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overlooked, without boldness. Agonize for the peoples, and do not consider only your own affairs, that you are anchored in calm harbors, with the grace of God granting you all shelter from the storm of the spirits of wickedness. But also extend a hand to the storm-tossed Churches, lest being completely abandoned they suffer the shipwreck of the faith. Groan for us, because the Only-Begotten is blasphemed and there is no one to speak against it. The Holy Spirit is set at naught, and he who is able to confute is driven away. Polytheism has prevailed. A great God and a small one among them. The Son is considered to be a name not of nature, but an appellation of some honor; the Holy Spirit not to be complementary to the Holy Trinity nor a partaker of the divine and blessed nature, but one of the things from creation, rashly and as it happened, cast together with the Father and the Son. Who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eyelids? And I will weep for many days for the people, who are being pushed toward destruction by these wicked teachings. The ears of the more simple are being led astray; they have now become accustomed to heretical impiety. The infants of the Church are being brought up together with the words of impiety. For what are they to do? Baptisms from them, processions for the departing, visits to the sick, consolation for the grieving, help for the afflicted, aids of every kind, communions in the mysteries; all of which, being performed by them, become a bond of concord for the people with them; so that when a little time has passed, even if some permission were given, there would be no hope left for those held by long-standing deceit to be called back again to the knowledge of the truth. 243.5 For these reasons, many of us should have run together to your gravity and each become an expounder of his own affairs. But now let this very thing be a proof to you of the affliction in which we live, that we are not even masters of our own travel. For if anyone should depart from his own Church even for the briefest moment, he will leave the people exposed to those who lie in wait. But by the grace of God we have sent one in place of many, our most devout and beloved brother Dorotheus the fellow-presbyter; who is able also by his own narrative to supply whatever our letters have omitted, having followed all things with accuracy and being a zealot for the right faith. Welcome him in peace and send him back quickly, bringing us good tidings of your zeal which you have for supporting the brotherhood.

244. TO PATROPHILUS, BISHOP OF THE CHURCH IN AEGAE

244.1 I have read your letters which you sent through our brother Strategius the fellow-presbyter, and I read them with pleasure. For how could I not, since they were written by a prudent man and from a heart taught to achieve love for all by the commandment of the Lord? And I almost understood the reason for your silence in the past. For you seemed to be at a loss and amazed: if that Basil, who served so-and-so in such a way from childhood, who did this and that at such and such times, who undertook war against ten thousand for the sake of service to the one, if he has now become another person and has taken up war instead of love, and all the other things you wrote, sufficiently showing the astonishment of your soul at the unexpected turn of events. And if you also reproached me for anything, I did not take it badly. For I am not so unadmonishable as to be vexed by the loving reproofs of brothers. For I am so far from being annoyed by what was written that I almost even laughed at it; if when there are so many and

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παροφθέντες, ἀπαρρησίαστοι. Ἀγωνιά σατε ὑπὲρ τῶν λαῶν, καὶ μὴ τὸ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς σκοπεῖτε μόνον ὅτι ἐν λιμέσιν εὐδίοις ὁρμίζεσθε, τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος πᾶσαν ὑμῖν σκέπην χαριζομένης ἀπὸ τῆς ζάλης τῶν πνευμάτων τῆς πονηρίας. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς χειμαζομέναις τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν χεῖρα ὀρέξατε, μήποτε ἐγκαταλειφθεῖσαι παντελὲς ὑπομείνωσι τῆς πίστεως τὸ ναυάγιον. Στενάξατε ἐφ' ἡμῖν ὅτι ὁ Μονογενὴς βλασφημεῖται καὶ ὁ ἀντιλέγων οὐκ ἔστι. Τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον ἀθετεῖται, καὶ ὁ δυνάμενος ἐλέγχειν ἀποδιώκεται. Πολυθεΐα κεκράτηκε. Μέγας Θεὸς παρ' αὐτοῖς καὶ μικρός. Ὁ Υἱὸς οὐχὶ φύσεως ὄνομα, ἀλλὰ τιμῆς τινος εἶναι προσηγορία νενόμισται· τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον οὐ συμπληρωτικὸν εἶναι τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος οὐδὲ κοινωνὸν τῆς θείας καὶ μακαρίας φύσεως, ἀλλ' ἕν τι τῶν ἐκ τῆς κτίσεως, εἰκῆ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε, Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ προσερ ρῖφθαι. Τίς δώσει τῇ κεφαλῇ μου ὕδωρ καὶ τοῖς βλεφάροις μου πηγὴν δακρύων; Καὶ κλαύσομαι τὸν λαὸν ἡμέρας πολλάς, τὸν ταῖς πονηραῖς ταύταις διδασκαλίαις πρὸς τὴν ἀπώλειαν συνωθούμενον. Παρασύρονται τῶν ἀκεραιοτέρων αἱ ἀκοαί· εἰς συνήθειαν λοιπὸν ἦλθον τῆς αἱρετικῆς δυσσεβείας. Συνεκτρέφεται τὰ νήπια τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῖς λόγοις τῆς ἀσεβείας. Τί γὰρ καὶ ποιήσωσι; Βαπτίσματα παρ' ἐκείνων, προπομπαὶ τῶν ἐξοδευόντων, ἐπισκέψεις τῶν ἀσθενούντων, παράκλησις τῶν λυπουμένων, βοήθεια τῶν καταπονουμένων, ἀντιλήψεις παντοδαπαί, μυστηρίων κοινωνίαι· ἃ πάντα δι' ἐκείνων ἐπιτελούμενα σύνδεσμος γίνεται τοῖς λαοῖς τῆς πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁμονοίας· ὥστε μικροῦ χρόνου προελθόντος, μηδ' εἰ γένοιτό τις ἄδεια, ἐλπίδα λοιπὸν εἶναι τοὺς ὑπὸ τῆς χρονίας ἀπάτης κατασχεθέντας πάλιν πρὸς τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀνακληθῆναι. 243.5 Τούτων ἕνεκεν πολλοὺς ἡμᾶς ἐχρῆν συνδραμεῖν πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν σεμνότητα καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν ἑαυτοῦ πραγμάτων ἐξηγητὴν γενέσθαι. Νῦν δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο δεῖγμα γενέσθω ὑμῖν τῆς κακοπαθίας ἐν ᾗ διάγομεν, ὅτι οὐδ' ἀποδημίας ἐσμὲν κύριοι. Εἰ γάρ τις καὶ πρὸς τὸ βραχύτατον τῆς Ἐκ κλησίας ἑαυτοῦ ἀποσταίη, ἐκδότους ἀφήσει τοὺς λαοὺς τοῖς ἐφεδρεύουσιν. Ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι ἕνα ἀπεστείλαμεν ἀντὶ πολλῶν, τὸν εὐλαβέστατον καὶ ἀγαπητὸν ἡμῶν ἀδελφὸν ∆ωρόθεον τὸν συμπρεσβύτερον· ὃς καὶ ὅσα διαπέφευγεν ἡμῶν τὰ γράμματα τῇ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ διηγήσει δυνατός ἐστιν ἀναπληρῶσαι, παρηκολουθηκὼς πᾶσι μετὰ ἀκριβείας καὶ ζη λωτὴς ὑπάρχων τῆς ὀρθῆς πίστεως. Ὃν προσδεξάμενοι ἐν εἰρήνῃ διὰ ταχέων ἀποπέμψασθε ἀγαθὰ ἡμῖν εὐαγγέλια φέ ροντα τῆς σπουδῆς ὑμῶν ἣν ἔχετε πρὸς τὸ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῆς ἀδελφότητος.

244.τ ΠΑΤΡΟΦΙΛΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΤΗΣ ΕΝ ΑΙΓΕΑΙΣ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣ

244.1 Ἐνέτυχόν σου τοῖς γράμμασιν ἃ διὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἡμῶν Στρατηγίου τοῦ

συμπρεσβυτέρου ἀπέστειλας καὶ ἐνέτυχον ἡδέως. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἔμελλον καὶ παρὰ ἀνδρὸς συνετοῦ γε γραμμένοις καὶ παρὰ καρδίας τὴν πρὸς πάντας ἀγάπην ἐκ τῆς ἐντολῆς τοῦ Κυρίου κατορθοῦν δεδιδαγμένης; Καὶ σχεδὸν ἐγνώρισα τῆς ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι χρόνῳ σιωπῆς τὴν αἰτίαν. Ἀποροῦντι γὰρ ἐῴκεις καὶ ἐκθαμβουμένῳ· εἰ Βασίλειος ἐκεῖνος, ὁ τοιῶσδε δουλεύσας ἐκ παιδὸς τῷ δεῖνι, ὁ τάδε ποιήσας ἐπὶ τῶν καιρῶν τῶνδε καὶ τάδε, ὁ τὸν πρὸς μυρίους πόλεμον τῆς πρὸς τὸν ἕνα θεραπείας ἕνεκεν καταδεξάμενος, οὗτος νῦν ἕτερος γέγονεν ἐξ ἑτέρου καὶ πόλεμον ἀντὶ τῆς ἀγάπης ἀνῄρηται, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἐπέστειλας ἱκανῶς τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν ἔκπληξιν ἐν τῇ παραλόγῳ τῶν πραγμάτων μετα βολῇ ἐνδεικνύμενος. Καὶ εἴ τι ἡμῶν καὶ καθήψω, οὐκ ἐδε ξάμην τοῦτο δυσκόλως. Οὐ γὰρ οὕτως εἰμὶ ἀνουθέτητος ὡς πρὸς τὰς ἀγαπητικὰς ἐπιπλήξεις τῶν ἀδελφῶν δυσχεραί νειν. Τοσοῦτον γὰρ ἀπέχω τοῖς ἐπεσταλμένοις ἄχθεσθαι ὥστε μικροῦ καὶ ἐγέλασα ἐπ' αὐτοῖς· εἰ τοσούτων ὄντων καὶ