Letter 59: Severus authorizes bishops in shared communion to meet the monastery of Bassus' need for clergy during persecution.
Severus of Antioch→Julian, archimandrite of the monastery of Bassus|c. 515 AD|Severus of Antioch|From Antioch, Syria|AI-assisted
monastery of Bassus; persecution; ordination; priests; deacons; Cyrrhus; Sura
The letter belongs to Severus' banishment period and names Sergius of Cyrrhus and Marion of Sura as helpers. Source id I.59; Brooks page 178; original Syriac source-text backfill remains pending.
Those who faithfully follow the ascetic and solitary life grow rich in the spirit of understanding, and from it they learn the paths of right action. Proverbs says that the thoughts of an understanding person are ways of life, and again that a person's heart should think just things so that the Lord may direct his steps. Because Your Religiousness shares that instruction and is guided by the divine Spirit, you have not treated church order with contempt.
When the holy monastery of the blessed Bassus, where you have been appointed to govern, lacked the necessary ministry of priests and deacons, you rightly decided to inform me by letter and to seek a resolution from me. Know, then, that in times of persecution any God-loving bishop who shares the same confession and full communion with us may properly supply the need of any orthodox community that lacks ministers.
On that basis I have written to the saintly Sergius, bishop of Cyrrhus, and to the saintly Marion, bishop of the fortress called Sura, asking them to meet your need. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they may lay their sacred hand on those who need the gift given from above, about which Jesus himself, the giver of the Spirit, cries in the Gospels: "Freely you have received; freely give."
Those who loyally follow the ascetic and solitary life grow rich in the spirit of understanding, and from it learn the paths of right action. Wherefore also the sacred text of Proverbs says, "The thoughts of an understanding man are ways of life"; and again, "Let the heart of a man think just things, in order that his steps may be directed by the Lord." Sharing in this instruction therefore and being guided by the divine Spirit, your religiousness also has not treated church order with contempt: but, when the holy monastery of the blessed Bassus, in which you have been appointed to be governor, was lacking in the needful provision for the ministry of priests and deacons, you properly resolved to inform me of this by a letter from you, and from me to obtain a solution of the doubt. Know therefore that in times of persecution anyone soever of the God-loving bishops who is of the same confession and the same communion with us in everything may properly supply the need of any among the orthodox who is in need. On this principle I have written to the saintly Sergius bishop of Cyrrhus, and to the saintly Marion bishop of the fortress called Sura to satisfy your need: and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to apply their sacred hand, and impart to those that are in need the gift that was given them from above, about which Jesus Himself the giver of the Spirit cries in the Gospels, "Freely ye have received freely give."
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Those who faithfully follow the ascetic and solitary life grow rich in the spirit of understanding, and from it they learn the paths of right action. Proverbs says that the thoughts of an understanding person are ways of life, and again that a person's heart should think just things so that the Lord may direct his steps. Because Your Religiousness shares that instruction and is guided by the divine Spirit, you have not treated church order with contempt.
When the holy monastery of the blessed Bassus, where you have been appointed to govern, lacked the necessary ministry of priests and deacons, you rightly decided to inform me by letter and to seek a resolution from me. Know, then, that in times of persecution any God-loving bishop who shares the same confession and full communion with us may properly supply the need of any orthodox community that lacks ministers.
On that basis I have written to the saintly Sergius, bishop of Cyrrhus, and to the saintly Marion, bishop of the fortress called Sura, asking them to meet your need. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they may lay their sacred hand on those who need the gift given from above, about which Jesus himself, the giver of the Spirit, cries in the Gospels: "Freely you have received; freely give."
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Original text not yet available in this corpus.
This letter still needs a Latin or Greek source-text backfill. The source link, when available, is preserved so the text can be checked and added later.