Letter 5: I had wished, dear brothers, to greet my entire clergy safe and sound with this letter.

I had wished, dear brothers, to greet my entire clergy safe and sound with this letter. But the storm that has already devastated so many of my people has added this to my sorrows: it has touched even a portion of the clergy. I pray the Lord will let me greet you at least as those who stand firm in faith and courage. Though there are reasons urging me to come to you in person — above all, my own burning desire to see you, and also the need to consult together on matters affecting the governance of the Church — it seems wiser for now to stay in my place of retreat. There are advantages to my absence that concern the peace and safety of us all, as our dear brother Tertullus has advised. He counseled that I should be cautious and moderate, and not recklessly expose myself in a city where I've already been publicly targeted. Still, I am not absent in spirit. By letter, I do what I can. I've sent you thirteen letters now, addressing various situations as they've arisen — counsel to the clergy, encouragement to the confessors, rebuke where it was necessary, exhortation to the whole community. I've done my best to provide direction, within the limits of what my abilities and the circumstances allow. There is one matter, though, that troubles me deeply. I've been told that certain presbyters — forgetting the Gospel and ignoring their own station — have already begun granting communion to the lapsed, without waiting for the persecution to end, without consulting the bishop, without even basic penitential process. This is reckless and dangerous. The martyrs have written to me asking that their requests be reviewed; I've agreed, but only when peace returns, when the bishop is present, when the full community can weigh in. To rush ahead now — to bypass all order and discipline — is to risk doing more harm than the persecution itself. If some of the lapsed are gravely ill and in danger of death, they may confess before a presbyter (or if no presbyter is available, before a deacon), receive the laying on of hands for repentance, and so come to the Lord with the peace that the martyrs have requested for them. But for the rest, patience. Let no one strip the bishop of his authority, or rob the martyrs of their honor, or make the gospel a thing of no account.

Epistle 5