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has given a helmsman to his own church, unshaken, unwavering, holding fast the word of life, signaling the light of confession to the world. But if the winter has not yet passed away, even if some small brightness has flashed, one must not lose heart, O thrice-blessed one; for the Lord, who gave this small spark of peace, is able, being moved by your God-inclined prayers, to unfold the whole springtime of orthodoxy and then it is clear that, whenever the cloud of wrath is completely changed and the desire of the God-loving is tested more brilliantly. These things I have now dared to mutter like a little dog to my truly good chief shepherd, who has also received the venerable manual with exceeding joy. 424 {1To John the Logothete}1 The time has opened a door of free speech for us to speak to good men and friends alike; and of such men who could be greater than your piety? you who for this very piety endured not a few afflictions and hardships from him who both offended God and destroyed the world in impiety and cast away his life in a manner equal to his apostasy, not in a holy place, though what is said may be a bugbear (because a holy temple of God profaned by heretics is not holy, but a common house, as Basil the Great says), the angel presiding over it, as over each church, having withdrawn on account of the impiety. wherefore not even the sacrifice performed in it is acceptable to God; and hear Him saying: the impious man who sacrifices a calf to me is as one who kills a dog. But if you were to take it that the impious man died in a temple, this manner would also be fitting; for it was necessary, necessary that he who acted against the temples of God should see in a temple the swords drawn against him, it was necessary that he who destroyed the divine altar should be destroyed at an altar, that a cutting be brought upon the hand stretched out in insolence against Christ, that a sword run destructively through the head that had been moved, that a fatal blow should come against the shoulder that was raised to torture the pious, that he should be sent away dishonored from the royal courts, who dishonored the holy icon of Christ, of the Theotokos and of any of the saints. Why indeed, my lord, have I so dramatized the death of the most accursed one? Because it is necessary from this not only for the pious emperor to recognize the result fitting for the impiety of the impious man, but also for every man. And I greatly wonder how our good master, knowing this, does not triumph over the impiety of the polluter and does not grant to himself and to his subjects the atonement of orthodoxy as a king of peaceful rule in imitation of Christ. For this reason I, the humble one, ask and implore you, the most pious, to hasten, just as I have heard that you have been moved, to give yourself wholly to the restoration of the faith, in which is the salvation of both the state and of every subject. 425 {1To Pantoleon the Logothete}1 The virtue of others has been made known to us by hearing, but yours, my most honorable master, formerly by sight, but now by hearing, has reached even the remote place where we are. And what is the report? That your spirit-moved mouth has spoken boldly to speak the wisdom of God, words of truth for the benefit and salvation of your own soul and of our entire church. and blessed are you and blessed is your name and may all the pious who have heard praise you; and a crown of graces is upon your honored head and a golden collar upon your sacred neck, son of obedience, child of light, offspring of piety. Thus says the Lord: open your mouth and I will fill it because you have obeyed my voice. For it is a command of the Lord not to be silent at a time when faith is in danger; for speak, He says, and do not be silent; and, if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him; and, if these should be silent, the stones will cry out. So that, when the subject is about faith, it is not possible to say: "4Who am I? A priest? By no means. A ruler? Not even so. A soldier? And how? A farmer? Not even this. A poor man, providing only for his daily food. I have no say or concern about the matter at hand"5. Woe, the

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κυβερνήτην τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐδωρήσατο, ἄσειστον, ἀκράδαν τον, λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντα, φῶς ὁμολογίας τῇ ὑφηλίῳ πυρσεύοντα. εἰ δὲ ὅτι ὁ χειμὼν οὐ τί που παρῆλθεν, εἰ καί τις μικρὰ αἰθρία ὑπήστραψεν, οὐκ ἀθυμητέον, ὦ τρισμακάριστε· δυνατὸς γὰρ ὁ δοὺς τὸ βραχὺ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐμπύρευμα Κύριος, ταῖς θεοκλινέσι σου καμπτόμενος προσευχαῖς, καὶ τὸ ὅλον τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας ἀναπετάσαι ἔαρ καὶ τότε δῆλον ὅτι, ὁπότε καὶ τὸ τῆς ὀργῆς νέφος ἀμειφθείη τέλεον καὶ ὁ πόθος τῶν θεοφιλῶν δοκιμασθείη λαμπρότερον. Ταῦτά μοι νῦν τετόλμηται ὥσπερ τι κυνίδιον γρύξαι τῷ χρηστῷ μου ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀρχιποίμενι, εἰληφότι καὶ τὸ προσκυνητὸν ἐγχειρίδιον μεθ' ὑπερβαλλούσης ἀγαλλιάσεως. 424 {1Ἰωάννῃ λογοθέτῃ}1 Ἤνοιξεν ὁ καιρὸς θύραν παρρησίας φθέγξασθαι ἡμᾶς ἀγαθοῖς ἀνδράσιν ὁμοῦ τε καὶ φίλοις· τῶν δὲ τοιούτων τίς ἂν εἴη μείζων τῆς σῆς εὐσεβείας; ὅς γε δι' αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ εὐσεβεῖν σε οὐκ ὀλίγας ἀνέτλης θλίψεις τε καὶ κακώσεις παρὰ τοῦ καὶ θεῷ προσκρούσαντος καὶ κόσμον ὀλέσαντος ἐν ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ ἰσόρροπον τῆς ἀποστασίας τὴν ζωὴν ἀπορρήξαντος, οὐκ ἐν ἁγίῳ τόπῳ, κἂν μορμολύττῃ τὸ λεγόμενον (διότι οὐ ναὸς θεοῦ ἅγιος ὁ ὑφ' αἱρετικῶν βεβηλούμενος, ἀλλ' οἶκος κοινός, ὥς φησιν ὁ Μέγας Βασίλειος), τοῦ ἐφεστῶτος ἀγγέλου ἐν αὐτῷ ὡς ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἐκκλησίας ὑπεκστάντος διὰ τὴν ἀσέβειαν. διόπερ οὐδ' ἡ τελουμένη ἐν αὐτῷ θυσία θεῷ εὐπρόσδεκτος· καὶ ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· ὁ ἀσεβὴς ὁ θύων μοι μόσχον ὡς ὁ ἀποκτένων κύνα. εἰ δὲ καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ ναοῦ λάβοις τεθνάναι τὸν ἀσεβῆ, ἁρμόσειεν καὶ οὗτος ὁ τρόπος· ἔδει γάρ, ἔδει τὸν κατὰ τῶν ναῶν τοῦ θεοῦ γενόμενον ἐν ναῷ ἰδεῖν τὰ κατ' αὐτοῦ γυμνούμενα ξίφη, ἔδει τὸν τὸ θεῖον θυσιαστήριον ἀφανίσαντα ἐν θυσιαστηρίῳ ἐξαφανισθῆναι, κατὰ τῆς ἐκταθείσης ἐφ' ὕβρει Χριστοῦ χειρὸς τομὴν ἐπαχθῆναι, κατὰ τῆς κινηθείσης κεφαλῆς ὀλεθρίως ξίφος διελάσαι, κατὰ τοῦ ὤμου τοῦ ἐπ' αἰκισμῷ τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἐπαρθέντος καιρίαν ἐλθεῖν πληγήν, ἄτιμον ἀποπεμφθῆναι τῶν βασιλικῶν αὐλῶν τὸν ἀτιμάσαντα τὴν ἁγίαν Χριστοῦ εἰκόνα, τῆς Θεοτόκου καὶ οὑτινοσοῦν τῶν ἁγίων. Τί δήποτε οὕτως σοι, κύριέ μου, ἐξετραγῴδησα τοῦ ἐξαγίστου τὸν θάνατον; ὅτι ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν ἐντεῦθεν οὐ μόνον τὸν εὐσεβῆ βασιλέα ἐπιγνῶναι τὸ κατάλληλον τῇ ἀσεβείᾳ τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς ἀποτέλεσμα, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντα ἄνθρωπον. καὶ ἄγαμαι λίαν πῶς ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἡμῶν δεσπότης γνοὺς τοῦτο οὐ θριαμβεύει τὴν τοῦ παλαμναίου δυσσέβειαν καὶ χαρίζεται ἑαυτῷ τε καὶ τῷ ὑπηκόῳ τὸ τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας ἐξίλασμα ὡς βασιλεὺς εἰρηναρχίας χριστομιμήτως. διὰ τοῦτο αἰτῶ, ἀντιβολῶ ὁ ταπεινὸς ἐπειχθῆναί σε τὸν εὐσεβέστατον, καθάπερ καὶ ἤκουσταί μοι ὅτι ἐκινήθης, δοῦναι ἑαυτὸν ὁλικῶς εἰς ἀνόρθωσιν τῆς πίστεως, ἐν ᾗ ἐστι τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ τε κράτους καὶ τοῦ ὑπηκόου παντός. 425 {1Παντολέοντι λογοθέτῃ}1 Ἄλλων μὲν ἡ ἀρετὴ ἐξ ἀκοῆς ἡμῖν διέγνωσται, σοῦ δὲ τοῦ ὑπερτίμου δεσπότου μου πρότερον δι' ὄψεως, νῦν δὲ ἐξ ἀκοῆς μέχρι τῆς ἐσχατιᾶς ἐν ᾗ ἐσμεν φθασάσης. τίς δὲ ὁ λόγος; ὅτι ἐπαρρησιάσατό σου τὸ πνευματοκίνητον στόμα λαλῆσαι σοφίαν θεοῦ, λόγους ἀληθείας ἐπ' ὠφελείᾳ καὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῆς τε οἰκείας ψυχῆς καὶ πάσης τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐκκλησίας. καὶ μακάριος εἶ καὶ εὐλογημένον τὸ ὄνομά σου καὶ σὲ αἰνέσαισαν πάντες οἱ ἀκούσαντες εὐσεβεῖς· καὶ στέφανος χαρίτων ἐπὶ τὴν τιμίαν σου κάραν καὶ κλοιὸν χρύσεον ἐπὶ τὸν ἱερόν σου τράχηλον, υἱὲ ὑπακοῆς, τέκνον φωτός, θρέμμα εὐσεβείας. τάδε λέγει Κύριος· ἄνοιξον τὸ στόμα σου καὶ πληρώσω αὐτὸ ἀνθ' ὧν ὑπήκουσας φωνῆς μου. ἐντολὴ γὰρ Κυρίου μὴ σιωπᾶν ἐν καιρῷ κινδυνευούσης πίστεως· λάλει γάρ, φησί, καὶ μὴ σιώπα· καί, ἐὰν ὑποστέλληται, οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν αὐτῷ· καί, ἐὰν οὗτοι σιωπήσωσιν, οἱ λίθοι κεκράξονται. ὥστε, ὅτε περὶ πίστεως ὁ λόγος, οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν· "4ἐγὼ τίς εἰμι; ἱερεύς; ἀλλ' οὐδαμῶς· ἄρχων; καὶ οὐδ' οὕτως· στρατιώτης; καὶ ποῦ; γεωργός; καὶ οὐδ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο· πένης, μόνον τὴν ἐφήμερον τροφὴν ποριζόμενος· οὐδείς μοι λόγος καὶ φροντὶς περὶ τοῦ προκειμένου"5. οὐά, οἱ