118. К епископу Елпидию 96

It was not out of disdain or indifference to your love that we have not written to you until now, but our disastrous circumstances were the reason for this long silence on our part. Firstly, we cannot settle in one place, but we live either in Kukuza, or in Aravissa, or in some gorge, or somewhere in the desert: to such an extent confusion and anxiety reign everywhere here. Fire and iron consume everything - both people and homes; entire cities are completely exterminated along with the entire population, and driven constantly by new and new alarming rumors, we move every day from one place to another, thus experiencing a kind of new painful type of exile life and daily expecting death. Even having now locked ourselves in a fortress, as if in a prison, we cannot be completely calm, because the Isaurians boldly attack such places. In addition to this, a cruel illness befell us, and although we have now somehow passed its most difficult period, we still feel its traces. Finally, all this time we seemed to be imprisoned on some island abandoned in the middle of an impassable sea: it was so difficult for us to meet a visitor from anywhere; fear of these horrors blocked all roads to us. I ask you to forgive us, my most honest and most reverent master - you know what love, from ancient times and from the beginning, we have always had for your reverence - and do not stop praying for us. We firmly hope that if you do not encounter any difficulties in sending letters, you will not need to be reminded to constantly write to us about your health. Likewise, for our part, as soon as the passions here subside and it is possible to look out of our prison and take a breath from the siege that is tormenting us, we will constantly write to your honesty. By doing this, we give ourselves the greatest pleasure. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: