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from which your words are also such. But as for what you asked me to answer, I have indicated in a separate note for everyone in common; for there are many who ask the same things, and it is a labor for me to give an account to all. But you, pray more fervently for my humility, that I, the sinner, may be saved in the Lord. And again I received your dispatches; and until when will you not let up? In sum, the Lord will repay you for what you love. The one with me greets you, and I those with you. 354 {1To the oikonomos of Symbolon}1 I received the letter of your love, and I read and recognized your humility, through which God exalts those who love him; from whence you were also deemed worthy to become a partaker of his sufferings in the present witness. But if the Christ-fighters, having been defeated by your steadfast endurance, released you, this is no defect for you, but a victory. Therefore be well-pleasing to God in whatever place you are situated; for the struggle according to conscience is a daily martyrdom for the one who strives and cleanses himself from the demonic thoughts that rise up. May you be preserved for me, cheerful, safe, and of good repute, praying unceasingly for me the sinner. I greet the brothers with you. 355 {1To Joseph, brother and archbishop}1 Because I heard your voice, O thrice-desired one, my humble spirit leaped, and I seemed to see you with my eyes, embracing your sacred person completely, the images of which never leave me nor would ever leave, even if those who have authority to separate us in body were to carry you beyond Gadeira, so is my longing compelled, as is natural. But you, most holy one, longing for and praising me as a brother would not accept the charge of accusation (for nature bears it), but in praising me in another way you would wrong the truth; for I am, as you know, a sinner, in need of light, not enlightening, nor bearing anything greater than your own deeds, or those of any other of those now contending for Christ. If only they were equal. But how the time has brought the affairs of our church, how all are being tested as in a furnace; and yet few are the golden ones, with almost all turning out to be leaden. The word of the Lord: but that also a man’s enemies are they of his own household. Take Leontius for me, among others; what a savage beast he is, persecuting his fellow disciples and ravaging the churches of God; may the Lord convert him and strengthen us for the struggle set before us, which must be considered nothing other than a martyrdom of Christ equal to those of old. You were persecuted for the truth, you were imprisoned, you were isolated, not once but twice suffering many hardships; you are third in sufferings now, bearing what you bear, a threefold crown for you from the Holy Trinity, most holy one. Let Thessalonica have, in addition to her predecessors, your deeds also to be glorified with forever, and let Theodore also rejoice and boast in such a brother, bringing nothing praiseworthy of his own. This is the nobility of the spirit, to live even after death, this is the deed sought by God, this is the pledge of the unending kingdom; of which may I the wretched also be deemed worthy with you, following in orthodoxy and in right living. The one with me greets you very much in a servant-like manner, as I also greet the holy Anthos. 356 {1To Litoios, my child}1 After I completed the refutation, I again received the iambics and it became a labor for me, but you did well, child, to make them known. Therefore the acrostic through the middle is not preserved; for it does not begin on all the lines from the seventh syllable, but from one and then another, and it also cuts through the syllable behind it, and this is not an acrostic. But see how I did it and you will know the clear fact. Receive therefore the notebooks and read them and immediately transcribe them, giving these back again. But keep them securely, not blurting them out to the impious; for it is a cause for death. And if any faithful one, having read it, should find anything lacking or inconsistent, that is, a word or a thought, or he himself going through it will correct it, or rather will make it clear to me; for I did not write anything by chance, but a great stream of truth flows, I think, in them. Remember us, child,

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ἐξ ἧς καὶ οἱ λόγοι σοι τοιοῦτοι. ἃ δὲ ἐπεζήτησας ἀποκριθῆναί με, ἐν ἐξαιρέτῳ πιττακίῳ ἐσήμανα κοινῇ πᾶσι· πολλοὶ γάρ εἰσιν οἱ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐρωτῶντες καὶ κόπος μοι πρὸς πάντας ἀποδιδόναι λόγον. αὐτὸς δέ θερμοτέρως προσεύχου τῆς ταπεινώσεώς μου ἵνα σῴζοιμι ἐκ Κυρίῳ ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. καὶ πάλιν τὰς ἀποστολάς σου ἐδεξάμην· καὶ ἕως πότε οὐ μὴ ἀνῇς; ὅλως ἀνταμείψεταί σοι Κύριος ἃ φιλεῖς. Ὁ σὺν ἐμοὶ προσαγορεύει σε, τοὺς σὺν σοὶ κἀγώ. 354 {1Τῷ οἰκονόμῳ τῆς Συμβόλου}1 Ἀπεδεξάμην τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τῆς ἀγάπης σου καὶ ἀνέγνων καὶ ἐπέγνων τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην σου, δι' ἧς ὑψοῖ θεὸς τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτόν· ἔνθεν καὶ ἠξίωσαι κοινωνὸς τῶν παθημάτων αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι ἐν τῇ νυνὶ μαρτυρίᾳ. εἰ δὲ ὅτι ἡττηθέντες οἱ χριστομάχοι τῇ καρτερᾷ σου ὑπομονῇ ἀπέλυσάν σε, τοῦτο οὐδέν σοι ἐλάττωμα, ἀλλὰ νίκη. εὐαρέστει οὖν τῷ θεῷ ἐν ᾧ τόπῳ καθέζῃ· μαρτύριον γὰρ καθ' ἑκάστην ἐστὶ τὸ κατὰ συνείδησιν τῷ ἀγωνιζομένῳ καὶ καθαίροντι ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπανισταμένων δαιμονικῶν λογισμῶν. Φυλαχθείης μοι εὔθυμος, εὔσωστος, εὐκλεής, προσευχόμενος περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ ἀνεπιλήστως. τοὺς σὺν σοὶ ἀδελφοὺς προσκυνῶ. 355 {1Ἰωσὴφ ἀδελφῷ καὶ ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ}1 Ὅτι ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς σου, ὦ τριπόθητε, ἐσκίρτησεν τὸ ταπεινόν μου πνεῦμα καὶ ἔδοξα ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς σε ὁρᾶν, περιφὺς ὅλος τῷ ἱερῷ σου προσώπῳ, οὗ τὰ ἰνδάλματα οὔποτε ἀπολήγει μοι οὐδ' ἂν ἀπολήξοι, κἂν ἐπέκεινά σε Γαδείρων ἀποίσωσιν οἱ σώματι διατέμνειν ἡμᾶς ἐξουσιάζοντες, οὕτω τοῦ πόθου βιαζομένου, ὡς τὸ εἰκός. σὺ δὲ ἡμᾶς, ἁγιώτατε, ὡς ἀδελφὸν μὲν ποθῶν καὶ ἐπαινῶν οὐκ ἂν δέξαιο κατηγορίας ἔγκλημα (φέρει γὰρ ἡ φύσις), ἄλλως δέ πως εὐφημῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἀδικοίης· εἰμὶ γάρ, ὡς οἶσθα, ἁμαρτωλός, ἐνδεὴς φωτός, οὐ φωτίζων, οὐδέ τι μεγαλειότερον τῶν σῶν, οὔ τινος ἄλλου τῶν νῦν ἐνισταμένων ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ φέρων. Εἴθε τὰ ἴσα. ἀλλὰ πῶς ὁ καιρὸς ἤνεγκε τὰ τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐκκλησίας, πῶς δοκιμάζονται οἱ πάντες ὡς ἐν χωνείᾳ· καὶ ὅμως ὀλίγοι οἱ χρυσοειδεῖς, τῶν ἁπάντων σχεδὸν μολυβδιώντων. τοῦ Κυρίου ὁ λόγος· ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἐχθροὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οἱ οἰκιακοὶ αὐτοῦ. λάβε μοι τὸν Λεόντιον πρὸς τῶν ἄλλων· οἷα θὴρ ἀνήμερός ἐστι διώκων τοὺς συμμαθητὰς καὶ πορθῶν τὰς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ· ὃν ὁ Κύριος ἐπιστρέψειεν καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐνισχύσειεν εἰς τὸν προκείμενον ἀγῶνα, ὃν οὐκ ἄλλο τι ἡγητέον ἢ μαρτύριον Χριστοῦ ἰσόρροπον τοῖς πάλαι. Προεδιώχθης ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας, ἐφυλακίσθης, ἐμονώθης, οὐχ ἅπαξ ἀλλὰ καὶ δὶς τληπαθήσας πολλά· τρισσεύεις τοῖς πάθεσι νῦν, φέρων ἃ φέρεις, τρίπλοκόν σοι παρὰ τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος τὸ στεφάνωμα, ὁσιώτατε. ἐχέτω ἡ Θεσσαλονίκη τοῖς προλαβοῦσι καὶ τὰ σὰ καλλωπίζεσθαι αἰωνίως, ἐχέτω καὶ Θεόδωρος ἐπ' ἀδελφῷ τοιούτῳ γάννυσθαι καὶ αὐχεῖν, μηδὲν οἴκοθεν φέρων αἰνέσιμον. τοῦτο ἡ εὐγένεια τοῦ πνεύματος, ζῆν καὶ μετὰ θάνατον, αὕτη ἡ ζητουμένη παρὰ θεῷ πρᾶξις, τοῦτο ὁ ἀρραβὼν τῆς ἀτελευτήτου βασιλείας· ἧς σὺν σοὶ ἀξιωθείην κἀγὼ ὁ τάλας, συνεπόμενος ὀρθοδόξως καὶ ὀρθοβίως. Ὁ σὺν ἐμοί σε καὶ μάλα δουλοπρεπῶς ἀσπάζεται, ὡς κἀγὼ τὸν ἱερὸν Ἄνθον. 356 {1Λιτοΐῳ τέκνῳ}1 Μετὰ τὸ ἀπαρτίσαι με τὴν ἀνατροπὴν ἐδεξάμην πάλιν τοὺς ἰάμβους καὶ ἐγένετό μοι εἰς κόπον, πλὴν καλῶς ἐποίησας, τέκνον, δήλους αὐτοὺς γνωρίσας. ἡ οὖν διὰ μέσου ἀκροστιχὶς οὐ διασῴζεται· οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν στίχων ἐκ τῆς ἑβδόμης συλλαβῆς ἄρχεται, ἀλλὰ ἐξ ἄλλης καὶ ἄλλης, διατέμνει δὲ καὶ τὴν ὀπίσω συλλαβήν, καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστιν ἀκροστιχίς. πλὴν ἴδε πῶς ἐποίησα καὶ γνώσῃ τὸ σαφές. δέξαι τοίνυν τὰ τετράδια καὶ ἀνάγνωθι καὶ εὐθὺς μετάγραψον, ἀποδιδοὺς πάλιν ταῦτα. ἀσφαλῶς δὲ κάτεχε, μὴ ἐκφερομυθῶν αὐτὰ εἰς τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς· θανάτου γὰρ παραίτιον. ἐὰν δέ τις πιστὸς ἀναγνοὺς εὕροι τι ἐλλιπὲς ἢ ἀντίστοιχον, ἤγουν λέξιν ἤτοι νόημα, ἢ καὶ αὐτὸς διερχόμενος ἐπανορθώσει, μᾶλλον δὲ δηλοποιήσει μοι· οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἔγραψά τι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολὺς λόγος ῥεῖ ἀληθείας, ὡς δοκῶ, ἐν αὐτοῖς. Μνημόνευε ἡμῶν, τέκνον,