Послание 21. К Симеону, монаху 26

From the past we know, father, how and how great you were in relation to our humility in all the sorrows that occurred, pacifying and arranging everything for the benefit; and now we know that you were saddened because of your brother’s promise under the present circumstances. But what should we do if there are God’s commandments and fatherly rules that exclude us from such communication? Let your quick help and your sincere love for God and for us sinners hurry up, in order to reject temptation as some kind of anxiety, and pacify the anxiety of our pious rulers 27. For our refusal to communicate is not against them, and the reason for it is not the love of strife, but rather reverence, respect, love and proper reverence, but against the one who unlawfully married an adulterer, contrary to the word of the Lord, who dared to promote such evil and approve of it before the whole world, whom Christ Himself deposed as having fallen under two rules. Among other things, in the first of these rules, the presbyter is not even allowed to feast at the marriage of a second-wed 28 (in the rule they did not dare to write: “at the marriage of an adulterer”), much less to marry the latter? And the second says that if someone has fallen into some crime and is excommunicated for it, if he does not take care of his restoration within a year, then his votes will no longer be accepted 29 . And this one, after delaying for more than nine years, invaded the Church. If he is considered innocent, then even more so an adulterer; and if he is guilty of sin, then who can doubt that he who married him and blasphemed against the Holy Spirit is not more criminal and wicked? This, holy father, is what frightens and oppresses our hearts. Therefore, we do not have communication with him, just as we did not have with the previous patriarch, when he was in communication with the adulterer: we were imprisoned, I - where you are, and the abbot and others - in Thessaloniki. But God gathered us again through your prayers; and we entered into communication with the patriarch not as we had to, but only after he recognized that we had acted well. If then, when adultery was committed and the rules were violated, we were not afraid by the power of God, then how now, when the royal power is pious, will we be afraid because of one elder, and betray the truth, endangering our soul? No way. We would rather endure everything even to death than enter into communion with him and with those who serve with him until he is deprived of the priesthood, as under the former patriarch, although the latter is worse. For the former never served with him; and then entering into fellowship would be absurd, but it would not be such an evil; and now we are threatened with deprivation of the priesthood if we serve with him. Let him be a housekeeper, but why is he still unworthy to serve as a priest? He ceased to be a presbyter. If it seems insignificant to those serving with him, then they will see what they are doing. May they spare us, the humble ones, who have remained quiet and said nothing until now, but have abstained for the last two years (since he invaded) so that we may thus lead a peaceful life. Our rulers are good mediators and judges of truth; they love those who freely speak the truth, as their own venerable lips often proclaim. Let the priests either convince in a priestly way, or convince themselves; but, even if nothing illegal happened, it is impossible for us to speak only in a whisper, - God sees, there is no one greater than Whom, before Whom alone we must fear, and before the local Judgment Seat, before which we will all appear to give an account of everything. However, we ask for your kindness and, as if throwing ourselves at your venerable feet, we convince and beg you to show mercy to us and the common benefit both to our pious Emperors themselves, and to the Most Holy Patriarch and the entire Church - not only here, but throughout the entire universe: so that one may be excommunicated for the glory of God and so that His Church will not be indignant. If not, then we ask for the second, so that we remain in the same position as in the last ten years; for the fact that other hierarchs, priests and abbots, even in countless numbers, have fellowship with him is not surprising, because they also had fellowship with the adulterer. And no one said anything. It is God who through us—even though it is daring to say so—inspires and speaks. However, as you wish. Written in 808 on behalf of St. Plato, when he and St. Theodore and his relatives openly broke off communication with Patriarch Nicephorus, on the occasion of the acceptance into communion with the Church in 806 of the excommunicated steward Joseph. Simeon the monk was related to the Emperor Nicephorus, under whom his son Stavraki was at that time a co-ruler. Council of Neocaesarea rule 7. Council of Carthage rule 83. You might be interested in: