Letter 389: Theodore Studite, Letter 389; Greek heading: Βασιλείῳ ἡγουμένῳ.

I read your letter with pleasure, holy fatherhood, since it was offered from a pure heart; yet I did not take delight in its praises, being a stranger to the things said of me. But rather, if you are willing, pray that I may sharpen myself near at hand to your portion and standing [in the spiritual contest]. So much for this matter. May it be, according to your word, that both the brother Hypatius and whatever other of those contending [in confession] prove useful to God, so that through them we too, lowly as we are, may have the Divinity favorable to us. The question concerning those who have been entangled in falls [transgressions] according to nature or contrary to nature has this answer: that true repentance lies in the demonstration of the fruits proper to it. These fruits are: abstention from the holy things [the sacraments] in canonical fashion, together with the self-restraint that is carried through to the end; this obtains forgiveness of the sins committed even without scourgings and without martyrdom. For so long as God does not shut the door against us, as it is written (and the shutting of the door is death), even if true repentance should arrive on the last day of one's life, it has saved the one who has turned back from his sin. So God determined through Ezekiel the theologian; and we have such a benevolent God, the one who settled in [paradise] the robber within a single hour, both the man of old and the last one, and who likewise justified the tax-collector. But if, in keeping with what has just been said above, the one who has sinned should also give himself over to receive blows upon his back and something further besides, who would doubt that he is forgiven his sin? For to die also in the confession of Christ properly makes one a martyr of the Lord. But perhaps the question concerns the penance [epitimion, the prescribed canonical penalty]: that, if he be subjected to torments yet does not die, this matter is to be regulated by the one who imposed the penance - how much to remit on account of the sufferings, whether the whole or the half; for it is not possible for us to determine it. Such is the word of our humility. But if it ought to be otherwise, teach us, father, and enlighten us who are uninitiated. Greet my brother, the lord Procopius, most warmly.

Ἡδέως σου ἀνέγνων τὸ γραμματεῖον, ὦ πατρότης ἁγία, ὡς ἀπὸ καρδίας καθαρᾶς προσενηνεγμένον, οὐ μὴν ἐν τοῖς ἐπαίνοις ἥσθην, ὡς ξένος τῶν λελεγμένων. ἀλλ' αὐτός, εἰ βούλει, μᾶλλον προσεύχου τῆς μερίδος καὶ στάσεώς σου ἐγγύθεν παραθήγειν. Τοῦτο μὲν τοιοῦτον. εἴη δὲ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου χρησιμεύειν τῷ θεῷ Ὑπάτιόν τε τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ ὅντινα ἄλλον τῶν ἐναθλούντων, ὡς ἂν δι' αὐτῶν σχοίημεν καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ ταπεινοὶ εὐμενὲς τὸ θεῖον. τὸ ἐρώτημα τῶν ἐμπαρέντων ἐν τοῖς κατὰ φύσιν ἢ παρὰ φύσιν πτώμασιν ἐκείνην ἔχει τὴν ἀπόκρισιν, ὅτι ἡ ἀληθὴς μετάνοια ἐν ἐπιδείξει τῶν κατ' αὐτῆς καρπῶν. ἅτινά ἐστιν· ἡ ἀποχὴ τῶν ἁγιασμάτων κανονικῶς μετὰ καὶ τῆς συντελουμένης ἐγκρατείας τὴν συγχώρησιν τῶν ἡμαρτημένων ἀντιλαμβάνει καὶ ἄνευ μαστίγων καὶ μαρτυρίου. ἕως ἂν γὰρ μὴ ἀποκλείσῃ καθ' ἡμῶν, ὡς γέγραπται (ἀπόκλεισις δὲ ὁ θάνατος), κἂν ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ζωῆς ἡ ἀληθὴς μετάνοια φθάσειεν, ἔσωσε τὸν ἐπιστρέψαντα τῆς ἁμαρτίας. οὕτω θεὸς διὰ Ἰεζεκιὴλ τοῦ θεολόγου διωρίσατο· καὶ τοιοῦτον φιλάνθρωπον θεὸν ἔχομεν, τὸν καὶ λῃστὴν μιᾷ ὥρᾳ εἰσοικισάμενον, τὸν πάλαι καὶ τὸν ἔσχατον, καὶ τελώνην ὡσαύτως δικαιώσαντα. εἰ δὲ κατὰ τὰ φθάσαντα ἄρτι ἐπιδοῖεν ἑαυτὸν ὁ ἡμαρτηκὼς καὶ πληγὰς ἐπὶ νώτου δέξασθαι καί τι ἄλλο περισσότερον, τίς ἀμφιβάλοι μὴ συγκεχωρῆσθαι αὐτὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας; τὸ γὰρ καὶ θανεῖν ἐν τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ Χριστοῦ μάρτυρα ἀποτελεῖ κυρίως Κυρίου. ἀλλ' ἴσως ὁ λόγος περὶ τοῦ ἐπιτιμίου, ὅτι, ἐὰν ὑποβληθῇ βασάνοις, μὴ μέντοι θάνοι, τοῦτο παρὰ τοῦ δόντος τὸ ἐπιτίμιον κανονιζέσθω, πόσον ὑφελεῖν διὰ τὰ παθήματα, ὅλον, τὸ ἥμισυ· ἡμῖν γὰρ ὁρίζειν οὐχ οἷόν τε. Οὕτως ὁ τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν λόγος. εἰ δὲ δεῖ ἄλλως, δίδαξον, πάτερ, καὶ φώτισον ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀμυήτους. τὸν ἀδελφόν μου, τὸν κῦριν Προκόπιον, πλεῖστα προσειπέ.