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men, but also women, as Christ is denied both in word and in deed, which was not seen in the ancient heresies; in word, by the impious saying that it is not possible for Christ to be depicted in bodily form, and in deed, because they tear down every holy icon of Christ, of the Theotokos, of angels, of every male and female saint from every church, from every sacred votive offering, handing them over to fire, mocking, laughing at the great mystery of piety, calling the depicted Christ with his mother and servants an abomination. Which to think and say and do is characteristic of Jews and Greeks; for the Arabs and Scythians, showing reverence, have not been seen to have done any such thing. How then are these things not a denial of the economy of Christ? But let the discourse turn to the proposals. a. some of their own free will submitted without compulsion; b. others after blows; c. others through threat alone; d. others without threat and tortures, through fear alone; e. others so as not to lose their property; f. and some even through ignorance. When these return, how should they be received? All of them, that is, by showing forth fruits worthy of repentance. And what are these? Abstention from the holy things with weeping and painful prayer: for the first group, for three years; for the second, for two years; for the third, fourth, and fifth, the same as for the first; for the sixth, for one year. After the fulfillment, how should they be treated? If one is from the priestly order and did not sign, no longer partaking of the impious communion, let him be as in the rank to which he was appointed; but if he has also signed, let him be barred from the sacred ministry until an orthodox synod, yet still partaking of the holy things. Is it permitted to eat with those who are completely impious, who commune with others either by necessity for fear's sake, or because of famine, or even without necessity, or even by violence, but who confess themselves to be orthodox? By no means whatsoever, unless perhaps in extreme circumstances, not indifferently, but out of some necessary manner once or twice. Is it permitted to eat the leftovers of their food, either by necessity or without necessity, because the cross has been formed on them? If it is from a priest, by no means; but if not, it may be taken under compulsion. Is it permitted to enter their oratory for the sake of prayer, and is it permitted to celebrate the holy anaphora in it with one's own altar? By no means either. Is it permitted to say 'hail' to them and to greet them? By no means, as Basil the Great says, the Lord forbade the common greeting; so this may happen by chance, but out of love and friendship it is to be avoided, so that in this may be fulfilled: one may not say 'hail' to the impious. There are some from the monasteries who have not associated either in deed or in word, securing their salvation by flight and then returning again after the withdrawal of the impious. This would be well; but if a church was also served by the impious, if it was once, let them enter, performing only their prayers in it, but if many times, let them withdraw far from it. There are some laypeople or even monks who strongly detest or even lament the impiety, but because of the threats of the godless they approach their communion, believing it to be poison, and they ask us to make prayer for them; is it permitted to give them a share of the divine mysteries? It is permitted to make prayer, but not to give a share, no matter what they might say or do. If they set up crosses along the public roads, is it permitted to venerate them? It should not be forbidden. Is it permitted to bring forward the offerings of such people? By no means. These things, therefore, as the Lord brought to our mind, we have uttered, not as legislation (since we are not among the hierarchs; for it is theirs to formulate things canonically), but as counsel, since we are of the same rank as you and since, from the lack of those who ought to formulate things hierarchically, we have been compelled by you to come to this. But you, most holy fathers, forgive, if there is anything displeasing to you in what has been said. except that the physician both of soul and of body, both the quality of the person and the particularity of the time, and the disposition and

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ἄνδρες, ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναῖκες, ὡς λογικῶς τε καὶ πραγματικῶς ἀρνουμένου Χριστοῦ, ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν πάλαι αἱρέσεων οὐκ ὦπται· λογικῶς μὲν ἐν τῷ φαίειν τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς μὴ οἷόν τε ἐγγεγράφθαι Χριστὸν σώματος χαρακτῆρι, πραγματικῶς δέ, ὅτι καθαιροῦσι πᾶσαν εἰκόνα ἁγίαν Χριστοῦ, τῆς Θεοτόκου, ἀγγέλων, ἁγίου παντὸς καὶ ἁγίας ἐκ πάσης ἐκκλησίας, ἀπὸ παντὸς ἱεροῦ ἀναθήματος, πυρὶ παραδιδόντες, ἐπιτωθάζοντες, γελῶντες τὸ μέγα τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον, βδέλυγμα Χριστὸν ἐγγεγραμμένον σὺν μητρὶ καὶ θεράπουσιν ἀποκαλοῦντες. ὅπερ φρονεῖν καὶ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν Ἰουδαίων ἐστὶ καὶ Ἑλλήνων· οἱ γὰρ Ἄραβες καὶ Σκύθαιαἰδοῖ χρώμενοι οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ἐφάνησαν πεποιηκότες. πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄρνησις τῆς οἰκονομίας Χριστοῦ ταῦτα; Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὰς προτάσεις ὁ λόγος. ˉα. τινὲς ἐξ ἰδίας προαιρέσεως ὑπέκυψαν ἄνευ τοῦ καταναγκάζοντος· ˉβ. ἄλλοι μετὰ πληγῶν· ˉγ. ἄλλοι δὲ δι' ἀπειλῆς καὶ μόνης· ˉδ. ἕτεροι ἄνευ ἀπειλῆς καὶ βασάνων, δέει καὶ μόνον· ˉε. ἄλλοι διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐκπεσεῖν τῶν ἰδίων· ˉς. τινὲς δὲ καὶ κατὰ ἄγνοιαν. τούτους ἐπιστρέφοντας πῶς δεῖ ἀποδέχεσθαι; ἐπιδεικνυμένους δῆλα δὴ ἀξίους καρποὺς τῆς μετανοίας ἅπαντας. τίνες δὲ οὗτοι; ἀποχὴ τῶν ἁγιασμάτων μετὰ προσκλαύσεως καὶ ἐπιπόνου δεήσεως, ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν πρώτων τριετίζουσα, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν δευτέρων διετίζουσα· ἐπὶ τῶν τρίτων καὶ τετάρτων καὶ πέμπτων ἡ τῶν πρώτων, ἐπὶ τῶν ἕκτων ἐνιαυσιαία. μετὰ τὴν ἐκπλήρωσιν πῶς δεῖ ἔχειν αὐτούς; εἰ μὲν ἐκ τοῦ ἱερατικοῦ πληρώματος καὶ οὐχ ὑπέγραψεν, μηκέτι μετέχων τῆς ἀσεβοῦς κοινωνίας τις, ὡς ἐν ᾧ ἐτέτακτο κλήρῳ· εἰ δὲ καὶ ὑπογράψας εἴη, ὡς εἰργόμενος τῆς ἱερουργίας ἕως ὀρθοδόξου συνόδου, κοινωνῶν δ' οὖν ὅμως τῶν ἁγιασμάτων. τοῖς πάντῃ ἀσεβέσιν, εἰ ἔξεστιν κατὰ ἀνάγκην δέους ἕνεκα ἢ διὰ λιμὸν ἢ καὶ ἄνευ ἀνάγκης ἢ καὶ διὰ βίαν ἄλλοις κοινωνοῦσιν, ὀρθοδόξους δὲ ἑαυτοὺς ὁμολογοῦσι συνεσθίειν; οὐδαμῇ οὐδαμῶς, εἰ μή τί γε τοῖς ἐσχάτοις, οὐκ ἀδιαφόρως, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀναγκαίου τινὸς τρόπου ἅπαξ ἢ δίς. εἰ τῶν τούτοις ἐδωδίμων τὰ λείψανα ἐσθίειν κατὰ ἀνάγκην ἢ καὶ ἄνευ ἀνάγκης, διότι προεσχημάτισται ἐν αὐτοῖς ὁ σταυρός; εἰ μὲν παρὰ ἱερέως, οὐδαμῶς· εἰ δὲ μή, μεταληπτέον κατὰ βίαν. εἰ δεῖ εἰς εὐκτήριον αὐτῶν εἰσέρχεσθαι εὐχῆς χάριν καὶ εἰ δεῖ τὴν ἁγίαν ἀναφορὰν ἐν αὐτῷ ἐπιτελεῖν μετὰ ἰδίας τραπέζης; οὐδαμῶς ἑκάτερον. εἰ δεῖ χαίρειν αὐτοῖς λέγειν καὶ ἀσπάζεσθαι; οὐδαμῶς, ὥς φησιν ὁ Μέγας Βασίλειος, ὁ Κύριος ἐκώλυσεν τὸν κοινὸν ἀσπασμόν· ὥστε τοῦτο κατὰ σύμβασιν, ὡς δὲ ἐξ ἀγάπης καὶ φιλίας φευκτέον, ἵνα πληρωθῇ ἐν τούτῳ· οὐκ ἔστι λέγειν χαίρειν τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν. εἰσί τινες τῶν μοναστηρίων, οἳ οὔτε ἔργῳ οὔτε λόγῳ συνῆλθον, φυγῇ τὴν σωτηρίαν ποριζόμενοι καὶ πάλιν μετὰ τὴν ὑποχώρησιν τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνθυποστρέφοντες. εὖ ἂν ἔχοι· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐλειτουργήθη ἐκκλησία ὑπὸ τῶν ἀσεβῶν, εἰ μὲν ἅπαξ, εἰσίτωσαν, ἐπιτελοῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ τὰς προσευχὰς μόνον, εἰ δὲ πολλάκις, ὑποχωρείτωσαν ταύτης πόρρω. κοσμικοί τινές εἰσιν ἢ καὶ μοναχοί, σφοδρῶς μυσαττόμενοι ἢ καὶ ἀποδυρόμενοι τὴν ἀσέβειαν, διὰ δὲ τὰς ἀπειλὰς τῶν ἀθέων προσέρχονται τῇ αὐτῶν κοινωνίᾳ, οἰόμενοι αὐτὴν δηλητήριον εἶναι, αἰτοῦνται δὲ εὐχὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἡμᾶς ποιεῖσθαι· εἰ ἔξεστιν αὐτοῖς μεταδιδόναι τῶν θείων μυστηρίων; εὐχὴν μὲν ποιεῖσθαι ἐξόν, οὐ μὴν μεταδιδεῖν, κἂν ὅ τι ἂν λέγωσιν ἢ πράττωσιν. σταυροὺς ἐὰν ἱστῶσιν κατὰ τὰς λεωφόρους, εἰ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν; οὐ κωλυτέον. εἰ δεῖ τῶν τοιούτων τὰς προσφορὰς προσκομίζειν; οὐδαμῶς. Ταῦτα οὖν, ὡς ὁ Κύριος κατὰ νοῦν ἐπήγαγεν ἡμῖν, ἐφθεγξάμεθα, οὐ νομοθετικῶς (ἐπεὶ μηδὲ ἐσμὲν τῶν ἱεραρχούντων· αὐτῶν γὰρ τὸ τυποῦν κανονικῶς), ἀλλὰ συμβουλευτικῶς, ἐπεὶ ἐσμὲν ὑμῖν ὁμοταγεῖς καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐξ ἀπορίας τῶν ἱεραρχικῶς ὀφειλόντων τυπῶσαι ἀναγκασθέντες ὑφ' ὑμῶν ἐληλύθαμεν εἰς τοῦτο. ὑμεῖς δέ, ἁγιώτατοι πατέρες, σύγγνωτε, εἴ τί ἐστιν ἀπαρέσκον ὑμῖν ἐν τοῖς εἰρημένοις. πλὴν ὅτι ὁ ἰατρὸς καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος καὶ προσώπου ποιότητα καὶ καιροῦ ἰδιότητα, ἕξιν τε καὶ