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is of the body of Christ, it is clear that the heretical cup and the bread are the communion of the adversary. If these things are so by confession, it is clear that concerning those who have fallen asleep in either communion, in this they would have their lot. But we must be on guard in such matters to make the offering acceptably, so that we may not hear, 'you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly'. 535 {1To Philotheos the founder}1 When it is not possible for loved ones to speak face to face, it is no small consolation to speak through a letter, which your truly God-loving soul does, giving us the image of seeing and embracing it. Wherefore we too, requiting the affection, do not cease to move the pen and be spiritually united to it, rejoicing that we possess such a friend, whose praise throughout all Macedonia from both monks and pious laity, is on their tongues, bearing the beauty and virtue of your piety. But may the Lord grant you still to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for yourself a good foundation for the future, so that you may attain eternal life. O most excellent Philotheos, hold fast the deposit of the faith, always being illumined by divine works. And concerning these things, enough. But since the discussion is again about the presbyter, with your honor requesting his absolution to celebrate the sacred rites, if the matter were human, it would be well; for we would have yielded to your every obedience, loving to serve you, our great benefactor. But since the matter concerns God and the transgression of the boundary set by the divine canons, forgive us, dearest brother, we are not able to render a judgment against both God and the sacred canons, especially since on this very similar point in times past we have staked our entire life, to go to dangers and exiles and deaths rather than to agree to the lawlessness and dissolution of the Gospel of Christ. Therefore neither one who joins adulterers in marriage nor one who joins a digamist in marriage has been released by us from the sacred ministry; for if the sacred canon does not tolerate a presbyter to be feasted at the wedding of a twice-married man, much more does it prevent him from crowning him. But if others judge otherwise, they will see to what they are doing; for 'we', it says, 'and the churches of God have no such custom'. So, knowing the dangerous judgment, do not compel our lowliness; for if for the word of truth we are drawn up for battle into dangers every day, how shall we be moved otherwise against the truth? It is not possible, O master, to do or say anything contrary to what has been divinely decreed by the canons. But we believe that you yourself, seeking one thing, the divine will and the salvation of your soul, would agree with us on what has been said and would pray rather that we should rely on the divine law and not surrender anything for the sake of transgressing a commandment of God and a canon. 536 {1To Irene the Abbess}1 Far from your praises are the ways and words of my life, most honorable of women; but a faithful soul that seeks the Lord is accustomed to kindle praises for the unhonored, so that from this it might gather the glory of humility. Such then you have been shown to us, sister in the Lord, since we, knowing our own condition, do not judge ourselves equal even to the least of today, let alone to be inserted at such a height, as you have written. But let these things rest here. We must move the discussion to the case of the presbyter. It is not that we, O Ammas, say this now, and tomorrow another thing, but our word is always the same; what is this? That a presbyter caught in communion with heretics, especially if also by signature, is not permitted to celebrate the sacred rites until the time of an orthodox synod, at which such things will be both examined and judged, or only in an emergency to baptize, to carry out a dead body, to give the habit to a monk, to sanctify the water of Theophany, to read the gospel at dawn and to distribute the

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τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐστιν, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ τὸ αἱρετικὸν ποτήριον καὶ ὁ ἄρτος κοινωνία τοῦ ἀντικειμένου ἐστίν. εἰ δὲ ταῦτα οὕτως ὁμολογουμένως, φανερὸν ὅτι ἐπὶ τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἐν τῇ ἑκατέρᾳ κοινωνίᾳ, ἐν ταύτῃ καὶ τὴν ἀποκλήρωσιν σχοίη. ἡμῖν δὲ φυλακτέον ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων τὴν ἀναφορὰν ἐγκεκριμένως ποιεῖσθαι, ἵνα μὴ ἀκούσωμεν, αἰτεῖτε καὶ οὐ λαμβάνετε, διότι κακῶς αἰτεῖσθε. 535 {1Φιλοθέῳ κτήτορι}1 Ὅτε μὴ πάρεστι πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον τοὺς φιλουμένους ὁμιλεῖν, οὐ μικρὸν εἰς παρηγορίαν καὶ τὸ διὰ γράμματος φθέγγεσθαι, ὅπερ ποιοῦσα ἡ φιλόθεός σου ὡς ἀληθῶς ψυχὴ φαντασίαν ἡμῖν παρέχει τοῦ ὁρᾶν καὶ περιπτύσσεσθαι αὐτήν. ὅθεν καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀφοσιούμενοι τὸ φίλτρον, οὐ διαλιμπάνομεν κινεῖν τὴν γραφίδα καὶ πνευματικῶς συνάπτεσθαι αὐτήν, χαίροντες ὅτι τοιούτου φίλου κάτοχοί ἐσμεν, οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος διὰ πάσης Μακεδονίας παρά τε μονα ζόντων καὶ λαϊκῶν εὐσεβῶν, ἐπὶ γλώσσης φερόντων τὴν καλλονὴν καὶ ἀρετὴν τῆς εὐσεβείας σου. ἀλλ' ἔτι δῴη σοι Κύριος ἀγαθοεργεῖν, πλουτεῖν ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς, εὐμετάδοτον εἶναι, κοινωνικόν, ἀποθησαυρίζοντα ἑαυτῷ θεμέλιον καλὸν εἰς τὸ μέλλον, ὡς ἂν ἐπιτεύξῃ τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς. ὦ Φιλόθεε κράτιστε, τὴν παρακαταθήκην τῆς πίστεως ἀσφαλῶς κάτεχε, ἀεὶ λαμπρυνόμενος ταῖς θεουργοῖς πράξεσι. Καὶ περὶ τούτων μὲν ἅλις. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ αὖθις περὶ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου ὁ λόγος, ἐξαιτούσης τῆς τιμιότητός σου τὴν λύσιν τοῦ ἱερουργεῖν αὐτόν, εἰ μὲν ἀνθρώπινον ἦν τὸ ζητούμενον, εὖ ἂν εἶχεν· ἐχωροῦμεν γὰρ πρὸς πᾶσάν σου ὑπακοήν, φιλοῦντές σε θεραπεύειν, τὸν πολλοστὸν θεραπευτὴν ἡμῶν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ περὶ θεοῦ τὸ κινούμενον καὶ τῆς τῶν θείων κανόνων ὁροθεσίας ἡ παράβασις, σύγγνωθι, ἀδελφὲ φίλτατε, οὐχ οἷοί τέ ἐσμεν κατά τε θεοῦ καὶ ἱερῶν κανόνων ἀποῖσαι κρίσιν, μάλιστα ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ τούτῳ τῷ παρομοίῳ κεφαλαίῳ ἐν τοῖς προλαβοῦσι χρόνοις πᾶσαν τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν ἐθέμεθα, χωρῆσαι πρὸς κινδύνους καὶ ἐξορίας καὶ θανάτους ἤπερ συνθέσθαι τῇ ἀνομίᾳ καὶ λύσει τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ. οὔτε οὖν μοιχοζεύκτης παρ' ἡμῶν οὔτε διγαμοζεύκτης λέλυται τῆς ἱερουργίας· εἰ γὰρ ὁ ἱερὸς κανὼν οὐκ ἀνέχεται εἰς διγαμοῦντος γάμον ἑστιαθῆναι τὸν πρεσβύτερον, πολλῷ γε μᾶλλον ἀπείργει τοῦτον τοῦ στεφανῶσαι. εἰ δὲ ἄλλοι ἄλλως κρίνουσιν, ὄψονται ἐφ' οἷς πράττουσιν· ἡμεῖς γάρ, φησίν, καὶ αἱ ἐκκλησίαι τοῦ θεοῦ τοιαύτην συνήθειαν οὐκ ἔχομεν. Ὥστε, εἰδὼς τὸ ἐπικίνδυνον κρίμα, μὴ παραβιάζου τὴν ταπείνωσιν ἡμῶν· εἰ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἀληθείας καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν εἰς κινδύνους παρατετάγμεθα, πῶς κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ἑτεροτρόπως κινηθησόμεθα; οὐκ ἔχει φύσιν, ὦ δέσποτα, παρὰ τὰ θειωδῶς κεκριμένα τοῖς κανόσι δρᾶσαί τι ἢ εἰπεῖν. πιστεύομεν δὲ ὅτι καὶ αὐτός, ἓν ζητῶν, τὸ θεῖον θέλημα καὶ τὸ σωτηριῶδες τῆς ψυχῆς σου, συμφήσειας ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τοῖς λελεγμένοις καὶ προσεύξῃ μᾶλλον ἐπερείδεσθαι ἡμᾶς τῷ θείῳ νόμῳ καὶ μὴ προΐεσθαι τὸ οἱονοῦν ἐπὶ παραβάσει ἐντολῆς θεοῦ καὶ κανόνος. 536 {1Εἰρήνῃ ἡγουμένῃ}1 Μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐγκωμίων σου οἱ τρόποι καὶ οἱ λόγοι τῆς πολιτείας μου, τιμιωτάτη γυναικῶν· ἀλλ' εἴωθεν ψυχὴ πιστὴ καὶ ζητοῦσα τὸν Κύριον ἐπαίνους ἀνάπτειν τοῖς ἀγεράστοις, ὡς ἂν ἐντεῦθεν ἐρανίσοιτο τὸ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης κλέος. τοιαύτη οὖν ὑπεδείχθης ἡμῖν, ἀδελφὴ ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἐπεὶ ἡμεῖς, γινώσκοντες τὰ καθ' ἑαυτούς, οὐδὲ τῶν νῦν ἐσχάτων ἰσοστατεῖν κρίνομεν ἑαυτούς, μὴ ὅτι γε ὕψει τηλικούτῳ παρενείρειν, καθὰ γέγραφας. Ἀλλ' ὧδε μὲν ταῦτα κείσθω. ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου ὑποθέσει μετατακτέον τὸν λόγον. οὔ τί που ἡμεῖς, ὦ ἀμμάς, νῦν μὲν τοῦτο λέγομεν, αὔριον δὲ ἕτερον, ἀλλ' ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἀεί· τί τοῦτο; τὸν ἁλόντα πρεσβύτερον τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τῶν αἱρετικῶν, εἴ γε μάλιστα καὶ ὑπογραφῇ, μὴ ἐξεῖναι ἱερουργεῖν ἕως καιροῦ ὀρθοδόξου συνόδου, ἐφ' ᾗ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ θεωρηθήσεται καὶ διακριθήσεται, ἢ μόνον τὸ κατὰ περίστασιν βαπτίζειν, ἐκκομίζειν νεκρόν, διδεῖν σχῆμα μοναχῷ, ἁγιάζειν τῶν Θεοφανίων τὸ ὕδωρ, εὐαγγελίζεσθαι κατ' ὄρθρον καὶ μεταδιδόναι τῶν