To Florentius the Patrician

In sending a letter to your greatness I am daring something beyond me. But the cause of my daring is not self-confidence; it is the slanders of those who misrepresent me. I have thought it well worth while to let your righteous ears know how openly those who attack my beliefs are slandering me. I confess that I have been guilty of many errors. But up to now I have always kept the faith of the apostles undefiled, and for this reason alone I have held on to the hope that I will find mercy on the day of the Lord’s appearing. On behalf of this faith I go on contending against every kind of heresy. This faith I am always passing on to those being raised in godliness. By means of this faith I have changed countless wolves into sheep and brought them to the Savior, who is the Chief Shepherd of us all. So I have learned, not only from the apostles and prophets, but also from those who have explained their writings: Ignatius, Eustathius, Athanasius, Basil, Gregory, John, and the rest of the lights of the world. And before these I learned it from the holy fathers in council at Nicaea. I keep their confession of the faith whole, like an inheritance from my forefathers, and I call corrupt and enemies of the truth all who dare to break its decrees. [a]

Now that you have heard this from me, I call on your greatness to shut the mouths of my slanderers. In my judgment it is entirely unreasonable to accept as true what is charged against people in their absence. Rather, it is lawful and right that those who wish to act as prosecutors should accuse the defendants in their presence and try to prove the charge face to face. Under these conditions the judges will easily be able to arrive at the truth.