Letter 251: 1. My occupations are very numerous, and my mind is full of many anxious cares, but I have never forgotten you, my dear friends, ever praying my God for your constancy in the faith, wherein ye stand and have your boasting in the hope of the glory of God. Truly nowadays it is hard to find, and extraordinary to see, a Church pure, unharmed by the ...

My responsibilities are many and my mind is full of anxious cares, but I have never forgotten you, my dear friends. I pray constantly for your steadfastness in the faith in which you stand and in which you place your hope. Truly, in these times it is rare and extraordinary to find a church pure and unharmed by the troubles of the age, preserving the apostolic doctrine in its entirety. Such is your church, and God has made it so -- He who in every generation raises up those worthy of His calling. May the Lord grant you the blessings of the heavenly Jerusalem, in return for your throwing back at the liars the slanders they directed against me and refusing to let their poison enter your hearts. I know, and I am persuaded in the Lord, that your reward is great in heaven on this account alone. You have wisely recognized the truth: that the men who repay me evil for good and hatred for love are accusing me of the very things they themselves have confessed and signed their names to. Their contradictions do not stop there. They were unanimously deposed by the bishops assembled at Constantinople. They refused to accept the deposition and appealed to a council of equally impious men, rejecting the authority of their judges on the grounds that those judges were leaders of heresy. All this happened nearly seventeen years ago. The current rulers of those churches are the successors of the very men they refused to recognize -- some appointed to fill their places, others directly promoted by them. Now let my accusers explain: if the men who deposed them were heretics, how can anyone ordained by heretics be orthodox? And if those men were orthodox, how can Eustathius, whom they deposed, be anything but a layman? They cannot have it both ways. But logical consistency has never been their concern.

ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA To the people of Evæsæ. 1. My occupations are very numerous, and my mind is full of many anxious cares, but I have never forgotten you, my dear friends, ever praying my God for your constancy in the faith, wherein ye stand and have your boasting in the hope of the glory of God. Truly nowadays it is hard to find, and extraordinary to see, a Church pure, unharmed by the troubles of the times, and preserving the apostolic doctrine in all its integrity and completeness. Such is your Church shown at this present time by Him who in every generation makes manifest them that are worthy of His calling. May the Lord grant to you the blessings of Jerusalem which is above, in return for your flinging back at the heads of the liars their slanders against me, and your refusal to allow them entry into your hearts. I know, and am persuaded in the Lord, that your reward is great in heaven, Matthew 5:12 even on account of this very conduct. For you have wisely concluded among yourselves, as indeed is the truth, that the men who are rewarding me evil for good, and hatred for my love, are accusing me now for the very same points which they are found to have themselves confessed and subscribed. 