155 (241). Without Address, in the Case of a Trainer
LETTERS
155. Without Address, in the Case of a Trainer 1 Against the many charges which were written in the first and only letter that your Nobility deigned to send us, I am at a loss as to how I should defend myself, not because of the want of a just reason, but because from among a great number of accusations the choice of the more relevant is a difficult matter, as is also the choice of the point to which we must first direct our attention. Or, perhaps, by making use of the very order in which they are written, we should meet them one by one.
We did not know until today those who are setting out from here for Scythia; moreover, those of your house did not even mention the fact to us, so that we might greet ycru through them, although we are ready with much eagerness to salute your Honor at every opportunity. It is impossible to forget you in our prayers, unless we first forget our task to which the Lord assigned us. For, since, by the grace of God, you are faithful, you certainly remember the appointed liturgy of the Church-that we pray for our brethren on their journeys abroad. Moreover, for those who are numbered in the military service, for those who speak openly in defense of the name of the Lord, and for those who show forth the fruits of the Spirit, we offer our prayers in the holy Church.
And we think that your Honor is certainly included in the According to the Benedictine editors, the person to whom the letter is written is Julius Soranus, a relative of St. Basil and a duke of Scythia.
It applies to Soranus, since he was a 'trainer' and encourager of martyrs.
In Letter J6,f, St. Basil calls Ascholius 'trainer' of the martYr Sabas, On the present letter and Letters 155, 16,f, and 165, which have to do with transferring the remains of the Gothic martyr Sahas (died April
372) to Caesarea in Cappadocia, d. G. Pfeilschefter, Ein neues Werk des Wulfila, VerofJelltlichungen aus dem Kirchenhistor (Seminar, Mun· chen 1907) 192·224, This letter, written in 373, is one of the eadiest references to the preservation of the relics of martyrs.