἵματα καὶ χέεται τῶν ἀντεχομένων τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, διωγμοὶ καὶ φυγαδεῖαι τῶν ἔτι ὑπολελειμμένων. ἐσίγησεν πᾶν εὐσεβοῦν στόμα δέει θανάτου, ἠνέῳκται ἡ ἀντίθετος καὶ βλάσφημος γλῶσσα, σεσάλευται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἀμφοτερίζουσα. οἴμμοι, φησίν, ὅτι ἐγενήθημεν ὡς συνάγων καλάμην ἐν ἀμητῷ καὶ ὡς ἐπιφυλλίδα ἐν τρυγητῷ, οὐχ ὑπάρχοντος βότρυος. Ἐφ' ἡμᾶς, ὦ μάκαρ, ἐγένετο πάντα ταῦτα. ἃ τίς μὲν οὐκ ἐπιστυγνάσειεν, εἰς ἑαυτὸν τὰ τοῦ πλησίον ἀναθεωρῶν πάθη, τίς δὲ οὐ λογίσοιτο προεισόδια εἶναι τῆς τοῦ Ἀντιχρίστου παρουσίας, τοσοῦτον διαφέροντα ὅσον εἰκὼν ἀρχετύπου, ἐφ' ᾗ καὶ μαίνεται; δεῦρο δὴ οὖν ἀπὸ δυσμῶν ὁ χριστομίμητος, ἀνάστηθι καὶ μὴ ἀπώσῃ εἰς τέλος· πρὸς σὲ εἴρηκε Χριστὸς ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ σύ ποτε ἐπιστρέψας στηρίξεις τοὺς ἀδελφούς σου. ἴδε ὁ χρόνος καὶ ὁ τόπος· βοήθησον ἡμῖν ὁ ὑπὸ θεοῦ τεταγμένος εἰς τοῦτο, ὄρεξον χεῖρα καθ' ὅσον οἷόν τέ ἐστιν· ἔχεις τὸ ἰσχύειν παρὰ θεῷ ἐκ τοῦ πάντων πρωτεύειν ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἐτέθης. πτόησον, δεόμεθα, τοὺς αἱρετικοὺς θῆρας σύριγγι τοῦ θείου λόγου σου· ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, θὲς τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν Χριστοῦ προβάτων, ἱκετεύομεν. ἀκουσάτω ἡ ὑπ' οὐρανὸν ὅτι ὑφ' ὑμῶν ἀναθεματίζονται συνοδικῶς οἱ ταῦτα τετολμηκότες καί γε ἀναθεματίζοντες τοὺς ἁγίους πατέρας ἡμῶν. τοῦτο εἴη θεῷ εὐπρόσιτον, ἀγγέλοις καὶ ἁγίοις χαρμόσυνον, σαλευομένοις στήριγμα, ἑδραιουμένοις ἐπισφράγισμα, καταπεπτωκόσιν ἀνάστημα, πάσῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ ὀρθοδόξων ἀγαλλίαμα, καί γε τῇ σῇ κορυφότητι κατὰ τοὺς πάλαι προηγησαμένους μνημόσυνον αἰώνιον· οἳ ἐν τοῖς ὁμοίοις καιροῖς τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν νῦν αἰτούμενα δεδρακότες πνευματοκινήτως καὶ μνημονεύονται καὶ μεμακάρινται. Πάντως δὲ πιστεύομεν ὡς ἐλέῳ οἰκτιρμῶν καμπτόμενος δέξῃ ἡμῶν τὸ εὐτελὲς γράμμα, Χριστὸν μιμούμενος, ὅς, θεὸς ὢν τῶν ἁπάντων, οὐκ ἀπηξίωσε τὴν παρὰ Αὐγάρου ἐπιστολὴν καὶ δέξασθαι καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀντιγράψαι. 272 {1Τῷ αὐτῷ}1 Τῷ παναγεστάτῳ πατρί, κορυφαίῳ φωστῆρι οἰκουμενικῷ, κυρίῳ ἡμῶν δεσπότῃ ἀποστολικῷ πάπᾳ, Ἰωάννης, Θεοδόσιος, Ἀθανάσιος, Θεόδωρος, ἐλάχιστοι πρεσβύτεροι καὶ ἡγούμενοι τῶν Καθαρᾶ, τοῦ Πικριδίου, τοῦ Παυλοπετρίου, τῶν Στουδίου. Ἐπεσκέψατο ἡμᾶς ἀνατολὴ ἐξ ὕψους, Χριστὸς ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, τὴν σὴν ἐν τῇ δύσει μακαριότητα ὥσπερ τινὰ λυχνίαν θεαυγῆ εἰς ἐπίλαμψιν τῆς ὑπ' οὐρανὸν ἐκκλησίας ἐπὶ τὸν ἀποστολικὸν πρώτιστον θρόνον θέμενος. καὶ γὰρ ᾔσθημεν φωτὸς νοεροῦ οἱ ἐν σκότει καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου ἐνισχημένοι τῆς πονηρᾶς αἱρέσεως καὶ τὸ νέφος τῆς ἀθυμίας ἀπεθέμεθα καὶ πρὸς χρηστὰς ἐλπίδας ἀνενεύσαμεν, μεμαθηκότες δι' ὧν ἀπεστείλαμεν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν καὶ συνδούλων οἷα καὶ ἡλίκα πέπραχέ τε καὶ λέλεχεν ἡ ἁγία ὑμῶν κορυφαιότης, τοὺς μὲν αἱρετικοὺς ἀποκρισιαρίους ὡς λωποδύτας μηδὲ εἰς ἱερὰν αὐτῆς θέαν προσηκαμένη, πόρρω δὲ ὄντας ἐνδίκως ἀποπεμψαμένη, τοῖς δὲ ἡμετέροις ταλαιπωρήμασι διὰ τῆς ἐπακροάσεως τῶν γραμμάτων καὶ διηγήσεως τῶν ἀποσταλέντων ἐπιστυγνάσασά τε καὶ ἐπιστενάξασα θεομιμήτως ὡς ἐπὶ οἰκείοις μέλεσι. καὶ ὄντως ἔγνωμεν οἱ ταπεινοὶ ὡς ἐναργὴς διάδοχος τοῦ τῶν ἀποστόλων κορυφαίου προέστη τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἐκκλησίας· ἀληθῶς