Letter 69: 1. An attempt was made by the enemy of Christians to cause, by occasion of our very dear and sweet son your brother, the agitation of a most dangerous scandal within the Catholic Church, which as a mother welcomed you to her affectionate embrace when you fled from a disinherited and separated fragment into the heritage of Christ; the desire of t...

Alypius and Augustine to Castorius, our son deservedly beloved, worthy of honor, and to be received with respect — greetings in the Lord. A praiseworthy abdication for the peace of the Church. 1. The enemy [the devil] has certainly attempted what was in his power; but the Almighty has overcome him, to whom we sing: "You will not give us over for ever as prey to our enemies" [cf. Psalm 43/44]. For our brother Maximianus [the Catholic bishop of Bagae/Bagaiensis in Numidia], inflamed with such burning zeal for our Lord's cause, has surrendered the honor of his episcopal position rather than allow his people to be destroyed by persecution. His glorious act of self-sacrifice preserves the flock committed to his care, and the very schismatics [the Donatists] who believed they could triumph by violence have been confounded by his humility. 2. But this leaves the church of Bagae in need of a shepherd. And you, my son Castorius, are the one we ask to take up this burden — not as a promotion to worldly honor but as a call to service. We know you may be reluctant. Maximianus himself was reluctant, until necessity and the voice of God's people compelled him. Now the same necessity summons you. 3. Do not refuse. The church that loses a bishop who resigned for peace needs a successor who accepts for the same reason. We urge you, in the name of the Lord and by the authority of our shared ministry: consent to be consecrated bishop of Bagae, so that the faithful there are not left without a pastor. The Lord who calls you will equip you. Our prayers go with you.

Letter 69 (A.D. 402) To Their Justly Beloved Lord Castorius, Their Truly Welcomed and Worthily Honoured Son, Alypius and Augustine Send Greeting in the Lord. 1. An attempt was made by the enemy of Christians to cause, by occasion of our very dear and sweet son your brother, the agitation of a most dangerous scandal within the Catholic Church, which as a mother welcomed you to her affectionate embrace when you fled from a disinherited and separated fragment into the heritage of Christ; the desire of that enemy being evidently to becloud with unseemly melancholy the calm beauty of joy which was imparted to us by the blessing of your conversion. But the Lord our God, who is compassionate and merciful, who comforts them that are cast down, nourishing the infants, and cherishing the infirm, permitted him to gain in some measure success in this design, only to make us rejoice more over the prevention of the calamity than we grieved over the danger. For it is a far more magnanimous thing to have resigned the onerous responsibilities of the bishop's dignity in order to save the Church from danger, than to have accepted these in order to have a share in her government. He truly proves that he was worthy of holding that office, had the interests of peace permitted him to do so, who does not insist upon retaining it when he cannot do so without endangering the peace of the Church. It has accordingly pleased God to show, by means of your brother, our beloved son Maximianus, unto the enemies of His Church, that there are within her those who seek not their own things, but the things of Jesus Christ. For in laying down that ministry of stewardship of the mysteries of God, he was not deserting his duty under the pressure of some worldly desire, but acting under the impulse of a pious love of peace, lest, on account of the honour conferred upon him, there should arise among the members of Christ an unseemly and dangerous, perhaps even fatal, dissension. For could anything have been more infatuated and worthy of utter reprobation, than to forsake schismatics because of the peace of the Catholic Church, and then to trouble that same Catholic peace by the question of one's own rank and preferment? On the other hand, could anything be more praiseworthy, and more in accordance with Christian charity, than that, after having forsaken the frenzied pride of the Donatists, he should, in the manner of his cleaving to the heritage of Christ, give such a signal proof of humility under the power of love for the unity of the Church? As for him, therefore, we rejoice indeed that he has been proved of such stability that the storm of this temptation has not cast down what divine truth had built in his heart; and therefore we desire and pray the Lord to grant that, by his life and conversation in the future, he may make it more and more manifest how well he would have discharged the responsibilities of that office which he would have accepted if that had been his duty. May that eternal peace which is promised to the Church be given in recompense to him, who discerned that the things which were not compatible with the peace of the Church were not expedient for him! 2. As for you, our dear son, in whom we have great joy, since you are not restrained from accepting the office of bishop by any such considerations as have guided your brother in declining it, it becomes one of your disposition to devote to Christ that which is in you by His own gift. Your talents, prudence, eloquence, gravity, self-control, and everything else which adorns your conversation, are the gifts of God. To what service can they be more fittingly devoted than to His by whom they were bestowed, in order that they may be preserved, increased, perfected, and rewarded by Him? Let them not be devoted to the service of this world, lest with it they pass away and perish. We know that, in dealing with you, it is not necessary to insist much on your reflecting, as you may so easily do, upon the hopes of vain men, their insatiable desires, and the uncertainty of life. Away, therefore, with every expectation of deceptive and earthly felicity which your mind had grasped: labour in the vineyard of God, where the fruit is sure, where so many promises have already received so large measure of fulfilment, that it would be the height of madness to despair as to those which remain. We beseech you by the divinity and humanity of Christ, and by the peace of that heavenly city where we receive eternal rest after labouring for the time of our pilgrimage, to take the place as the bishop of the Church of Vagina which your brother has resigned, not under ignominious deposition, but by magnanimous concession. Let that people for whom we expect the richest increase of blessings through your mind and tongue, endowed and adorned by the gifts of God — let that people, we say, perceive through you, that in what your brother has done, he was consulting not his own indolence, but their peace. We have given orders that this letter be not read to you until those to whom you are necessary hold you in actual possession. For we hold you in the bond of spiritual love, because to us also you are very necessary as a colleague. Our reason for not coming in person to you, you shall afterwards learn.

EPISTOLA 69 Scripta post VI Ka. Sept. a. 402. Al. et Aug. Castorium hortantur ut in episcopatu Bagaiensis ecclesiae Maximiano fratri suo gloriose cedenti (n. 1) succedere ne abnuat (n. 3).   Domino merito dilectissimo, digneque honorabili et suscipiendo filio Castorio, Alypius et Augustinus, in Domino salutem Laudabilis abdicatio pro pace Ecclesiae. 1. Molitus est quidem adversarius Christianorum, per carissimum atque dulcissimum filium nostrum fratrem tuum, Catholicae matri, quae vos in haereditatem Christi ab exhaeredata praecisione fugientes pio sinu suscepit, periculosissimum scandalum commovere; cupiens videlicet serenitatem gaudii nostri, quae nobis de bono vestrae conversationis oborta est, foeda innubilare tristitia. Sed Dominus Deus noster misericors et miserator 1, consolans afflictos, nutriens parvulos, curans infirmos, ad hoc eum aliquid posse permisit, ut rem correctam multo amplius laetaremur, quam dolebamus afflictam. Longe est quippe gloriosius episcopatus sarcinam propter Ecclesiae vitanda pericula deposuisse, quam propter regenda gubernacula suscepisse. Ille quippe se honorem, si pacis ratio pateretur, digne accipere potuisse demonstrat, qui acceptum non defendit indigne. Voluit ergo Deus, etiam per fratrem tuum, filium nostrum Maximianum, estendere inimicis Ecclesiae suae, esse in visceribus eius, qui non sua quaerant, sed quae Iesu Christi 2. Neque enim illud ministerium dispensationis mysteriorum Dei 3, victus aliqua saeculari cupiditate deseruit, sed pacifica permotus pietate deposuit, ne propter eius honorem foeda et periculosa, aut fortasse etiam perniciosa in membris Christi dissensio nasceretur. Quid enim esset caecius et omni exsecratione dignius, quam propter Ecclesiae catholicae pacem schisma deserere, et ipsam pacem catholicam honoris sui quaestione turbare? Quid enim laudabilius, et christianae caritati commodatius, quam derelicta Donatistarum vesana superbia, ita haereditati Christi cohaerere, ut testimonium humilitatis, amore probaretur unitatis? Itaque quantum ad ipsum attinet, sicut cum gaudemus talem inventum, ut quod in eius corde divinus sermo aedificavit, nequaquam tempestas huius tentationis everteret: sic optamus et deprecamur a Domino, ut consequenti vita et moribus suis magis magisque declaret, quam bene gesturus fuisset, quod profecto gereret si hoc oportuisset. Retribuatur ei pax aeterna quae promissa est Ecclesiae, qui intellexit sibi non expedire quod paci non expediebat Ecclesiae. Castorius succedat fratri in episcopatu. 2. Tu vero, fili carissime, non mediocre gaudium nostrum, qui nulla tali necessitate a suscipiendo episcopatu impediris, decet indolem tuam Christo in te dicare quod dedit. Ingenium quippe tuum, prudentia, eloquentia, gravitas, sobrietas, et caetera quibus ornantur mores tui, dona sunt Dei. Cui melius serviunt, quam ei a quo tributa sunt, ut et custodiantur, et augeantur, et perficiantur, et remunerentur? Non serviant huic saeculo, ne vanescant cum illo atque dispereant. Non diu tecum in hoc agendum novimus, quanta facilitate consideres spes inanium hominum, et insatiabiles cupiditates, et incertam vitam. Abiice igitur ex animo quidquid terrenae atque falsae felicitatis exspectatione conceperat: operare in agro Dei 4, ubi certus est fructus, ubi tam multa tanto ante completa sunt promissa, ut ea quae restant insanissime desperentur. Obsecramus te per Christi divinitatem et humanitatem, per pacem coelestis illius civitatis, unde peregrinantes labore temporali aeternam requiem comparamus, ut in episcopatum Bagaiensis Ecclesiae fratri tuo, non ignominiose cadenti, sed gloriose cedenti succedas. Plebs illa cui per tuam mentem ac linguam donis Dei fecundatam et ornatam uberrima incrementa speramus, in te intellegat fratrem tuum non pro sua desidia, sed pro eius pace fecisse quod fecit. Haec epistola mandavimus ut tibi non legeretur, nisi cum te iam tenerent quibus es necessarius. Nos enim te spiritalis amoris vinculo tenemus, quia et nostro collegio multum es necessarius. Cur autem etiam corporalem praesentiam non exhibuerimus postea scies.