Church History 1 part 8/28

therefore, although our lord, Constantine Augustus of blessed memory, my father, out of his great affection toward your most beloved piety, had intended to restore this same bishop to his own place, yet since, overtaken by the common lot of mankind, he rested before fulfilling this wish, I have deemed it fitting, as his successor, to fulfill the intention of the emperor of divine memory.

And when he attains to your presence, you will know how much respect he has received from me.

For it is no wonder, whatever I may have done on his behalf;

for the very image and bearing of so great a man moved and impelled me to this.

May divine providence preserve you, beloved brethren.—In accordance with this letter of the emperor, Athanasius, having obtained his return, administered the churches throughout Egypt.

But all who held the opinions of Arius took this hard, and could not bear to remain quiet.

From this, continual disturbances were stirred up, which in turn furnished the occasion for further plots against Athanasius.

For the party of Eusebius eagerly accused him before the emperor as a factious man who, contrary to the laws of the Church, had permitted his own return without a judgment of the bishops.

But how he was again driven out of Alexandria through their machinations, I shall relate presently, in its proper place.

About this time, upon the death of Eusebius son of Pamphilus, Acacius succeeded to the bishopric of Caesarea in Palestine.

He, having zealous devotion to this same Eusebius and having been trained by him in the sacred writings, became accomplished both in understanding and in expression, and so refined that he left behind many treatises worthy of note.

Not long after, the emperor Constantine, having brought war against his own brother Constans, was killed near Aquileia by that brother's commanders.

And thus the dominion of the Romans devolved: the western parts to Constans, and the eastern parts to Constantius.

Meanwhile, upon the death of Alexander, Paul succeeded to the priesthood of Constantinople—having, as those who hold the views of Arius and Macedonius say, procured this office for himself against the wishes of Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, and Theodore, bishop of Heraclea in Thrace, to whom, as neighboring bishops, the ordination properly belonged;

but according to the more prevalent account, he was ordained, on the testimony of Alexander whom he succeeded, by the bishops who happened to be present in the city.

For Alexander, who was already ninety-eight years old, having spent twenty-three of these years bravely in the episcopate, when he was about to die and the clergy asked him to whom the church should be entrusted after him, said, 'If you seek a man good in divine matters and able to teach as well, you have Paul;'

'but if you seek a man for external affairs and dealings with the rulers, Macedonius is better.' Even the admirers of Macedonius agree that both these testimonies were given by Alexander concerning each man; but they say that Paul was skilled in affairs and in speech, while they ascribe the testimony concerning conduct of life to Macedonius, and they charge Paul with having devoted himself to luxury and a heedless manner of life.

It is evident, then, by the agreement of all, that Paul had become a distinguished man and a brilliant teacher in the church, but the facts themselves testify that, with respect to the vicissitudes of life and dealings with men in power, he fared badly;

for he did not, as men skilled in such matters would be likely to do, dissolve any of the conspiracies raised up against him.

But even though he was exceedingly beloved by the multitude, he suffered ill through the machinations of those who at that time rejected the doctrine that had prevailed at Nicaea.

And at first, having undergone accusation as one who had not lived rightly, he was expelled from the church of Constantinople; and finally he was condemned to live in exile, where he is said to have died pitifully by strangulation, his enemies having contrived his murder.

But these things happened later.

For the present, however, because of this ordination, the greatest turmoil beset the church of Constantinople.

For while Alexander was alive, those who held the views of Arius did not exercise much boldness;

And the people, looking to him, were drawn to piety and glorified the Divine, especially after the unforeseen calamity of Arius, who died in the manner already described; for they believed that he perished by divine visitation, in fulfillment of the curses of Alexander.

But when he died, the multitude, split into two factions, openly fell into doctrinal disputes and conflict.

There was eager effort on the part of those who emulated the views of Arius that Macedonius should be ordained, while those who glorified the Son as consubstantial with the Father were eager that Paul should be bishop.

When the emperor arrived and learned of Paul's ordination (for he happened to be away at the time), he was indignant, as though the bishopric had been entrusted to an unworthy man.

And through the scheming of those who were hostile to Paul, he convened a synod, thrust him out of the church, and handed over the see of Constantinople to Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia.

And he, having done these things, went to Antioch in Syria.

Now the church there had already been completed—a church surpassing in size and beauty, which Constantine, while still living, had begun to build, employing his son Constantius as his agent—and it seemed to the party of Eusebius, who had long been eager for this, an opportune time for a synod to be held.

These men, then, together with others who shared their views, numbering in all ninety-seven bishops, assembled at Antioch from many places, ostensibly for the dedication of the newly built church, but as the outcome showed, for the alteration of what had been decreed at Nicaea.

At that time Flacillus, the successor of Euphronius, presided over the church of Antioch; and it was the fifth year that had elapsed since the death of Constantine the Great.

When all the bishops had assembled, and the emperor Constantius also was present, the majority were indignant and vehemently accused Athanasius of having disregarded the priestly ordinance which they themselves had established, and of having resumed possession of the church of the Alexandrians before being permitted to do so by a synod.

And because of this they also said he was responsible for the death of citizens, in that, when he entered the city, sedition arose, and many were killed while others were handed over to the courts.

And when the gravest calumny had been woven against Athanasius by such speeches, they voted that Gregory should preside over the church of the Alexandrians.

After this, turning to the inquiry concerning doctrine, they found no fault with what had been decreed at Nicaea, but sent letters around to the bishops in each city, in which they declared that, being bishops themselves, they had not followed Arius (for how could they, since he was a presbyter?), but rather, having become examiners of his faith, had thereby accepted him, and that they themselves believed according to the faith handed down from the beginning.

And this was the confession which they appended to their letter, making no mention whatsoever of the terms 'essence' of Father or Son, or 'consubstantial', but equivocating in its meaning, so that neither those who held the views of Arius nor those who followed the Council of Nicaea could take exception to its wording as unknown to the sacred Scriptures.

For, having omitted the things which each side would not accept, they set down in this document the terms acknowledged in common by both parties.

For they alike acknowledged that the Son coexists with the Father, and is only-begotten, and is God, and exists before all things, and took on flesh, and fulfilled the Father's will, and the other points likewise.

But whether he is co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father, or the contrary, they did not put in writing.

But having, as it seems, second thoughts about this document, they set forth yet another one besides it, which in other respects, I think, agrees with the doctrine of those who assembled at Nicaea, unless some meaning unclear to me lies hidden invisibly within its wording.

But I do not know why, having declined to call the Son consubstantial, they declared him unchangeable and unalterable in his divinity, and the exact image of the Father's essence, will, power, and glory, and the firstborn of all creation.

And they said that they had found this creed written out in full in the hand of Lucian, who suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia, a man in other respects most highly esteemed, and who had mastered the sacred Scriptures to the utmost degree of precision.

But whether they spoke the truth in this, or were dignifying their own document with the reputation of the martyr, I am not able to say.

Among them also was Eusebius, surnamed of Emesa.

He was by birth of a noble family from Edessa in Osrhoëne; from his youth, according to ancestral custom, he thoroughly learned the sacred writings, and after this was also instructed in the learning of the Greeks, having studied under the teachers then residing there; later, under the interpreters Eusebius of Pamphilus and Patrophilus, the presiding bishop of Scythopolis, he perfected his precise knowledge of the divine books.

And having come to Antioch, since it happened that Eustathius had been deposed on account of the accusation of Cyrus, he associated with Euphronius, who succeeded him.

But fleeing from ordination to the priesthood, he went off to Alexandria, and having studied under the philosophers there and been trained in their disciplines, he returned to Antioch and again spent time with Flacillus, who succeeded Euphronius.

And when it happened that this synod was convened there, he was put forward for the see of Alexandria by Eusebius, bishop of Constantinople.

For Eusebius thought that he, conducting himself with great decorum and being a most powerful speaker, would easily turn the Egyptians away from their goodwill toward Athanasius.

But when he declined this ordination, reckoning that he would find ready-made hatred among the Alexandrians, who would not endure seeing another man in place of Athanasius, Gregory was entrusted with the church of the Alexandrians, while he himself was entrusted with the church of Emesa.

There he endured sedition (for he was slandered as practicing that branch of astronomy which they call judicial astrology), and fled to Laodicea, to George, the bishop there, who was well disposed toward him.

And George, going with him to Antioch, to the bishops Flacillus and Narcissus, arranged for him to return to Emesa.

And he became a favorite of the emperor Constantius.

Indeed, when the emperor was about to campaign against the Persians, he took him along.

For it is said that the Divine wrought many wonders through him, as George of Laodicea testifies, having related these things and others concerning him.

But he, although so worthy a man, did not escape the envy of those whose nature it is to be vexed at the virtues of others.

He too endured censure, as though he held the views of Sabellius.

But on this present occasion he voted the same as those who had assembled at Antioch.

Maximus, however, bishop of Jerusalem, is said to have deliberately avoided this synod, having repented because, having been deceived, he had cast the same vote as those who deposed Athanasius.

Nor indeed did the one who governs the see of the Romans attend, nor any of the other Italians, nor any of the Romans beyond Italy came together there.

Meanwhile, while the Franks were ravaging the Gauls to the west, and the eastern regions were being shaken by very great earthquakes, especially the city of the Antiochenes, after the synod held there Gregory came to Alexandria with a multitude of soldiers, who had been ordered to see to it that his entrance should be free of sedition and secure.

And those who held the views of Arius joined forces with them, both in these matters and in devising how they might drive out Athanasius.

But he feared lest the people should suffer harm on his account.

And as night came on he was holding a church assembly; and when the soldiers had already occupied the church, having first completed a prayer, he directed that a psalm be recited.

And when the chanting of the psalm rose in unison, the soldiers meanwhile kept quiet, since it did not seem an opportune moment to attack.

Meanwhile, slipping in among those who were chanting, he went out unnoticed, and was conveyed to Rome.

And Gregory took possession of the see of the Alexandrians.

Thus the designs of those of the opposing heresy were accomplished, since those who had zealously championed throughout the East the doctrine confirmed at Nicaea had been deposed.

And with the most eminent sees having been preemptively seized—Alexandria in Egypt, Antioch in Syria, and the imperial city by the Hellespont—they held the bishops throughout that jurisdiction obedient to them.

But the one who administered the church of the Romans, and the priests throughout the West, regarded these things as an affront to themselves.

For having from the beginning approved in every respect the vote of those who had assembled at Nicaea, they had not, even now, ceased to hold this conviction.

And when Athanasius came to them, they received him kindly, and drew to themselves the judgment of the case concerning him.

Being displeased at this, Eusebius wrote to Julius, proposing that he should become judge of the decisions made concerning Athanasius at Tyre.

But he, before learning Julius's decision, died not long after the synod held at Antioch.

But those in Constantinople who zealously held to the doctrine set forth at Nicaea brought Paul back into the church.

At the same time, as the crowd from the opposing party gathered, those around Theognis, bishop of Nicaea, and Theodore of Heraclea, together with others who shared their views and happened to be present in the city, assembled in another church and ordained Macedonius bishop of Constantinople.

From this, frequent seditions arose throughout the city, resembling wars.

For as the crowds from each side clashed together, very many perished.

And the city was full of turmoil, so that the emperor, who was then at Antioch, learned of these events, and, moved to anger, ordered that Paul be driven out again.

The emperor's orders were carried out by Hermogenes, the general in charge of the cavalry force, who, having then been sent to Thrace, while passing through Constantinople, attempted by force, through soldiers, to drive Paul out of the church.

But when the crowd would not yield, and even in some measure resisted, and the soldiers attempted to carry out the order more forcefully, the rioters seized Hermogenes's house, set it on fire, and killed him; and having fastened a rope to him, they dragged him through the city.

And the emperor, hearing of this, rode swiftly on horseback and came to Constantinople, intending to inflict harm upon the populace.

But he spared them, seeing them come out to meet him in tears and beseech him; yet he took away from the city about half the grain which his father Constantine had granted every year to the citizens from the public treasury, out of the Egyptian tribute, supposing perhaps that the multitude, being idle through luxury and ease, were prone to sedition.

And he turned his anger upon Paul, and ordered that he be driven out of the city.

Nevertheless, he was also angry at Macedonius, as being responsible for the killing of the general and of many others, and because he had been ordained before the emperor had authorized it.

Yet neither ratifying his ordination by a formal vote, nor

deposing him, he left the matter thus and returned to Antioch.

Meanwhile, the zealots of Arius's doctrine removed Gregory, regarding him as negligent in establishing their own doctrine, and displeasing to the Alexandrians because of the grievous events that had befallen the city at his entrance, and the burning of the church.

In his place was sent George, who by birth was a Cappadocian, and who was admired for being energetic and zealous concerning this doctrine.

But Athanasius, fleeing from Alexandria, arrived at Rome.

At the same time it happened that Paul, bishop of Constantinople, also came together there, as well as Marcellus of Ancyra and Asclepas of Gaza, who, being opposed to the followers of Arius, had endured an accusation from certain heterodox persons of having overturned an altar, and had been deposed.

But in his place, Quintianus was entrusted with the church of the Gazaeans.

And Lucius also, bishop of Adrianople, having been accused on another charge and deprived of the church under him, was residing in Rome.

And since the care of all rightly belonged to him on account of the dignity of his see, he restored to each his own church.

And he wrote to the bishops throughout the East, censuring them for having deliberated wrongly concerning these men, and for disturbing the churches by not abiding by what had been decreed at Nicaea.

And he ordered a few out of all of them to be present on an appointed day, to prove that they had passed a just verdict against these men.

or else he threatened that he would no longer tolerate them, if they did not cease from their innovations.

Then Athanasius and Paul, and their respective parties, each recovered his own see, and sent Julius's letters to the bishops throughout the East.

And they took these letters very ill.

And having assembled at Antioch, they wrote back to Julius a letter elaborately composed and drawn up in forensic style, full of much irony, and not lacking in the most terrible menace.

For in the letter they acknowledged that the church of the Romans held a distinction esteemed by all, as having been from the beginning the nursery of the apostles and the metropolis of piety, even though the founders of the doctrine had come to sojourn there from the East.

Yet they did not think that they should on this account be ranked second, since they did not have the advantage in the size or number of their church, but were victorious rather in virtue and moral purpose.

And bringing forward as charges against Julius his having held communion with Athanasius and his party, they were indignant, as though their synod had been insulted and their decision annulled.

and they denounced what had been done as unjust and discordant with ecclesiastical law.

Having thus complained about these matters and having called to witness that they had suffered grievous things, they promised peace and communion to Julius if he should accept the deposition of those whom they had driven out and the establishment of those ordained in their place; but they proclaimed the opposite for him if he should oppose their decrees.

since they maintained that the priests throughout the East before them had said nothing in objection, when Novatian was driven out of the church of the Romans.

But concerning what had been done contrary to what had been decreed by those assembled at Nicaea, they wrote nothing back to him, declaring that they had many necessary grounds of excuse for what had occurred, but saying that it was now superfluous to make a defense on these matters, since they had once for all been suspected of wrongdoing on every point together.

Such, then, is what they wrote to Julius.

But to the emperor Constantius they again denounced those whom they had deposed.

And he, who was then residing at Antioch, wrote to Philip the prefect, who was at Constantinople, to restore the church again to Macedonius, and to expel Paul from the city.

But the prefect, fearing a disturbance among the populace, before the emperor's order became publicly known, went to a public bath called the Zeuxippus (a very conspicuous and very large one), and, as though about to confer with him on public affairs, summoned Paul to come to him.

And as soon as he arrived, he showed him the emperor's letter.

And having ordered him to be led secretly to the sea through the imperial palace adjoining the bath, he put him aboard a ship and sent him to Thessalonica, whence indeed he was said to have his ancestors.

And he condemned him to keep away altogether from the region beginning with the East, but did not prevent him from setting foot in Illyricum and the land beyond it.

And having come out of the tribunal, taking Macedonius to ride with him in the same carriage, he proceeded to the church.

And the multitude (for by the time these things had occurred an untold number had gathered) immediately filled the church.

For each faction—both those of the Arian heresy and those who favored Paul—were eager to occupy it beforehand.

But when the prefect, and with him Macedonius, arrived at the doors of the church, the crowd, being pushed by the soldiers so that a passage might be made for them, was unable to withdraw, since those in front were tightly packed; and the soldiers, supposing that the crowd was willfully refusing to give way, put many to death with their swords, and many others also perished, trampled by one another.

Thus Paul was unexpectedly deprived of the church at Constantinople.

But Athanasius, fleeing, remained in hiding, fearing the threat of the emperor Constantius.

For he had threatened to punish him with death, since those of heterodox belief accused him of causing seditions, and asserted that at his entering many had died.

But what most of all moved the emperor to anger was that they said he sold for profit the grain allowance which the emperor Constantine had bestowed upon the poor of Alexandria.

But Julius, on learning from the bishops of Egypt that these things had been written falsely, and thinking it unsafe for Athanasius to remain in Egypt for the time being, summoned him to himself; and to those who had assembled at Antioch (for he happened at that time to have received their letter) he wrote, charging them with secretly innovating upon the doctrine of the Council of Nicaea, and with not having summoned him to the synod, contrary to the laws of the church.

for there was, he said, an ecclesiastical law which declares invalid whatever is done without the consent of the bishop of the Romans.

and that what had been done at Tyre and in the Mareotis against Athanasius had not been done justly.

And he accused them—on the one hand of the calumny concerning Arsenius, on the other of Athanasius's absence at the proceedings in the Mareotis; and above all he censured the arrogance of their letters.

And from these considerations, and from all the circumstances, he reasoned that it was necessary to help Athanasius and Paul.

For not long after, Paul himself, having arrived in Italy, lamented his own situation to him.

But since he accomplished nothing by what he wrote concerning them to the priests throughout the East, he made their situation known to the emperor Constans.

And he wrote to his brother, the emperor Constantius, to send some of the bishops from the East to give an account concerning their deposition.

And for this purpose three were chosen: Narcissus, bishop of Irenopolis in Cilicia, Theodore of Heraclea in Thrace, and Mark of Arethusa in Syria.

And having come to Italy, they insisted upon what had been done by them, and attempted to persuade the emperor that the judgment of the Eastern synod was just.

But when required to state how they believed, they concealed the confession they had set forth at Antioch, and issued a different written confession, one so discordant with that approved at Nicaea.

And Constans, perceiving that they had unjustly plotted against these men, turning away from communion with them not on account of accusations or conduct, as the depositions maintained, but on account of disagreement concerning doctrine, sent them away without having persuaded him of the matters for which they had come.

And when three years had now passed, the bishops from the East again sent another document to those in the West, which they call the Long-lined Exposition, as being composed of more words and thoughts than the former ones.

And in it they made no mention of the essence of God, but they anathematized those who said that the Son was from things that were not, or from another hypostasis and not from God, and that there was once a time or an age when he was not.

But when Eudoxius, who was still bishop of Germanicia, together with Martyrius and Macedonius, conveyed this document, the priests of the West did not accept it.

For they declared that they were satisfied with what had been decreed at Nicaea, and thought that there was no longer any need to make further inquiry concerning these matters.

And since the emperor Constans was asking his brother as a favor that Athanasius and his party should recover their own sees, and since by writing he accomplished nothing, those of the opposite heresy working against it, and Athanasius and Paul, coming to him, sought that a synod be held, on the ground that they had been plotted against for the overthrow of the orthodox doctrines, it was resolved by the decision of the emperors that the bishops from each side, setting out, should arrive on an appointed day at Sardica (this is a city of Illyricum).

and they declared that otherwise they would not convene.

And after this, having also arrived at Sardica, they insisted that they would not enter the church, since those whom they had deposed were assembling there.

To this the bishops of the West wrote back, that they had never withdrawn from communion with them, nor would they now depart from it, especially since Julius, bishop of the Romans, had examined their case and had not condemned them.

and that they were present, and were ready to be tried, and would once more refute the charges brought against them.

But since, in declaring such things to one another, they accomplished nothing, and since the appointed day on which they were to judge the matters for which they had assembled had already passed, in the end they wrote such things to one another as brought them into greater hostility than before.

and, assembling separately by themselves, they passed contrary decisions.

For those from the East, confirming what they had already decreed concerning Athanasius, Paul, Marcellus, and Asclepas, deposed Julius, bishop of Rome, as the one who had begun communion with them; and Hosius the confessor, for the same reason and because he had become a friend of Paulinus and Eustathius, who had led the church of the Antiochenes; and Maximinus of Trier, as having been the first to hold communion with Paul, and as having been the cause of his return to Constantinople, and as having repudiated the bishops who had come from the East to Gaul.

In addition to these, they also deposed Protogenes, bishop of Sardica, and Gaudentius: the former, as one who had previously voted against them while championing Marcellus; and Gaudentius, as acting contrary to Cyriacus, whom he had succeeded, and as holding in high esteem those whom they had deposed.

Having passed these decrees, they made them known to the bishops everywhere, so that they should neither admit these men into communion nor write to them.

nor to receive letters written by them.

And concerning the manner of glorifying God, they enjoined that it be done as the document appended to their letter set forth—making no mention of the term homoousios, but condemning those who said that there are three gods, or that Christ is not God, or that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the same, or that the Son is unbegotten, or that there was once a time or an age when he did not exist.

On the other side, Hosius and his party, having assembled, declared innocent: Athanasius, as one who had been unjustly plotted against by those who had assembled at Tyre; Marcellus, as one who had acknowledged that he did not hold the opinions of which he was accused; Asclepas, as one who had recovered his bishopric by the vote of Eusebius the son of Pamphilus and many other judges, and had produced, to show that these things were true, the record of the trial; and Lucius, since his accusers had fled.

And they wrote to each parish that they should have and expect these men as their bishops; but as for Gregory in Alexandria, Basil in Ancyra, and Quintianus in Gaza, they decreed that they should not even be called bishops, nor should any communion be held with them, nor should they even be regarded as Christians.

And they deposed from the episcopate Theodore the Thracian, and Narcissus, bishop of Irenopolis, and Acacius of Caesarea in Palestine, and Menophantus of Ephesus, and Ursacius of Singidunum in Moesia, and Valens of Mursa in Pannonia, and George of Laodicea, even though the last had not been present at this synod together with the bishops from the East.

And they deprived these men of the priesthood and of communion, as separating the Son from the essence of the Father, and as having received back those long ago deposed on account of the heresy of Arius, and having advanced them to greater offices in the service of God.

And having on these grounds repudiated them and voted them alien to the universal church, they wrote to the bishops everywhere to vote in agreement with what had been judged by them, and to be of one mind with them concerning doctrine.