217

for me, the small and lowly one, to hear merely a salutation from her, which I have now received by letter from your fellow-combatant, my holy father of Kathara, having been cheerfully prompted, I came to write, with my words bringing no benefit to your god-perfected virtue, since it is poor and artless, but for me, the sinner, creating a consolation, like some child conversing with a most admirable father, who is competing nobly for Christ. For I understand the place where you are held to be a place of punishment, chosen not for its location, but by the malice of the one in power. And so an approved tormentor has met with a more approved antagonist, and the theater is common, for the impious, in the hope of obtaining their desires, which the Lord strikes down, but for us, a place of contest (for how could it not be?), yet also a place of steadfastness, as we are hardened in manliness for the contest. This is my brief address, which, having condescendingly received it, you will repay me with holy prayers for the salvation of my soul, O most holy and thrice-longed for. 365 {1To Tithoes, my child}1 Your letter, brother, is good and fitting, having neither much verbiage nor lacking what is needed, so that as I read it with pleasure I bless you and pray that you may be steadfast in both word and deed. Be strong, therefore, and be courageous, always preparing yourself for death for the Lord's sake, being skilled in reading, in the comprehension of the dogmas of truth and indeed of the piety set before you. Rejoice and do not be grieved, but give thanks to Christ who has loved you, that you have reached such a measure of his confession, on which depends eternal life and inexpressible joy, even if we are cut limb from limb, not just if we are imprisoned and isolated and shiver with cold and are given little bread. For he who is not so prepared withers like grass or rather falls away, as those who have fallen away have fallen. You, therefore, my child, stand firm, endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ, fulfill your confession, extending a hand, as I also wrote before, to the brothers in the Stoudios monastery, if they are still safe in the Lord, since they belong to you especially as fellow combatants and companions. May the Lord make you golden in the purity of your heart. Pray for us sinners, beloved. 366 {1To Silvanus, my child}1 I have praised my God, my child, having learned of your health through your letter, and I was very pleased that you fled from those in the city, having joined your brother Lucian. And you live in such a place, from which boasting and tumult and the flame of heresy have fled, but where quiet and tranquility dwell, from which a good disposition is engendered in the soul, and especially for you it is both rewarded and brotherly in this one's grief, and for me a great comfort, who do not bear it without feeling. You are blessed, beloved, for having thought well. May your company prosper in the Lord, may your work be directed in a holy manner, as you pray also for us sinners that we might be saved in all things. 367 {1To Euodius and John, my children}1 In a short syllable we saw your health and your preserved pair as if before our eyes, and we rejoice that you live in the Lord, even if in affliction (for how could it not be?) because of the persecution. But let hope lighten your sorrows. No one who rejoices with the joy of the world will rejoice in heaven, and no one who is afflicted here for the Lord's sake will fail to obtain eternal gladness. Strengthen yourselves, exhort one another, close ranks, make yourselves known, so that in deed and word you may be called servants of God, being deemed worthy of the blessing of the God-chosen. Always write, so that you may also always receive letter for letter. Pray also for us sinners, that we may be saved. 368 {1To Symeon, my child}1 Since I have read your letter and have learned where you are staying and how and with how many and what sort of your brothers, beloved child, I, the humble one, was very much relieved and I blessed both of you, and before the others, you, who are leading well and from a good state have taken the rest under your care. Therefore, may you be preserved for me together, living together in peace and harmony and the time of persecution

