# Canonical Letter to Letoius

- Author: [Gregory of Nyssa](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/gregory-of-nyssa/)
- Latin title: *Epistula canonica ad Letoium*
- Date: ca. 390 (approximate)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 45 (Paris)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 45 (Paris, 1863)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/
- Passages: 8

## Canonical Letter, Migne PG 45:221

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221/#p-221
- Source: PG 45:221
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Gregory opens his letter on penance by tying the Easter feast, a feast of rising from the fall of sin, to the restoration of penitents.

### Greek text

Ἕν καὶ τοῦτο τῶν εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν ἑορτὴν συντελούν- ἢ κων ἐστὶ, τὸ χατανοῇσαι ἡμᾶς τὴν ἔννομόν τε καὶ χανονιχὴν ἐπὶ τῶν πεπλημμεληχότων οἰχονομίαν " ὅπως ἂν θεραπευθείη πᾶν ἀῤῥώστημα ψυχιχὸν, τὸ διά τινος ἁμαρτίας ἐπιγινόμενον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ καθολιχὴ καὶ αὔτη τῆς χτίσεως ἑορτὴ κατὰ τὴν τεταγμένην περίοδον τοῦ ἐνιαυσιαίου χύχλου χσθ᾽ ἕχαστον ἔτος, ἐν παντὶ πληρουμένη τῷ χόσμῳ, ἐπὶ τῇ ἀναστάσει τοῦ πεπτωχότος ἐπιτελεῖται " πτῶσις δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνάστασις δὲ ἢ ἐχ τοῦ πτώματος τῆς ἁμαρ.τίας ἀνόρθωσις" χαλῶς ἂν ἔχοι κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην, οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἐχ παλιγγενεσίας μετάστοιχειουμένους διὰ τῆς τοῦ λουτροῦ χάριτος τῷ θεῷ προσάγειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς διὰ τῆς μετανοίας τε καὶ ἐπιστροφῆς ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν ἔργων εἰς τὴν ζῶσαν ὁδὸν πάλιν ἐπανιόντας, καὶ τούτους χειραγωγεῖν πρὸς τὴν σώζουσαν ἐλπίδα, ἧς διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀπεξενώθησαν. Ἔστι δὲ οὐ μιχρὸν ἔργον, τὸ τοὺς περὶ τούτων λόγους οἰκονομῇσαι ἐν τῇ ὀρθῇ τε καὶ δεδοχιμασμένῃ χρίσει, κατὰ τὸ παράγγελμα τοῦ Προφήτου, τὸ χελεῦον δεῖν οἰχογομδῖν τὸυς (όγους ἐν κρίσει, ἵνα, χαθὼς ἔχει τὸ λόγιον, μήτε σαλευθῇ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ εἰς μγημόσυνον αἰώνιον γένηται δίκαιος.

### English translation (Claude)

[0] This too is one of the things that contribute to the holy feast: that we consider the lawful and canonical dispensation concerning those who have sinned, so that every sickness of the soul that arises through some sin may be healed. For since this universal feast of the creation, which is fulfilled each year throughout the whole world in the appointed revolution of the yearly cycle, is celebrated for the resurrection of him who had fallen (and the fall is sin, while the resurrection is the raising up again from the fall of sin), it would be well on this day not only to bring to God those who are refashioned by rebirth through the grace of the washing, but also to lead by the hand toward the saving hope, from which they were estranged through sin, those who are returning again by repentance and conversion from dead works to the living way. It is no small task to order the discourse about these matters with right and tested judgment, according to the precept of the prophet which bids us order our words with judgment, so that, as the saying runs, the righteous man “shall not be shaken for ever” and “shall be in everlasting remembrance.”

### Scripture references

- Heb 6:1: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 112:5–6 (111:5-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- This is the opening of Gregory of Nyssa's Canonical Letter to Letoius, bishop of Melitene; the staged text begins without the address. Staged refs are Migne columns of PG 45; the canon divisions (preface and canons 1–8) are marked in brackets. “Dead works”: Heb 6:1; 9:14. The prophet's precept and “the saying”: Ps 112:5–6 (LXX 111:5–6). Column-number debris at the end was removed by a logged correction.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Ep. can. 221 (PG 45:221; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221).

## Canonical Letter, Migne PG 45:223

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221/#p-223
- Source: PG 45:223
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Gregory compares penance to medicine and divides the soul into reasoning, desiring and spirited parts, describing the right action and the vice of the reasoning part and the right action of the desire.

### Greek text

σχοπὸς τῆς ἰατριχῆς εἷς ἐστι, τὸ ὑγιᾶναι τὸν χάμνοντα’ τὸ δὲ εἶδος τῆς ἐπιμελείας διάφορον " κατὰ γὰρ τὴν κοικιλίαν τῶν ἀῤῥωστημάτων καταλλήλως καὶ ἡ θεραπευτικὴ μέθοδος ἑκάστῳ τῶν νοσημάτων προσάγεταν" οὕτω πολλῆς οὔτης καὶ ἐν τῇ φυχιχῇ νόσῳ τῆς τῶν παθῶν ποικιλίας, ἀναγκαίως πυλνειδὴς γενήσεται ἡ θεραπευτιχὴ ἐπιμέλεια, πρὸς λόγον τοῦ πάθους ἐνεργοῦσα τὴν ἴασιν. Ὡς δ' ἂν γένοιτό τις τεχνικὴ μέθοδος περὶ τοῦ προχειμένου προδλήματος, οὕτω τὸν. Τρία ἐστὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν θεωρούμενα χατὰ τὴν πρώτην διαίρεσιν τό τε λογιχὸν, καὶ τὸ ἐπιθυμητιχὸν, καὶ τὸ θυμοειδές. Ἐν τούτοις ἐστὶ καὶ τὰ χατορθώματα τῶν κατ᾽ ἀρετὴν βιούντων, καὶ τὰ πτώματα τῶν εἰς χαχίαν ἀποῤῥεόντων. Διὸ προσἥκει τὸν μέλλοντα τὴν χατάλληλον θεραπείαν προσἄγειν τῷ νενοσηχότι τῆς ψυχῆς μέρει, πρότερον μὲν ἐπισχέπτεσθαι ἐν τίνι συνέστη τὸ πάθος " εἶθ᾽ οὕτω πεπονθότι προσάγειν ἁρμοδίως τὴν θεραπείαν " ὥστε μὴ δι᾽ ἀπειρίαν τῆς θεραπευτικῆς μεθόδον, ἄλλο μὲν ἧ τὸ νοσῇσαν μέρος, ἕτερον δὲ τὸ τὴν θεραπείαν δεχόμενον" ὥσπερ ἀμέλει βλέπομεν πολλοὺς τῶν ἰατρῶν ἐν ἀπειρίᾳ τοῦ πρωτοπαθοῦντος μέρους προσεπιτρίἔοντας τὴν νόσον δι᾽ ὧν θεραπεύουσι. Τῆς γὰρ ἀῤῥωστίας οὔσης πολλάχις κατὰ θερμοῦ ἐπιχράτησιν, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς κατὰ πλεονασμὸν τοῦ ψυχροῦ χεχαχωμένοις χρήσιμον τὸ θερμαῖνόν τε καὶ ἀναθάλπον ἐστὶ, τὸ τούτοις χατὰ λόγον συνενεγχὸν, ἀπερισχέπτως τὸ αὐτὸ τοῖς ἐν ἀμετρίᾳ θερμότητος ἐχκαιομένοις ἐπἀγαγόντες, δυσίατον τὸ πάθος ἐποίησαν. "Ὥσπερ τοίνυν ἀναγχαιοτάτη τοῖς ἰατροῖς ἐνομίσθη ἡ κατανόησις τῆς τῶν στοιχείων ἰδιότητος, ὅπω; ἂν ἑκάστου. τῶν εὖ ἣ χαχῶς διαχειμένων γένοιτο τοῦ παρὰ φύσιν διατεθέντος ἡ ἐπανόρθωσις - οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ ταύτην ἀναδραμόντες τὴν διαίρεσιν τῶν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ θεωρουμένων, ἀρχὴν καὶ ὑπόθεσιν τῆς χαταλλήλου. τῶν παθῶν θεραπείας ποιησώμεθα τὴν γενικὴν θεωρίαν. Οὐχοῦν τριχῆ, χαθὼς ἔφαμεν:, διῃρημένης τῆς ἰδίοτητος τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς χινημάτων:, εἰς τὸ λογιστιχόν τε καὶ ἐπιθυμητιχὸν καὶ θυμοειδές " χατόρθωμα μὲν τοῦ λογιστιχοῦ μέρους τῆς ψυχᾶς ἐστιν, ἡ εὖσεδὴς περὶ τὸ Θεῖον ὑπόληψις, καὶ ἢ τοῦ καλοῦ τε καὶ χαχοῦ διαχριτιχὴ ἐπιστήμη, κκαὶ ἡ τρανὴν τε καὶ ἀσύγχυτον ἔχουσα περὶ τῆς φύσεως τῶν ὑποκειμένων τὴν δόξαν " τί μέν ἐστιν αἱρετὸν ἕν τοῖς οὖσι - τί δὲ βδελυχτὸν καὶ ἀπόδλητον, Καὶ πάλιν ἐχ τοῦ ἕναν τίου πάντως ἡ ἐν τῷ μέρει τούτῳ χαχία θεωρηθὲ σεται, ὅταν ἀσέθεια μὲν ἣ περὶ τὸ Θεῖον, ἀχρισία δὲ περὶ τὸ ὄντως καλόν" ἐνηλλαγμένη δὲ καὶ ἐσφαλμένη ἡ περὶ τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων φύσιν ὑπόληψις, ὥστε τιθέναι τὸ ρῶς σκότος, καὶ τὸ σκότος φῶς, χαθώς φησιν ἡ Γραφή. Τοῦ δὲ ἐπιθυμητικοῦ μερους. ἡ μὲν ἐνάρετός ἔστι χίνησις τὸ πρὸς τὸ ὄντως ἑπυθυμητιχὸν, καὶ ἀληθῶς χαλὸν ἀνάγεσθαι τὸν πόθον " καὶ εἴ τις ἐν ἡμῖν ἐρωτιχὴ δύναμίς τε καὶ διάθεσις, ἐκεῖ. κατασχολεῖσθαι πᾶσαν, ἐν τῷ πεπεῖσθαι μηδὲν

### English translation (Claude)

… the aim of the healing art is one, to make the sick person well, but the form of the care differs; for according to the variety of illnesses the therapeutic method is applied suitably to each of the diseases. So, since in the sickness of the soul too the variety of passions is great, the therapeutic care will necessarily take many forms, effecting the cure in proportion to the passion. That there may be some methodical approach to the problem before us, [we shall proceed] thus. [1] Three things are observed in our soul according to the first division: the rational, the desiring, and the spirited. In these lie both the right actions of those who live according to virtue and the falls of those who slip away into vice. Therefore one who is to apply the suitable treatment to the part of the soul that has fallen sick must first examine in which part the passion has arisen, and then apply the treatment fittingly to what has suffered, so that through inexperience of the method of healing it is not one part that is sick and another that receives the treatment. So indeed we see many physicians, through ignorance of the part first affected, aggravating the disease by the very means with which they treat it. For when the illness is often due to a predominance of heat, since for those harmed by an excess of cold what warms and heats is useful, they thoughtlessly apply the same remedy that reasonably benefited the latter to those who are burning with excessive heat, and so make the condition hard to cure. Just as, then, physicians have held it most necessary to understand the property of the elements, so that the correction of whatever is in a state contrary to nature may come about in each of those who are well or ill disposed, so we too, going back to this division of what is observed in the soul, shall make the general theory the starting point and foundation of a treatment suited to the passions. Since, then, as we said, the property of the movements of the soul is divided threefold, into the reasoning, the desiring and the spirited, the right action of the reasoning part of the soul is a pious conception of the Divine, the knowledge that discerns good and evil, and a clear and unconfused opinion about the nature of things: what among beings is to be chosen, and what is loathsome and to be rejected. And again, from the contrary, the vice in this part will certainly be observed when there is impiety toward the Divine, lack of judgment about what is truly good, and a perverted and mistaken conception of the nature of things, so as to “put light for darkness and darkness for light,” as the Scripture says. Of the desiring part, the virtuous movement is to raise one's longing toward what is truly desirable and really good, and, if there is in us any power and disposition of love, to spend it all there, in being persuaded that nothing

### Scripture references

- Isa 5:20: quotation, high confidence

### Extrabiblical texts

- Plato, Resp. 4.439d–441a (Plato (works)): allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- The first words of the sentence (probably “For just as in bodily medicine”) and words after “thus” are lost in the scan's OCR, marked “…” and supplied in brackets by sense. Canon 1 begins at “Three things are observed”. The threefold soul (rational, desiring, spirited) is the Platonic division. Quotation: Isa 5:20. Leaked fragments of Migne's Latin and footnotes were removed by logged corrections.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Ep. can. 223 (PG 45:223; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/223).

## Canonical Letter, Migne PG 45:225

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221/#p-225
- Source: PG 45:225
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Gregory describes the right actions and failings of the desire and of the spirit, then sets lifelong penance for willing apostasy and a fixed term for those who denied under torture, and begins on those who consult sorcerers.

### Greek text

ὁρεχτὸν εἶναι τῇ ἑαυτοῦ φύσει ἄλλο, πλὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς, καὶ τῆς τὴν ἀρετὴν πηγαζούσης φύσεως. Παρατροπὴ δὲ καὶ ἁμαρτία τοῦ τοιούτου μέρους ἐστὶν, ὅταν τις μεταγάγῃ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν πρὸς τὴν ἀνυπόστατον κενοδοξίαν" ἢ πρὸς τὸ ἐπιχεχρωσμένον τοῖς σώμασιν ἄνθος " ὅθεν γίνεται ἡ φιλοχρηματία, καὶ ἡ φιλοδοξία, καὶ ἣ φιλῃδονία, καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, ὅσα ποῦ τοιούτου ἤρτηται τῆς χαχίας γένους. Πάλιν δὲ τῆς θυμώδους διαθέσεως χατόρθωμα μέν ἐστιν ἡ πρὸς τὸ χαχὸν ἀπέχθεια, καὶ ὁ πρὸς τὰ πάθη πόλεμος, καὶ τὸ πρὸς ἀνδρείαν ἐστομᾶσθαι τὴν ψυχὴν, ἐν τῷ μὴ καταπτήσσειν τὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς φοδερὰ μενα, ἀλλὰ μέχρις αἵματος πρὸ; τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνκαὶ ἀλγεινῶν χολαστηρίων, καὶ τῆς τῶν ἡδίστων διαζεύξεως, καὶ πάντων ἅπαξ τῶν διά τινος συνηθείας Β καὶ προλήψεως ἐν ἡδονῇ τοὺς πολλοὺς χατεχόντων χρείττονα γενέσθαι, τῆς τε πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς προμαχόμενον. Τὰ δὲ ἀποπτώβματα τοῦ τοιούτου μέρους ὀστὶν ἅπασι πρόδηλα, ὁ φθόνος, τὸ μῖσος, ἡ μῆνις, αἱ λοιδορίαι, αἱ συμπλοκαὶ, αἱ ἐμφιλόνειχοί τε καὶ ἀμυντικαὶ διαθέσεις, αἱ μέχρι πολλοῦ παρατείνουσαι τὴν μνησιχαχίαν, καὶ πολλοὺς εἰς φόνους καὶ αἵματα χαταθήγουσαι. Μὴ γὰρ εὑρὼν ὁ ἀπαίδευτος λογισμὸς ὅπου χρήσηται λυσιτελῶς τῷ ὅπλῳ, ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτὸν τρέπει τὴν τοῦ σιδήρου ἀχμὴν " καὶ γίνετα! τὸ ἐχ Θεοῦ δοθὲν ἡμῖν ἀμυντήριον ὅπλον τῷ χα- Τούτων τοίνυν κατὰ τὸν εἰρημένον διαχρινηθέντων τρόπον, ὅσα μὲν ἁμαρτήματα τοῦ λογιστιχοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς ἅπτεται μέρους, χαλεπώτερα παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων ἐχρίθη, καὶ μείζονος καὶ διαρχεστέρας καὶ ἐπιπονωτέρας τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ἄξια - οἷον εἴ τις ἢρνήσατο τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν, ἣ πρὸς Ἰουδαϊσμὸν, ἣ πρὸς εἰδωλολατρείαν, ἣ πρὸς Μανιχαϊσμὸν, ἣ πρὸς ἄλλο τι ποιοῦτον ἀθεῖας εἶδος αὐτομολήσας ἐφάνη, ὁ μὲν ἐχουσίως ἐπὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον ὁρμήσας καχὸν, εἶτα χαταγνοὺς ἑαυτοῦ, χρόνον τὸν τῆς μετανοίας ἔχει, ὅλον τὸν τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ. Οὐδέποτε γὰρ μυστικῆς ἐπιτελουμένης εὐχῆς, μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ προσχυνῇῆσαι τὸν Θεὸ» καταξιοῦται, ἀλλὰ καταμόνας μὲν εὔξεται - τῆς δὲ χοινωνίας τῶν ἁγιασμάτων χαθόλου ἀλλότριος ἕσται " ἐν δὲ τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς ἐξόδου αὐτοῦ, τότε τῆς τοῦ ἀγιάσματος μερίδος ἀξιωθήσεται. Εἰ δὲ συμβαίη παρ᾽ ἐλπίδας ζῆσαι αὐτὸν, πάλιν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματι διαδιώσεται, ἀμέτοχος τῶν μυστικῶν ἁγιασμάτων μέχρι τῆς ἐξόδου γινόμενος. Οἱ δὲ βασάνοις καὶ τιμωρίαις χαλεπαῖς αἰχισθέντες, ἐν ῥητῷ χρόνῳ ἐπετιμήθησαν, οὕτω τῶν ἀγίων Πατέρων φιλανθρωπίᾳ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν χρησαμένων, ὡς οὐχὶ ψυχῆς γεγενημένης ἐν πτώματι, ἀλλὰ τῆς σωματικῆς ἀσθενείας πρὸς πὰς αἰκίας οὐχ ἀντισχούσης. Διὸ τῷ μέτρῳ τῶν ἐν πορνείᾳ πλημμελησάντων, καὶ ἡ βεόδιασμένη τε καὶ Οἱ ὃὲ πρὸς γόητας ἀπιόντες, ἢ μάντεις, ἣ τοὺς διὰ δαιμόνων χαθάρσιά τινα καὶ ἀποτροπιασμοῦς ἐνεργεῖν ὑπισχνουμένους, οὗτοι ἐρωτῶνται δι᾽ ἀχριθεία; καὶ ἀναχρίνονται, πότερον ἐπιμένοντες τῇ εἰς

### English translation (Claude)

is desirable by its own nature except virtue and the nature that is the source of virtue. The deviation and sin of this part is when someone transfers desire to empty vainglory or to the bloom that colours bodies; from this arise love of money, love of glory, love of pleasure, and all such things as depend on this kind of vice. Again, the right action of the spirited disposition is hatred of evil, war against the passions, and the steeling of the soul to courage, so as not to cower before what the many find frightening, but [to resist] sin even to blood … and painful punishments, and separation from what is dearest, and, in a word, to become stronger than everything that holds the many fast in pleasure through some habit and preconception, fighting in defence of faith and virtue. The failings of this part are plain to all: envy, hatred, wrath, abuse, brawls, contentious and vengeful dispositions which prolong resentment for a long time and drive many to murders and bloodshed. For untrained reason, not finding where to use the weapon profitably, turns the edge of the iron against itself, and the weapon of defence given us by God becomes [a weapon] for … [2] These things having been distinguished in the manner stated, the sins that touch the reasoning part of the soul were judged by the Fathers more grievous, and deserving of a greater, longer and more laborious conversion: for example, if someone denied faith in Christ and was found to have deserted to Judaism, or to idolatry, or to Manichaeism, or to some other such form of godlessness. The one who rushed into such an evil willingly and then condemned himself has as the time of his repentance the whole time of his life. For he is never deemed worthy to worship God with the people when the mystical prayer is performed, but will pray by himself, and will be wholly excluded from the communion of the holy things; but in the hour of his departure he will then be deemed worthy of a share in the holy thing. And if it should happen that he lives beyond expectation, he will again live under the same judgment, having no share in the mystical holy things until his departure. But those who were tormented with tortures and grievous punishments were given a penance for a fixed time, the holy Fathers using such kindness toward them because it was not the soul that had fallen, but the body's weakness had not held out against the torments. Therefore by the measure of those who have sinned in sexual immorality the forced and … [3] Those who go to sorcerers or diviners, or to those who promise to perform certain purifications and averting rites through demons, are questioned and examined with exactness whether, remaining in the

### Scripture references

- Heb 12:4: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Canon 2 begins at “These things having been distinguished”, canon 3 at “Those who go to sorcerers”. Words are lost in the scan's OCR, marked “…”: after “even to blood” (Heb 12:4; probably “to resist, and not to fear threats of death”), at the end of the description of anger, and after “the forced and”, where the sentence seems to say that denial forced by torture is assessed by the measure set for sexual immorality. “The mystical prayer” is the eucharistic prayer; “the holy things” (τὰ ἁγιάσματα) the eucharistic elements. Leaked Latin was removed by a logged correction.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Ep. can. 225 (PG 45:225; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/225).

## Canonical Letter, Migne PG 45:227

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221/#p-227
- Source: PG 45:227
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Gregory distinguishes apostasy to sorcery from deceived recourse to it, then defines sexual immorality and adultery: there is one lawful union, and adultery, which wrongs another, receives double the penance.

