Letter to Eudoxius (complete)
Greek text: PG 40 (Greek text: Migne, Patrologia Graeca vol. 40 (1858), OCR of the Bavarian State Library copy).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 1
1PG 40:923
Μὴ ἀθύμει πάσχων, ἀλλ᾽ εὐθύμει πιστεύων καὶ μὴ κατάπιπτε νοσῶν, ἀλλ᾽ εὐτόνει μὴ ἁμαρτάνων· καὶ μὴ νόμιζε χαλεπὴν τὴν νόσον, μόνη γὰρ χαλεπὴ ἡ ἁμαρτία· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀσθενῆσαι, κοινὸν καὶ καλῶν καὶ κακῶν ἀνδρῶν, τὸ δὲ ἁμαρτῆσαι ἴδιον τῶν φαύλων ὁρῶμεν· καὶ ὁ μὲν νοσῶν, ἅμα τῷ θανάτῳ καὶ τὴν νόσον συναποθνήσκουσαν ἔχει, ὁ δὲ ἁμαρτήσας καὶ μετὰ τὸ μνῆμα εὑρήσει ἐκεῖ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν· μέχρι γε τοῦ μνήματος ἵσταται ἡ νόσος, μετὰ δὲ τὸ μνῆμα ἐπιβῆναι τῷ τεθνηκότι οὐ δύναται· ἡ δ᾽ ἁμαρτία τοῖς μὲν ζῶσιν ἐμφωλεύει καὶ ἐγκρύπτει, ἐν δὲ τοῖς τεθνηκόσι πλέον ἐξάπτεται, καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῆς φλόγα ἐνδείκνυται, καὶ τὸν ἁμαρτήσαντα τιμωρεῖται. Ταῦτά σοι γεγράφηκα, ποθεινότατε ἀδελφὲ, ἵνα μὴ πάνυ ἀθυμῆς, ἐν Χριστῷ σεαυτὸν διατηρῶν· τοῦ βίου τὰς συγχύσεις φέρειν δεῖ, καὶ τοὺς θορύβους βαστάζειν προσήκει, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τέλος βλέπειν, καὶ εἰδέναι, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἐπιστατεῖ, καὶ ὀλίγον ἐπανεὶς, πάλιν ἡγεμονεύει· καὶ ὀλίγον συγχωρῶν, πάλιν προΐσταται, καὶ οὐδέποτε ἡ Ἐκκλησία καταλιμπάνεται· οὐδὲ γὰρ πύλαι ᾄδου κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς. Τῆς σῆς οὖν ἀρετῆς τὴν διάθεσιν δείκνυε τῷ παντεπόπτῃ Θεῷ, ἵνα δυνηθῇ ἐν πᾶσιν εὐδοκιμεῖν· ἡμεῖς δὲ καλέσαι σε οὐκ ἂν ἐπασχόμεθα, ἵνα μὴ δόξωμεν τῆς πόλεως ἀφιστᾷν.
Mē athymei paschōn, all᾽ euthymei pisteuōn kai mē katapipte nosōn, all᾽ eutonei mē hamartanōn; kai mē nomize chalepēn tēn noson, monē gar chalepē hē hamartia; to men gar asthenēsai, koinon kai kalōn kai kakōn andrōn, to de hamartēsai idion tōn phaulōn horōmen; kai ho men nosōn, hama tǭ thanatǭ kai tēn noson synapothnēskousan echei, ho de hamartēsas kai meta to mnēma heurēsei ekei tēn hamartian; mechri ge tou mnēmatos histatai hē nosos, meta de to mnēma epibēnai tǭ tethnēkoti ou dynatai; hē d᾽ hamartia tois men zōsin emphōleuei kai enkryptei, en de tois tethnēkosi pleon exaptetai, kai tēn heautēs phloga endeiknytai, kai ton hamartēsanta timōreitai. Tauta soi gegraphēka, potheinotate adelphe, hina mē pany athymēs, en Christǭ seauton diatērōn; tou biou tas synchyseis pherein dei, kai tous thorybous bastazein prosēkei, kai pros to telos blepein, kai eidenai, hoti ho Theos epistatei, kai oligon epaneis, palin hēgemoneuei; kai oligon synchōrōn, palin proïstatai, kai oudepote hē Ekklēsia katalimpanetai; oude gar pylai ądou katischysousin autēs. Tēs sēs oun aretēs tēn diathesin deiknye tǭ pantepoptę̄ Theǭ, hina dynēthę̄ en pasin eudokimein; hēmeis de kalesai se ouk an epaschometha, hina mē doxōmen tēs poleōs aphistąn.
Do not lose heart when you suffer, but take heart in believing; and do not collapse when you are ill, but be strong in not sinning; and do not think illness grievous, for only sin is grievous. For to be sick is common to good and bad men alike, but to sin we see is proper to the wicked. The sick man has his illness die together with him at death, but the sinner will find his sin there even after the tomb. Illness stops at the tomb and cannot go on after it to the dead; but sin lurks and hides in the living, and in the dead it is kindled more, shows its flame, and punishes the one who sinned. I have written this to you, most beloved brother, so that you may not lose heart altogether, keeping yourself in Christ. One must bear the confusions of life and carry its tumults, and look to the end, and know that God watches over all; and having relaxed a little he governs again, and having permitted a little he presides again, and the church is never abandoned; for not even the gates of Hades will prevail against it. Show, then, the disposition of your virtue to God who sees all, so that he may be well pleased with you in all things. We would not have hesitated to invite you here, were it not that we might seem to draw you away from your city.
Matt 16:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Serapion consoles the sick bishop Eudoxius: illness ends at death but sin does not, and God never abandons the church.
- Serapion's letter to Eudoxius, a sick bishop. Matt 16:18. The last sentence is obscure in the Greek (ἐπασχόμεθα, probably for ἐπεσχόμεθα, “refrained”); translated by sense.
Cite (SBL): Serapion, Eud. 1 (PG 40:923; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/serapion-epistula-eudoxium/1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/serapion-epistula-eudoxium/1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Migne's Patrologia Graeca (scan OCR; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation exists and no FOTC volume covers this work, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.