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

To the Neocæsareans.
journey to God. And up to this day, by the grace of Him who has called me in His holy
calling to the knowledge of Himself, I know of no doctrine opposed to the sound teaching
having sunk into my heart; nor was my soul ever polluted by the ill-famed blasphemy of
Arius. If I have ever received into communion any who have come from that teacher, hiding
their unsoundness deep within them, or speaking words of piety, or, at any rate, not opposing
what has been said by me, it is on these terms that I have admitted them; and I have not allowed
my judgment concerning them to rest wholly with myself, but have followed the decisions
given about them by our Fathers. For after receiving the letter of the very blessed
Father Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, which I hold in my hand, and shew to any one
who asks, wherein he has distinctly declared that any one expressing a wish to come over
from the heresy of the Arians and accepting the Nicene Creed, is to be received without
hesitation and difficulty, citing in support of his opinion the unanimous assent of the bishops
of Macedonia and of Asia; I, considering myself bound to follow the high authority of such
a man and of those who made the rule, and with every desire on my own part to win the
reward promised to peacemakers, did enroll in the lists of communicants all who accepted
that creed.
7. [The fair thing would be to judge of me, not from one or two who do not walk uprightly
in the truth, but from the multitude of bishops throughout the world, connected
with me by the grace of the Lord. Make enquiries of Pisidians, Lycaonians, Isaurians,
Phrygians of both provinces, Armenians your neighbours, Macedonians, Achæans, Illyrians,
Gauls, Spaniards, the whole of Italy, Sicilians, Africans, the healthy part of Egypt, whatever
is left of Syria; all of whom send letters to me, and in turn receive them from me.] From
these letters, alike from all which are despatched from them. and from all which go out from
us to them, you may learn that we are all of one mind, and of one opinion. [Whoso shuns
communion with me, it cannot escape your accuracy, cuts himself off from the whole
Church. Look round about, brethren, with whom do you hold communion? If you will
not receive it from me, who remains to acknowledge you? Do not reduce me to the necessity
of counselling anything unpleasant concerning a Church so dear to me.] There are things
now which I hide in the bottom of my heart, in secret groaning over and bewailing the evil
days in which we live, in that the greatest Churches which have long been united to one
another in brotherly love, now, without any reason, are in mutual opposition. Do not, oh!
do not, drive me to complain of these things to all who are in communion with me. Do not
force me to give utterance to words which hitherto I have kept in check by reflection and
have hidden in my heart. Better were it for me to be removed and the Churches to be at
one, than that God’s people should suffer such evil through our childish ill-will. [Ask your
fathers, and they will tell you that though our districts were divided in position, yet in mind
they were one, and were governed by one sentiment. Intercourse of the people was frequent;
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