2. Their presenting you with their own signatures for an accusation against me is not the only contradiction into which they have fallen. They were unanimously deposed by the bishops assembled at Constantinople. They refused to accept this deposition and appealed to a synod of impious men, refusing to admit the episcopacy of their judges, in order not to accept the sentence passed upon them. The reason alleged for their non-recognition was their being leaders of wicked heresy. All this happened nearly seventeen years ago. The principal men of those who deposed them were Eudoxius, Euippius, George, Acacius, and others unknown to you. The present tyrants of the churches are their successors, some ordained to fill their places, and others actually promoted by them. 3. Now let those who charge me with unsound doctrine tell me in what way the men whose deposition they refused to accept were heretical. Let them tell me in what way those promoted by them, and holding the same views as their fathers, are orthodox. If Euippius was orthodox, how can Eustathius, whom he deposed, be other than a layman? If Euippius was a heretic, how can any one ordained by him be in communion with Eustathius now? But all this conduct, this trying to accuse men and set them up again, is child's play, got up against the Churches of God, for their own gain. When Eustathius was travelling through Paphlagonia, he overthrew the altars of Basilides of Paphlagonia, and used to perform divine service on his own tables. Now he is begging Basilides to be admitted to communion. He refused to communicate with our reverend brother Elpidius, because of his alliance with the Amasenes; and now he comes as a suppliant to the Amasenes, petitioning for alliance with them. Even ye yourselves know how shocking were his public utterances against Euippius: now he glorifies the holders of Euippius's opinions for their orthodoxy, if only they will cooperate in promoting his restitution. And I am all the while being calumniated, not because I am doing any wrong, but because they have imagined that they will thus be recommended to the party at Antioch. The character of those whom they sent for last year from Galatia, as being likely by their means to recover the free exercise of their episcopal powers, is only too well known to all who have lived even for a short time with them. I pray that the Lord may never allow me leisure to recount all their proceedings. I will only say that they have passed through the whole country, with the honour and attendance of bishops, escorted by their most honourable bodyguard and sympathizers; and have made a grand entry into the city, and held an assembly with all authority. The people have been given over to them. The altar has been given over to them. How they went to Nicopolis, and could do nothing there of all that they had promised, and how they came, and what appearance they presented on their return, is known to those who were on the spot. They are obviously taking every single step for their own gain and profit. If they say that they have repented, let them show their repentance in writing; let them anathematize the Creed of Constantinople; let them separate from the heretics; and let them no longer trick the simple-minded. So much for them and theirs. 4. I, however, brethren beloved, small and insignificant as I am, but remaining ever by God's grace the same, have never changed with the changes of the world. My creed has not varied at Seleucia, at Constantinople, at Zela, at Lampsacus, and at Rome. My present creed is not different from the former; it has remained ever one and the same. As we received from the Lord, so are we baptized; as we are baptized, so we make profession of our faith; as we make profession of our faith, so do we offer our doxology, not separating the Holy Ghost from Father and Son, nor preferring Him in honour to the Father, or asserting Him to be prior to the Son, as blasphemers' tongues invent. Who could be so rash as to reject the Lord's commandment, and boldly devise an order of his own for the Names? But I do not call the Spirit, Who is ranked with Father and Son, a creature. I do not dare to call slavish that which is royal. And I beseech you to remember the threat uttered by the Lord in the words, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Matthew 12:31-32 Keep yourselves from dangerous teaching against the Spirit. Stand fast in the faith. 1 Corinthians 16:13 Look over all the world, and see how small the part is which is unsound. All the rest of the Church which has received the Gospel. from one end of the world to the other, abides in this sound and unperverted doctrine. From their communion I pray that I may never fall, and I pray that I may have part and lot with you in the righteous day of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He shall come to give to every one according to his conduct.

