Letters

Contents

Partial: the first part of Migne's collection of Theodoret's letters (staged to a word limit); the remainder follows.

Reading pages: 1–15 · 16–34 · 35–62 · 63–78 · 79–81 · 82–90 · 91–110 · 111–120 · 121–133 · 134–142 · 143 · 144 · 146 · 147 · 150 · 152–160

1. 1Theodoret asks a friend who has read and returned his book on Paul's letters to give his honest verdict on it.
2. 2Theodoret thanks a friend for praising his writings, attributing the praise to love, and asks his prayers that he may deserve it.
3. 3Answering Irenaeus's question about two martyrs, Theodoret argues that the one who refused to sacrifice but would not drown himself is more admirable than the one who threw himself into the sea, since Scripture forbids seeking death.
4. 4A festal letter: God has sent the longed-for rain at the time of the feast, and Theodoret asks for his correspondent's prayers.
5. 5A festal letter: the feasts God has set among life's griefs recall his gifts and foretell release from sorrow.
6. 6A festal letter reporting to a friend that the feast was celebrated with spiritual profit.
7. 7Theodoret consoles Theonilla on the death of her husband, urging her to see death as a long journey and to wait for the resurrection.
8. 8Theodoret consoles the widowed Eugraphia by pointing to Christ's resurrection and to the marriage contract itself, which already foresaw the death of one spouse.
9. 9Theodoret tells a friend that his unjust condemnation without trial brings him joy, since his conscience is clean, and asks for prayer.
10. 10Theodoret asks the lawyer Elias to make a man who plundered a church estate restore what he took; a second letter, to Flavian of Constantinople, praises his stand for the apostolic faith.
11. 12Theodoret consoles Bishop Irenaeus on the death of his son-in-law, Theodoret's friend, holding up Job's endurance.
12. 13Theodoret thanks Cyrus for a gift of Lesbian wine, jokes that he does not want long life, and sends honey in return.
13. 14Theodoret consoles Alexandra on the death of her husband, a high official, from the mortality of all things, the hope of the resurrection, and God's care for widows and orphans.
14. 15Theodoret consoles Silvanus on the death of his wife, explaining his delay and urging him to say with Job, 'The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away.'
15. 16Theodoret tells Bishop Irenaeus of the summons to the council of 449, defends both 'Mother of God' and other titles for Mary, and explains why he left Diodore and Theodore out of his list of witnesses; a second letter consoles the deaconess Casiana on the death of her son.
16. 18Theodoret consoles Neoptolemus on the death of his wife, pointing to the course of nature, the incarnation's defeat of death, and the children they share.
17. 19Theodoret thanks the presbyter Basil for introducing the rhetor Athanasius, whose eloquence, character and faith he praises.
18. 20Theodoret commends to the presbyter Martyrius the gentle and devout Egyptian rhetor Athanasius and asks for his prayers.
19. 21Theodoret tells the lawyer Eusebius that he welcomes the threatened punishment for the faith, citing Paul and pagan sages, and sets out his Christology of one Son in two unconfused natures; a second letter praises Count Ulpianus and the rhetor Athanasius.
20. 23Theodoret asks the patrician Areobindus to show mercy to his tenant farmers after a bad harvest.
21. 24Theodoret tells Andrew of Samosata how much he longs for his company and rejoices at his letter and at a great man's unsought kindness.
22. 25A festal letter: those who saw the incarnate Lord held no feast, but now the whole world celebrates the memory of his benefits.
23. 26A short festal letter of greeting after the feast.
24. 27Theodoret consoles the deacon and archimandrite Aquilinus on the death of his spiritual father, pointing to the Father in heaven.
25. 28Theodoret congratulates the aged monk and presbyter Jacob on an old age made glad by the struggles of his youth.
26. 29Theodoret commends to Apellion the Carthaginian nobleman Celestiacus, a refugee with his family after the barbarian capture of Carthage.
27. 30Theodoret asks the sophist Aerius to move the learned gathering at his academy to help the refugee Celestiacus of Carthage.
28. 31Theodoret commends to Domnus of Antioch the Carthaginian refugee Celestiacus, whose misfortune has brought him to true faith.
