教會史 第 1 章 第 4/18 段

Bishop Alexander, then, having heard this and being greatly grieved, went into the church, and lifting up his hands to God, lamented; and casting himself upon his face in the sanctuary, he lay on the ground and prayed.

Macarius also was present, praying together with him and hearing his voice.

And he entreated, saying these two things:

"If Arius is to assemble with the church tomorrow, release me your servant, and do not destroy the pious together with the impious;

but if you spare your Church (and I know that you do spare it), look upon the words of Eusebius and his party, and do not give your inheritance over to ruin and reproach, but take Arius away, lest, if he enters the church, the heresy should seem to enter along with him, and impiety henceforth be reckoned as piety."

And something marvelous and astonishing came to pass.

For while Eusebius and his party were making threats, the bishop betook himself to prayer, while Arius put his confidence in Eusebius and his party.

And after much idle boasting he went into the privy, as if for a bodily need, and suddenly, according to what is written, falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and having fallen he immediately expired, and was deprived both of communion and of life.

Such, then, was the end of Arius.

And Eusebius and his party, overwhelmed with shame, buried their like-minded companion.

But the blessed Alexander, with the Church rejoicing, completed the assembly in piety and orthodoxy, praying together with all the brethren and greatly glorifying God — not as one exulting over the death, God forbid;

for it is appointed unto all men once to die; but because this was shown to be beyond human judgments.

For the Lord himself, judging between the threats of Eusebius and his party and the prayer of Alexander, condemned the Arian heresy, showing it to be unworthy of the communion of the Church, and making manifest to all that, even though it had the testimony and patronage of the emperor and of all men, yet it was condemned by truth itself. Such were the sheaves that Arius reaped from his wicked seeds, and having seen the vestibule of the punishments that were to come, he accused his own impiety through the very penalty he suffered.

But I will now turn to the narrative of the emperor's piety.

For he sent letters to all the peoples subject to the rule of the Romans, urging them to be freed from their former deception, and exhorting them to learn afresh the teaching of our Savior, and guiding them all as strangers into this, the truth.

He also stirred up the bishops in each city to the building of churches, not only exhorting them to this by letters, but also generously bestowing money and providing the expenses for the building.

What he wrote makes this clear, and runs as follows.

Victor Constantine, Greatest Augustus, to Eusebius.

Up to the present time, while the unholy will and tyranny were persecuting the servants of God our Savior, I have believed, and have thoroughly persuaded myself, most beloved brother, that the works of all the churches had either been ruined through neglect, or had become inferior to their worth through fear of the impending injustice.

But now that liberty has been restored, and that dragon has been driven away from the administration of public affairs by the providence of the greatest God and by our ministry, I consider that the divine power has become manifest to all, and that those who fell into either fear or unbelief or certain sins will, upon recognizing him who truly is, come to the true and right ordering of their life.

As for whatever churches, then, you yourself preside over, or know of others — bishops, presbyters, or deacons — who preside over them locally, remind them to be diligent about the works of the churches, either by restoring what already exists, or by enlarging it, or, wherever need requires, by making new buildings.

And you yourself, as well as the rest through you, shall request the necessary things from the provincial governors and from the prefectural staff.

For they have been instructed to render service with all diligence to whatever your holiness may direct.

God preserve you, beloved brother. This, then, is what he wrote to the bishops in each province concerning the building of churches.

And as for what he wrote to Eusebius of Palestine concerning the preparation of the sacred books, it is easy to learn from the letter itself.

Victor Constantine, Greatest Augustus, to Eusebius.

In the city that bears our name, by the cooperating providence of God our Savior, a very great multitude of people has dedicated itself to the most holy church, so that, as all things there have received great increase, it appears altogether fitting that more churches also be constructed in it.

Do you, therefore, receive most readily what has seemed good to our purpose.

It has seemed proper to signify to your prudence that you should order fifty volumes, with ornamental leather bindings, easily legible and conveniently portable, to be written on prepared parchment by skillful calligraphers thoroughly trained in the art — volumes, namely, of the divine Scriptures, the provision and use of which you know to be most necessary for the instruction of the Church.

Letters have also been sent from our clemency to the financial administrator of the diocese, that he take care to furnish all things necessary for their preparation.

For it shall be the work of your diligence that the volumes ordered be prepared as speedily as possible.

And indeed it is fitting that you receive, by the authority of this our letter, the use of two public conveyances for transport.

For thus above all the fair copies, once written, may most easily be conveyed even to our own presence, this task being fulfilled by one, namely, of the deacons of your church, who, when he arrives before us, shall experience our benevolence.

God preserve you, beloved brother. These things, then, are sufficient to prove — or rather, to teach clearly — how the all-glorious emperor turned all his zeal toward divine matters.

Yet I will add, to what has been said, the things accomplished by him concerning the Savior's tomb.

For upon learning that those frenzied ones who were in bacchic revelry over the worship of idols had buried the tomb of the Master, striving to consign to oblivion the memory of the salvation wrought there, and upon that spot had built a temple of a licentious demon, mocking as it were the pangs of the Virgin, he commanded that the abominable building be demolished, and that the earth polluted by the accursed sacrifices be carried off and cast far away from the city, and that thereafter a temple be built, the greatest and most beautiful of all.

This is made clearer by the letter which he sent to the president of that church.

Now this was Macarius, of whom we have made mention before, who both had taken part in the great council and, together with the others, had contended against the blasphemy of Arius.

Victor Constantine, Greatest Augustus, to Macarius.

So great is the grace of our Savior that no supply of words seems adequate to the present wonder.

For that the token of that most holy Passion, long hidden beneath the earth, should have remained unknown through so many revolutions of years, until, after the destruction of the common enemy of all, it was destined to shine forth again to his own servants once they were set free — this truly surpasses all astonishment.

For if all who are reputed to be wise throughout the whole world were to come together as one, and were willing to say something worthy of the matter, they would not be able to rival even the smallest part of it.

For the assurance of this wonder surpasses every capacity of human reasoning to the same degree by which heavenly things are established as more powerful than human things.

For this reason, then, this alone is ever my first and only aim: that just as the faith of the truth day by day shows itself forth by ever newer wonders, so too the souls of us all may become more zealous concerning the sacred law, with sobriety and united eagerness.

Since I believe this to be manifest to all, I especially wish you to be persuaded of this one thing: that above all else I am concerned that we should adorn with the beauty of buildings that sacred place, which, at God's command, I have relieved of the most shameful addition of an idol, as of some burdensome weight lying upon it — a place holy from the beginning by God's judgment, but declared more holy still from the time he brought forth to light the assurance of the Savior's Passion.

It is fitting, then, that your sagacity should so arrange matters, and take such forethought for each of the necessary things, that not only should the basilica be finer than any elsewhere, but also that all the rest should be such that all the finest works in every city may be surpassed by this edifice.

As for workmen and all things necessary for the building, take care that, as soon as your sagacity ascertains what is needed, these be sent immediately, through their forethought.

And concerning the columns or marbles, whichever you may judge to be more precious and more useful, do you yourself, after a personal survey, take care to write to us, in order that, as many and of whatever kind as we may learn through your letter to be needed, these may be able to be brought from every quarter;

for it is right that the most wondrous place in the world be adorned in a manner worthy of it.

As for the vault of the basilica — whether it seems best that it be coffered, or made by some other kind of work — I wish to know from you (for if it is to be coffered, the rest of it can also be adorned with gold), so that your holiness may as quickly as possible make known to the aforementioned officials how many workmen and craftsmen, and what expenses, are needed.

These matters also be careful to report to me at once — not only concerning the marbles and the columns, but also concerning the coffered ceiling, if indeed you should judge this to be the finer choice.

God preserve you, beloved brother. This letter was conveyed by no other than the emperor's own mother, that mother of a fair child, celebrated by all the pious, who bore this great luminary and provided him with the nourishment of piety — she, having endured the toils of the journey and taken no account of the infirmities of old age.

For a little before her death she undertook this journey, and at eighty years of age she reached the end of her life.

And when she saw that place which had received the sufferings of the common salvation, she immediately commanded that the abominable temple be demolished and the earth carried away.

And when the hidden tomb had thus been made manifest, three crosses were seen, buried beside the Master's sepulcher.

And that one of these was that of our Master and Savior, while the other two were those of the robbers crucified with him, all believed without dispute;

yet they did not know which had touched the Master's body and received the flow of the precious blood.

But that most wise and truly divine Macarius, the president of the city, resolved the difficulty by the following means.

