Sailors at night are cheered by the sight of the harbour lights, and so are they who are in peril for the sake of the apostolic faith by the zeal of them that share the faith. We have great comfort in what we hear of your godliness’s efforts on behalf of the divine doctrines, for this mind has been given you by the Giver of all good gifts and for the safe keeping of these doctrines you undergo every toil. Now I, comforted by your zeal, make an insignificant return, calling on you to persevere in your divine labours, to despise your adversaries as an easy prey, (for what is weaker than they who are destitute of the truth?) and to trust in Him who said “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee,” and “Lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the world.” Help me too with your prayers that I may confidently say “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”
Reproduced in full. Translation: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 3 (Schaff and Wace, 1892), public domain (Public domain).