Letter 156: Chrysostom thanks bishops whose zeal for truth has become publicly known.
The very nature of events cries out everywhere, louder than a trumpet, proclaiming your excellent zeal and your love for the truth. You have not watched the sufferings of the churches as strangers. You have shared the pain, taken up the struggle, and shown the courage fitting to bishops.
For this we thank you continually. More than thanks, we call you blessed, because you have chosen a labor that brings profit to many and stores up crowns for yourselves. Even if the correction takes time, do not be discouraged. The seed of such effort is never wasted before God.
Remain awake and steadfast. Help those who are troubled, strengthen those who are wavering, and keep praying for the churches. Send us news of your health and of your continued work, for this will be no small comfort to us.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
ΡΝʹ. Ἐπισκόποις.
Βοᾷ μὲν πανταχοῦ καὶ αὐτὴ τῶν πραγμάτων ἡ φύσις, σάλπιγγος λαμπροτέραν ἀφιεῖσα φωνὴν, τὸν κάλλιστον ὑμῶν ζῆλον, καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας προθυμίαν, ἣν οὐχ ὁδοῦ μῆκος, οὐ χρόνου πλῆθος, οὐ τῶν ἀνίατα νοσούντων ἡ παράλογος φιλονεικία, οὐκ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲν κατέλυσεν, οὐδὲ ἀμαυροτέραν ἐποίησε. Καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐ διαλιμπάνομεν πολλὰς ὑμῖν ἔχοντες χάριτας, καὶ μακαρίζοντες ὑμᾶς οὐ παυόμεθα, τῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς καλοῖς τούτοις ἀγῶσιν ἀποκειμένων ὑμῖν στεφάνων παρὰ τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ. Καὶ ἐπιθυμοῦμεν ὑμᾶς καὶ κατ' ὄψιν ἰδεῖν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔνι δυνατὸν τῷ τῆς ἐξορίας δεσμῷ πεπεδημένοις, ἐπιλαβόμενοι τοῦ κυρίου μου τοῦ τιμιωτάτου καὶ εὐλαβεστάτου πρεσβυτέρου, δι' αὐτοῦ γράφομεν, καὶ τὴν ὀφειλομένην πρόσρησιν ἀποδιδόαμεν ὑμῖν δηλοῦντες ὡς ἅπασαν ἀνηρτήσασθε τῷ πόθῳ τὴν ἀνατολὴν, καὶ σφοδροὺς ὑμῶν κατεστήσατε ἐραστὰς, καὶ μυρίους ἔχετε τοὺς συναγανακτοῦντας ὑμῖν τὴν δικαίαν ταύτην ἀγανάκτησιν ἐπὶ ταῖς γεγενημέναις παρανομίαις. Καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπιδείξασθαι μέχρι τέλους προθυμίαν. Ἴστε γὰρ ὅσους καρπώσεσθε στεφάνους ἀπὸ τῶν προσκαίρων τούτων πόνων, τὰς ἀθανάτους ὑμῖν μετὰ πολλῆς δαψιλείας προαποτιθέμενοι παρὰ τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ ἀμοιβάς.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern chrysostom pg52 epistulae batch5 v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://catholiclibrary.org/library/view?docId=/Fathers-Synchronized-OR/John_Chrysostom__Epistulae.gr.html
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