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Correspondence (1716–1725)
Eastern Patriarchs and the Nonjurors, ed. Williams, 1868
7. No. 7: The Nonjurors to the Metropolitan of Thebais
To the most venerable and wise Bishop Arsenius The Metropolitan of Thebais, The Remnant of the Catholick Bishops and Clergy of Britain wish Prosperity.
We were much refreshed by your Letter which you sent us by the Reverend James the Patriarchal Protocyncellus, as being an evident Testimony of the great Desire you have of bringing a Coalition between the Catholick Eastern Churches, and the Catholick Remnant of the British Churches to bear, upon such Terms as may give us both the comfortable Hope of its being permanent. We have now, together with this, sent our answer to the four Patriarchs founded upon holy Writ, as interpreted by the Fathers of the Primitive Church, and in such Terms as we hope will make our sincere Desires and Endeavours to promote and finish a blessed Concordate, very apparent to them and to you. And we return you our hearty Thanks for the great Pains you have been at in bringing it this Length, and doubt not of your doing your utmost to finish what you have so charitably carryed on hitherto under such Discouragements from the Situation of Public Affairs, and the great Distance we are at from one Another. Nor need we inform you of the Many Difficulties and Discouragements which we have to struggle with on this Occasion. For while we had the Happiness of your residing amongst us, you were pretty fully apprised of a good share of them, and they are not fewer now than they were then. Yet no difficulty nor Discouragements of this nature shall hinder us, by God’s help, from doing our utmost Endeavours to promote so good a Design. It is no small grief to us that under our present Pressures, we have not been able to show such Civilities to the diligent and faithfull Protocyncellus as we willingly would, but he is most acceptable to us, and we have a deep sense of the great Pains he has taken in this Affair.
Our Hopes of a happy Conclusion in this Affair are encreased by the generous Encouragement which, we are glad to understand, His Imperial Majesty is graciously pleased to give it, and which will redound to the immortalizing of his Name. And we are very sensible, that we owe his Majesty’s being rightly apprised of this Affair to your faithfull Representation of it to him, as we do his countenancing and encouraging of it to his own Greatness of Soul and Catholick Charity.
ARCHIBALDUS Scoto-Brittanniæ Episcopus.
JEREMIAS Primus Anglo-Brittanniæ Episcopus.
JACOBUS Scoto-Britanniæ Episcopus.
THOMAS Anglo-Britanniæ Episcopus.
Dat. A.D. 1722.
Maii Die tricesimo.
Reverendus Archimandrita hic commorans nobis est gratissimus: Indolem ejus charitatem spirantem probe perspectam habemus, et huic negotio amicissimam.
Illustrissimo et Reverendissimo Fratri in Christo, Domino D. Arsenio Thebaitidos Metropolitano.
Moschæ.
Notes
- No. 6 was a Greek Translation of the Scottish Communion Service, which is not given in the copy which is here followed, nor in any which has been collated. The numbers are retained to avoid confusion.