History of the Arians 1 part 2/5

Then, about ten months later, when Gregory had died, he also summoned Athanasius with every honor — writing to him not once, nor twice, but even a third time, letters of friendship, by which he urged him to take courage and come.

He also sent a presbyter and a deacon, so that he might return with even greater confidence.

For he supposed that, on account of fear of what had happened before, I was slighting the matter of my return.

He also wrote to his own brother Constans, that he too might urge me to return.

For he solemnly affirmed that he had waited a whole year for Athanasius, and that he would never permit any innovation or new appointment to take place, but was keeping the churches for Athanasius the bishop.

Then, when the bishop lamented over what he had suffered and over the things written against him, and set before him the concern that, after his journey away, slanders might again arise from his enemies, and said:

"Summon them, if you wish (for it is possible for them to stand trial on our account), and let us refute them" — this he did not do; but he ordered that everything which had previously been written against him out of slander should be annulled and expunged, solemnly affirming

that he would no longer henceforth tolerate slanders, but that his resolve was firm and unchangeable.

And this he did not say lightly, but sealed his words with oaths, calling God to witness these things.

Having urged him, then, with many other words as well, and exhorted him to take courage, he writes the following to the bishops and the judges:

Victor Constantius, Greatest Augustus, to the bishops and clergy of the catholic Church.

The most reverend one has not been forsaken by the grace of God.

Making it our aim that your good order should prevail in all things —

(This letter also was written similarly, in the same sixty-fifth document, and since it differs in nothing, they have now been left untranscribed.) Another letter: Victor Constantius Augustus to Nestorius, prefect of Egypt.

It is evident that a command of ours was issued before this, that certain letters written against the reputation of Athanasius, the most reverend bishop, should be sought out, and it is established that these are in the department under your Devotedness.

We wish, therefore, that your Sobriety, so well approved by us, should, in accordance with this our command, send to our comitatus all the letters whatsoever that were written concerning the aforesaid name, in the department under you.

And what he also wrote after the death of the blessed Constans is as follows, written in Latin, but rendered into Greek:

Victor Constantius Augustus to Athanasius.

That this has always been my prayer, that all things should turn out according to the heart's desire of my late brother Constans, has not escaped your understanding either;

and in how great a grief I was placed when I learned that he had been slain by certain most unholy men, your prudence can likewise conjecture.

Since, then, there are some who, in the present time, so grievous a time, are attempting to intimidate you, for this reason I have judged it right that this letter be given to your Firmness, exhorting you that, as befits a bishop, you should teach the people what is owed to divine religion, and together with them customarily devote yourself to prayers, and put no trust in idle rumors, whatever they may be.

For this is firmly fixed in our soul, that, in accordance with our resolve, we wish you to be bishop in your own place forever.

May divine Providence preserve you for many years, most beloved father.

When these things had thus been done and thus arranged, and he had at last set out on the journey, his friends, seeing a friend, rejoiced; but of the others, some were put to shame at the sight of him, others, having no confidence to face him, hid themselves, and others repented of what they had written against the bishop.

At any rate, all the bishops from Palestine, except two or three who were themselves also under suspicion, received Athanasius in such a manner and embraced communion with him, that they even wrote and made a defense, saying that what they had previously written was done not by their own choice, but under compulsion.

As for the bishops in Egypt and the Libyas, and the peoples there and in Alexandria, it is superfluous even to speak of it, since all ran together and had joy beyond expression — not only because they were receiving back their own bishop, alive beyond hope, but also because they were being delivered from the heretics as from tyrants and rabid dogs.

Great, then, was the joy of the peoples in their assemblies, as they spurred one another on to virtue.

How many unmarried women, who before were ready for marriage, remained virgins for Christ!

How many young men, seeing others do so, came to love the solitary life!

How many fathers exhorted their children!

And how many were entreated by their own children not to be hindered from ascetic discipline in Christ!

How many wives persuaded their husbands, and how many were themselves persuaded by their husbands, to devote themselves to prayer, as the apostle said!

How many widows, and how many orphans, who before were hungry and found themselves naked, on account of the great eagerness of the people no longer went hungry, but even went about clothed!

And in short, there was such rivalry in virtue, that every household, and each one's house, was thought to be a church, on account of the love of goodness of its inhabitants and their prayer to God.

And there was deep and wonderful peace in the churches, as the bishops from every quarter wrote, and received from Athanasius the customary letters of peace.

Having received letters from him —

and having gone up even to Rome, they repented, confessing that all the things they had done and said against him were altogether false and mere slander.