29. 32Theodoret asks Bishop Theoctistus to have his people help the Carthaginian refugee Celestiacus, since God teaches through others' sufferings.
30. 33Theodoret commends the Carthaginian refugee Celestiacus to Count Stasimus and asks him to introduce him to the wealthy.
31. 34Theodoret commends the impoverished Carthaginian Celestiacus to Count Patricius, asking him to move others to help.
32. 35Two letters commending the Carthaginian refugee Celestiacus and his household, to Bishop Irenaeus and to Bishop Pompianus of Emesa, asking that they introduce him to the wealthy of their cities.
33. 37Theodoret congratulates Salustius on his appointment as governor of the Euphratensis, wishes him the crown of true religion, and sends him a deacon skilled in finding water.
34. 38A festal letter: the Easter feast brought the gifts of the cross and resurrection, but present calamities, the fruit of sin, have darkened its joy.
35. 39Three festal letters lamenting that God's anger, shown in calamities, earthquake and barbarian attack, has darkened the joy of the feast, while trusting in his mercy.
36. 42Theodoret asks the prefect Constantius to reject a deposed cleric's slanders against a tax inspection and to relieve the overtaxed territory of Cyrus, describing its size and its tax units.
37. 43Theodoret asks the empress Pulcheria to confirm the tax inspection of Cyrus and not to believe a fugitive excommunicated bishop who slanders it, describing the ruin of the overtaxed country.
38. 44Theodoret congratulates the patrician Senator on a new honor and asks him to defend the confirmed tax inspection of Cyrus against a fugitive bishop's slanders.
39. 45Theodoret laments the departure of the general Anatolius from the East and asks him to stop a fugitive bishop's slanders against the tax inspection of Cyrus.
40. 46Theodoret thanks the lawyer Peter for silencing a slanderer and asks him to continue defending the poor.
41. 47Theodoret asks Proclus of Constantinople to stop a cleric's slanders against the long-confirmed tax inspection of Cyrus and to persuade the prefects to uphold it.
42. 48Theodoret answers Eustathius of Berytus's complaint that he never writes; a second letter, to Damianus of Sidon, turns aside his praise as a mirror of Damianus's own virtue.
43. 50Theodoret asks the archimandrite Gerontius for his prayers; a second letter, to the presbyter Agapius, praises Bishop Thomas and Agapius's commendation of him.
44. 52Theodoret commends to Ibas of Edessa the African bishop Cyprian, a refugee from the Vandals, reflecting that the calamities of Libya teach everyone.
45. 53Theodoret commends the refugee African bishop Cyprian to Sophronius of Constantina.
46. 54A festal letter: the feasts have lifted Theodoret out of his despondency, and he asks for prayer to be freed from it entirely.
47. 55A festal letter for the Epiphany: the memory of the feast has relieved Theodoret's despondency.
48. 56A short festal letter written in grief, to keep the custom of the feast.
49. 57Theodoret congratulates Eutrechius on his appointment as prefect.
50. 58Theodoret writes to the consul Nomus of his longing to see him again; a second letter, to Claudianus, sends a greeting by the soldier Patroinus.
51. 60Theodoret greets Dioscorus of Alexandria, praising his reputed humility after Christ's example, and asks for his prayers and a reply.
52. 61Theodoret explains to the presbyter Archibius that his reply was delayed by the winter season at sea, and asks for news of his health.
53. 62Theodoret thanks the presbyter John for speaking well of him, and asks for a letter in return.
54. 63Two Easter festal letters: one laments that the storm in the churches, perhaps the prelude to the final apostasy, has marred the feast; the other explains why Christians celebrate Christ's death as a feast.
55. 65Theodoret consoles the general Zeno on a bereavement, urging him to master grief by reason and trust in God's providence.
56. 66Theodoret invites the sophist Aerius to the festival dedicating a new church of the apostles and prophets in his home city.
57. 67Theodoret writes to Maranas, whose zeal built the new church, about the time of its dedication festival.
58. 68Theodoret invites Epiphanius, who is kept apart by a difference of belief, to share in the festival of the apostles and prophets as a fellow citizen.
59. 69Theodoret consoles the widow Eugraphia with the Christian hope of resurrection; in a second letter he asks Eustathius of Aegae to help Maria, a noblewoman ransomed from slavery, return to her father in the West.
60. 71Theodoret praises the general and consul Zeno for courage tempered by gentleness and prays that, having won earthly honors, he may also gain the eternal ones.
61. 72A festal greeting to Hermesigenes contrasting the scattered pagan festivals with the one feast kept by Christians everywhere; then a letter to Apollonius praising his gifts and praying that he may come to know his Creator.
62. 74A festal greeting to Urbanus; then a letter to the clergy of Beroea recalling the ties between them and urging them to guard the apostolic faith and their flock.
63. 76Theodoret rejoices that Uranius, governor of Cyprus, is turning to the Christian faith and urges him to seize the gift of salvation offered through Christ's death and resurrection.
64. 77Theodoret encourages Eulalius, bishop in Persian Armenia, to stand by his flock under persecution and to receive back, after a fixed penance, those who have lapsed.
65. 78Theodoret urges Eusebius, bishop in Persian Armenia, to stand as shepherd of his persecuted flock and to restore with mercy those who have fallen.
66. 79Theodoret tells the patrician Anatolius that an imperial order confines him to Cyrus on charges of holding synods at Antioch, defends his conduct, and asks him to learn the reason and inform the emperor.
67. 80Theodoret reproaches the prefect Eutrechius for not warning him of the plot that confined him to Cyrus, protests that he was condemned unheard, and vows to keep lamenting the troubles of the churches.
68. 81Theodoret protests to the consul Nomus that he has been confined to Cyrus without a hearing, while heretics, pagans and Jews move freely, and defends his life and work as bishop.
69. 82Six letters of 448–449 in which Theodoret defends his Christology against the charge of preaching 'two sons', to Eusebius of Ancyra, Dioscorus of Alexandria, the bishops of Cilicia, Basil, Flavian of Constantinople and Domnus of Apamea, and protests Dioscorus's actions against him.
70. 88Theodoret asks the patrician Taurus to see that he is not condemned unheard, affirming that he holds and teaches the faith of Nicaea.
71. 89Theodoret assures the patrician Florentius that he has kept the apostolic and Nicene faith and asks that his accusers be made to prove their charges in his presence.
72. 90Theodoret asks the master of soldiers Lupicinus not to believe his accusers, appealing to his public preaching and the Nicene faith and to God's final judgment.
73. 91Theodoret asks the prefect Eutrechius why he has been condemned unheard and commits his cause to Christ's judgment.
74. 92Theodoret asks the patrician Anatolius to support the bishops sent by Domnus of Antioch to the capital and to defend the apostolic faith.
75. 93Theodoret commends to the patrician Senator the bishops sent by Domnus to the capital; in a second letter he asks the prefect Protogenes to end the storm in the churches and to let him be heard before being judged.
76. 95Theodoret praises the former prefect Antiochus and asks him to support the bishops who have gone to the capital to defend the churches of the East.
77. 96Theodoret asks the patrician Nomus, who has left his letters unanswered, to tell him the cause of his displeasure, appealing to the Gospel's rules of reconciliation.
78. 97Theodoret thanks the count Sporacius for his support and blesses him with Paul's prayer for Onesiphorus.
79. 98Theodoret tells Pancharius that Christ calms storms in his own time and urges him to support the apostolic faith; in a second letter he assures Claudianus that he does not divide Christ into two sons.
80. 100Theodoret thanks Alexandra for her efforts on his behalf and commends to her the bishops travelling to the capital.
81. 101Theodoret assures the deaconess Celerina that he confesses one Son, God the Word made man, and asks her to support the bishops travelling to the capital.
82. 102Theodoret reproaches the bishop Basil, who knows his teaching, for not defending him against slander, and reminds him of Christ's judgment.
83. 103A greeting to the count Apollonius; then a letter to Flavian of Constantinople in which Theodoret sets out his Christology against Docetists, Arians, Apollinaris and those who make Christ a mere man, and denies preaching two sons.
84. 105Theodoret asks the steward Eulogius, who knows his teaching, to defend him against slander.
85. 106Theodoret asks the steward Abraham to work for the peace of the churches, promising the reward of those who defend the apostolic faith.
86. 107Theodoret encourages the presbyter Theodotus to keep fighting for the apostolic doctrines.
87. 108Theodoret praises the presbyter Acacius for his care of orphans and his defense of the apostolic doctrines, and urges him on.
88. 109Theodoret tells Eusebius of Ancyra that the Lord's promises of persecution comfort him, rejects both 'two sons' and 'one nature', and sends a summary of his faith for Eusebius to judge.
89. 110Theodoret advises Domnus of Antioch on the attack on Irenaeus of Tyre, defending his ordination although he had married twice, by the precedent of earlier bishops.
90. 111Theodoret tells the patrician Anatolius that he had no part in the judgment of Ibas's accusers, defends Domnus of Antioch, and welcomes confinement and exile for the hope of heaven.
91. 112Theodoret warns Domnus of Antioch that a new synod (Ephesus 449) may impose Cyril's twelve chapters; then, deposed by that synod, he appeals to Leo of Rome, praises his doctrinal letter, and asks for his judgment.
92. 114Theodoret commends to Andiberis a priest-physician who is leaving Cyrus after Theodoret's deposition.
93. 115Theodoret commends to Apella the physician Peter, who is leaving Cyrus after Theodoret's departure.
94. 116Theodoret, deposed at Ephesus (449), asks the Roman presbyter Renatus, a legate there, to persuade Leo to hear his appeal, sets out his faith, and praises the Roman see as untouched by heresy.
95. 117Three letters of 449: Theodoret asks bishop Florentius and the archdeacon of Rome to help the churches of the East and reverse his unjust deposition; and he asks the patrician Anatolius to obtain leave for him to be judged in the West, or at least to live in his monastery near Apamea.
96. 120Theodoret asks Lupicius to work for the reversal of the depositions at Ephesus and the reunion of the church.
97. 121Theodoret tells the patrician Anatolius that Leo's letters to Flavian and to the synod of Ephesus agree with his own teaching, and sends him a copy.
98. 122Theodoret declines Uranius of Emesa's advice to keep silent by 'economy', insisting that preachers must speak boldly for the apostolic faith.
99. 123Theodoret thanks Uranius of Emesa for a warm second letter, compares his own trials with Jonah's, and explains why he accepted Uranius's gift though he had refused others.
100. 124A short letter to Maranas on God's measured judgment; a letter to six laymen praising their stand against the 'new heresy' and setting out Christ's two natures and the hope of resurrection; and a letter to the deposed bishop Sabinianus warning him not to seek communion with those who teach one nature.
101. 127Theodoret praises the aged archimandrite Jobius for fighting for the faith like Abraham, Moses and Samuel, and asks his prayers.
102. 128Theodoret urges the aged archimandrite Candidus to keep praying for the church, comparing him to Moses with his hands held up against Amalek.
103. 129Theodoret encourages the presbyter and archimandrite Magnus Antoninus in his contests for the faith and asks his prayers.
104. 130Theodoret thanks Bishop Timotheus for his support and, at his request, explains the names of Christ and why the passion is to be ascribed to the passible flesh, not to the impassible Godhead, without dividing the one Son.
105. 131Theodoret thanks the archimandrite Longinus for sending deacons and letters to support him in his trouble for the faith, and asks his prayers.
106. 132Theodoret consoles Ibas of Edessa, wronged like the saints of old, urging him to rejoice in suffering for the faith and to hold to the gospel doctrines whatever the cost.
107. 133Theodoret tells John of Germanicia that God has ended the persecution, that he means to return to quiet after the truth is vindicated, and that he cannot plan a journey until the emperor's orders come.
108. 134Theodoret reproaches Bishop Theoctistus of Beroea for failing the duty of love to a friend under attack, and gives thanks that God has now exposed the new heresy.
109. 135Theodoret answers Bishop Romulus's plea for mercy with the warning of Ahab's misplaced mercy, describes the kinds of people in the doctrinal conflict, and gently rebukes Romulus for going along with the times out of fear.
110. 136Theodoret consoles Cyrus on the death of his wife and young son, pointing him to Job's example, the hope of the resurrection, and God's wise providence.
111. 137Theodoret tells the archimandrite John that, like David, he has other faults, but that he was condemned not for them but for the apostolic doctrine he has kept; God has now vindicated that doctrine.
112. 138Theodoret thanks the patrician Anatolius for the new emperor's undoing of his unjust condemnation at the synod of Ephesus (449), and asks him to urge the emperor and empress to convene a peaceful synod attended by themselves.
113. 139Theodoret thanks Aspar for having the emperor undo his unjust condemnation at Ephesus, and asks him to urge a quiet synod that will confirm the apostolic doctrines.
114. 140Theodoret thanks the master Vincomalus for taking up his cause unasked, describes his condemnation unheard at Ephesus, and asks him to urge the emperor and empress to summon a peaceful synod.
115. 141Theodoret praises Marcellus, archimandrite of the Sleepless monks, for defending the gospel doctrines, rejoices that God has vindicated them, and asks his prayers and letters.
116. 142Theodoret writes again to praise the addressee's stand, unshaken by the bishops who signed for the new heresy, and confesses that the incarnation did not add to the Trinity.
117. 143Theodoret seeks the friendship of Andrew at Constantinople, rejecting both the fusion of Christ's natures and the division of Christ into two sons; then a second letter, its heading lost, explains that God cannot do what is contrary to his nature and that the passion belongs to Christ's body, not his divine nature.
118. 144The end of Theodoret's letter to the soldiers, citing Athanasius, Damasus, and Leo that the Godhead did not suffer; then the long letter to the monks of Constantinople defending himself against the charge of preaching two sons, setting out Christ's two natures, the reality of his body before and after the resurrection, and the Fathers' consensus.
119. 146Theodoret writes to John the steward against an archdeacon who forbade saying 'Christ' in the doxology, proving from Scripture, the liturgy, Basil, and the Nicene creed that Christ is the only-begotten Son himself and is rightly glorified with the Father and the Spirit.
120. 147Theodoret tells John of Germanicia that the bishops who regret the violence of Ephesus (449) yet keep its decisions are lying when they deny that doctrine was at stake, recounts their about-turn toward himself and Dioscorus, and urges John to break communion with them unless they renounce what was done.
121. 150Theodoret tells John of Antioch that he has refuted Cyril's anathemas (Letter 150); in Letter 151 he warns the monks of the eastern provinces against Cyril's Chapters and sets out his Christology; an appended piece answers the charge that he teaches two Sons.
122. 152The Eastern bishops at Ephesus (431) report to the emperor that they found Cyril and Memnon acting lawlessly, have deposed them and excommunicated their supporters, and explain why John of Antioch arrived late.
123. 153The Eastern bishops report to the empresses and then to the senate of Constantinople that Cyril and Memnon, having held a session at Ephesus before the Easterns arrived, have been deposed, and that their supporters remain excommunicated until they anathematize Cyril's chapters.
124. 155John of Antioch and the Eastern bishops tell the clergy of Constantinople that Cyril and Memnon have been deposed and their supporters excommunicated until they anathematize Cyril's chapters, so the clergy should not be disturbed.
125. 156The Eastern bishops at Ephesus (431) reassure the people of Constantinople that Cyril and Memnon have been deposed for their violence and heresy, with the door left open to their supporters; then they report again to the emperor, accusing Cyril of reviving Apollinarius and asking to meet somewhere safe to refute him.
126. 158The Eastern bishops tell the emperor that the deposed and excommunicated bishops at Ephesus have grown bolder, have stoned them and refused to debate Cyril's chapters, and that they are sending Count Irenaeus to explain.
127. 159The Eastern bishops beg the prefect and the master of offices to rescue them from the violence of Cyril and Memnon at Ephesus and let them come to Constantinople to give account of the faith.
128. 160The Eastern bishops ask the praepositus and the scholasticus to read their letter to the emperor, since Cyril's party, though deposed, holds the churches by force and has stoned them.