Letter 462: Theodore Studite, Letter 462; Greek heading: Ἀντωνίῳ τοῦ Δυρραχίου.

Late in time though it was, nevertheless, because we received the precious letter of our most holy father that had been written long ago, we lowly ones were exceedingly glad; for nothing knows how to bind together love and to keep it undispersed so well as a disposition returned in kind. But why is it, O master, that you have thus, with the encomiastic discourse of your most learned tongue, exalted our affairs, who possess no good thing whatever? Or is love wholly the cause, stealing away the truth and ascribing to those who are loved the things that are not as though they were? Yet there is this one thing that even we possess (for it shall be said), if we are not deceived: to cherish and to love the brothers and fathers, and indeed those who are such as you are, who draw even the man savage in his character toward friendship by the goodness of your virtuous ways. These things, then, come from both of us to your sacred head [a reverential address to the recipient as the chief or summit of those addressed], having requited in brief syllables your verse-laden and most blessed letter. But as for what comes from us in defense against the accusation concerning the brother Erastos, it is contained in the following. We, most sacred one, even if we are otherwise of little worth, are nevertheless not so unlearned, nor despisers of the divine ordinances, as to enjoin a disciple of ours, who stands outside the priesthood, to dare to undertake the things of the priesthood and thereupon to baptize children; for this is the accusation. But if the plea of necessity demanded it in these days, in which there is a heresy [hairesis: the iconoclast heresy] that leads the people astray, and especially amid the plunderings that had taken place beforehand, during which the man who was being guarded could not so much as peer out of his hidden chamber, I am unable to give answer, according to the small understanding that is in me, neither concerning this monk nor again concerning another, since by necessity and by law there is a transfer [of office]. And indeed we see in former times such things coming to pass: how one man, by a sprinkling of sand in the desert, since death was at hand, baptized and was baptized, and another did so in another manner. Nor is it outside the knowledge of your perfection [a reverential address] what happened in the case of Saint Athanasius [Athanasius of Alexandria, 4th c.], how the childish performance, when it was observed by the most blessed Alexander [Alexander of Alexandria, Athanasius's predecessor], was judged to be valid as performed unto God, and the one who performed it was reckoned as a priest and the one upon whom it was performed as one reborn, even though the occasion was not one of necessity. The Sixth Council [the Quinisext / Council in Trullo, c. 692] also, in the divine canons, allows that, if a man ordained to the priesthood is not present, in case of necessity a layman may impart the holy things to himself, which is not lawful apart from a circumstantial cause. If, then, it came about thus, we, pardon us, all-honored one, do not dare to say anything contrary to the things divinely set forth by the fathers, or to censure. And there commend the brother as having so acted, and with much anguish, first of all the very man who compelled him (and the man is one of those who are exceedingly pious and prudent and indeed of high distinction, Thomas the consul and chartularius [chartoularios: a high imperial financial official]); then James, the most devout monk and one untouched by the heresy; then also Euthymius, another reverend monk and one who has been persecuted. "At the mouth of two and three witnesses," it says, "every word shall be established." You say, my master, that it is not so, and you are clearly superior to all. What, then, shall I do, hemmed in among so many witnesses? If it is as you yourself say, that, when priests were present, he did this out of love of office, securing the priesthood for himself beforehand, may it be ours that he never advance to the dignity of the priesthood, along with other penances as well; for that is just. But if, as the witnesses and he himself relate, he was compelled, and two courses lay before him, either that the infant should die uninitiated, which is what happened, since he was not first persuaded, in the case of two children, or to abandon to the heretics those who were guarding the true faith, I, the lowly one, dare lay no charge upon him, until our most blessed consecrator [hierotelestes: the one who performs the sacred rites, here the chief hierarch], having examined the matter, shall pronounce judgment. And do not groan over my lowliness, most beloved of fathers, but rather pray that we may stand within our own measure and may set right our erring life. But concerning the other faults to which your godliness gave indication, and which he has also declared to us, we did not at all suppose that he had acted unlawfully, but rather even worthy of praise: if, hearing of those who were committing adultery, he did not shrink from announcing it to those able to restrain the licentiousness; or, in the case of the countess who chose to make use of strangling [i.e., to hang herself], to see to it and to take the appropriate measures. For these things he knows himself to have incurred, and nothing else, and the brother Erastos has earned beforehand much commendation and praises from the men named above, as I myself heard with my own ears. It was not, therefore, holy one, because he caused a stumbling-block among the people there, but because of the uncorrected scandals, that I barred the brother from returning, so that thereby the one accused of the charges may be acquitted, and those who love accusation and traffic in passions may be at peace, and our most blessed father, being heeded, may grant us your God-inclined prayers, since [you grant] forgiveness to the brother as well.

