Letter 316: Theodore Studite, Letter 316; Greek heading: Ἄννῃ ἡγουμένῃ.

That you have written to me is fitting; for through your letter I have rather come to knowledge of the preservation [safety] of your Honor, and I have given thanks to God, since you so persevere in the good resolve and in the confession of Christ, and do not take to heart your solitude, your imprisonment. May you not grow faint, since you have Christ as the guest at your hearth, for whom and on account of whom you suffer. Keep in mind the prizes of the blessed women, the contests of the virgins, their endurances, their trials. Contemplate the heavenly things: the rest [repose] prepared for the saints, the light that does not set, the joy unspeakable, the life undefiled; and then, on the contrary, the punishments of sinners, the outer darkness, the fire of Gehenna, the venom-shooting worm, the bonds that cannot be loosed, the chaos, Tartarus. Pondering these things, then, lighten your moments of faintheartedness, be made firm in endurance, drive out the passions, be enlightened in soul, prepare yourself for still greater contending; for the sufferings of the present time are not worthy [to be compared] with the glory that is to be revealed in us [Romans 8:18]. If, persevering thus, you should persevere, you will serve God, you will gladden the angels, you will put the demons to shame, procuring for yourself greatest renown and an unquenchable name even in the present age. Pray for us sinners.