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creation, is portrayed like us, so that nothing of human properties would be lacking in him, remaining as God, the same, uncircumscribed, as also possessing all the paternal properties under one person, by which he was also revealed as mediator between God and men, by his mediation communicating with the extremes and through himself making us partakers of the divine nature. For just as it is not possible for him, being God and equal to the Father, not to be outside of circumscription (for the divine is infinite and undefined and incomprehensible), in the very same way it is impossible for him, being truly man and having become like us in all things, not to remain within circumscription; for his body is comprehensible, touched by contact and color. By not confessing this, the iconoclasts have clearly become deniers of Christ, supposing the incarnate to be incorporeal and teaching that he who was with us is outside our nature. From this the world was shaken, Christ was denied through his holy icon, as was the Theotokos and every one of the saints; for by the acceptance of the icon, the one depicted is accepted, just as, conversely, by its rejection he is rejected. From this a persecution boiled up and a divine patriarch was driven out, and priests and hierarchs, and most godly monks and laypeople, some being exiled and imprisoned, others being scourged and starved, and some even being killed; from this those who prefer nothing of this world to God were driven into exile in mountains and caves and the holes of the earth; from this temples were torn down and holy things profaned and divine offerings given over to fire, and everything was full of clamor and plunder, to speak concisely. Such were the undertakings of impiety, so that the tree might be known by its fruit. But since, as has been said before, the divine grace has embraced you through the good confession, which you confessed to the fathers, for which you are eager to resist even unto blood, we the humble also, by this, this confessional confidence, have both received and included you, the lady mistress, and the lord and master with the rest of the glorious branches, in the portion of orthodoxy, or rather, in the church of God; and, as you have come to our lowliness, we venerate and commune with you, sending up thanks to the good God, who does great and unsearchable things, of which there is no number, who leads from darkness to light and transfers from the path of error to the way of piety everyone who desires to be saved from a true heart. So much for these matters. But since the island of Chalkite was given to you by the great emperor as a dwelling place, it has grieved not only us but also many of the fathers not a little that an entire brotherhood with its abbot was expelled from its former monastery and now wanders here and there, and that we were seen opening our mouths for previous slanders. However, since you have made your defense through our spiritual son Klementos, the most devout abbot, that the matter arose in this and that way from imperial authority, we were released from our grief. But we beseech this, that as much as possible you press yourselves to heal the pain of those who have departed, since it is written, "Give no one a reason to curse you," and, "Why," it says, "is my liberty judged by another's conscience?" 539 {1To Kassia the Kandidatissa}1 Long overdue is the letter of your honor, and this one is accusatory, in one way being submissive, but in another rising up against our nothingness, as if we simply and without examination accept the slanders against you, and indeed also make pronouncements without judgment, and these in the most essential matters. But we, being accustomed to bid farewell to such things, declare this, that we hear the things being rumored as some kind of child's play and thus we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts, even if we happen to be sinners in other ways; for if Balaam the diviner not from

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πλάσμα, ὁμοίως ἡμῖν ἐξεικονίζεται, ὡς ἂν μηδὲν λείποι ἐν αὐτῷ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἰδιωμάτων, μένων ὡς θεὸς ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπερίγραπτος, ὡς καὶ τὰ πατρῷα ἰδιώματα ἅπαντα ὑφ' ἑνὶ προσώπῳ κεκτημένος, καθὸ καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων πέφηνε, τῇ μεσότητι τοῖς ἄκροις κοινωνῶν καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ κοινωνοὺς ἡμᾶς θείας φύσεως ἀπεργασάμενος. ὡς γὰρ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται θεὸν αὐτὸν ὄντα καὶ ἴσον τῷ πατρὶ μὴ οὐχὶ ἔξω περιγραφῆς εἶναι (ἄπειρον γὰρ τὸ θεῖον καὶ ἀόριστον καὶ ἀπερίληπτον), τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον ἀνεγχώρητόν ἐστιν ἄνθρωπον αὐτὸν ἀληθῶς ὄντα καὶ ὅμοιον ἡμῖν κατὰ πάντα γεγονότα μὴ οὐχὶ περιγραφῆς εἴσω μένειν· περιληπτὸν γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα, ἁφῇ καὶ χροιᾷ ψηλαφώμενον. ὅπερ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦντες οἱ εἰκονομάχοι ἀρνησίχριστοι ἀριδήλως καθεστήκασι, τὸν ἐνσώματον ἀσώματον ὑπολαμβάνοντες καὶ τὸν μεθ' ἡμῶν γεγονότα ἔξω τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς φύσεως δογματίζοντες. ἐντεῦθεν ἐδονήθη ὁ κόσμος, ἠρνήθη Χριστὸς διὰ τῆς σεπτῆς αὐτοῦ εἰκόνος, ἥ τε Θεοτόκος καὶ πᾶς τις τῶν ἁγίων· τῇ γὰρ παραδοχῇ τῆς εἰκόνος παραδέδεκται ὁ εἰκονιζόμενος, ὡς καὶ ἔμπαλιν τῇ ἀθετήσει ἠθέτηται. ἐντεῦθεν διωγμὸς ἀναβρασσόμενος καὶ πατριάρχης θεσπέσιος ἐκσκορακιζόμενος, ἱερεῖς τε καὶ ἱεράρχαι, μονασταί τε καὶ μιγάδες ἐνθεώτατοι, οἱ μὲν ἐξοριζόμενοι καὶ φυλακιζόμενοι, ἕτεροι δὲ μαστιγούμενοι καὶ λιμοκτονούμενοι, ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ ἀποκτενόμενοι· ἐντεῦθεν ἐν ὄρεσι φυγαδευόμενοι καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ ταῖς ὀπαῖς τῆς γῆς οἱ μηδὲν τῶν τῇδε προκρίνοντες θεοῦ· ἐντεῦθεν ναοὶ κατασκαπτόμενοι καὶ ἅγια βεβηλούμενα καὶ θεῖα ἀναθήματα πυρὶ παραδιδόμενα, καὶ κραυγῆς τὰ πάντα καὶ λεηλασίας πλήρη, ὡς ἐν συντόμῳ εἰπεῖν. Τοιαῦτα τὰ τῆς ἀσεβείας ἐγχειρήματα, ὡς ἂν ἐκ τοῦ καρποῦ τὸ δένδρον γινώσκηται. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὑμᾶς, ὡς προείρηται, ἡ θεία χάρις ἠγκαλίσατο διὰ τῆς καλῆς ὁμολογίας, ἧς ὡμολογήσατε τοῖς πατράσιν, ὑπὲ ἧς καὶ μέχρις αἵματος προθυμεῖσθε ἀντικαθίστασθαι, καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ ταπεινοὶ ταύτῃ δή, ταύτῃ τῇ ὁμολογητικῇ πεποιθήσει σέ τε τὴν κυρίαν δέσποιναν, τόν τε κύριον καὶ δεσπότην σὺν τοῖς λοιποῖς εὐκλεέσι κλάδοις καὶ εἰσδεδέγμεθα καὶ συνεισκρίνομεν τῷ μέρει τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας, μᾶλλον δὲ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίᾳ· καί, ἥκοντας ὑμᾶς πρὸς τὴν ταπείνωσιν ἡμῶν, προσκυνοῦμεν καὶ συγκοινωνοῦμεν ὑμῖν, εὐχαριστήρια τῷ ἀγαθῷ θεῷ ἀναπέμποντες, τῷ ποιοῦντι μεγάλα καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστα, ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός, τῷ ἐκ σκότους εἰς φῶς ἄγοντι καὶ ἐξ ὁδοῦ πλάνης εἰς τρίβον εὐσεβείας μεταφέροντι πάντα τὸν ἐξ ἀληθινῆς καρδίας ἐφιέμενον σῴζεσθαι. Ταῦτα μὲν οὕτως. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀπεδόθη ὑμῖν παρὰ τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως εἰς κατοικητήριον διαίτης ἡ νῆσος τῆς Χαλκίτου, οὐ μικρῶς ἐλύπησεν οὐχ ἡμᾶς μόνους, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν πατέρων ὅτι ἀδελφότης ὅλη σὺν καθηγουμένῳ τῆς πάλαι οἰκείας μονῆς ἐξεώθη καὶ νῦν ὧδε κἀκεῖσε περιφέρεται καὶ ὅτι ὤφθημεν ἀνοίγοντες γλώσσας ἐπὶ προτέραις δυσφημίαις. ὅμως, ἐπειδὴ ἀπελογήσασθε διὰ τοῦ πνευματικοῦ ἡμῶν υἱοῦ Κλήμεντος, τοῦ εὐλαβεστάτου ἡγουμένου, οὕτως καὶ οὕτως ὑπάρξαι τὴν ὑπόθεσιν ἐκ βασιλικῆς ἐξουσίας, ἀπελύθημεν τῆς λύπης. τοῦτο δὲ παρακαλοῦμεν, ὅσον ἐνδέχεται ἐκβιάσασθαι ὑμᾶς, θεραπεῦσαι τὸ ἄλγος τῶν ἐξιόντων, ἐπειδὴ γέγραπται, μὴ δῷς ἀνθρώπῳ τόπον καταρᾶσθαί σε, καί, ἱνατί, φησίν, ἡ ἐλευθερία μου κρίνεται ὑπὸ ἄλλης συνειδήσεως; 539 {1Κασσίᾳ κανδιδατίσσῃ}1 Χρονία ἡ ἐπιστολὴ τῆς τιμιότητός σου, καὶ αὕτη ἐγκλητική, καὶ πῇ μὲν ὑποταπεινουμένη, πῇ δὲ κατεξανισταμένη τῆς οὐθενότητος ἡμῶν, ὡς ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀνεξετάστως προσιεμένων τὰς κατὰ σοῦ διαβολάς, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀκρίτως ἐκφερόντων φωνάς, καὶ ταύτας ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα ἀναγκαίοις. ἡμεῖς δέ, κατειθισθέντες τοῖς τοιούτοις χαίρειν λέγειν, ἐκεῖνο δηλοῦμεν, ὅτι οὕτως ἀκούομεν τὰ θρυλλού μενα ὡς παιδιάς τινας καὶ οὕτως λαλοῦμεν, οὐχ ὡς ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκοντες, ἀλλὰ τῷ θεῷ, τῷ δοκιμάζοντι τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν, εἰ καὶ ἄλλως ἁμαρτωλοὶ τυγχάνομεν· εἰ γὰρ Βαλαὰμ ὁ οἰωνοσκόπος οὐ παρὰ