Sahak's reply to the letter of Akak

The Reply of Lord Sahak to the Letter of Akak To our true and God-loving lord and father, the holy bishop Akak, from Sahak in the Lord, greetings. The rays of the eternal and everlasting light, which appeared to our weakness from your light-bearing holiness, greatly strengthened our weakness at their rising, and increased our meager thoughts, like some warm dew reaching the shoots of the fields in the pure air, and after it the gentle rain of sweetness arriving, quickly restores them to health; so beautiful, desirable, and covenantly welcome was it for us to hear the venerable messages that reached us from you. Our prayers were constant to be worthy in all things to receive and enjoy the spiritual blessings of your magnificent holiness, for it was sweet for us to remain here in this entrenched ignorance, as if having fled and fallen into some strong fortress of dullness. Now, taking protection for ourselves through the assistance of your prayers, we preserve the faith of truth, which we held from your holy teaching, and our ignorance and simplicity remained untainted, especially in the face of the novel heresy, whose misshapen ones still showed and sowed the shoots of bitterness and filth upon the holy seeds of the mixed teachings that they learned and practiced from the mind-destroying Satan.

Now, because the wandering heretic with his chief leaders dared to sow the filth of his madness, we considered this the work of our sins, and with great sorrow we grieved, sharing the grief of your letter, and throughout our entire province we issued a severe and punitive command: not to listen at all to such barbarians, not to accept the evil ravings of heresy. But I am astonished at those who, beyond the measure of the canons, strive and seek to grasp the ungraspable. Yet I think that such persons have no knowledge at all of the Scripture and its power, but only perceive the surface, as it were. And we consider their minds as if stolen by the enemy and afflicted with an evil disease, drunk from thick intoxication, and the senses of taste having been dulled, they cannot perceive the flavor of the wine; from the intense burning, the mind sinks into the stupor of madness. For what a perverse knowledge of much learning leads to satanic evil, that they dare to reach for unattainable measures! For there is no other knowledge more productive of darkness than to name two sons or two lords in Christ; fearlessly and shamelessly they openly recount their own impudence.

But that the shameless mouths might be stopped, and the tongues sharpened with lawlessness, the true incarnate Word came again to renew by flesh, breath, and spirit the man who had grown old and been corrupted by sins. And because from the tree came the stumbling block and death, He set the tree of life beside the tree, and raised the plant beside the plant, bestowing life-giving fruit in place of that death-bearing fruit. He placed Himself, and He Himself received Himself anew, preparing for us believers the holy body and precious blood as the bread of life on the sacramental path. And now, those who once strayed from that path and from the straight faith, the fire of Gehenna is prepared and awaits them. And if we here should be found among such persons, not only would we not receive them or persecute them, but we would not hesitate to cast them out with great punishments. How much more is it incumbent upon you, who in your great authority are entitled to emulate the zeal of God, to strive in body and spirit to remove the thorns from the midst of the Church of Christ, especially since you have a king who, having taken the spirit of God upon themselves, are able to pluck out the thorns from the midst, and to present to him the sweetly watered and ripened ears of the holy seeds of faith, having winnowed them, to harvest the abundant fruits manifold, and to gladden the Lord of the harvesters, and to render the laborer worthy of abundant reward.

For if there are servants of earthly kings, and certain false words, especially those concerning the purple, they do not undertake to let them pass idly, unless they seek vengeance with great punishment. How much more is it fitting that those who turn the uncreated and immaculate faith to corruption, and who dare to reach the unreachable and to place themselves above the eternal light, should bring the examination of the Holy Trinity itself into dispute? It is right and proper that they receive even greater punishments of chastisement. For the holiness of the Trinity is worshipped by the incorporeal angels and the invisible cherubim and seraphim, with glory alone and with blessing alone. Now, our Lord and Father, deign to remember me in your acceptable and holy prayers, and if anything in accordance with the measure of your letter has erred due to my ignorance, be willing to correct it, and do not delay in strengthening my weakness. But as for the heresy you wrote about, at the time of God's grace, nothing of this sort has occurred. Yet if there is something hidden in that heresy, it is necessary by all means to remove the obstacle from between us, so that we may glorify Christ in unity.