Letter 175: Chrysostom asks Agapetus to support Elpidius's missionary work around Mount Amanus.
My lord, the most devout and honored presbyter Elpidius, has sweated through many continuous labors for the people living on Mount Amanus. He worked to free them from the impiety that held them. He did free them, moved them from error, built churches, and established monasteries.
You can learn these things from others as well as from us. Since I know that your Nobility cares for such devout people, I ask you to support what has been planted there. Do not let so much labor be endangered through neglect. Help the churches, encourage the brothers, and add your own care to the work already done.
By doing this you will benefit them, honor the laborer, and store up for yourself a great reward with God. Write to us about your health and about what help you are able to give.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
ΡΟΕʹ. Ἀγαπητῷ.
Πολλοὺς καὶ συνεχεῖς ἱδρῶτας ἵδρωσεν ὁ κύριός μου ὁ εὐλαβέστατος καὶ τιμιώτατος πρεσβύτερος Ἐλπίδιος, τοὺς τὸ ὄρος οἰκοῦντας, τὸ Ἀμανὸν λέγω, σπουδάζων ἀπαλλάξαι τῆς κατεχούσης αὐτοὺς ἀσεβείας. Καὶ ἀπήλλαξε, καὶ μετέθηκεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς πλάνης, καὶ ἐκκλησίας ᾠκοδόμησε, καὶ μοναστήρια συνεστήσατο· καὶ ἔξεστι ταῦτα τῇ εὐγενείᾳ σου καὶ παρ' ἑτέρων μανθάνειν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν οἶδα ὅτι τῶν εὐλαβῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ γενναίων σφόδρα γέγονας ἐραστὴς, εἰδὼς ὅτι σοι χαριοῦμαι γνώριμον ποιῶν τὸν τοσαῦτα κατωρθωκότα, ὁμοῦ καὶ προσειπεῖν σε δι' ἑκάστης προφάσεως ἐπειγόμενος, προστέθεικα ταῦτα τὰ γράμματα, τήν τε ὀφειλομένην πρόσρησιν ἀποδιδοὺς, καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα παρακατατιθέμενός σου τῇ εὐγενείᾳ. Ἰδὼν τοίνυν αὐτὸν ὥς σοι πρέπον ἐστὶ, δέσποτά μου τιμιώτατε καὶ θαυμασιώτατε, δεῖξον αὐτῷ διὰ τῶν ἔργων, ὡς οὐ μάτην οὐδὲ εἰκῆ ταύτην ἦλθεν ἔχων παρ' ἡμῶν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν, ἀλλ' ἴσχυσε ταυτὶ τὰ γράμματα πολλῆς αὐτὸν ποιῆσαι ἀπολαῦσαι εὐνοίας τε καὶ ἀγάπης. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς χάριν πολλὴν ὁμολογήσομεν τῇ ἀγχινοίᾳ τῇ σῇ, ὅτι καὶ ἐκ τοσούτου καθήμενοι διαστήματος, ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς δυνάμεθα συνάπτειν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ γνησίως τοὺς ἐπιθυμοῦντας αὐτῆς ἀπολαύειν· ὧν εἷς οὗτός ἐστι, σφοδρὸς ἐραστὴς ὤν σου τῆς κοσμιότητος· διὸ καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς σπουδῆς ταύτην παρ' ἡμῶν ᾔτησε τὴν ἐπιστολήν.
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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