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deprived of their revenues, and reproached for negligence, and commanded to attend on feast days in their vestments, while having no care for their life from the patriarch even in a dream, suffering thus, they reported to the emperor, and especially concerning their revenue. And the emperor, being moved as it were, and summoning the patriarch, placing this for common consideration, they deliberated about this. But the patriarch put forward the difficulty of the times. Finally he arranged to give to each six of the nomismata, and to another eight. But the emperor said this was nothing; for these things were also little 643 for living expenses. Nevertheless, when this had been done, no one received anything. But they were also compelled to attend at the church from near midnight, and for no one to speak to anyone during the hymnody, nor to lean to the left nor to the right, but to stand unbending, just as the word of the holy canons affirms. For these reasons, then, they were neglectful and rarely attended the church and, so to speak, they were separating themselves. But the patriarch, sending letters, summoned them, and especially said that these were to be read in the midst of the synod of the abbots (for with these he held the synods) as if saying reasonable things. Therefore, being compelled, the leading men of the church send a letter to the patriarch, having it word for word thus. "From of old the church of God, most holy master and ecumenical patriarch, did not invent laws and orders, it kept these until you; and those who were patriarchs from time to time and each one of the clergy of the holy great church of God found their rank according to the element of virtue and of time. But should we be condemned for pettiness and reproached as dull of heart, because leaving off seeking the greater things we seek the lesser and things of no use to the soul? We do not seek our own things, master, but the things of God and of the church. This 644 is the order of the church and of the clergy, which we, knowing it exactly, have grown old in. And every day others and others would come and were accepted, not being vain and worthless, because they ceased to serve for six nomismata per year, no, by the sacred laws which the fathers handed down; but being guarded by the power of grace all those men were both patriarchs and high priests, and common teachers and luminaries, shining in ecclesiastical dignities, honored both by emperors and rulers, having freedom pre-eminently, as indeed all things of the church became theirs. And those presiding over the church from time to time considered the clergy their own members. But now, what? But one can put forward the difficulty of the times, as your Holiness often has. But with all the Romans so are we, and as each one happens to have, so do we; but we alone are unfortunate. And it is not that the church is in want; but rather it is well-off, as far as we know. But that being required on Sundays and feast days to attend in our vestments, we are also free every day and do not sin in this regard. But nevertheless we also make our defense in this matter. For we know those greatest men before us, whose places we have reached, that having chapels and priests at home they performed their own services, and they also attended at the church of God, as 645 each had the power and inclination. But their services of those offices were their functions, of one as oikonomos, of another as sakellarios, of another as chartophylax, and of another as skeuophylax, and so on for the rest. It is strange, therefore, that having been deprived of those duties, we are required for things that are not fitting. Meanwhile, the frequent letters from your Holiness compel us to this, to that which our fathers and our tutors taught us from childhood. Then also this is a period of many years, during which we attend at the church of God and are present in sacred vestments. These things, your Holiness having sought them, we do, not so much through a fatherly command as also for ourselves

