Letter 119 (382)
Glimpses oj Daily LiJe
church the priest gives only a parcel, and he who receives it is permitted to keep it and convey it to his mouth by his own hand. It has therefore the same virtue whether he receives one single parcel from the hand of the priest, or several parcels of the same consecrated prosphora.
GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS TO HELLADIOS, BISHOP OF
CAESARAEA AND METROPOLITAN OF CAPPADOCIA,
LETTER 120 (Pascha 382) . . . The holy day of Pascha has come for us; I know it is an initiation (/luo'Taywy(o:] into the blessings to come, as it is the feast of the Passage [of the Red Sea by the Hebrews]. You did well to remind us of this, both by your presents and your letter. But I have lived through many a Pascha, and it was the advantage of a rather long life. Now, the Pascha I am longing for is a brighter Pascha: to leave the painful and dark Egypt of this life, to be free from the work of clay and bricks which kept us in bondage [Ex 1: 14], and to pass over to the Land of Promise [Heb 11 :9]. Ask for these in your prayers and pray for us, if you care to do us a very great favor. As for you, may you celebrate many times in your life the paschal feast with the entire Church.
GREGORY OF NAZlANZUS TO PALLADIOS,
LETTER 119 (382)
With Christ I have mortified my tongue while I fasted; now I have joined Him in His Resurrection. The mystery of
THE FATHERS SPEAK
my silence is this: as I have offered in sacrifice a spirit renouncing to express itself in words [C:CVEKACx""T]TOV], so also shall I offer in sacrifice a purified language.
GREGORY OF NAZlANZUS TO AMPHILOCHIOS,
BISHOP OF ICONIUM IN PISlDIA, LETTER 171
(late 382) We had hardly li~ted up our head after the miseries of illness when we ran toward you, who were the agent of our recovery, for the tongue of a priest who celebrates the Lord raises up the sick. Do carry out the best of the sacred rites, absolve me from the multitude of my sins by taking in hand the victim risen from the dead. As for me, whether awake or asleep, I care for you; you are for me an excellent plectrum, and you have brought into our souls a melodious lyre, since your many writings have formed our souls to a superior knowledge. However, most God-fearing friend, do not tire from praying and interceding for us, every time you cause the Word [A6yovJ to come down by the virtue of your word
[A,6ycpJ, every time you divide, without effusion of blood, the body and the blood of the Master, by the sword of your
• VOIce.
Cult of the Martyrs These are notes of invitation to the commemoration of the forty Martyrs of SebaSlaea (Sivas), to whom the memory of Eupsychios, a recent victim of Emperor Julian (the Apostate, who ruled 361-363), was associated locally. The ceLebration took pLace in September; the exact date varies, due
10 the hodgepodge of the various caLendars in use at the time.
Hierarchs coming to the feast had an occasion for discussing
Glimpses of Daily Life
the problems of their Churches, without calling a special convocation.
BASIL TO AMPHILOCHIOS, BISHOP OF
lcoNIUM, LETTER 176 (374) May Holy God grant you good health and deliverance from all troubles to manage all things as you see fit, and may this letter of ours come into your hand, that our invitation be not in vain, and that you may appear in our city
[Caesaraea]. You would add to the solemnity of the annual feast of our Church in honor of the Holy Martyrs. Believe that you who are the most precious and truly longed-for friend, and that our people, who have the experience of many a man, desire the favor of your presence more than of any other, so much are they prompted to love by this short and happy occasion. In order that the Lord be glorified, that the people rejoice, that the Martyrs be honored, and that we, the elders, receive the kind attentions of a true son, kindly come to us without delay, in advance of the feast, that we may be able to talk together and edify ourselves by communicating to each other the graces of the Holy
Spirit. The date is the fifth of September. Therefore we beg you to arrive three days earlier, that your presence may enhance the service at the memorial [chapel] of the hospice for the poor [TrtQX0'Tp0Cj)ElOU]. Be in good health and rejoice in the Lord; pray for me, and may you be kept safe and sound, unto me and unto the Church of God, through the grace of the Lord.