Letter 463: Theodore Studite, Letter 463; Greek heading: Ἰωάννῃ σπαθαρίῳ.

The good news of the salvation of my blessed master and spiritual brother, even before your letter was reported to us, gladdened our lowly hearts; and when it was also read aloud, it completely delighted and rejoiced us, and not us sinners alone, but also the angelic powers, since over one man who repents there is joy in heaven, according to the sacred words. But blessed be God, who did not allow your honored self to be carried away to the very end along with the wicked heresy [hairesis: heresy] of the enemies of Christ, but through your good and blessed daughter turned you back to the light of the truth. And oh, the marvel both of the one who begot and of her who was begotten! Oh, the sincere love of them both: she who took thought, at his very last breaths, for her father's safety, and he who inclined his ear in a manner befitting God and granted to her who asked it a noble burial-gift, the orthodox conversion. She departed, possessing, together with her own goodness and nobility, a delightful guest-offering to bring before God, her father's salvation; and he remained behind as the pious adornment of a holy daughter, and, in very truth, a source of joy to all the orthodox. For 'how do you know, O woman,' it says, 'whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O man, whether you will save your wife?' But we must alter it a little, since it was the daughter who saved the father. And blessed is that holy woman, and blessed are you too, O thrice-longed-for one; for I am persuaded that together with you you will also bring your whole household, and perhaps even your kindred, to confess orthodoxy before the Master Christ, so that from many persons the grace bestowed upon you may, through many, be given thanks for on your behalf. Such is the divine offering, and most excellent is your confession, which you confessed in your letter before God and men. For the true faith of Christians is thus: according to the doctrine of theology, to believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in whom also baptism has its perfection, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit the Holy (in one God and not three, away with the thought, since the Godhead is one, not divided among the three hypostases [hypostases: persons/individual subsistences], but beheld whole in each person indivisibly; which is indeed a paradox, to call each one God and yet to recapitulate the confession into one God); and according to the dispensation [oikonomia: God's plan of salvation enacted in the Incarnation], again to believe that the Word became flesh, that is, that one of the Holy Trinity was born of the all-immaculate Virgin Mary, remaining indeed what he was, unchangeable God and coeternal with the Father, yet having taken up what is ours through the virginal birth in the Holy Spirit. And he is wholly God and wholly man, bearing without deficiency in himself all the properties of both natures from which he was composed-I mean of Godhead and of manhood-in one hypostasis: circumscribable and uncircumscribable, the one according to the Godhead, the other according to the manhood; for these are the properties, and in respect of the uncircumscribable he is one of the Holy Trinity, while in respect of the circumscribable he is one from among us. And in this he is confirmed as having become mediator of God and men, in that he joins the extremes to himself and through himself has made us sharers of the divine nature and sons of God-the wonderful and exceedingly praiseworthy thing, both as conceived and as spoken. He, then, who says that he is not circumscribed in flesh after our likeness denies, my blessed brother, that God has appeared in flesh, setting himself against the gospel of Christ, and he is the equal of the Jews. For where will it be true that he became like us in all things, if he were not portrayed in image as we are? And where will that saying hold: 'Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you behold me having'? And where this: 'Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth which I heard from the Father'? Therefore he who is not circumscribed is plainly neither like us, nor again is he handled, nor indeed is he killed. But in fact he was killed and was handled after the resurrection; therefore he is also circumscribable by the image-portrayal that is according to us. But the image-fighters [eikonomachoi: those who war against icons, the iconoclasts] became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened, in that, by denying the icon [eikon: image, sacred image] of Christ together with that of the Mother of God and of all the saints, they deny the saving dispensation, and while confessing Christ as the demons do, they deny him by their works. For Christ is not Christ if he is not circumscribed, nor is he venerated [proskynesis: veneration, the reverence offered to icons] unless he is believed to be venerated in his icon. Thus then, O man of God, is the truth, and thus has it been laid down as doctrine by the apostles and prophets and God-bearing fathers, even if not in these very words, yet through the true contemplation of the things spoken by them; for all the dogmatic powers have been put forth like certain seeds in the understandings of the divine sayings, and against the heresies that spring up from time to time are brought out, as in opposing array, the things piously laid down as doctrine, cultivated thence by the movement of the Spirit and rooting out the tares of impiety. So then, believing in this way yourself, fare well in the Lord, venerating Christ, venerating also his icon, the Mother of God and her icon, the saints and their icons; since in the icons the prototypes are venerated, and the honor of the icon ascends to the prototype, as Basil the Great says.

Τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας τοῦ εὐλογημένου μου δεσπότου καὶ πνευματικοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ γράμματος ἀπαγγελθέν, ἥδυνεν ἡμῶν τὰς ταπεινὰς καρδίας· ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἀνεγνώσθη, τελείως εὔφρανεν καὶ ἐχαροποίησεν, καὶ οὐχ ἡμᾶς μόνους τοὺς ἁμαρτωλούς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἀγγελικὰς δυνάμεις, εἴπερ ἐφ' ἑνὶ ἀνθρώπῳ μετανοοῦντι χαρὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς γίνεται κατὰ τὰ ἱερὰ λόγια. ἀλλ' εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεός, ὃς οὐκ εἴασε τὴν τιμιότητά σου ἕως τέλους συναπαχθῆναι τῇ πονηρᾷ αἱρέσει τῶν χριστομάχων, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς καλῆς καὶ μακαρίας θυγατρὸς ἐπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸ φῶς τῆς ἀληθείας. καὶ ὢ τοῦ θαύματος καὶ τοῦ γεννήσαντος καὶ τῆς γεννηθείσης· ὢ τῆς τῶν ἀμφοτέρων εἰλικρινοῦς ἀγάπης, τῆς μὲν φροντισάσης ἐπ' αὐταῖς ταῖς τελευταίαις ἀναπνοαῖς τὸ πατρικὸν σῶσμα, τοῦ δὲ κλίναντος θεοπρεπῶς τὸ οὖς καὶ χαρισαμένου τῇ αἰτησαμένῃ καλὸν ἐντάφιον, τὴν ὀρθόδοξον ἐπιστροφήν. ἀπῆλθεν ἡ μὲν ἔχουσα μετὰ τῆς οἰκείας καλοκἀγαθίας ξένιον τερπνὸν προσοῖσαι τῷ θεῷ, τὸ πατρῷον σωτήριον, ὁ δὲ ἐπέμεινεν θυγατρὸς ἱερᾶς εὐσεβὲς ἐγκαλλώπισμα καὶ πάντων· τῶν ὀρθοδόξων ὡς ἀληθῶς εὐφραντήριον. τί γὰρ οἶδας, φησί, γύναι, εἰ τὸν ἄνδρα σώσεις; ἢ τί οἶδας, ἄνερ, εἰ τὴν γυναῖκα σώσεις; ἡμῖν δὲ μικρὸν ὑπαλλακτέον, ὅτι ἔσωσεν ἡ θυγάτηρ τὸν πατέρα. καὶ μακαρία ἐκείνη ἡ ὁσία, μακάριος καὶ σύ, ὦ τριπόθητε· πείθομαι γὰρ ὅτι σὺν σοὶ καὶ ὅλην οἰκίαν, τάχα δὲ καὶ γένος προσαγάγῃς ὀρθοδοξοῦν τῷ δεσπότῃ Χριστῷ, ἵνα ἐκ πολλῶν προσώπων τὸ εἰς ὑμᾶς χάρισμα διὰ πολλῶν εὐχαριστηθῇ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν. Τοιαύτη ἡ θεία προσφορὰ καὶ καλλίστη σου ἡ ὁμολογία, ἣν ἐν τοῖς γράμμασιν ὡμολόγησας ἐνώπιον θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων. οὕτω γὰρ ἡ ἀληθινὴ πίστις τῶν χριστιανῶν, κατὰ μὲν τὸ τῆς θεολογίας δόγμα πιστεύειν εἰς πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ἐν οἷς καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα τὴν τελείωσιν ἔχει, θεὸν τὸν πατέρα, θεὸν τὸν υἱόν, θεὸν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον (εἰς ἕνα θεὸν καὶ οὐ τρεῖς, ἄπαγε, ἐπείπερ μία ἡ θεότης, οὐ διαιρουμένη ταῖς τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσιν, ἀλλ' ὅλη ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ προσώπῳ θεωρουμένη ἀμερίστως· ὃ καὶ παράδοξον, θεὸν λέγειν ἕκαστον καὶ εἰς ἕνα θεὸν ἀνακεφαλαιοῦν τὸ ὁμολόγημα), κατὰ δὲ τὸ τῆς οἰκονομίας πάλιν πιστεύειν ὅτι ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ἤγουν ὁ εἷς τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος ἐγεννήθη ἐκ τῆς παναχράντου παρθένου Μαρίας, μείνας μὲν ὅπερ ἦν, θεὸς ἀναλλοίωτος καὶ τῷ πατρὶ συναΐδιος, προσλαβὼν δὲ τὸ ἡμέτερον διὰ τῆς παρθενικῆς ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ γεννήσεως. καὶ ἔστιν ὅλος θεὸς καὶ ὅλος ἄνθρωπος, ὅλα φέρων ἀνελλιπῶς ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὰ τῶν ἑκατέρων