Letter 228

228. To the magistrates of Coloneia.

I received the letter of your excellency, and I gave thanks to the all-holy God that, busy as you are with the care of public affairs, you do not treat the concerns of the churches as a secondary matter; rather each of you has been anxious as for his own affair, one that holds together his very life. And you wrote to us in distress at the departure of your most God-beloved bishop Euphronius, whom Nicopolis has not taken from you; for, were she to plead her case, she would say that she has received back her own; but, treated kindly, she will speak to you a word befitting an affectionate mother—that she will hold the father in common with you, who will share his grace with both parties in turn, and will neither allow those others to suffer anything from the assault of the adversaries, nor deprive you of your accustomed care. Considering, then, both the hardship of the times and learning with prudent judgement the necessity of the arrangement, forgive the bishops who have come to this way of settling the churches of our Lord Jesus Christ; and counsel yourselves to do what befits men who possess a mature mind of their own, yet know also how to accept the suggestions of those who love them. For it is likely that you are unaware of much that is afoot, because you are placed at the far edge of Armenia; whereas we, who have entered into the midst of affairs and are struck on all sides every day by reports of churches being overthrown, are in great anguish lest the common enemy, envying the long peace of your life, should be able to sow his own tares in your regions too, and the Armenian portion become the prey of the adversaries. But for now keep quiet, having consented, as it were, to hold the use of a good vessel in common with your neighbours; and a little later, if the Lord grants our coming, you shall receive a fuller consolation for what has happened, should this appear necessary to you.