Nicene and Post-Nicene Church Fathers Series 2 - The Still Small ...

To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata. 2344
Letter XCVIII. 2343
1. After receiving the letter of your holiness, in which you said you would not come, I
was most anxious to set out for Nicopolis, but I have grown weaker in my wish and have
remembered all my infirmity. I bethought me, too, of the lack of seriousness in the conduct
of those who invited me. They gave me a casual invitation by the hands of our reverend
brother Hellenius, the surveyor of customs at Nazianzus, but they never took the trouble to
send a messenger to remind me, or any one to escort me. As, for my sins, I was an object
of suspicion to them, I shrank from sullying the brightness of their meeting by my presence.
In company with your excellency I do not shrink from stripping for even serious trials of
strength; but apart from you I feel myself hardly equal even to looking at every day troubles.
Since, then, my meeting with them was intended to be about Church affairs, I let the time
of the festival go by, and put off the meeting to a period of rest and freedom from distraction,
and have decided to go to Nicopolis to discuss the needs of the Churches with the godly
bishop Meletius, in case he should decline to go to Samosata. If he agrees, I shall hasten to
meet him, provided this is made clear to me by both of you, by him in reply to me (for I
have written), and by your reverence.
2. We were to have met the bishops of Cappadocia Secunda, who, directly they were
ranked under another prefecture, suddenly got the idea that they were made foreigners and
strangers to me. They ignored me, as though they had never been under my jurisdiction,
and had nothing to do with me. I was expecting too a second meeting with the reverend
bishop Eustathius, which actually took place. For on account of the cry raised by many
against him that he was injuring the faith, I met him, and found, by God’s grace, that he
was heartily following all orthodoxy. By the fault of the very men who ought to have conveyed
my letter, that of the bishop was not transmitted to your excellency, and, harassed as
I was by a multitude of cares, it escaped my memory.
I, too, was anxious that our brother Gregory 2345 should have the government of a Church
commensurate with his abilities; and that would have been the whole Church under the sun
2343 Placed in 372.
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata.
2344 On a proposed meeting of bishops, with an allusion to the consecration of the younger Gregory.
2345 Tillemont supposes the reference to be to Gregory of Nyssa. Maran, however (Vit. Bas. xxiv.), regards
this as an error, partly caused by the introduction into the text of the word ἐμόν, which he has eliminated; and
he points out the Gregory of Nyssa, however unwilling to accept consecration, never objected after it had taken
place, and was indeed sent to Nazianzus to console the younger Gregory of that place in his distress under like
circumstances. Moreover, Gregory of Nyssa was consecrated in the ordinary manner on the demand of the
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