Letter 78: Theodore Studite, Letter 78; Greek heading: Ζαχαρίᾳ ὑπάτῳ.

I greet you, man of God, fairest of friends, laborer of Christ. What good have you received from us sinners, that you repay us with favors? And favors not of the kind in which the flesh takes its delight, nor of the kind whose benefit is perishable, but those that truly pass over into the soul and are not emptied out unto the ages. You know which ones I mean: I speak of those shown toward the most God-beloved archbishop and our brother, and toward the protopresbyter [the chief presbyter], and toward us sinners ourselves, and toward whatever other of our children there may be. Truly, of any good received [by you from us] there was nothing at all (for from where, and when?), but it was out of a good heart and a God-loving disposition, according to which you also bestowed your benefaction before, when the emperor raged against us, playing the part of Herod [acting as a persecutor, like Herod against the holy innocents] -- so to put it more reverently. May He, then, give you grace in return for grace, He who takes upon Himself the favors which you have done to us, the lowly, out of love for mankind; and may He deliver you, with your whole household, from every evil, and most especially from the raging heresy against Christ [iconoclasm, the rejection and destruction of holy icons].