Letter 737

To Lamprotychus the Archimandrite [head of a monastery; his name means "of splendid fortune"]. When you obtained the headship of the monks, you supposed that you had been allotted a name fitting to your office [a play on "Lamprotychus," splendid in fortune], and you rejoiced not a little. But now that certain brothers have risen up to insult you, by [divine] dispensation -- for everything comes to pass by the judgment of God and is held in check by it -- you grieve and gnash your teeth, and you blame the steward, and you reproach our way of life. But stop behaving like a child in your conduct, carried off as you are beyond the divine highway. For it was thus [as Christ was] that you were spat upon by those who had been saved and benefited; thus that you were called unholy and a criminal, though you were doing what is just; thus, deserving as you were, that you were given gall to drink; thus that you were condemned to a shameful death -- all this so that you might imitate the just Jesus, the Lord of all, who suffered such and so great things at the hands of his own servants whom he had benefited, and was in no way indignant against them, but even appeased the Father on their behalf.

Ὅτε τῆς καθηγουμενείας τῶν μοναζόντων τετύχηκας, νενομίκας φερωνύμου λαγεῖν τοῦ ὀνόματος, οὐ μικρῶς ἔχαιρες καὶ ἑτέρνου. Νῦν δὲ τινων πρὸς τὴν σὴν ὕβριν ἐπαγαστάντων ἀδελφῶν οἰκονομικῶς (πάντα γὰρ κρίσει Θεοῦ γίνεται, καὶ χαλιναγωγνεῖται), ἀλγεῖς καὶ βρύχῃ, καὶ τῷ οἰκονόμῳ μέμφῃ, καὶ ὀνειδίζεις τὴν ἡμετέραν ζωήν. Ἀλλὰ πέπαυσο νηπιάζων. Τῷ τρόπῳ, κἀξω φερόμενος τῆς θείας λεωφόρου. Οὕτω γὰρ ἐνπετύσθης ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκσωθέντων καὶ εὐεργετηθέντων, οὕτω προσηγορεύθης, ἀνόσιος καὶ κακοῦργος, δίκαια πράσσων. Οὕτω ἄξιος καὶ χολὴν ἐποτίσθης, οὕτω θανάτῳ κατεδικάσθης ἀσχήμονι, ὅπως μιμήσῃ τὸν δίκαιον Ἰησοῦν τὸν Κύριον τῶν ὅλων, τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ τηλικαῦτα. παθόντα ὑπὸ τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ τῶν εὐεργετηθέντων, καὶ μηδόλως κατ’ αὐτῶν ἀγανακτοῦντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Πατέρα ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐξευμενιζόμενον.