Letter 79: Severus tells Andrew that faithful women may pray at a martyr chapel if heretical services are not taking place.

By a wonderful chance, on the fourth day of September, the memorial day of the thrice-blessed Dioscorus, your letter reached me. With it came a letter from the holy virgins expelled from Antioch. Their letter drew many sighs and tears from us, but it has prepared glorious heavenly blessings for them, the kind written in the book of life. You judged rightly that the Christ-loving freewomen need not fear visiting their cousin, who lies in the martyr chapel of the holy Peter, archbishop and martyr. Where the bones of holy martyrs have been laid, it is right to pray without hesitation, especially if the place is quiet and heretics are not unlawfully holding services or singing inside. You also rightly told us of the death of the pious bishop Zosimus, so that we may praise God, who did not allow him to be wholly turned toward the deeds of the adversaries, but let him depart while still in some way counted in orthodox communion. If he was not secretly stained with the leprosy of heresy, may he find mercy before the dreadful tribunal.

By a wonderful chance, such as no one expects before it happens, the letter of your devoutness was delivered to me on the fourth day of the present month of September, on which is celebrated the memory of the thrice-blessed Dioscorus, the archbishop and holy martyr, who is now counted among the heretics in Alexandria and anathematized by the impious. With this letter was also joined a letter of the holy virgins who were expelled from Antioch: which in us ^ Or. xxxiii. 4. ^ fje. x. 37. excited many sighs and tears, but for them has prepared right glorious heavenly blessings, such as are described in the book of life. And after other things. But you have rightly determined that the Christ-loving p- 3os- freewomen shall in no way be afraid to visit their anepsios or cousin/ who is laid in the martyr's chapel of the holy Peter the archbishop and martyr. Where the bones of holy martyrs have previously been laid, it is right to pray without hesitation: especially when the place is in silence, and the heretics are not unlawfully conducting services or singing in- side. In fact even Peter the bishop of holy memory from Iberia prayed in the house of the chapel of the glorious holy martyr and apostle Judas the brother of James, who is laid at Berytus (in the same fashion he prayed also at Tripolis in the house of the chapel of the holy victory-clad martyr Leontius). As to the fact which you mention that they are constantly busying themselves about the offering that they made to me, I say that here again is a timely act on the part of the sacred martyrs and divine virgins who are expected from the East, and are ready to show forth in themselves as pious women the love of God. For my part, if I be hungry or thirsty, I will rend by force the mantle and tunic with which they are clad, if they do not generously feed me. May the Lord therefore in return for everything give them a perfect reward for their good will! You did rightly in informing us further of the decease of the pious bishop Zosimus, in order that we may praise God who p- 306. did not allow him to be wholly perverted to any of the deeds of the adversaries, but to depart while in some sort counted in the communion of the orthodox, and find mercy in the judgment before the awful tribunal: that is, unless he is perhaps stained somewhere at bottom with the leprosy of heresy and with impious belief In the case of men of this kind I say with confidence that they will find no place of clemency, seeing that, as far as in them lies, they have given strength to the noose of error to destroy the souls of many