The letter shows how Severus used copied letters as a teaching packet for a divided monastery. Source id V.3; Brooks page 283; source-facing English extracted by body markers from the Archive OCR text; source terminology repaired where required; original Syriac source-text backfill remains pending.
Severus writes to the monastery at Tagais after asking Neon how the community is faring. Neon reports that some among them, despite real zeal, are divided over names and are pushing beyond the boundaries of the question. Severus reminds them that the royal road of faith and active virtue is threatened not only by errors on the left, but also by scruples on the right that appear just and therefore deceive more easily.
He recalls how Stephen of holy memory handled a similar problem when union was made with the fathers in Palestine and Alexandria. Some people then were trapped by self-created, uncanonical scruples. Careful examination of the fathers' commands clarified the truth. Severus has found the same sort of confusion where people claimed that converts from the Chalcedonian faith must be rebaptized or reanointed. He has argued from church enactments that this is not required.
Names and labels must be judged according to their time and use, not mixed carelessly into every case. Severus would have treated the whole subject at length here, but he has already written several letters on it and has given copies to Neon for the community to read. He trusts that the monks will receive those letters inwardly, be freed from disturbance, and pray for Severus, who faces daily danger for the sound word of faith and has little else to his credit except boldness on behalf of orthodoxy.
When we asked the God-loving presbyter and archimandrite Neon how your honourable cloister is faring and what its condition^ is (if one were to call that cloister a dwelling-place of the orthodox faith the expression would be appropriate), he told me that some among you out of fervent zeal are divided in a matter of names, and are passing to questions outside the ^ I Co. iv. 20. - Mt. vii. 21. KaracTTacrts. boundaries. But for my part I wish to remind you, who are disciples and hearers of Stephen who is among the active virtues is in danger not only from things that lie on the left side, but also much more from things that lie on the right and are not recognised, and from prin- ciples and causes that appear just and are able to deceive. You remember that, when the man re- membered for sanctity made a union with the holy fathers in Palestine and in Alexandria, he found certain men to be deceived by considerations that lay rather on the right side, and to be passing to scruples self-created ^ and uncanonical, of which you have a clearer knowledge: and being moved with zeal he in- quired into the affair, and subjected it to very careful examination: and the diataxeis or commands of the fathers who at various times fed the churches were scrutinized, and the truth was made manifest and judgment given in its favour by everyone, and it was decided to be right. I also when I came here found certain men saying that converts from the evil Chalce- donian faith to the orthodox faith ought to be re- baptized, on the ground that the holy bishops who met at Laodicea ^ and effected the deprivation of Flavian of evil name call those who confess two natures after the union Paulianists: and on the ground that Julius also, who was bishop of the city of the Romans, so termed ^ I.e. e$eXo6p7]<TKe.La (Col. ii. 23). - Ephesus must be meant, but cf. p. 316. them, as they said, in his letter to Dionysius the bishop p. 320. of Corinth: ^ and I had a discussion with them, insomuch that I cited a certain enactment and showed that such must not be re-baptized, nor yet be re-anointed. Con- cerning- names also, we must distinguish between times and look into them, and consider what ought to be required in the case of general unions, and not be confused by chance occurrences and mingle things that are not to be mingled, and excite disturbances against ourselves, and give others also, as is written, turbid filth to drink. ^ I should have wished to deal with these matters in this letter also: but, since various things have been written by me in epistles to dif- ferent men upon this same subject,^ I have now made isa or copies of these compositions, and have given them to the God-loving presbyter Neon, in order that they may be read to the God-loving intelligence and devoutness of your sacred company and spiritual fellow- ship: and I am well assured that you will place them in the ears of your hearts, and will write them on the tablets of the inner man, and will be delivered from disturbance, and with all readiness will make prayers on behalf of us, who are daily incurring dangers for the sake of the sound word of faith, and are able to say with Paul, " I swear by my boast of you, my brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus, that I die p. 321. daily,"* it being understood that the Apostle endured " {iTTo^eo-is. ■* I Co. XV. 31. such things as a test of his virtue, while we are chastised as a recompense for our sins, seeing that we have nothing else to set to the credit account, except that we show boldness on behalf of the orthodox faith
◆
Severus writes to the monastery at Tagais after asking Neon how the community is faring. Neon reports that some among them, despite real zeal, are divided over names and are pushing beyond the boundaries of the question. Severus reminds them that the royal road of faith and active virtue is threatened not only by errors on the left, but also by scruples on the right that appear just and therefore deceive more easily.
He recalls how Stephen of holy memory handled a similar problem when union was made with the fathers in Palestine and Alexandria. Some people then were trapped by self-created, uncanonical scruples. Careful examination of the fathers' commands clarified the truth. Severus has found the same sort of confusion where people claimed that converts from the Chalcedonian faith must be rebaptized or reanointed. He has argued from church enactments that this is not required.
Names and labels must be judged according to their time and use, not mixed carelessly into every case. Severus would have treated the whole subject at length here, but he has already written several letters on it and has given copies to Neon for the community to read. He trusts that the monks will receive those letters inwardly, be freed from disturbance, and pray for Severus, who faces daily danger for the sound word of faith and has little else to his credit except boldness on behalf of orthodoxy.
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
Original text not yet available in this corpus.
This letter still needs a Latin or Greek source-text backfill. The source link, when available, is preserved so the text can be checked and added later.