[Πρός: Τοῖς Εὐαισηνοῖς] Εἰ καὶ πολὺ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν περιεχόντων ἡμᾶς πραγμάτων καὶ φροντίσι μυρίαις συνέχεται ἡμῶν ἡ διάνοια, ὅμως οὐδέποτε τῆς μνήμης ἡμῶν ἐξεβάλομεν τὴν περὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπης μέριμναν, δεόμενοι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν διαμεῖναι ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ πίστει, ἐν ᾗ ἑστήκατε καὶ καυχᾶσθε ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ. τῷ ὄντι γὰρ δυσεύρετον λοιπὸν καὶ πάνυ σπάνιον ἰδεῖν ἐκκλησίαν εἰλικρινῆ, μηδὲν ἐκ τῆς τῶν καιρῶν χαλεπότητος παραβλαβεῖσαν, ἀλλʼ ἀκεραίαν καὶ ἄθραυστον τὴν ἀποστολικὴν διασώζουσαν διδασκαλίαν, οἵαν τὴν καθʼ ὑμᾶς ἔδειξεν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσι καιροῖς ὁ ἀναδεικνὺς τοὺς καθʼ ἑκάστην γενεὰν ἀξίους τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κλήσεως. Καὶ δῴη Κύριος ὑμῖν τὰ ἀγαθὰ Ἱερουσαλὴμ τῆς ἄνω, ἀνθʼ ὧν τὰς ψευδεῖς καθʼ ἡμῶν διαβολὰς ἐπὶ τὰς τῶν ψευδολόγων κεφαλὰς ἀπεπέμψασθε, μὴ δόντες αὐτοῖς εἴσοδον ἐπὶ τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν. καὶ οἶδα καὶ πέπεισμαι ἐν Κυρίῳ ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ πράξει ταύτῃ. ἐλογίσασθε γὰρ τοῦτο σοφῶς παρʼ ἑαυτοῖς, ὃ καὶ ἔστι κατʼ ἀλήθειαν, ὅτι οἱ ἀνταποδιδόντες μοι πονηρὰ ἀντὶ καλῶν, καὶ μῖσος ἀντὶ τῆς ἀγαπήσεώς μου τῆς εἰς αὐτούς, διαβάλλουσί με νῦν ἐπʼ ἐκείνοις, εἰς ἃ αὐτοὶ εὑρίσκονται ἐγγράφους ὁμολογίας ἐκθέμενοι. Καὶ οὐ μόνον εἰς ταύτην ἐνέπεσον τὴν ἐναντίωσιν, ἴδια ἔγγραφα ὑμῖν κατηγορίας προφέροντες, ἀλλʼ ὅτι καὶ παμψηφὶ παρὰ τῶν συνελθόντων εἰς τὴν Κωνσταντινούπολιν καθαιρεθέντες, οὐκ ἐδέξαντο τὴν καθαίρεσιν αὐτῶν, σύνοδον ἀθετούντων προσαγορεύοντες, καὶ μὴ καταδεχόμενοι ἐπισκόπους αὐτοὺς λέγειν, ἵνα μὴ τὴν κατʼ αὐτῶν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν ψῆφον κυρώσωσι. καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν προσετίθεσαν τοῦ μὴ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐπισκόπους, διότι αἱρέσεως, φησί, πονηρᾶς προεστήκασι. ταῦτα δὲ ἐγένετο πρὸ δέκα καὶ ἑπτὰ οὐχ ὅλων ἐτῶν. ἦσαν δὲ οἱ ἔξαρχοι τῶν καθελόντων αὐτούς, Εὐδόξιος, Εὐίππιος, Γεώργιος, Ἀκάκιος, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ὑμῖν οἱ δὲ νῦν κρατοῦντες τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐκείνων εἰσὶ διάδοχοι, οἱ μὲν ἀντʼ αὐτῶν χειροτονηθέντες, οἱ δὲ ὑπʼ ἐκείνων αὐτῶν προαχθέντες. Νῦν οὖν οἱ ἡμῖν τὴν κακοδοξίαν ἐγκαλοῦντες εἰπάτωσαν ἡμῖν, πῶς μὲν αἱρετικοὶ ἦσαν ἐκεῖνοι, ὧν τὴν καθαίρεσιν οὐκ ἐδέξαντο, πῶς δὲ ὀρθόδοξοι οὗτοι οἱ παρʼ ἐκείνων προαχθέντες καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ φρόνημα τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν διασώζοντες. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὀρθόδοξος Εὐίππιος, πῶς οὐχὶ λαϊκὸς Εὐστάθιος, ὁ παρʼ ἐκείνου καθῃρημένος; εἰ δὲ αἱρετικὸς ἐκεῖνος, πῶς κοινωνικὸς Εὐσταθίου νῦν ὁ διὰ τῆς ἐκείνου χειρὸς προαχθείς; ἀλλὰ παιδιαὶ αὗται, κατὰ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ παιζόμεναι, πρὸς τὸ ἑαυτῶν συμφέρον, καὶ διαβάλλειν ἀνθρώπους καὶ πάλιν συνιστᾷν ἐπιχειρούντων. Τὰ Βασιλείδου τοῦ Παφλαγόνος θυσιαστήρια ἀνέτρεψε παριὼν τὴν Παφλαγονίαν Εὐστάθιος, καὶ ἐπὶ ἰδίων τραπεζῶν ἐλειτούργει· καὶ νῦν ἱκέτης ἐστὶ Βασιλείδου, ὥστε δεχθῆναι. ἀφώρισε τὸν εὐλαβέστατον ἀδελφὸν Ἐλπίδιον διὰ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ἐν Ἀμασείᾳ συνάφειαν· καὶ νῦν ἱκέτης ἐστὶ τῶν Ἀμασέων, ἐπιζητῶν αὐτῶν τὴν συνάφειαν. τὰ κατὰ Εὐιππίου κηρύγματα καὶ ὑμεῖς αὐτοὶ ἐπίστασθε ὅπως ἦν φρικτά. καὶ νῦν τοὺς τὰ ἐκείνου φρονοῦντας ἐπὶ ὀρθότητι ἀποσεμνύνει, μόνον ἐὰν εἰς τὴν τῆς ἀποκαταστάσεως αὐτοῦ σπουδὴν συνεργήσωσιν. ἡμεῖς δὲ διαβαλλόμεθα, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ ἡμεῖς ἀδικοῦμέν τι, ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο ἐνόμισεν εὐδοκίμησιν αὐτῷ φέρειν παρὰ τοῖς ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ. οὓς δὲ πέρυσιν ἐκ τῆς Γαλατίας μετεστείλαντο, ὡς δι’ αὐτῶν δυνάμενοι τὴν παρρησίαν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς ἀπολαβεῖν, τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν, οἵους ἴσασι μὲν καὶ οἱ πρὸς ὀλίγον συγγεγονότες αὐτοῖς· ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ παράσχοι ὁ Κύριος τοσαύτην σχολήν ποτε, ὥστε τὰς ἐκείνων πράξεις ἀπαριθμεῖσθαι. πλὴν ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ δορυφόροις τοῖς τιμιωτάτοις αὐτῶν καὶ συμμύσταις παραπεμφθέντες διεξῆλθον μὲν διὰ πάσης αὐτῶν τῆς χώρας, τὰς τῶν ἐπισκόπων τιμὰς καὶ θεραπείας ἔχοντες· εἰσήχθησαν δὲ περιφανῶς εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐκκλησιάσαντες μετὰ αὐθεντίας. παρεδόθη γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὁ λαός, παρεδόθη τὸ θυσιαστήριον. οἳ ἐπειδὴ μέχρι Νικοπόλεως προελθόντες οὐδὲν ἠδυνήθησαν ὧν ἐπηγγείλαντο διαπράξασθαι, πῶς ἐπανῆλθον καὶ πῶς ὤφθησαν κατὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον ἴσασιν οἱ παρόντες. οὕτως ἀεὶ πρὸς τὸ ἑαυτῶν συμφέρον πάντα ποιοῦντες φαίνονται. εἰ δὲ λέγουσιν ὅτι μετενόησαν, δειξάτωσαν αὐτῶν ἔγγραφον τὴν μετάνοιαν, καὶ ἀναθεματισμὸν τῆς ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει πίστεως, καὶ χωρισμὸν τῶν αἱρετικῶν, καὶ μὴ ἐξαπατάτωσαν τοὺς ἀκεραιοτέρους. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐκείνων τοιαῦτα. Ἡμεῖς δέ, ἀγαπητοὶ ἀδελφοί, μικροὶ μὲν καὶ ταπεινοί, οἱ αὐτοὶ δὲ ἀεὶ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι, οὐδέποτε ταῖς μεταβολαῖς τῶν πραγμάτων συνδιετέθημεν. πίστις παρʼ ἡμῖν οὐκ ἄλλη μὲν ἐν Σελευκείᾳ, ἄλλη δὲ ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, καὶ ἄλλη ἐν Ζήλοις, καὶ ἐν Λαμψάκῳ ἄλλη, καὶ ἐπὶ Ῥώμης ἑτέρα· καὶ ἡ νῦν περιφερομένη οὐ διάφορος παρὰ τὰς προτέρας, ἀλλὰ μία καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ ἀεὶ. ὡς γὰρ παρελάβομεν παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, οὕτω βαπτιζόμεθα· ὡς βαπτιζόμεθα, οὕτω πιστεύομεν· ὡς πιστεύομεν, οὕτω καὶ δοξολογοῦμεν, οὔτε χωρίζοντες Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, οὔτε προτιθέντες Πατρός, ἢ πρεσβύτερον εἶναι τοῦ Υἱοῦ τὸ Πνεῦμα λέγοντες, ὡς αἱ τῶν βλασφήμων γλῶσσαι κατασκευάζουσι. τίς γὰρ οὕτω τολμηρός, ὃς τὴν δεσποτικὴν παρωσάμενος νομοθεσίαν ἰδίαν τολμᾷ τοῖς ὀνόμασι τάξιν ἐπινοεῖν; ἀλλʼ οὔτε κτιστὸν λέγομεν τὸ Πνεῦμα, τὸ μετὰ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ τεταγμένον, οὔτε δουλικὸν τολμῶμεν εἰπεῖν τὸ ἡγεμονικόν. καὶ ἡμᾶς παρακαλοῦμεν μεμνημένους τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου ἀπειλῆς, τοῦ εἰπόντος, Πᾶσα ἁμαρτία καὶ βλασφημία ἀφεθήσεται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἡ δὲ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον βλασφημία οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται, οὔτε ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι οὔτε ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι, φυλάξατε ἑαυτοὺς τῶν βλαβερῶν κατὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος διδαγμάτων. στήκετε ἐν τῇ πίστει, περιβλέψατε εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι μικρόν ἐστι τοῦτο τὸ μέρος τὸ νενοσηκός, ἡ δὲ λοιπὴ πᾶσα Ἐκκλησία, ἡ ἀπὸ περάτων εἰς πέρατα δεξαμένη τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, ἐπὶ τῆς ὑγιοῦς ἐστι ταύτης καὶ ἀδιαστρόφου διδασκαλίας. ὧν καὶ ἡμεῖς εὐχόμεθα τῆς κοινωνίας μὴ ἐκπεσεῖν, καὶ ὑμῖν συνευχόμεθα τὴν μερίδα λαβεῖν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῇ δικαίᾳ, ὅταν ἔλθῃ δοῦναι ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτοῦ.