thanks to God, that while being thus separated in body, we are united in spirit, as if we were dwelling, not only in the same country, but in the same house; which may well be said, since the spiritual house of God is one. In the last days, says the prophet, the mountain of the Lord, and the house of God, placed on the summit of the mountains, shall be manifested. Reünited in this house, we there enjoy the bliss of unity. It is what the psalmist asks of the Lord — to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. Whence, and from another passage, appears the happiness of the saints in being united: Oh! how good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to live together in unity. In fact, union, peace, and concord confer a very great felicity, not only to faithful men who know the truth, but to the angels of heaven themselves, who according to the divine word experience joy when a sinner repents and returns to the bond of unity. This would not be said of the angels who inhabit heaven, if they also were not united to us, who rejoice over our union; as, on the other hand, they are grieved when they see hearts and minds in division, not only as though they did not invoke the same and only God, but as if they would not speak to or hear each other. But in this we may be grateful to Stephen; for, by his violence, he has put your faith and wisdom to trial; yet if we have an advantage because of him, it is not to him that we owe it. Truly, Judas for his perfidy and treachery which he so criminally employed toward his Saviour, should not be regarded as the cause of the great blessings that the passion of the Lord procured for us, in delivering the world and all people. But for the present we will pass over what Stephen has done, fearing, lest in remembering his audacity and insolence, we experience too much grief at his bad actions."
This preamble of Firmilian's letter demonstrates that he was very far from placing the centre of unity in the
