教會史 第 1 章 第 18/28 段

About this time a son bearing the same name as the emperor Valentinian was born to him in the West, and not long after, Gratian too — whom he had had before coming to power — was made emperor.

Since hail resembling stones had burst forth violently in many places, and the most severe earthquakes had wrought great havoc in various cities as well as in Nicaea of Bithynia, the emperor Valens and the bishop Eudoxius nevertheless did not cease from driving out the Christians who held opinions different from their own.

And as regards those who agreed with the party assembled at Nicaea, it seemed to them that their efforts had in some measure succeeded;

for throughout the greater part of the territory under Valens' rule, and especially in Thrace, Bithynia, and the Hellespont, and even further beyond, they had neither churches nor priests.

But against those who held the views of Macedonius, who in this region were far more numerous, they were harsh, and turning against them, persecuted them without restraint.

These, fearing the evils that threatened them, sent embassies to one another among the cities, and judged it better to take refuge with Valentinian and the bishop of the Romans, and to commune in the faith with them rather than with Eudoxius, Valens, and their party.

And since this course seemed good to them, they chose for the purpose three of their number — Eustathius, bishop of Sebastia, Silvanus of Tarsus, and Theophilus of Castabala — and sent them to the emperor Valentinian, having written to Liberius, bishop of the Romans, and to the priests throughout the West, that since they possessed a faith proven and steadfast from the apostles, and were bound above all others to watch over religion, they should assist their envoys with all their strength, deliberate with them concerning what was to be done, and set right the affairs of the church as they should judge best.

And when they arrived in Italy, they learned that the emperor was residing in Gaul, engaged in warfare against the barbarians in that region.

Since the road to Gaul appeared impassable to them on account of the war, they delivered the letters to Liberius instead.

Having conferred with him concerning the matters on which they had been sent, they condemned Arius and those who held and taught the same opinions as he did;

they also renounced every heresy opposed to the faith of the council of Nicaea, and accepted the term homoousios as signifying the same thing as 'like in substance.'

And when Liberius received their written confession of these things, he entered into communion with them, and wrote to the bishops throughout the East, commending their concord and their agreement in doctrine, and reporting what had been transacted with the envoys.

Now the confession of Eustathius and his companions was as follows:

"To our lord and brother and fellow-minister Liberius, Eustathius, Silvanus, and Theophilus send greeting in the Lord."

"We likewise confess with our own hand that, together with those aforementioned, we have held and do hold the same faith, and shall keep it to the end, condemning Arius and his impious teaching along with his disciples, and every heresy of Sabellius and Patropassianus, of Marcion, Photinus, Marcellus, and Paul of Samosata, together with their teaching and all who share their opinions;"

"and we condemn also whatever was done at the council of Ariminum contrary to this aforesaid faith of the holy council of Nicaea — to which, having been deceived by fraud and perjury, we subscribed when it was brought to us at Constantinople from Nike in Thrace..." Having made this confession, they joined to it, in its very words, the faith set forth at Nicaea.

And having received letters from Liberius concerning what had been done, they sailed to Sicily.

A council was held there also, and the bishops of that region voted the same decisions; and having accomplished this, they returned home.

At that same time, a council was being held at Tyana, with Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Athanasius of Ancyra, Pelagius of Laodicea, Zeno of Tyre, Paul of Emesa, Otreius of Melitene, Gregory of Nazianzus, and many others — men who had voted to uphold the term homoousios at Antioch during the reign of Jovian — and there the letters of Liberius and of the bishops of the West were read.

Overjoyed at this, they wrote to all the churches urging them to attend to the decrees of the bishops throughout Asia, the letters of Liberius, and those of the Italians, Africans, the Gauls in the West, and the Sicilians (for the envoys from Lampsacus had brought these letters as well), and to reckon up the total number of all these together;

for in sheer numbers they far outweighed the council of Ariminum;

and they resolved to be of one mind with them and in communion with them, to declare in their own letter that they held this same opinion, and to assemble at Tarsus in Cilicia while it was still spring, on an appointed day which they fixed.

In this way they exhorted one another to gather together.

But when the council at Tarsus was already about to convene, some thirty-four bishops of Asia, having assembled at Antioch in Caria, commended the zeal shown for the concord of the churches, yet declined the term homoousios, and insisted that the faith set forth at Antioch and Seleucia ought to prevail, as being that of Lucian the martyr, and one that had been tested by those before them amid dangers and much toil.

But the emperor, at the urging of Eudoxius, dissolved the council that was expected to be held in Cilicia, writing a letter to that effect and adding a threat.

In part, he also ordered the governors of the provinces to drive from the churches the bishops who had been deposed under Constantius and had subsequently resumed the priesthood during the reign of Julian.

As a result of this order, the authorities throughout Egypt too became zealous to remove Athanasius from the churches there and to drive him from the city.

For the emperor's letter contained no ordinary penalty should this not be carried out, condemning all the governors alike, together with the soldiers under them and the town councils, to the payment of heavy fines, and threatening bodily punishment as well.

The multitude of the Christians assembled and asked the prefect not to drive out the bishop rashly, but to examine more carefully the scope of the emperor's letter, since it applied only to those who had returned under Julian after their exile under Constantius.

They said that Athanasius had indeed fled under Constantius, but had been recalled by him and had recovered his bishopric;

that Julian, though he restored all the others, had persecuted him alone;

and that Jovian, in turn, had recalled him once again.

But saying these things, they did not prevail upon him.

Nevertheless they held their ground and would not permit the use of force.

As the populace streamed together from every side, and there was much uproar and confusion throughout the city, with sedition expected, the prefect reported to the emperor what had occurred, and allowed him to remain in the city.

When many days had already passed and the disturbance that had been stirred up seemed to have subsided, Athanasius secretly left the city in the evening and hid himself in a certain place.

Though they searched for him everywhere, even in the upper rooms of the houses, they went away, having failed in their purpose.

For they supposed that, since the multitude had by now forgotten the earlier disturbance, if they made their move while everyone had turned in to sleep, they would easily carry out the emperor's order and keep the city free of sedition.

All were naturally seized with wonder that Athanasius could not be found.

For whether he withdrew because a divine power had forewarned him, or because certain persons had informed him, both amount to the same thing.

And it seemed to be an act of forethought—whether more than human or merely human—to have learned of the plot in advance at this critical hour, and to have guarded against it.

Others say that, foreseeing the populace's irrational agitation, and fearing lest he be thought responsible for whatever disasters might result from it, he spent this entire time in his father's tomb.

And thus he escaped and remained undetected.

Not long afterward the emperor wrote ordering him to return and resume charge of the church.

I conjecture that Valens issued this decree against his own inclination, either because he took into account the prevailing opinion concerning Athanasius, and reasoned that Valentinian was likely to blame him on this account, since Valentinian upheld the doctrine of those who had assembled at Nicaea; or because, since Athanasius had many admirers, he was wary of the agitation they might cause, lest they attempt some upheaval to the detriment of the common good.

I think it likely, too, that the leaders of the Arian heresy did not press this matter very earnestly, reckoning that if he were expelled from the city again he would only trouble those in power once more, thereby gaining occasion to deal with them and win Valens over, while also provoking Valentinian to anger against them, as one of like mind with Athanasius.

For they were especially fearful, having learned by experience of his ability from what had happened under Constantius.

For even then he so prevailed over the plots of his adversaries that they gladly yielded to him the churches throughout Egypt, and it was only with difficulty that he yielded to Constantius's letters and returned from Italy.

This, then, I conjecture to be the reason why Athanasius, unlike the others, was not deprived of his church.

But upon the rest there fell a persecution well-nigh equal to that of the pagans.

For banishment beyond the frontier was vigorously enforced against those who refused to hold the same views, and houses of prayer were taken from some and handed over to others.

Egypt, however, remained meanwhile untouched by these events, while Athanasius still lived.

The emperor Valens now resolved to go to Antioch on the Orontes.

Those who held the doctrine of the Council of Nicaea, thinking that this turn of events had come at an opportune time for them, elected a certain Evagrius as their bishop.

He was ordained by Eustathius, who had governed the church of the Syrians of Antioch.

For, having been recalled from his exile abroad by Jovian, Eustathius was at that time residing secretly in Constantinople, teaching those who shared his belief and exhorting them to remain steadfast in the same conviction concerning the Divine.

Thereupon those of the Arian heresy, roused to sedition, fiercely persecuted the zealous supporters of Evagrius's ordination.

The emperor, on learning of this, halted his journey for the time being at Nicomedia.

Fearing that the city might suffer harm from sedition, he resolved to send to Constantinople as many soldiers as he judged sufficient for the purpose.

He ordered that Eustathius, once arrested, should reside in the city of Bizya in Thrace, and that Evagrius be led away elsewhere.

Those who held Arian views, growing bolder—as is apt to happen to those who prosper—devised intolerable plots against those of the opposing persuasion.

As losses kept occurring frequently on this account, they resolved to petition the emperor, so that they might find some relief from their troubles.

And they chose for this purpose eighty churchmen, led by Urbasus, Theodore, and Menedemus.

When they arrived at Nicomedia, they went before Valens and presented a petition in which they had set down their case in writing.

He, greatly enraged, gave no outward sign of how angry he was, but secretly ordered the prefect to arrest them and put them to death.

The prefect, however, fearing that the populace would riot if so many devout and blameless men were unjustly put to death, pretended instead to sentence them to exile.

As if for this purpose, he put them aboard a ship, and they bore what was to befall them with no ignoble spirit.

But as soon as it touched land, it was set ablaze and destroyed, together with the men aboard it.

Valens, leaving Nicomedia, continued on his way to Antioch.

Meanwhile, having taken up residence among the Cappadocians, he was eager, as was his custom, to harass those of orthodox mind and to hand over the churches there to those who held Arian views.

He supposed he would easily accomplish this, since a certain disagreement had brought Basil into estrangement with Eusebius, who at that time administered the church of the Caesareans.

For this reason Basil had withdrawn to Pontus and was living among the monks who pursued the philosophic life there.

The populace, and especially the most influential and most learned among them, held Eusebius in suspicion, and, regarding him as responsible for the withdrawal of a man most highly esteemed both in his manner of life and in his speech, resolved to abandon him and hold their own assemblies apart.

But Basil, so as not to bring further ruin upon the church—which was already troubled enough by the uprisings of those of heterodox belief on his account—remained quietly in the monasteries of Pontus.

Basil's absence, together with the people's hatred of Eusebius, made the emperor and the bishops around him (for bishops of the Arian heresy always attended him) all the more eager for the undertaking.

But the outcome turned out contrary to their design.

For as soon as it was announced that they were marching against the Cappadocians, Basil left Pontus and came of his own accord to Caesarea, and having been reconciled with Eusebius, was well-disposed toward him.

and by his words he came to the defense of the church in this crisis.

Valens, having failed in his purpose, then withdrew unsuccessful, together with the bishops accompanying him.

Some time later, coming again into Cappadocia, he found that Basil had been entrusted with the churches there after the death of Eusebius.

Though he was planning to expel him as well, he refrained from the plot against his will.

For it is said that, at the very time of the undertaking, on the following night his wife was seized with terrors, and Galates, his only son, died of a sudden illness.

All believed that God, becoming the avenger of what had been plotted against Basil, had destroyed the child to punish the parents.

Valens himself likewise supposed this to be so.

Indeed, once his son had died, he troubled Basil no more; but while the boy still lived and, being gravely ill, was about to die, he had sent to Basil begging him to pray for the sufferer.

For as soon as Valens arrived at Caesarea, the prefect summoned Basil and ordered him to embrace the emperor's beliefs.

and threatened him with death should he refuse.

But Basil replied that this would be a great favor to him, and that he would feel the deepest gratitude, if by such a sentence he were speedily released from these bonds of the body.

But when the prefect bade him deliberate for that day and the following night, and not leap rashly into manifest danger, but present himself the next day and declare his decision plainly, Basil said, 'As for me, I need no deliberation.'

'For I shall be the same man on the morrow as well.'

...to agree, nor to share with you and the emperor in this religion.

'For even though you are exceedingly eminent and rule over no small portion of the world, this is no reason to show favor to men, or to make light of faith in the Divine—a faith I would never betray, though condemned to confiscation of my property, banishment, or death.'

'Since none of these things could grieve me, seeing that as for property I possess only rags and a few books; as for dwelling, I inhabit the earth as one ever passing through it; and as for my body, through weakness it has, since the first blow, been past feeling and past torment.' When Basil had spoken with such boldness, the prefect, marveling at the man's virtue, reported the matter to the emperor.

He, when the feast of Theophany was being celebrated, came to the church together with his officials and bodyguards, offered gifts at the holy table, entered into conversation with Basil, and praised his wisdom and the order and propriety of his priestly conduct and manner of holding the assembly.

Nevertheless, not long after, through the slander of his opponents, it was still decided that he should be sent to live in exile.

And the night on which this was to take place had arrived.

But suddenly a fever seized the emperor's son, plunging him into sudden and grave peril.

And the father threw himself upon the ground, mourning the child while he was still alive.

Being at his wits' end, and eager by every means to keep him safe, he allowed his household to summon Basil to visit the one who lay ill.

For, having lately insulted him, he himself was ashamed to give the order concerning this matter.

As soon as Basil arrived, the boy grew better, so that many at the time insisted he would not have died, had they not also called in heterodox clergy along with Basil to pray for the child.

It is also said that the prefect himself fell ill at that time, and that upon beseeching and entreating Basil, he was restored to health.

But these things would perhaps seem unremarkable when considered in view of Basil, a man most devoted to the philosophic life and beloved of God, who had won extraordinary renown both in deeds and in words.

Being contemporaries, he himself and Gregory became, so to speak, rivals in virtue.

For both, while young, attended at Athens the lectures of Himerius and Prohaeresius, the most celebrated sophists of that time, and afterwards, at Antioch, those of Libanius the Syrian.

But scorning to practice as sophists or to plead cases at law, they resolved to philosophize according to the law of the church.

Having for a time occupied themselves with the teachings of the Greek philosophers, and having thoroughly mastered the expositions of the sacred writings drawn from Origen and from those before and after him who had distinguished themselves in the interpretation of the ecclesiastical books, they proved of great benefit at the present time to those who shared the belief of those who had assembled at Nicaea.

For each of them courageously stood up for this doctrine against those who held the opinions of Arius, and refuted them as being wrong not only in their other beliefs but also in the opinions of Origen, on which they especially relied.

By common agreement, or by lot, as I have learned from some, they divided the dangers between themselves.

And Basil, going about the cities near Pontus, established there many communities of monks, and by teaching the multitudes persuaded them to hold the same opinions as himself.

But Gregory, having succeeded his father as bishop of the small city of Nazianzus, on this account resided elsewhere for the most part, and especially and constantly at Constantinople.

Not long afterward he was entrusted, by the vote of many priests, with presiding over the people there.

For since there was neither bishop nor church there, the doctrine of the Council of Nicaea was in danger of ceasing to exist any longer in Constantinople.

When the emperor came to Antioch, he completely drove out from the churches there and in the surrounding cities those who held the same views as those who had assembled at Nicaea, and afflicted them with punishments of every kind, so that some even assert that he ordered many of them to be put to death, in various ways and also by being cast into the river Orontes.

Having learned that at Edessa there was a famous house of prayer named after the apostle Thomas, he went to see it.

Since the houses of prayer had there too been taken away, when he saw those of the catholic church gathered in a plain before the city, it is said that he reviled the prefect and struck him with his fist upon the jaw, for having permitted such assemblies to take place contrary to his order.

But Modestus (for this was the prefect's name), although he held different opinions himself, secretly informed the people of Edessa to be on guard the next day and not to assemble at their accustomed place to pray.

For he had been commanded by the emperor to punish those who were caught.

In making these threats, he was taking care that either few or none should be endangered, while also being anxious to excuse himself from the wrath of the ruler.

But the people of Edessa, making nothing of the threat, streamed together at dawn even more eagerly than before, and filled their accustomed place.

When this was reported to Modestus, he did not know what to do; and though at a loss amid the present circumstances, he nevertheless went to the plain.

A certain woman, dragging along a small child and trailing her cloak carelessly, contrary to the modesty befitting a woman, as though hastening on some urgent errand, cut through the leading line of the prefect's soldiers.

Seeing this, Modestus ordered her to be seized, and summoning her, demanded that she state the reason for her running.

When she said it was in order to reach more quickly the plain where those of the catholic church were gathering, Modestus said, "Alone, then? Did you not know that the prefect was about to go there presently, and would put to death all whom he found?" "Yes indeed, I have heard so," she said, "and for this very reason I especially need to run, lest I be too late and miss my testimony concerning God. But why do you also bring this child with you?" the prefect asked.

"So that he too," she said, "might share in the common suffering and be deemed worthy of the same reward." Modestus, marveling at the woman's courage, returned to the palace.

And having conferred with the ruler concerning her, he persuaded him that it was not necessary to carry out what had been resolved, showing that this would be shameful and disadvantageous.

Thus the whole city of Edessa, in the manner described, made confession on behalf of the doctrine.

About this time died Athanasius, leader of the church of Alexandria, having completed about forty-six years in the high-priesthood.

Those who held the opinions of Arius quickly made known his death, and not long after, Euzoius, who presided over the Arian heresy at Antioch, arrived, together with Magnus, the treasurer of the imperial treasury sent by the emperor; they seized and imprisoned Peter, to whom Athanasius had entrusted the bishopric, and handed over the church of Alexandria to Lucius.

From this point on, it happened that those in Egypt were treated more harshly than [Christians] elsewhere.

Calamities, following one upon another, oppressed those of the catholic church.

For as soon as he arrived at Alexandria, he set about attempting to seize the churches.

When the populace resisted, an occasion for sedition was contrived against the clergy and the sacred virgins.

As though enemies had overrun the city, some fled, while others, being pursued, were caught and kept under guard as prisoners.

And being brought out from the prison, they were tortured, some being mangled with iron claws and ox-hide whips, others being burned with torches of fire.

It was extraordinary to survive these punishments; and to die before undergoing them, or to be condemned to live in exile, was accounted enviable.

But Peter the bishop, having escaped from the prison, found a ship and sailed to the bishop of the Romans, who shared his views.

And the followers of Arius, although not numerous, gained control of the churches.

At the same time there followed an imperial edict, banishing from Alexandria and from Egypt itself as many of those who shared the belief of those assembled at Nicaea as Lucius should name.

For this had been so ordered to the governor of the province.

And Euzoius, once he had accomplished what he was striving for, returned to Antioch.

Taking with him the commander of the soldiers in Egypt together with a multitude of troops, he marched against the monks in the deserts.

For he supposed, perhaps, that if he troubled these men who loved quiet, he would find them compliant, and that in this way, above all, he would win over to himself the Christians in the cities.

For at that time many divinely inspired men presided over the monasteries there, and all of them rejected the doctrine of Arius.

And following their testimony, the multitude likewise held the same opinion, neither wishing nor knowing how to dispute and prattle about doctrines, but being persuaded that the truth lay with those who demonstrated virtue by their deeds.

Such leaders among the Egyptian ascetics at that time, we hear, were the two Macarii, whom we mentioned before, and Pambo and Heraclides, and the rest of the disciples of Antony.

Lucius, therefore, reasoning that the followers of Arius would not be able to gain a firm hold over those of the catholic church unless he could show these monks to be of the same opinion as themselves, attempted to use force.

For he was unable to persuade them.

But he failed of his purpose even in this way, since they were prepared, even if it were necessary to die, and readily offered their necks to the swords rather than disregard what had been decreed at Nicaea.

It is said that at that time, when they were expecting the soldiers to attack them, a certain man was brought to them whose joints had long been withered and who was unable to stand upon his feet.

When they had anointed him with oil, they bade him, in the name of Christ whom Lucius persecutes, to rise up and go home.

And the man, suddenly restored to health, openly demonstrated that one ought to hold beliefs like those held by these men, to whom God himself had confirmed the truth—Lucius being thereby reproached—both by hearkening to those who called upon him and by healing the ailing man.

But those who plotted against these monks did not repent on this account, until at last, having seized them by night, they conveyed them to a certain Egyptian island surrounded by lakes.

This island was inhabited by men uninitiated in the doctrine of the Christians and given to superstition, since there was among them a most ancient temple, for which they held great reverence.

When they landed there, it is said that, as soon as the men set foot on shore, the daughter of the priest, who was possessed by a demon, came out to meet them.

As the girl ran and cried out, the people there were struck with astonishment.

The people there followed, astounded at the suddenness and strangeness of the event.

And when they came near the ship which carried the holy elders, she, raving and rolling upon the ground, made supplication and cried out loudly.

"Why indeed have you come to us, O servants of the great God? For this little island has long been our dwelling place.

Unknown to all other people, we lie hidden here, enclosed on every side by these lakes.

But if this pleases you, take our possession and make it your own.

And we will withdraw." And such were the words she uttered.

When those with Macarius rebuked the demon, the girl came to her senses.

From this, her father, together with his household, and the whole island as one people, turned to Christianity, and without delay, tearing down the temple among them, they converted it into a church.

When these events were reported to those in Alexandria, they grieved Lucius no little.

For he was in danger of being hated even by his own followers, since he was manifestly declaring war not against men, but against God himself.

He immediately ordered, in secret, that Macarius and his companions should return to their own dwellings and to the desert.

Thus, then, did Lucius throw Egypt into turmoil.

Yet, though persecuted, the church throughout Egypt far surpassed the followers of Arius in numbers.

Basil, bishop of Caesarea among them, and Gregory of Nazianzus.

Syria and the surrounding nations, and especially the city of Antioch, were in disorder and turmoil, since those who held the views of Arius and possessed the churches were the more numerous, while those of the catholic church—whom they called Eustathians and Paulinians, led by Paulinus and Meletius, as we learned before—were not few either.

Because of these men, the whole church of Antioch, though in danger of falling entirely into the Arian heresy, barely prevailed against the emperor's zeal and the power of those about him.

For it seems that, had it happened that the churches were guided by courageous men, the multitudes would not have changed from their former belief.

Indeed, it is said that the Scythians too, for a similar reason, remained in the same faith.

This nation possesses many cities, villages, and fortresses; its metropolis is Tomis, a great and prosperous city, situated on the coast, on the left hand as one sails into the sea called the Euxine.

Even to this day an ancient custom prevails there, whereby one bishop oversees the churches of the whole nation.

At the time in question, Bretanion was administering these churches.

And the emperor Valens came to Tomis.