Letter 121: The winter is severe and protracted, so that it is difficult for me even to have the solace of letters. For this reason I have written seldom to your reverence and seldom heard from you, but now my beloved brother Sanctissimus, the co-presbyter, has undertaken a journey as far as your city. By him I salute your lordship, and ask you to pray for ...

Theodotus — The winter has been brutal and endless, which means even letters have been hard to manage. I haven't written to you as often as I'd like, and I haven't heard much from you either. But now our brother Sanctissimus, my fellow presbyter, is making the trip to Nicopolis [a city in the Armenian province, in modern northeastern Turkey], so I'm sending this along with him. Please keep me in your prayers, and take the time to hear what Sanctissimus has to say — he can fill you in on the state of the churches and the issues that need your attention. One thing you should know: Faustus showed up carrying letters from the pope [likely Damasus I of Rome], asking that he be ordained bishop. When I asked him to produce a letter of endorsement from you and the other bishops in the region, he brushed me off and went straight to Anthimus [bishop of Tyana, a rival who had been encroaching on Basil's ecclesiastical authority]. He came back having been ordained by Anthimus — without anyone consulting me at all.

ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA To Theodotus, bishop of Nicopolis. The winter is severe and protracted, so that it is difficult for me even to have the solace of letters. For this reason I have written seldom to your reverence and seldom heard from you, but now my beloved brother Sanctissimus, the co-presbyter, has undertaken a journey as far as your city. By him I salute your lordship, and ask you to pray for me, and to give ear to Sanctissimus, that from him you may learn in what situation the Churches are placed, and may give all possible heed to the points put before you. You must know that Faustus came with letters for me, from the pope, requesting that he might be ordained bishop. When however I asked him for some testimonial from yourself, and the rest of the bishops, he made light of me and betook himself to Anthimus. He came back, ordained by Anthimus, without any communication having been made to me on the subject.

[Πρός: Θεοδότῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Νικοπόλεως] Πολὺς ὁ χειμὼν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μακρότατον παραταθείς, ὡς μηδὲ τὰς διὰ γραμμάτων παραμυθίας ῥᾳδίως ἡμῖν ὑπάρχειν. ὅθεν ὀλιγάκις οἶδα καὶ ἐπιστείλας τῇ εὐλαβείᾳ σου καὶ δεξάμενος γράμματα. ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ ὁ ποθεινότατος ἀδελφὸς ἡμῶν Σαγκτίσσιμος ὁ συμπρεσβύτερος τὴν μέχρις ὑμῶν ὁδοιπορίαν ὑπέστη, δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ προσφθέγγομαί σου τὴν κοσμιότητα, καὶ παρακαλῶ προσεύχεσθαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ καὶ χρῆσαι τὴν ἀκοὴν τῷ προειρημένῳ, ὥστε παρʼ αὐτοῦ διδαχθῆναι τὰ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐν οἵοις ἐστὶ καὶ τὴν δυνατὴν σπουδὴν εἰσενέγκασθαι εἰς τὰ προκείμενα. Γίνωσκε δὲ ὅτι Φαῦστος γράμματα ἔχων ἧκε πρὸς ἡμᾶς παρὰ πάπα, ἀξιοῦντα αὐτὸν γενέσθαι ἐπίσκοπον. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ᾐτήσαμεν ἡμεῖς, μαρτυρίαν τῆς σῆς εὐλαβείας καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐπισκόπων, καταφρονήσας ἡμῶν πρὸς Ἄνθιμον ᾤχετο, καὶ παρʼ αὐτοῦ λαβὼν τὴν χειροτονίαν χωρὶς ἡμετέρας ὑπομνήσεως ἐπανῆκε.