Letter 256: Theodore Studite, Letter 256; Greek heading: Ἀντιόχῳ σιλεντιαρίῳ.

Your letter is worthy of your piety, because at a time when most people flee even to offer us a bare greeting, you yourself both write and call upon us to write, finding fault with our silence. You show whose offshoot you are: of the golden stock, of the pious root; and for this reason you are dear to me, and the ardent one [is dear to me] among my friends, loved just as your blessed father was. But the marvelous thing is that even in the winter of unbelief the flower of your virtue has not withered, remaining undefiled by communion with the heretics [those who accept iconoclasm], as you write. And I must still pray that it may continue to remain so; for it is truly difficult to escape, especially for one in a position of rank, when nearly all have been overcome by fear of human danger, but with contempt for the God who is set at naught. By His providence may you be guarded and saved on both sides, you who are in all things most beloved by all.