[The Byzantine Emperor Anastasius had sent a large sum of gold to St. Theodosius the Cenobiarch which the saint gave away as alms so that many would pray for the emperor.]
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After some time the Emperor requested the godly one to send him a confession of faith, hoping that the saint would endorse the teachings of Eutyches and Severus. The holy Theodosius, that heroic commander of spiritual soldiers, summoned the fathers of the desert, conferred with them, and taking up arms against heresy, sent Anastasius this reply:
"Your Majesty! We prefer to die for the patristic dogmas than to be enslaved, that is, to embrace the blasphemous doctrines of the Akephaloi. Adhering steadfastly to the traditions of the Fathers, we reject every innovation. We anathematize those who introduce novelties and refuse to accept anyone whose orders derive from the Akephaloi, even if he was ordained unwillingly. May we never yield, O Christ our King! God, Whom the miscreants so shamelessly blaspheme, is our witness that if any attempt is made to force us to apostatize, we shall resist unto death. We are as ready to lay down our lives for the faith as for your empire. Never will we surrender, even if we see the Holy Places going up in flames. If profaned by heretics, they would be holy merely in name. We take exception to every thought or word contrary to the determinations of the ecumenical synods. May fire, the sword, and cruellest death be our lot, if we defy the rulings of the holy councils! Of these the first, attended by 318 fathers, condemned the wretched Arius and expelled him from the Church because he demeaned the Son's divine nature, reckoning it inferior to the Father's, and thereby perverted the tenets of faith. The second convened in Constantinople and judged Macedonius, the reviler of the Holy Spirit. The third met in Ephesus and convicted the shameless, execrable Nestorius, who blasphemed the flesh Christ assumed from the immaculate Virgin. The fourth took place in Chalcedon, attended by 630 godbearing fathers; it confirmed and explicated the dogmas of the earlier synods, reaffirmed the apostolic faith, and excommunicated the odious, depraved Eutyches and Dioscorus, as well as anyone else who speculates contrary to the teachings of Christ's Church. We will never abandon piety; we will never disgrace ourselves by rejecting the traditions handed down by our fathers! They struggled resolutely to defend the immutable truth, to which we adhere firmly. Let those who care for their souls show obedience to the Lord and follow our example. May the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your empire invulnerable and guide you always."
Anastasius was put to shame by this letter, which plainly testified to the venerable one's burning zeal for Orthodoxy. His anger cooled, and for a while he stopped persecuting the faithful. To exonerate himself, he wrote the following reply, blaming others for the upheaval disturbing the Church:
"O man of God, we call upon the Lord as our Witness that we are not responsible for the innovations in question. They were devised by men who ought to have understood that the mysteries of piety are best honored by reverent silence. Eager for fame, they trumpet their Orthodoxy, stir up controversy, defame anyone who contradicts them, and spare no effort to win our favor. Surely you must know, holy Father, that the instigators are clerics and monks."The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints - St. Dimitri Rostov - January 11 - pp173-174