Church History 1 part 10/28

since almost everyone was gaping after gain and turning the matter into petty trading. So, taking up the matter, he asked, 'What sort of man do you take me to be?'

And when they agreed that he was trustworthy, and very good and noble, and just such a man as the reputation concerning him held, he said, 'Then willingly, for your sake, I will appoint myself to this office.' And having received money from them, he set up about three hundred beds in the public colonnades, and took care of those who were sick from the famine, and welcomed strangers and those who had come in from the countryside because of the scarcity of necessities.

But when the famine ceased, he returned to the dwelling where he had also lived before.

And having survived only a few more days, he died, having attained in his clerical service only to the rank of deacon, yet having become famous for his virtue no less than those who are admired for a good life and learning in the priesthood and in public conduct.

These are the tokens of Ephraim's virtue.

But to speak worthily and to go through in detail all the things concerning how he, and each of those who then practiced philosophy, lived and conducted themselves, and among whom, would require a writer such as he himself was;

but I perceive that this is impossible for me, both because of the weakness of my style and because of my ignorance, both of the men themselves and of what they accomplished.

For some remained hidden throughout the deserts, while others, though living amid the crowds of cities, made themselves appear lowly and no different from the multitude, working virtue while stealing away the true opinion others might have of them, so that they might not be praised by others;

for, directing their minds toward the recompense of the good things to come, they made God alone the witness of their labors, and they had no regard at all for outward reputation.

And for the most part, those also who at that time presided over the churches were exact in their manner of life.

Naturally, therefore, the multitudes, being led on by such men, were earnestly devoted to the worship of Christ, and religion increased day by day; through the zeal, virtue, and marvelous deeds of the priests and of those who philosophized in the Church, it hunted down and drew over to itself, away from Hellenic trumpery, those who adhered to Hellenism.

The emperors, too, cooperated toward the increase of these things, being no less zealous than their father concerning the churches, honoring the clergy and their children and households with special honors and exemptions, ratifying by their own votes the laws of their father, and enacting their own laws against those who attempted to sacrifice, or to tend carved images, or otherwise to practice Hellenic worship.

They ordered that the temples situated everywhere, in cities and in the countryside, be closed, and they assigned some of these to the churches that were in need either of sites or of building materials;

for they especially took great care both to renew such houses of prayer as had suffered from the passage of time, and to raise up others magnificently from their foundations.

Among these is also the noteworthy church of Emesa, celebrated in song for its beauty.

They also legislated that no Jew should purchase a slave belonging to another sect;

and if anyone should act contrary to this, the slave was to become the property of the state;

and if he should also circumcise him, as is lawful custom among the Jews, the danger should extend to his very life, and to the confiscation of his property.

For since they had resolved to increase religion in every way, they took forethought for this also, that those not belonging to that race by birth should not be drawn unhindered into Judaism, and that those who had hope of Christianity should be kept safe for the Church;

for religion increased especially from among the Hellenic multitude.

Nevertheless, concerning the doctrine itself, at first they maintained their father's opinion;

for both were upholders of the faith set forth at Nicaea.

And Constans, having so continued, died;

but Constantius held the same position for a while; afterward, however, when the term 'homoousios' had been brought into disrepute, he was moved from his former opinion;

yet he did not entirely refrain from confessing that the Son is like the Father in substance.

For Eusebius and his circle, and certain others among the bishops of that time throughout the East who were admired for learning and manner of life, introduced, as we have learned, a distinction, proposing to say 'like in substance,' which they called 'homoiousios,' rather than 'homoousios.'

[They held that 'homoousios' is] properly understood of bodies, such as man and the other animals, trees and plants, which have their participation and origin from something alike in kind, whereas 'homoiousios' applies to things incorporeal, such as God and the angels, each being conceived in relation to itself according to its own particular substance.

By such men, then, the emperor Constantius also was persuaded to change his opinion.

And in his own mind, as I conjecture, he thought the same as his father and his brother, but, exchanging one word for another, he said 'homoiousios' instead of 'homoousios.'

For this seemed to those who proposed this term to be a more precise way of naming the matter, insisting that, unless one spoke thus, one would risk conceiving the incorporeal as a body.

which seemed to many to be a foolish notion;

for they said that names ought to be transferred from visible things even to matters of the intellect, and that there was no danger at all in the wording itself, provided the error did not lie in the underlying concept.

It is not surprising that the emperor experienced this very thing, since many of the priests, too, without any love of contention, accepted this term, agreeing in thought with those who had assembled at Nicaea, while others, seeing no difference between the two words, used either indifferently to convey the same meaning.

so that it seems to me that that argument was cleverly contrived, far removed from the truth, by those who held the opinions of Arius.

For they say that after the Council of Nicaea, many of the priests, among whom were Eusebius and Theognis, no longer endured to say that the Son is of the same substance with the Father, and that Constantine, being angered, condemned them to live in exile.

But whether in a dream or a waking vision, it was revealed beforehand by God to the emperor's sister that they held right opinions and had suffered these things unjustly.

As a result of this, the emperor recalled them and inquired why in the world they held opinions contrary to what had been decided at Nicaea, seeing that they had shared in the document set forth there concerning the faith.

And they said that they had not agreed out of true conviction, but out of fear lest, if strife should naturally arise over this matter, he should condemn the doctrine as doubtful and turn back to Hellenism and persecute the Church — since he had only recently begun to become a Christian and was still unbaptized.

And upon this defense, they say, Constantine granted them pardon, but took forethought once more to assemble another council.

But while he was still deliberating these things, his death overtook him first, so that he charged Constantius, as his elder son, to carry this out, telling him that there would be no benefit to him in his empire unless the divine were worshiped by all in agreement.

And he, obeying his father, convened the council at Ariminum.

In connection with which the falsehood is especially exposed.

For they assembled in the consulship of Hypatius and Eusebius, when Constantius, after the death of his father, was completing about the twenty-second year of his reign, many councils having taken place in the meantime, in which there was inquiry concerning 'homoousios' and 'homoiousios.'

But no one at all was willing to declare that the Son is unlike the Father in substance, until, taking this matter greatly amiss on account of Aetius, he ordered, for the abolition of such a doctrine, that the priests should assemble at the same time at Ariminum and at Seleucia — so that the true cause of this council was not the command of Constantine, but the controversy over Aetius.

That these things are so, what follows will also show.

Now Constans, on learning what had taken place at Sardica, wrote to his brother that he should restore their own churches to the followers of Athanasius and Paul.

But when he delayed, Constans wrote again, saying he must either receive the men or else prepare for war.

Constantius, having taken counsel about this with the bishops of the East, thought it foolish to choose civil war for such a reason; he therefore recalled Athanasius from Italy, granting him public conveyances for his return and repeatedly urging him by letter to come back with all speed.

Athanasius, who was then residing at Aquileia, received the letters of Constantius and went to Rome to take his leave of Julius and his circle.

...a letter to the church of the Alexandrians rejoicing at the return of so great a priest, and exhorting them to be of his mind.

From there he went on to Antioch in Syria, where the emperor was then residing; and Leontius was at that time in possession of the churches.

For after the exile of Eustathius, men of the opposing heresy had administered the see of Antioch: first Euphronius, after him Placitus, and next Stephen.

But when Stephen was deposed as unworthy, Leontius then took charge of the bishopric.

Athanasius declined communion with him as heterodox, and instead communed with those called Eustathians, holding church assemblies in private houses.

But when he had experienced the goodwill and fairness of Constantius, and it seemed that he would recover his own church, the leaders of the opposing heresy having made a certain suggestion, the emperor said, "For my part, I am ready to fulfill the promises on which I recalled you."

"But you yourself, too, out of justice, will readily grant me whatever favor I may ask."

"It is this: that out of the many churches under you, those who refuse to commune with you should have one for themselves." Athanasius, taking this up, said, "Indeed, O Emperor, it is just and necessary to obey your commands, and I will not gainsay it."

"But since here in this city of Antioch too there are those who avoid communion with the heterodox among us, I ask a like favor: that they too may have one church, and gather in it without fear." And when the emperor had judged that Athanasius spoke justly, it seemed better to those of the other heresy to keep quiet, reckoning that their own doctrine would gain no advantage whatever among the Alexandrians on account of Athanasius, who was well able both to keep those of like mind secure and to win over his opponents.

"But among the Antiochenes, if this were done, first the admirers of Eustathius, who were many, would be given occasion to unite, and then, as would be likely, the others would experience revolutionary troubles, when it was possible for them to hold securely what they already possessed."

For even while the opposing party held control of the churches there, not all the clergy and people were fully persuaded of what was held; rather, assembling in choirs, as was the custom in singing hymns to God, they would display their own preference at the end of the songs.

And some glorified the Father and the Son as of equal honor, while others glorified the Father in the Son, by the insertion of the preposition...

...declaring the Son to be secondary.

While these things were happening in this manner, Leontius, who at that time administered the see of Antioch from the opposing heresy, being at a loss what to do, did not attempt to prevent those who hymned God according to the tradition of the Council of Nicaea.

For he feared lest the multitude should rise up in sedition.

It is said that, touching his head, which was white with grey hair, he remarked that when this snow melted there would be much mud, thereby hinting that after his death the discord in the hymns would end in sedition among the people, since those who succeeded him would not tolerate dealing with the multitude in the same manner as he had.

The emperor then sent Athanasius away to Egypt.

He also wrote concerning him to the bishops and presbyters throughout the city, and to the people of the church of the Alexandrians, testifying to the rectitude of his life and the excellence of his character, and exhorting them to be of one mind, and, with him as their leader, to serve the Divine with prayers and supplications.

But if any, out of malice, should show themselves seditious, they were to be punished according to the laws established concerning such matters.

He further ordered that whatever had previously been written by him against Athanasius and those in communion with him should be erased from the public records, and that his clergy should have exemption from public services, as they had before.

And concerning this matter he also wrote to the governors throughout Egypt and Libya.

When Athanasius arrived in Egypt, those whom he found to hold the views of Arius he deposed; and to those whom the Arians themselves had earlier deposed, he entrusted the churches according to the faith of the Council of Nicaea, charging them to adhere to it with diligence.

...the churches to be held by the followers of Arius.

Indeed, they also brought this charge against him: that he had presumed to ordain in cities that had no connection with him whatsoever.

But inasmuch as he had accomplished his return even against the will of his opponents, and, on account of his friendship with the emperor Constans, was thought to be no man to be despised, he was held in greater honor than before.

Many of the bishops, too, abandoned their former hostility toward him and extended communion to him, as did the bishops of Palestine.

For as he was passing through their territory at that time, they received him with kindness.

And having held a council at Jerusalem, Maximus and the others wrote the following concerning him:

The holy council assembled at Jerusalem, to the presbyters and deacons and people in Egypt and Libya and in Alexandria, our beloved and most longed-for brethren, greeting in the Lord.

We are not sufficient, beloved, to give worthy thanks to the God of all for the wonders he has always wrought, and which he has now also wrought for your church, in restoring to you your shepherd and lord and our fellow-minister Athanasius.

For who ever hoped to see with his own eyes what you now receive in reality? But truly your prayers have been heard by the God of all, who cares for his own church, and who has looked upon your tears and lamentations, and for this reason has hearkened to your supplications.

For you were like sheep cast down and harassed, having no shepherd.

For this reason the true shepherd visited you from heaven, he who cares for his own sheep, and has restored to you him whom you longed for.

For behold, we also, doing everything for the sake of the Church's peace and being of one spirit with your love, embraced him even before you did.

And having entered into communion with you through him, we send you these greetings, along with your thanksgiving prayers, that you may know that we too are united to him by the bond of love.

You ought also to pray for the piety of our most God-beloved emperors, who themselves, having learned of your longing for him and of his purity, deigned to restore him to you with all honor.

Receiving him therefore with open hands, be zealous to send up the thanksgiving prayers owed on his behalf to God who has granted you these things, so that you may rejoice always together with God, and glorify the Lord in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom be glory to the Father forever.

Amen. Such, then, is what the council from Palestine wrote.

And besides these things, the greatest event that befell Athanasius was this: it clearly and openly convicted those who had assembled at Tyre of having unjustly condemned him.

For Valens and Ursacius, who together with the party of Theognis had gone, as was mentioned before, to the Mareotis to investigate whether, according to Ischyras' accusation, Athanasius had broken a sacred chalice, having now repented, wrote the following to Julius, bishop of the Romans:

To the most blessed lord, Pope Julius: Ursacius and Valens.

Since it is established that we had previously, through our letters, put forward many grave charges against Athanasius the bishop, and since, being pressed by the letters of your Kindness concerning the matter we had reported, we were unable to render an account of it, we confess before your Kindness, in the presence of all our brethren the presbyters, that everything that had previously come to our ears concerning the name of the aforesaid Athanasius is false and fabricated, and is by every means alien to him.

For this reason we gladly seek the communion of the aforesaid Athanasius, especially since your Piety, in accordance with its innate goodness, has deigned to grant pardon for our error.

We confess this also: that if ever the Easterners, or Athanasius himself, should maliciously seek to call us to judgment concerning this matter, we shall not act contrary to the will and disposition of your Kindness.

Those who champion him, saying, "There was a time when the Son was not," and that Christ is out of that which did not exist, and those who deny that Christ is God and Son of God before the ages — just as we set forth also in our former petition presented at Milan — both now and always we anathematize.

Having written these things with our own hand, we again confess that we have condemned the Arian heresy, as we have said before, together with its authors, forever.

I, Ursacius, being present, have subscribed to this my confession.

Likewise also Valens. Such, then, are the things they confessed to Julius.

But I must also of necessity set forth what they wrote to Athanasius himself.

To the lord brother Athanasius, bishop: Ursacius and Valens, bishops.

Having found occasion through our brother and fellow-presbyter Musaeus, who is coming to your Love, beloved brother, we take this opportunity to greet you most warmly from Aquileia, and we pray that you are in good health as you read this our letter.

For you will give us confidence, if you too, in writing, render to us a like return.

For know that we hold peace with you, and ecclesiastical communion.

And the token of this is the greeting conveyed through this letter. It was thus that Athanasius returned to Egypt from the region under the rule of the West.

Paul, too, and Marcellus, as well as Asclepas and Lucius, recovered their own sees;

for indeed the emperor's letters permitted their return as well.

And in Constantinople, when Paul entered, Macedonius withdrew and held church assemblies on his own.

But at Ancyra a very great uproar arose when Basil was removed from the church there, at the time Marcellus entered.

For the others, however, the entry was not difficult.

In the fourth year after the council of Sardica, Constans was killed among the Gauls in the West.

Magnentius, who had plotted his murder, brought under his own rule the entire territory formerly governed by Constans.

And a certain Vetranio was proclaimed emperor by the Illyrian soldiers at Sirmium.

Elder Rome, too, had the greatest share in these calamities, since Nepotianus, who was the nephew of Constantine the former emperor, gathered gladiators around himself and laid claim to the throne.

But he was slain by the generals of Magnentius; and Constantius, since the whole empire had now devolved upon him alone, having been proclaimed sole emperor, was eager to overthrow the usurpers.

Meanwhile Athanasius arrived in Alexandria, and arranged for a council of the bishops of Egypt to be held, so that they might vote to confirm what had been decreed concerning him at Sardica and in Palestine.

The emperor, persuaded by the slanders of those of the opposing heresy, did not remain of the same mind, but ordered — contrary to what had previously been decreed by the council at Sardica — that those who had obtained their return should be driven out.

At that time, when Marcellus was again expelled, Basil took possession of the church at Ancyra, while Lucius, having been thrown into prison, perished there.

Paul, condemned to perpetual exile, was taken away to Cucusus in Armenia.

There indeed he died; whether by illness or by violence I cannot say with certainty, but rumor still prevails even now that he was put to death by strangling at the hands of those who held the views of Macedonius.

[Macedonius] mistreated those who held Paul's views, at first driving them out of the churches, and afterward compelling them to hold communion with him, so that many perished from blows, others were deprived of their property, others of their civic rights, and others were branded on the forehead, so that they might be marked out as being such.

And the emperor, on learning of this, condemned it and held Eudoxius and his party responsible; and this became one of the causes of the deposition of Macedonius himself, when they took from him the church of Constantinople.

For the evil proceeded even as far as murders.

For indeed certain others were also put to death, among them Martyrius and Marcian, who, being associates of Paul, are said to have died bravely after being handed over by Macedonius to the prefect, as having been the cause of the violent death of Hermogenes and of the sedition against him.

One of them was a subdeacon, and Marcian was a chanter and reader of the sacred scriptures.

Their tomb is a notable one before the wall of Constantinople, surrounded, as befits the memorial of martyrs, by a house of prayer.

John began to build it, and Sisinnius completed it — both of whom afterward presided over the church of Constantinople.

For they did not consider it fitting that these men, being honored by God, should be deprived of the rewards of martyrdom, inasmuch as this place too — where those led to death had their heads cut off — though formerly impassable because of apparitions, was purified.

And those possessed by demons were freed from their affliction, and many other marvels occurred at their tomb.

Let this much be said by us concerning Martyrius and Marcian.

But if to anyone these things seem not credible, there is no difficulty in learning more precisely from those who know.

For perhaps they will relate things even more marvelous than these.

About this time, when Athanasius had fled, George mistreated those throughout Egypt who refused to hold the same views as himself.

The emperor, having marched against the Illyrians, came to Sirmium, and on stated terms Vetranio came there to the same place to meet him.

But when the soldiers who had proclaimed him changed sides and acclaimed Constantius alone as emperor and Augustus (for this had been contrived by the emperor himself and those loyal to him), Vetranio understood the betrayal.

And falling prostrate at the feet of Constantius, he became a suppliant.

Constantius, stripping him of his royal insignia and the purple robe, had mercy on him and allowed him to live as a private citizen, and ordered that he should have provisions in abundance from the public treasury, saying that it was more fitting for him, now being an old man, to be released from imperial cares and to live in tranquility.

When the affair concerning Vetranio had turned out thus for him, he sent a very large army against Magnentius into Italy.

And having appointed his cousin Gallus as Caesar, he sent him into Syria for the guarding of the eastern region.

At that time, while Cyril, after Maximus, was administering the church of Jerusalem, a sign of the cross appeared in the sky, shining brilliantly — not like a comet streaming forth in flashes, but consisting of a great mass of light, moderately dense and translucent, extending in length from Calvary to the Mount of Olives, and occupying about fifteen stadia of the sky above that region, with a breadth proportionate to its length.

And since this marvel that had occurred was beyond expectation, fear seized everyone.

Leaving their homes, the marketplaces, and whatever work each happened to be doing, they came together with their children and wives into the church, and together they hymned Christ and eagerly confessed him as God.

And the report concerning this astonished, not in small measure, the whole inhabited world known to us.

And this happened not long before.

For as was customary, those who, from virtually every land, were sojourning in Jerusalem for the sake of prayer and to view the places there, reported to their own people the things of which they had been spectators.

The emperor also learned of this, both from the many others who reported it and from Cyril the bishop, who wrote about it.

[saying] that these things had long ago been divinely foretold in the sacred books.

And this event, occurring thus, led many of the Greeks and Jews to Christianity.

Meanwhile Photinus, who was administering the church at Sirmium — having already previously become the originator of a new heresy — while the emperor was still residing there, openly championed his own doctrine.

Being naturally gifted at speaking well and capable of persuasion, he drew many over to an opinion like his own.

He said that there is one almighty God, who created all things by his own Word;

but he did not admit the begetting and existence of the Son before the ages, but taught instead that Christ came into being from Mary.

When this doctrine became widely known to many, the bishops both of the West and of the East took it hard, and considered that these innovations were being made in common against whatever each of them held as their own opinion.

For the disagreement of Photinus's faith was shown to be absolute both with those who admired the tradition established at Nicaea and with those who praised the opinion of Arius.

At this the emperor too was displeased.

And so, being at that time residing at Sirmium, he convened a council.

And there assembled, from the East, among others, George, who had been entrusted with the church of the Alexandrians, and Basil, bishop of Ancyra, and Marcus of Arethusa; and from the West, Valens of Mursa and Hosius the confessor, who, having also taken part in the council of Nicaea, unwillingly took part in this one as well.

For he, not long before, having been condemned to live in exile through the plotting of those who held Arius's views, was recalled by the emperor at the urging of those assembled at Sirmium.

For they thought that if, by some persuasion or by force, they should make him — being most eminent and admired by all — agree with them, he would be for them a credible witness to their own doctrine.

When, then, they had assembled at Sirmium (this was the year after the consulship of Sergius and Nigrianus, when no consul was appointed either from the East or from the West, because of the disturbance in public affairs that had occurred on account of the usurpers), they deposed Photinus as holding the views of Sabellius and of Paul of Samosata.

After this, again contrary to what had previously been decreed, they issued three expositions concerning the faith, of which they composed one in the Greek language and the others in Latin, agreeing neither with each other nor with what had previously been decreed, in many points both of wording and of meaning.

It should be known, however, that the Greek exposition said the Son to be neither of the same substance (homoousios) nor of like substance (homoiousios) with the Father;

and [it condemned] those who assert that he is without beginning, or that the Son is made by an extension of the substance of God, or that he is co-ordinate with, rather than subordinate to, the Father.

But the other, one of the Latin expositions, concerning substance — which the Romans call 'substantia' — altogether forbids saying whether the Son is of the same substance or of like substance with the Father, on the grounds that such terms are neither spoken of in the sacred scriptures nor comprehensible by human conceptions or knowledge.

It enjoins that one must confess the Father to be greater in honor, dignity, and divinity, and by the very name of Father itself, and it requires that the Son be subordinate to the Father in all things; and that whereas the Father has no beginning, the begetting of the Son is unknown to all except the Father.

It is said that, after this document had already been issued, the bishops who had pressed for it, considering it not properly composed, made haste to take it back for correction;

and that the emperor ordered this, threatening punishment against those who concealed it;

but that document, once issued, could no longer entirely escape notice.

The third document agrees in meaning with the others in other respects, but removed the term 'substance';

and it gives the following reason, in these very words, in the Latin tongue:

"...and also to name [it] 'hypostasis'."

"But we say that the Son is like the Father, as the divine scriptures say." Such, then, were the decisions made concerning the faith, in the presence of the emperor himself.

Hosius at first refused to consent to these things, but, being compelled and — as it is said — enduring blows though he was an old man, he consented and subscribed.