Letter 94. From Dionysius to Theophilus.

In this letter (translated into Latin by Jerome) Dionysius, bishop of Lydda, praises Theophilus for his signal victories over Origenism and urges him to continue his efforts against that heresy. Written in 400 a.d.

The below translation made by ChatGPT 3.5 from this Latin text.

Bishop Dionysius of Lidda to the most blessed Lord Theophilus.

1. Our God is good, who is glorified in the assemblies of the saints (Ps. 88.2), and prepares friends and prophets for Himself in each successive age. If you consider the order of our generation, O most blessed brother, the Lord raised you up as an imitator of correct faith, so that you might crush heretical superstition flowing from the source of the Gentiles with Apostolic rigor, and restore the human race, which is dragged down by many errors, and the dispersed flock of Christ to their Shepherd; who, at the time of his passion, gave his life for all, so that we might now say with faith, 'Truly God is among us' (1 Cor. 14.25). For who is either so foolish or impious, that they would not confess that you have given the greatest gift to the world, by wiping out the most wicked blasphemers of Origen's disciples, so that the Church of Christ may not be polluted by them? Their cancer and incurable leprosy have spread so widely through the hearts of many, that even those who feign penitence join heresy with perjury; and they do not cease to force us, who are compelled to remain silent, to hate.

2. Therefore, be strengthened and act manfully (1 Chronicles 22:13) then, servant of God, and pursue Origen's fictions to the end, so that the minds of the simple may not be caught with its alluring shadows of wisdom, and a division may not be made in the body of Christ. For all who are wise profess your father, your hope and the crown of the alacrity of faith, that you have impaled Arius, the master and his disciple, with the sword of the Gospel. The brothers of my cell greet you very warmly, as well as the brothers who are with you.