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προσόδων ἀποστερούμενοι, καὶ ὀνει διζόμενοι ἀμέλειαν, καὶ καθ' ἑορτὰς μεθ' ἱματίων ἀπαντᾶν προσταττόμενοι, ἐπιμέλειαν δὲ ζωῆς παρὰ τοῦ πατριαρχεύοντος οὐδὲ κατ' ὄναρ ἔχοντες, οὕτω γοῦν πάσχοντες τῷ βασιλεῖ προσανέφερον, καὶ μᾶλλον περὶ τῆς προσόδου αὐτῶν. ὁ δὲ βα σιλεὺς οἷον ἐπικαμφθείς, καὶ πατριάρχην μετακαλεσάμενος, εἰς κοινὴν τοῦτο σκέψιν θέμενος, ἐσκόπουν περὶ τούτου. ὁ δὲ πα τριάρχης τὴν τοῦ καιροῦ δυσκολίαν προεβάλλετο. τέλος συνε τάξατο δοῦναι ἑκάστῳ ἀνὰ ἓξ τῶν νομισμάτων, ἄλλῳ δὲ ἀνὰ ὀκτώ. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς οὐδὲν ἔλεγεν εἶναι· ὀλίγον γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα 643 βιωτικοῖς. ὅμως τούτου γεγονότος οὐδὲν οὐδεὶς ἐλάμβανεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ μέσου νυκτὸς ἐγγὺς παρὰ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἀπαντᾶν ἠναγκάζοντο, καὶ διὰ μέσου τῆς ὑμνῳδίας ὁμιλῆσαι μηδένα μη δενί, μήτε εἰς ἀριστερὰ κλῖναι μήτε εἰς δεξιά, ἀλλὰ ἀκλινεῖς ἵστασθαι, καθὼς ὁ τῶν ἱερῶν κανόνων βεβαιοῖ λόγος. διὰ ταῦτα γοῦν ἀμελῶς εἶχον καὶ σπανίως ἀπήντων εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ὡς εἰπεῖν ἀπεσχίζοντο. ὁ δὲ πατριάρχης γραφὰς ἀποστέλλων αὐτοῖς μετεκαλεῖτο, καὶ μᾶλλον ἔλεγεν ἀναγνωσθῆναι ταύτας μέσον τῆς συνόδου τῶν ἡγουμένων (μετὰ τούτων γὰρ τὰς συνό δους ἐποίει) ὡς δῆθεν εὔλογα λέγων. ἀναγκαζόμενοι οὖν οἱ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πρωτεύοντες ἀποστέλλουσι γράμμα τῷ πατριάρχῃ ἔχον ἐπὶ λέξεως οὕτως. "ἄνωθεν ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησία, παναγιώτατε δέσποτα καὶ οἰκουμενικὲ πατριάρχα, οὐχ εὗρε θεσμοὺς καὶ τά ξεις, ταύτας ἐφύλαττε μέχρι σοῦ· καὶ οἱ κατὰ καιρὸν πατριαρ χεύσαντες καὶ εἷς ἕκαστος τῶν τοῦ κλήρου τῆς ἁγίας τοῦ θεοῦ μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας κατὰ τὸ στοιχοῦν τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ τοῦ χρόνου βαθμὸν εὕρισκον. ἡμεῖς δὲ σμικρολογίαν καταγνωσθείημεν καὶ βαρυκάρδιοι ὀνειδισθείημεν, ὅτι ἀφέντες τὰ μείζω ζητεῖν ζητοῦ μεν τὰ ἐλάττω καὶ οὐδὲν εἰς ψυχὴν χρησιμεύοντα; οὐ ζητοῦμεν ἡμέτερα, δέσποτα, ἀλλὰ τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας. αὕτη 644 ἡ τάξις τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τοῦ κλήρου, ἣν ἡμεῖς εἰς τὸ ἀκριβὲς εἰδότες, ταύτῃ ἐνεγηράσαμεν. καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἄλλοι καὶ ἄλ λοι προσήρχοντο καὶ προσεδέχοντο, οὐ μάταιοι ὄντες καὶ φαῦλοι, ὅτι ἓξ νομισμάτων κατ' ἐνιαυτὸν δουλεύειν ἀπέστησαν, οὐ μὰ τοὺς ἱεροὺς θεσμούς, οὓς οἱ πατέρες παρέδοσαν· ἀλλὰ τῇ χάρι τος φυλαττόμενοι δυνάμει πάντες ἐκεῖνοι καὶ πατριάρχαι καὶ ἀρ χιερεῖς ἦσαν, καὶ διδάσκαλοι κοινοὶ καὶ φωστῆρες τοῖς ἐκκλησια στικοῖς ἐμπρέποντες ἀξιώμασι, τίμιοι καὶ βασιλεῦσι καὶ ἄρχου σιν, ἔχοντες ἐλευθερίαν προηγουμένως, ὡς δὴ αὐτῶν γινομένων τῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἁπάντων. καὶ οἱ κατὰ καιροὺς τῆς ἐκκλησίας προστατοῦντες τοὺς τοῦ κλήρου μέλη αὐτῶν ἐλογίζοντο. νῦν δέ, ἀλλὰ τί; ἀλλ' ἔχει τις προβάλλεσθαι τὴν τοῦ καιροῦ δυσκολίαν, ὡς καὶ πολλάκις ἡ ἁγιωσύνη σου. ἀλλὰ μετὰ πάντων τῶν Ῥω μαίων καὶ ἡμεῖς, καὶ ὡς ἕκαστος ἔτυχεν ἔχων οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς· ἀλλὰ μόνοι ἡμεῖς δυστυχοῦμεν. καὶ οὐχ ὅτι ἀπορεῖ ἡ ἐκκλησία· ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐπορεῖ, ὅσον οἴδαμεν. ἀλλ' ὅτι ἀπαιτούμενοι κατὰ κυριακὰς καὶ ἑορτὰς ἀπαντᾶν μεθ' ἱματισμῶν ἡμεῖς καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην σχολάζομεν καὶ οὐχ ἁμαρτάνομεν εἰς τοῦτο. ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ εἰς τοῦτο ἀπολογούμεθα. οἴδαμεν γὰρ τοὺς μεγίστους ἄν δρας ἐκείνους τοὺς πρὸ ἡμῶν, ὧν καὶ τοὺς τόπους ἡμεῖς ἐφθά σαμεν, ὅτι οἴκοι ναοὺς ἔχοντες καὶ ἱερεῖς τὰ τῆς ἀκολουθίας αὐ τῶν ἐξετέλουν, ἐσχόλαζον δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς 645 εἶχεν ἕκαστος δυνάμεώς τε καὶ προαιρέσεως. αἱ δὲ ὑπηρεσίαι ἐκείνων αἱ τῶν ὀφφικίων ἐκείνων ἦσαν ἐνέργειαι, τοῦ μὲν ὡς οἰ κονόμου, τοῦ δὲ ὡς σακελλαρίου, τοῦ δ' ὡς χαρτοφύλακος, καὶ σκευοφύλακος ἄλλου, καὶ καθεξῆς τῶν λοιπῶν. ξένον οὖν εἰ ἐκείνων ἀφαιρεθέντες τὰ μὴ προσήκοντα ἀπαιτούμεθα. τέως δὲ καὶ συχναὶ γραφαὶ τῆς ἁγιωσύνης σου εἰς τοῦτο ἀναγκάζουσιν ἡμᾶς εἰς ὅπερ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν νηπιόθεν ἡμᾶς ἐδίδαξαν καὶ οἱ παιδαγωγήσαντες. εἶτα δὲ καὶ πολυετὴς οὗτος χρόνος, καθ' ὃν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ προσεδρεύομεν καὶ σχολάζομεν μεθ' ἱερῶν ἐνδυμάτων. ταῦτα ζητησάσης τῆς ἁγιωσύνης σου πράττομεν, οὐ τόσον δι' ἐντολὴν πατρικὴν ὅσον καὶ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς