214

always be saved in the Lord, just as we too for you. 357 {1To Theodoulus, my child}1 Insofar as God has ordained for it to happen thus, you have not sinned, child, by withdrawing from the midst, even if it is not a work of perfection. Still, be content with the brother with whom you are, whom I also greet, both of you being preserved, both for each other with the fear of God mediating, and also from the heretical beasts here and there, hiding in mountains, in caves, and completing the course of the beatitude, and praying also for me, the sinner, that I might be saved. He who is with me greets you. 358 {1To Naucratius, my child}1 That you have recovered, even if not completely, from the most difficult illness you wrestled with, I learned and gave thanks to the Lord, beloved. For illness is a gymnasium for the soul, brought upon us profitably by God who ordains our affairs, in which we ought to be well pleased; for, "when I am weak," he says, "then I am strong." Thus indeed is this saying. But what of the madness of the wretched Leontius against us, so greatly oppressing the brothers and, without visible bloodshed, draining their blood by the wasting away of their flesh? Nevertheless, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, that "a man's foes will be those of his own household;" for was he not himself betrayed to death by his own disciple? See, then, to whom those who contend are likened, that it is to Christ the protomartyr, and to whom the chastiser is like, that it is not only to Judas the senseless, but also to Pilate and Caiaphas the deicides. From previous things the present have come as a consequence for the terrible Leontius, as you know, from Moechianism to Iconoclasm, or rather Christomachy, and so much into impiety toward the ruler, as also by name he approaches his title; for Leo is the proper name, and Leontius the derivative, as a flame from fire and a goad from iron. But the Lord is near to those who endure him, to shatter the goad, and to beat thin the iron. Therefore let us not lose heart in our sufferings, brother, knowing that long-suffering is a work of testing and a multitude of crowns comes to all who love God, just as from of old and from the beginning to the saints. So let the time prevail, let the martyrs multiply, let the unadulterated gold be tested; for no one would be acceptable to God the goldsmith who is not purified, demonstrating the proof of his faith by sufficient firings. Concerning Euprepianus that it is thus, it is grievous to me, the sinner, but one must pray about him. But it is not so, I too know, concerning those things you asked, however such people are secret saints, ever wearing white outwardly, even if inwardly they wear dark clothes as monks or nuns. For this is a way of economy, which is said to be apart from hypocrisy, to alter for a short time and place one's habit and state and way of life, not forever; and of the first, the doer was Saint Abramius, of the second, Saint David, and of the third, Saint Peter. Of two evils set before us, then, a fall and a limping, the lighter must be chosen, that is, the second; for it is better to be a secret monk and un-participant in impiety under the pretext of inability, than to fall away completely. Concerning what you mentioned through the mouth of the letter-carrier about the eighth chapter being defective because it falls under a canon of Saint Peter, I was unaware. Let the canon prevail; for who am I, the wretched one, that I should legislate in opposition? Except that in an advisory capacity, both what is in the other chapters and in those you just sought, and in response to which I answered when asked by others, not canonically, not legislatively so as to be apparent to outsiders, since it is not permitted nor authoritative; for I am a priest, though unworthy, not a hierarch; for it belongs to such a one and those of his rank to establish canons and legislate universally. 359 {1To those who say that Christ is not circumscribable}1 He who says that Christ is not circumscribable in the character of a body, using some natural sequence and logical demonstration, has surely made the objection concerning this for the confirmation of truth and the clarification of

214

ἀεὶ ἐν Κυρίῳ σῴζεσθαι, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς περὶ σοῦ. 357 {1Θεοδούλῳ τέκνῳ}1 Ἐφ' ὅσον ᾠκονόμησεν ὁ θεὸς οὕτω γενέσθαι, οὐδὲν ἥμαρτες, τέκνον, ὑποχωρήσας ἐκ μέσου, εἰ καὶ ὅτι τελειότητος ἔργον οὐκ ἔστιν. πλὴν στέρξον μεθ' οὗ εἶ ἀδελφοῦ, ὃν καὶ προσαγορεύω, διασῳζόμενοι ἀμφότεροι καὶ εἰς ἑαυτοὺς διὰ φόβου θεοῦ μεσιτεύοντος, καὶ μὴν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν αἱρετικῶν θηρῶν ὧδέ τε κἀκεῖσε, ἐν ὄρεσιν, ἐν σπηλαίοις κρυπταζόμενοι καὶ τελειοῦντες τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ τὸν δρόμον, εὐχόμενοί τε καὶ περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ εἰς τὸ σῴζεσθαι. Ὁ σὺν ἐμοὶ προσαγορεύει. 358 {1Ναυκρατίῳ τέκνῳ}1 Ὅτι ἀνέσφηλας, εἰ καὶ μὴ τελέως, ἧς ἐπάλαισας δυσφορωτάτης ἀσθενείας μαθὼν ηὐχαρίστησα τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἠγαπημένε. ἔστι δὲ ἡ νόσος γυμναστήριον ψυχῆς, συμφερόντως παρὰ τοῦ οἰκονομοῦντος τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς θεοῦ ἐπαγομένη, ἐφ' ᾗ εὐδοκεῖν ἡμᾶς δεῖν· ὅταν γὰρ ἀσθενῶ, φησίν, τότε δυνατός εἰμι. Οὕτως μὲν οὗτος ὁ λόγος. τί δὲ ἡ μανία τοῦ ἐλεεινοῦ Λεοντίου καθ' ἡμῶν, οὕτως τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἐκθλίβοντος λίαν καὶ χωρὶς αἱματεκχυσίας αἰσθητῆς τὸ αἷμα αὐτῶν κενοῦντος τῇ τῶν σαρκῶν κατατήξει; ὅμως, ἵνα ὁ λόγος τοῦ Κυρίου πληρωθῇ, ὅτι καὶ ἐχθροὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οἱ οἰκιακοὶ αὐτοῦ· μὴ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς οὐ πρὸς τοῦ οἰκείου μαθητοῦ προδίδοται εἰς θάνατον; ὅρα οὖν οἱ ἀθλοῦντες τίνι ὡμοίωνται, ὅτι Χριστῷ τῷ πρωτομάρτυρι, καὶ τίνι ὁ κολαστὴς ἐπέοικεν, ὅτι οὐ μόνον Ἰούδᾳ τῷ δυσγνώμονι, ἀλλὰ καὶ Πιλάτῳ καὶ Καϊάφᾳ τοῖς θεοκτόνοις. ἐκ προλαβόντων ἧκεν καὶ τὰ παρόντα ἀκόλουθα τῷ δεινῷ Λεοντίῳ, ὡς οἶσθα, ἐκ μοιχειανισμοῦ εἰς τὸ εἰκονομαχεῖν, μᾶλλον δὲ χριστομαχεῖν, καὶ τοσοῦτον εἰς ἀσέβειαν πρὸς τὸν κρατοῦντα, ὅσον καὶ κατὰ τοὔνομα ἐγγίζων τῆς κλήσεως· ὁ μὲν γὰρ Λέων τὸ κύριον, ὁ δὲ Λεόντιος τὸ παράγωγον, ὡς ἐκ πυρὸς φλόξ καὶ ἐκ σιδήρου κέντρον. ἀλλ' ἐγγὺς Κύριος τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν αὐτόν, συντρίψων τὸ κέντρον, λεπτύνων δὲ καὶ τὸν σίδηρον. διὸ μὴ ἐκκακῶμεν τοῖς παθήμασιν, ἀδελφέ, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ἡ μακροπάθεια δοκιμῆς ἔργον καὶ στεφάνων πληθυσμὸς πᾶσι τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τὸν θεὸν γίνεται, καθάπερ ἄνωθεν καὶ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τοῖς ἁγίοις. ἐπικρατείτω λοιπὸν ὁ χρόνος, πληθυνέσθωσαν οἱ μάρτυρες, δοκιμαζέσθω ὁ ἀκίβδηλος χρυσός· οὐ γὰρ εἴη ἀξιόδεκτος τῷ χρυσεψητῇ θεῷ τις μὴ κεκαθαρμένος, ταῖς ἀρκούσαις διαπυρώσεσι τὸ δοκίμιον τῆς πίστεως ἀποδεικνύς. Περὶ τοῦ Εὐπρεπιανοῦ ὅτι οὕτως, λυπηρόν μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ, πλὴν εὐκτέον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ. οὐχ οὕτως δὲ ἔχει, οἶδα κἀγώ, περὶ ὧν ἠρώτησας, ὅμως ὅτι κρυπτάγιοι οἱ τοιοῦτοι, εἰς τὸ ἀεὶ λευκοφοροῦντες ἔξω, κἂν ἔνδοθεν φαιοφόροι ὡς μονάζοντες ἢ μονάζουσαι. τοῦτο γὰρ τρόπος οἰκονομίας, ὁ παρὰ τὴν ὑπόκρισιν λεγόμενος, ἐπὶ μικρὸν καὶ χρόνον καὶ τόπον ὑπαλλάξαι καὶ σχῆμα καὶ ἕξιν καὶ ἀναστροφήν, οὐ τὸ εἰς ἀεί· καὶ τοῦ μὲν πρώτου πράκτωρ ὁ Ἅγιος Ἀβράμιος, τοῦ δευτέρου ὁ Ἅγιος ∆αυίδ, τοῦ δὲ τρίτου ὁ Ἅγιος Πέτρος. δυοῖν οὖν προκειμένων κακῶν, πτώσεως καὶ χωλεύσεως, τὸ κουφότερον αἱρετέον, ἤγουν τὸ δεύτερον· συμφέρει γὰρ κρυπτομόναχον εἶναι καὶ ἀμέθεκτον τῆς ἀσεβείας ἐξ ἀδυναμίας προφασιζομένης ἢ ἔκπτωτον γενέσθαι παντάπασιν. Περὶ οὗ εἴρηκας διὰ στόματος τοῦ γραμματηφόρου ὀγδόου κεφαλαίου ἐλλιπῶς ἔχειν διὰ τὸ ὑπὸ κανόνα κεῖσθαι τοῦ Ἁγίου Πέτρου ἠγνόουν. κρατείτω ὁ κανών· τίς γάρ εἰμι ἐγὼ ὁ τάλας ἵνα ἀντινομοθετῶ; πλὴν ὅτι συμβουλευτικῶς καὶ ἃ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις κεφαλαίοις καὶ ἐν οἷς ἄρτι ἐπεζήτησας καὶ ἐφ' οἷς παρ' ἄλλων ἐρωτηθεὶς ἀπεκρίθην, οὐ κανονικῶς, οὐ νομοθετικῶς ὅσον εἰς προῦπτον πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω, ἐπεὶ μὴ θεμιτὸν μηδὲ ἐξουσιαστικόν· ἱερεὺς γάρ εἰμι, εἰ καὶ ἀνάξιος, οὐκ ἱεράρχης· τοῦ τοιούτου γὰρ καὶ τῶν αὐτῷ ὁμοταγῶν καθολικῶς κανονίζειν καὶ νομοθετεῖν. 359 {1Πρὸς τοὺς ἀντιλέγοντας μὴ περιγραπτὸν εἶναι τὸν Χριστόν}1 Ὁ μὴ περιγραπτὸν εἶναι σώματος χαρακτῆρι τὸν Χριστὸν λέγων εἱρμῷ τινι πάντως φυσικῷ καὶ ἀποδείξει λογικῇ κεχρημένος τὴν περὶ τούτου ἔνστασιν πεποίηται εἰς βεβαίωσιν ἀληθείας καὶ διασάφησιν τῶν