Nor did they even do this in a casual manner; but having also anathematized the Arian heresy, they gave their repentance in writing, writing to Julius the bishop — in Latin, but here rendered into Greek, as follows; for the copy was sent to us in Latin by Paul, bishop of Trier:

Translation from the Latin: To my lord, the most blessed Pope Julius, Ursacius and Valens —

Since it is well known that before this we had done many terrible things —

(This was written back in the sixty-eighth document, and is in every respect identical.) Translation from the Latin: To my lord and brother, Bishop Athanasius, Ursacius and Valens, bishops —

An occasion was given to us through our brother and fellow-presbyter —

(This too was written back in the same sixty-eighth document, and is entirely identical.) Having written these things, they also signed the letters of peace, while Athanasius's presbyters Peter and Irenaeus, and Ammonius the layman, were passing through — even though he had not written to them by these men at all.

Who, then, did not marvel, seeing these things and so great a peace of the churches? Who did not rejoice, beholding the concord of so many bishops? Who did not glorify the Lord, seeing the gladness of the peoples in their assemblies? How many of the enemies repented!

How many of those who formerly slandered him now made their defense!

How many, who formerly hated him, afterward loved him!

How many of those who had written against him sang a recantation!

Many, too, who were with the Arians not by choice but by necessity, coming by night, made their defense, and anathematized the heresy, and asked to be forgiven, saying that on account of the machinations and slanders carried out by them, they appeared there in body, but in heart were gathered together with Athanasius and were always with him.

But hearing and seeing these things, the heirs of the mind and impiety of the party of Eusebius — Leontius the mutilated, whom it was not even fitting to admit to communion as a layman, because he had castrated himself in order thenceforth to sleep with a certain Eustolium (a woman on his account, though called a virgin) with impunity, and George, and Acacius, and Theodore, and Narcissus, who had also been deposed in the synod — were greatly ashamed.

Seeing these things, they were seized by both envy and fear — envy, on account of the communion of so many; and fear, lest those deceived by them should be added to the unanimity of so many, and their heresy, thus made an example of, should thenceforth be triumphed over and pilloried everywhere.

First, they persuaded the party of Ursacius and Valens, like dogs, to change their minds and return to their own vomit, and like swine to wallow again in the former mire of impiety, and to fabricate as a pretext for their repentance that they had done this out of fear of the most God-fearing Constans — although, even if there was fear, they ought not, if they had truly believed in what they had done, to become betrayers of it.

At that time no palatine officials or notaries had been sent, present in force, such as they themselves now do; nor was the emperor even present, nor were they summoned by anyone at all when they wrote — but they themselves, of their own will, went up to Rome, and in the church, where there was no external fear, but only the fear of God, and each has free choice, they of themselves repented and wrote.

And yet, having become Arians a second time, having again devised so unseemly a pretext, they do not blush.

Then, coming together, they besought the emperor Constantius, saying, and at the first claiming that they were not believed:

"For we said, when you were summoning Athanasius, that by recalling him you were expelling our heresy;

for this man has from the beginning set himself against it, and does not cease anathematizing it."

He has already filled every place with his writings against us, and most hold communion with him; and of those who were thought to be with us, some have gone over to him, and others are about to.

And there is fear lest the heresy also become known, and then we and you be called heretics.

And should this happen, take care lest we be reckoned along with the Manichees.

Begin persecuting again, therefore, and put yourself at the head of the heresy.

"For indeed this heresy, too, has you as its king." Such, then, were the cunning words of these men.

And he himself too, as he journeyed on his way, when he was hastening against Magnentius, and observing the communion which the bishops maintained with Athanasius, was inflamed as though by fire and changed his mind; and he neither remembered his oaths, but even forgot what he had written, and became thankless regarding what was due to his brother.

For indeed, both writing to him and having seen Athanasius, he had given oaths that he would do nothing other than what the people wished, and what should be agreeable to the bishop.

But his zeal for impiety made him forget all of this at once.

One need not be surprised that Constantius, after so many letters and so many oaths, changed his course, seeing that Pharaoh too, the tyrant of Egypt in that time, having often made promises, and thereby obtaining relief from the plagues, would shift his position again, until in the end he perished together with those who had shared his mind.

These men, then, he first began compelling city by city to change their position; but once he had come to Arles and then to Milan, he acted just as the heretics had advised and suggested to him — or rather, it was they themselves who thus carried matters through and worked their will against everyone, holding the power.

And immediately, on the one hand, orders and letters were sent to the prefect, that the grain allowance should forthwith be taken away from Athanasius and given to those who held the views of Arius, and that it should be permitted to whoever wished to insult those who assembled with him.

And there was a threat against the judges, should they not assemble with the Arians.

These things were but the prelude to what afterward took place through the dux Syrianus.

And to the outlying regions, again, orders were dispatched, and notaries city by city, and palace officials bearing threats, were sent both to the bishops and to the judges: that the judges should press the matter urgently, while the bishops should either write against Athanasius, holding communion with the Arians, or themselves undergo the penalty of exile; and that the people who gathered with them should know that bonds and insults and blows would come upon them, and the confiscation of their own possessions.

Nor was the decree neglected.

For indeed those who were sent had with them clergy of Ursacius and Valens, so that they might both incite the officials and report to the emperor any judges who were negligent.

And the other heresies, as their lesser sisters, they permitted to blaspheme against the Lord, but they plotted against Christians alone, unable to bear hearing pious words concerning Christ.

How many bishops, then, were led before rulers and kings, according to what is written, and were heard by judges!

How many were extorted by them, city by city, lest they be accused as friends of the bishops!

For letters were even written to the city councillors, and there was a threat of a monetary fine, unless each one compelled the bishop of his own city to sign.

And altogether every place and every city was filled with fear and turmoil, as the bishops were being dragged off, and the judges beheld the lamentations and groans of the peoples.

These things, then, were being done by the palace officials who had been sent; and those admirable men, emboldened by the patronage they enjoy, apply their zeal to the task.

And thus, of the bishops, some they summon before the emperor, while others again they manipulate by means of letters, fabricating pretexts against them, so that some might cower before Constantius in his presence, while others, terrified by those who were sent and by the threats of the calumny devised on pretext, might depart from their own right and pious conviction.

In this way, then, the emperor forced so great a multitude of bishops, partly by threatening, partly by making promises, to say:

"We no longer hold communion with Athanasius."

For those who came before him were not permitted to see him beforehand, nor to have any relief at all, nor to go forth from their own lodging, until they should sign, or, refusing, be sent into exile.

And he did this because he perceived that the heresy was hated by all; wherefore he was all the more determined to compel so many to be numbered along with the few.

And he was eager to gather a mob of names, out of envy against the bishop, and for the sake of giving an appearance to the Arian impiety, over which he himself presides — supposing that, just as he could turn men, so too he would be able to turn the truth itself; not knowing, nor having read, that not even the Sadducees and Herodians, when they enlisted the Pharisees as well, were able to conceal the truth.

For all the more, even so, this truth is shown forth resplendent day by day, while these men, having even cried out:

"We have no king but Caesar" — and having received the judgment of Pilate, they are nonetheless left destitute and full of every shame, expecting that before long they too will be left naked like the partridge, once they see their own patron dying.

But if it is unseemly that some of the bishops, out of fear at these things, should altogether change their position, it is far more unseemly, and the mark of men who have no confidence in what they have believed, to use violence and compel those who are unwilling.

Thus the devil, since he possesses nothing true, advances with axe and chisel and shatters the doors of those who do not receive him; but the Savior is so gentle that he teaches, saying, "If anyone wishes to come after me," and, "whoever wishes to be my disciple" — yet as he comes to each one he does not use force, but rather knocks and says:

"Open to me, my sister, my bride" — and to those who open, he enters in; but from those who hesitate and are unwilling, he withdraws.

For it is not by swords or spears, nor through soldiers, that the truth is proclaimed, but by persuasion and counsel.

But he himself, having no word spoken with authority, uses force against all, so that it may be shown to everyone that their wisdom is not according to God but is merely human, and that those who hold the views of Arius truly have no king but Caesar.

For the emperor, having summoned these men, commanded them to sign against Athanasius and to hold communion with the heretics.

Then, when they expressed astonishment at this novel practice, and said that this was not an ecclesiastical canon, he immediately replied:

"But whatever I will, that is the canon," he said.

"For when I speak thus, the bishops of Syria, as they are called, comply."

"So then, either be persuaded, or you too shall be exiled beyond the border."

Hearing this, the bishops, greatly astonished, lifted up their hands to God and, with great boldness of speech toward him, used words to teach him that the kingdom was not his own, but belonged to God who had given it, whom they also urged him to fear, lest he suddenly take it away.

And they warned him of the day of judgment, and counseled him not to corrupt the affairs of the Church, nor to intermingle Roman rule with the ordinance of the Church, nor to introduce the Arian heresy into the Church of God.

But he neither listened, nor permitted them to say anything more, but rather threatened all the more, and drew a sword bare against them, and even commanded some of them to be led away.

And again, like Pharaoh, he would repent of it.

The saints, then, shaking off the dust and looking up to God, neither feared the emperor's threat nor betrayed the faith when the sword was drawn, but rather regarded their exile as a service of ministry.

For as they journeyed from place to place and city to city, although in bonds, they preached the gospel, proclaiming the pious faith, anathematizing the Arian heresy, and holding up to public shame the repentance of Ursacius and Valens.

But this turned out contrary to what those who plotted against them intended.

For the greater the distance of their exile, the greater grew the hatred against them, and the exiles' journeying abroad became itself a proclamation against their impiety.

For who, seeing these men passing by, did not exceedingly admire them as confessors, and did not turn away from and abhor those others — no longer merely as impious men, but as executioners and murderers, calling them by any name rather than Christians? It would have been better, then, from the very beginning, for Constantius never to have entered this heresy at all; or, having entered it, not to have yielded so far to the impious; or, having yielded, to have stopped at this point along with them, so that at least up to here they might have shared a common judgment.

But as it seems, like fools, impaling themselves on the bonds of impiety, they draw down upon themselves a still greater judgment.

For indeed they did not even spare Liberius, bishop of Rome, from the very outset, but extended their madness even so far, neither showing reverence for the fact that his is an apostolic throne, nor showing due caution because Rome is the mother-city of the Roman world, nor remembering that they themselves had previously called them, in their own writings, apostolic men.

But, having jumbled everything together, they forgot all of it at once, and cared only for their zeal on behalf of impiety.

For since they had seen him holding right doctrine, and hating the Arian heresy, and striving to persuade everyone to turn away from it and withdraw from it, these impious men reasoned as follows:

"If we could persuade Liberius, we should quickly master everyone."

And they slandered him to the emperor.

And he, quickly hoping through Liberius to draw all men over to himself, wrote and sent a eunuch called Eusebius with letters and gifts, so that with the gifts he might flatter him, and with the letters threaten him.

So the eunuch, having gone to Rome, first entreated Liberius to sign against Athanasius and to hold communion with the Arians, saying:

"This the emperor wills, and commands you to do."

Then, displaying the gifts, he entreated him and took hold of his hands, saying:

But the bishop, seeking to persuade him by reason, taught him:

"How could this possibly be done against Athanasius? For how can we condemn one whom, not one synod only, but a second, gathered together from every quarter, has rightly cleared, and whom the Church of the Romans, moreover, dismissed in peace? Or who will accept us, if, having loved him when present and held him in communion, we should now turn away from him in his absence? This is not an ecclesiastical canon, nor have we ever received such a tradition from the fathers, who themselves received it from the blessed and great apostle Peter."

"But if indeed the emperor cares about the peace of the Church — if he commands that what has been written by us concerning Athanasius be annulled, let what has been done by them against him likewise be annulled, and let what has been done against all others be annulled as well; and let there henceforth be held an ecclesiastical synod far from the palace, at which the emperor is not present, no count attends, no judge threatens, but only the fear of God suffices, together with the ordinance of the apostles — so that thereby, first and foremost, the ecclesiastical faith may be preserved, just as the fathers defined at the council held at Nicaea, and those who hold the views of Arius be cast out, and their heresy be anathematized."

"And then, thereafter, when judgment has been rendered concerning the matters in which Athanasius and anyone else stands accused, and concerning the matters in which they themselves stand accused, let those who are guilty be cast out, and let those who are pure have freedom of speech."

"For it is not possible for those who are impious concerning the faith to be numbered together with a synod, nor is it fitting that the examination of a matter should be given precedence over the examination concerning the faith."

"For it is necessary first to cut off every disagreement concerning the faith, and only then to conduct the inquiry concerning other matters."

"For indeed our Lord Jesus Christ did not heal those who were suffering before they had shown and declared what faith they held in him."

"These things we have learned from the fathers; report these things to the emperor, for these things are both profitable to him and build up the Church."

"But let Ursacius and Valens not be heeded; for indeed they repented once before, and now, in what they say, they are not to be trusted."

Such, then, were the words of the bishop Liberius; but the eunuch, grieved not so much because Liberius had not signed, but because he had found him an enemy of the heresy, and forgetting that he was dealing with a bishop, departed with the gifts, having uttered great threats.

And he did something lawless, foreign to Christians indeed, but rather more befitting the audacity of eunuchs.

For imitating the transgression of Saul, he went to the martyrium of the apostle Peter and dedicated the gifts to him.

But Liberius, upon learning of it, was greatly indignant with the man who kept watch over the place and had not prevented it; he cast the gifts away as an unconsecrated offering, and this all the more provoked the eunuch to wrath.

He therefore incited the emperor, saying:

‘Our concern is no longer whether Liberius will write, but that he holds such views against the heresy that he anathematizes the Arians by name.’

He also stirred up the other eunuchs to this end; and there were many — or rather, the whole court consisted of eunuchs — in attendance on Constantius, and they had power over everything with him, and apart from them nothing at all took place there.

The emperor accordingly writes to Rome, and once again palatine officials, notaries, and counts are dispatched, along with letters to the prefect, instructing them either to deceive Liberius by guile, lead him out of Rome, and send him to the emperor's camp, or to drive him out by force.

Such being the contents of what was written, fear and conspiracy thereafter flourished throughout the whole city there as well.

…of the gates, lest any of the orthodox should enter and see Liberius. Rome too had experience of the Christ-fighters, and thereafter came to know what she had not believed on hearing it before — how the other churches, city by city, had been ravaged by them.

It was eunuchs who instigated these things, as well as the actions against everyone.

And this is the paradox of the plot: that the Arian heresy, which denies the Son of God, has its support from eunuchs, who, being as barren in soul of virtue as they are in body, cannot bear to hear anything at all about a son.

The eunuch from Ethiopia, not understanding what he was reading, was persuaded by Philip when he taught him concerning the Savior; but the eunuchs of Constantius will not even tolerate Peter's confession, but turn away from the Father who reveals the Son, and rage against those who say that the Son of God is genuine — championing the doctrine of eunuchs, that nothing born of the Father is genuine and true.

For this very reason the law also bars such men from being admitted to ecclesiastical counsel; and yet he has now reckoned these men as masters of ecclesiastical judgments, and whatever seems good to them, this Constantius decides, while the so-called bishops merely play their part.

O, who could ever become the chronicler of these things? Who could report them to another generation? Who indeed would believe it on hearing that eunuchs — scarcely to be trusted even with domestic duties (for their kind is given to pleasure, and they take thought for nothing else than to make up, by hindering others, for what nature has taken from them) — that these men now rule over ecclesiastical affairs, and that Constantius, submitting himself to them, has plotted against everyone and exiled Liberius? For since he was much occupied writing to Rome, threatening, dispatching officials, plotting, thereafter the persecution against Alexandria also came to pass.

Liberius too was dragged before the emperor, and he himself likewise employed great boldness of speech:

‘Cease,’ he said, ‘persecuting Christians;’

‘do not attempt, through us, to bring impiety into the Church;’

‘we are ready to endure everything rather than be called Arian-maniacs;’

‘do not compel us, who are Christians, to become fighters against Christ;’

‘this too we counsel you:’

‘do not fight against him who gave you this dominion;’

‘do not, instead of thanksgiving, commit impiety against him;’

‘do not persecute those who believe in him;’

‘lest you too hear the words: it is hard for you to kick against the goads;’

‘but would that you might hear them, so that you too might be persuaded, as was holy Paul.’

‘Behold, we are here, we have come, before they can fabricate a pretext;’

‘for this very reason we hastened, knowing that exile awaits us from you, so that, before we suffer under some pretext, it might be shown plainly to all that everyone else too has suffered just as we have, and that the pretexts alleged against them were fabricated by our enemies, and that everything charged against them is calumny and falsehood.’

Thus Liberius spoke on that occasion and was admired by all; but the emperor, instead of answering, simply gave the order and exiled each man, keeping them apart, just as he had also done with those before them.

For he himself devised this pattern of exile, that in his punishments he might prove more savage than the tyrants and persecutors before him.

For in the former persecution, Maximian at that time, though issuing a common order and banishing many confessors together, lightened their punishment by comforting them with one another's company; but this man proved even more savage than that one, and separated those who had together spoken out boldly and confessed the faith, and parted those bound together by faith, so that even in dying they might not see one another — imagining that separation of body must altogether separate the disposition of soul as well, or that, once parted from one another, they would forget their mutual harmony and unity of spirit;

—soldiers under Constantius—

For in the very act by which they thought to grieve the confessors, separating them from one another, in this they rather did great wrong to themselves.

For altogether, if they had remained together and happened to be in the same place, the abomination of the impious would have been known from a single place only; but now, by separating them, they have caused their impious heresy and wickedness to run through every place and become known everywhere.