Letter
CCLIII.
3117
To the presbyters of Antioch.
3118
The
anxious care which you have
for the Churches of God will to some extent be assuaged by our very
dear and very reverend brother Sanctissimus the presbyter, when he has
told you of the love and kindness felt for us by all the West.
But, on the other hand, it will be roused afresh and made yet keener,
when he has told you in person what zeal is demanded by the present
position of affairs. All other authorities have told us, as it
were, by halves, the minds of men in the West, and the condition of
things there. He is very competent to understand men’s
minds, and to make exact enquiry into the condition of affairs, and he
will tell you everything and will guide your good will through the
whole business. You have matter before you
appropriate to the excellent will which you
have always shewn in your anxiety on behalf of the Churches of
God.
3117
Placed in
376.
3118
This and
the three following letters are complimentary and consolatory
epistles conveyed by Sanctissimus on his return to Rome. It
does not appear quite certain whether they are to be referred to the
period of his return from his second journey to the East in 376, or
that of his earlier return in 374.
cf. Letters
cxx. and
ccxxi.