Ὀψὲ μὲν τοῦ καιροῦ, ὅμως ὅτι ἀντελάβομεν τῶν πάλαι γεγραμμένων ἐπιστολὴν τιμίαν τοῦ ἁγιωτάτου ἡμῶν πατρός, πάνυ ἥσθημεν οἱ ταπεινοί· οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως συνδεῖν οἶδεν ἀγάπην καὶ ἀδιασκέδαστον φυλάττειν ὡς ἀντιδιδομένη διάθεσις. ἀλλὰ τί ὅτι οὕτως, ὦ δέσποτα, ἦρες τῷ ἐγκωμιαστικῷ λόγῳ τῆς πολυσόφου σου γλώττης τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς, τοὺς μηδ' ὁτιοῦν ἀγαθὸν ἔχοντας; ἢ πάντως ἡ ἀγάπη αἰτία, κλέπτουσα τἀληθῆ καὶ τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα τοῖς φιλουμένοις ἀνάπτουσα; πλὴν ὅτι ἓν τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν (εἰρήσεται γάρ), εἰ μὴ ἀπατώμεθα, τὸ στέργειν καὶ ἀγαπᾶν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ πατέρας, καί γε τοὺς οἷος σὺ εἶ, ἕλκων τῇ χρηστότητι τῶν ἀγαθῶν τρόπων πρὸς φιλίαν καὶ τὸν ἠγριωμένον ἤθει. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν παρ' ἀμφοτέρων ἡμῶν τῇ ἱερᾷ σου κορυφῇ, βραχέσι συλλαβαῖς ἀμειψαμένων τὴν πολύστιχον καὶ πολύολβον ἐπιστολήν. ἃ δὲ πρὸς ἡμῶν εἰς ἀπολογίαν τῆς περὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἔραστον ἐγκλήσεως, ἐν τούτοις. ἡμεῖς, ἱερώτατε, εἰ καὶ ἄλλως εὐτελεῖς ἐσμεν, οὐ μὴν οὕτως ἀμαθεῖς ἢ τῶν θείων διαταγῶν καταφρονηταί, ὡς ἐντείλασθαι μαθητῇ ἡμῶν, ἔξω ἱερωσύνης τελοῦντι, κατατολμᾶν ἐγχειρεῖν τὰ τῆς ἱερωσύνης κἀντεῦθεν βαπτίζειν παιδία· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ ἔγκλημα. εἰ δὲ λόγος ἀνάγκης ἀπῄτησεν ἐν ταύταις ταῖς ἡμέραις, ἐν αἷς αἵρεσις λαοπλάνος, καὶ μάλιστα ἐν ταῖς προλαβούσαις λεηλασίαις, ἐφ' αἷς οὐδὲ προκύπτειν ἦν τὸν φυλαττόμενον τοῦ κρυπτικοῦ δωματίου, οὐκ ἔχω ἀποκρίνειν κατὰ τὴν ἐνοῦσάν μοι βραχεῖαν σύνεσιν οὔτε τόνδε τὸν μονάζοντα οὔτ' αὖ ἕτερον, ἐπειδὴ ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ νόμου μετάθεσις. καί γε ὁρῶμεν ἐν τοῖς πάλαι χρόνοις τοιαῦτα γιγνόμενα, καὶ ὃν μὲν ἀμμώδει ἐπιχύσει κατ' ἐρημίαν, ἐπειδὴ θάνατος παρῆν, βαπτίσαντα καὶ βαπτισθέντα καὶ ἄλλον ἄλλως. οὐκ ἔξω δὲ γνώσεως τῇ τελειότητί σου τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ἅγιον Ἀθανάσιον, ὅπως ἡ παιδικὴ πρᾶξις ὁραθεῖσα πρὸς τοῦ μακαριωτάτου Ἀλεξάνδρου ἐνεκρίθη ὡς θεοτελὴς καὶ ἐλογίσθη ὁ τελέσας ὡς ἱερεὺς καὶ ὁ τελεσθεὶς ὡς ἀναγεννηθείς, καίπερ οὐκ ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὁ καιρός. παραχωρεῖ δὲ καὶ ἡ ἕκτη σύνοδος ἐν τοῖς θείοις κανόσιν, εἰ μὴ πάρεστιν ἱερωμένος, ἐξ ἀνάγκης λαϊκὸν ἑαυτῷ μεταδοῦναι τῶν ἁγιασμάτων· ὅπερ οὐ θεμιτὸν ἄνευ περιστατικοῦ λόγου. Οὕτως οὖν εἰ γέγονεν, ἡμεῖς, σύγγνωθι πάντιμε, οὐ τολμῶμεν παρὰ τὰ θειωδῶς τοῖς πατράσιν ἐκπεφασμένα εἰπεῖν τι ἢ ἐπιτιμῆσαι. συνίστησι δὲ τὸν ἀδελφὸν οὕτω πράξαντα καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ἀγωνίας πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὸς ὁ ἀναγκάσας (καὶ ἔστιν ὁ ἀνὴρ τῶν λίαν καὶ εὐσεβῶν καὶ ἐμφρόνων καί γε περιφανῶν, Θωμᾶς ὁ ὕπατός τε καὶ χαρτουλάριος), ἔπειτα Ἰάκωβος ὁ εὐλαβέστατος μονάζων καὶ τῆς αἱρέσεως ἀμέτοχος, εἶτα καὶ Εὐθύμιος, ἕτερος αἰδέσιμος μονάζων καὶ δεδιωγμένος. ἐπὶ δύο καὶ τριῶν μαρτύρων σταθήσεται, φησίν, πᾶν ῥῆμα. λέγεις, ὁ δεσπότης μου, οὐχ οὕτως ἔχειν, καὶ προφερέστερος δῆλον ὅτι τῶν πάντων. τί γοῦν ποιήσω ἐγώ, ἀπειλημμένος ἐν μέσῳ τοσούτων μαρτύρων; ἐὰν ὡς αὐτὸς φῆς ἔχῃ, ὅτι παρόντων ἱερέων φιλαχρίᾳ προμνηστευόμενος ἑαυτῷ ἱερωσύνην τοῦθ' εἰργάσατο, εἴη πρὸς ἡμῶν μήποτε εἰς τὸ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἀξίωμα προβαίνων μετὰ καὶ ἑτέρων ἐπιτιμίων· δίκαιον γάρ. εἰ δέ, ὡς οἱ μάρτυρες καὶ αὐτὸς διηγεῖται, ἀναγκασθεὶς καὶ δυοῖν προκειμένων, ἢ ἀμύητον τὸ βρέφος ἀποτεθνάναι, ὅπερ ἔπαθεν οὐ πεισθεὶς πρότερον ἐν δυσὶ παισίν, ἢ προέσθαι τοῖς αἱρετικοῖς τοὺς φυλαττομένους τὴν εὐσέβειαν, οὐδὲν ἐγὼ ὁ ταπεινὸς τολμῶ ἐπισκῆψαι, ἕως ἂν ὁ μακαριώτατος ἡμῶν ἱεροτελεστὴς ἐπιθεωρήσας ἐξοίσει κρίσιν. καὶ μή μου τῆς ταπεινώσεως, πατέρων φίλτατε, καταστενάξειας, ἀλλ' ἢ μᾶλλον προσεύχου ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις μέτροις ἑστάναι καὶ τὸν ἐσφαλμένον βίον διορθώσασθαι ἡμᾶς. περὶ δὲ ἑτέρων σφαλμάτων, ὧν ἔδωκεν ἔμφασιν ἡ θεοσέβειά σου, καὶ ἐξηγόρευκεν ἡμῖν καὶ οὐδόλως ἐπενοήσαμεν ἐκθέσμως αὐτὸν πρᾶξαι, ἀλλ' ἢ καὶ ἐπαίνου ἄξιον, εἰ, μοιχεύοντας ἀκούων, οὐχ ὑπεστείλατο μὴ οὐχὶ ἀναγγεῖλαι τοῖς δυναμένοις ἀπεῖρξαι τὸ ἀσέλγημα, ἢ τὸ τῇ κομητίσσῃ ἀγχόνῃ αἱρουμένῃ χρήσασθαι ἰδεῖν καὶ τὰ προσήκοντα ἐπιπράξασθαι. τάδε γὰρ οἶδεν ὠφληκέναι καὶ οὐκ ἄλλο καὶ πολλῆς εὐφημίας πρὸς τῶν ἀνωτέρω δηλωθέντων ἀνδρῶν, ὡς αὐτήκοος ἐγενόμην, προανεδήσατο ὁ ἀδελφὸς Ἔραστος ἐπαίνους. Οὐ τοίνυν, ἅγιε, διὰ τὸ σκινδαλμὸν αὐτὸν ἐμποιῆσαι ἐν τοῖς αὐτόθι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὰ ἀδιόρθωτα σκάνδαλα εἶρξα τὸν ἀδελφὸν τῆς παλινοδίας, ὡς ἂν ἐντεῦθεν ἀθωωθῇ μὲν ὁ κατηγορούμενος τῶν ἐγκλημάτων, εἰρηνεύσειεν δὲ οἱ φιλεγκλήμονες καὶ παθοπράται, ὅ τε μακαριώτατος ἡμῶν πατὴρ ὑπακουσθεὶς χαρίσῃ ἡμῖν τὰς θεοκλινεῖς σου προσευχάς, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῷ ἀδελφῷ συγχώρησιν.