208. К пресвитеру Констанцию 152

On the fourth day of the month Panem 153, in the midst of preparations for departure from Nicaea, I am sending this letter to your godliness, in order to again ask you for the same thing that I have always constantly asked for - despite any fierceness of the storm that has now broken out and the intensification of the waves, it is imperative to fulfill your duty in relation to the service you have assumed from the very beginning, that is, in relation to the extermination of paganism, the building of churches and the conversion of souls: do not yield difficult circumstances and don’t give up. The helmsman, seeing that the sea is furious and stormy, does not abandon the helm; and the doctor, noticing that the patient’s illness is getting worse, does not stop treatment: on the contrary, both of them in such cases especially strain their art. So you, my most honest and reverent master, use all your zeal and do not weaken your activity, yielding to regrettable circumstances. For the evil that others bring against us, we will not give an account, but will receive another reward. But if we ourselves do not fulfill our duty and become careless, then the cramped state of circumstances will in no way protect or excuse us for this. Paul, being in prison and being beaten into stocks (Acts 16:24), did his work, just like Jonah in the womb of the sea monster, and the three youths in the oven; all these various kinds of conclusions did not weaken their zeal in any of them. With this in mind, my lord, do not stop caring for Phenicia, Arabia, or the churches in the east, and be sure that you will receive a reward the more persistently, despite so many obstacles, you fulfill your duty. Don’t make it a labor to write to us constantly, and even as often as possible. As we have now learned, we have been ordered to go not to Sebastia, but to Kukuz, where it will be even more convenient for you to write to us. Write to us how many churches were built each year, how many holy men were transported to Phenicia, and whether there was any success. Having found a reclusive monk here, I persuaded him to leave Nicaea, to your reverence, and then go to Phenicia. Try to notify me if he has arrived to you. Regarding Salamis, a city located in Cyprus and besieged by the Marcionist heresy, I spoke to whomever I should, and would have ended everything if my expulsion had not arrived by that time. If you find out that my lord, Bishop Cyriacus, is in Constantinople, then write to him about this subject, and he will be able to put an end to all this. In particular, ask all who have boldness towards God to pray more and with all zeal for an end to the present collapse of the universe. Unbearable disasters befell both Asia and various other cities and churches. Without going into details about this now, so as not to burden you, I will only say one thing: you need to pray a lot and ask diligently. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” From Nicaea on the way to the place of exile, in the year 404. This letter is given by Nikephoros Callistus - see book. 13. Ch. 27. You might be interested in: