and his precise traditions and God-befitting ordinances, which, having legislated and delivered to his own disciples, he was spoken of as another Basil in his own times. But A because the community of the brotherhood, and the mind of the many, seeing but little for the most part, knows how to prefer a prose style and one that is simpler—as it keeps the reader’s mind awake to what is being said, and produces profit for their own souls above the harsh and difficult depth of high-flown meanings—come, let us yield to your commands, most reverend Fathers, and, we too, humble and worthy of no account, let us set down as best we can the accounts concerning this divine forefather of ours and most wise teacher of the world; not at all—it must be said—attaining to his merit, but as much as our weakness allows, having regard for the principle of accessibility and clarity.
B 2. The city that has presided over all the cities of the earth, in which at that time held sway—more impious than his impious father—that offspring who burst forth, Constantine Copronymus, the great restorer and amplifier of the Christomaniac heresy, which afflicted the new Israel of Christ just as once the Egyptian mind of Pharaoh did with clay and brick, through the bitter taskmasters of the iconoclastic tower-building, whenever he saw it hastening upon the earth of the evangelical life, and unhesitatingly following the Lord’s ordinances—that city, I say, was the nurse and mother of this great and unconquerable champion of the orthodox faith and renowned governor of the monastic order, Theodore. His parents were pious and noble, who openly confirmed by their deeds the appellation imposed upon them by their progenitors. Of these, the father indeed, a light in truth according to the language of the talkative Athenians, created by God, was both luminous in his habits and by his name, Photinus, becoming a practitioner of nobility and C worthily adorned with the splendor of temperance; just as his desire—which he showed later toward God and the divine things of his God-minded soul—also demonstrated. For not holding a common office under the emperor, but being as he was the quaestor of the imperial revenues, he counted this and every other worldly vanity as of no account, and with his whole house, he made for the universal King, God, and loved a free life above one at court; rather, spurning these worldly things as smoke and a dissolving dream, he procured the participation in goods that endure forever and possess a firm status; and he became one of the catalog of those dedicated to God, he who had already, five years before, boldly withdrawn from the consortium of his spouse on account of his surpassing zeal for religion. And the mother herself, a most respectable and illustrious woman, instructed with excellent gifts of mind and knowing how to preside over her own children and household, as one created by God and having obtained an appellation equal to her deeds—for while having a name common to divine creation, yet because of her right way of life, she both was and was called Theoctiste, having obtained praise on both scores from the sanctity of her character. But of what sort D
A a life-course this venerable woman maintained, her fruit itself, which was given by God, has already set forth, as he delivered a catechesis before the brethren subject to him, having been divinely gifted with a fluent tongue. Wherefore we send those desirous of knowledge of Theoctiste to that place; while we, in the meantime, shall continue our discourse regarding our Father, as is fitting. B
3. At the end of the first seven years of his age, having passed his time in a manner agreeable to his character, he was handed over to be trained in the introductory and elementary arts of learning; for lessons learned from childhood grow with the soul, are united to it, and remain as a permanent possession for him who preserves them. When he had advanced in age and had become experienced in the art of grammar, and then also in dialectic—which the wise know to call philosophy—moreover, in addition to the aforementioned, he also plucked the blossom of beauty of expression from the rhetoricians, as much as was possible, and was recognized by all for the quickness of his nature and for his diligence in judgment. Nor was he revered for these things only by his peers and by those who were more advanced, but he was also deemed worthy of admiration even more because of the fashion of his conduct; for, being a lover of virtue and possessing purity, he fled the company of the wicked and was always linked with the prudent. C And as he came not least to the houses of prayer and to the assemblies, and as a diligent bee, flying round the rational meadows—those living lives of the saints who had shone forth—and gathering, as if from the most fragrant flowers, this and that—and indeed, rather, gathering everything together for the construction of one possession, I mean that of the ever-living and venerable virtue which makes the senses of the soul sweeter than honey and the honeycomb—he was from childhood, the wonderful one, sensible and taught by Christ, by the wisdom of God and the Father, which is the consubstantial One, who calls into existence both thought and will, and brings things forth from non-being, as a certain gift, that most sovereign of the general virtues, which it is reasonable to suppose the others follow—at least for those who do not hold its name in name only, but confirm it through their own deeds, of which they are named as namesakes. D By whom this great Theodore, being completely led, walked the straight and royal path, and remained far from the footprints of folly, which is wont to trip up those who use it and to cast them down to the hell of destruction. But indeed, having thus constructed himself in the first place most excellently and most wisely—or rather, having been fashioned by the divine grace which stretches out a helping hand to those choosing the good, and works with them, and gives strength for the attainment of better things.
4. When the wicked tyrant and Pharaoh-minded king was drowned, not in the Red Sea, but in that of Gehenna, whose kindling is—that is to say—wood and hay and stubble, the fruits of an impious life,
as though it were untilled and madly growing land that he brought forth. A Then, immediately after him, Leo the Younger, his son and natural heir, reigned for a short time and died; since he did not want to understand that which was prophesied by David, that from David there had sprouted a most powerful horn, which shattered the horns of sinful demons and impious men. Christ, the Prince of Peace, the great and only eternal king, raised up a horn of salvation and at the same time of peace for His Church—I say the one who was named Irene, who was truly Peace, more so in her deeds than in her appellation. Then indeed did the divine Theodore cast off all the vanity of the world, and like a colt tamed of its own accord, he ran toward the reins of virtue, being then in his twenty-second year.
For when the most religious Irene had been raised by God to the height of the monarchy, and was calling back from distant exiles or even prisons those who remained as embers of piety and of the monastic life—whom she observed and venerated as the salt of the earth and as luminaries of the world, bearing the doctrine of life, as men who could heal the limbs of the Church corrupted by the bitter disease of heresy, and furthermore enlighten the eyes of the mind with the light of the orthodox faith—then he returned to the city, having left his forest on Mount Olympus. B There also came the venerable Plato, brother of the aforementioned praiseworthy Theoctiste (regarding whose praises the great Theodore labored to compose a splendid oration, setting forth his life fittingly), in order to offer help for his own manly part and to labor together with the other Fathers who had gathered at Nicaea, three hundred and fifty in number, to destroy the heresy from its foundations and to restore the veneration of the holy icons; their assembly is deservedly called the Seventh Synod, which brought rest to the previous disturbances and sealed and perfected our orthodox faith. And having been united with Tarasius, that champion of piety and luminary who appeared to the whole world, who had fittingly stirred up all the salt of impiety and offered calm to the Church with God, he became his advisor in all things and his right-hand helper; for Tarasius in turn held the all-holy man in all reverence and honor, on account of the steadiness of his ascetic life and the nobility of his lineage.
C 5. For this reason, then, the wondrous Plato, while staying in Constantinople, D kindled in many others of his acquaintances a contempt for present and perishing things, and most especially in his own sister and his pious-minded nephew Theodore, both of whom were already burning with a longing for the heavenly life. He stirred them toward a greater zeal for the better life of the monks. This Theodore, filled with confidence by the exhortations of the holy man, and with his mother conspiring with him, suggested salutary and useful counsels to his father; and thus...
A he urged him, together with his three sisters, to set his heart upon a desire for virtue equal to his own, thus outstripping those who had come after him. For he had already, through the pious admonitions of his mother, won over two of his own brothers and one of his sisters. And so, with all of them in agreement to renounce the things of the world and to be dedicated to God through the apostolic habit, they zealously sold everything pertaining to worldly life—everything suitable for the holding of royal offices—and furthermore, they gave away their very house and all the gold collected from these things to the poor; they also granted freedom to their household servants, bestowing legacies upon each one. Then, having departed from there together, they all traveled to the place predestined for them, Saccudion, which was their own ancestral estate, and perfectly suited for the sequestering and rest of monks. For the place is wooded, curved in the shape of a basin, and having an entrance on only one side; but inside it is level ground, where trees of various kinds grow, both fruit-bearing and barren. There is also the very beautiful temple of the Theologian (John), and a sufficient supply of water; and no other pleasant view is visible to the inhabitants except the sky and the northern sea. Which place even now prospers and abounds with the multitude of brothers who dwell there; and it is famous because there, for the first time, our God-bearing fathers and confessors, divinely inspired, laid the foundations of an angelic life.
6. Now the great Theodore, initially taking up residence C there with those who were with him and having surrendered his whole self to the hands of the holy Plato, and having received and taken up the armor of the holy habit, absolutely did not desire or do anything not in accordance with that man's will. For, fearing the danger of his own judgment, he believed it necessary to hold himself far from his own volitions, having the apostolic word as a testimony, which says: *I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me* (Gal. II, 20). Thus, being subject to the illustrious Plato, he displayed modesty of character and mind not only toward him, but also toward all others, both greater and lesser, as if he were a man lacking all personal will, or an inanimate statue, having his flesh nailed fast by the fear of the Lord, and remaining inactive toward all things that arrogance, emulation, envy, anger, and strife are accustomed to produce in unguarded minds through lack of attention. But as for magnanimity, eagerness, and speed, he practiced them in his manual labors with his customary grace and with such diligence that D he would immediately carry out the task set before him. He would run to and fro to each of the brothers, helping those who lagged behind either through infirmity or laziness, and supplying their deficiencies through his own help; he did not shrink from carrying wood, or using a hoe, or gardening, or providing suitable sustenance for one in infirmity, but doing these and similar things of his own accord, even [carrying away] the dung of the beasts of burden while the brothers were sleeping, whether in the night or at midday hours,
he was often caught; for which reason it is said that he also struck his fellow-ascetics with amazement, giving clear and great proof, through the deeds he performed, of the burning and perfect love he had toward Christ in the inner man: "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." B
7. For he, considering these and all other things written about Him, both divine and human, with a sober mind, was enlightened in soul, pricked at heart, and kindled in mind, so that he might entirely perform the things pleasing to Christ, and express Him, as much as allowed, by imitation. He even built an oratory in the name of the Theologian John, the son of thunder, in this also following the custom of the great Plato, having a shape like heaven, with vivid painting; and he did not only elaborate its sublime part in such a way that it was a pleasant structure for those standing in it and adorned on all sides, but he also paved the very floor with various gilded stones, so that the feet of those walking might also be delighted by the brilliance of the stones: in which place, while he offered prayers to God with his companions, he radiated more with the brightness of divine love and compunction, entering the house of God first and departing last; although there were also certain other very diligent men who lived there by God's grace in holy retreat. C
8. But besides the aforementioned things, he also indulged in certain more private prayers, withdrawing himself secretly from his companions, especially on days when the offices were vacant, at which time he flooded his cheeks and the floor upon which he stood with streams of tears. For he had abundantly received the gift of compunction from God, from whom indeed every perfect gift is given to those who are worthy and who compare themselves to Him. He cultivated continence all the more zealously, as he found it more useful for those who wish to serve Christ purely and immaculately. D Now, establishing reason like an incorruptible judge between spirit and flesh, he so performed the duty of each one through it, that he neither weakened his visible part so much through excessive fasting that it exceeded due measure and became inept for the service of Christ; nor, likewise, did the passion of acedia, from which death generally comes to monks, creep into the faculties of his soul on account of an excessive gorging of food. Indeed, the blessed man, persisting in these things, held the place of an archetype in the things he did: although he was not yet clearly producing accurate characteristics of every virtue, simply named, in those participating; looking to whom his fellow-ascetic disciples, and especially the admirable Joseph, who reached very close to him both by blood and by purpose of life, adorned his own soul with his beauty, [a] like alacrity
in the imitation of his deeds. For this reason, another Theodore was also thought to be among them, having become great in virtue and knowledge; B he who, by divine decree, having taken the helm of the holy Church of God in Thessalonica at the proper time, endured many exiles and imprisonments for the sake of the orthodox faith. Together with him, Antony, Timothy, Athanasius, Naucratius, and a vast other company of disciples, who by the ascetic life of that time and later by the athletic standing, mortified their members upon the earth and trampled upon the entire power of the adversary.
9. Our Father Theodore, for his part, used to go through the lives and discourses of all the God-bearing Fathers with a contrite heart and a spirit of humility, seeking one single advantage for the end he had set before him: how it behooves those who have chosen a life dedicated to the same purpose to please God. He is said to have been, in particular, a lover and imitator of the heaven-sent Basil. For by meditating deeply upon his ascetic ordinances and the doctrinal pronouncements in his various books, and being struck with wonder at his wisdom and prudence, he conformed himself entirely to the likeness of that great man, so that no room for sloth in the pursuit of good remained in him. C When he discovered that the prescription of his ascetic chapters was being neglected at that time by those who had chosen to live in coenobia—namely, because they were acquiring slaves, herds of cattle, and female beasts—his heart was deeply pained at such contempt for these laws. He dared, therefore, to approach the elder Plato with righteous counsel, saying that it was not right for him to overlook this incurable malady of the many, but that by his own example he should restrain this innovation of faithlessness and worldly love that had befallen the many. For it is unbecoming for saints to seek the profits that befit those in the world, and for citizens to practice things not fully sanctified. This was accomplished even swifter than it can be spoken, with Christ cooperating and the all-holy Plato sanctioning the wholesome request. For they sent away the crowd of servants with a letter of manumission and provided them with travel expenses, allowing them to live according to their own will; they gave the rest of their belongings to the needy. D And in this way, they constituted themselves more manifest observers of the paternal traditions and a more sincere mirror of the well-ordered monastic life, while this noble deed of these ever-memorable men was celebrated everywhere. This stirred those who are lovers of what is right to an equal zeal for virtue; but it provoked an envy hateful to God in those who were accustomed to treading a path other than the true way of asceticism. Yet our men, neither puffed up by the praises of those ahead of them—as if they had done something great—fell into vain glory, nor, defeated by the contempt of others, did they omit the religious precept; but by keeping themselves within the bounds of right judgment,
A they prudently avoided the harm from both sides.
10. Now, as things were progressing in this way, and the brotherhood under them had increased—being cultivated with the experience of skilled spiritual gardeners, like a fertile and rich field, and yielding abundant fruit to the Lord—the wise shepherd, Abbot Plato, rightly judged that a man who had long since worthily offered himself to the divine Trinity through the total mortification of his members, and who was a most pure temple of holiness, should also be made a priest of the bloodless and all-resplendent sacrifice. And so he set off with him to the God-inspired Patriarch Tarasius. B Theodore was indeed greatly distressed by the plan the holy man had conceived for him, but he yielded entirely out of obedience, and so as not to appear to think himself wiser than his Father. The divine pontiff, receiving them most gladly like desired treasures, laid his hand upon Theodore and bestowed upon him the priestly consecration, beginning from the lesser order of subdeacon and advancing as far as the rank of presbyter.
But when they had quickly crossed the strait and sailed back to their own monastery, the divine Theodore did not think he ought to rest in his former exercises, for he knew well that virtue is ever in motion. Rather, like a most valiant soldier who, having long since defeated his adversaries and gained the glory of victory over them, displays even greater strength and zeal thereafter, so too did Theodore, that excellent athlete of virtue. C Reckoning the degree of holy ordination as a prize of victory won against his hostile passions, and judging his promotion to be the cause of even greater contests, he did not "give sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, nor rest to his temples," to use the words of the Psalm; but by macerating his flesh with all-night meditations on the holy Scriptures, he almost mastered the debt of nature, showing clearly that he was even able to pay the most necessary debt of his being, so much so that he did not even take a full hour of sleep throughout the entire day and night, but consumed the remaining hours in good works.
11. Therefore, seeing Theodore increasing in virtues day by day, the thrice-blessed Plato wished many times D to declare him—since he was already living a noble and select life—the abbot of the brotherhood under him, which was running heavenward and had reached the number of one hundred by the grace of Christ. But he did not persuade him, who was otherwise softer than wax in obeying; for he knew clearly the judgment hanging over those who rashly approach such an office, the difficulties of which the great theologian described, saying: "Since it is difficult to know how to rule..."
it is much more difficult to know how to rule men." A Nevertheless, this spiritual lamp was not to be hidden forever under the bushel of a humble cell, but was to be placed upon the lampstand of pastoral authority, that it might shine for all who were in the house with the brilliant radiance of its noble deeds.
For once, the holy Plato was seized by illness, burning inwardly with a violent fever for many days, so that it seemed to many that he would soon depart this temporal life. Because it was necessary that the one who would lead the family after him should ascend to this rank by the common suffrage of the brethren, Plato convoked a council of all his spiritual sons. Having spoken briefly to them about his current illness, he asked them to deliberate and say whom they would choose to be established as their shepherd. When they, as if with one voice, named the great Theodore, Plato summoned him into their midst. Both by his words and his demeanor, he affirmed that his illness was fatal, and then, conveying the decree issued by the spiritual assembly of the brethren in Christ—that it was absolutely necessary for him to be established as abbot to take charge of them—he eventually persuaded him, with difficulty, to give his consent, though he had only been professing sincere obedience in Christ for thirteen years, and was in his thirty-fifth year. B Thus, therefore, he came to the leadership of the brethren, seized by fear and trembling because of the danger that is wont to befall the souls of those under authority through the imprudence of their rectors.
12. Nevertheless, he roused himself and, casting aside his beloved tranquility, became an active contestant, preparing for the organization of the flock. Confiding in the only all-wise and almighty God, who girds the weak with strength and gives wisdom even to the blind, he took up the weapons of light—that is to say, the instructions of the Scriptures. C He stood in the midst of that sacred assembly like a veteran and valiant fighter, and, taking up the most resonant trumpet of teaching, he sounded the call for his fellow-soldiers, a reasoned tactical array against the intellectual foes, accurately supplying and fitting them with bows and spears, shields and helmets, and the cries of the triumphant. And thus he fortified their spirits against the invisible Midianites; he demonstrated to them what things are to be used against what, in what way, and when—whether in deliberation, speaking, or acting—so that with God’s help, they might be able to escape the snares of the intellectual Philistines and gloriously raise up trophies of victory against them. D
13. Our holy Father possessed his own life as a truly silent exhortation; both the comportment of his manners and his state stood as a trustworthy ambassador [f. 142 a.] capable of urging them to undertake labors for the sake of virtue. But because, besides that which in divine
A and human wisdom he had been exercised, he had also drawn the teaching faculty from the perennial springs of the Spirit, whence he continuously unstopped the rational peace of the mind; and he caused the streams of life-giving doctrine to gush forth. And the one who was about to be consumed by the fire-blazing furnace of passions he bedewed and reduced to ashes the soul-destroying coals of pleasure; while the man who was suffering inwardly from evil reasonings, and driven by them toward the death of sin, he visited like some heavenly healer, and by offering the salutary cup of saving words to the sufferer, he paradoxically delivered him from the prevailing defilement. And thus, as I said, he was useful on both counts, by deed and by doctrine, because he was to those who came to him, Theodore, at times B privately providing to each person antidotes for their infirmities according to the quality of their confession; at other times, he would speak in common in the Church, after the completion of the morning hymns, discoursing on what was profitable to all together. And he would distribute this spiritual food of the Word three times a week, like a kindly steward to his fellow servants, with fear and love toward the common Lord and Savior of all, Christ.
14. But now let us hurry on, as time calls us, to the stadium of the struggle of this great athlete of piety. In that time, Constantine, the son of the Christ-loving Irene, reigned as sole emperor, C who, having the unchecked and undisciplined character of youth, and having been overcome by the burning stirrings of the flesh, set aside her who was previously wedded to him according to laws, and having forced her to be shorn, he took another in an adulterous manner, like Herod of old, unhesitatingly. Her name was Theodote, and the wretch brought in a most grievous scandal, not only to the Church of God, but also to all the leaders and toparchs of the nations. For the divine patriarch Tarasius, disapproving of such a cohabitation, refused to impose the nuptial crown upon them, not consenting to the lawless act of union; for Christ is not a reconciler to defiled souls, as somewhere one D of the holy men before our time said. But a certain Joseph, a presbyter and economist of the same most holy Great Church, being familiar with the adulterers, boldly undertook the enterprise and crowned the law-breakers, overstepping the boundaries of divine and human law. It happened that such an evil was spread not only in the royal city, but even in very distant regions. For thus the king of Lombardy, thus the one of Gothia, thus the toparch of the Bosphorus, relying on this violation of the law, entangled themselves in adulterous loves and incontinent desires, having the act of the Roman emperor as a pretext for their defense, as if, since he had done this, the patriarch and the bishops with him had also approved the same disgraceful act.
15. Therefore, having recognized these illegal deeds, the man marked according to Christ Jesus, and in every way always openly...
fulfilling justice, and providing for his own kin with paternal compassion, both privately and by himself, lamented the destruction of both, of those now and of those to come hereafter. For he A feared, and rightly so, that if the folly of the ruler were accepted as a rule of law by the foolish, it would pass on an incurable practice to later generations. For this reason, he did not pass over the injury in silence, but reproved it, shielding himself, together with his father, from their immediate communion.
Now, their God-fearing aversion to this adultery reached the emperor’s ears. At first, he bore it calmly and did not take offense at the report. But then, learning of the matter again from others and from the adulteress herself, and being struck to some extent by the withdrawal of these blessed men—whose praise in the monastic life was supreme and peerless—he began to busy himself in every way to conquer the unconquerable, hoping to make them consent to his own filth, and especially hoping to succeed through their relative whom he had taken up into the royal state; for Theodote, who had married Constantine, happened to be the niece of our Father Theodore. Wherefore he urged her to send them gold with a respectful greeting from both. But after he was disappointed in his hope, sensing that those holy men were above his flattery, he arranged the struggle otherwise. Simulating a journey to the hot springs that bubble up naturally from the earth to enjoy them, he came to Prusa with a royal retinue, thinking that the illustrious pair would surely come to him to offer the customary proskynesis along with the others. But since none of the things he had expected came to pass, he conceived anger in his heart B and returned to the royal seat, breathing slaughter and threats against the innocent.
16. And then, having summoned the Domestic of the Schools, he sent him, along with the General of the Opsikion, to the holy men to carry out the acts of oppression. Having reached the monastery, they scourged with cowhide whips, to their fill, him who had long desired this for Christ’s sake, Theodore, and three other brothers who held leading positions; they exiled him, along with ten other prominent members of the brotherhood, to Thessalonica, ordering those who were escorting them to guard them safely while in confinement, not all together in one place, but each separately and apart from one another in different small rooms, so that it would not be possible for anyone to go to another. Furthermore, they sent the blessed Plato to the monastery of Saint Sergius, keeping him in seclusion and ordering him to remain there. C But what a great achievement for the whole world this struggle of our God-bearing Father accomplished, it is possible immediately to see; for the bishops and presbyters in the regions of Cherson and the Bosphorus, and the more God-minded of the monks, having heard of the action of our divine Father and judging it to be in harmony with the holy Gospels, began to emulate his constancy in this good work; so that then also that saying might be fulfilled:
B "Your zeal has stirred up most of them to what is good." And immediately they began to reject the gifts offered to the churches of God by those who did the same things as the younger Constantine; they also excluded them from the holy and immaculate mysteries of Christ. They themselves also spoke in harmony with the pious-minded Theodore to those who slighted the most Christian tradition: "It is not lawful for you to have wives beyond the laws ordained by Christ." Finally, they too were driven out of their own churches and settlements, and suffered other things such as are grievous to those who witness them, with anger acting as the commander—like a cruel soldier—and a violent hand being laid upon them.
17. Yet from this, fear fell upon almost the whole Roman Empire regarding those who practiced such things; and the persecution of the pious became a curb for those who were living licentiously, and by this means the course of this evil was restrained from proceeding further. For base desires, unless they are chastened, continually creep toward the worse like a serpent; they pervade the heart and mind, and lead the one who is caught into complete ruin. In order that this might not happen, the grace of the all-holy Spirit, shining forth in the aforementioned combatants, openly rebuked the work of lawlessness. And thus the great Theodore became more renowned, showing himself a spectator of the Forerunner and of Elijah the Tishbite, not only in the neighboring regions but everywhere in the inhabited world. For during the whole time of the reign of Constantine, while he was detained in the city of Thessalonica, he spread the merits of his own righteous deeds to the most distant regions. He also wrote to the Pope of Old Rome, making known through his own disciples what had taken place; and his office was received by him with great acclaim, as that of one who had not neglected to report those things which are dear to God. From him he also received a reply, in which he praised his constancy and struggle for the defense of honor, by which he had nobly equaled the spirit of the divine Forerunner. C
18. But since, as the Scripture says, "A bold King shall fall into evils," and "the ways of the ungodly are dark; they know not how they stumble," not long after, Constantine, having suffered a rebellion from his own army, was deprived of both his eyes and was cast out of the kingdom itself, as an unseen and intolerable burden. And once again his mother, the God-loving Irene, was raised up, whom he had previously, through his most licentious living, banished from the royal dwellings. This most God-loving woman, therefore, as soon as she assumed the reins of the kingdom, recalled the great Theodore from exile and reconciled him to the most holy Patriarch Tarasius, Joseph having been stripped of his priestly dignity after the deposition of Constantine. And she declared that both of them had acted rightly and in a way that was pleasing to God; Theodore, indeed, because he had shown himself an advocate of the evangelical dogmas even unto torture and blood, D
A and because through this he had procured the pure salvation of souls for posterity; Tarasius, however, because he had acted through a useful dispensation, and had turned aside the perverse resolve of the raging prince, who threatened to do worse things to the Church of Christ than the princes before him if one were to oppose the conceptions of his mind. The divine Tarasius also confirmed these things when he associated himself with our Father, as this very athlete of the Savior, Theodore, has recorded in writing. We too shall accede to this sentiment, and will blame neither side; B but while we accept both, we shall nonetheless not refuse to obey the evangelical words henceforth. For what is done by dispensation does not carry the force of law, nor are all such things free from reprehension. Indeed, even Paul circumcised Timothy by dispensation, but this did not obtain the force of law: for he himself abolished that rite, crying out with a loud voice: *If I preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted?* (g)
19. Igitur, enjoying spiritual gladness with the most holy Tarasius, our Father Theodore returned to his own monastery, and the sheep that had been scattered by his absence began to run together from all sides to the same place. C The most holy Father of Fathers, Plato, was also released from custody—he who was the architect of this divinely-constituted coenobium of brothers—and a very great multitude flocked to them, as well from near as from far, as if to behold the most noble soldiers returning from the battle-line for the sake of religion. The fame of Saccudion increased all the more, and Theodore was magnified in the mouths of all, and his labor for God ran throughout the entire world under heaven. He taught all to follow the evangelical precepts together: D that a man should be the master of one woman, according to the decree of the divine Word; and likewise that a woman should cohabit with one man, and this lawfully, not in some base and adulterous union. For fornication and the passions of the flesh deprave man and manifesty avert him from fellowship with God. And from that time many inhabitants of this most celebrated city, and men of foreign towns and suburbs as well—not only those of our own assembly, but also those very illustrious from secular education—flocked to this great master, wishing to gain experience of monastic discipline. These the divine doctor of true piety received willingly, and irrigated them with the streams of his efficacious wisdom, purging the stains of sin adhering to their souls, and establishing their steps according to God on the way of holiness and justice.
20. But for the impious Agarenes, during that time...
A laying waste to the upper regions and striking the souls of the inhabitants of the neighboring places with the fear of death, it seemed necessary to the Fathers to accommodate themselves usefully to the time, and without hesitation to move to the royal city. This they did quickly, and were kindly received by the venerable high priest Tarasius and the most pious Augusta; at whose strong urging they occupied the highly renowned monastery of Studius, which had been built long ago by a man of that name and had been a habitation of holy men—but which Constantine Copronymus had not even allowed to be inhabited by ten monks—for it was surely capable of receiving that numerous multitude of Nazarites. For it was fitting, indeed it was fitting, that he who showed himself a follower of the great Forerunner, and who had openly condemned the disease of adultery, should dwell in a temple named after him and make it, as it were, an earthly heaven with his unceasing doxologies to the Trinity. B For who could adequately describe in words the angelic ordinances and collectively useful rules of the Father here? These, he taught and imparted to those arriving to him from everywhere, leading them toward the one concord of the many minds of the Gospel, inasmuch as like is always dear to everyone. He did not only receive those who were just departing from worldly luxury, but he also gathered into the assembly under him those who were already trained in the labors of asceticism, if they approached, keeping the command of the Lord which says: *Him who comes to me I will not cast out* (John VI, 37). He did not prefer those tonsured by himself to those whom others might have tonsured, as most men do irrationally, being enslaved by the affections of their own souls; but he embraced and cared for everyone equally with love, and bestowed reverence and honor upon the virtue of each, so that the number of disciples in this new Jerusalem was greatly multiplied, so much so that it nearly reached the number of a thousand.
21. Seeing them with eagerness of soul obediently C taking up the yoke of Christ, he too conducts himself like the exalted Moses, and leads the people of God with words of wisdom and the purity of his conduct, guiding them most excellently toward the spiritual rest of the promise. For they say that the virtue of a legislator is to discern what is best and to persuade those who will use them to keep the things composed by him; but the duty of the multitude is to persist in the decrees and, neither in prosperity nor in adversity, to change anything—which is a most holy way of serving God. Therefore he is established as a legislator for them, setting forth the judgments handed down by God, which he himself, having ascended the mountain of exalted conduct and having entered the darkness of divine and blessed knowledge, had received from God as if on stone tablets, D upon the tablets of his own most steadfast heart, impressed by the finger of the Spirit. And just as that contemplator of God, complying with the advice of his father-in-law, appointed chiliarchs, centurions, quin-
quinquagenarians, and decurions, so that the matters referred to them might attain a favorable conclusion, and he himself was relieved of the cares arising therefrom; so also did our Moses derive his foundations from that source, even if he differs a little in the terminology. For he appointed heads of ministries, and assigned names proper to the task, calling them "epistemonarchs," "instructors," and "observers." He also established in other designations those in the whole brotherhood who held a higher rank, such as the one holding the second place, the oikonomos, the sub-oikonomos, and others named in various ways. He also drew up a rule for all those entrusted with the various ministries in turn, by means of iambic verses. Or rather, to speak more clearly, starting from the most sovereign and first, I mean the Abbot, and ending at the last, the cook, he provided information on what was appropriate and what was not at all becoming to each of these offices. B He also decreed punishment, in a summary manner, for those who neglected the required diligence, and for those who, for any reason at all not deemed legitimate, came late to the synaxis of the divine hymns. Likewise, he established appropriate penalties for brothers who did not perform their ministry at the appointed hour, or who broke some vessel, or who committed some act of rowdiness or disparagement against their neighbor, or by failing in the service of the brothers at the assigned hour.
22. C He did not wish the use of clothing to be assigned to each individual, nor to be provided at anyone’s whim, but in this too he commanded them to preserve an apostolic character, just as the Book of Acts suggests, as: *All who believed were together and had all things in common.* And again: *The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; and not one of them said that anything which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.* For this reason he set aside for them a room where, laying down altogether what they had used, every Sabbath they would receive others from the hand of the brothers sacredly appointed to minister to this task. When he ordained this law for them, the Father did not separate his own things from the common wardrobe, but as in all other things, so in this too, he wished to be a rule for his flock; D for he knew clearly that there are two ways of all instruction: that of speech, and that of the formation of character. Of these, the one is perfected through the instruction of words, the other through the exercise of character. Therefore, he himself, having given the undergarment for the week, would receive another, not differing from the common ones, but being of the same quality as theirs, or even worse. And always remembering what the Apostle said, that *I ate no man's bread for nothing, but these hands have ministered both unto me and to them that are with me*, he could never bear to be idle, but labored himself with his own hands, by copying books,
and contributing them to the works of the brethren; some of which are preserved among us to this day, being held in veneration and worthy of all acceptance.
23. He composed also very many books, having himself received from above, by reason of his exceeding purity, the talent of wisdom. And first, that book which is even now read among us three times a week in the common assembly, the one called the Lesser Catecheses, consisting of one hundred and thirty-four discourses, spoken by him extemporaneously in the customary addresses to the brethren. Second, and third, and fourth the books of the Greater Catecheses, which he did not utter extemporaneously, but composed more thoughtfully by himself and published. Yet in both, the divine and heavenly grace of the Word poured out upon his lips is clearly shown. For there is no other book of the God-inspired Fathers from which one who reads intelligently—as I believe—can derive as much profit in the discipline observed in coenobitic orders as from the Catecheses of the Father mentioned by us; for they contain every idea of virtue, and teach most scientifically every remedy for the varied and manifold diseases of malice, and produce illumination and compunction in the souls of those who read them. He also labored on a panegyrical volume, through which he set forth some of the feasts of Christ and of the Theotokos, and all those of the great Baptist and Forerunner, and of some other more illustrious saints, in which he shows himself not at all inferior to the primary panegyrists. He also finished another separate metric volume that is exceedingly useful, in which he described the creation and fall of the first man; and therein he sang mournfully of the sin and the corruption that followed from it. Soon after, he separately reproached Cain for his envy and murder of Abel. Afterwards, he celebrated, separately and in order, Enoch and Noah, and the three patriarchs who were born of him and were most dear to God; and likewise their renowned wives, as was fitting. Finally, he recounted all the heresies in order, and struck them with anathema, in verses, as I have said, trimeters and pure; and some of these he refuted completely.
24. His five books of Epistles, moreover, are preserved among us to this day. D Yet they possess such excellence in the dignity of their thoughts and the purity of their expressions, and have their epistolary character sharpened with such precision, that no one who does not have a heart entirely of stone can read any of them without tears. There is also another work of his written in prose, in which, by three antirrhetic discourses, like another David against the alien...
—and in three refutatory discourses, A like another David, he cast down the Philistine Goliath, that is, the alien heresy of the Iconoclasts, and rooted out the most terrible schism from the Church. But he also triumphed over and exposed the two emperors, the ringleaders of this aforementioned blasphemous heresy—I mean Constantine Copronymus and Leo, that beast-minded, or rather beast-named creature—by raising them up with his denunciatory discourses as if upon spears, and made their impious deeds manifest to those who came after, having distinguished them one by one. Therefore, having occupied all the strength of his mind, which was naturally inclined toward divine things, and having meditated day and night upon the law of the Lord, he sought as far as possible to establish the kingdom of heaven within himself and his followers; or rather, having made the famous monastery of the Forerunner a "second kingdom of heaven," because of the similarity of his performed life, he himself was like a sun in the midst of a multitude of spiritual stars, vibrating the rays of his own virtue and wisdom, enlightening his companions, and changing and transforming them toward the better.
B 25. But the one who is always malicious and the father of envy, that truly black and deep-abyss devil of the world, did not suffer such great virtue in our father to be celebrated in the opulent metropolis; nor would he allow the multitude of those who had been excellently saved and guided onto the straight path by him to remain untouched, nor such a great and significant mirror of ascetic life to be seen in the very populous city—especially since he had been wounded many times and in various ways by the great man’s strategy. Therefore, the things he had plotted against him he did not delay to put into effect. For Nicephorus, who held the scepter of the kingdom at that time—the man who, while seemingly not far from the orthodox emperors who came before him, was in reality far removed from such men (since it is confessed that faith without works is dead)—when the devil, who always hates the good works of the righteous, found this harsh C vessel, filled with wickedness, he moved his heart to seek to declare innocent that man who had previously performed an adulterous marriage, and to enroll him again in the priestly rank, as one who had been the author of peace and of public utility. And thus the prince, having met the pious patriarch and having accepted the suggestion of the serpent, implored and compelled him to absolve Joseph from the excommunication with which the most holy patriarch Tarasius had bound him—and by which he had been restrained before he departed to God. The prince promised him that he would use royal aid to ensure that all the others would consent to this dispensation. So he brings the unwilling and mentally dissenting patriarch—whose name means "victory" (Nicephorus)—to recall that cursed man D to the ministry of the Church. Thus, a new dissension occurred, and a confusion of opinions, and a separation of persons, both among the bishops and the monks, with some thinking that there was no cause for offense in this matter.
A And there were those around the great Theodore who contradicted this, [arguing] that it was not right that the decree issued by the holy Tarasius concerning Joseph, which had been published out of necessity for the common good, should now be abrogated; for, he said, this dispensation manifestly defends an adulterous marriage. Furthermore, he argued, the just vengeance already carried out against the younger Constantine should be kept before our eyes and not consigned to oblivion. From this, one ought rather to understand the will of the divine law; one should not, with unsophisticated opinions and the free impulse of the mind, concoct a doctrine of dispensation which has neither been heard of elsewhere, nor has brought any benefit to the world, but is, rather, altogether harmful to our souls.
Consequently, remaining divided in their judgment, they dissented from one another, just as it occurred of old with Paul and Barnabas in the dispute over John, surnamed Mark, as it is written: B *And there arose a contention, so that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.* (Acts xv, 39). Touching upon this passage, the divine Chrysostom, in his most brilliant interpretation of the Acts, says: "Which of them deliberated better, it is not for us to pronounce."
26. C But we say that both of them acted well concerning the matters proposed, just as the illustrious Tarasius also declared in his own era regarding the dispensation. For he himself, indeed, fearing at that time the anger and fiery temper of the emperor, and knowing how greatly he was prone to evil deeds and how inclined to sin, in order that he might not work anything more harsh against the Church of God, slackened the reins of rigor; and, by enduring a lesser and particular evil, he wisely preserved the more universal good, fulfilling that saying: *Redeeming the time, because the days are evil* (Ephes. v, 16). D Thus, then, it must also be thought in this case: that the blessed Nicephorus acted by way of dispensation, not willingly, but compelled by the emperor. Yet our father Theodore held to the exact prescription of the divine laws, moved by God and not overcome by any evil affection; wishing, of course, that an unlawful union should not occupy the place of law among those beastly men who indulge in untamed desires; and desiring to show that those who trust entirely in God are accustomed to act without regard for anyone, and neither to esteem persons to the detriment of their own souls, nor to betray the commandment of the Lord on account of the power of a prince who commands most unjustly. Indeed, according to the song of David: *And I spoke of thy testimonies before kings, and was not ashamed* (Ps. cxvi, 46). That, in truth, the governance of the Church did not reach a prosperous state under these two princes, the holy patriarchs themselves also clearly recognized. For the standard-bearer of orthodoxy, Tarasius, would not have said that the great Theodore, upon returning from Thessalonica, had acted rightly, had he not known that he had stood without error in the true life of the Gospel. Nor, likewise, when he had admitted the one named for victory (Nicephorus) [f. a. 150]
A (the patriarch) did he crown him with praises as a champion of the truth, had he not known him to be rightly dividing the word of faith. Beyond what has been said, this must also be noted: if each one of them had not felt that it was wrong to have welcomed the adulterer into the honor of the priesthood out of fear of the sovereign, they would surely not have expelled that audacious man from the priestly rank after the death of the emperors—and after the victory which, by God’s favor, was granted to the holy Theodore before their feet. Hence, it is possible for those who love God to discern the nature of these matters, and not to turn aside to either party of these our divine guides.
27. But when the haughty ruler saw his own judgment despised by our fathers and deemed worthy of no consideration, he ordered, in anger, that the great Theodore, and Joseph—his blood kinsman and Christ’s bishop—along with their common leader, Plato, should dwell in the islands off the city, not together or in one place, B but that each should be kept separately in different custodies. As for the rest of the brotherhood, he ordered them to be besieged within their own monastery by a military guard. C Then, after a few days, he came in person to the royal palace of Eleutherius and called everyone together for an inquiry. He then separated the leaders from the others and attempted, with persuasive words, to draw them away from their father’s resolve. But when he saw that he was casting his words in vain—like a weak dart blunted against the opposing firmness of their character—he turned to the multitude of the brothers and said: "Whoever of you wishes to obey our exhortations, and to be in communion with the patriarch and the Catholic Church, move to my right side; but whoever of you has decided to persist in the aforementioned opinion, choose the left station." He was practicing deceit in this, as he thought, against men who—though some were ignorant of the artifice of words—all despised the world, their lineage, and their very lives for the sake of living an irreproachable life under divine obedience. Then, all of them at once occupied his left side in a body and, with confidence, spoke to him thus: "We know accurately, O Emperor, that our fathers, being taught everything from the divinely inspired Scripture and being led by the Holy Spirit, have both thought and taught what is better and more conducive to salvation; wherefore we, following their footstepsindubitably, do not accept the opinion recently innovated by you." D Struck with amazement at such a bold defense by these holy men, he ordered that they also be distributed to those same places, and to other monasteries near the city, to be kept under the most secure guard as persons guilty of and disobedient to royal and ecclesiastical decrees.
28. But before long, his madness raged against them
A and divine vengeance soon laid him low as well, with his entire army in a foreign land. For that foolish Nicephorus, having undertaken an expedition against the Scythians, was struck down by a hostile hand; so that it might be made manifest even by this that the resistance of our divinely-inspired Father for the sake of the truth was neither reckless nor improvident, but had its strength from God’s testimony, both then and now. Thus, therefore, the wretched sovereign, having fallen, became the subject of a great tragedy, and the Roman Empire played out a greater comedy. And in him was fulfilled the prediction of the prophet Hosea: “And [hear] this, O house of the king, give ear, because the judgment is for you; because you have been made a snare for the watchtower, and as a net spread upon Tabor, which those who hunt the prey have fastened. And their princes shall fall because of the unskillfulness of their tongue. This [is their] mockery in the land of Egypt into their bosom, because they have made void my covenant, and have acted impiously against my law.”
Moreover, it is worth adding to what has been said what great Theodore prophesied against him. For since Caesar Nicephorus was puffed up with pride, both by his own bodyguard and by his natural temperament, and was proceeding against the Scythians with unbridled force, he summoned our sacred father Theodore to a place outside the city, and requested—and through certain nobles vehemently urged—that he should finally consent to the "dispensation" invented by him. B But the holy man, as if inspired by the Divine Spirit, answered him thus: "It would be better for you to repent of your deeds, rather than to add to the heap of evil by dragging us also into a like fall. Since, however, admitting no such counsel, you depart from here, thus says the Lord Almighty: You shall not return by this way by which you travel there today."
In fact, after this unbelieving prince was killed, according to the prophecy of our divinely-inspired shepherd, in the region of the Bulgarians, and his son Stauracius had returned to the royal city with difficulty, being gravely wounded, and had held the empire for barely two months, and soon died; the husband of his sister, bearing the name of the archangel and holding the dignity of curopalates, seized the empire. Michael, I mean, being most Christian and faithful in the Lord, immediately recalled the great Theodore from exile; C and he ordered that all his disciples who were under guard in monasteries should likewise be released. And he became a Christ-imitating ambassador and a mediator between those who were at variance, with the support of the Pope of elder Rome. And both of them—the one indeed by monitory letters, the other by personal conversation and exhortation—exerted themselves so that the most holy patriarch and our divine father might be joined in a most honest bond of concord; and finally, they forbade the one who had solemnized the adulterous marriage from the sacred ministry, in accordance with [the laws]. D
A And thus again, by the grace and loving-kindness of Christ, our good God, a stable peace is established in His most holy and catholic Church, the scandals having been removed from the midst.
kθ΄. B Our father Theodore, therefore, having again taken over his own monastery of Studium, and the disciples who had been scattered having run together, he applied himself to the most loving concord and unanimity with the all-holy patriarch, and to the instruction of his own disciples as was his custom. By his didactic discourse, he was governing their characters toward the disposition of perfect obedience, and with the sponge of his admonition, he was diligently wiping away the filth that had fallen upon them from the span of time of self-complacency. And thus again, the Word of God was increasing, and the company of the disciples was greatly improving and growing. And this most fair place was truly like a variegated and flourishing garden, containing within itself all kinds of rational plants, in which every species of knowledge was usefully contemplated like a mature fruit. For along with the highest communal order and the practice of philosophy—as far as that is possible—they were not bereft of the liberal arts. But even the correction of grammar was pursued among them, by which knowledge of how to write correctly is produced in those who have labored, and the habit of reading is imprinted upon them; and furthermore, the technology of philosophy and the memorization of patristic dogmas, by which they had the means to overturn the nonsense and hair-splitting of every heresy, using the syllogisms and conclusions of truth. C From which there emerged in Christ the wisest calligraphers, sacred singers, kontakia-writers, hymnographers, poets, and most excellent readers, melodists, and versifiers. Similarly, the exercises of the common crafts were found among them almost in their entirety; whence weavers and tailors, shoemakers and tent-makers, fine-smiths and builders, basket-makers and leather-workers, and those who fashion liturgical vessels through fire and iron were beheld in this earthly heaven. All were sitting in their places according to the order and rhythm of their duties, and they were commingling the divine melodies of David with the work of their hands. And it was possible to see the vineyard of the Lord Sabaoth leafing out widely, and covering the mountains of worldly power under its shade; but also its spiritual shoots were surpassing the cedars of God, its branches extended as far as the sea, and its offshoots as far as the rivers. For some of those who were advanced in labors of virtue and in the age of old age—those of his greatest disciples—took the occasion of his pilgrimage as a pretext D [for their own departure].
confinements, or rather were scattered by these events to the various climates under the heavens. Having settled there, they most beautifully, through the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, established monasteries, which to this day bear the name of the Studites.
30. Thus, then, as the flock of Christ was running its course well, and the Churches of God were being excellently directed and increased by the orthodox dogmas of the faith, a certain most evil creature, having broken off from the stock of the Armenians, erupted from the forest and devastated the vineyard like a wild boar. For Leo, the general of the East, having been permitted to go beyond the borders of his own jurisdiction, and having distributed money to his own army, and having won over the leaders of the higher ranks to his own opinion with promises of greater honors, began to labor with malice against the Christ-loving sovereign Michael. B Having come to the Thracian regions not far from the royal city, he was proclaimed Augustus by those who were ostensibly displaying Macedonian steadfastness. Departing from there, with no one resisting him, he entered the palace, being openly heralded by his own guards as an Iconoclast emperor. Thus, then, having seized the royal power, this violent Thracian, being entirely encased in the breastplate of hypocrisy—for he is truthful who said, «I do not find the race of the Armenians to be simple, but very secret and treacherous»—at the beginning of his tyranny (for I would not call it a reign) feigns piety. C Then, after having mastered political affairs as he wished, he cast off the mask of hypocrisy and shamelessly stripped bare the hidden disease of his wicked heart, showing himself to be a successor to the madness of that abandoned man, Constantine Copronymus—of his godlessness and Christ-fury—and saying that it was not proper to venerate the icon of Christ, nor that of the holy ever-virgin who gave birth to Him without stain, nor those of the other just ones and saints, since such likenesses were similar to idols.
31. The madman did not know that for those things whose prototypes possess a contrary conception, their derivatives also will bear the contrary designations; and that those good things whose names are used prototypically are inherently destructive of the evil designations taken archetypically. D Therefore, these derivatives also, by the logic of homonymy, will bear the designation of the prototypes which they resemble—that is to say, a good one for good things, and an evil one for evil things. Since, then, our Lord and God Jesus Christ is the destroyer of the polytheistic deception of idols, it is clear that His glorious image is alien to the idol-worshipping conception. And a derivative of a good prototype could never become an instrument of vice, just as the converse is also true; for that which is contrary to the physical quality of the archetypes, the painting will draw and accommodate to its own derivative…
and work. A For neither would the quality of fire ever admit of cold, nor again would the energy of honey produce bitterness in one who uses it. And for this reason, no one who possesses understanding and reason would attribute contraries to their opposites, nor would he call these things mutually causal in any way. It is possible, however, to see again from the etymology itself the distinction and the contraries of such things: for an idol B is so called as an "idea of deceit" (idea dolos); for there is deceit and fraud, the false worship of polytheistic idolatry, far removed from the One who is God by nature, and setting up the creation against the Master who created it. Whence such a thing would not be named by those who are of sound mind. And how it is that an idol and an image are the same, I do not understand; for an image is so called from its likeness to the archetypes, whether it be that of a holy person—holy, or of a saint—saint. It has so much of the likeness that it is even identified by the name of the archetype. For often, seeing images of trees or birds in a painting, we say that this is a palm, or that the form seen is the impression of a crane; even though this is not a palm, but a painting of a palm, and a crane. So then, C seeing the form of the cross, we call it "cross." In the same way also with regard to holy images, or those of others; for the image of Christ is called Christ according to analogy; and that of Saint George, to speak by way of example, will be called Saint George; just as the image of the king is called king, differing in nothing from that of which it is an image, except in the fact that the substance is not homogeneous.
32. Reckoning nothing of these things, that rabid and dull-minded Leo, having found vessels of wrath fashioned for destruction, certain dissipated individuals, idle and accustomed to vices, and truly deceivers of youths, who were accustomed to compose their bodies for beauty—having these, I say, subject to his own wishes—he is corrupted with them, and through them he publicly proclaims the illicit and God-hated doctrine. Among these was another Jannes, D not worthy, however, to be called John, who enters first as if into a labyrinth—a man born of the earth, of Assyrian origin, a teller of fables rather than a speaker of truth, a new buffoon among these, and deservedly called a *Lecanomantis* (a basin-diviner); being, beyond others, skilled in grammar, and an instrument preeminently demonic for the falsity of all things; a man of the most wicked genius, and fit for stirring up great troubles. And first indeed (Leo) attacks directly the most fortified tower, the namesake of victory (Nicephorus), of the orthodox faith, by testing his opinion, so that he might [make] him appear timid and tongue-tied.
A He had silent conspirators among his own people, on the one hand setting before those living according to God worldly promises, and on the other, storms of temptations and the many painful tribulations of this life. But when he perceived the steadfastness of the noble high priest, and learned by experience that he rose far above the hopes entertained of him, the emperor, seated on his throne and having summoned the holy patriarch to himself, with eyebrows drawn together like a lion, vomited forth the hidden filth of his unholy soul, saying that the priests of truth and teachers of divine things had erred in the faith; and for this reason, discourse about dogmas must now be set in motion, so that by an inspection of the opposing opinions, the better might be distinguished from the worse by the vote of the majority, and thus be ratified. Following this, each of those who had been invited answered the emperor as he was prepared, refuting his absurd myths with testimonies from Holy Scripture and the dogmatic teachings of the Fathers, defending the worship of the holy icons. But when, after hearing these things, he brought forward the authors of these evils and men studious of lies, urging that a debate be held before him by both sides on the proposed question, our Fathers, knowing his mind to be past healing, judged that it was not fitting to enter into a colloquy with men accustomed to scoffing with mockery, especially when an incorrupt judge was not presiding. B Seeing the most cruel tyrant indignant against them, the fiery column of orthodoxy, Theodore, addressed him thus, precisely and boldly:
33. For what reason and for what cause, O emperor, have you been moved to stir up a whirlwind and storm in the Church of God, which was at peace? Why are you, in turn, eagerly hastening to plant the tares of impiety, which had been so well rooted out, in the midst of the precious and elect people of the Lord, without distinction? Have you not heard the blessed Apostle Paul writing to Timothy: *Charge them not to teach differently, nor to give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which produce foolish disputes rather than godly instruction which is in faith*? C And again: *If anyone teaches otherwise, and does not draw near to the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is according to piety, he is puffed up, knowing nothing, but languishing about questions and word-battles, from which arise envy, strife, blasphemies, evil suspicions, constant frictions of men corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth, who count piety as a means of gain; from such withdraw yourself.* And further: *These things remind them, testifying before the Lord, not to strive about words, which are useful for nothing, to the subversion of the hearers.* But also *avoid profane novelties*, knowing that they generate strife. D The divine Ignatius also bears witness to these things: "You must," he says, "beware of beasts."
in the form of men—heretics—whom we ought not only not to receive, but, if possible, not even to meet." A Since this has been determined, therefore, and has led us away from conversation with impious heretics, who henceforth will be able to persuade us to enter into discussion with those who have flagrantly schemed against the canons and the standard of the ancient faith, and the divine Scriptures, for the deception of many? For just as Jannes and Jambres withstood the servant of God, Moses, so too these men withstand the truth, being lured by their own love of high office and by the filthy lucre that is the ruin of many. *But they will not make further progress,* as the Scripture says; *for their folly will be manifest to all, as also was that of those men.* Nevertheless, I have done even this much, which is beyond my required duty, by discoursing today in your presence, however briefly, on their lack of understanding. For to be concerned about one who holds an opinion contrary to the sense of the multitude is foolish, as the profane proverb also states. B
34. B But they say that the tyrant, having heard these words and being greatly displeased, said: "And so, lord Theodore, you think me redundant? You almost persuade me to tell you something truly redundant, so that you may by no means be able to return to your monastery; perhaps even a pronouncement of exile, or something else of the kind, via the problems that indirectly signify these things." "But," he says, "you will not persuade me to act inconsiderately as you desire; nor will you bear witness of me that I am prepared for this. I will endure and be patient even while being despised; only do not refuse to hold a discussion with those whom you accuse regarding the common faith. But if you do not wish this, it is manifest that you are confessing your own defeat; which will compel you, even against your will, to adhere to their wills." C Then, truly, the whole assembly of bishops, with our divinely-inspired shepherd, with one voice refused a discussion with those who had already been condemned, and spoke the words of the blessed Paul: *To me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by the persons indicated, or by man’s day;* by the former, as they possess no priestly dignity whatsoever; by the latter, because we do not even judge ourselves, on account of the purity of our faith—thus striking the man with their utterance. D But the emperor not at all understanding the force of the words, the great Theodore again, having taken up the sword of the Spirit, answers more vehemently, [rebuking] the audacity of the man, who [placing] himself in the [position] of judge...
and says: "O Emperor, attend to what is said to you through us by the divinely inspired Paul concerning ecclesiastical order; and upon learning that it is not permitted for a king to introduce himself as judge and arbiter in such matters, do you also fall in line with the apostolic canons, if you have indeed resolved to be pious. For he says thus: *God has set in the Church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers* (1 Cor. XII, 28). Behold, these are they who arrange matters concerning the faith and who search them out according to what is pleasing to God, and not a king; for the holy Apostle did not record that a king should manage the affairs of the Church." To these things the Caesar answered: "Then are you casting me out of the Church today, O Theodore?" And the holy man said to him: "Not I, but the aforementioned bridesmaid of her, the divine Apostle Paul. But if you wish to be as a son of hers, nothing prevents it; only obey in all things your spiritual father," B indicating with his right hand the most holy Nicephorus. Having debated thus far, that wicked man, as if deranged in his mind, was no longer able to utter any sound word due to his excessive rage; but breaking out with his own impulse into a furious word with a shout, he said with a loud voice: "Get out of here!" Thus, therefore, the champions of orthodoxy, having returned together to the patriarchal residence, surrounded the great leader of piety, Theodore, honoring him with gifts of praise, as one who, with God's favor, had pierced the common enemy by the force of his most piercing words, and in His name had brought the adversaries of [the true faith] to nothing.
35. Verily, as the blessed men were ordered by the prefect of the city to return to their own places C and to dare no longer to speak freely there, Theodore, that unshaken house of confession, forestalling those who had announced this, said: "If our father and the master common to all those who share the same faith does not call us, we do not hesitate to act even without your command. But if not, your order will not be observed by me at all; rather, I will come, and I will discuss what is necessary." This the blessed man in reality did, having put aside all human fear and being prepared entirely for suffering. For having returned to his own monastery, and having confirmed his disciples with an hortatory sermon for the imminent struggle, and having raised their minds to defend the dogma of the orthodox faith even unto stripes and death, after a few days D he went again to the most holy patriarch, for the sake of consoling him, for he was struggling in sadness because of the subversion and dissolution of the Church; and he demonstrated to him that the greatest glory was reserved for him by God because of this. And what indeed did the venerable Nicephorus say or do that was not guided by the judgment of Theodore, and did not receive firmness from him? And this, whether because of the utility of the present time
or for any other reason. To such a degree was our divine Father venerable to him, that even the second A after him in the synod of bishops was esteemed by all for wisdom and piety toward God. In fact, after a short time, the illustrious patriarch was during the night of the twentieth of March cast down from his pontifical see, and relegated to his own monastery or sanctuary, which he himself had built in the mountains of Asia in the parts near the straits. The remaining priests likewise were struck by the same sentence, and some were sent into other regions and towns; meanwhile, the ill-omened Christomachs occupied the Churches, and—O event of fearful hearing!—fearlessly pulled down the holy images that were within them, or even smeared them over, and devised empty and vain things against the remaining foster-sons of orthodoxy.
36. After the victorious celebration of the Palm Sunday of our Savior had arrived, B our father Theodore, conducting the customary procession with the crowd that was with him, commanded the brothers carrying the holy images to hold the panels on high, and thus to go around the vineyard nearest to the monastery, fearing nothing on account of the Christomancy that had befallen. This, having been observed by the wicked neighbors and bruited about in the middle of the city, reached even the hearing of that tyrant-minded one. He, having learned this and being greatly moved in his mind, signified to our holy Father through one of his grandees: "Do you not desist? Do you not sit in silence, but devise this and that for my annoyance? Know then, that if you do not abate this mental swelling and cease teaching matters regarding the faith, I shall very quickly subject you to death and make you a companion of those in Hades." Hearing these things, the unshakable tower of confession C not only did not remit anything of the zeal of the faith, but also, when the hegumens in the city came to him—after the holy and glorious three-day resurrection of our Savior Christ from the dead—for the purpose of seeking counsel regarding the custom that pressed upon them of going to the patriarchal house, he both received them and counseled them in good and God-beloved things, and he carried it out himself, writing a letter to those who had undertaken to falsify the truth, the beginning of which is: "Obeying divine and canonical D decrees that nothing ought to be done or said contrary to the judgment of one’s own bishop in matters that relate to ecclesiastical discipline, much less when they lead into dogmatic questioning; for this reason, although your power has once and twice summoned our humility to such matters, we have not dared to come there, acting beyond what is established, since we have been placed under the holy hand of Nicephorus, the most holy patriarch, by the divine Spirit," and the rest. This letter, entrusted to two of those who had come who were more courageous, [they carried] to the raging Christomachs.
fight against Christ. When the latter had learned the intent of those who had arrived, they raged yet more violently, and having assailed those who had brought [the letter] with blows, and with insults and dishonors, they drove them from the aula of the Secreton, having threatened them with all manner of terrible things beyond what had already occurred. These, therefore, went away rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Christ (u).
B 37. But our Father Theodore did not cease from that time on, but instead kept writing letter after letter, and stirring those near and far to courage, wishing thereby to make himself more conspicuous to the one raging with heresy; and he showed that he made no account of his threats, nor did he fear death for the sake of piety. At this, that evil-minded Leo, having become yet more enraged, condemns him also to exile. The holy Father of ours, therefore, and unashamed herald of Orthodoxy, having received this decision he had long desired, called together the multitude of his disciples and established among them seventy-two leaders, under whom he exhorted the brotherhood to distribute themselves by their own free will. He gave them the command that after his departure, no one of those who desired the true life and loved to see good days, as the holy David sings (v), should remain there. He himself, having been taken up by the royal messenger who had been sent, was led off to the fortress lying by the Apolloniad lake, called Metopa, where he was confined with rejoicing. But even there, C kept as a prisoner of Christ, he did not desist from similar God-worshipping deeds; but again by his own letters he confirmed all those throughout the world who had chosen to maintain right piety, and exhorted them to good fruit. Again, when the savage Leo learned of this, having sent another royal official, Nicetas by name, surnamed Alexios—a man altogether pious and most Christian, although the beast did not know he was such—he took care through his ministry to transfer the sacred herald to the Anatolic theme, to another fortress named Boneta, having commanded the Father, through those set to serve his orders, that he see absolutely no one, nor teach through letters any matters concerning the faith. To these [demands], the man who was apostolic in both mind and conduct replied with apostolic words: "If it is just in the sight of God," he said, D "to listen to you rather than to God, judge. For we cannot but speak what we have seen and heard, since one must obey God rather than men" (x).
38. Having heard these things, the Sovereign, having blamed the Christ-loving Nicetas for not having immediately carried out the decree of his Majesty, sends him a second time to impose one hundred lashes upon the holy martyr. Having arrived, and having disclosed the Emperor’s decree to the athlete of Christ, he is urged by the holy man himself to execute the ruler’s will without hesitation;
A seeing, however, that the righteous man had readily prepared himself and, without the violence of others, had made himself ready to receive the lash, the courtier—that pious man whose name signifies victory—was moved to pity, especially when he observed his flesh, laid bare, emaciated by the ascetic life of that divinely inspired man. Having mentally despised the loathsome command of the destroyer, he took up a sheepskin and, placing it upon the shoulders of the Father, he diverted the strokes of the lash into it, being left all alone with the illustrious Father inside the cell. Then, pricking his own arm with a needle, he reddened the tip of the lash with his own blood. Thus, soon going out from there, he threw it to the ground, and he himself, as if weary, sat down on the seat that had been prepared for him. B Observing this stratagem, our Father was filled with wonder at the faith and prudence of the man; yet, because of the tyrant’s threats, he did not cease from performing the work of the Lord thereafter, but rather served it with more fervent alacrity of soul, vivid zeal, and alert mind. For even there, restricted in a narrow room, he confirmed the fathers and brethren detained in the various regions of the provinces, and indeed his own spiritual children, through the doctrine given to him by God, exhorting, admonishing, and comforting them to persist in the confession of Christ and not to despair because of the present afflictions suffered for the sake of the truth, but to await redemption from God; for “the needy shall not always be forgotten; the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever” (Ps. IX, 19), in so far as those who do what is required are not unheeded by God, nor shall they be left unsupported by Him. Many, too, who because of the tedium of long exile had incurred the crime of defection, he caused to wash away such disgrace from their souls by means of letters written to them, receiving them back for confession and penance with intellectual care, C and adding them to the choir of those suffering for Christ. He also wrote to the four patriarchs, signifying at once the violence and grave persecution of the heresy, and at the same time requesting that, according to their power, they might provide assistance to those who had gone astray; for our great Father himself also gladly received those who came to him. For he was intent upon benefiting everyone, and recalling them to a life pleasing to God. And among other things, a certain event of this sort occurred. D A certain noble cleric, hailing from the region of the Thracesians, and in fact a citizen of the city of Mastaura, came to the nearby parts of the diocese containing the sun of the Gospel, in order to visit his relatives as he was wont to do. Having learned that our divine Father Theodore the Studite had been condemned to exile there, and having heard for a long time the report of his holiness, he sought the opportunity to pay his respects to him. Having obtained his wish, and being asked by the holy man if he held to the orthodox faith, [160 a.] and having firmly confessed it, he also heard more refined...
discourses regarding the pure and stainless faith of those who worship Christ in the holy image of His all-holy flesh. And so, having harvested the blessing of his prayers, he returned to his own country. Once there, while staying with his brother clerics, he did not hesitate to recount to one who was particularly close to him what he had seen—namely, the renowned father of fathers, Theodore—and that he had heard him discourse on the dogmas of the true faith. Then those clerics, conspiring A together, resolved never again to serve with their own bishop, and withdrew themselves from the catholic communion. When the profane bishop late, at least, learned the reason for the clerics' secession, he immediately, without a moment's delay, ran to the praetor and reported all the aforementioned things. This man was Orabius, a man truly a sinner and full of evil days, who had obtained his praetorian good fortune by blaspheming with an impious tongue against the sacred images. Having heard from the bishop what he had reported regarding the teaching of our blessed Father, he first wrote to the prefect of the East, that is, of the Anatolic theme, that it was not to be tolerated that the emperor's laws be neglected, nor that those who transgressed them should pass through life unpunished. Then he also informed the prince himself, having made B a report about the bishop and the clerics. Furthermore, having received the letters, the prefect of the East—considering the prior matters as well—feared the indignation of the ruler and sent one of his retinue to punish the holy Theodore with fifty lashings. Coming to that place, he made known to the holy man the wickedness decreed against him. But our father, praising God for this pretext, readily stripped off the coverings of his flesh and, presenting himself to the man, said, "Do to me, my son, what has been commanded you." Struck by sudden fear at the sight of the self-willed athlete, and showing the reverence proper to Christians toward the servant of God, he threw himself prone at the holy man's feet, asking to receive a blessing from him. And having worthily obtained it, he returned to the one who had sent him. C 40. And while he was still speaking and discharging the words of his mission, another messenger of wickedness arrived from the emperor at the same prefect, Anastasius by name, of the Martinacii clan, a man who was exceedingly cruel and a fervent follower of the royal impiety, who did not lightly rebuke the prefect of the East, as one who did not follow the emperor's "religious" opinion nor obey his decrees. When he replied that he had sent someone to beat Theodore, who resisted the Caesar, Anastasius arose from there and ran straight to the righteous man. Having stripped him of his garments—and finding no weal—he let out a loud and boisterous laugh: "Where," he said, "are the marks of the floggings recently applied?" And immediately, striking D the holy man with a hundred most bitter blows, just as he had been commanded, he locked him in a small room with one of his disciples, who was indeed young in age, but
perfect in mind and faith. A This was Nicholas, who also emerged as a most patient champion of religion, and from that time, even until the age of my own humility, he has shone forth in our century as a perfect man of God, having been tested by various torments for the confession. Therefore, having cast him into prison with this champion Theodore, and having carefully sealed the door of the cell, leaving only one small aperture for light, he commanded that the wretched sustenance for their lives be provided through this opening by the hands of the guards appointed over them.
B 41. Having done these things to the saints, the impious Anastasius returned quickly to the prefect with the two disciples of the man of God, maliciously asserting to him that the saint had not been flogged; and the prefect, fearing that he might be accused by the aforementioned before the emperor, called that Theophanes to him and, in the presence of Martinakes, flogged him with double the number of lashes that he had ordered to be inflicted upon the holy Father. Delightedly, the arrogant man, having mounted the public post-horses, returned most swiftly to the one who had sent him. But indeed, what kind of, and how great, the necessities and afflictions were that these ever-venerable Fathers endured during the time of this imprisonment, it is difficult to comprehend in words. For in the winter season, constrained by the cold, they had to suffer such a total lack of warmth, needing the solace of fire. Conversely, in the time of year opposite to the cold, scorched as if by a flame, they seemed to endure the torment of a furnace. But also the fleas, which are created from dust, provided no small additional torment to them, because the confessors of Christ lacked a change of clothes. Beyond the things mentioned thus far, that crafty serpent who always envies the labors of the saints stirred up another temptation. For when he had vehemently inflamed the grandees of that time to do eagerly whatever would be pleasing to the emperor, he persuaded them to reduce the wretched daily ration of the two to that of one: at which time they say that he spoke thus to his fellow captive and fellow champion, Nicholas: "As I see, my son, these men wish to destroy us by the inhumanity which they now use towards us. C Let us therefore cast all our anxiety upon the Lord. For my part, I shall be content with the divine communion, as long as Christ preserves strength and the spirit of life for this little body. But you, eat the little portion of food given by them, if by that means you might perhaps avoid the death by starvation that is pressing upon us, and you will report to the steward and to our brothers in Sakkoudion my departure from the body." And so it would have happened to this constant champion of Christ, had not God looked upon them, He who opens His provident hand and fills every living creature with blessing; for a more chief-ranking satrap, passing by that way and inquiring about their condition, restrained this diabolical deed, commanding with severe rebuke and penalty that what was necessary for food be provided to those imprisoned for the sake of Christ. D
A
42. Thus, when he had been kept in custody for three full years, the most celebrated Father Theodore, he who in his mind traversed the spectacles of heaven, together with his disciple, our father Nicholas, was vexed in manifold ways; for besides the aforementioned hardships, he also suffered from a stomach that was extremely fastidious. I know not how there fell into the hands of the inclement tyrant a catechetical epistle by the doctor of the world, Theodore, in which he spoke more generously to those who were enduring persecution for the sake of the Lord, or who were imprisoned in any manner whatsoever for the sake of Christian piety, encouraging them to fortitude, and at the same time censuring the frauds of the infamous sect of the iconoclasts. Having read this epistle, the tyrant flared up, his blood boiling in his breast; and immediately, sending the epistle, with that intercepted letter, to the prefect of the East, he commanded that, if it were at all possible, he should with his own hands tear apart the athlete of religion, having excoriated him with a hundred bull-hide lashes; or if not, that he should send a count of the cohort who might fully carry out this task. B Therefore, having received the sacred missives, the prefect of the East, Craterus, hastened to the most holy man; and having drawn both out of custody, he showed the venerable Father the emperor’s letters along with the epistle sent by him, and said: "Do you recognize this?" When he confessed that it was his own and had been dictated by no other, the prefect ordered that blessed Nicholas be stripped first; and after he had been sufficiently tortured with lashes, he came to the great Theodore. After he had inhumanly and cruelly flayed him with a hundred blows of the leather strips, he C again set upon the young fighter, Nicholas, compelling him to renounce the veneration of the holy icons and his own stubborn agreement with his father and master. But finding him disobedient and constantly resisting his promptings, after he had covered him abundantly with blood from the lashes, he left him exposed to be constrained by the cold, naked; for these things against the illustrious men were done on the twenty-third day of the month of February. Then, having locked these men in prison, this wicked minister of the infernal Caesar returned home. D
43. In the meanwhile, while these things were being done to the brave confessors of Christ, Theodore and Nicholas, in the eastern region (that is, in the Anatolic theme), a certain woman in the Opsician theme, seized by pythonic spirits, began, as was her custom, to be agitated by them and to speak before those present with the demons that possessed her, saying: "My wicked Leo has now also sent a bundle of lashes to Theodore, that he might cut his flesh with the strokes of these. But hasten to see what will happen, and quickly bring me the answer." And yet do not dare to enter the cell,
so that he may not burn you up, that fire-breathing and fire-mouthed one; but stand by outside and observe what is about to happen. And after an interval of about two or three hours, she began again to babble to herself and say, "What is this? Nothing of what we wanted has happened? I knew that this sheepskin A would protect his back again, and would not suffer him to be consumed by the pain of the blows." From such a severe scourging, the great hero of Christ's confession, Theodore, was said to be almost dead; for the welts were inflamed and caused the wounds to fester, and with the foul shreds of flesh, there was almost no remaining breathing-space of relief for him, which might restore the strength of the sufferer; or sweet sleep, which might soothe the pains of the inflammation; or any keen appetite for taking some food. Wherefore his noble servant, Nicolaus, his fellow-athlete and companion in exile, saw to it that he was offered a certain decoction, barely one cup daily. Furthermore, as medical help was wanting, the Father permitted his spiritual son—who showed himself another Silas or Timothy—to excise with a small blade the dead particles of his skin, so that thus the remaining swelling of the body might gradually be mitigated and health gradually restored over time. Therefore, in such straits of bodily pain, Theodore, the fiery pillar of orthodoxy, completed the stadium of the holy Quadragesima and even beyond, until B his body was finally restored to a state of wholeness around the final days of the holy Pentecost.
But before the knitting together of these wounds had been secured, another angel C was sent by the ruler and descended, to move him to the province of the Smyrnæans; this man, arriving with the following company of his flatterers—or rather, a pack of hounds—broke down the locked door of the chamber, and bringing forth the holy Fathers, he demanded of these, being a covetous man, the remnants of wealth which they did not possess. Being frustrated in this hope, he caused the ministers who had been brought into the cell to search the walls and the holes diligently. But when the searchers had found nothing, these wretches turned to rage, and constrained the holy ones to set out on the road extremely unmercifully and heatedly, showing no compassion for them at all, especially seeing the God-bearing Theodore totally worn out in body and in no way unlike a corpse. Thus having travelled a short distance from there, they arrived in the evening hour at a certain village, in which they forced the feet of the prisoners of Christ to spend the length of the night bound in the stocks; from there D
A they departed, making their way forward in the same manner. With difficulty, our Father was able to walk on account of the injury to his feet, yet, trusting in God and forcing himself, he fortified his natural weakness with the hope of the blessings laid up for the just. And thus, within a few days, having arrived at the Smyrnaean diocese, they were handed over to its heresiarch bishop; he, bearing a soul intoxicated with the unmixed wine of impiety, shut the confessors of Christ within the precincts of the metropolis in a single room, having granted them this one place alone, [164 a.] where they might receive only daily nourishment of bread and water, with all human association strictly forbidden under the most severe threats. While, therefore, our holy Father was condemned to dwell there in such a prison with his disciple Nicholas, the bloody murderer Leo, after some time had passed, sent again that bloodthirsty Anastasius, surnamed Martinaces, that he might cruelly mangle Theodore with the torture of bull-hide whips; he, having indeed come quickly to Smyrna and having carried out the command of the cruel prince with great vehemence against our most victorious Father Theodore, returned to the royal city. Exercised by these struggles for the sake of the true religion, the firm and immovable tower of confession, Theodore, kept singing to himself the doctrine of the blessed Paul: If we suffer with him, we shall also surely be glorified with Christ, who suffered for us, that he might by his goodness redeem us from the passions of dishonor.
45. Meanwhile, he who was the emperor’s son-in-law and associate B in administration—Bardas was the name of the ruler’s relative and like-minded ally—having suddenly contracted a bodily illness in that region, fled to the metropolis, and lying in bed, awaited the judgment of Providence. But one of his officials, Diogenes by name, noble in lineage, orthodox in faith, a lover of the athletes of the Christian faith, greatly desired to see holy Theodore and to obtain the blessing of his prayers. When, therefore, our religious Diogenes had come into his presence for a conversation, that excellent man signified the illness of his leader to our holy Father. Our great Father said to him: "Say this to your master: 'See what you ought to do; for perhaps you have reached the end of your life, and there is no one who will help or redeem you. Therefore, reflect on what you have done in your prosperity and dignity against the confessors of Christ, especially, indeed, against my monastery; for you also cruelly put the famous Thaddeus to death with bull-hide whips. But he, having indeed finished his life with a splendid martyrdom, now enjoys in the heavens the glory of the almighty God with all the saints; you, however, are partially bound here for the meantime with the chains of your own sins, and in the future you will receive, albeit unwillingly, your full condemnation.' C And if temporal things are so burdensome and intolerable, one must think of the eternal punishments of the ungodly, and of those who D
transgress the commandments of our Savior Christ: For their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, as the prophet declared. A
46. Having heard this, and coming to a sense of his own deeds, being seized with fear at the announcement of death, he quickly asked for forgiveness from the holy man, and that he would send to him the help of his prayers; promising that henceforth he would do and arrange everything according to the nod of the great man, if only he could escape the fate of death in the present. Our divine father, however, imitating that merciful God and Lord who does not want the death of the sinner, but that he should be converted and live, sent the holy image of the Mother of God to the sick man B, bidding him venerate it; and then to implore the prayers of the holy martyr of Christ, Thaddaeus, and to hope that it would go well for him. Theodore, meanwhile, spending the whole night in prayer for him to the common God, freed the sick man from his disease, and on the following day rendered him free from his bed, and even capable of handling human affairs comfortably. And the grace of health would certainly have remained firm in him, had he not been deluded by the promises of the profane bishop, and admitted the oil blessed by him for the sake, supposedly, of a more perfect recovery of health. When the marvelous Theodore, filled with the gift of prophecy, C learned of this, he immediately announced the return of the disease, and that the miserable man’s death would follow from it; which in fact occurred not many days after his communion with the heresiarch. In truth, it is no light matter, as the blessed Cyril says, to have fellowship with the wicked. And such was the outcome of Bardas’s affairs.
Our father and confessor of Christ, Theodore, kept in custody for twenty months under that pseudodox metropolite, had with him, besides other Fathers and confessors, his own disciples, who were almost his equals in his suffering; among whom was the great Naucratius, worthy of his name, and the column of presbyteral perfection, Dorotheus, the admirable Besarion, D and the most constant Jacob, and the most strenuous Domitian, and the hardworking Tithois, and the one excelling in ascetic and angelic life, Timotheus, and the most confident and by-name-ready-for-action confessor, Euthymius. All these, along with many others, having experienced many lashes and various temptations, attained the glory of confession, not yielding even in word to the accusers of the Christians, so as to comply with their wishes. For those who believe that their life is seen by God do not consent to sin in any way.
47. Indeed, the zealous God, who removes those who are opposed to Him, as the prophet says, is long-suffering in mercy; He who, indeed, his bow
A tends toward the conversion of those who sin, while yet preparing in it vessels of death for those who stumble without repentance; He who does not allow the rod of sinners to remain, until the end, upon the lot of the just, remembered the groaning of the captives. And from him who had devoured Jacob and, being consecrated to him, had laid waste the places, He exacted punishment for his sins—in the very same place, indeed, where he had despised the divine incarnation of Emmanuel, intending to cut off his life by the deadly sword: so that the prophecy of the blessed prophet Habakkuk might be fulfilled in him, which says: *You have devised shame for the house of the Lord; you have destroyed many peoples, and your soul has sinned (Hab. II, 10). Therefore, you shall receive fullness of shame. But drink you also, and be agitated and shaken; the cup of the Lord’s right hand has encompassed you, and shame has been gathered together upon your glory. For the impiety of Libanus shall cover you, and the misery of the beasts shall terrify you.* But also Hosea says: *And Ephraim provoked me, and stirred me to anger, and his blood shall be poured out upon him, and the Lord shall recompense him for his reproach* (Osee XII, 14). Along with these, the most loud-voiced trumpet of prophecy B will also say to him: *In the way that a garment matted with blood will not be clean, so neither shall you be clean, because you have destroyed my land and killed my people.*
48. When this beast-minded and impudent tyrant had therefore been slain by night in one of the oratories of the palace, Michael, who struck him down, took up the standards of the empire; he, even if he had been through and through infected with the leaven of heresy from the beginning, nevertheless displayed a kindness of character. On account of this, he issued a law C commanding that everyone who had been sent into exile by Leo and was being kept in custody should be released from their bonds. Then finally, along with the rest of Christ’s confessors, the most celebrated preacher of orthodoxy, Theodore, returned from Smyrna to his native and beloved region; and, shining with the splendors of holiness and righteousness, he was kindly received by many other people throughout various villages and places, but not least by those men who were lovers of virtue and pious, of the place called Xerolophos. Having arrived by turns at the neighboring D parts, the so-called Lakkos Mitata, he was worthily received, and stayed among them for many days, with almost all the primary brothers of his monastery having run together there. Likewise, the most wise and most steadfast soldier of the truth, Joseph, also arrived from the prison at the fortress called Elpizon to meet his own brother. It is said that in that place our divine Father also performed miracles that are not worthy of being forgotten, regarding which, with God’s help, I shall attempt to relate briefly in my discourse. For our holy father was taken into hospitality at that time by a most religious man, named Leo, distinguished by the dignity of hypatos, and afterwards a monk—because of his faith toward the holy [f. 166. a.] father.
father. He accepted the name of Theodore, and every year he appeared appropriately for the moving of the sacred shrine of his relics. This same praiseworthy and pious Theodore, therefore, having entered according to his custom for the devotion of the veneration of the beloved God-bearer, and having offered his prayer to the Lord as he desired, and having embraced the tomb of the Fathers, since he had sat down with the brothers and a discussion happened to arise concerning the life and struggles of the great Theodore, he was, as it were, inflamed inwardly by fire at this memory, and was manifest by the redness of his face and the outpouring of abundant tears. He was filled with gladness at the remembrance of the great man’s manner of life. Whereupon the old man asked those sitting with him, who were eager and had assembled in a spirit of compunction, to listen with a devout mind to what would be told by him. And he began the account from there.
49. At that time, he says, when I was counted worthy to receive into my hospitality the confessor of Christ and common Father of us all, a young girl recently taken by us for my son Dionysius and wedded to him, suddenly happened, by the dart of I know not what envy, to fall into a violent fever, by which incident the wedding songs were turned into funeral dirges. We, weighed down by grief, did not doubt the girl’s untimely death. The man of God, having learned of this matter from us, blessed oil and sent it to us from the place where he was staying, called Ptelea, and commanded us to anoint the forehead and the soles of both the hands and feet of the sick girl. This having been done, the girl immediately received the gift of health, and we, turned to joy, praised God for the girl’s swiftest cure.
50. B And now the noble old man, connecting one narration to another, says: Hear another, Fathers. A certain man named Leo, from the village called Achiraus, lived with a wife possessed by an unclean spirit, who was so driven by the demon that she would even consume her own flesh without pain. Therefore, her husband, moved by faith toward the servant of Christ, Theodore, when this famous man was passing by that way riding on a donkey, approached with his wife and asked that he might bestow the blessing of his prayers upon her. And our wonder-working man, C placing his right hand lightly upon the crown of the woman’s head, recited the prayer for those possessed over her. As soon as he finished this, the release from the demon followed for the sufferer; a fearful sign was manifested to those who were present at the hour of his expulsion. For when the unclean and evil spirit went out, the nails of her hands and feet fell away and dropped to the ground. At which the man, struck with wonder, gave praise and thanksgiving to God, who had performed such unexpected miracles D through his servant toward his own wife.
51. To these things he added another of this kind. For the man of wonderful faith, Theodore, said this was so. There is a certain river flowing past our locale, called Onopnictes, which, as I think, takes its name from the flood that occurs in it, so that it does not even spare the beasts of burden A from the destructive force of its currents. This river, therefore, sometimes swelling up past its banks, would unmoderately plague the village of Pteleas. For that reason, at a suitable time, he signifies this to the wonder-working Father; and he, being greatly saddened by the unpleasant report, went with us at time of day or evening to the place where the river was flooding, and fixed a cross prepared for that very purpose in the place where the destruction of the waters was; and since then, seeing the sign of the cross, that rivering murmur, not that time only, but also subsequently even until now, the river, as if obedient B to the Lord’s symbol like a servant, no longer dares to pour itself out beyond its channel, disregarding its former license.
52. Beyond these three, this truthful man used to narrate with tears another miracle performed in the case of himself. While our blessed father was still living in our village of Pteleas, it happened, he says, that I was traveling to another village for some business, called Meteoron; which having finished, I returning to my home. While I was traversing the road near the mountain, a tiger appeared, of terrible aspect; seeing it standing right before me, and already wishing to leap upon me, I, having cast away all fear of soul, cried out C with a loud voice: "Go away, untamed beast, and do not approach me at all; for I am hastening to the servant of Christ, Theodore." But it, as if terrified by the fire of this voice, turned its back to me, and departed worn out. I truly, relieved from unexpected fear of the beast, and dissolved in tears, gave thanks to Christ the Lord, who had rescued me from the homicidal beast, and solely through the invocation of his servant Theodore. And we did not learn of these wonders from that noble Theodore, who was truly a very excellent and faithful presbyter. But because certain other miracles are preached by the Father as edited by the elder, which the divine Father our Sophronius D narrated, I think it worth the effort, since I am engaged in this kind of discourse, to annex these things also, so that the history concerning them might be whole and continuous.
53. At that time, he says, when our blessed father Theodore, while he was living with a large congregation at the Studium, went one day, as was his custom, to the domestic infirmary to visit the sick brothers.
A One of those lying there, having been ill for a long time, was no longer able to bear the assaults of his pains; he was utterly dejected in spirit and despaired of his own salvation, to such a degree that he moved those lying nearby to pity and compassion with his plaintive outcries. Being besought by him, therefore, the one who had the care of the infirm—this was Simeon, the wonderful son of obedience and a most brilliant lamp of spiritual discernment—asked the Father on his behalf to pray to God that he might be released from the bond of his body. As Theodore was coming down, the hospital attendant followed behind him and announced to him the request of the sick man. The great Theodore, hearing these things, asked if the sick brother had truly said this. When he confirmed the matter with the delivery of his words, the man who was ever minded toward the heavens turned toward the East; his face flushed red because of the compassionate movements of his heart, and lifting his hands on high and becoming tearful, he prayed in his mind to the Lord who has power over life and death, while those who were with him looked on. After the prayer, turning to Simeon, he says: "Return quickly to the brother, for the Lord has shown mercy according to his request." He returned immediately and found that he had exhaled his last breath, and the brothers who were present were closing his eyes with their hands; and in truth, it was recognized that at the same moment the Father had made intercession for his soul, the brother had departed from the body.
B 54. Another miracle, which our holy Father Sophronius—who also succeeded to his throne after others who had shepherded that fold—relates, he has left behind for us. For he said that he once made a journey through the theme of Paphlagonia during the time of the iconoclastic storm, with the father by whom he had been tonsured, Anatolius, a most excellent disciple and formerly a notary of the great Father, who had bravely endured the lashes of whips and prisons for the sake of the true faith. "And when," he said, "we had traveled the distance from morning until evening, we halted for the sake of rest near a haystack where hay was being mown. It happened, by some chance, that a military cohort of the Roman empire was encampment there. Now, as many fires were being lit for the purpose of heating water, I know not how, the fire caught the hay and spread widely among the surrounding sheaves. C Because a great tumult and sedition of the soldiers arose from this, and all were looking with murderous eyes for the person who had caused it, our holy Father and confessor of Christ, Anatolius, observing the horrific onset of the crowd, and fearing lest they put both of us to death in the impulse of their boiling rage as though we were guilty of this misfortune, stood facing the East and, spreading out his hands lifted to heaven, cried out to God saying: 'Lord Jesus Christ, God of heaven and earth, if indeed You have gladly accepted the struggles of my Father Theodore, now also be moved by his prayers, that You might extinguish this fire, lest these men hand us over to death, though we are innocent.' D As he was saying these things, that fire subsided as if extinguished by a most vehement downpour." The soldiers, indeed...
being transformed into a state of gentleness and astonishment, glorified God and our most holy Father, the highly-praised Theodore. A
55. The same renowned Sophronius also recounted that a similar miracle occurred in Constantinople, in the house of one of the grandees, whose dwelling was in the quarter called Rhabdos. Having heard the account of the matter from the lady of the house herself, he spoke thus: "At midday," she said, "a fire broke out in our hayloft—I know neither where nor how—and the fire flared up to such an extent through the combustion of the easily ignitable materials that it seemed our entire remaining property was about to be consumed. While everyone was crying out and scattering with clamor and tumult to bring water and pipes, I myself, running about and weeping vehemently, remembered that I had an epistle recently sent by the great Theodore, placed in a vessel to which sacred palms were attached. Therefore, trembling, I seized it with my hands and, with tears, cried out in a loud voice: 'Saint Theodore, help us through your prayers at this hour!' And with these words, I threw it from the higher place where I was standing towards the flames opposite. B And it, as if standing in awe of the words written on the paper by the holy Father, immediately ceased to rage against us and gradually diminished, so that the running back and forth of the crowd here and there, and the setting of pipes in various places, became useless; rather, all praised God for the miraculous manner in which the fire was extinguished." C
56. Another marvel from the island of Sardinia concerning our wonder-working Father has also reached us. For one of our Fathers, having encountered the first among the people of that region, a man most Christ-loving and god-fearing, learned this story from him, as he said: "I myself," he said, "long ago, having acquired the triodia of the holy Great Lent, which our godly Father and confessor of Christ, Theodore, composed, used to chant them annually with appropriate faith, just as I do now by the grace of Christ. At that time, however, some monks were staying with me, claiming to be disciples of Gregory, the late archbishop of the city of Syracuse in Sicily; and they, having spent time with me, received not a little comfort. But when the time of the holy Great Lent drew near, I was preparing the order of divine doxology customary for me, making it my effort that the triodia of our holy Father be chanted during Lent, as had been my custom from years past. D Having heard this, they were both troubled and amazed that the teaching and fame of our holy Father had reached even to us. At the same time, however, they began to mock the saint and to disparage his poems as having been composed contrary to the rules of art. My mind being corrupted by their words, I imbibed this foul disparagement against the canticles of the divine one, to such an extent that when the holy Great Lent arrived, as I said, I was unwilling to chant his triodia. Behold
on the night of the vigil, there stood before me the servant of Christ, Theodore, tall in stature, gaunt, of pale countenance, with hair graying and balding; and he was accompanied by certain lictors of noble appearance. At A his command, as if in anger, they rushed upon me and began to beat me severely with rods, while he himself cried out to me vehemently: "Do you faithlessly despise my poems?" And again he said to the guards: "You have orders to deal with him sufficiently, so that he may be taught not to accept evil conversations, which are mostly able to corrupt good character." Having been whipped to the point of exhaustion in this manner (for I thought I could scarcely breathe), I finally came to myself, awakened with a tumult in my heart and very severe pains in my body, which I showed to those around me, remaining intact and marked upon my flesh, as proof of what had happened to me because of the faithlessness I had admitted against our righteous Father. Straightway I drove from my house those who had provided me with the banquet of this anger; and since that time, until the present day, the poems of the holy Father are revered by me and preferred above others, and we hold him as one of the number of the apostles of Christ, and as a Heaven-sent teacher of the Catholic Church; holding this opinion of him not from hearsay B alone, but through the experience of reality, and by a divine and truthful revelation, as has been said.
57. There are also many other miracles of our miracle-working Father that have come to us, which, both while he still lived his life and after he departed to the better life, have occurred and been wrought, according to the account of those who saw and experienced them. For one of those of a spiritual nature said that he had been cleansed by him; another, who had been afflicted by other bodily infirmities, had recovered complete health. There is also one who was suddenly seized with a very severe stomach pain, and merely upon looking at the image of the holy man painted on the column, and calling upon his name for help, immediately declared himself freed from the pain that was afflicting him. Another, again, having consumed food that was unsuitable and contained much earthy filth, C as if having received some serpent-like poison, and having his entrails wounded by it, and being expected by many to die straightway, by drinking of the oil flowing from the lamp suspended over his sacred tomb, he cast out the poison that had been generated in him, contrary to expectation, by a rapid vomiting, and was relieved. Likewise, another, by tasting the same saving oil upon the palm of his own hand, cast out a most grievous pain from a kidney stone. Another was laboring under a passion of cowardice beyond nature, being afraid to sleep in the places where he had been assigned, and not even daring to go forth during nightly processions for the service that befalls him. Having himself also drunk a little of the oil from said lamp, and having signed both his face and his heart with the form D of the cross, he lived thereafter intrepid and courageous. The time would utterly fail us if we wished to recount the prodigies of our most holy Father, since from that time until our own they do not cease to
be manifested to those who approach his precious and venerable tomb with faith; wonders which we ourselves behold, and which those after us will certainly behold as well. For the gifts of God are without repentance (Rom. xi, 29). Wherefore, ceasing to speak of these things, we shall proceed to set forth the rest of his life.
58. Having therefore tarried for very many days in Pteleas with the brothers and Fathers we have mentioned—for the sake of those who came to meet him, who were his fellow-laborers in the struggle for orthodoxy—the blessed Theodore departed thence and came with them to the regions of Prusa. His arrival being bruited throughout the whole region of Olympus, almost all those who had long since chosen to exercise virtue in the deserts, mountains, and caverns of the earth gathered to him, desiring to behold him as a prince and athlete in the stadium of confession, and at the same time to receive the blessing of his prayers. B That great luminary exhorted each one individually, and all together, regarding the spiritual battle against the demons and the perpetual onset of temptations, as the situation required; and having stirred up their souls to the love of God, he would dismiss them, having prayed well for each.
He himself, having traveled as far as Chalcedon, greeted Theoctistus, formerly a magister in rank, whom he himself had tonsured some time before, and who was now persevering in his own monastery with a strict observance of right dogmas; C from there he went up to the renowned Patriarch Nicephorus. There was spiritual joy in their mutual meeting, and an outpouring of tears according to God, both praising the merciful Lord, for He has provided, and ever provides, for the salvation of all in His kindness.
59. Having spent some days with him, our father Theodore came from there to the gulf of Nicomedia, and lodged in the place called Crescentius’. There, too, a very great multitude of monks and people of every sort gathered, that they might obtain the fruit of his prayers and inspired teaching. D At that time, that great and wonderful man, long-resplendent in ascetic life and miracles, who, because of his supreme abstinence from food, was deservedly surnamed Abucis, left his abode on Mount Olympus and approached this high priest, wishing to consult him concerning those who were maligning his life and calling him a magician on account of the miracles performed by him.
The lamp of spiritual discernment, having received him and having diligently questioned him concerning his faith and his way of life, and having found him perfect in the Lord in both respects, the servant of Christ benignly admonished him to taste bread and wine and the other foods that monks admit, at times, in order to avoid the censure of the weak; and likewise to wear shoes in the wintertime. He also charged the detractors, not without rebuke, to be more temperate toward him and to cease from this manifest...
A malice, lest by their ill-will toward a champion of Christ they be found to provoke the Spirit of truth that worked within him. Such was that divine teacher of piety, Theodore, who desired to gain everyone for Christ, according to the words of the holy man: *Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?*
B 60. Now it seemed to the principal of the God-beloved metropolitans, when gathered in synod, that they ought by common decree, all of them—with the exception of the holy patriarch—to approach the emperor, so that they might destroy, like a spider's web, the calumnies which the Christ-hating iconoclasts had fabricated against our upright and blameless faith, and demonstrate that the Catholic Church of our Savior Christ remained blameless and unspotted, having been sprinkled and purified by the blood of the Lamb of God in human form sacrificed for her sake by the Father. Having therefore used one of the courtiers as a most faithful mediator, the priests dedicated to the divine ministry of Christ—venerable in reality and appearance, that is, both in their actions and in their angelic attire—entered the palace. There, each of them, as he was able, offered thanks to the Caesar; and they then entreated him to remember the mercy of God, which had looked upon him unexpectedly, and by whose grace he had recently been snatched from the hands of the irascible tyrant; and that he should therefore render to Christ, as an C unrejectable debt for that benefit, a recompense, by establishing in the Church chiefly the anciently handed-down veneration of the holy images. But he, being a rustic and having the manners of a swineherd, and being devoid of all biblical erudition, heard these things with little pleasure, and invited the great Theodore to speak his own opinion. When he spoke to the same effect as the bishops, and demonstrated the victory of the truth most clearly and abundantly, then that man, who regarded shame and glory as equal in his own folly, answered the holy synod of bishops thus: "Your words are indeed good and excellent; but because I have never until this day venerated any image, I therefore allow the Church to remain just as I found it. However, I grant you the freedom to adhere securely to the dogmas of your, as you call it, orthodox faith. Yet, you must live outside the city, wherever each of you wishes, without fearing or expecting any danger to yourselves from our rule." Having thus spoken, he sent them out of the palace.
D 61. So our Father Theodore, departing from the royal city, came again to his own disciples at the station of Crescentius, and there he continued the ascetic struggle of the coenobitic life, until the rebellion of the impostor and malicious Thomas. When, however, his tyranny began to ravage the Asiatic region, then the royal
A decree summoned those who were on the side of the venerable patriarch Nicephorus to Constantinople; not that the Caesar was concerned for their safety, but because he feared that some of them might defect to the faction of Thomas, since he was said to accept and worship the holy icons. For this reason, therefore, our great Father Theodore returned to his homeland once again.
Meanwhile, while that wretched Thomas had not yet crossed over into Europe and had not yet fallen into the power of the emperor, our Father departed from Byzantium and sailed to the neighboring peninsula of Akritas, which is called Saint Tryphon’s. From there, on a certain feast day, he approached the most holy patriarch along with the leading metropolitans and was received with great magnificence in proportion to his true and genuine struggles for piety, and he was accorded the first honors by him. Indeed, the sacred pontiff Nicephorus recounted the merits of his bravery and constancy, which were worthy of all belief, above all others—both the famine and the daily deaths which he had endured at the hands of the underlings of the iconoclastic madness throughout the five years of the tyranny of the implacable and cruel Leo. B And he bestowed the primacy upon him not only by words of praise, but much more by deeds themselves. For when a banquet was prepared, he granted to him alone to sit with him on the same couch, saying to the holy guests: "Give way, brothers, to our most patient Father, for the place of honor, just as to me (even though this wise man seeks it least of all), so that sitting together, both of us may perform the breaking of bread. For to whomsoever more signs of love toward our common Master are manifested, to him also more is owed, just as the Lord said in the Gospels." For as there is a diversity in the lives of the saints, so there is in their rewards, as God measures out the recompense C according to the merits of each. And if this is so before God, it would also be fitting for us who are humble. Such was the disposition toward the holy Theodore of him who adorned the patriarchal throne with victorious virtues.
62. D Away with envy, which rises up against the righteous Theodore! Let those who malign this godlike leader and teacher of monks be ashamed, and let them put their hand to their own lips, as the Scripture says, when they see the solidarity of these venerable and eminent persons. For our shepherd would not have visited the most holy Nicephorus so frequently if he had not known and been fully convinced that he was a most worthy priest of Christ; nor, in turn, would the great chief priest have honored the divine Theodore above the metropolitans and bishops themselves, had he not judged him with wise discernment as one who eclipsed the others in the glory of his virtue and his extreme confession of Christ, and as one who held the proof of this within himself. If, therefore, anyone still lingering in the opposing faction disbelieves what we have written thus far for the benefit of the ignorant,
A let him pore over the epistle-books of our Father, and become a believer, having understood from the things therein the truth of our words concerning him. If, however, he is still held by a complaining disposition, let such a one consider again whether he might be convicted of suffering, not from stone-fighting, but rather from clear God-fighting—which is not the mark of a good man, but rather of one who is altogether odious to God and deranged. And so much for these things.
63. Henceforth, may our discourse proceed to the end of the God-bearer—if, indeed, it should be called an end of life, and not rather an end of death, and a beginning of most true life. B For he who has applied himself throughout his whole life to the voluntary death, that is, the mortification of the passions, and has holy esteemed the life hidden in Christ above this voluntary and free life, such a one, being dead to sin in this corruptible and laborious life, will justly be reckoned as passing from death and life into the uniform and eternal life. Our Father, therefore, and divine confessor of Christ, Theodore, even as he drew near to the very ends of life, did not cease to send the salutary medicines through his own letters to every region and city, reconciling and leading the majority toward the orthodox faith. C But he also received kindly those coming to him of every rank and age, and with the streams of his honey-flowing tongue would gently cherish their souls toward virtue. And it was not only from the imperial city that some by turn and others came out to him—including the most prominent of the most holy metropolitans, and very many of the hegumens, and those outstanding in the monastic rank—but even from every distant island and town, people would run with the greatest eagerness to share in the sight of him and his blessing, as a provision for virtue and progress in piety. For the holy man was more beautiful and more desirable than any sensible paradise, since he possessed, both within and without, the fruits of the Most Holy Spirit like fragrant D and sweet-scented graces; and he was glorified in his face like Moses, and bore the signs of his voluntary mortification through the exceeding paleness of his sacred countenance. He was also of tall stature; and while he possessed, as it were, the most finely-tuned chords of a bodily organ, he emitted a harmonious voice, sounding forth his didactic discourse more sweetly and pleasantly.
64. When, therefore, he had completed almost sixty-seven years of his entire life in the flesh, and twelve years after his third exile for the truth of Christ, our holy Father was seized, around the beginning of the month of November, by a disease that had been long-seated and had fallen upon him from those formerly most grievous prisons and exiles, and the perfect neglect of health that followed therefrom—I mean, of the stomach—so that the blessed man seemed almost dead even before his falling asleep, his appetite having ceased to the utmost. But then, having been bedridden for four days, he was again, by the grace of God, restored to cheerfulness. And, oh, the magnanimity of the thrice-blessed one! For not even in that very sickness did he wish to enjoy any rest or any other solace at all. So much did he hold the present life in hatred to the very end! For already being an old—
man, and weighed down by intense and unremitting pains, he did not even then allow sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, nor rest to his temples, before he had imparted the saving and customary instruction to the brethren. While he was lying on a pallet, unable to speak more loudly to those present, he dictated it to one of the stenographers, and A through him he addressed it to the choir of his disciples, indicating clearly his impending end, which was even at the doors. "Brethren," he said, "and Fathers, I have been sick, and again by your prayers I have been restored. But how long are we to come back to this 'again'? The day of death will certainly come, which will allow no 'again,' separating me from you and sending me forth from this world." And the rest of the catechesis follows.
65. After the fourth day, on the following day, which was the day of the Resurrection, the most holy man sat in a public place, and after the same catechesis had been read, what happened? He was strengthened by his zeal. And he applied himself to divine things; for labor bestows health, and zeal raises the dead. And so he entered the Lord’s house (that is, the Church) to perform the holy liturgy to the holy, most pure, and consubstantial Trinity. And having offered the bloodless sacrifice to God, and having distributed B to all present the life-giving body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with his own hands, he returned thence to the table, to which he kindly admitted some of the Fathers and confessors who had arrived. Holding a frequent discourse with them about his passing, he dismissed them. And indeed, the whole time of his blessed life had been nothing other than a meditation on death, and a desire to be released and to be with Christ. C In fact, having fallen back onto his bed, he called the steward (this was the glorious Naucratius, who also became his successor) and said, "Has any part of our duty been neglected?" So careful, perceptive, and solicitous was his soul regarding all things, at all times, and in every matter to be performed. Then, on the following day, when the commemoration of the great priest and confessor of the Trinity, Paul, was taking place, as a lover of God and a lover of the saints, he fulfilled the apostolic hymn and again celebrated the divine ritual, paying his respects to the memory of the saint. But when evening came, having spoken at length with those sitting around him, he retired to his D cell, and having recited the usual psalms and prayers to the Lord, he lay down on his little bed. But behold, about the fourth hour, his habitual attack of illness seized him; wherefore, having called someone who was sleeping near his cell, he signified how ill he felt, and the brethren immediately ran from all sides to see what was happening to the Father. Therefore, having struggled with the pains in moderation, on the following day he called everyone together and spoke the final words of his departure thus:
66. "Brethren and Fathers, this cup is common, which all our Fathers have drunk; I too now drink the same, and I am going to my Fathers.
See the testament which I have made for you: keep your faith unshaken and your life unspotted. I have nothing more to say, for I have already demonstrated and taught everything that was profitable." He added this one thing, as a son of peace and charity: "Give my greetings, with reverence and honor, to our Lord and Pontiff; and likewise to the rest of the Fathers, bishops, and priests, to the confessors of Christ who have suffered persecution for Christ’s sake, to all the brethren, to friends and acquaintances, and to those who have labored with us in the struggle for the faith—both small and great." Being asked by the venerable Naucratius regarding monks and lay B people under canonical penances, the truly most compassionate physician and imitator of Christ replied: "May the Lord grant indulgence to all." And signing the brethren three times with the sign of the cross, he prayed for them, saying: "The Lord of peace be with your spirit." And having greeted all who were present, he remained thus.
67. Now, as the report of this spread far and wide, a great multitude came to him, whom he would bless by making the sign of the cross, and would greet and address placidly before sending them away. And he did this for two days. On the Lord's day, on which the memory of the holy and glorious martyr Menas was celebrated, having recited the customary psalms and partaken of the Eucharist, and having been anointed with oil on his limbs according to custom, he raised his hands in prayer. Around the sixth hour, when he felt his strength failing, he gave the order that candles be silently lit. And so, as the brethren began the psalm *Beati immaculati* (Blessed are the undefiled), when they had reached the verse of the second section which says, *In eternal I will not forget thy justifications, for in them thou hast quickened me* (Ps. CXVII, 93), C he breathed forth his holy soul in the presence of those standing there. He was added to the just from ages past—he who throughout his entire life had suffered persecution for righteousness; to the holy, as a lover and practitioner of holiness; to the martyrs, as one studious of the martyrs and their most patient partner in the struggles; to the apostles, for he had run the same race of faith as they; to the prophets, for he had been adorned with the same charisma by God, and had confirmed their prophecies by his own deeds, inasmuch as he had asserted that the incarnation of Emmanuel was to be honored by sacred symbols in every way and altogether; to all the holy angels, whose way of life he had emulated with all his might, though clothed in flesh; and finally to the almighty God and Lord of glory, the King of all, he who for the fear of God had accounted all earthly kingdoms as nothing, and had trampled upon all human glory like mud, having become, as far as was possible, godlike and Christ-like.
68. His most holy and long-suffering body, from the aforementioned peninsula to the island of Principum D