Documents of the Meletian Schism

Hesychius, Pachomius, Theodorus and Phileas to Meletius, beloved and fellow minister in the Lord, greeting. In simplicity we judged uncertain the words that were heard about you; for some who came to us reported that you were attempting, or rather were doing, things foreign to divine custom and the rule of the church, which we would not wish even to hear, considering the great boldness and the uncertain attempts. But since many have now come and given credit to these reports, and did not hesitate to bear witness to the facts, we were greatly astonished and compelled to write this letter to you. What disturbance and sorrow, common to all and to each one singly, your ordination in parishes that in no way belong to you has caused, we cannot even say. Yet we have not ceased to rebuke you in a few words. There is a law of the fathers and forefathers, of which you yourself are not ignorant, established according to the divine and ecclesiastical order (for all things were established and fixed by them according to God's good pleasure and zeal for better things): that it is not lawful for any bishop to perform ordinations in other bishops' parishes. This law is very good and devised with wisdom. For first, the conduct and life of those who are ordained must be examined with great care; and next, so that all confusion and disturbance may be removed. For each one will scarcely be able to govern his own parish, and to find ministers with great solicitude and much thought, men with whom he has spent his whole life and who were brought up under his hands. But you, considering none of these things, and not looking to the future, nor to the law of our blessed fathers, who were received by Christ through the successions, nor to the honour of our great bishop and father Peter, on whom we all depend through the hope we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, nor moved by our imprisonments and trials and daily and multiplied reproaches, nor by our oppressions and straits among all, have dared to overturn everything at once. What occasion of excuse will be left you for this? But perhaps you will say: 'I did it because the flocks were in need and desolate, with no shepherd at hand, lest many be drawn away by the unbelief of many.' But it is most certain that they were not in need: first, because there are many going about who are able to visit them; and then, if anything was being done too negligently by them, the people should have hastened to us and rightly required it of us. But they knew that they were not in want of ministers, and therefore they did not come to ask for them. They knew that when they warned us, we either dismissed them from this inquiry, or what seemed useful was done with all care; for it was done under examination and considered by men of tried uprightness. But you, regarding so lightly the deceptions and empty words of certain men, were carried away and leapt to ordinations. For if those about you were pressing and compelling you, ignorant of the order of the church, you should have followed the rule and informed us by letter, and so what seemed expedient would have been done. If perhaps some persuaded you, saying that an end had been made of us (though you yourself knew that many were going to and fro to us who could visit), even if that had been so, you ought to have waited for the judgment of the greater father and his permission in this matter. But thinking of none of this, and hoping for something else, or rather taking no care of us, you have provided certain overseers for the people; for we now know that there have also been divisions, because your unreasonable ordination displeased many. Nor did the word of the most blessed overseer, who has put on Christ, the apostle of us all, Paul, persuade you to wait and easily hold back your purpose; for writing to his most dear son Timothy he says, "Lay hands suddenly on no one, nor share in other men's sins," showing at once his care for him and giving an example and a law by which, with all care and caution, men are to be chosen for ordination. We declare to you for the future that you should be zealous to confirm the safe and wholesome boundary of the rule.

After he had received and read this letter, he neither wrote back nor went to them at the prison, nor did he go to the blessed Peter; but when all these bishops, presbyters and deacons had suffered martyrdom at the prison in Alexandria, he at once entered Alexandria. Now there was in the city a certain Isidore, a turbulent character, who desired to be a teacher, and a certain Arius, who wore the appearance of piety and he too desired to be a teacher. When these two learned Meletius's ambition and what it was he sought, they came to his help, envying the blessed Peter his episcopate; and, so that Meletius's desire might be made known, they secretly pointed out to Meletius the presbyters to whom the blessed Peter had given authority to visit Alexandria by parishes. Meletius, taking the opportunity they offered, separated them from communion and himself ordained two others, one in prison and the other in the mines. When the blessed Peter learned this, he wrote with great patience a letter to the people of Alexandria in this manner:

Peter to those established in the faith of God, beloved brothers in the Lord, greeting. Since I have learned that Meletius, acting in nothing for the common good (for the letter of the most blessed bishops and martyrs did not please him either), has also entered my parish and taken so much upon himself that he even tried to separate from me the presbyters, and those who were permitted to visit the needy, and, as a sign of his ambition for primacy, has ordained certain men for himself in prison: now take care not to hold communion with him, until I meet him with wise men and see what it is he has in mind. Farewell.