For to a certain woman of distinction, held fast by a long-standing disease, he brought each of those crosses in turn, with earnest prayer, and thus came to know the power of the saving cross.

For as soon as this one touched the woman, it drove out that grievous disease and restored the woman to health.

When the emperor's mother had thus learned that which she desired, she put some of the nails into the royal helmet, taking forethought for her son's head, that it might turn aside the weapons of the enemies;

and others she wove into the horse's bridle, both devising security for the emperor, and bringing to fulfillment an ancient prophecy.

For long before, the prophet Zechariah had cried out:

(en already correct: "And what is upon the bridle shall be holy to the Lord Almighty.")

And of the saving cross she assigned a portion to the imperial palace, while for the rest, having made a case of silver material, she gave it to the bishop of the city, charging him to preserve for future generations these memorials of salvation.

And gathering craftsmen skilled in every kind of material from every quarter, she built those greatest and most splendid temples.

But to describe their beauty and magnitude I have judged altogether superfluous, since, so to speak, all who love God flock there and behold with their own eyes the sumptuousness of the works.

But that all-glorious and truly admirable empress also did another thing worthy of remembrance.

For having gathered together all the women who practiced virginity throughout their lives, and having made them recline upon many couches, she herself performed the work of a servant girl, waiting on them, setting food before them, offering cups and pouring wine, bringing a pitcher over a basin, and pouring water upon their hands.

Having done this and other things like it, she returned to her son, and with good cheer departed to the other life, having given her son many injunctions concerning godly government, and overwhelming him with blessings at her departure.

She, then, has obtained even after death the honor that was fitting for one who had so diligently and so ardently served the God of all.

But those of the faction of Arius did not forget their most wicked designs.

For it was for this very reason that they had assented with their hands to the confession of faith, that, clothed as it were in the fleece of sheep, they might carry out the works of wolves.

For that divine Alexander who had, by his prayer, laid Arius low (I mean the Byzantine one, for so Constantinople was then called at that time) departed to the better life;

and Eusebius, the advocate of impiety, giving little heed to the definitions which he himself, together with the other bishops, had shortly before subscribed, immediately abandoned Nicomedia and seized the throne of Constantinople, in open defiance of the canon which forbids both bishops and presbyters alike from removing from one city to another.

And it is no wonder that those who had so madly raged against the divinity of the Only-begotten should transgress the other laws without fear.

But it is not now for the first time that he has introduced this innovation; rather, he had already dared to do this very same thing before.

For having long ago been entrusted with Berytus, he leapt over to Nicomedia;

and from this see too, after the council, he was driven out because of the manifest impiety, and together with him Theognis of Nicaea.

And the emperor Constantine has made this clear by letters.

I will insert the conclusion of the letter into this history;

He wrote the following to the people of Nicomedia:

Who is it that has taught these things to so guileless a multitude? Eusebius, evidently, the partner in the tyrant's cruelty.

For that he has everywhere been a devoted follower of the tyrant may be seen from many quarters.

For this, the slaughters of bishops bear witness — but of truly genuine bishops;

and this the most grievous persecution of the Christians proclaims outright.

I will say nothing now about the outrages committed against me, in the course of which, especially when the conspiracies of the hostile factions were most at work, this man used to send spying eyes against me, and all but contributed armed assistance to the tyrant.

And let no one suppose that I am unprepared to prove these things.

For there is exact proof that the presbyters and deacons who attended upon Eusebius were manifestly seized by me — this stands established.

These things I have now set forth, not for the sake of indignation, but for their shame.

This alone I fear, this alone I ponder — that I see you being summoned to a share in the guilt.

For through the guidance and perversion of Eusebius you have received a conscience cut off from the truth.

But the remedy is not slow, if indeed, having now at last received a faithful and blameless bishop, you look toward God;

which is at present in your power, and ought long ago to have rested upon your own judgment, had not the aforesaid Eusebius come here in the whirl of those who conspired with him, and shamelessly helped to overturn the propriety of due order.

But since it is fitting that a few words be said to your charity concerning Eusebius himself: your forbearance recalls that a council was held in the city of the Nicaeans, at which I myself also was present, fittingly, in service to my own conscience, wishing nothing else than to bring about harmony for all, and above all to expose and shake off this affair, which had taken its beginning through the madness of Arius the Alexandrian, but was immediately strengthened through the improper and pernicious zeal of Eusebius.

