Letter from Judah Kyriakos, bishop of Jerusalem, to Papa bar Aggai

To Father Papa, high priest and first of the evangelists (sic) , Judah Kyriakos pays respect to your high priesthood in our Lord. The prophet Isaiah has predicted about you and about the saints like you: The glory of the Lord is proclaimed through them from the ends of the world, and by the sailors (lit. those who go down to the sea) and the ones who inhabit the islands and those who live in the desert; and from the top of the mountains may they cry out from their caverns, and may those who sit on steep rocks glorify in the voice of their holiness (cf. Isaiah 42, 10-11). Rejoice, my lord. You helped our holy city. [There was] frequent suffering and dark oppression in which you triumphed by your endurance in all your struggles and trials from the pagans. Both distress and joy occupied us: the distress caused by our sadness on your high priesthood’s behalf, and joy, since you triumphed and received the crown of victory, and you exalted your church through your lowliness on its behalf. And these are those things among many that were reported in Empress Helen’s hearing. Accordingly, she desires to build up in all places and exalt the church of Christ with every adornment, especially in the great cities. She desires that in your city of Seleucia, a church be built to the Lord Christ. And she seeks permission from your Fatherhood, and with the permission, counsel. And since I was commanded by her, I wrote to your high priesthood. You, then, my lord, as a friend of the God who [is] with you, provide and show her [your] helpful hand, while not taking offense. Pray for us and for the victorious emperor, her son Constantine, and for all the servants of his kingdom.