217

μοι τῷ σμικρῷ καὶ εὐτελεῖ τὸ καὶ μόνον προσηγορίαν ἀκοῦσαι παρ' αὐτῆς, ἣν νῦν ἐδεξάμην ὑπὸ τοῦ συνάθλου σου πατρός μου ἁγίου τῶν Καθαρᾶ διὰ γράμματος, εὐθύμως ἀφορμηθεὶς ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὸ γράφειν, οὐδεμίαν ὄνησιν φέροντος τοῦ λόγου τῇ θεοτελεῖ σου ἀρετῇ, ἐπεὶ πενιχρὸς καὶ ἀσύφηλος, ἐμοὶ δὲ τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ παρηγορίαν ἐμποιοῦντος, ὡς παιδί τινι πατρὶ ἀξιαγάστῳ διαλεγομένῳ, ἐναθλοῦντι γενναίως ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ· συνίημι γὰρ τὸν τόπον, ἐν ᾧ κατέχῃ, κολαστήριον εἶναι, ἐκλελεγμένον οὐ τῇ θέσει τοῦ τόπου, ἀλλὰ τῇ κακώσει τοῦ κρατοῦντος. καὶ συνῆλθεν εἰς ταὐτὸν δόκιμος κολαστὴς πρὸς δοκιμώτερον ἀνταγωνιστήν, καὶ τὸ θέατρον κοινόν, τοῖς μὲν ἀσεβέσι κατ' ἐλπίδα τεύξεσθαι τῶν ἐφετῶν, ἣν ὁ Κύριος ἀπορραπίζει, ἡμῖν δὲ ἐναγώνιον (πῶς γὰρ οὔ;), ὅμως καὶ ἑδράσιμον, ἐν τῇ εὐανδρίᾳ στομουμένοις πρὸς τὴν ἄθλησιν. Αὕτη μου ἡ βραχεῖα προσφώνησις, ἣν συγκαταβατικῶς δεξάμενος ἀνταμείψεταί μοι τὰς ἱερὰς προσευχὰς εἰς ψυχῆς σωτήριον, ἁγιώτατε ὁμοῦ καὶ τριπόθητε. 365 {1Τιθόῃ τέκνῳ}1 Καλῶς καὶ προσηκόντως, ἀδελφέ, τὸ γράμμα σου, οὔτε πολυλογίαν ἔχον οὔτε ἐλλεῖπον τοῦ δέοντος, ὥστε με ἡδέως ἀναγινώσκοντα εὐλογεῖν σε καὶ εὔχεσθαι διαρκῆ εἶναι καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ. ἴσχυε οὖν ἔτι καὶ ἀνδρίζου, ἑαυτὸν ἀεὶ παρασκευάζων εἰς τὸν ὑπὲρ Κυρίου θάνατον, τεχνούμενος ἐν ἀναγνώσει, ἐν τῇ καταλήψει τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας δογμάτων καί γε τῆς προκειμένης εὐσεβείας. χαῖρε καὶ μὴ λυποῦ, ἀλλ' εὐχαρίστει τὸν ἠγαπηκότα σε Χριστὸν ἐν τοιούτῳ μέτρῳ φθάσαι τῆς ὁμολογίας αὐτοῦ, ἐφ' ᾗ ζωὴ αἰώνιος καὶ χαρὰ ἀνεκλάλητος, κἂν μελοκοπώμεθα, οὐχ ὅτι ἐὰν ἐγκεκλείσμεθα καὶ μονούμεθα καὶ ῥιγῶμεν καὶ ὀλιγοψωμιζώμεθα· ὁ γὰρ μὴ οὕτως παρεσκευασμένος ξηραίνεται ὡσεὶ χόρτος ἤγουν ἐκπίπτει, ὡς ἐξέπεσαν οἱ ἐκπεπτωκότες. Σὺ οὖν, ὦ τέκνον μου, στῆθι, κακοπάθησον ὡς καλὸς στρατιώτης Χριστοῦ, τὴν ὁμολογίαν σου ἐκπλήρωσον, ὀρέγων χεῖρα, καθὰ καὶ γέγραφα πρότερον, τοῖς εἰς τὰ Στουδίου ἀδελφοῖς, εἰ ἔτι σῴζονται ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἐπειδὴ ἐξαιρέτως ἀνήκουσί σοι ὡς σύναθλοι καὶ σύνοδοι. ὁ Κύριος χρυσώσοι σε τῇ καθαρότητι τῆς καρδίας. προσεύχου περὶ ἡμῶν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, ἠγαπημένε. 366 {1Σιλουανῷ τέκνῳ}1 Ἤινεσα τὸν θεόν μου, μαθών σου διὰ τοῦ γράμματος, τέκνον, τὴν ὑγιείαν, ἥσθην δὲ καὶ πάνυ ὅτι ἐξέδραμες τῶν ἐν ἄστει, συναφθεὶς τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου Λουκιανῷ· καὶ ζῆτε ἐν τοιούτῳ τόπῳ, οὗ ἀπέδρα κόμπος καὶ τάραχος καὶ ἡ τῆς αἱρέσεως φλόξ, ἐναυλίζεται δὲ ἡσυχία καὶ ἀταραξία, ἀφ' ὧν ἐγγίνεται ἕξις ἀγαθὴ τῇ ψυχῇ, μάλιστα δὲ καὶ σοὶ ἔμμισθον ὁμοῦ καὶ φιλάδελφον ἐν τῇ λύπῃ τοῦδε καὶ ἐμοὶ εὐπαρήγορον, οὐκ ἀπαθῶς φέροντι. εὐλογημένος εἶ, ἀγαπητέ, καλῶς διανοηθείς. εὐοδωθείη ὑμῶν τὸ σύνταγμα ἐν Κυρίῳ, κατευθυνθείη ὑμῶν τὸ ἔργον ὁσίως, εὐκτικῶς ἐχόντων καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν ἵνα σῳζοίμεθα κατὰ πάντα. 367 {1Εὐοδίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννῃ τέκνοισ}1 Μικρᾷ συλλαβῇ τὴν ὑγείαν καὶ σεσωσμένην ὑμῶν δυάδα εἴδομεν ὡς κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ χαίρομεν ὅτι ζῆτε ἐν Κυρίῳ κἂν θλιπτικῶς (πῶς γὰρ οὔ;) τῷ διωγμῷ. ἀλλ' ἡ ἐλπὶς κουφιζέτω τὰ λυποῦντα· οὐδεὶς χαίρων τὴν τοῦ κόσμου χαρὰν χαρήσεται εἰς οὐρανοὺς καὶ οὐδεὶς θλιβόμενος διὰ Κύριον ἔνθεν ἀποτεύξεται τῆς αἰωνίου ἀγαλλιάσεως. στερεοῦτε ἑαυτούς, παρακαλεῖτε, συμφράττεσθε, γνωσιματίζεσθε, ὡς ἂν ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ δοῦλοι θεοῦ χρηματίζοιτε, τῆς τοῦ θεολέκτου μακαρισμοῦ καταξιούμενοι. Ἀεὶ γράφετε, ἵνα καὶ ἀεὶ δέχησθε ἐπιστολῇ ἐπιστολήν. προσεύχεσθε καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν εἰς τὸ σῴζεσθαι. 368 {1Συμεὼν τέκνῳ}1 Ἐπειδὴ ἀνέγνων σου τὴν ἐπιστολὴν καὶ κατέμαθον ὅπου καθέζῃ καὶ ὅπως καὶ μεθ' ὅσους καὶ οἵους ἀδελφούς σου, τέκνον ἠγαπημένον, πάνυ ἀνεπάην ὁ ταπεινὸς καὶ εὐλόγησα ἀμφοτέρους καὶ πρό γε τῶν ἄλλων σέ, τὸν καλῶς προηγούμενον καὶ ἐξ ἀγαθῆς καταστάσεως ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν ἑλόντα καὶ τοὺς λοιπούς. τοιγαροῦν φυλαχθείητέ μοι ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, συζῶντες ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ ὁμονοίᾳ καὶ τὸν τοῦ διωγμοῦ καιρὸν