Letter 159: Chrysostom says the bishops' long journey for the churches has allowed him to breathe again.

The greatness of your zeal is no small consolation amid the evils that have overtaken us here. What you did earlier was already enough to bring us comfort: your watchfulness, eagerness, and great care. But what you have now added has allowed us all to breathe again. You have undertaken so long a journey for the things that benefit the churches. You have shown by deeds, not words only, that you grieve over the common wound. For this reason we thank you, praise you, and call you blessed. Carry the work forward. The labor is great, but so is the reward. The churches need people who do not merely mourn the storm but help steer through it. Write to us about your health and about the outcome of your efforts.

ΡΝΘʹ. Τοῖς αὐτοῖς. Οὐ μικρὰν ἔχομεν παραμυθίαν τῶν κατειληφότων τὰ ἐνταῦθα κακῶν, τῆς ὑμετέρας σπουδῆς τὸ μέγεθος. Ἱκανὰ μὲν γὰρ καὶ τὰ ἔμπροσθεν παρ' ὑμῶν γεγενημένα, ἡ ἀγρυπνία, καὶ ἡ σπουδὴ, καὶ ἡ τοσαύτη φροντὶς, πολλὴν ἡμῖν παρασχεῖν τὴν παράκλησιν· ὃ δὲ νῦν προσεθήκατε, τὸ μακρὰν οὕτως ἀποδημίαν στείλασθαι, ὑπὲρ τῶν ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις συμφερόντων, σφόδρα πάντας ἡμᾶς ἀναπνεῦσαι πεποίηκε. Καὶ κοινῇ πάντες ὑμῖν χάριτας ὁμολογοῦμεν πολλὰς ὑπὲρ τῶν τοσούτων πόνων, καὶ τῶν ἱδρώτων, καὶ τῶν καλῶν τούτων ἀγώνων, καὶ μακαρίζοντες ὑμᾶς οὐ διαλιμπάνομεν τῆς καλῆς ταύτης προθυμίας τε καὶ σπουδῆς. ∆ιὸ καὶ τὸν κύριόν μου τὸν τιμιώτατον καὶ εὐλαβέστατον πρεσβύτερον παρεκαλέσαμεν δραμεῖν ἕως ὑμῶν. ∆εξάμενοι τοίνυν αὐτὸν μετὰ τῆς ὑμῖν πρεπούσης φιλοφροσύνης, ἄξιον τοῖς προοιμίοις τὸ τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι παρακλήθητε. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἀνίατα νοσοῦσι τέως οἱ τοσούτους χειμῶνας καὶ πολέμους ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις ἐργασάμενοι, τοσοῦτον ταλανίζειν μὲν ἐκείνους καὶ δακρύειν χρὴ, ὑμᾶς δὲ ἐκπλήττεσθαι καὶ ἀνακηρύττειν, ὅτι καὶ τῶν κακῶν αὐξομένων, μείζονα ἀεὶ προϊόντες τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὰ τοιαῦτα διορθῶσαι σπουδὴν ἐπιδείκνυσθε.