教會史 第 1 章 第 6/28 段

Those who had deposed Eustathius — who indeed had gathered at Antioch for this very purpose — reckoning that if they set over the church there someone of like opinion to themselves, known to the emperor and distinguished for skill in learning, they would easily bring the rest into compliance, thought it good to commit the throne of Antioch to Eusebius Pamphili.

And they wrote to the emperor concerning this, declaring also that this was exceedingly pleasing to the people.

— namely, as many of the clergy and of the populace as bore ill will toward Eustathius.

Eusebius, however, wrote to the emperor declining the appointment.

The emperor, commending his refusal (for ecclesiastical law forbade one who had once presided over a church from passing over to the oversight of another), wrote also to Eusebius himself, approving of his decision and calling him blessed, as being worthy to be bishop not of one city only, but of the whole world.

He also wrote to the people of the church of Antioch concerning concord, and that they ought not to covet one who was bishop elsewhere, since it was not a good thing to desire what belongs to another.

And apart from these, he also sent a separate letter to the council.

In this letter to them he likewise expressed admiration for Eusebius' refusal; and having learned that Euphronius, a presbyter of Cappadocia, and George of Arethusa were of approved faith, he directed them to ordain, as head of the church of Antioch, whichever of these two they should judge fit, or else another who might appear worthy, as he said.

When they had received the emperor's letter, they ordained Euphronius.

Eustathius, as I have learned, bore the slander in silence, judging it best to do so in this manner — a man in all other respects noble and good, and justly admired for his eloquence, as one may perceive from his surviving discourses, which are esteemed for the antiquity of their diction, the soundness of their thought, the beauty of their vocabulary, and the grace of their delivery.

About this time, Julius — Mark having, after Silvester, held the episcopate for a short while — administered the see at Rome; and Maximus succeeded Macarius as bishop of Jerusalem.

For being a confessor, and otherwise a good man, he had, by the approbation of the people, been a candidate for the episcopate there after the death of Macarius.

It should be known, however, that those who have accurately investigated these matters maintain that this came about, and was pursued eagerly by the multitude, in accordance with the wish of Macarius.

For they say that he repented of the ordination of Maximus, having reasoned that, since Maximus held right opinions concerning God and was beloved by the people because of his confession, he ought necessarily to be preserved for succession to his own see.

For he feared that, after his death, Eusebius and Patrophilus and their party — who indeed held the views of Arius — might find opportunity and commit the see there to one of like opinion to themselves.

For even while Macarius was still living, they had attempted to make innovations, but having been excommunicated by him on that account, they had kept quiet.

Meanwhile, among the Egyptians, the strife that had from the beginning arisen among them against one another had not yet come to an end.

For since at the council held at Nicaea the Arian heresy was utterly condemned, while those who held the views of Meletius were received on the terms stated, Meletius, when Alexander returned to Egypt, handed over to him the churches which he had unlawfully brought under his own authority, and he himself lived on in the region of the Lycus.

Not long after, when about to end his life, he appointed, in violation of the decree of the council of Nicaea, a certain John, one of his intimates, as his successor, and thus once more became the cause of disorder in the churches.

And when the followers of Arius saw the followers of Meletius making innovations, they too threw the churches into confusion.

For, as is wont to happen in such disturbances, some admired the opinion of Arius, while others held it right that those ordained by Meletius should preside over the churches, and attached themselves to these.

Though previously each of these two parties had been at variance among themselves, when they saw the multitude following the priests of the universal church, they were moved to envy.

And they made a truce with one another, and undertook a common hostility against the clergy of Alexandria.

And indiscriminately, in their exchanges with one another, they brought forward accusations and made their defenses to such an extent that, as time went on, those who held the views of Arius came to be called by most people in Egypt "Meletians."

And yet the Meletians had differed from the church only for the sake of the headship of the churches, while the Arians held opinions concerning God similar to those of Arius.

Nevertheless, privately rejecting one another's views, they nonetheless endured to feign agreement contrary to their own judgment, and to remain in concord within their shared hostility, each side expecting easily to gain what it desired.

But in time, as was likely, from their frequent discussions on these matters they acquired a settled disposition toward the doctrines of Arius, and came to hold similar opinions concerning God.

From this point, the affairs concerning Arius reverted once more to their former state of confusion, and both people and clergy became divided from communion with one another.

Moreover, in other cities also, and especially among the Bithynians and the people of the Hellespont, and in Constantinople, the controversy over the doctrines of Arius was once again fanned into flame.

Indeed it is said that Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, and Theognis of Nicaea, having persuaded the man appointed by the emperor to keep custody of the document of the council of Nicaea, erased their own signatures, and openly attempted to teach that the Son ought not to be held as consubstantial with the Father.

And when Eusebius was accused concerning this, it is said that he openly and boldly spoke to the emperor, and, pointing to a garment he was wearing, said: "If this cloak were torn apart while I looked on, I would never say that both pieces were of the same substance."

At this the emperor was exceedingly displeased.

For, supposing that after the council of Nicaea such inquiries had come to an end, he now saw them, contrary to his expectations, being stirred up again.

Not least did it grieve him that Eusebius and Theognis had held communion with certain Alexandrians whom the council had held in reserve for repentance, as not holding right opinions; and he himself ordered that they, as causes of the discord, be sent away, exiled from their native land on this account.

Some say that it was for this reason that the emperor, in his anger, condemned Eusebius and Theognis to exile.

But concerning this matter I have already written earlier what I heard from those who knew it accurately.

These men were the first causes of the difficulties that subsequently befell Athanasius.

For, having very great influence and power with the emperor, they were eager to bring Arius back to Alexandria as one of like opinion and a friend, and to expel Athanasius from the church, since he was proving an obstacle to them.

They accordingly slandered him before Constantine, saying that he had become the cause of factions and disturbances in the church, and that he was barring from entrance those who wished to enter the church, though it would be possible for all to be of one accord, if only this one thing were granted.

Many of the bishops and clergy attached to John gave credence to the charges against him as being true, constantly approaching the emperor and asserting that they themselves held orthodox opinions, while accusing him and the bishops under him of murders, imprisonments, unjust beatings and wounds, and the burning of churches.

And when Athanasius likewise made representations to the emperor, charging John's party with unlawful ordinations, innovation upon what had been decreed at Nicaea, unsound faith, factions, and outrages against those who held right opinions concerning God, Constantine no longer knew whom he should believe.

Since they accused one another of such things, and many accusers on both sides frequently pressed upon him, and since he was greatly concerned for the concord of the peoples, he wrote to Athanasius that no one should be barred from the church.

And that if this should afterward be reported, he would send without delay one who would drive him out of the city of Alexandria.

But if anyone should be pleased to consult the emperor's letter itself, the portion concerning this matter reads as follows.

"Having, then, this token of my will, grant unhindered entry to all who wish to enter the church."

"...for I will immediately, by my own command, send one who will depose you and remove you from your position." But since Athanasius, by his letters, was also persuading the emperor that communion with the catholic church ought not to be extended to the followers of Arius, Eusebius, perceiving that he would not attain his purpose, since Athanasius was pursuing the opposite course, thought it necessary to contrive by every means to get him out of the way.

But not having a sufficient pretext for so great a plot, he promised the followers of Meletius that he would assist them with the emperor and with those powerful men about him, if they should be willing to bring accusations against Athanasius.

From this, he underwent his first indictment, as though he had imposed a tax of linen tunics upon the Egyptians, and had exacted such a tribute from his accusers.

But Apis and Macarius, presbyters of the church of Alexandria, who happened to be present there, took pains to refute the accusation as false.

And for this reason, when Athanasius had been summoned back, they again brought written charges against him, alleging that, plotting against the ruler, he had sent a chest of gold to a certain Philumenus.

But when the emperor recognized the calumny of his accusers, he permitted Athanasius to return home.

And he wrote to the people of Alexandria, testifying that Athanasius possessed great fairness and correct faith, and declaring that he himself had gladly met with him and was convinced that he was a godly man.

and that the charge brought against him had been made out of envy,

and that, having endured it, he had shown himself superior to his accusers.

And having learned that many of the Egyptians were still quarrelling with one another on the pretext of Arius and Meletius, he exhorted the multitude by his letter to look to God and take to heart the judgment that comes from him, to be well disposed toward one another, and to resist with all their strength those who plotted against their concord.

So the emperor, writing in this manner to the whole community, called everyone to concord, and was earnest that the church should not be torn asunder.

But the Meletians, having failed in their earlier attempt, wove other charges against Athanasius: one, that he had broken a sacred chalice; the other, that having killed a certain Arsenius, he had cut off his arm and kept it by him for purposes of sorcery.

Now this Arsenius, who was said to be a cleric, was hiding after having fallen into some offense;

for he suspected that, being held accountable, he would be made to pay the penalty before the bishop.

But those who were plotting against Athanasius contrived to turn what had happened into the most extreme calumny.

And having diligently sought out Arsenius, they found him; and treating him with kindness, and promising to provide him with every goodwill and security, they secretly brought him to one of their own associates who shared their aims;

his name was Pinnes, a presbyter of a monastery;

and having hidden Arsenius there, they went about zealously through the marketplaces and the gatherings of officials, spreading the report that he had been murdered by Athanasius.

A certain monk named John, called Archaph, had also been prepared to bring forward such an accusation.

This shameful rumor spread among so many that it even reached the emperor's ears. Athanasius, perceiving that, should it happen that he must also endure an accusation on this charge, it would be difficult to defend himself before judges already prepossessed by such reports, devised counter-strategies against the schemes of his adversaries, and labored, as far as possible, to convince everyone, taking pains that the truth should not be concealed beneath their slanders.

But it was in fact difficult to persuade the many so long as Arsenius did not appear.

Reckoning, therefore, that he could clear himself of the suspicion in no other way than by proving that the man said to be dead was alive, he sent one of the most trustworthy deacons about him to search him out.

And he, having arrived in the Thebaid, learned where Arsenius was living, when certain monks disclosed it.

But when he came to Pinnes, with whom Arsenius was hiding, he did not find Arsenius himself;

for having learned beforehand of the deacon's arrival, they had removed him to Lower Egypt.

So he took Pinnes and brought him to Alexandria, together also with Elias, one of Pinnes's companions, who was said to have removed Arsenius elsewhere.

By the military garrisons in Egypt they were made to acknowledge that Arsenius was alive, that he had previously been kept hidden without their knowledge, and that he was now residing in Egypt.

Athanasius took pains that these events, having thus come to pass, should be made known to Constantine.

And the emperor wrote back to him, urging him to hold fast diligently to his priesthood and to take thought for the good order and piety of the people, and to regard the plots of the Meletians as nothing, since he himself well knew that it was envy that stirred them to such false and fabricated accusations and to the disturbances against the church.

He said also that he himself would henceforth not permit such things, but would be their judge according to the civil laws if they would not keep quiet, and would exact punishment from them, as men who were not only unjustly plotting against the innocent, but also unjustly corrupting the good order of the church and its piety.

Having written such things, the emperor instructed Athanasius that the letter be read out publicly to the whole assembly, so that all might know his intention.

From that time those who held the views of Meletius, having become greatly afraid, kept quiet for a while, dreading the ruler's threat.

And the church throughout all Egypt, being at peace and guided under the leadership of so great a priest, grew manifold day by day, as many were added from the pagan multitude and from the other heresies.

About this time we learned also that the Indians of our region who dwell in the interior — who had remained without experience of the preaching of Bartholomew — partook of the doctrine through Frumentius, who became their priest and instructor in the sacred teachings.

But in order that we may also understand, in this extraordinary event concerning the Indians, that the doctrine of the Christians did not derive its origin from men — as it seems to some a mere fable — it is necessary to relate as well the cause of Frumentius's ordination.

It was a matter of great concern to the most highly esteemed philosophers among the Greeks to inquire into unknown cities and places.

Thus, for instance, Plato, the companion of Socrates, sojourned among the Egyptians to learn what they had to teach, and he also sailed to Sicily to view the craters there, in which fire, rising spontaneously as though from a spring, continually bubbles up, and often, overflowing, runs like a river and consumes the neighboring land to such an extent that even now many fields appear scorched and receive neither seed nor the planting of trees, just as they report concerning the land of the Sodomites.

These craters Empedocles also investigated, a man who philosophized brilliantly among the Greeks and set forth his learning in heroic verse;

and being perplexed about the emission of the fire — either having judged it better to die in this manner, or, to speak more truly, perhaps not even knowing himself for what reason he found for himself such an untimely release from life — he leaped into the fire and perished.

And he himself says somewhere concerning himself that he passed eighty years in a foreign land.

Besides these, countless other wise men among the Greeks, both ancient and more recent, pursued this same zeal.

Emulating these men, a certain philosopher named Meropius, a Tyrian of Phoenicia, journeyed to the Indians.

Two boys accompanied him, Frumentius and Aedesius, both of whom were related to him by kinship;

whom he trained in learning and educated in a manner befitting the freeborn.

And having explored as much of India as he was able, he set about his return, having come upon a ship setting sail for Egypt.

But it happened that, from a need for water or other necessary supplies, the ship put in at a certain harbor, and the Indians of that place, rushing down upon it, killed everyone, including Meropius;

for it happened that they had at that time broken off their treaty with the Romans.

But taking pity on the boys, since they were young, they took them alive and brought them to their own king.

And he appointed the younger one as cupbearer, but made Frumentius, the elder, steward of his household and overseer of his treasures;

for he recognized that he was prudent and most capable of administration.

Having for a long time shown themselves useful and faithful, when the king came to die, leaving behind an infant son and a wife, he rewarded them for their devotion with freedom, and permitted them to live as they wished.

And they were eager to return to Tyre, to their own kinsfolk;

but since the king's son was still quite young, his mother begged them both to remain a little while, administering the kingdom, until the boy should reach manhood.

And out of respect for the queen who entreated them, they consented, and administered the palace and the government of the Indians.

And Frumentius, perhaps prompted by divine manifestations, or even with God himself moving him of his own accord, began to inquire whether there were any Christians among the Indians, or any Romans among the merchants who sailed in there.

And diligently seeking these out, he would summon them to himself;

embracing them and treating them with mutual kindness, he made them assemble together for the sake of prayer, to hold worship after the custom of the Romans, and by every means he encouraged them to honor the divine, building houses of prayer for this purpose.

But when the king's son was now reaching adolescence, having asked leave of him and of the queen — who thought it unbearable to be parted from them — and having persuaded them, they departed as friends and came into Roman territory.

And Aedesius went to Tyre to see his kinsfolk, where indeed he was afterward deemed worthy of the presbyterate.

But Frumentius, for the time being deferring his journey to Phoenicia, came to Alexandria;

for it seemed to him not fitting that zeal for divine things should take second place to homeland and kin.

And having met with Athanasius, the head of the church of the Alexandrians, he related the affairs concerning the Indians, and said that they needed a bishop to take care of the Christians there.

And Athanasius, having gathered together the clergy then residing in the city, took counsel concerning this;

and he ordained him bishop of India, judging him to be the most fitting man and capable of greatly advancing the faith among those to whom he himself had first shown the name of Christian and had supplied the seed for their sharing in the doctrine.

And Frumentius, having returned again to the Indians, is said to have discharged his priesthood so gloriously that he was praised by all who had experience of him, who admired him no less than the apostles, inasmuch as God also showed him to be most illustrious, working through him many extraordinary healings, signs, and wonders.

Such, then, was the beginning of the priesthood among the Indians.

But once again the plots of his adversaries stirred up trouble for Athanasius, contrived hatred against him before the emperor, and raised up a multitude of accusers.

Being harassed by them, the emperor ordered a synod to be held at Caesarea in Palestine.

Though summoned to it, he did not comply, fearing the malicious scheming of Eusebius, the bishop of that city, and of the bishop of Nicomedia, and of those about them.

But at that time, although he was compelled to attend, he kept deferring his appearance for about thirty months;

but afterward, being compelled more forcefully, he came to Tyre.

There many of the bishops of the East, having assembled, ordered him to answer for the charges brought against him.

On behalf of the party of John, Callinicus the bishop and a certain Ischyrion brought accusations against him: that he had broken a sacred chalice and thrown down an episcopal throne; that he had repeatedly imprisoned this Ischyrion, who was a presbyter, and, having brought a false charge against him before Hyginus, the prefect of Egypt — that he had thrown stones at the imperial images — had caused him to be confined in prison; that he had deposed Callinicus, who was bishop at Pelusium in communion with the universal church and who held communion with Alexander, on the ground, as Callinicus said, that he had refused to communicate with him unless he were satisfied concerning the chalice suspected of having been broken; that he had entrusted the church of Pelusium to a certain Mark, who had been deprived of the presbyterate; and that he had caused Callinicus himself to undergo military custody, ill-treatment, and trials in the courts.

Other bishops accused him of inflicting blows, while all together accused him of having entered upon the episcopate through the perjury of certain persons, although all had agreed that no one should be ordained until the charges among them had been settled;

and that on this account they, having been deceived, had withdrawn from communion with him.

But he did not deign to persuade them; instead he resorted to force and cast them into prison.

In addition to these matters, the affair concerning Arsenius was also stirred up again.

And, as is wont to happen in earnestly pursued plots, unexpected accusers arose even from among those reckoned as friends.

And a document of popular outcries was read out, alleging that the people throughout Alexandria could not bear to hold church assemblies because of him.

Athanasius, having been ordered to defend himself, came forward many times before the tribunal; some of the charges he refuted, while for others he requested a postponement for further inquiry.

He was greatly at a loss, seeing that the accusers were in favor with the judges, and that many witnesses had been suborned against him from among those who held the views of Arius and Melitius, and that the false accusers, whatever charges they succeeded in, were granted pardon — especially with regard to the charge concerning Arsenius, whom he was accused of mutilating by cutting off his arm for the practice of sorcery, and the charge concerning a certain woman, to whom he was alleged to have given gifts for the purpose of debauchery and to have violated by night against her will.

But each of these charges was exposed as ridiculous and full of false accusation.

For when, in the presence of the assembled bishops, the woman was making these accusations, Timothy, a presbyter of Alexandria who stood beside Athanasius — as had been secretly arranged between them — interrupted and said to the woman, "Was it I who violated you, woman?" And she said,

"Why, was it not you?" — naming the very time and place at which she claimed she had been violated.

He then brought Arsenius forward into their midst and displayed both of his hands, intact, to the judges, and demanded that the accusers be held accountable for the arm which they alleged had been cut off.

For it happened that this Arsenius, either driven by divine providence, or, as is said, hidden away by those plotting against Athanasius — since someone had reported to him that the bishop was in danger because of him — had fled by night and arrived at Tyre one day before the sitting of the tribunal.

Though each of the two charges was thus refuted, so that no further defense was needed, the first, I suppose, on the pretext that so shameful and ridiculous a matter ought not to be recorded in the acts of a council, was not entered into the proceedings.

As for the second charge, it sufficed the accusers, by way of a defense of their allegation, to say that a certain bishop named Plusianus, one of those under Athanasius, at his command had burned down the house of Arsenius, and, having bound him to a pillar and scourged him with thongs, had shut him up in a small chamber;

and that he had escaped through a window, and, since he was being sought after, remained hidden for a time, and, not appearing, was reasonably supposed to have died.

And, regarding him as an illustrious man and a confessor, the bishops of John's party sought him out by approaching the magistrates.

Considering these things, therefore, Athanasius was greatly afraid;

and at the same time he suspected that those plotting against him might find an opportunity to do away with him secretly.

After many sessions, when the assembly was filled with uproar and confusion, and the accusers, together with the crowd around the tribunal, were shouting that he must by every means be gotten rid of, as a sorcerer and a violent man unworthy of the priesthood, those appointed by the emperor to attend the council for the sake of good order, fearing lest, as is likely in a riot, the mob should rush upon him and become his murderers with their own hands, secretly conducted him away from the tribunal.

He, reckoning that it was neither safe for him to remain in Tyre, nor secure to stand trial against a multitude of accusers before hostile judges, fled to Constantinople.

The council condemned him in his absence and deposed him from the episcopate;

and they decreed that he should no longer reside in Alexandria, lest, they said, by being present he should stir up tumults and factions.

John and all those with him, as having suffered unjustly, they admitted to communion, and restored to each his former rank in the clergy.

They wrote to the emperor and to the bishops everywhere, instructing that no one should grant him communion, nor write to him, nor receive letters from him, since he had been convicted in the matters which they had examined, and had been caught out both by his flight and by the charges which he had not contested.

In this letter they explained that they had been led to pass such a verdict, first, because of their indignation that, when in the previous year the emperor had ordered the bishops of the East to assemble at Caesarea on his account, he had failed to appear, even though he saw the council wearied for a long time waiting for him, and had thereby shown contempt for the sovereign's commands.

But when a larger number had assembled at Tyre, he arrived together with a crowd and caused disturbances and uproar in the council — at one time evading their questions in his defense, at another abusing each of the bishops, at times refusing to obey when summoned by them, and at other times not deigning to be judged at all.

They declared that he had been openly convicted regarding the shattering of the mystic cup, putting forward as witnesses to this Theognis, bishop of Nicaea, and Maris of Chalcedon, and Theodore of Heraclea, and Valens and Ursacius and Macedonius;

whom they sent to Egypt, so that, upon arriving at the village where the cup was said to have been broken, they might discover the truth.

Such things they wrote, dealing with each charge in a lawyerly fashion, and striving, as it were by some art, to fabricate a case of slander.

But it appeared to many of the priests present that this judgment was not sound.

It is said, at any rate, that Paphnutius the confessor, who was present at this council, took by the hand Maximus, bishop of Jerusalem, and made him rise up, on the grounds that they, being confessors who had had their eyes put out and their hamstrings maimed for the sake of piety, ought not to share in an assembly of wicked men.

Meanwhile, about the thirtieth year of Constantine's reign, when the temple at Jerusalem near the site of the Skull, called the Great Martyrium, had been completed, Marianus, a man of rank and an imperial notary, came to Tyre and delivered to the council a letter from the emperor commanding them to proceed swiftly to Jerusalem and consecrate the temple.

Having planned this even beforehand, he judged it necessary that the bishops, having assembled in Tyre, should first settle their disputes with one another, so that, purged of discord and grief, they might proceed to the dedication of the temple;

for he considered that concord among the priests was fitting for such a festal occasion.

And they came to Jerusalem and consecrated the temple, together with the treasures and votive offerings sent by the emperor, which even to this day remain laid up in this holy house and cause great wonder to those who behold them, on account of their costliness and their magnitude.

From that time, the church of Jerusalem has celebrated this festival annually with great splendor, so that baptismal initiations are performed at it, and church assemblies are held for eight consecutive days, and nearly all peoples from every land under the sun come together, converging from every quarter at the time of this festival for the sake of visiting the sacred sites.

At that time, those bishops who held the views of Arius, seizing the opportunity, were eager for a council to be held at Jerusalem and to admit him and Euzoius to communion;

and they ventured upon this on the following pretext:

There was a certain presbyter, an intimate of the emperor's sister, who was an admirer of the doctrines of Arius.

And that he held these views was at first unknown.