### Greek text

Χριστὸν πίστει, ὑπ᾽ ἀνάγχης τινὸς συνηνέχθησαν ἐχείνῃ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, καχώσεώς τινος, ἢ ἀφορήτου ζημίας ταύτην αὐτοῖς τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐμποιησάσης " ἣ καθόλου καταφρονήσαντες τοῦ πεπιστευμένου παρ᾽ ἡμῶν μαρτυρίου, τῇ τῶν δαιμόνων συμμαχίᾳ προσἐδραμον. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἀθετήσει τῆς πίστεως καὶ πρὸς τὸ μὴ πιστεύειν εἶναι Θεὸν τὸν παρὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν προσχυνούμενον, ἐχεῖνο ἐποίησαν, δηλαδὴ τῷ χρίματι τῶν παραδάντων ὑπαχθήσονται. Εἰ δέ τις ἀδάαὐτῶν, εἰς τοῦτο προσήγαγε διά τινος ἡπατημένης ἐλπίδος παραχρουσθέντα:, ὡσαύτως ἔσται καὶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἡ φιλανθρωπία, καθ᾽ ὁμοιότητα τῶν πρὸς τὰς βασάνους ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ὁμολογίας ἀντισχεῖν μὴ δυνηθέντων. ἁμαρτημάτων τοιαύτη ἐστὶν ἡ διαίρεσις " τὸ μὲν γὰρ χαλεῖται μοιχεία, τὸ δὲ πορνεία. Τισὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἀχριδεστέρων ἤρεσε καὶ τὸ κατὰ πορνείαν πλημμέλημα, μοιχείαν εἶναι νομίζειν. Διότι μία ἐστὶν ἡ νόμίμος συζυγία,, καὶ γυναιχὶ πρὸς ἄνδρα, καὶ ἀνδρὶ πρὸς γυναῖχα. Πᾶν οὖν τὸ μὴ νόμιμον παράνομον πάντως, καὶ ὁ μὴ τὸ ἴδιον ἔχων, δηλαδὴ τὸ ἀλλότρῖον ἔχει " τῷ γὰρ ἀνθρώπῳ μία δέδοται παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ βοηθὸς, καὶ τῇ γυνα:χὶ μέα ἐφήρμοσται χεφαλή. Οὐχοῦν εἰ μέν τις τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ σχεῦος., χαθὼς ὀνομάζει ὁ θεῖος ᾿Απόστολος, ἑωυτῷ συγχωρεῖ ὁ νόμος τῆς φύσεως τὴν δικαίαν χρῆσιν. Εἰ δέ τις ἕξω τοῦ ἰδίου τραπείη, ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ πάντως γενήσεται ἀλλότριον δὲ ἑχάστῳ πᾶν τὸ μὴ ἴδιον, χἂυ μὴ ὁμολογούμενον ἔχε: τὸν χυριεύοντα. Οὔχουν πόῤῥω τοῦ χατὰ τὴν μοιχείαν πλημμελήματος, καὶ ἡ πορνεία τοῖς τὸν ἀχριδέστερον ἐξετάζουσι λόγον ἐδείχθη, λεγούσης καὶ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς " ὅτε Μὴ πολὺς ἴσθι πρὸς ἀλλοτρίαν " πλὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ τοῖς ἀσθενεστέροις ἐγένετό τις παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων συμπεριφορὰ, διεχρίθη τὸ πλημμέλημα τῇ γενιχῇ διαιρέσει ταύτῃ, ὡς πορνείαν μὲν εἶναι καὶ λέγεσθαι, τὴν χωρὶς ἀδιχίας ἑτέρου γινομένην τισὶ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἐκπλήρωσιν " μοιχείαν δὲ, τὴν ἐπιδουλήν τε καὶ τὴν ἀδιχίαν τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου. Ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ καὶ τὴν ζωοφθορίαν καὶ τὴν παιδεραστίαν εἶναι λογίζονται " διότι καὶ ταῦτα φύσεώς ἔστι μοιχεία. Εῤς γὰρ τὸ ἀλλότριόν τε καὶ παρὰ φύσιν γίνεται ἡ ἀδιχία. Ταύτης Ὁ τοίνυν τῆς διαιρέσεως καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ εἶδε: τῆς ἁμαρπίας γεγενημένης, χαθολιχὴ μέν ἔστι θεραπεία, τὸ τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς λύσσηφ, τῆς περὶ τὰς τοιαύτας ἡδονὰς, χαθαρὸν ἐχ μεταμελείας γενέσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον " ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἐν πορνείᾳ μολυνθέντων ἀδιχία τις τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ταύτῃ οὐ καταμέμιχται " διὰ τοῦτο διπλάσεον ὡρίσθη τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ὁ χρόνος τοῖς ἐν μοιχείᾳ μιανθεῖσι, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ἀπηγορευμένοις χαχοῖς, ζωοφθορίᾳ τε καὶ τῇ χατὰ τοὺς ἄῤῥενας λύσσῃ " διπλασιάζεται γὰρ, ὡς εἶπον, ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἣ ἁμαρτία. Μία μὲν ἣ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου ἀδιχίαν συνισταμένη. Διαφορὰ δέ τίς ἐστιν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς μετανοίας, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κατὰ ἡδονὴν πλημμελούντων

### English translation (Claude)

faith in Christ, they were drawn into that sin by some necessity, some affliction or unbearable loss having produced this impulse in them, or whether, wholly despising the testimony entrusted to us, they ran to the alliance of demons. For if they did this in rejection of the faith, so as not to believe that the God worshipped by Christians exists, they will clearly be brought under the judgment of the apostates. But if someone … of them, led to this, deceived by some false hope, there will likewise be kindness in their case too, after the likeness of those who could not hold out against tortures in the time of confession. [4] … the division of [the] sins [of the desiring part] is this: the one is called adultery, the other sexual immorality. Some of the more exact have thought fit to regard even the offence of sexual immorality as adultery, because there is one lawful union, of a woman to a man and of a man to a woman. Everything that is not lawful is therefore certainly unlawful, and he who does not have his own clearly has what belongs to another; for to the man one helper has been given by God, and to the woman one head has been fitted. So if someone [has] his own vessel, as the divine Apostle names it, the law of nature allows him its just use. But if someone turns aside outside his own, he will certainly be in what belongs to another; and everything that is not one's own belongs to another, even if it has no acknowledged master. So sexual immorality was shown by those who examine the matter more exactly to be not far from the offence of adultery, since the divine Scripture too says: “Do not be much with a strange woman.” Nevertheless, since some accommodation was made by the Fathers for the weaker, the offence was distinguished by this general division: sexual immorality is, and is called, the fulfilment of desire by some persons that takes place without wrong to another; adultery is plotting against and wronging what belongs to another. In this [class] they reckon also bestiality and pederasty, because these too are adultery against nature; for the wrong is done to what is another's and contrary to nature. With this division made in this form of sin too, the general treatment is that the person become pure, through repentance, of the passionate frenzy for such pleasures; but in the case of those defiled by sexual immorality no wrong is mixed with this sin. For this reason the time of conversion was set at double for those stained with adultery and with the other forbidden evils, bestiality and the frenzy for males; for, as I said, in such cases the sin is double: one … that which consists in wronging what is another's. There is also a difference in the account of repentance even among those who sin by pleasure, as follows.

### Scripture references

- Gen 2:18: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 11:3: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Thess 4:4: allusion, high confidence
- Prov 5:20: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Canon 4 begins at “the division of sins”; its first words (probably “The division of the sins of the desiring part”) are lost with leaked Latin in the scan's OCR, marked “…”. The scan's “ἀδάαὐτῶν” (“someone … of them”) is garbled; the sense is that one of those who went to sorcerers was deceived into it. In “one … that which consists in wronging” a phrase is lost; the sense is that adultery adds to unlawful pleasure the wrong done to another. Terms: μοιχεία “adultery”, πορνεία “sexual immorality”; “union” renders συζυγία. Gregory reports that some stricter teachers counted all sexual immorality as adultery, but that the Fathers distinguished the two. “Helper”: Gen 2:18; “head”: 1 Cor 11:3; Eph 5:23; “his own vessel”: 1 Thess 4:4; “Do not be much with a strange woman”: Prov 5:20 (LXX). Leaked Latin was removed by logged corrections.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Ep. can. 227 (PG 45:227; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/227).

## Canonical Letter, Migne PG 45:229

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221/#p-229
- Source: PG 45:229
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Gregory sets nine years of graded penance for sexual immorality, which the bishop may shorten for earnest penitents, double that for adultery and sins against nature, and begins on murder, distinguishing voluntary from involuntary.

### Greek text

τοιαύτη. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἐξαγόρευσιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁρμήσας, αὐτῷ τὸ καταδέξασθαι δι᾽ οἰχείας ὁρμῆς γενέσθαι τῶν χρυφίων χατἤγορος " ὡς ἤδη τῆς θεραπείας τοῦ πάθους ἀρξάμενος, καὶ σημεῖον τῆς πρὸς τὸ χρεῖττον μεταδολῆς ἐπιδειξάμενος, ἐν φιλανθρωποτέροις γίνεται τοῖς ἐπιτιμίοις. Ὁ δὲ φωραθεὶς ἐπὶ τῷ χαχῷ, ἣ διά τινος ὑποψίας ἣ χατηγορίας ἀχουσίως ἀπελεγχθεὶς, ἐν ἐπιτεταμένῃ γίνεται τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ " ὥστε χαθαρισθέντα δι᾽ ἀχριδείας αὐτὸν, οὕτως ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν ἁγιασμάτων χοινωνίαν παραδεχθῆναι. "Ἔστι τοίνυν ὁ χανὼν τοιοῦτος, ὥστε τοὺς ἐν πορνείᾳ μολυνθέντας, ἐν τρισὶ μὲν ἕτεσι χαθόλου τῆς εὐχῆς ἀποδλήτους εἶναι" ἐν τρισὶ δὲ τῆς ἀχροάσεως μετέχειν μόνης, ἐν ἄλλοις δὲ τρισὶν ἔτεσι μετὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ ὑποπιπτόντων προσεύχεσθαι, καὶ τότε μετέχειν τῶν ἁγιασμάτων. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν σπουδαιότερον χεχρημένων τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ, καὶ τῷ βίῳ δεικνύντων τὴν πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐπάνοδον, ἔξεστι τῷ οἰχονομοῦντι πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον τὴν ἐχχλησιαστιχὴν οἰχονομίαν, συντεμεῖν τὸν χρόνον τῆς ἀχροάσεως, καὶ τάχιον εἰς ἔπιστροφὴν ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ πάλιν καὶ τοῦτον συντεμεῖν τὸν χρόνον, καὶ τάχιον ἀποδοῦναι τὴν χοινωνίαν, ὅπως ἂν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δοχιμασίᾳ ἐχχρίνῃ τὴν τοῦ θεραπευομένου χατάστασιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ τοῖς χοίροις ῥίπτειν τὸν μαργαρίτην ἀπείρηται, οὕτω τὸ ἀποστερεῖν τοῦ τιμίου μαργαρίτου τὸν ἤδη ἄνθρωπον διὰ τῆς χαθαωρότητός τε καὶ ἀπαθείας γενόμενον, τῶν ἀτόπων ἐστίν. Ἡ δὲ χατὰ μοιχείαν ἧτοι καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ εἴδη τῆς: ἀκαθαρσίας γενομένη παρανομία, χαθὼς προείρῆται, κατὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ αὑτῷ χρίματι θεραπευθήσεται, ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὸ τῆς πορνείας ἄγος " τῷ δὲ χρόνῳ διπλασιάζεται. Παρατηρηθήσεται δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ ἡ ποὔ θεραπευομένον διάθεσις, ὃν τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τῷ μολυσμῷ τῆς πορνείας συνενεχθέντων, ὥστε ἣ θᾶττον ἣ βραδύτερον γενέσθαι αὐτοῖς τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίαν. Λείπεται πρὸς τούτοις τὸ θυμοειδὲς τῆς ψυχῆς προθεῖναι εἰς ἐξέτασιν, ὅταν παρασφαλεῖσα τῆς ἀγαθῇς τοῦ θυμοῦ χρήσεως, εἰς ἁμαρτίαν ἐχπέσῃ. Πολλῶν πε ὄντων χατὰ θυμὸν εἰς ἁμαρτίαν ἐνεργουμένων, καὶ πάντων χαχῶν, ἤρεσέ πως τοῖς Πατράσιν ἡμῶν, ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις μὴ λίαν ἀχριδολογεῖσθαι, μηδὲ πολλῆς ἄξιον ἡγεῖσθαι σπουδῆς, τὸ θεραπεύειν πάντα τὰ ἐχ ἢ) θυμοῦ παραπτώματα " καί τοί γε τῆς Γραφῆς, οὐ μόνον τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπαγορενούσης πληγήν ᾿ ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσαν λοιδορίαν, ἣ βλασφημίαν, καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο τοιοὔτον ὁ θυμὸς ἀπεργάζεται" μόνον δὲ τοῦ χατὰ τὸν φόνον ἄγους τὴν παραφυλαχὴν ἐποιήσαντο, διὰ τῶν ἐπιτιμίων. Διήρηται δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτον χαχὸν τῇ διαφορᾷ τοῦ ἑἐχουσίου τε καὶ ἀχουσίον, ἐν οἷς ἐχούσιος μέν ἐστι φόνος. Πρῶτον μὲν, ὁ ἐκ παρασχευῆς τετολμημένος τοῦ εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο εὐτρεπισαμένου, ὅπως ἂν τὸ ἄγος ἐργάσηται. Ἕπειτα δὲ χἀχεῖνος ἐν τοῖς ἐχουσίοις ἐνομίσθη, ὅταν τις ἐν συμπλοχῇ καὶ μάχῃ, τύπτων τὰ καὶ τυπτόμενος, ἐνέγχῃ κατά τινος καιρίου τὴν διὰ τῆς χειρὸς πληγήν. Ὁ γὰρ ἅπαξ τῷ θυμῷ κρατηθεὶς, καὶ τῇ ὁρμῇ τῆς ὀργῆς χαριζόμενος, οὐδὲν ἂν παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ πάθους τῶν ἀναχόψαι τὸ χαχὸν δυναμένων

### English translation (Claude)

The one who of his own accord comes forward to confess the sin, in that by his own impulse he accepted to become the accuser of his hidden deeds, as one who has already begun the cure of the passion and shown a sign of change for the better, is placed under more lenient penalties. But the one caught in the evil, or convicted against his will through some suspicion or accusation, is placed under a stricter conversion, so that he is received into the communion of the holy things only after being cleansed with exactness. The canon, then, is this: those defiled by sexual immorality are for three years wholly excluded from the prayer; for three they share only in the hearing; for another three years they pray with those who prostrate themselves in conversion; and then they share in the holy things. But in the case of those who have pursued conversion more earnestly and show by their life their return to the good, it is permitted to the one who administers the church's dispensation for their benefit to shorten the time of hearing and bring them sooner to the [stage of] conversion, and again to shorten this time too and restore communion sooner, as he judges by his own examination the state of the one being healed. For just as throwing the pearl to swine is forbidden, so to deprive of the precious pearl one who has already become [a new] man through purity and freedom from passion is absurd. But the transgression committed by adultery, or by the other forms of uncleanness, as was said before, will be treated in every respect under the same judgment as the pollution of sexual immorality, but in time it is doubled. In this case too the disposition of the one being healed will be observed, in the same way as with those who fell into the defilement of sexual immorality, so that the share in the good comes to them either sooner or later. [5] It remains, besides these, to set the spirited part of the soul up for examination, when, having slipped from the good use of anger, it falls into sin. Though there are many sins worked through anger, and all of them evil, it pleased our Fathers somehow not to be very exact about the others, nor to think it worth much effort to treat all the faults that come from anger, although the Scripture forbids not only the mere blow, but also every abuse or blasphemy and whatever else of the kind anger produces; they made provision by penalties only against the pollution of murder. This evil is divided by the difference between the voluntary and the involuntary. Among these, voluntary murder is, first, that dared out of preparation by one who has equipped himself for this very purpose, so that he may commit the pollution. Next, this too was reckoned among the voluntary: when someone in a scuffle and fight, striking and being struck, brings down the blow of his hand on some vital part. For one who has once been mastered by anger and gives way to the impulse of wrath would take no thought, in the moment of passion, of anything that could check the evil …

### Scripture references

- Matt 7:6: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Canon 5 begins at “It remains”. The three stages are exclusion from the prayer, hearing (the readings and sermon), and prayer with the prostrators, before readmission to communion. Gregory gives the voluntary confessor lighter penance than one convicted against his will. The scan reads ψυχήν where ψιλήν (“mere”, of the blow) is required by sense; translated so. The pearl and swine: Matt 7:6. The scan's OCR breaks off at the end of the column (marked “…”), with leaked Latin removed by a logged correction.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Ep. can. 229 (PG 45:229; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/229).

## Canonical Letter, Migne PG 45:231

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221/#p-231
- Source: PG 45:231
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Gregory sets twenty-seven years of graded penance for voluntary murder and nine for involuntary, both shortenable, allows communion to the dying, and turns to covetousness, which the Fathers left without penalty.

### Greek text

πέλεσμα τοῦ φόνου, εἰς ἔργον προαιρέσεως, καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἀποτυχίαν ἀνάγεται. Οἱ δὲ ἀχούσιοι φανερὰ ἔχουσι πὰ γνωρίσματα " ὅταν τις πρὸς ἕτερόν τι τὴν σπουδὴν ἔχων, ἐξ ἀποτυχίας τι τῶν ἀνηχέστων δράσῃ. Ἐπὶ τούτων τοίνυν ὁ μὲν φόνος, εἰς τριπλασίονα χρόνον παρατείνεται, τοῖς δι᾽ ἐπιστροφῆς θεραπευομένοις τὸ ἑχούσιον ἄγος. Τρισεννέα γάρ εἰσιν ἐνιαυ-ποὶ, καθ᾽ ἕκαστον βαθμὸν τῆς ἐννάδος τῶν ἐτῶν ὀρι-» σθείσης, ὥστε ἐν μὲν τῷ παντελεῖ ἀφορισμῷ, χρόνον διαγενέσθαι ἀπειργόμενον τῆς Ἐχχλησίας" ἄλλα δὲ τοσαῦτα ἔτη ἐν τῇ ἀχροάσει παραμεῖναι, μόνης τῶν διδασχάλων καὶ τῆς τῶν Γραφῶν ἀχροάσεως, καὶ μετὰ τῆς τοῦ λαοῦ συστάσεως ἀξιούμενον, ἐν δὲ τρίτῃ ἐννάδι, μετὰ τῶν ὑποπιπτόντων ἐν τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ προσευχόμενον, οὕτως ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν μετουσίαν τοῦ ἁγιάσματος " δηλαδὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ τοιούτου, ἡ αὐτὴ προπστήρησις ἔσται παρὰ τοῦ οἰχονομοῦντος τὴν Ἐχχλησίαν, καὶ πρὸς λόγον πῆς ἐπιστροφῆς συντμηθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ ἦ τοῦ ἐπιτιμίου “παράτασις, ὥστε ἀντὶ ἐννέα ἑτῶν, ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ βαθμῷ ὀχτὼ ἢ ἑπτὰ ἢ ἕξ, ἣ καὶ πέντε μόνα γενέσθαι" εἴπερ τὸ μέγεθος τῇς ἐπιστροφῇς νιχοίη τὸν χρόνον, καὶ ὑπερδάλλουτο τῇ σπουδῇ τῆς διορθώσεως τοὺς ἐν τῇ μαχρᾷ προθεσμίᾳ ῥᾳθυμότερόν πως ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς χηλίδος χαθαίροντας. Τὸ δὲ ἀκούσιον, συγγνωστὸν μὲν, οὐ μὴν ἐπαινετὸν ἐκρίθη. Τοῦτο δὲ εἶπον, ὥστε δῆλον γενέσθαι, ὅτι χἂν ἀχουσίως τις γένηται ἐν τῷ τοῦ φόνου μιάσμασι, ὡς ἤδη βέδηλον αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄγους γενόμενον, ἀπόδλητον χάριτος ὁ κανὼν ἀπεφήνατο " ὅσος δὲ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῇ Ψιλῇ πορνείᾳ τοῦ χαθαρσίου ὁ χρόνος, τοσοῦτος καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀχουσίως πεφονευχότων ἐδοκιμάσθη καλὸν ἔχειν, δηλαδὴ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τῆς προαιρέσεως τοῦ μεἡ ἐπιστροφὴ, μὴ πάντως παραφυλαχθῇναι τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν ἐτῶν, ἀλλὰ διὰ συντομία: ἀγαγεῖν αὑτὸν εἰς τὴν τῆς Ἐχχλησίας ἀποχατάστασιν, καὶ εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίαν. Εἰ δέ τις μὴ πληρώσας τὸν χρόνον τὸν ἐκ τῶν κανόνων ἀφωρισμένον, ἐξ'δεύοι τοῦ βίου " χελεύει ἡ τῶν Ἡατέρων φιλανθρωπία μετασχόντα τῶν ἁγιασμάτων, μὴ χενὸν τοῦ ἐφοδίου πρὸς τὴν ἐσχάτην ἐχείνην καὶ μαχρὰν ἀποδημίαν ἐχπεμφθῆναι. Εἰ δὲ μετασχὼν τοῦ ἁγιάσματος, πάλιν εἰς τὴν ζωὴν νῳ τῷ βαθμῷ γενόμενον, ἐν ᾧ ἣν πρὸ τῆς κατὰ ἀνάγκὴν αὐτῷ δοθείσης χοινωνίας. Τὸ δὲ εἶδος τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας - οὕτω γὰρ ὀνομάζει τὴν πλεονεξίαν ὁ θεῖος ᾿Απόστολος" οὐχ οἶδα ὅπως ἀθεράπευτον ὑπὸ τῶν Πατέρων ἡμῶν περιώφθη. Καί τοί γε δοχεῖ τὸ τοιοῦτον χαχὸν τῆς τρίτης ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ καταστάσεως πάθος εἶναι. Καὶ γὰρ λογισμὸς τῆς τοῦ χαλοῦ χρίσεως ἁμαρτάνων, ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ τὸ χαλὸν εἶναι φαντάζεται, οὐ πρὸς τὸ ἄῦλον ἀναθλέπων χάλλος, καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία πρὰς τὰ κάτω δεῖ, τοῦ ἀληθοῦς ὀρεχτοῦ ῥέουσα. Καὶ ἡ φιλόνειχός τε καὶ θυμώδης διάθεσις, πολλὰς ἐκ «ἧς τοιαύτης ἁμαρτίας τὰς ἀφορμὰς λαμ-

### English translation (Claude)

… the outcome of the murder is referred to an act of choice, and not to accident. Involuntary [murders] have clear marks: when someone, intent on something else, does something irreparable by accident. In these cases, then, murder, the voluntary pollution, is extended for those healed by conversion to three times the time. For there are thrice nine years, a nine-year period being set for each stage: so that in complete excommunication he spends [that] time excluded from the church; remains as many years again in the hearing, deemed worthy only of hearing the teachers and the Scriptures, together with the standing [?] of the people; and in the third nine-year period, praying with those who prostrate themselves in conversion, so comes to participation in the holy thing. Clearly in such a case too the same observation will be made by the one who administers the church, and in proportion to his conversion the extent of the penalty will be shortened for him, so that instead of nine years at each stage there are eight, or seven, or six, or even only five, if the greatness of his conversion overcomes the time, and in zeal for amendment he outstrips those who in the long term cleanse themselves from the stain somewhat more lazily. The involuntary was judged pardonable, but not praiseworthy. I have said this to make it clear that even if someone has become involved in the pollution of murder involuntarily, the canon has declared him excluded from grace, as one already made profane by the pollution. And the time of purification that applies to simple sexual immorality was judged good also for those who have killed involuntarily; clearly in this case too, if the conversion of the will is …, the number of years need not be strictly observed, but [the administrator may] by a shortening bring him to restoration to the church and to participation in the good. But if someone departs this life without completing the time determined by the canons, the kindness of the Fathers bids that he share in the holy things and not be sent away empty of provision for that last and long journey. But if after sharing in the holy thing he returns again to life, … in the stage in which he was before the communion given him out of necessity. [6] As for the form of idolatry (for so the divine Apostle names covetousness), I do not know how it was overlooked by our Fathers without treatment. And yet such an evil seems to be a passion of the threefold state in the soul. For reason, erring in its judgment of the beautiful, imagines that beauty is in matter, not looking up to immaterial beauty; and desire flows down to things below, away from what is truly desirable; and the contentious and spirited disposition takes many occasions from such a sin.

### Scripture references

- Col 3:5: allusion, high confidence

### Extrabiblical texts

- Conc. Nic. 13 (Creed and Canons of the Council of Nicaea (325)): allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Canon 6 begins at “As for the form of idolatry”. The opening words of the sentence are lost at the column break, marked “…”. “Together with the standing of the people” renders a doubtful phrase (μετὰ τῆς τοῦ λαοῦ συστάσεως). “Excluded from grace” is as printed; the context suggests exclusion from ordination, but the text says only “grace”. Lines are lost after “if the conversion of the will is” and after “returns again to life” (marked “…”); the sense is that he returns to the stage he was in before. The rule on communion for the dying matches Nicaea, canon 13. The scan reads τρίτης (“third”), but the next sentence shows that all three parts of the soul are involved; translated as “threefold”. “Idolatry” for covetousness: Col 3:5.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Ep. can. 231 (PG 45:231; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/231).

## Canonical Letter, Migne PG 45:233

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221/#p-233
- Source: PG 45:233
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Gregory notes that covetousness goes unpunished and is common among clergy, then sets penance for robbery (as for murder) and for secret theft (almsgiving or labour), and distinguishes pardonable from unpardonable grave-robbing.

### Greek text

Θάνε:. Καὶ τὸ ὅλον εἰπεῖν, συμφωνεῖ ἡ τοιαύτη νόσος Α ν6ΓῸ οἱ τῷ ἀποστολιχῷ τῆς πλεονεξίας ὄρῳ. Ὁ γὰρ θεῖος ᾿Απόστολος, οὐ μόνον αὐτὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ῥίζαν πάντων τῶν χαχῶν ἀπεφήνατο" καὶ ὅμως τὸ τοιοῦτον εἶδος παρώφθη τῆς νόσου ἀνεπίσχεπτόν τε καὶ ἀτημέλητον " διὸ καὶ πλεονάζει χατὰ τὰς Ἐχχλησίας, τὸ τοιοῦτον ἀῤῥώστημα, καὶ οὐδεὶς τοὺς ἐπὶ τὸν κλῆρον ἀγομένους περιεργάζεται, μήπως τῷ τοιούτῳ εἴδει τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας χατεμιάνθησαν. ᾿Αλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων, διὰ τὸ παρεῖσθαι τοῖς Πατρᾶσιν ἡμῶν, ἀρκεῖν ἡγούμεθα τῷ δημοτίῳ τῆς διδασχαλίας λόγῳ, ὅπως ἂν οἷόν τε ἧ, θεραπεύειν, ὥσπερ τινὰ πάθη πληθωριχὰ, τὰς πλεονεχτικὰς ἀῤῥωστίας διὰ τοῦ λόγου καθαίροντας. Μόνην δὲ τὴν χλοπὴν καὶ τὴν τυμδωρυχίαν, καὶ τὴν ἱεροσυλίαν πάθη νομίξομεν, διὰ πὸ οὕτως ἐχ τῆς τῶν Πατέρων ἀχολουθίας τὴν παρά- Β δοσιν ἡμῖν περὶ τούτου γενέσθαι. Καί τοί γε παρὰ τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ, καὶ ὁ πλεονασμὸς, καὶ ὁ τόχος, τῶν ἀπειρημένων ἐστὶ, καὶ τὸ ἐχ δυναστείας τινὸς τῇ ἰδίᾳ κτήσει προσαγαγεῖν τὰ ἀλλότρια, χἂν ἐν προσχήτι πραγματείας τὲ τοιοῦτον τύχῃ γινόμενον. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τὸ χαθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, εἰς ἐξουσίαν κανὼν ἀξιόπιστος, τὴν ἐπὶ τῶν ὁμολογουμένως ἀπηγορευμένων χανονιχὴν χρέσιν ἤδη τοῖς εἰρημένοις προσθήσομεν. Διήρηται οὖν ἢ χλοπὴ εἴς τε λῃστείαν καὶ εἰς τοιχωρυχίαν " καὶ εἷς μὲν ἐπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων σχοπὸς, ἡ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἀφαίρεσις " πολλὴ δὲ κατὰ τὴν γνώμην αὐτῶν ἡ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐστὶ διαφορά. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ λῃστὴς, καὶ τὴν μιαιφονίαν εἰς συμμαχίαν τοῦ σπουδαζομένον παραλαμθάνει, πρὸς αὐτὸ τοῦτο παρασχεναζόμενος καὶ ὅπλοις καὶ πολυχειρίᾳ, καὶ τοῖς ἐπικαίροις τῶν τόσπῶὼν "ὥστε τὸν τοιοῦτον, τῷ χρίματι τῶν ἀνδροφόνων ὑπάγεσθαι, εἰ διὰ μεταμελείας ἑαυτὸν πρὸς τὴν Ἐχχλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπανάγοι. Ὁ δὲ δι᾽ ὑφαιρέσεως λανθανούσης σφετεριζόμενος τὸ ἀλλότριον, εἶτα δι᾿ ἐξαγορεύσεως τὸ πλημμέλημα αὐτοῦ τῷ ἱερεῖ φανερώσας, τῇ περὶ τὸ ἐναντίον τοῦ πάθους σπουδῇ θεραπεύσει τὴν ἀῤῥωστίαν" λέγω δὲ διὰ τοῦ τὰ προσόντα παρέχειν τοῖς πένησιν, ἵνα τῷ προέσθαι ἃ ἔχει, φανερὸς γένηται καθαρεύων τῆς χατὰ πλεονεξίαν νόσου. Εἰ δὲ μηδὲν ἔχοι, μόνον δὲ τὸ σῶμα ἔχοι, χελεύει ὁ ᾿Απόστολος διὰ τοῦ σωματιχοῦ χόπου τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐξιλάσασθαι πάθος. Ἔχε: δὲ ἡ λέξις οὕτως: Ὁ κλέπτων, μηκέτι κιλεπτέτω"- μᾶλλον δὲ κοπιάξω ἐργαζόμενος τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ἵνα ἔχῃ μεταδιδόναι τῷ χρείαν ἔχοντι. Ἢ δὲ τυμδωρυχία, καὶ αὐτὴ διήρηται εἰς τὸ συγγνωστόν τε καὶ ἀσύγγνωστον. Εἰ μὲν γάρ τις τῆς οὐσίας φειδόμενος, καὶ ἄσυλον ἀφεὶς τὸ χεχρυμμένον σῶμα, ὡς μὴ ἀναδειχθῆναι ἡλίῳ τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην τῆς φύσεως, λίθοις τισὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ τάφῳ προδεδλημένων σαιτο εἰς ἔργου τινὸς χατασχευὴν, ἐπαινετὸν μὲν οὐδὲ τοῦτό ἐστι " πλὴν ἀλλὰ συγγνωστὸν ἐποίησεν ἧ συνήθεια, ὅταν εἰς προτιμότερόν τι καὶ χοινωφελέστερον ἡ τῆς ὕλης μετάθεσις γίνηται, Τὸ δὲ διερευνᾶσθαι τὴν κόνιν ἀπὸ τῆς γεωθείσης σαρχὸς, καὶ ἀναχινεῖν τὰ ὀστᾶ, ἐλπίδι τὸν κόσμον τινὰ τῶν συγχατ-

