Letter 253

253. To the Presbyters of Antioch

The care which you have for the Churches of God will in part be set at rest by our most beloved and most reverent brother Sanctissimus, our fellow-presbyter, who has recounted the love and disposition toward us of the whole West; and in part it will rouse you up and stir you on the more, when he sets plainly before you in his own person how much diligence the present circumstances demand. For while each of the others reported to us, as it were by halves, both the opinions of the men there and the state of affairs, he himself — being competent both to grasp the purpose of men and to investigate accurately the state of affairs — will tell you everything, and will guide your good zeal toward every task. So you have matter befitting that perfect purpose of yours which you have always shown in your cares for the Churches of God.