NPNF2-08. Basil: Letters and Select Works - Holy Bible Institute

To the Westerns.Letter CCLXIII. 3189To the Westerns.1. May the Lord God, in Whom we have put our trust, give to each of you grace sufficientto enable you to realize your hope, in proportion to the joy wherewith you have filled myheart, both by the letter which you have sent me by the hands of the well-beloved fellowpresbyters,and by the sympathy which you have felt for me in my distress, like men whohave put on bowels of mercy, 3190 as you have been described to me by the presbyters aforementioned.Although my wounds remain the same, nevertheless it does bring alleviationto me that I should have leeches at hand, able, should they find an opportunity, to applyrapid remedies to my hurts. Wherefore in return I salute you by our beloved friends, andexhort you, if the Lord puts it into your power to come to me, not to hesitate to visit me.For part of the greatest commandment is the visitation of the sick. But if the good God andwise Dispenser of our lives reserves this boon for another season, at all events write to mewhatever it is proper for you to write for the consolation of the oppressed and the lifting upof those that are crushed down. Already the Church has suffered many severe blows, andgreat has been my affliction at them. Nowhere is there expectation of succour unless theLord sends us a remedy by you who are his true servants.2. The bold and shameless heresy of the Arians, after being publicly cut off from thebody of the Church, still abides in its own error, and does not do us much harm because itsimpiety is notorious to all. Nevertheless men clad in sheep’s clothing, and presenting a mildand amiable appearance, but within unsparingly ravaging Christ’s flocks, find it easy to dohurt to the simpler ones, because they came out from us. It is these who are grievous andhard to guard against. It is these that we implore your diligence to denounce publicly to allthe Churches of the East; to the end that they may either turn to the right way and join withus in genuine alliance, or, if they abide in their perversity, may keep their mischief tothemselves alone, and be unable to communicate their own plague to their neighbours byunguarded communion. I am constrained to mention them by name, in order that youmay yourselves recognise those who are stirring up disturbance here, and may make themknown to our Churches. My own words are suspected by most men, as though I had an illwill towards them on account of some private quarrel. You, however, have all the morecredit with the people, in proportion to the distance that separates your home from theirs,besides the fact that you are gifted with God’s grace to help those who are distressed. Ifmore of you concur in uttering the same opinions, it is clear that the number of those whohave expressed them will make it impossible to oppose their acceptance.3023189 Placed in 377.3190 Col. iii. 12.824