### English translation (Claude)

And, to sum up, such a disease agrees with the Apostle's definition of covetousness. For the divine Apostle declared it not only idolatry but also the root of all evils; and yet this form of the disease was overlooked, unexamined and untended. That is why this sickness abounds in the churches, and no one inquires of those brought into the clergy whether they have been defiled by such a form of idolatry. But concerning these, since they were passed over by our Fathers, we think it enough to heal them, as far as possible, by the public word of teaching, cleansing covetous illnesses by the word like certain plethoric passions. Only theft, grave-robbing and sacrilege do we regard as passions [for penance], because the tradition about them has come down to us thus from the succession of the Fathers. And yet in the divine Scripture both increase and interest are among the things forbidden, and bringing what belongs to others into one's own possession by some power, even if this happens under the pretext of a business transaction. Since, then, … a trustworthy canon …, we shall now add to what has been said the canonical judgment on the things acknowledged to be forbidden. Theft, then, is divided into robbery and housebreaking; both have one aim, the taking of what belongs to others, but in intention there is a great difference between them. For the robber takes even bloodshed as an ally of his pursuit, equipping himself for this very thing with weapons, a band of men and advantageous positions, so that such a man is brought under the judgment of murderers, if through repentance he brings himself back to the church of God. But the one who appropriates what belongs to another by secret pilfering, and then makes his offence known to the priest by confession, will heal the illness by zeal for the opposite of the passion: I mean, by giving what he has to the poor, so that by giving up what he has he may be seen to be clean of the disease of covetousness. But if he has nothing, but has only his body, the Apostle bids him atone for such a passion by bodily labour. The wording runs thus: “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather labour, working at what is good, so that he may have something to share with the one in need.” [7] Grave-robbing too is divided into the pardonable and the unpardonable. If someone, sparing the remains and leaving the hidden body inviolate, so that the shame of nature is not exposed to the sun, uses some of the stones laid at the tomb for the construction of some work, not even this is praiseworthy; but custom has made it pardonable, when the material is transferred to something more honourable and of common benefit. But to search the dust of the flesh that has turned to earth and to disturb the bones in the hope of [taking] some ornament buried with it …

### Scripture references

- Col 3:5: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Tim 6:10: allusion, high confidence
- Lev 25:36–37: allusion, low confidence
- Ezek 18:8: allusion, low confidence
- Eph 4:28: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Canon 7 begins at “Grave-robbing”. “Increase and interest” (πλεονασμός, τόκος): the Septuagint's terms for usury, e.g. Lev 25:36–37; Ezek 18:8. A clause is garbled after “Since, then” (the scan reads “τὸ καθ' ἡμᾶς, εἰς ἐξουσίαν κανὼν ἀξιόπιστος”); the sense seems to be that no trustworthy canon on these exists, so Gregory gives the judgment on what is acknowledged as forbidden. The column ends mid-sentence (“…”); leaked Latin was removed by a logged correction. Quotations: Eph 4:28; allusions: Col 3:5; 1 Tim 6:10.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Ep. can. 233 (PG 45:233; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/233).

## Canonical Letter, Migne PG 45:235

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/221/#p-235
- Source: PG 45:235
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Gregory finishes grave-robbing, notes that sacrilege, stoned in the Law, receives less penance than adultery, insists that the penitent's disposition matters more than time, and closes the letter.

### Greek text

ἐδικάσθη, ᾧ καὶ ἡ ψιλὴ πορνεία, χαθὼς καὶ ἐν τῷ τοῦ οἰχονόμου ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ βίου τὴν ἰατρείαν τοῦ θεραπενομένου, ὥστε συντεμεῖν τὴν ἐχ τῶν χανόνων ὁρισθεῖσαν τοῦ ἐπιτιμίου προθεσμίαν. Ἡ δὲ ἱεροσυλία, παρὰ μὲν τῇ ἀρκαίᾳ Γραφῇ, οὐδὲ Ὁμοίως γὰρ ὅ τε ἐπὶ φόνῳ ἁλοὺς, καὶ ὁ τὰ ἀνατεθέντα τῷ Θεῷ ὑφελόμενος, τὴν διὰ τῶν λίθων τιμωρίαν ὑπέσχον. Ἐπὶ δε τῆς ἐχχλησιαστιχῆς συνηθείας οὐχ οἶδα πῶς συγχατάθδασίς τις ἐγένετο, καὶ συμπεριφορὰ, ὥστε ἀνεχτότερον νομισθῆναι τὸ τῆς τοιαύτης νόσου χαθάρσιον" ἕν ἐλάττονι γὰρ χρόνῳ παρὰ τὴν μοιχείαν, τοῖς τοιούτοις τὸ ἐπιτίμιον διετάξατο ἡ τῶν Πατέρων παράδοσις. Πανταχοῦ καὶ ἐν πλημμελήματος εἴδει τοῦτο χαθορᾷν προσήχει πρὸ πάντων, οἵα ἐστὶ τοῦ θεραπευομένου διάθεσις, μὴ τὸν χρόνον οἴεσθαι πρὸς θεραπείαν ἀρκεῖν " τίς γὰρ ἂν ἐχ τοῦ χρόνου ἴασις γέγοιτο; ἀλλὰ τὴν προαίρεσιν τοῦ ἑαυτὸν δι᾿ ἐπιστροφῆς ἰατρεύοντος. Ταῦτά σοι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατὰ πολλὴν σπουδὴν ἐχ τῶν προχείρων συνθέντες, διὰ τὸ δεῖν τοῖς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπιτάγμασι πείθεσθαι, χατὰ σπουδὴν ἀπεστείλαμεν. Σὺ δὲ τὰς συνήθεις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν εὐχὰς τῷ Θεῷ προσάγων μὴ διαλείπῃς. Χρεωστεῖς γὰρ ὡς εὐγνώμων υἱὸς, τῷ κατὰ Θεόν σε γεννήσαντι, τὴν διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν Ὑηροχομίαν, κατὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν τὴν κελεύουσαν τιμᾷν τοὺς γονέας, ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται, καὶ ἔσῃ μακροχρόνιος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Δῆλον δὲ ὅτι ὡς σύμδολον ἱερατικὸν, δέξῃ τὸ γράμμα, καὶ οὐχ ἀτιμάσεις τὸ ξένιον, κἄν τι μιχρότερον τῆς σῆς μεγαλοφυῖας εἴη.

### English translation (Claude)

… [it] was judged [by the same measure] as simple sexual immorality, as also in the [judgment] of the administrator [is] the healing of the one being treated, from his very life, so as to shorten the term of penalty fixed by the canons. [8] Sacrilege, in the ancient Scripture, … not …; for both the one convicted of murder and the one who stole the things dedicated to God underwent alike the penalty of stoning. But in the church's custom I do not know how a certain condescension and accommodation came about, so that the purification of such a disease was thought more tolerable; for the tradition of the Fathers appointed the penalty for such people for a shorter time than for adultery. Everywhere, and in every form of offence, it is fitting to look before all at what the disposition of the one being healed is, and not to think that time suffices for healing (for what healing could come from time?), but the will of the one who heals himself through conversion. These things, O man of God, we have put together with much zeal from what was at hand and sent to you in haste, because one must obey the commands of brothers. Do not cease to offer to God your accustomed prayers on our behalf. For as a grateful son you owe to him who begot you according to God the care of his old age through prayers, according to the commandment that bids us honour parents, that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. Clearly you will receive the letter as a priestly token and will not dishonour the gift, even if it is somewhat smaller than your greatness.

### Scripture references

- Josh 7:25: allusion, medium confidence
- Exod 20:12: quotation, high confidence
- Deut 5:16: quotation, medium confidence
- Eph 6:2–3: quotation, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Canon 8 begins at “Sacrilege”. The opening of the column is garbled and words are lost (marked “…”); the sense is that the unpardonable grave-robbing is judged like sexual immorality, with the same discretion of the administrator to shorten the term. Lines are also lost after “in the ancient Scripture” (the sense: it was not punished less than murder). Stoning for taking devoted things: Josh 7:25 (Achan); for murder, cf. Lev 24:17. The commandment: Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16; Eph 6:2–3. Gregory calls Letoius his son “according to God”. Leaked Latin and footnote references were removed by a logged correction.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Ep. can. 235 (PG 45:235; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-epistula-canonica/235).