Letter 242: 1. The Holy God has promised a happy of issue out of all their infirmities to those that trust in Him. We, therefore, though we have been cut off in a mid-ocean of troubles, though we are tossed by the great waves raised up against us by the spirits of wickedness, nevertheless hold out in Christ Who strengthens us.

God has promised a good outcome from every trial to those who trust in Him. And so, though we have been lost in an ocean of troubles, tossed by great waves raised against us by the forces of evil, we hold fast in Christ who strengthens us. We have not weakened in our zeal for the churches. Even as the storm surges over our heads, we do not despair. On the contrary, we press on with all our strength, remembering that even the man swallowed by the sea monster [Jonah] was saved because he did not give up hope but cried out to the Lord. So too, though we have reached the very edge of disaster, we will not abandon our trust in God. On every side we see His help surrounding us. It is for this reason that we now turn our eyes to you, honored brothers. Through many hours of affliction we have hoped you would come to our aid. Disappointed in that hope, we have said to ourselves with the Psalmist: "I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none." Our sufferings have reached the borders of the empire, and since "when one member suffers, all the members suffer together," it is surely right that you should show compassion to us who have been in trouble for so long. The sympathy we hope for from you springs not from nearness of place but from union of spirit. How is it, then, that we have received nothing of what love requires -- no letter of consolation, no visit from brothers? This is now the thirteenth year since the war of heresy broke out against us. In that time, the churches have suffered more tribulations than in the entire history of the Gospel's preaching. I will not describe them one by one, lest the weakness of my account make the evidence of our catastrophe less convincing. Here is the sum of it: congregations have been driven from their houses of worship and are gathering in the open wilderness. It is a terrible sight -- women, children, the elderly, and the infirm exposed to heavy rain, snow, wind, and the blazing summer sun. And they endure all this because they refuse to accept communion with the wicked Arian leaven. We appeal to you: if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit -- come to our aid. Send us men who can mediate and restore. At the very least, make the emperor of the West aware of what is happening in the East. If that is difficult, at least send envoys to see our condition with their own eyes. Words cannot describe it. Only witnesses will be believed.

ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA To the Westerns. 1. The Holy God has promised a happy of issue out of all their infirmities to those that trust in Him. We, therefore, though we have been cut off in a mid-ocean of troubles, though we are tossed by the great waves raised up against us by the spirits of wickedness, nevertheless hold out in Christ Who strengthens us. We have not slackened the strength of our zeal for the Churches, nor, as though despairing of our salvation, while the billows in the tempest rise above our heads, do we look to be destroyed. On the contrary, we are still holding out with all possible earnestness, remembering how even he who was swallowed by the sea monster, because he did not despair of his life, but cried to the Lord, was saved. Thus too we, though we have reached the last pitch of peril, do not give up our hope in God. On every side we see His succour round about us. For these reasons now we turn our eyes to you, right honourable brethren. In many an hour of our affliction we have expected that you would be at our side; and disappointed in that hope we have said to ourselves, I looked for some to take pity and there was none; and for comforters but I found none. Our sufferings are such as to have reached the confines of the empire; and since, when one member suffers, all the members suffer, 1 Corinthians 12:26 it is doubtless right that your pity should be shown to us who have been so long in trouble. For that sympathy, which we have hoped you of your charity feel for us, is caused less by nearness of place than by union of spirit. 2. How comes it to pass then that we have received nothing of what is due to us by the law of love; no letter of consolation, no visit from brethren? This is now the thirteenth year since the war of heresy began against us. In this the Churches have suffered more tribulations than all those which are on record since Christ's gospel was first preached. I am unwilling to describe these one by one, lest the feebleness of my narrative should make the evidence of the calamities less convincing. It is moreover the less necessary for me to tell you of them, because you have long known what has happened from the reports which will have reached you. The sum and substance of our troubles is this: the people have left the houses of prayer and are holding congregations in the wildernesses. It is a sad sight. Women, boys, old men, and those who are in other ways infirm, remain in the open air, in heavy rain, in the snow, the gales and the frost of winter as well as in summer under the blazing heat of the sun. All this they are suffering because they refuse to have anything to do with the wicked leaven of Arius. 3. How could mere words give you any clear idea of all this without your being stirred to sympathy by personal experience and the evidence of eyewitnesses? We implore you, therefore, to stretch out a helping hand to those that have already been stricken to the ground, and to send messengers to remind us of the prizes in store for the reward of all who patiently suffer for Christ. A voice that we are used to is naturally less able to comfort us than one which sounds from afar, and that one coming from men who over all the world are known by God's grace to be among the noblest; for common report everywhere represents you as having remained steadfast, without suffering a wound in your faith, and as having kept the deposit of the apostles inviolate. This is not our case. There are among us some who, through lust of glory and that puffing up which is especially wont to destroy the souls of Christian men, have audaciously uttered certain novelties of expression with the result that the Churches have become like cracked pots and pans and have let in the inrush of heretical impurity. But do you, whom we love and long for, be to us as surgeons for the wounded, as trainers for the whole, healing the limb that is diseased, and anointing the limb that is sound for the service of the true religion. About this page Source. Translated by Blomfield Jackson. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 8. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202242.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.