Letter 506
Isidore of Pelusium→Unknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Isidoros the Deacon
Date: ~410 AD
Context: A letter of direct reproach to a deacon who appears to be neglecting the actual work of his office in favor of the status it confers.
I have heard things about your conduct, Isidoros, that I wish I had not heard — that you carry the title of deacon while declining the work of a deacon. That you are present at the honors of the office while absent from its demands.
If this is accurate, you understand what it means: you have taken the status and abandoned the substance. The status without the substance is an imposture. It is not a lesser form of what you should be — it is a contradiction of it.
I write not to condemn but to call you back. The work of a deacon — caring for those who are sick, poor, vulnerable; mediating between those in conflict; ensuring that the practical needs of the community are met — this is honorable work. It is the work Christ himself described as defining the difference between those who understood him and those who did not.
Return to it. The title will mean something again when the work is being done.
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From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Isidoros the Deacon
Date: ~410 AD
Context: A letter of direct reproach to a deacon who appears to be neglecting the actual work of his office in favor of the status it confers.
I have heard things about your conduct, Isidoros, that I wish I had not heard — that you carry the title of deacon while declining the work of a deacon. That you are present at the honors of the office while absent from its demands.
If this is accurate, you understand what it means: you have taken the status and abandoned the substance. The status without the substance is an imposture. It is not a lesser form of what you should be — it is a contradiction of it.
I write not to condemn but to call you back. The work of a deacon — caring for those who are sick, poor, vulnerable; mediating between those in conflict; ensuring that the practical needs of the community are met — this is honorable work. It is the work Christ himself described as defining the difference between those who understood him and those who did not.
Return to it. The title will mean something again when the work is being done.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.