2. Письмо 2-е Иннокентию, письма от Иннокентия, Сакра Гонория Августа

To Innocent, Bishop of Rome, letter 2 *** The saint, having already been in exile for three years, wrote a second letter in which he addresses not only the pope, but also several bishops who were in Rome or in the vicinity of this city. He thanks them for their love towards him and for the jealousy with which they tried to console such a terrible disaster that befell him. John - rejoice in the Lord. Each of us is tied to one area with our bodies, but with the wing of love we can freely fly throughout the entire universe. So we, despite the fact that we are separated from you by such a long distance, are always close to your reverence and are daily co-present with you, seeing with the eyes of love your spiritual courage, the sincerity of your disposition, your firmness, steadfastness, your great, continuous and constant desire to console us. The higher the waves rise, the more exposed the underwater rocks and rocks are, the more frequent the explosions of the storm, the more your vigilance increases, and neither the enormous distance of the distance, nor the length of time, nor the difficult state of affairs could give rise to carelessness in you: with tireless cheerfulness you compete with the best of the helmsmen, who are then especially inspired when they see that the excitement has reached its extreme limit, the sea is stormy, the splash of the waves is deafening and the day turned into the deepest night. Therefore, we are deeply grateful to you and would like to send you countless letters, finding in this our greatest pleasure. But since the desolation of the area does not allow us to do this, because no one, not only from those going there, but even from those living around us, can easily reach us due to the remoteness of the place in which we are imprisoned, lying on the most extreme borders, and due to the danger from the robbers besieging all the roads, then we ask you, the longer our silence, the more sorry for us, and not conclude from this about our negligence. And that, indeed, it was not out of negligence that we remained silent, then, as soon as after a long time we now have the opportunity to see the most honest and beloved Presbyter John and Deacon Paul, we immediately write and thank you infinitely for the fact that you have shown yourself to be loving fathers in your kindness and zeal towards us. Everything that was in the power of your reverence has been done, so that the tares of evil and temptations should already be destroyed, the churches should receive peace and bright silence, all affairs should go in order, trampled laws and broken decrees of the fathers should be avenged. But since, in fact, none of this has yet been fulfilled, and those who previously committed lawlessness continue to strengthen their previous iniquities with new ones - I do not want to tell in detail about everything that was done by them after that, since such a story would surpass the limits of history, not just letters - then I ask your vigilant soul that if those who have spread turmoil everywhere unrepentantly and unreasonably persist in their illness, then those who have decided to heal evil they would not despair and would not give in, constantly keeping in mind the high importance of this important matter. The struggle before you is for almost the entire universe - for the trampling of churches, for the scattering of flocks, for attacks on the clergy, for the exile of bishops, for the violation of paternal decrees. Therefore, again and again countless times we implore your diligence, the stronger the storm, the more you show zeal. We hope things get better. And even if this did not come true, in any case, for your feat, a crown is prepared for you with a man-loving God, and for those unjustly persecuted, such a manifestation of your love will serve as a great consolation. For the third year now we have been living in exile, being doomed to be a victim of famine, plagues, wars, continuous sieges, unspeakable desert, Isaurian swords and daily threatening death; but even to us, the constancy and firmness of your goodwill and boldness and the abundance of your rich and sincere love do not provide fleeting relief and consolation. This is our wall, our stronghold, our storm-proof harbor, our treasury of innumerable blessings, our joy and the basis of our pleasure. And if we were again transferred from here to a still more desolate country, we would go, taking with us this great consolation in our suffering. To my beloved brother John Innocent Letter of Innocent to St. John Chrysostom preserved by Sozamen. Innocent tries to console the saint. His letter breathes respect and the most tender love. He speaks of patience in adversity and of the crown reserved for those who selflessly endure suffering. This letter is a response to the letter of the saint delivered to Innocent by Deacon Cyriacus. Although it is fitting for an innocent person to expect all blessings and ask for mercy from God, we, advising patience, sent with Deacon Cyriacus the appropriate message, so that the insult with its attacks would not be stronger than a clear conscience with its hopes. You, the teacher and shepherd of so many people, do not need to be taught that all the best people are always and constantly tested - whether they remain in the power of patience and whether they do not fall under the weight of work and suffering, and that conscience is a strong bulwark against all undeserved misfortunes, the failure to overcome which through patience gives grounds for unfavorable assumptions about oneself. Everything must be endured by those who rely first of all on God, and then on their own conscience. A good man can be tested in patience, but cannot be defeated: his thought is protected by Divine Scripture, since readings from divine books abound with examples that we point out to the people and which testify that almost all the saints in various ways and often were oppressed and, as it were, subjected to some kind of test, and in this way received the crown of patience. May your love, dear brother, comfort your conscience itself, which in misfortunes should serve as a consolation for virtue. Before the eyes of the Lord Christ, let a clear conscience be established in the haven of peace. Innocent Bishop, presbyters, deacons and all the clergy and people of the Church of Constantinople, subordinate to Bishop John, beloved brothers, rejoice. Innocent's letter to the clergy of Constantinople is a response to the message of the same clergy, which was delivered to the pope by the priest Herman and the deacon Cassian. Innocent mourns in it the disasters of the Eastern Church. To heal so many evils, a council needs to be convened, and he expresses his keenest desire that all these turmoil should subside. From your letter of love, sent with Presbyter Herman and Deacon Cassian, I became familiar with the spectacle of evil that you presented before my eyes with alarm and concern; Having re-read the letter several times, I learned from what great troubles and difficulties faith suffers. One consolation can help here - patience: our God will soon put an end to such disasters, and the very enduring of them will serve for good. We see this necessary consolation stated at the beginning of your letter of love, extolling with praise your thought, which is surrounded by many testimonies conducive to patience - so that the consolation that we should have given you with our letter, you yourself anticipated in your letter. Our Lord usually gives this patience to those who suffer, so that even in sorrows the servants of Christ can console themselves, reflecting on the fact that what they endured has already happened to holy men before. Even we ourselves can draw consolation from your letter, since we are not alien to complicity in your sorrow and we ourselves sympathize with you. And who could bear the atrocities of people who, first of all, were supposed to be zealots of calm, peace and harmony? Now, in contrast to this, innocent bishops are expelled from the cathedras they occupy in their churches. Our brother and co-servant John, your bishop, was the first to unjustly experience this, without being heard at the trial: no accusation was brought or heard. And what a pernicious fabrication! So that there is no reason for trial and no reason is sought, others are put in the place of living priests; as if people who began with such a crime could be recognized by anyone as having a good goal and acting justly. We do not know that our fathers ever did this; on the contrary, such actions were prohibited, and no one was allowed to initiate another in the place of someone who was alive. Illegal initiation cannot deprive another of his dignity; One who is unjustly appointed in the place of another cannot be a bishop. Regarding the observance of the canons, we say that one must obey only those defined in Nicaea; They alone must be followed by the Catholic Church and they alone must be recognized. If anyone proposes other canons that differ from the Nicene ones, and if it were discovered that these canons were compiled by heretics, then the Catholic bishops must reject them. What is invented by heretics cannot be combined with the Catholic canons: they always strive to weaken the thought of the Nicene fathers with something disgusting and illicit. So, we say not only that these canons should not be adhered to, but that they should be condemned along with heretical and schismatic teachings, as the bishops who lived before us did before at the Sardician Council. Most honest brothers, it is better if something done properly is condemned than if something done contrary to the canons receives some stability. But what will we do against this now? An investigation will be necessary, carried out by a council, the need for convening which we have been talking about for a long time: it alone could calm these storms. In order for the council to take place, it will be useful to expect the healing of evils from the wave of the great God and His Christ. All the unrest now raised by the envy of the devil to test the faithful will subside; firm and steadfast in faith, we should not lose hope of receiving anything from God. We think a lot about how an ecumenical council should take place so that, by the will of God, anxiety and confusion can be calmed. So, let’s wait for now and, surrounding ourselves with a wall of patience, let’s hope that with God’s help everything will be restored. About everything you endured, we had previously, through questioning, fully learned from the co-bishops who fled to Rome, although at different times, namely from Demetrius, Cyriacus, Eulysius and Palladius, who are now with us. Sacra 2 Honorius Augusta, sent to the ruler of the east Arcadius This letter from the Emperor Honorius to the Emperor of the East Arcadius relates to the case of St. John Chrysostom. The Emperor first speaks in it about the image of the Empress Eudoxia, which was launched throughout the provinces in honor of the Empress. First, a statue of Eudoxia was erected in front of the Church of St. Sofia. On this occasion, various games were given, shameful spectacles capable of turning people away from deeds of piety. St. John Chrysostom in his conversation rebelled against this temptation and incurred the wrath of the empress. Honorius in his letter is indignant at everything that happened in Constantinople, and then at the injustice of the deposition of the saint. It recalls an altar drenched in human blood, priests being sent into exile, and John of Constantinople expelled from his church. Although regarding the female image 3, in a new copy circulated throughout the provinces and, due to the gossip of unkind people, became known throughout the world, I reminded in another letter that, due to regret about this fact and due to the suspension in the fulfillment of the assumption, the envious rumor is weakening, and the popular language does not have material for its denunciations - although regarding the death of Illyria, with sincere disposition, we expressed to you our regret about why you do not want to admit this is a detriment to the state and why this became known from other sources, and not from your letter of love - but it is not proper for us to hide before your lordship what recently happened in church affairs, not without danger to the state, and about which the rapid rumor, the everlasting messenger of all bad things, did not remain silent, and, according to human nature, which is always excited to slander by new cases, it, when there is a reason for censure, through an addiction to cruel gossip, directs your anger at accidents. Recently it was reported that in Constantinople, on the most sacred day of the venerable Easter, when the divine service, which was to be celebrated in the presence of the sovereigns, gathered almost the entire population of neighboring cities in one place, suddenly the Catholic churches were locked, the clergy were taken into custody, so that precisely at the time when, by the mercy of the sovereign, the sad doors of the dungeons were opened for criminals, a terrible prison imprisoned the ministers godly law and peace; the performance of all the sacraments encountered obstacles, as in wartime; some were killed in the very sanctuaries of the church, and such violence raged near the altars that the venerable bishops were sent into exile, and human blood - it’s terrible to say! - stained the heavenly secrets. When we suddenly heard about this, we admittedly were alarmed. And who, given such a bloody crime, would not fear the wrath of almighty God? Or how could he consider himself to be outside the extreme danger that threatened the Roman world and all people, when - oh, great sovereigns, brother and nephew, venerable Augusti! - the very founder of our empire and the ruler of the state entrusted to us, Almighty God, is angry at the disastrous and disgusting crimes? And if there were any religious issue between representatives of the church, a conference of bishops should take place, since the interpretation of the objects of faith belongs to them. However, let the sovereign’s care extend a little further - to sacramental and catholic issues; Is it really possible that the excited displeasure should have reached the expulsion of clergy, the murder of people, so that where pure prayers are offered, sincere vows are made, sacrifices are made, there a sword would be drawn, not easily directed at the throat of criminals? Finally, the facts themselves show with what eyes God viewed this. First of all, this was precisely the sign of the upcoming reminder, and - oh, if only this one thing! Human timidity, imbued with the consciousness of such a great crime, produces the fact that, having experienced terrible vengeance, we are afraid of something more serious, from which may Almighty God deliver. I hear that the holy church, decorated with the wealth of so many emperors, famous for its valuable decorations, revered as a result of the prayers of sovereigns in it, burned, and this incomparable decoration of the Church of Constantinople, by God's permission, turned into ashes: God left the profaned secrets and turned His eyes away from the place that had already been saturated with blood, so that no one could turn to heavenly mercy with prayers. bloody altars. The sacred buildings, famous for no less splendor, were also consumed by the fire as a result of the raging fire, when the flames spread wider; and the decorations of public places arranged by our ancestors also burned down, as if some kind of end of the world had come. Although I, who have quite often experienced injustice, should have remained silent, and should not have pointed this out to my dearest brother and partner in the kingdom with such precision, but, preferring the fulfillment of related duties to the torments of silent sorrow, I convince and exhort that all this, if possible, be corrected with a change in the course of action in the future for the better, and that the divine wrath, which, as can be seen from the circumstances, has been aroused, by fervent prayers was quenched. Accept from me the highest proof of frankness. That is why I consider it necessary to point this out to your honor, so that my very silence does not make me suspicious in front of anyone, as if I were offering silent congratulations, and so that someone does not think that I am of the same mind with this, and so that it does not seem that I, who often reminded how this would not have happened, do not grieve when the fact has happened. Who, who has not forgotten that he is a Christian, could not feel sorrow at the sight of unrest suddenly penetrating into the field of religion, so significant that the whole position of the Catholic faith is necessarily shaken? The indicated matter was an internal affair of the bishops, and it should have ended upon the convening of the council; after both sides sent ambassadors to the bishops of the eternal city and Italy, a decision was expected, on the basis of a common view, that would determine the rules of discipline; one should be impartial and not undertake anything new while the definition was being developed. Meanwhile, an amazing kind of haste appeared, so that, without waiting for the letters of the bishops, to whom both sides turned for advice through their ambassadors, without examining the matter, they sent into exile the primates who were sentenced to punishment before the decision of the episcopal court became known. Finally, how premature this condemnation was was shown by the case itself. Those whose recall was expected, having previously informed Bishop John about the communion of the world, decided to confirm this unity and decided that before the trial no one should be removed from communion. What now remains except for the catholic faith to be torn apart by schisms, so that on the basis of such differences of opinion heresies arise, always hostile to unity, so that the people are no longer charged with their division into dissenting sects, if the state power itself provides material for disagreement and if it fans the burning tinder of discord. So that this does not happen again, to the great destruction of the human race, we must pray that God, condescending to human sins, will direct a bad deed to a good end and prosperity. As for us, we can only fear the modern; As for the mercy of the always merciful God, release from punishment will testify not to merit, but to condescension. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” Probably written in 406. That is, Sacra epistola - the most august message. "Complete Collection of the Works of St. John Chrysostom", vol. 1, p. 96. You might be interested in: