105. К епископам и пресвитерам, находящимся в заключении 74

You are kept in prison, you are bound in chains, you are imprisoned with rude and dirty people. But for this very reason, is there anyone else more blessed than you? What is a golden crown placed on the head in comparison with this chain that fits the right hand for God's sake? What magnificent spacious palaces can compete with this dark and dirty, disgusting and wretched prison in which a person is imprisoned for such a reason? So, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice and rejoice in full confidence that the calamities that have befallen you will bring you the greatest benefits. This is sowing, foreshadowing an indescribably bountiful harvest; this is a struggle leading to victory and rewards; This is a voyage that brings enormous benefits. With all this in mind, rejoice and be glad, my most honest and most reverent gentlemen, and continually thank God for everything, thereby dealing a fatal blow to the devil and preparing for yourself a great reward in heaven: “The sufferings of this present time are worth nothing in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us” (“For the passions of this present time are not worthy of the glory that desires to appear”) ( Rom. 8:18). Also write to us constantly. It is very desirable for us to receive letters from people devoted to the bonds of God with news of your suffering, and this will give us great consolation in our life on a foreign side. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” Written at the beginning of the reference, in 404. You might be interested in: