Letter 151: Chrysostom urges Asellus to keep helping the churches of the East through counsel, prayer, and action.

I know that you do not need letters from us to rouse you or to make you take up the correction of the evils that have overtaken the churches of the East. Your own wisdom, zeal, and love for truth are enough to stir you. Still, because love is eager to speak, we write and urge what you already know. Do not grow weary. The disorder is great, but the reward for those who help bring healing is greater. If the storm is fierce, the pilot's skill is shown precisely there. If the wound is deep, the physician's care becomes more necessary. Stand by the suffering churches as far as you can. Add your voice, your counsel, your prayers, and whatever help lies within your power. And write to us about your health, so that we may have this comfort too while we sit so far away.

ΡΝΑʹ. Ἀσέλλῳ ἐπισκόπῳ. Οἶδα μὲν ὅτι οὐδὲν ὑμῖν δεῖ γραμμάτων εἰς τὸ διαναστῆναι, καὶ ἀντιλαβέσθαι τῆς διορθώσεως τῶν τὰς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Ἀνατολῆς κατειληφότων κακῶν. Καὶ τοῦτο δι' ὧν πεποιήκατε, ἐπεδείξασθε, αὐτοπαράκλητοι τοσαύτην παρασχόντες σπουδήν. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὰ κακὰ ἔτι μένει ἀδιόρθωτα, διὰ τὴν ἄνοιαν τῶν τοσαῦτα παρανομησάντων, ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι ἐνομίσαμεν παρακαλέσαι ὑμῶν τὴν εὐλάβειαν, ὥστε μὴ ἀποκαμεῖν, μηδὲ περικακῆσαι, ἀλλ' ἀκμαζούσῃ χρήσασθαι τῇ προθυμίᾳ, καὶ τὰ παρ' ἑαυτῶν πάλιν ἅπαντα εἰσενεγκεῖν. Ὅσῳ γὰρ ἂν ἀνίατα νοσῶσιν οἱ πρὸς τὴν τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν κατάστασιν στασιάζοντες, τοσούτῳ κἀκείνων πλέον ἔσται τὸ κρῖμα, καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς μὴ ἀποκάμνουσι λαμπρότερος ὁ μισθὸς, καὶ μείζους οἱ στέφανοι.