Letter 249

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Athanasius the Presbyter
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore on who genuinely deserves the honor attached to the priesthood — arguing that it belongs only to those chosen with care and divine guidance.

Those who were ordained with care — those chosen with the genuine guidance of discernment rather than through favoritism, political pressure, or self-seeking — deserve the honor attached to their office. And the honor is real; it represents the authority of what they serve.

Those who obtained the office through other means should not be surprised if the honor does not attach to them in the same way. The office is not the source of the honor; the genuine calling, faithfully answered, is the source. The office is merely its outward expression.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.