Letter 203: Theodore Studite, Letter 203; Greek heading: Κόμητι.

I hear, indeed I keep hearing, O man of God, of your noble deeds and your piety, which you perform toward our brethren who are in that place or who are passing through it; and I glorify God, because, as a father or a guide or some angel sent from God, you act effectively on their behalf: one you exhort, another you reconcile, one you feed, another you send on his way, yet another you join to himself as one living the solitary life [the monastic life], and one you clothe, another you furnish with provisions for the journey. And what need is there to say much? I think that I myself am present in you, or one of those who rank as my right eye. Whence comes to you, O most venerable master, this solicitude, whence this love, whence this consolation—but from God, who in each place and region has his own laborers and ministers? You yourself, even in the former exile, did not cease to act in the same way, sheltering and tending to us ourselves. For all these things, then, you have us as your debtors in thanksgiving prayers—or rather you have God as your debtor, who takes upon himself the good deeds you do toward the brethren; from whom comes to you the remission of sins and the kingdom of the heavens.