Letter 26: Theodore Studite, Letter 26; Greek heading: Συμεὼν ἡγουμένῳ.

Your honored fatherhood has inscribed for us a letter worthy of your sanctified and God-bearing soul, one that at once signifies your loving disposition toward us sinners, and at the same time discloses your balanced and like-minded concord regarding the divine commandments, and indeed teaches the better things and joins us in eagerness to stand unshaken in the contests that lie before us, and to be in no way overturned by the empty babble [kenophonia] of the heterodox and the speakers of vain things. And your honored writing has truly become for us an animating breath of courage and a rampart of strength, so that we glorify our good Lord, who has not utterly abandoned our lowly generation, but has given living sparks to those who are willing to be rekindled toward the good work of piety. So these things stand thus. And we pray a prayer, as sinners, that the life of your holiness may continue as a model of salvation for us and for any others who are willing; for it is by no means the case that those who twist the canons and trip up the rules behold uprightness in those who rightly divide the word of truth, but rather they kindle laughter and attach reproaches. And what else does this do but rather strengthen us, as we learn the rottenness and instability of such men? That your lofty understanding is not caught by them is for us both worthy of wonder and much prayed for. You seek to learn what newer thing has happened with respect to the matter at hand; and we are unable to tell, because those now in power are on campaign [phossateuein, to be encamped in the field/on military expedition]. For with regard to the high priest [archiereus, here the iconoclast patriarch], what need is there even to speak, since he has neither sent word nor is willing to receive a hearing, reserving everything for Caesar? For the lord Symeon is double-tongued, shifting in one direction here, in another there. Yet we have once again taken up the argument and have not yielded on the truth. And he softens a little, but remains the same man, holding and seeking those things which are altogether desirable to those in power. And as our pious sovereign was going out, we wrote again, since he himself sought this; and nevertheless he was unwilling that we should come into his sight. But we, the sinners, remain the same—if indeed your prayer keeps watch—unwilling to betray the truth or to share in their communion, even though exile lies before us, even though the sword is being whetted, even though fire is being kindled. Yet we should not be able to do this, being unworthy even to be called monks merely in name, unless the Lord, giving heed to your sacred prayers, should empower our weak and rotten condition. Therefore keep watch, holy fathers, for this very purpose, considering as your own—which indeed it is—the problem that concerns the common good. And by God's command, as our most reverend brother and steward [oikonomos] of our holy monastery goes out, he will bring to your holiness copies of the letters sent to each of the two persons, so that from these too, learning more clearly our circumstances, you may both help with letters and assist with supplications. And we have also entrusted a certain other message to the brother, and he will assuredly announce and deliver it as well, when he reaches the point of seeing your honored countenance. Together with us, the archbishop, Kalogeros, the abbot Leontios, and the rest of our brotherhood send greetings. Deign to greet your holy company on our behalf.

Ἀξίαν τῆς ἡγιασμένης καὶ θεοφόρου σου ψυχῆς ἐχάραξεν ἡμῖν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἡ τιμία σου πατρότης, ὁμοῦ μὲν σημαίνουσαν τὴν ἀγαπητικὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς διάθεσιν, ὁμοῦ δὲ δηλοῦσαν τὴν ἰσόρροπον καὶ ταὐτόγνωμον αὐτῆς περὶ τῶν θείων ἐντολῶν συμφωνίαν, καὶ μὴν ἐκδιδάσκουσαν τὰ κρείττονα καὶ συμπροθυμοῦσαν εἰς τοὺς προκειμένους ἀγῶνας ἀκλονητὶ ἐνίστασθαι καὶ μηδαμόθεν τῇ τῶν ἑτεροδόξων καὶ εἰκαιολόγων ἀνατρέπεσθαι κενοφωνίᾳ. καὶ γέγονεν ἡμῖν τὸ τίμιόν σου γράμμα ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐμψύχωμα ἀνδρείας καὶ χαράκωμα δυνάμεως, ὡς δοξάσαι ἡμᾶς τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἡμῶν Κύριον, τὸν μὴ τελείως τὴν ταπεινὴν ἡμῶν γενεὰν ἐγκαταλιπόντα, ἀλλὰ δόντα σπινθῆρας ζωτικοὺς τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν ἀναζωπυρεῖσθαι πρὸς τὴν τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀγαθοεργίαν. Ἔχει μὲν οὕτω ταῦτα. καὶ εὐχὴν εὐχόμεθα ὡς ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἐπιμένειν σου τὴν τῆς ἁγιωσύνης ζωὴν εἰς σωτηρίας ὑπόδειγμα ἡμῖν τε καὶ οἷστισιν ἄλλοις βουλομένοις· οὐ γὰρ πάντως οἱ τοὺς κανόνας στρεβλοῦντες καὶ τοὺς γνώμονας σκελίζοντες εὐθύτητα βλέπουσιν ἐν τοῖς ὀρθοτομοῦσι τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀλλὰ καὶ γέλωτα ἀνάπτουσι καὶ ὀνειδισμοὺς προσάπτουσι. καὶ τί ἄλλο ἢ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν μᾶλλον στερεοῦσθαι ἡμᾶς, μανθάνοντας τὸ σαθρὸν καὶ ἐπισφαλὲς τῶν τοιούτων; ὑφ' ὧν ὅτι ἡ σὴ ὑψηλὴ διάνοια οὐχ ἁλίσκεται, ἀξιάγαστον καὶ ἡμῖν πολύευκτον. ζητεῖ δὲ μαθεῖν ὅ τι γέγονε καινότερον πρὸς τὴν ἐνισταμένην ὑπόθεσιν· καὶ οὐκ ἔχομεν λέγειν διὰ τὸ τοὺς κρατοῦντας τὸ νῦν φοσσατεύειν. πρὸς γὰρ τὸν ἀρχιερέα τί δεῖ καὶ λέγειν, μήτε λόγον διαπέμψαντα μήτε ἐθέλοντα ἀκοὴν παραδέξασθαι, ταμιευόμενον πάντα Καίσαρι; ὁ γὰρ κύριος Συμεὼν ἀμφοτερόγλωσσος, πῆ μὲν οὕτως, πῆ δὲ ἄλλως μεταβαλλόμενος. πλὴν ὅτι καὶ πάλιν συνήραμεν λόγον καὶ οὐχ ὑφήκαμεν τῆς ἀληθείας. καὶ μικρὸν μὲν μαλάσσεται, μένει δὲ ὁ αὐτός, ἐκεῖνα φρονῶν καὶ ζητῶν, ἃ ἐφετὰ πάντως τοῖς κρατοῦσιν. ἐν δὲ τῷ ἐξέρχεσθαι τὸν εὐσεβῆ ἡμῶν δεσπότην πάλιν γεγράφαμεν, ἐκζητήσαντος αὐτοῦ τοῦτο· καὶ ὅμως οὐκ ἠθέλησεν ἡμᾶς εἰς ὄψιν αὐτοῦ ἐλθεῖν. μένομεν δὲ ἡμεῖς οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί, εἴπερ γρηγορεῖ ἡ εὐχὴ ὑμῶν, ὡσαύτως, μὴ βουλόμενοι προδοῦναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν μηδὲ μετασχεῖν τῆς κοινωνίας αὐτῶν, κἂν ἐξορία πρόκειται, κἂν ξίφος στιλβοῦται, κἂν πῦρ ἀνάπτηται. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν τοῦτο δυνηθείημεν, ἀνάξιοι τυγχάνοντες τοῦ καὶ ὀνομάζεσθαι μόνον μοναχοί, εἰ μὴ προσσχὼν Κύριος ταῖς ὑμετέραις ἱεραῖς προσευχαῖς δυναμώσειε τὸ ἡμῶν ἀσθενὲς καὶ σαθρόν. Διὸ γρηγορεῖτε, πατέρες ἅγιοι, εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὑμέτερον ἡγούμενοι, ὅπερ καὶ ἐστί, τὸ κοινωφελὲς πρόβλημα. θεοῦ δὲ κελεύσει ἐξερχόμενος ὁ αἰδεσιμώτατος ἀδελφὸς ἡμῶν καὶ οἰκονόμος τῆς ἁγίας ἡμῶν μονῆς ἀγάγῃ τῇ ἁγιωσύνῃ σου ἀντίγραφα τῶν διαπεμφθέντων ἐπιστολῶν πρὸς ἑκάτερα πρόσωπα, ἵνα κἀντεῦθεν ἐναργέστερον μανθάνουσα τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς τὸ μὲν βοηθῇ γράμμασι, τὸ δὲ ἐπικουρῇ ἱκετηρίαις. καὶ ἄλλον δέ τινα παρεθέμεθα τῷ ἀδελφῷ λόγον, καὐτὸν πάντως ἀναγγελεῖ καὶ ἀποδώσει, ὁπηνίκα φθάσει ἰδεῖν τὸν τίμιόν σου χαρακτῆρα. Προσαγορεύει σὺν ἡμῖν καὶ ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος, ὁ Καλόγηρος, ὁ ἀββᾶς Λεόντιος καὶ ἡ λοιπὴ ἡμῶν ἀδελφότης. τὴν ἁγίαν σου συνοδίαν προσειπεῖν ἐξ ἡμῶν καταξίωσον.