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| To the Church of Antioch.
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Letter CXL.2463
To the Church of Antioch.
1. “Oh that I
had wings like a dove for then would I fly away”2464
to you, and satisfy my longing to meet
you. But now it is not only wings that I want, but a whole body,
for mine has suffered from long sickness, and now is quite worn away
with continuous affliction. For no one can be so hard of
heart, so wholly destitute of sympathy and kindness, as to hear the
sigh that strikes my ear from every quarter, as though from some sad
choir chanting a symphony of lamentation, without being grieved at
heart, being bent to the ground, and wasting away with these
irremediable troubles. But the holy God is able to provide a
remedy for the irremediable, and to grant you a respite from your long
toils. I should like you to feel this comfort and, rejoicing in
the hope of consolation, to submit to the present pain of your
afflictions. Are we paying the penalty of our sins? Then
our plagues are such as to save us for the future from the wrath of
God. Are we called upon through these temptations to fight for
the truth? Then the righteous Giver of the prizes will not suffer
us to be tried above that which we are able to bear, but, in return for
our previous struggles, will give us the crown of patience and of hope
in Him. Let us, therefore, not flinch from fighting a good fight
on behalf of the truth, nor, in despair, fling away the labours we have
already achieved. For the strength of the soul is not shewn by
one brave deed, nor yet by effort only for a short time; but He Who
tests our hearts wishes us to win crowns of righteousness after long
and protracted trial. Only let our spirit be kept unbroken, the
firmness of our faith in Christ be maintained unshaken, and ere long
our Champion will appear; He will come and will not tarry. Expect
tribulation after tribulation, hope upon hope; yet a little while; yet
a little while. Thus the Holy Ghost knows how to comfort His
nurslings by a promise of the future. After tribulations comes
hope, and what we are hoping for is not far off, for let a man name the
whole of human life, it is but a tiny interval compared with the
endless age which is laid up in our hopes.
2. Now I accept no newer creed written for
me by other men, nor do I venture to propound the outcome of my own
intelligence, lest I make the words of true religion merely human
words; but what I have been taught by the holy Fathers, that I announce
to all who question me. In my Church the creed written by the
holy Fathers in synod at Nicæa is in use. I believe that it
is also repeated among you; but I do not refuse to write its exact
terms in my letter, lest I be accused of taking too little
trouble. It is as follows:2465
| 2465 Here
follows in the text the Nicene Creed with the anathemas. The
Ben. note points out that the Nicene Creed was brought to
Cæsarea by St. Leontius, and was vigorously defended by his
successor Hermogenes. cf. Letter lxxxi. Dianius,
who next followed in the see, signed several Arian
formulæ. The Nicene Creed, however, had been maintained
at Cæsarea, and in Letter li. Dianius is described as
supporting it. | This is
our faith. But no definition was given about the Holy Ghost, the
Pneumatomachi not having at that date appeared. No mention was
therefore made of the need of anathematizing those who say that the
Holy Ghost is of a created and ministerial nature. For nothing in
the divine and blessed Trinity is created.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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