φύσεων ἐξ ὧν συνετέθη, θεότητός τε φημὶ καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος ἐν μιᾷ ὑποστάσει τὰ ἰδιώματα, περιγραπτὸς καὶ οὐ περιγραπτός, τὸ μὲν κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, τὸ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα· ταῦτα γὰρ τὰ ἰδιώματα, καὶ τῷ μὲν ἀπεριγράπτῳ εἷς ὢν τῆς Ἁγίας Τρίαδος, τῷ δὲ περιγραπτῷ εἷς ὢν ἐξ ἡμῶν. κἀν τούτῳ πιστοῦται μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος, ὡς συνάπτων τὰ ἄκρα πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ θείας φύσεως κοινωνοὺς καὶ θεοῦ υἱοὺς ἡμᾶς ἀπεργασάμενος, τὸ θαυμαστὸν καὶ ὑπεραινετὸν καὶ νοούμενον καὶ λεγόμενον. ὁ οὖν λέγων αὐτὸν μὴ περιγράφεσθαι ἐν σαρκὶ καθ' ὁμοιότητα ἡμετέραν, ἀρνεῖται, εὐλογημένε μου ἀδελφέ, θεὸν ἐν σαρκὶ φᾶναι, ἀντιτασσόμενος τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἔστιν Ἰουδαίοις ἴσος· ποῦ γὰρ ἀληθεύσει τὸ ὅμοιος ἡμῖν κατὰ πάντα γεγονέναι, εἴπερ μὴ ἐξεικονίζοιτο καθ' ἡμᾶς; ποῦ δὲ τό, ψηλαφήσατέ με καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι πνεῦμα σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει, καθὼς ἐμὲ θεωρεῖτε ἔχοντα; ποῦ δὲ τό, τί με θέλετε ἀποκτεῖναι, ἄνθρωπον ὃς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν λελάληκα, ἣν ἤκουσα παρὰ τοῦ πατρός; ὁ τοίνυν μὴ περιγραφόμενος οὔτε ὅμοιος ἡμῖν δῆλον ὅτι οὔτ' αὖ ψηλαφᾶται οὐδ' οὐ μὴν ἀποκτένεται. ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀπεκτάνθη καὶ ἐψηλαφήθη μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν· οὐκοῦν καὶ περιγραπτὸς τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐξεικονίσει. ἀλλ' ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν οἱ εἰκονμάχοι καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία, ἐκ τοῦ ἀρνεῖσθαι τὴν εἰκόνα Χριστοῦ σὺν τῆς Θεοτόκου καὶ τῶν ἁπάντων ἁγίων ἀρνούμενοι τὴν σωτήριον οἰκονομίαν, καὶ Χριστὸν μὲν ὁμολογοῦντες ὡς τὰ δαιμόνια, τοῖς δὲ ἔργοις ἀρνούμενοι· οὐ γάρ τοι Χριστὸς ὁ Χριστός, εἰ μὴ περιγράφοιτο, οὐδὲ προσκυνεῖται, εἰ μὴ πιστεύηται ἐν τῇ εἰκόνι αὐτοῦ προσκυνούμενος. Οὕτως οὖν, ὦ ἄνθρωπε τοῦ θεοῦ, ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ οὕτως δεδογμάτισται παρά τε ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν καὶ θεοφόρων πατέρων, κἂν οὐκ αὐταῖς λέξεσιν, ἀλλά γε διὰ τῆς ἀληθοῦς τῶν ὑπ' αὐτῶν λελεγμένων ἀναθεωρήσεως· οἷα γάρ τινα σπέρματα προβέβληνται πᾶσαι αἱ δογματικαὶ δυνάμεις ἐν ταῖς τῶν θείων λογίων νοήσεσιν, ταῖς δὲ κατὰ καιρὸν ἀναφυομέναις αἱρέσεσιν ἀντεπεξάγεται τὰ εὐσεβῶς δογματιζόμενα, ἐκεῖθεν πνευματοκινήτως γεωργούμενα καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀσεβείας ζιζάνια ἐκτίλλοντα. οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς πιστεύων ἔρρωσο ἐν Κυρίῳ, προσκυνῶν τὸν Χριστόν, προσκυνῶν καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ, τὴν Θεοτόκον καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτῆς, τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ τὰς εἰκόνας αὐτῶν· ἐπειδὴ ἐν ταῖς εἰκόσι τὰ πρωτότυπα προσκεκύνηνται καὶ ἡ τῆς εἰκόνος τιμὴ ἐπὶ τὸ πρωτότυπον ἀναβαίνει, ὥς φησιν ὁ Μέγας Βασίλειος.