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to your paternal holiness, when we returned from exile; since the attack of the Arabs, along with many others, dislodged us humble ones from our sojourn abroad and led us away before the city to the island of Prinkipo. Where what need is there to say how much we suffered from the crowd of exiles who were with us, and from the scorching heat and the undrinkable waters? Then, when we came nearer to Chalcedon, there one of the two of us fell into an unbearable sickness, which chastised our wretched flesh with pains of the kidneys for a week's time and, to put it simply, our journey had become more difficult. However, by the grace of God, these three accomplishments came to us: to venerate our most blessed archbishop, having received his holy prayers, then these and those of the holy fathers and brothers, and third, to resolve by the mercy of God the objections and oppositions, which the creators of peace, I know not from where, kindled against us; they had previously depicted us as schismatics from the communion of our divine archbishop, they declared us to be acting on our own authority in the penances of those who were caught in heretical communion, and other things, which it would be more troublesome to detail in writing. But, as was said before, by your prayers we have successfully met each one, and we have been shown to be in communion with our holy patriarch, who with exceeding condescension both received and treated us kindly and sent us away, with no record being made of any of the slanders, but indeed also concerning the lord Tarasios, who is commemorated among the saints; for the so-called lovers of the fathers said that we were separated from him and that we call the second holy synod in Nicaea a local one. But we commended ourselves both to hold him among the holy fathers and to confess the synod as ecumenical, in writing and unwritten, even if somewhere, sometime, somehow and to someone we answered otherwise. These things, just as those things done differently at that time, one must not now investigate and stir up; for it is a cause of disturbance and brings no benefit, but rather verbal disputes and a stumbling block to the church of God, that in this way and that, these men and those acted, wrote, each one thinking he held the truth. For many years, as you know, thrice-desired one, the celebrated matter was accomplished, having become known to East and West; it is not possible for either side to overturn the things done and written. Now is the time for concord, now is the time for joint struggle; the remnants of what has been written, if they seem to be well-disposed to those who come after, are worthy of praise, but if not, the opposite. The saying is faithful, and concerning this we wish to say nothing else either now or in the future; and the day of revelation, it says, will show it, and the final fire, by which our things are judged and purified. These things have been written of necessity, on the one hand as to a like-minded father and prince of peace, and on the other hand as one who knows that to speak of painful things brings relief to those who are in pain. But if, being entreated, you would appear to us humble ones, taking up the labor of love, you would surely make us more pleased in all things. Those with us greet your holiness many times. We too greet those with you many times, all-holy one. 476 {1To Niketas the spatharios}1 It was made known to me by your good brother that one of our hierarchs slandered me before the honorable person of your love, as one who deifies the icon of Christ, and that this is to be found in my letter to brother Athanasios. At this slander I, the humble one, groaned, considering how those who have been instructed that they will give an account even for an idle word on the day of judgment, speak so simply and unguardedly on such great matters (for what is greater than faith?), wounding the innocent with the arrow of accusation, and not rather, if indeed there was anything mistaken, to remind them in love according to what is written: you shall reprove your neighbor, and not take sin upon yourself because of him. But to slander in this way is not only destructive of the commandment,

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πατρικῇ σου ἁγιωσύνῃ, ὁπηνίκα ἀνθυπεστρέψαμεν τῆς φυγαδείας· ἐπείπερ ἡ τῶν Ἀράβων ἔφοδος σὺν πολλοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ταπεινούς, μεθεῖσα τῆς ξενίας, ἀπήγαγε πρὸ τοῦ ἄστεος ἐν τῇ Πριγκίπῳ νήσῳ. ἐν ᾗ ὅσον ἐταλαιπωρήσαμεν ἀπό τε τοῦ συνέχοντος ἡμᾶς φυγαδευτικοῦ λαοῦ, τοῦ τε καύσωνος καὶ τῶν δυσπότων ὑδάτων, τί δεῖ καὶ λέγειν; εἶτα, ἐπειδὴ προύβημεν ἐγγυτέρω κατὰ τὴν Χαλκηδόνα, ἐκεῖ τοῖν δυοῖν θάτερος κατεπέσαμεν ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ δυσοίστῳ, νεφριτικοῖς πόνοις παιδευούσῃ ἡμῶν τὴν ἐλεεινὴν σάρκα μέχρις ἑβδοματιαίου χρόνου καί, ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, ἀργαλεωτέρα ἡμῶν ἡ ὁδὸς ἐγεγόνει. ὅμως τρία ταῦτα γέγονεν ἡμῖν ἐπιτεύγματα θεοῦ χάριτι, τόν τε μακαριώτατον ἡμῶν ἀρχιερέα προσκυνῆσαι, κομισαμένους τὰς ἱερὰς προσευχὰς αὐτοῦ, ἔπειτα τούσδε καὶ τούσδε τῶν ἱερῶν πατέρων καὶ ἀδελφῶν καὶ τρίτον τὸ διαλῦσαι ἐλέει θεοῦ τὰς ἐνστάσεις καὶ ἀντιπαραστάσεις, ἃς καθ' ἡμῶν οὐκ οἶδ' ὅθεν ἀνῆψαν οἱ τῆς εἰρήνης δημιουργοί· σχισματικοὺς ἡμᾶς προανεζωγράφησαν τῆς τοῦ θεσπεσίου ἡμῶν ἀρχιερέως συναφείας, ἰδιονόμους ἀπεφήναντο ἐν ταῖς ἐπιτιμίαις τῶν ἑαλωκότων τῇ αἱρετικῇ κοινωνίᾳ, ἄλλα, ἅττα ἐργωδέστερον τῷ γράμματι ἐπικυκλεῖν. Πλήν, ὡς προείρηται, εὐχαῖς σου πρὸς ἓν ἕκαστον ἀπαντήσαντες εὐθυβόλως, καὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἡμῶν πατριάρχου κοινωνικοὶ εἶναι ἀποδεδείχαμεν, ὃς καὶ μετὰ ὑπερβαλλούσης συγκαταβάσεως καὶ ἐδέξατο καὶ ἐφιλοφρονήσατο καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἡμᾶς, μή τινος λόγου τῶν σκαιωρηθέντων ἐπιμνηματισθέντος, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ κυρίου Ταρασίου καὶ ἐν ἁγίοις μνημονευομένου· ἔφασαν γὰρ οἱ δῆθεν φιλοπάτορες καὶ τούτου ἡμᾶς διεσχίσθαι καὶ τήν γε ἐν Νικαίᾳ τὸ δεύτερον ἁγίαν σύνοδον τοπικὴν ἀποκαλεῖν. ἡμεῖς δὲ συνεστησάμεθα ἑαυτοὺς καὶ αὐτὸν ἐν πατράσιν ἁγίοις ἔχειν καὶ τήν γε σύνοδον οἰκουμενικὴν ὁμολογεῖν ἐγγράφως τε καὶ ἀγράφως, εἰς καί που καί ποτε καί πως καί τισιν ἀπεκρίθημεν ἑτέρως. ἃ οὐ δεῖ, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ τηνικαῦτα ἑτέρως πεπραγμένα, νῦν ἀναζητεῖν καὶ ἀναξαίνειν· ἔστι γὰρ ταραχῆς αἴτιον καὶ οὐδὲν ὄνησιν φέρον ἢ μᾶλλον λογομαχίαν καὶ προσκοπὴν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ, οὕτως καὶ οὕτως, οἵδε καὶ οἵδε ἔδρασαν, ἔγραψαν, ἕκαστοι τὸ ἀληθὲς ἔχειν οἰόμενοι. μακροῖς ἔτεσιν, ὡς οἶσθα, τριπόθητε, τὸ θρυλλούμενον κατεπράχθη, ἀνατολῇ καὶ δύσει γνώριμον γενάμενον· τὰ πεπραγμένα καὶ γεγραμμένα οὐθέτερον μέρος ἀνατρέπειν οἷόν τέ ἐστιν. νῦν καιρὸς ὁμονοίας, νῦν καιρὸς συναθλήσεως· τὰ ἐγκαταλείμματα τοῦ γεγραφότος, εἰ μὲν εὖ ἕξειν δοκεῖ τοῖς μετέπειτα, ἐπαίνου ἔνδικα, εἰ δὲ μή, τοὐναντίον. πιστὸς ὁ λόγος, καὶ περὶ τούτου λέγειν ἄλλο οὐ βουλόμεθα οὔτε νῦν οὔτε πρὸς τὸ ἑξῆς· καὶ δηλώσει, φησίν, ἡ τῆς ἀποκαλύψεως ἡμέρα καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον πῦρ, ᾧ κρίνεται καὶ καθαίρεται τὰ ἡμέτερα. Ταῦτα, ὁμοῦ μὲν ὡς πατρὶ συμψύχῳ καὶ εἰρηνάρχῳ, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ ὡς τὸ ἐξειπεῖν τὰ λυπηρὰ ῥᾳστώνην οἶδεν φέρειν τοῖς ὀδυνωμένοις, ἀναγκαίως γέγραπται. εἰ δὲ παρακληθεὶς ὀφθῇς ἡμῖν τοῖς ταπεινοῖς, κόπον ἀγάπης ἀναλαμβανόμενος, πάντως ἡδείους ἡμᾶς ποιήσειας περὶ πάντα. οἱ σὺν ἡμῖν προσαγορεύουσι πλεῖστα τὴν ἁγιωσύνην σου. τοὺς σὺν σοὶ καὶ ἡμεῖς πλεῖστα προσφθεγγόμεθα, παναγιώτατε. 476 {1Νικήτᾳ σπαθαρίῳ}1 Ἐδηλώθη μοι ὑπὸ τοῦ καλοῦ σου ἀδελφοῦ ὅτι τις τῶν ἡμετέρων ἱεραρχῶν ἐνδιέβαλέν με ἐπὶ τοῦ τιμίου προσώπου τῆς ἀγάπης σου ὡς θεοποιούμενον τὴν Χριστοῦ εἰκόνα καὶ τοῦτο κεῖσθαι ἐν τῇ πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἀθανάσιον ἐπιστολῇ μου. ἐφ' ᾗ διαβολῇ ἐστέναξα ὁ ταπεινός, ἐννοούμενος πῶς οἱ κατηγγελμένοι καὶ περὶ ἀργοῦ ῥήματος δώσειν λόγον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἐπὶ τῶν οὕτω μεγίστων (τί γὰρ μεῖζον πίστεως;) ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀφυλάκτως φθέγγονται, κατηγορίας βέλει τιτρώσκοντες τοὺς ἀνευθύνους καὶ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον, εἴπερ καί τι ἦν ἐσφαλμένον, ἀγαπητικῶς ὑπομνῆσαι κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· ἐλεγμῷ ἐλέγξεις τὸν πλησίον σου καὶ οὐ λήψῃ δι' αὐτὸν ἁμαρτίαν. τὸ δὲ οὕτως ἐνδιαβάλλειν οὐ μόνον ἐστὶ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἀναιρετικόν,