Letter 68

Theodoret of CyrrhusEpiphanius|c. 440 AD|theodoret cyrrhus
From: Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus
To: Epiphanius
Date: ~440 AD
Context: Theodoret carefully invites a man of different theological opinions to a church dedication, limiting the invitation to their shared civic ties rather than pressing the point of faith.

To Epiphanius,

I wanted to invite you to the feast of the holy apostles and prophets -- not only as a fellow citizen, but as one who shares both my faith and my home. But the state of your opinions prevents me from doing that.

So I set aside every claim except that of our common homeland, and I invite you to share in the precious blessing of the holy apostles and prophets. No difference of belief need stand in the way of that.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

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