But this very Eusebius, most beloved and most honored, came forward with what great agitation you may suppose, since he was overcome by his own conscience, and with what shame he stood convicted by the falsehood exposed on every side — secretly sending to me various persons to plead on his behalf, and begging of me some assistance, so that, having been convicted of so great an offense, he might not be cast out of the honor he possessed.

which he unseemly filched away, as you also shall come to know.

For at that time everything was done just as he himself desired, concealing within his own mind whatever evil there might be.

But recently — that I may pass over the rest of his perversity — hear, I beg you, what above all he did together with Theognis, whom he has as partner in his folly.

I had ordered that certain Alexandrians, who had withdrawn from our faith, be sent here, since through their service the torch of discord was being kindled.

But these fine and good bishops, whom the truth of the council had once preserved for the sake of repentance, not only received those men and secured them at their own side, but also shared with them in the wickedness of their ways.

Wherefore I decided to do this concerning these ungrateful men:

for I ordered that they be seized and exiled as far away as possible.

Now it is your part to look toward God with that faith which is established to have always existed and ought to exist, and so to conduct yourselves that we may rejoice in having bishops who are pure, orthodox, and benevolent.

But if anyone dares rashly to be inflamed toward the remembrance of those destroyers, or toward their praise, he shall at once be restrained from his own audacity through the action of the servant of God, that is, myself;

May God preserve you, beloved brothers." At that time, then, these men were both deposed and driven out of their cities,

and Nicomedia was entrusted to Amphion, and Nicaea to Chrestus.

But again employing their customary machinations, and finding the emperor's benevolence a means of deceit, they wrestled their way back and recovered their former dominion.

And Eusebius, as I have already said, also seized the see of Constantinople tyrannically.

And having thus laid hold of greater power, and frequently visiting the emperor, and gaining boldness of speech from his more frequent association with him, he devised machinations against the champions of the truth.

And first, pretending a longing to view Jerusalem, and thereby deceiving the emperor as though he would go to see the much-talked-of work of construction, he set out from there with the greatest honor, the emperor having granted him both conveyances and the rest of the attendance.

And Theognis of Nicaea also set out together with him, being, as we have said before, a partner in his wicked designs.

Having arrived at Antioch and having put on the mask of friendship, they enjoyed the very greatest hospitality;

for the champion of the truth, the great Eustathius, showed them every brotherly kindness.

But when they reached the holy places and beheld their like-minded associates — Eusebius of Caesarea, Patrophilus of Scythopolis, Aëtius of Lydda, Theodotus of Laodicea, and the others as many as had received the taint of Arius — they disclosed the plot that was being contrived, and together with them arrived at Antioch.

And the pretext for the others' visit was an escort of honor;

but what was actually being stitched together was war against piety.

For they hired a courtesan who sold her beauty for a price, and having persuaded her to sell them her tongue as well, they gathered together into council.

Then, having ordered all the others to go outside, they brought in the thrice-wretched woman.

And she, displaying a suckling infant, said that she had both conceived and borne this child from intercourse with Eustathius, and she cried out shamelessly.

But he, knowing the manifest falsehood of the slander, ordered her, if she had any witness to this, to bring him forward into the midst.

But when she said that she had no witness for the accusation, the most righteous judges proposed an oath — even though the law expressly proclaims that statements are established on the testimony of two or three witnesses, and though the apostle directly commands that not even a written accusation against a presbyter be accepted apart from two or three witnesses.

But these men, despising the divine laws, accepted an unwitnessed accusation against so great a man.

As lovers of truth, they rendered their verdict.

But when the other bishops (for not a few were present who championed the apostolic doctrines and were entirely ignorant of what had been contrived) openly objected and sought to prevent the great Eustathius from accepting that unlawful verdict, those who had composed the drama went with all speed to the emperor, and having persuaded him that the accusation was true and the verdict of deposition just, they procured the expulsion of the champion of piety and self-control as though he were both an adulterer and a usurper.

And he was led away through Thrace to a city in Illyricum.

And they, first, ordained Eulalius in his place.

And when this man had survived only a short time, they wished to transfer Eusebius the Palestinian.

But since he himself declined the transfer and the emperor forbade it, they put forward Euphronius.

And when he too died (for he lived a year and a few months after his ordination), they handed over the presidency of that church to Flacillus.

And all of them alike had the taint of Arius hidden within them.

For this reason, very many of those who chose to live piously, both of the clergy and of the laity, having abandoned the church assemblies, gathered together by themselves.

And all called these men Eustathians, since they had come together after his departure.

That thrice-wretched woman, however, having fallen into a most grievous and prolonged illness, disclosed the plot and laid bare the tragedy, teaching not two or three but a very great many of the clergy what had been contrived.

For she said that she had dared that slander for money, yet the oath was not entirely false;

for the infant had in fact been begotten by a certain Eustathius, a bronzesmith.

These things, then, were dared in Antioch by that most excellent band.

Now among the Indians, at this time, the light of the knowledge of God arose.

For since the emperor's manly courage and piety were being celebrated everywhere, and the barbarians round about had learned by experience to choose peace before war, all mingled with one another without fear.

And many set out on long journeys for the sake of inquiry, and many for the sake of commerce.

At that time a certain man of Tyre, versed in secular philosophy, desiring to explore furthest India, set out abroad together with two young nephews;

and having obtained what he desired, he was returning by way of a sea voyage.

But when the ship put in at a certain harbor for the sake of taking on water, barbarians fell upon them, and struck some down with javelins, while others they enslaved.

And he was numbered among the dead, but the youths were brought before the king.

Of these, one was named Aedesius, and the other Frumentius.

And the ruler of that land, having in time made trial of them and perceived them to be shrewd, appointed them to take charge of his household.

For they too, having become captives of war, took over the governance of the Babylonians.

And when the king had died, they remained with his son, enjoying still greater honor; and having been nurtured together in piety, they urged the merchants who arrived there to gather together according to the custom of the Romans and to perform the divine liturgies.

And when a long time had passed, they approached the king and asked, as the reward for their goodwill, their return to their native land;

and having obtained this, they arrived in the land of the Romans.

And Aedesius reached Tyre,

while Frumentius preferred zeal for divine things to the sight of his own parents, and having reached the city of Alexander, he informed the president of the Church how greatly the Indians longed to receive the light of the mind.

Now Athanasius at that time held the helm of that Church;

who, having heard those accounts,

imparted to him the grace of the high priesthood, and sent him forth to cultivate that nation.

And he, having left his homeland and disdained the vast sea, reached the untilled nation, and tilled it eagerly, having as his fellow-worker the grace given by God.

For, employing apostolic wonders, he won over those who attempted to argue against his teaching; and his wonder-working, bearing witness to his words, took very many captive each day.

Frumentius, then, became a guide to the knowledge of God for the Indians.

The Iberians, at the same time, a captive woman guided to the truth.

For she practiced continual prayer, and her bed and soft bedding was a sackcloth spread out upon the ground, and she reckoned fasting to be the height of luxury.

This labor imparted to her a share of the apostolic gifts.

For since the barbarians, lacking medical science, are accustomed, when ill, to visit one another, and to learn from those who have already been sick and been freed of their illness the manner of recovering health, a certain woman came to this admirable woman, having a sick child, and beseeching to learn what should be done.

And she, taking the child and laying it down upon her bed, besought the Creator of all things to nod assent and to release it from its illness;

and He, receiving her supplication, granted health.

From this the admirable woman became widely renowned.

For not even the king's consort was unaware of what had happened, and she immediately sent for her;

for she herself too was afflicted with some grievous ailment.

But she, being of modest disposition, did not accept the queen's request;

but the queen, being constrained by her need, was unwilling to take her royal dignity into consideration, but herself ran to the captive woman.

And she again, laying her down upon the humble bed, applied prayer as a remedy warding off evil against her affliction.

And the queen offered as reward for the cure whatever she deemed worthy of possession—gold and silver, tunics and cloaks, and all such gifts as belong to royal munificence.

But the divine woman said she had no need of these things, but considered the recognition of piety a great reward;

and she offered, as far as was possible, the divine teachings, and enjoined that a divine temple be raised to Christ who had saved her.

Having heard these things, the queen returned to the palace.

And at once she astonished her husband by the swiftness of her cure;

then she declared the power of the captive woman's God and urged him to acknowledge Him as the only God, and to build Him a temple, and to convert the whole nation to His worship.

He indeed praised the miracle that had been wrought upon his wife, but was unwilling to build the temple.