Letter 133: The sight of the eyes brings about bodily friendship, and long companionship strengthens it, but genuine regard is the gift of the Spirit, Who unites what is separated by long distances, and makes friends known to one another, not by bodily qualities, but by the characteristics of the soul. The grace of the Lord has granted me this favour, by pe...
To Peter, Bishop of Alexandria,
True friendship doesn't require meeting face to face. The Holy Spirit connects people across vast distances — not through physical appearance, but through the qualities of the soul. And by God's grace, that's exactly what has happened between us. Even though we've never met in person, I feel I know you deeply and hold you in genuine affection, bound together by our shared faith.
I'm confident that as a disciple of Athanasius [Athanasius the Great: the towering Bishop of Alexandria who spent decades fighting Arianism and was exiled five times for it] — having spent so long at his side — you walk in his same spirit and hold to the same true faith.
So I'm writing to ask one thing: that among all the ways you carry on that great man's legacy, you'll also carry on his friendship with me. Write to me often. And care for the Christian community across the world with the same love and dedication that blessed Athanasius always showed to everyone who truly loves God.
Human translation - New Advent (NPNF / ANF series)
Latin / Greek Original
[Πρός: Πέτρῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Ἀλεξανδρείας]
Τῆς μὲν σωματικῆς φιλίας ὀφθαλμοὶ πρόξενοι γίνονται, καὶ ἡ διὰ μακροῦ χρόνου ἐγγινομένη συνήθεια βεβαιοῖ· τὴν δὲ ἀληθινὴν ἀγάπην ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος δωρεὰ συνίστησι, συνάπτουσα μὲν τὰ μακρῷ διεστῶτα τόπῳ, γνωρίζουσα δὲ ἀλλήλοις τοὺς ἀγαπητούς, οὐ διὰ σωματικῶν χαρακτήρων, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ἰδιωμάτων. ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἡ τοῦ Κυρίου χάρις ἐποίησε, παρασχομένη ἡμᾶς ἰδεῖν σε τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμοῖς, καὶ περιπτύξασθαί σε τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῇ ἀληθινῇ, καὶ οἱονεὶ συμφυῆναί σοι καὶ πρὸς μίαν ἐλθεῖν ἕνωσιν ἐκ τῆς κατὰ τὴν πίστιν κοινωνίας. πεπείσμεθα γάρ σε ἀνδρὸς τοσούτου θρέμμα ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ τὴν ἐκ παλαιοῦ διατριβὴν μετʼ αὐτοῦ λαχόντα, τῷ αὐτῷ πορεύεσθαι πνεύματι, καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς στοιχεῖν τῆς εὐσεβείας δόγμασι.
Διὸ καὶ προσφθεγγόμεθά σου τὴν τιμιότητα, καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τὴν περὶ ἡμᾶς διάθεσιν τοῦ μεγάλου ἀνδρὸς διαδέξασθαι· ἐπιστέλλειν τε ἡμῖν συνήθως τὰ κατὰ σαυτόν, καὶ ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τῆς πανταχοῦ ἀδελφότητος τοῖς αὐτοῖς σπλάγχνοις καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ προθυμίᾳ, ᾗ καὶ ὁ μακαριώτατος ἐκεῖνος περὶ πάντας ἐχρῆτο τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας τὸν Θεὸν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ.
Revision history
- 2026-03-20v2.1.0-import
Initial corpus import from New Advent / NPNF.
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