Church History 1 part 2/28

For when Licinius was already about to persecute all the churches under his rule, the war in Bithynia broke out, the last one that he and Constantine waged against each other.

So great was the divine favor that Constantine enjoyed, that he prevailed over his enemies both by land and by sea; and Licinius, having lost his infantry and his fleet, surrendered himself at Nicomedia, and for a time lived as a private citizen at Thessalonica, and there was put to death—a man who had once held the foremost place in the empire, most distinguished both in war and in other respects, and honored by marriage to Constantine's sister, yet who came to such an end.

And Constantine, the whole empire of the Romans having now devolved upon him alone, proclaimed by public edict to his subjects throughout the East that they should honor the religion of the Christians and diligently worship the Divine, and regard as divine only that which truly exists and possesses power enduring through all time.

For to those who are diligent in these things, it is fitting that all good things should come to them in abundance, and that whatever they undertake should meet with favorable prospects;

but for those who transgress against the Higher Power, whether in public or in private, all things turn out adversely, both in war and in peace.

Having proclaimed such things, and having gone through countless other matters by which he thought to draw his subjects toward the true religion, he decreed that whatever had been resolved or done against religion under those who had persecuted the Church should be rendered null and void;

and he enacted by law that all should have release who, on account of their confession of Christ, had been condemned to be exiled or to reside against their will on islands or elsewhere, or to labor in the mines, or to serve on public works, or in the women's weaving-houses or the linen workshops, or to be enrolled among the town councils though they had not previously been councillors;

and for those who had been rendered infamous, he removed their disgrace;

and to those who had been stripped of some military rank, he left it to their own choice either to remain in the rank they had held, or, with an honorable discharge, to lead a life of free leisure.

And since he recalled all to their former freedom and their accustomed honors, he also restored their properties to them,

but if any who had been condemned to death had been deprived of their possessions, he ordered that the inheritances should pass to their nearest kin; and if none of these existed, that the local church of the district should inherit; and whether a private person or the public treasury held anything from such property, it was to be restored.

And for those who had purchased such property from the treasury, or received it as a gift, he promised to make provision in whatever way was possible and fitting.

These things, as has been said, were resolved by the emperor and ratified by law, and without delay were brought to their proper completion.

And Christians for the most part administered the offices of the Romans;

and henceforth it was forbidden to all to offer sacrifice, or to resort to divinations and mystic rites, or to set up carved images, or to celebrate Greek festivals.

And many of the ancient customs of the cities were also changed.

Accordingly, among the Egyptians, the measure by which the rising of the waters of the Nile is indicated is from that time no longer brought to the customary Greek temples, but to the churches;

and among the Romans, then for the first time, the spectacle of gladiators was forbidden;

and among the Phoenicians who inhabit Lebanon and Heliopolis, it was no longer lawful for virgins to prostitute themselves before uniting with the men with whom, by the law of marriage, they were accustomed to cohabit after this first experience of unlawful union.

As for the houses of prayer, those which were already of adequate size were being restored, while others were being splendidly enlarged in height and breadth, and elsewhere, where none had existed at all, they were being built from the foundations.

And the emperor supplied the funds from the imperial treasuries, writing to the bishops in each city and to the governors of the provinces—instructing the former to give whatever orders they wished, and the latter to obey and diligently render service to the priests.

And as his rule prospered, religion increased along with it.

And to such a degree, even after the war against Licinius, was he successful in his campaigns against foreign peoples, that he prevailed over the Sarmatians and over those called the Goths, and finally, as a kind of favor, concluded a treaty with them.

This nation at that time dwelt beyond the river Ister, and being most warlike, always prepared in arms, and superior both in numbers and in bodily stature, it prevailed over the other barbarians, but had only the Romans as its rivals.

And it is said that this war, too, not least of all, showed Constantine, through signs and dreams, how great a providence he had been deemed worthy of from God.

Having prevailed in all the wars that occurred during his reign, he repaid Christ, as it were in a rivalry of honor, with his zeal for religion, urging his subjects to esteem this alone and to regard it as the way of salvation.

And from the taxable land existing in each city, he set apart from the public revenue a fixed sum, and assigned it to the local churches and clergy, decreeing by law that this grant should remain valid for all time.

...to be without a sacred house in which one might hymn God, pray, and partake of the mysteries.

For priests and deacons also accompanied them, attending upon the tent, fulfilling in this regard the order prescribed by the law of the Church.

And from that time the Roman regiments, which are now called "numeri," each provided its own tent, and had priests and deacons assigned to it.

And the day called the Lord's Day, which the Hebrews call the first day, and the Greeks dedicate to the sun, together with the day before the seventh, he decreed by law that all should abstain from lawsuits and other business, and worship the Divine with prayers and supplications.

And he honored the Lord's Day as the day on which Christ rose from the dead, and the other day as the day on which He was crucified;

for he held very great reverence for the divine cross, both because of the successes granted to him through its favor in battles against his adversaries, and because of the sign from God that had befallen him concerning it.

Accordingly, he abolished by law the punishment of crucifixion, which had formerly been customary among the Romans, from use in the courts;

and he ordered that this divine symbol should always be inscribed and stamped, both fashioned on coinage and depicted in portraits.

And his images, still existing in this form even to this day, bear witness to this.

And in all things, but especially in his legislation, he was zealous to serve the Divine.

He appears, at any rate, to have corrected the licentious and degraded unions that had not previously been forbidden, as can be perceived from the very laws laid down concerning these matters, should anyone care to examine them.

For it does not seem timely to me to labor over this subject at present.

But it is necessary, in addition to what has been said, to go through the laws enacted for the honor and establishment of religion, since these constitute a necessary part of ecclesiastical history.

There was an ancient Roman law that, from the age of twenty-five, forbade the unmarried from being accorded the same privileges as others—among many other things, that those not most closely related by kinship should gain nothing from a will—while it penalized the childless by confiscating half of what had been bequeathed to them.

The Romans of old established this law in the belief that Rome and its subject territory would thereby become populous, since not long before this law they had lost many lives in civil wars.

Seeing, then, that those who practiced virginity and childlessness for God's sake fared the worse on this account, the emperor judged it foolish to suppose that the human race could be increased through human diligence and effort, since nature always receives decrease and increase according to the measure allotted from above.

And he proclaimed a law to the people, that the unmarried and the childless should equally enjoy all the same privileges as others;

not only so, but he further decreed that those living in continence and virginity should have even greater privileges, granting to them—both males and females, even those still under age—freedom to dispose of property by will, contrary to what generally prevailed in the Roman commonwealth.

For he considered that those whose constant occupation was to worship the Divine and practice philosophy would deliberate well concerning all things;

since for this same reason the Romans of old also enacted that the Vestal Virgins, even at six years of age, might freely dispose of property without hindrance.

And this too is the greatest proof of the emperor's reverence concerning religion:

For he exempted the clergy everywhere from taxation by establishment of law, and he permitted litigants, should they wish to decline the civil magistrates, to appeal instead to the judgment of the bishops;

and that their verdict should be authoritative, and superior to that of other judges, as though it had been issued by the emperor himself, and that the magistrates and the soldiers under their command should carry into effect whatever was so adjudicated;

and that the definitions of the synods should be irrevocable.

And having come to this point, I think it worthy of record not to omit the laws enacted for the benefit of those set free within the churches.

He enacted laws that all who were manumitted in the churches, with the priests as witnesses, should be deemed worthy of Roman citizenship.

Even to this day, time bears witness to this pious invention, for the custom still prevails that the laws concerning this matter are inscribed at the head of the deeds of manumission.

Constantine, then, enacted such laws, and in every way was zealous to honor religion;

and it was also glorious in its own right, on account of the virtue of those...

For there were at that time many other good men among the Christians, and since the persecutions had only recently ceased, a great many of the confessors, still living out their lives, brought honor to the churches—such as Hosius, bishop of Cordova, and Amphion, bishop of Epiphania in Cilicia, and Maximus, who was entrusted with the church of Jerusalem after Macarius, and Paphnutius of Egypt, through whom, it is said, the Divine wrought very many wonders, granting him power over demons and the healing of various afflictions.

This Paphnutius and the aforementioned Maximus were among those confessors whom Maximinus had condemned to labor in the mines, after gouging out their right eyes and severing the sinews of their left legs.

We have learned that Spyridon, bishop of Trimithus in Cyprus, also lived in their time, whose virtue I consider sufficiently demonstrated by the report concerning him that still prevails.

Of the things that came to pass through him with divine assistance, the greater part, as is likely, the local people know; but I will not conceal those that have come down to us.

For this man was a rustic, having a wife and children, but he was not on this account inferior in divine matters.

They say that once wicked men came by night to the fold of his sheep, and when they attempted to steal them, they suddenly became bound, though no one had bound them.

And at daybreak, when he arrived, he found them fettered, and he loosed them from their invisible bonds, but rebuked them because, when it was possible to persuade him and receive what they desired, they had chosen rather to steal, and to suffer such hardship during the night.

Nevertheless, taking pity on them, or rather teaching them to be turned to a better life, he said, "Go your way, taking this ram with you."

"For you have grown weary with keeping watch, and it is right that you should not depart from my fold complaining of your labors." One might reasonably marvel at this, and no less at the following.

A certain acquaintance of his deposited something with his virgin daughter, named Irene.

And she, having received it, buried it in the house, so that it might be carefully kept.

But it happened that the girl died without saying anything, and the man came demanding back his deposit.

Spyridon, not knowing what he meant, nevertheless searched throughout the house, and not finding it, the man wept and tore his hair, and appeared ready to die of grief.

Moved to pity, Spyridon went to the tomb and called the girl by name.

And when she answered, he asked her about the deposit, and having learned it, he returned, and finding it at the place she had indicated, he gave it back to the man.

Since I have been led on to this point in my narrative, it is not out of place to add this also.

It was the custom of this Spyridon, of the crops that were produced for him, to distribute some to the poor, and to lend others free of charge to those who wished.

He neither gave nor received in person, but merely showing them the storehouse, he permitted those who came to take as much as they needed, and again to repay as much as they knew they had taken.

So someone, having borrowed in this manner, came intending to repay.

Being permitted, according to custom, himself to repay to the storehouse what he had borrowed, he looked toward dishonesty.

And thinking he would go unnoticed, he did not repay the debt, but having secretly withheld the repayment of what was owed, he departed as though he had paid it in full.

But this was not, after all, destined to remain hidden for long.

For after some time, the man again wanted to borrow, and Spyridon sent him to the storehouse, giving him authority to measure out for himself as much as he wished.

But seeing the storehouse empty, he informed Spyridon.

"It is strange, my good man," he said, "how it seems that the storehouse has run out of provisions for you alone."

"Consider then within yourself, whether, having borrowed on another occasion, you did not repay the first amount."

"For if this is not the case, you will certainly not fail to obtain what you need; so go again with confidence, as one who will find it." And he, thus detected, confessed his sin.

It is worthy of admiration in this divine man, his gravity and precision regarding ecclesiastical order.

It is said, then, that at a later time, on account of some need, the bishops of Cyprus came together in the same place, and among them were this Spyridon and Triphyllius, bishop of Ledra, a man otherwise learned and, through his practice of law, had spent a long time in the city of the Berytians.

When the assembly was being held, Triphyllius, being permitted to teach the congregation, when it was necessary to bring forward that saying, "Take up your bed and walk," changed the word and said "pallet" instead of "bed."

And Spyridon, indignant, said, "Are you better than him who said 'bed,' that you are ashamed to use his very words?" And having said this, he leapt down from the priestly throne in the sight of the people, thereby teaching humility to one who was puffed up over his eloquence.

For he was well able to rebuke him, being both venerable and most glorious for his deeds, and at the same time being his elder both in age and in priesthood.

How he was disposed regarding the reception of strangers may be known from the following.

When the season of the Forty Days had already begun, someone came to him from a journey; during this time, together with his household, he was accustomed to continue his fast, and to eat nothing until an appointed day, remaining without food in the days between.

Seeing the stranger quite worn out, he said to his daughter, "Come now, wash the man's feet and set food before him." But when the maiden said that there was neither bread nor barley-meal (for the preparation of these was superfluous on account of the fast), he first prayed and asked pardon, and then bade his daughter boil some salted pork, which happened to be preserved in the house.

And when it was cooked, having seated the stranger with him, when the meat was set before them, he ate, and urged the man to imitate him.

But when the man declined, saying that he was a Christian, Spyridon said, "For this very reason, all the more, you ought not to decline."

"For the divine word has declared that to the pure all things are pure." So much, then, concerning Spyridon.

Not least did those who at that time pursued the monastic way of life show forth the Church as most illustrious, and uphold its doctrine, by the virtues of their manner of life.

For this philosophy, having come to men from God as a most beneficial thing, is careless of many branches of learning and of the art of dialectic, as being over-curious, and as depriving one of leisure for better things, and as contributing nothing toward living rightly.

But by natural and unelaborate wisdom alone, it teaches those things which entirely remove wickedness, or make it less.

It places in no rank of goods those things that lie between vice and virtue, but rejoices only in what is good.

And it considers as base the one who abstains from evil but does not do good.

For it does not display virtue for show, but practices it, holding the esteem of men as nothing.

And resisting very manfully the passions of the soul, it yields neither to the necessities of nature nor bows down before the weaknesses of the body.

Possessing the power of a divine mind, it always looks toward the Creator of all things, and by night and by day worships Him, and propitiates Him with prayers and supplications.

Coming to worship piously through purity of soul and a way of life of good deeds, it disregards purifications and vessels of lustral water and such things.

For it considers sins alone to be defilements.

Being superior to whatever befalls it from without, and, so to speak, master over all things, it is not moved from its purpose either by the disorder or the necessity that governs ordinary life, nor is it grieved when insulted, nor does it retaliate when ill-treated, nor does it collapse when oppressed by sickness or lack of necessities.

Practicing throughout its whole life to need but few things, and, as far as is possible for human nature, drawing nearest to God.

Treating the present life as if passing through it, it is not troubled by preoccupation with acquiring possessions, nor does it make provision beyond the pressing need of the moment; but always praising the simplicity and unencumbered readiness of its manner of life here, it eagerly awaits the blessedness that comes from there, and is ever strained toward that happy portion.

Breathing continually the reverence due toward the divine, it turns away in disgust from foul speech, not enduring even the mere utterance of those things, the practices of which it has excluded from its own manner of life.

Restraining the needs of nature to the barest minimum and compelling the body to require only moderate things, it masters licentiousness through self-control, and punishes injustice through justice, and falsehood through truth, and by good order it partakes of measure in all things.

It establishes its way of life in concord and fellowship with those near at hand.

It is provident for friends and strangers, and makes its own possessions common with those in need, and takes hold of what is fitting for each; it neither burdens those who rejoice nor fails to console those who grieve; and altogether, being zealous and directing its care toward what is truly good, it teaches with temperate words and wise thoughts free of embellishment and slander, and heals its hearers as though with certain remedies, conducting its discourses with honor and respect, and free from strife, mockery, and anger.

For being rational, it rejects every irrational impulse, and once for all masters the passions of the body and of the soul.

This most excellent philosophy was begun, as some say, by Elijah the prophet and John the Baptist.

Philo the Pythagorean records that in his own time the best of the Hebrews from everywhere philosophized in a certain place situated on a hill above Lake Mareia.

He describes their dwelling, their manner of life, and their discipline as being of the very sort that we now see practiced among the monks of Egypt.

For he writes that when they begin to philosophize, they renounce their possessions to their relatives, and, forswearing both affairs and social intercourse, dwell outside the walls in solitary cells and gardens; and that their dwellings are sacred, which are called monasteries, and in these, living in solitude, they perform solemn mysteries, and diligently serve the divine with psalms and hymns.

And that they do not taste food before sunset, and some go without food for three days or more.

And moreover, on appointed days they sleep on the bare ground, and abstain entirely from wine and from things containing blood, and their fare is bread and salt and hyssop, and their drink is water.

And that women dwell together with them—aged virgins who, out of love for philosophy, of their own free will practice celibacy.

Philo, then, recording things in this manner, seems to hint at those in his own time who, being converts to Christianity from among the Hebrews, still lived in a rather more Jewish fashion and preserved the customs of the Jews.

For among others it is not possible to find this manner of conducting life.

Whence I conjecture that this philosophy flourished among the Egyptians from that time onward.

But others say that the persecutions which from time to time befell the religion gave occasion to this.

For since, while fleeing, they made their abode in mountains, wooded glens, and deserts, they became accustomed to this manner of life.

But whether it was the Egyptians or certain others who from the beginning presided over this philosophy, this at any rate is agreed upon by all: that Antony, the great monk, trained this manner of life, by fitting habits and exercises, to the very summit of precision and perfection.

Since he was at that time distinguished in the deserts of Egypt, on account of the man's renowned virtue, the emperor Constantine made him his friend, and honored him with letters, and urged him to write concerning whatever he needed.

This man was by birth an Egyptian, of good family, from Coma.

And this is a village of the nome of Heraclea, in the region of the Egyptians called Arcadia.

Having disposed of the rest of his property, he distributed the proceeds among the poor.

For he perceived that it is the mark of a zealous philosopher not only to strip himself of possessions, but also to expend them upon what is needful.

And associating with the zealous men of his time, he emulated the virtues of them all.

Having discovered that the good life, though difficult at first, becomes pleasant through habit, he devised methods of ever more intense asceticism and daily advanced in self-control; and, as though always beginning anew, he renewed his zeal, chastening the pleasures of the body through its own hardships, and by a divinely wise resolve setting himself against the passions of the soul.

His food was only bread and salt, his drink was water, and the hour for his meal was when the sun was setting.

Often he would remain two days or more without food.

He would keep vigil, one might almost say, through whole nights continually, and in prayer would reach the break of day.

But if he did taste sleep at all, he would sleep but a moment on a rush mat.

For the most part, lying on the ground, he made the bare earth alone his bed.

He refused the anointing with oil, the use of baths, and similar things, on the ground that moisture would turn the body's vigor into softness.

They say he was never even seen naked.

He did not know letters, nor did he admire them, but praised a good mind as being older than letters, and itself the inventor of them.

He was exceedingly gentle, most humane, prudent, and courageous; gracious to those who met him, and giving no offense to those with whom he conversed, even though they carried on the discussions contentiously.

For by his own disposition and a certain skill he would wisely quell rising contention and bring it back to due measure, tempering the tone of those conversing with him and regulating their manners.

Though, through so many virtues, he had become filled with divine foreknowledge, he did not regard it as a virtue to foreknow the future, and accordingly counseled that one should not labor in vain over this, declaring that neither would the man ignorant of what was to come be held to account for it, nor would the man who knew it be for that reason enviable.

For true blessedness, he said, consists in reverencing God and keeping his laws.

"But if anyone," he said, "is concerned about this too, let him keep his soul pure;"

for this is able to make the soul clear-sighted and knowledgeable of things to come, God revealing the future beforehand.

He himself would not endure idleness, and he exhorted the man who intended to live rightly to labor, to examine himself, and to render an account of what he had done by night and by day.

And if he had done anything improper, he should record it, so that thereafter he might abstain from such sins—ashamed before himself should he find many things written down, and at the same time fearing lest, his record being discovered,

he should be shown to others as being wicked.

Moreover, in championing the wronged, if any man ever was, he proved himself exceedingly most zealous;

and for this reason he often went into the cities.

For many, lamenting before him, would press him to intercede on their behalf with the rulers and those in authority;

for each one would have valued highly seeing him, hearing him speak, and obeying his bidding, since, great as he was, he was eager to remain unknown and to be hidden away in the deserts.

But if, being constrained at some time, he came into a city to help those in need, having accomplished the purpose for which he had come, he would immediately return to the desert.

For he used to say that the watery element nourishes fish, while the desert brings adornment to monks; and likewise that fish touching dry land forsake life, while monks who resort to cities lose their monastic dignity.

While showing himself compliant and agreeable to those who beheld him, he took care neither to have a disposition of disdain nor to appear to have it.

But I have been led to relate these few small matters concerning Antony's manner of life, so that, using what has been said as examples, we might form an estimate of the man's philosophy.

He had very many and most distinguished disciples, some of whom became eminent in Egypt and Libya, others in Palestine, Syria, and Arabia.

Each of them, no less than their teacher, lived and conducted himself among those with whom he dwelt, and instructed many, leading them to like virtue and philosophy, so that it became a laborious task to go about through cities and regions diligently seeking out Antony's companions or their successors.

For how could the discovery of these men be easy, seeing that they took greater pains to remain hidden in this life than many men of today, puffed up with ambition, take to parade and make themselves conspicuous?

Yet among the disciples of Antony whom we have learned of, there were, besides many other most distinguished men whom I shall record in due course, also Paul, surnamed the Simple.

It is said of him that, being a rustic, he lived together with a woman fair in appearance;

and having caught her in the very act of committing adultery, he quietly smiled and added an oath that he would no longer live with her;

and saying to the adulterer, "Keep her," he at once went up into the desert to Antony.

This man is said to have become exceedingly gentle and enduring.

Indeed, although he was aged and unaccustomed to the hardships of monastic endurance (for he was still a newcomer), Antony, assailing him with trials of every kind, found him in nothing ignoble;

and having borne witness that his philosophy was perfect, he allowed him to live by himself, as one who had no further need of a teacher.

God also confirmed Antony's testimony, and by his works showed the man to be most glorious, indeed superior even to his own teacher in afflicting and driving out demons.

About this time Amoun the Egyptian also practiced the philosophic [ascetic] life.

It is said of him that, his relatives having compelled him, he took a wife, yet did not know her as is lawful for men.

For when their marriage had its beginning, and, as a bridegroom, he had taken his bride into the bridal chamber, he remained alone with her and said, "This marriage of ours, O woman, is fulfilled thus far;"

and he set forth from the sacred scriptures how great a good it is to be able to remain a virgin, and he sought to live apart by himself.

But since his wife approved his words concerning virginity, yet found it hard to be parted from him, he lived together with her for eighteen years, sleeping apart, without in this way neglecting his monastic asceticism.

In this length of time, the woman, having come to emulate her husband's virtue, reasoned that it was not right that so great a man should remain hidden at home for her sake, and that each of them ought to live apart and pursue the philosophic life.

And concerning this she entreated her husband.