63. К Халкидии

I very much wish that my lord, your most honest presbyter, would be with us. But, although you think it is good for him to come here, I prefer his safety and his release from real turmoil to his coming to us. Don’t think that we are stopping him if he wants to come to us. Until now, we had kept him from fulfilling this intention only because the very nature of his business did not urgently require his arrival here, and we were afraid that he would not fall into the hands of the Isaurians. But if he really needs to come here, then we earnestly ask and convince him to decide on this trip. Although we are separated physically, we are still connected to him by bonds of love. Do not be embarrassed, I ask you, by the grief that has occurred. The more troubles there are, the higher your merit will be, the more abundant your reward and reward from the man-loving God will be if you endure the difficulties you encounter with complacency and courage. In this case, you will defeat them more easily, and the reward assigned to you in heaven for enduring them will be more abundant and much higher than the suffering itself. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: