Church History 1 part 17/28

And when he learned that the man was a Christian, redoubling his insolence — or rather being eager to utter against Christ blasphemies that are not lawful (for he was accustomed to venture upon this on every occasion) — he boasted, hinting that the one whom the man supposed to be God would not come to his aid, since he was disregarding the orders that had been given him.

And when he thought these matters were well settled, he took command of the Roman army and led it through the land of the Assyrians.

And he captured some cities and forts, some by treachery and others by war, and pressed forward heedlessly, giving no thought to what lay behind him, nor to the fact that he would have to return again by the same route.

But whatever he captured he ravaged terribly, razing storehouses and other buildings to the ground in some cases, and setting them ablaze in others.

Marching along the Euphrates, he arrived not far from Ctesiphon.

This is a great city, and now holds the royal seat of the Persians in place of Babylon.

The Tigris flows not far from it.

But since it was not possible for the ships to reach Ctesiphon through the land lying between the rivers, and it seemed necessary either to pass the city by or to abandon the ships, he questioned some of the captives and discovered a navigable canal that had been silted up over time.

And cutting through the barrier, he drew the waters of the Euphrates into the Tigris.

In this way, with the ships sailing alongside the army, he advanced upon the city.

Since the cities and villages through which they had passed lay in ruins and had no provisions, he offered prizes for horse-racing and had the soldiers sit to watch the spectacle of the races.

Meanwhile he ordered the masters of the ships to throw overboard the cargo and the army's grain supply, so that the soldiers, seeing themselves in danger, as I have learned, might through lack of provisions be turned to boldness and fight the enemy more eagerly.

Having summoned the generals and the tribunes together after dinner, he put the soldiers aboard the ships.

And having sailed across the Tigris by night, they were already at the far banks and were disembarking.

Some of the Persians, perceiving this, defended themselves and encouraged one another, but the Romans fell upon those who were still asleep.

And when day came, they arrayed themselves for battle, and having lost many men and slain many, they crossed the river.

And then they encamped before Ctesiphon.

With the captives leading the way, at first they enjoyed a fertile land, one having everything they needed.

But after this, a certain old man, having chosen to die for the freedom of all the Persians, deliberately let himself appear to be captured, and, as though seized against his will, was brought before the commander.

Questioned about the route, and appearing to speak the truth, he persuaded them that, if they followed him, he would bring the army with the greatest speed to the borders of the Romans.

Only for three or four days, he said, would the march be difficult, and for these days they must carry their own provisions, since the land was a desert.

And the emperor, led astray by the words of the crafty old man, resolved that they must proceed by this route.

But when, pressing on further and after the three days had passed, they entered still more desolate regions, the old captive, being tortured, confessed that he had deserted to his death for the sake of his own people, and that he was ready to endure everything willingly.

And while the army, worn out by the length of the march and the want of provisions, was already in distress, a Persian battle-line fell upon them.

And when a fierce battle had begun, a violent wind suddenly rose up and covered the sky and the sun with clouds, mixing dust into the air.

And amid the darkness and thick gloom, a horseman riding past drove his spear into the emperor and struck him a fatal blow, and having cast him down from his horse — whoever he was — departed unnoticed.

Some say that this man was a Persian, others that he was a Saracen.

But there are those who maintain that it was a Roman soldier who dealt him the blow, having grown indignant because through folly and rashness he had exposed the army to so many dangers.

Libanius the Syrian sophist, who had become his closest acquaintance and friend, writes as follows concerning the one who killed him:

"Who, then, was the killer? Someone longs to hear.

I do not know his name, but a clear proof that the killer was not an enemy is that no enemy has been honored for the deed.

And yet the Persian king summoned through heralds the one who slew him, to receive a reward, and it was possible for whoever came forward to obtain great honors.

But even so, not even for love of the rewards did anyone come forward to boast of it.

And great is the gratitude owed to the enemy, in that they did not claim for themselves the glory of what they had not done, but left it to us to seek out the slayer among ourselves.

"For those to whom his continued life was of no advantage — and these were the ones living not according to the laws — had long been plotting against him, and, once they gained the power, carried it out, driven by that other injustice of theirs, which had had no license under his reign, above all with regard to the honoring of the gods, the very opposite of which they were seeking..." And Libanius, writing in this manner, thereby hints that the slayer of Julian was a Christian.

As for men who have chosen to die for the freedom of all, and have eagerly come to the defense of their fellow-citizens, kinsmen, or friends,

one could scarcely blame even him for having shown himself courageous for the sake of God and the religion which he held in honor.

But as for me, beyond what has been said, I know nothing precise as to who performed this slaying.

But as those who report it affirm in agreement, a truthful account has come down to us that he was slain by divine wrath.

And a proof of this is a divine vision, which I have learned that one of his close associates saw.

For it is said that, as he was hastening to join Julian, who was in Persia, he stopped to lodge at a certain place beside the highway, and for lack of a dwelling slept in the church that was there, and saw — whether waking or in a dream — that many of the apostles and prophets, having gathered together in that same place, were lamenting the outrage the ruler was inflicting upon the churches, and were deliberating what ought to be done.

And while they had deliberated about this for a long time, and were, as it were, at a loss, two of them rose up from the midst of the assembly and urged the others to take courage, and, setting out as though to bring down Julian's rule, hastily left the gathering.

And the man who had become a witness of these extraordinary things thereafter cared no longer about his journey.

But being fearful as to how the outcome of such a vision would turn out, sleeping again in that same place he saw the same assembly, and suddenly, as though the two had returned from a journey — those who on the previous night had marched out against Julian — they announced to the others that Julian had been slain.

And because of his anxiety, even when night came he took no food, but sitting upon a chair fell into sleep, and, as though he had fallen into a trance, he seemed to see white horses running through the air, and those mounted upon them proclaiming:

"And let him report this to Athanasius the bishop."

"And let him rise and eat." And I have learned that what was seen, both by the kinsman of Julian and by the philosopher, happened in this way.

And neither of them was mistaken in the truth of what he had seen, as was made known afterward.

But if these things are not sufficient for anyone as proof that he was destroyed by God for injuring His churches, let him also take into consideration the prophecy

which a churchman had foretold.

For when he was about to campaign against the Persians, and was threatening that after the war he would harm the churches, and mocking that the carpenter's son would be able to render them no aid at all, that churchman spoke as follows and declared:

"This carpenter's son is preparing a wooden coffin for you, unto death." And indeed, even he himself, after the blow, somehow understood the source from which he had been harmed, and was not altogether ignorant of the cause of his calamity.

For it is said that, when he was wounded, he drew blood from the wound and cast it up into the air, as one gazing toward Christ appearing before him, and blaming Him for his own slaying.

But others say that, being enraged at the Sun, because it had come to the aid of the Persians, or had not preserved him, being — according to some such astronomical theory — the guardian of his nativity, he displayed the blood with his hand and hurled it up into the air.

But whether, being truly about to die, as is wont to happen when the soul is already parting from the body and is able to see things more divine than a man can see, he actually beheld Christ, I am not able to say.

For this account is not attested by many.

Yet neither do I venture to reject it as false, since it is not unlikely that even more marvelous things than these should occur, to show that the religion named after Christ was not established by human effort.

Indeed, throughout the whole time of this reign, God appeared to be indignant, and afflicted the Roman dominion with calamities of every kind among many nations.

With earthquakes shaking the land, buildings collapsing, and sudden chasms opening up in many places, it was not safe to remain either indoors or in the open air.

And I conjecture, from what I have learned, that it was either while he was reigning, or during the second period of his reign, that the calamity which befell the Alexandrians in Egypt also occurred.

It was then that the sea, having withdrawn, rushed back again in a surge beyond its own boundaries and flooded the dry land for a great distance, so that, when the water receded, sea-going vessels were found even upon the rooftops.

Indeed, the day on which these things happened, which they call the "birthday of the earthquake," the Alexandrians still keep to this day as an annual festival, lighting a great many lamps throughout the whole city and offering prayers of thanksgiving to God, celebrating it with great splendor and reverence.

Moreover, droughts also intensified during this reign, and ruined all the crops as well as the air.

From this, because of the scarcity of provisions, famine drove men even to the food of irrational animals.

And pestilence, following close behind, brought on its own diseases and destroyed men's bodies.

Such, then, were the events concerning Julian.

After him, by the common agreement of the camp, Jovian succeeded to the throne.

For when, in enemy territory, the troops were appointing him emperor, he himself, declaring that he was a Christian, refused the command and would not accept the insignia of imperial rule, until the army, learning the reason for his refusal, cried out that they too were Christians.

And since affairs were in danger and turmoil as a result of Julian's generalship, and the army was suffering from lack of provisions, he judged it necessary to come to terms, surrendering to the Persians certain territories that had previously been subject to the Romans.

And having learned by experience that the subject peoples had suffered ill through the wrath of God on account of his predecessor's reign, he, without any delay, wrote to the governors of the provinces that people should assemble in the churches without fear and diligently worship the Divine, and that the only faith to be revered by his subjects was that of the Christians.

He also restored the exemptions to churches and clergy, to widows and virgins, and whatever else had previously been granted or legislated for the benefit and honor of religion by Constantine and his sons, but was afterward taken away under Julian.

He also addressed to Secundus, who then administered the office of the praetorian prefecture, a general law, commanding that whoever attempted to seek a consecrated virgin in marriage, or even looked upon her lasciviously, should be punished with decapitation—let alone one who attempted to carry her off.

He enacted this law because certain wicked men, during the rule of Julian, had contracted marriages with such virgins, corrupting them either by force or by persuasion—the sort of thing shameless desire is wont to dare fearlessly, when religion, being in adversity, prompts it.

But the inquiries and disputations concerning doctrines were once again stirred up among those who presided over the churches.

For while Julian reigned, since Christianity was in danger of utter destruction, they kept quiet, and all together entreated God to be gracious to them.

Somehow it is dear to men, when wronged by others, to be of one mind with their own kind, but once freed from external evils, to quarrel among themselves.

But in how many states and nations this occurred is not for the present occasion to enumerate.

About this time Basil, bishop of Ancyra, and Silvanus of Tarsus, and Sophronius of Pompeiopolis, and those with them, rejecting the heresy called that of the Anomoeans, and accepting the term homoiousios instead of homoousios, sent a document to the emperor, giving thanks to God that he had set him over the rule of the Romans.

...since the schism which preceded the councils still remained in the churches, that the bishops everywhere should be permitted to assemble by themselves, wherever they wished, with no one else taking part, so that the undertakings of those who wished to do something partisan might not proceed according to their design, or that they might not practice deception as had happened under the emperor Constantius.

They declared that they would not come to the imperial camp, so that they might not appear to be troublesome.

But if permission were granted, they would gladly do so, using their own beasts of burden and at their own expense.

Such were the things they wrote to the emperor Jovian.

Meanwhile, a council having been held at Antioch in Syria, the faith of those who had assembled at Nicaea was confirmed and prevailed, so that the Son was glorified as consubstantial with the Father without dispute.

There took part in this council Meletius, who then administered the church of Antioch itself, and Eusebius of Samosata, and Pelagius of Laodicea in Syria, and Acacius of Caesarea in Palestine, and Irenion of Gaza, and Athanasius of Ancyra.

Having done these things, they made known to the emperor what had been decided, writing as follows:

To our most pious and most God-beloved master Jovian, Conqueror, Augustus: the synod of the bishops present at Antioch from various provinces.

That your piety has been the very first to be zealous for ecclesiastical peace and concord, we ourselves also well know, most God-beloved emperor.

And that you have rightly grasped the character which is the sum of such unity—namely, the true and orthodox faith—this too we are not ignorant of.

In order, therefore, that we might not be thought to be ranged with those who falsify the doctrines of truth, we report to your reverence that we both accept and hold the faith of the holy council formerly assembled at Nicaea.

Since even that term which seemed strange to some in it—we mean that of homoousios—has obtained a safe interpretation among the fathers, signifying that the Son was begotten from the substance of the Father, and that he is like the Father in substance.

The term 'substance' is taken up by the fathers neither as though some passion were conceived concerning the ineffable begetting, nor according to any Greek usage, but for the overthrow of that which was impiously dared concerning the Son by Arius—namely, that he came from things that are not.

This is precisely what those Anomoeans who have now sprung up shamelessly parade with even greater boldness and audacity, to the ruin of ecclesiastical concord.

We have appended to this our report also a copy of that same faith set forth at Nicaea by the bishops assembled there, which we also embrace... And such were the things decreed by the priests then residing at Antioch, who subjoined to their own writing, in its very words, the faith set forth by those who had assembled at Nicaea.

Meanwhile Athanasius, who administered the throne of Alexandria, having conferred with a few of his intimates, thought it necessary, being a Christian, to see the emperor.

And having come to Antioch, he informed the ruler concerning what he needed.

But others say that the emperor himself summoned the man, to advise him concerning what ought to be done regarding religion and correct doctrine.

Having arranged the affairs of the church as best he could, he began to think of his return.

But Euzoius, the bishop of the Arian heresy at Antioch, was eager to have Probatius the eunuch preside over the same doctrine at Alexandria.

And when those around Euzoius had proposed this, a certain Lucius, Alexandrian by birth, a presbyter among those ordained by George, approached the emperor.

And having slandered Athanasius as one who, throughout the time of his episcopate, had constantly endured accusations and had often been condemned by the emperors before him to live in exile, and as one who had become the cause of dissension and disturbance concerning the divine, he begged that another instead of him should oversee the church of the Alexandrians.

He commanded Lucius, with a threat, to keep quiet, and ordered that Probatius and the eunuchs around him, as being responsible for such disturbances, should be disciplined; but Athanasius, who from that meeting had become especially dear to him as a friend, he sent away to Egypt, bidding him govern the churches and the peoples in whatever manner seemed best to him.

For it is said that he praised most highly the virtue which Athanasius possessed, both for his manner of life, and for his prudence, and for his eloquence.

Thus the faith of those assembled at Nicaea, which had been assailed in the intervening time, as has been said before, once more prevailed under the present rule.

But it was not long before it was destined to experience a similar disturbance.

For, as it seems, the prediction of Antony the monk did not find its fulfillment only in what befell the church under Constantius, but there still remained also what afterward came to pass under Valens.

For it is said that, before those of the Arian heresy prevailed over the churches, Antony, in the reign of Constantius, saw in a dream mules kicking the altar and overturning the holy table, and immediately foretold that disturbance arising from bastard and mixed doctrines, and an uprising of those holding heterodox opinions, would seize the church.

But that these things were truly seen and truly spoken, the events that occurred both before this and afterward have demonstrated.

For moisture arose and the walls were drenched immoderately, while many coals were being burned there, as in the winter season, for the sake of warmth.

When the army arrived at Nicaea in Bithynia, they proclaimed Valentinian emperor, a good man and worthy of the rule.

He happened at that time to be present, having returned from exile in flight.

For it is said that, when Julian ruled the Romans, [Valentinian] being commander of the regiment called the Jovians, Julian discharged him from military service and punished him with perpetual exile, on the pretext that he had improperly arrayed the soldiers under him against the enemy, but the true reason was this:

While Julian was still residing among the western Gauls, he came to a certain temple to offer sacrifice.

And Valentinian was together with him.

And when he was about to cross the threshold of the temple, the priest, holding certain moistened branches, sprinkled those entering according to Greek custom.

And a drop having fallen upon his own garment, Valentinian took it hard (for he was a Christian) and reviled the one who was sprinkling.

And they say that, while the emperor was watching, he immediately cut off and threw away, together with the very drop, that part of his garment which had been wetted.

And from that time bearing him a grudge, Julian, not long after, condemned him to dwell permanently in Melitene of Armenia, alleging as pretext the laxity concerning the soldiers under his command.

For he did not wish to appear to be doing him harm on account of his religion, lest he should thereby be deemed worthy of the honors of a martyr or confessor.

Since it was for this very reason that he also spared the other Christians, seeing that they gained glory and strength for their doctrine through dangers, as has been said before.

When Jovian was entrusted with the rule of the Romans, Valentinian, having been recalled from exile to Nicaea, it happened that Jovian died; and, the army and those holding the highest offices having deliberated, he was chosen by the vote of all to be emperor.

But since you have chosen me, what you now demand rests not with you but with me:

And it is necessary that those who are ruled...

...you keep quiet, while I, as emperor, consider what ought to be done. And having addressed them thus on that occasion, he did not yield to the soldiers.

Not long after, having arrived at Constantinople, he proclaimed his brother emperor, and of the subject territory he handed over to him the parts toward the rising sun, while he himself assigned to his own rule the parts from Illyricum to the western ocean, and the whole opposite continent as far as the farthest Libyans.

Both were Christians in religion, but they differed in doctrine and in disposition.

For Valens, having had Eudoxius the bishop as his mystagogue when he was baptized, was zealous for the faith of Arius, and thought it a terrible thing not to compel everyone to be of the same opinion as himself.

But Valentinian, holding the same views as those assembled at Nicaea, favored these, while he did not trouble at all those who held different opinions.

When he departed from Constantinople for Rome, journeying through Thrace, at that time the bishops around the Hellespont and Bithynia, and all others who insisted that the Son should be called consubstantial with the Father, put forward Hypatian, bishop of Heraclea in Perinthus, to intercede on their behalf, so that permission might be granted them to assemble for the correction of doctrine.

And when he approached and explained what the bishops sought, Valentinian, taking up the matter, said, 'It is not lawful for me, who am set over the laity, to meddle in such affairs:'

'But let the priests, whose concern this is, assemble by themselves wherever they wish.' ...The emperor having given such an answer to Hypatian's embassy, they assembled at Lampsacus.

And having deliberated for two months, they finally decreed that the things done at Constantinople through the zeal of those around Eudoxius and Acacius should be void, and that the exposition of faith—which, as being that of the western bishops, they had produced and induced certain persons to subscribe to on the promise of the rejection of the doctrine of 'unlike in substance' (a promise they falsely broke)—should also be idle; and that it should prevail that the Son be pronounced like the Father in substance.

For the addition of 'like' was necessary on account of the signification of the hypostases.

And that the faith to be maintained throughout every church should be that confessed at Seleucia, which had been set forth at the dedication of the church at Antioch.

And that those who had been deposed by those who said the Son was unlike the Father should recover their own thrones, as having been unlawfully cast out of the churches.

But if anyone wishes to accuse them, let him do so at equal risk.

And that the judges should be those bishops of the nation who hold correct opinions, together with those from the neighboring provinces, assembling in the church where the witnesses to each man's manner of life are to be found.

Having determined these things, since they had summoned those around Eudoxius and offered them a share in repentance, but they would not obey, they made known their decisions to the churches everywhere.

But reckoning, as was likely, that Eudoxius would win over the palace to his own party and slander them, they resolved to act first and to report to the emperor what had been done at Lampsacus.

This they did, meeting the emperor Valens at Heraclea as he was returning from Thrace.

...he accompanied his brother partway on the road to elder Rome.

As for Eudoxius, affairs concerning the emperor and those around him were now being managed according to his wish.

When the envoys from Lampsacus came before him, therefore, he urged them not to be at variance with Eudoxius.

But since they refuted him and blamed Eudoxius both for the deception that had occurred at Constantinople and for the plots against the decisions made at Seleucia, he, moved to anger, ordered them to live in exile, and that the churches be handed over to the party of Eudoxius.

Meanwhile he arrived in Syria.

for he was wary lest the Persians should break the thirty-year truce that had been made in the time of Jovian.

He drove from the churches those who did not commune with Euzoius, fined them in money, maltreated them, and oppressed them in other ways as well.

And, as one may conjecture, things even more terrible than these would have happened then, had not the war against Procopius intervened.

For having usurped power at Constantinople and having gathered a large army in a short time, Procopius was hastening against Valens.

But Valens, marching from Syria, engaged him near the city of Nacolia in Phrygia.

Through the treachery of his own generals Agelo and Gomarius, he captured him alive, and pitilessly put to death both him and the betrayers.

For it is said that, although he had sworn to be well-disposed toward them, he had them sawn in two.

As for Procopius, he bent down to the ground two trees that stood not far apart, fastened one of his legs to each tree, and then let them spring back up.

As the trees straightened back to their natural position, they tore the man apart.

When the war came to an end, he came to Nicaea.

Having now come to a time of peace, he again began to trouble those who did not hold the same opinion as he did concerning the divine.

He was extraordinarily angry with those who had assembled at Lampsacus, because they had also denounced the bishops who held the views of Arius, together with the document concerning the faith set forth at Ariminum.

In this state of anger, he brought Eleusius from Cyzicus, and having convened an assembly of bishops who shared his own views, he tried to force him to commune with them in the faith.

At first he bravely resisted, but fearing exile, banishment, and the confiscation of his property (for these were the threats made against him should he not obey), he did as he was commanded.

But he immediately repented, and having returned to Cyzicus, he publicly confessed his sin before the church and urged that another bishop be ordained.

For it was no longer fitting, he said, that he himself should hold the priesthood, having become a betrayer of his own doctrine.

But the people of Cyzicus, out of respect for the man's manner of life and being exceedingly well-disposed toward him, chose not to have another bishop.

When Eudoxius, who presided over the Arian party at Constantinople, learned of this, he ordained Eunomius bishop of Cyzicus.

For he thought that Eunomius, being a formidable speaker, would easily win over the people of Cyzicus to his own doctrine by some persuasive means.

But when he arrived at Cyzicus, Eleusius having been driven out by order of the emperor, he took possession of the churches there.

Those who remained faithful to Eleusius built a house of prayer outside the walls, before the city, and held their assemblies there.

Concerning Eunomius, then, and the heresy that bears his name, I shall speak a little later.

Similar evils were also suffered by those at Constantinople who upheld the doctrine of those who had assembled at Nicaea, and together with them by those who held the views of Novatus as well.

The emperor ordered that all be driven from the city, and that the churches of the Novatians also be closed.

But of the others he had nothing left to close,

for these had already been taken from them earlier, during the reign of Constantius.

Nevertheless, he then also condemned to exile Agelius, who from the time of Constantine had led the Novatian church at Constantinople.

It was said that he conducted himself most admirably according to the laws of the church; and his manner of life -this indeed being the crowning excellence of his philosophy- was free from the pursuit of wealth, as his conduct plainly showed.

For he wore but a single tunic, and always went about without sandals.

Not long afterward, he himself was recalled, recovered the churches under his charge, and held his assemblies without fear.

The cause of this was a certain Marcian, who, admired for his learning and eloquence, had long served at the imperial court, and who, being at that time a presbyter of the Novatian sect, taught literature to the emperor's daughters, Anastasia and Carosa,

after whom the public baths in Constantinople are named even to this day.

For it was on account of the respect and gratitude shown toward him that these favors were granted to the Novatians alone.