Letter 216: Many other journeys have taken me from home. I have been as far as Pisidia to settle the matters concerning the brethren in Isauria in concert with the Pisidian bishops. Thence I journeyed into Pontus, for Eustathius had caused no small disturbance at Dazimon, and had caused there a considerable secession from our church.

Many journeys have taken me far from home. I traveled to Pisidia to settle matters concerning the brothers in Isauria, working with the Pisidian bishops. From there I went on to Pontus, because Eustathius had caused a serious disturbance at Dazimon and provoked a considerable secession from our church. I even went as far as my brother Peter's house, and since that is not far from Neocaesarea, there was considerable unpleasantness from the Neocaesareans and much rudeness directed at me. Some people fled when no one was pursuing them, and I was accused of intruding uninvited just to collect compliments from the locals. The moment I got home -- having contracted a severe illness from the bad weather and the strain -- I received a letter from the East reporting that Paulinus had received certain letters from Western bishops acknowledging some kind of higher claim on his part. The Antiochene rebels, I was told, were greatly encouraged by this and were now preparing a creed, intending to make acceptance of its terms a condition of union with our Church. On top of all this, they had reportedly won over that excellent man Terentius to their faction. I wrote to him immediately, as forcefully as I could, urging him to pause and pointing out the disingenuousness of it all.

ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA To Meletius, bishop of Antioch. Many other journeys have taken me from home. I have been as far as Pisidia to settle the matters concerning the brethren in Isauria in concert with the Pisidian bishops. Thence I journeyed into Pontus, for Eustathius had caused no small disturbance at Dazimon, and had caused there a considerable secession from our church. I even went as far as the home of my brother Peter, and, as this is not far from Neocæsarea, there was occasion of considerable trouble to the Neocæsareans, and of much rudeness to myself. Some men fled when no one was in pursuit. And I was supposed to be intruding uninvited, simply to get compliments from the folk there. As soon as I got home, after contracting a severe illness from the bad weather and my anxieties, I straightway received a letter from the East to tell me that Paulinus had had certain letters from the West addressed to him, in acknowledgement of a sort of higher claim; and that the Antiochene rebels were vastly elated by them, and were next preparing a form of creed, and offering to make its terms a condition of union with our Church. Besides all this it was reported to me that they had seduced to their faction that most excellent man Terentius. I wrote to him at once as forcibly as I could, to induce him to pause; and I tried to point out their disingenuousness.

[Πρός: Μελετίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Ἀντιοχείας.] Πολλαὶ μὲν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἄλλαι ἀποδημίαι τῆς πατρίδος ἀπήγαγον. καὶ γὰρ μέχρι τῆς Πισιδίας διέβημεν, ὥστε μετὰ τῶν ἐκεῖ ἐπισκόπων τὰ κατὰ τοὺς ἐν τῇ Ἰσαυρίᾳ ἀδελφοὺς τυπῶσαι. κἀκεῖθεν ἡ ἐπὶ τὸν Πόντον ἡμᾶς διεδέξατο ἀποδημία, ἱκανῶς τὸν Δαζιμῶνα ταράξαντος τοῦ Εὐσταθίου, καὶ πολλοὺς ἀναπείσαντος τῶν ἐκεῖ ἀποσχισθῆναι τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡμῶν. ἐγενόμεθα δὲ καὶ μέχρι τοῦ οἰκιδίου Πέτρου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἡμῶν, ὃ διὰ τὸ προσεγγίζειν τοῖς κατὰ Νεοκαισάρειαν τόποις πολλῆς μὲν τοῖς ἐκεῖ ταραχῆς παρέσχεν αἰτίαν, πολλῆς δὲ ὕβρεως ἡμῖν ὑπόθεσιν προεξένησεν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἔφευγον, οὐδενὸς διώκοντος, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐνομιζόμεθα ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐπαίνων καὶ ἄκλητοι εἰσωθίζεσθαι. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐπανήλθομεν, ἐκ τῶν ὄμβρων καὶ τῶν ἀθυμιῶν πολλὴν ἀρρωστίαν συναγαγόντες, εὐθὺς ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς Ἀνατολῆς κατέλαβε γράμματα, σημαίνοντα τοῖς περὶ Παυλῖνον ἀπὸ τῆς Δύσεως ἐπιστολάς τινας, ὥσπερ τινὸς ἀρχῆς συνθήματα, κεκομίσθαι, καὶ μέγα φρονεῖν τοὺς στασιαστὰς τοῦ μέρους ἐκείνου, καὶ ἐπαγάλλεσθαι τοῖς γράμμασιν, εἶτα καὶ πίστιν προτείνεσθαι, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ ἑτοίμως ἔχειν συνάπτεσθαι τῇ καθʼ ἡμᾶς Ἐκκλησίᾳ. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις κἀκεῖνο ἡμῖν ἀπηγγέλθη, ὅτι ὑπηγάγοντο πρὸς τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν σπουδὴν τὸν πάντα ἄριστον ἄνδρα Τερέντιον, ᾧ ταχέως ἐπέστειλα, καθʼ ὅσον ἦν μοι δυνατόν, ἐπέχων αὐτὸν τῆς ὁρμῆς καὶ διδάσκων τὴν κατʼ αὐτοὺς ἀπάτην.