Letter 365: Theodore Studite, Letter 365; Greek heading: Τιθόῃ τέκνῳ.

Well and fittingly written, brother, was your letter, neither given to verbosity nor falling short of what is needful, so that I, reading it gladly, bless you and pray that you may be sufficient both in word and in deed. Be strong, then, still, and play the man, always preparing yourself for the death endured for the Lord's sake, training yourself in reading, in the grasp of the doctrines of the truth, and indeed in the piety set before you. Rejoice and do not grieve, but give thanks to Christ, who has loved you, that you have attained to so great a measure of confession of him [homologia: the public confession of faith under persecution], upon which depend life eternal and joy unspeakable, even if we should be cut limb from limb, not to say even if we should be shut up and kept in solitude and suffer cold and be stinted of our bread; for whoever is not so prepared withers like grass, that is, falls away, even as those who have fallen away fell away. You, then, my child, stand fast, suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ, fulfill your confession, stretching out your hand, as I have also written before, to the brethren at the monastery of Stoudios [Theodore's own monastery in Constantinople], if they are still preserved in the Lord, since they belong to you in a special way as fellow contenders and fellow travelers. May the Lord gild you with the purity of your heart. Pray for us sinners, beloved.