Letter 248: Theodore Studite, Letter 248; Greek heading: Ἀφροδισίῳ τέκνῳ.

Greetings, Aphrodisios, my child, or rather God's child, for whom the contest set before us is waged. What is this that has come to pass in you, that you so eagerly went over to surrender your own flesh to the scourges for Christ's sake, so bearing such great blows steadfastly, like adamant? Rejoice, soldier of Christ! See to what height grace has called you, how you leapt up to the summit of virtue, having remade yourself from your former failings. You have glorified God, my child, in your limbs; you have honored even me, the sinner. You have shone forth in your brotherhood, together with your company of equal contest [your fellow confessors who endured the same struggle], like a morning star; you have become a pillar of the Church of God. Blessed are you, and it shall go well with you. But look to your work, for it is not yet at its end; you must persevere to the finish, that you may so be crowned. Bear nobly the things of exile, prepare yourself even to die for Christ's sake and for the holy icon [the sacred image, the veneration of which Theodore defends against the iconoclasts]. Keep yourself free from rash speech, be watchful against the invisible enemies. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, be sober in your prayers, praying also for me the sinner, that I may be saved together with you. Your brothers who are with me greet you. The Lord be with you.