教會史卷 1–9（拉丁譯本） 第 10 章

Therefore, after the race of impious men, hateful to God and to men—as we have set forth above—had suddenly perished, so that in them there seemed rightly fulfilled what the Holy Spirit had foretold: 'I saw the impious highly exalted and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon; and I passed by, and behold, he was not,'—now, every cloud being wiped away, the joyful day, brighter than usual, had shone upon the earth, and upon the churches of Christ the splendour of its own sun had gleamed; nor did there anywhere remain an envious eye to regard these things otherwise, but all mortals, at the horror of the tyrannical cruelty that had passed, even if not yet in faith, confessed that the affairs of the devout were aided, and proved firm the hope of those who hope in Christ.

From which there was present to all, as though poured in by a divine gift, a gladness—especially to those who beheld those places, which a little before had been destroyed by the impious engines of the tyrants, now rising again brighter and loftier by a renewed construction, and lofty temples being raised in place of humble little meeting-houses. For it delighted their souls and stirred them the more, while they wrote the more frequently to the person of the bishops and paid honour to the priests with the highest veneration, and also bestowed the expenses of the outlays more generously. Meanwhile festivals were most frequently kept by our people with all joy and exultation, dedications of churches being celebrated throughout the cities and each several place.

The priests gathered together into one, and it did not irk even those set far off to convene, for no space seemed long to charity. Peoples too flocked to peoples, and, as truly members of the one body of Christ, they rejoiced to be joined and associated with one another, so that there seemed to be fulfilled what was said: 'bone was gathered to bone, and joint to joint,' in whom also one Spirit, poured into all the members, is rightly said to dwell, and one soul, because there is one faith in all, and one God is worshipped by all, and out of one mouth all sing hymns together to God. And now indeed a mighty grace shone forth in the priesthood and the ministries and in all things which pertain to the observance of religion.

Here stood the choirs of those chanting psalms; young men and maidens, old men with the young, praised the name of the Lord; here the mystic ministries were performed by ordained and appointed turns. The assembly, too, of pontiffs and priests, venerable by their very hoary age, shone brightly from afar. And now indeed, if anyone, inspired through the grace of the Lord, uttered a discourse to the people, with all silence the faces and eyes of all were turned upon him, as though it were preserved to them from heaven through him in the priests. Thence one and another, and not only two or three, as the Apostle said, the rest judging, spoke; but to as many as speech was given in the opening of their mouth, that it might the more be established in them what Moses had said:

'Who will grant that the whole Church of the Lord may prophesy?' For nowhere was there malice, no envy assailed any; the gifts of God were ministered to the peoples of God, and each one, according to what is written, sought to abound unto the edification of the Church. And all these things were done in charity, so that they anticipated one another in honour, and each esteemed the other better than himself. For the simpler folk admired and looked up to those who instructed the peoples through the wisdom of the word; but wise and learned men gave preference to those to whom a pure life and sincere simplicity gave a greater confidence in offering sacrifices to God, and to whom the office of immolating the sacrifice was permitted—men whom a homelier simplicity of life preserved in purity of heart.

'... he sought out with the highest zeal the things which formerly, in the writings given to your office concerning the name of the Christians... your dedication also understands... to others the power of their own religion or observance. Likewise I will open and free for peace... that it be granted for the tranquillity of our time... concerning which... a fixed form had been established before.'

'...comprised—in a former time some also, either those who bought them or those who obtained them by gift, if they think fit, may request from our benevolence some compensation, whereby to them too through our clemency provision may be made.' Therefore, when with such simplicity the glory of the churches was advancing before God and men, and a certain image of heavenly things was held on earth, and above all things the devout prince Constantine exulted in such matters—growing day by day in faith and religion, being filled with inexplicable joy at the churches' progress—he did not think it enough for the priests of God that he should show himself their equal, unless he both far preferred them and venerated them as an image, as it were, of the divine presence; and while, for all these things, he was honoured by all no longer as an emperor but as a father, unhappy envy did not endure that the peace of our people should grow with joyful successes, or that his zeal toward us should endure unshaken.

For Licinius, who at first, on account of his uprightness of character and integrity of life and the merit of his virtues, had not only been taken by him into partnership of the empire, but had also been received into kinship by a marriage-bond—for he had received Constantine's sister in marriage—seeing that the emperor ruled over all not so much by force and fear as by love and religion, and was held in the highest veneration by all mortals, and especially by the Christians, being struck by a human vice—nay rather, smitten by the inhuman plague of envy—at first prepares by hidden snares to deceive the excellent prince, and contrives this above all through his intimates and servants.

But he, suspecting nothing indeed of his wiles and frauds, yet because he was wholly confident in God, fortified himself in all things by that sign which had been shown to him from heaven, nor could he by this means be made liable to any snares.

But Licinius, when neither the memory of benefits nor the grace of kinship could restrain the savagery of the crime he had conceived, nor yet did the snares through his hidden machinations succeed against him—reckoning that the emperor was aided by the prayers of the Christians and therefore remained safe—moved by foolish wrath, indeed declares open war on the emperor and defiles the faith and partnership of the empire, but prepares to persecute our people with a private and special hatred, alleging this as a grievance: that the Christians did not keep watch for him, as they did for Constantine, in the solemn prayers handed down to them by precept.

Therefore, by a reversed turn, he who a little before had most sharply taken vengeance on those who in the time of the tyrants had contrived anything cruel against the Christians, now hurls his weapons against our people, and stains the first sacrileges of his tyranny with the blood of our people. For first of all he orders that if anyone in his palace were a Christian, he should depart, and then also from all military service. After this the plague advanced, and by tyrannical edicts he decreed that all who professed themselves Christians should be thrust into prison. Yet straightway he found something in which to surpass his predecessors in cruelty. He adds to the edict, that no one should...

...bring food or drink to one sent into prison, saying that it was unjust that mercy should be shown and humanity offered to those whom he himself had condemned by his own laws. And so multitudes, thrust back into prison, [perished] by starvation; but, with the savagery of his mind increasing, even this seemed too little. Forthwith he extended the frenzy of his cruelty against the bishops and the other priests of God; and first he circumvented by cunning art all the more noble, and those whom a brighter fame had extolled or the repute of wisdom and learning had commended, and ordered them to be punished—with no inquiry into any charge held—on this ground alone, that they were denounced.

And now indeed, after this, with a mode of cruelty unheard of in all ages, all who had refused to acquiesce in defiled sacrifices he ordered to be handed over not to torturers, as his predecessor tyrants used to do, nor to tortures and punishments, but to butchers, that they might, hung up after the manner of swine and despised and laid upon blocks, cut them into pieces, and, divided into parts, cast them into the sea as food for fishes. The churches too, which in his own times he had caused to be built by common edicts, he himself again overthrew, and in all things strove hard to surpass in cruelty all the tyrants who had been before him.

Moreover, [he strove] to change laws to that rite, to pursue insatiable greed, to renew the census, and to fill fields empty of cultivators with tributes. Moreover, if he had sent into exile any who had been ensnared by unjust factions, [he strove] to tear away their wives from lawful marriages and join them to his own slaves and satellites; and he himself, even against the strength of his own age, delighted in adulteries and the corruption of virgins. But when, equipped with arms and 'virtues' of this kind, he began more fiercely to ply his tyranny, Constantine—who was adorned with true virtues and fortified with perfect piety toward God—prepares to go against so many and so great outrages.

Nor was there any difficulty for the victory, where both a juster cause and a purer faith and a more eminent virtue were found; and, Licinius being cast down and all memory of tyrannical domination taken away, he alone with his sons obtained the solidity of the Roman realm. Then indeed the condition of the state was held by an even moderation and a censure most worthy of the Roman name. Among the barbarous nations there was a mighty fear; but among the provincials the devotion of mind was greater than the fear. All things were quiet and tranquil from enemies and civil wars; joyful and secure, all mortals passed their time in peace. But the glory of the churches—it is incredible to relate with how great zeal of the devout emperor it grew, and how great was his care even for the expenditure of the needy.

For his soul, ardent in the faith of God, and his kindly and clement disposition, were fed by good works. And to such a degree did the goodness and tranquillity of present affairs prevail, that it bred forgetfulness of past evils. He had driven away the tyrannical laws against the Christians and had restored the civil right; moreover he conferred very many privileges upon the churches and the highest honours upon the priests. Thus, dear to God and to men, [he held] the summit of the Roman realm both with pure religion and also with virtue of soul and moderation above [measure]. They say it is the mark of skilled physicians that, when they see general diseases threatening cities or regions, they provide some kind of medicine or draught, whereby men, forearmed, may be defended from the impending destruction.

This you too, venerable father Chromatius, pursuing that kind of medicine at the time when—the barriers of Italy being burst open under Alaric the leader of the Goths—that pestilent [enemy brought deadly ruin], seeking some remedy of the fatal destruction for those committed to you by God, that they might be held occupied by [wholesome] pursuits, enjoin upon me that I should translate into Latin the ecclesiastical history which that most learned man Eusebius of Caesarea had composed in the Greek tongue, by the reading of which the mind of the hearers, bound fast, while it more eagerly seeks knowledge of the deeds done, might in a manner receive forgetfulness of the evils that were being wrought.

When I wished to excuse myself from this work—as being inferior and unequal to it, and as one who in so many years had lost the use of the Latin tongue—I considered that not without some order of apostolic instruction were you enjoining these things upon me. For when the Lord, on a certain occasion, when the crowds of hearers were hungering in the desert, had said to the apostles, 'Give ye them to eat,' Philip, one of the apostles, understanding that the emblems of the divine power shone the more brightly if they were accomplished by the ministries of the very least, did not bring forth loaves stored in the apostolic wallet, but says that a little boy was present having five loaves and two fishes; and modestly excusing him, he added: 'But what are these among so great a divine power?'

Knowing therefore that you too descend from those disciplines, recalling that perhaps after the example of Philip—when you saw the time for feeding the crowds—you have substituted a little boy, who would indeed supply five loaves doubled, as he had received them, yet, for the fulfilling of the evangelical mystery, would by his own labour add also two little fishes that he had caught—I have undertaken to carry out, as I could, what you had enjoined, being sure that the authority of him who enjoins will excuse the faults of my unskilfulness.

It should indeed be known that the tenth book of this work in the Greek, since it was very meagre in narrated deeds, being taken up with all the rest in panegyrical treatises on the bishops contributing nothing to the knowledge of events, I have—omitting those things which seemed superfluous—joined to the ninth book whatever it had of history, and in that book I have given an end to Eusebius's narrative. But the tenth and eleventh books I myself have composed, partly from the traditions of our elders, partly from those things which our own memory had already grasped; and these I have added, as it were two little fishes, to the loaves written above. And if you either approve or bless them, I shall confidently trust that they suffice for the crowds.

The whole work contains the affairs done in the Church from the ascension of the Saviour and thereafter. But since the text of the history has brought mention of the blessed Gregory, I think it most worthy to insert into the memory of posterity the deeds of so great a man, which [he wrought] under the eastern and northern [regions]. There was a certain pool situated in the regions of Pontus, abounding in fishes, from the catch of which most abundant revenues were rendered to the owners. This possession had fallen by lot of inheritance to two brothers. But the greed of money, which is cherished by almost all, [drove] the brothers at the time of fishing not so much to catch fishes as to deceive men; slaughters and wars were stirred up, and human blood was poured out for the sake of fishes. But the providence of God was at hand.

At some time [came] the help and coming of Gregory. He sees the battles and deaths of men, and, [asking] by what the brothers were inflamed, he inquires, and finds nothing but the catch of fishes. Then he—when, out of honour for his coming, both parties had for a little while fallen silent—said: 'Do not, O my little sons, violate rational souls for the sake of dumb animals, nor dissolve brotherly peace through the greed of gain; [do not] approach [things] deadly [to the soul]. I now, through the power of the Lord, will release you from all the contest of this bloody strife.' And when he had said these things, in the sight of all he fixes the rod which he held in his hand into the first waves of the shore, and himself, placing his knees on the ground, stretches out his palms to heaven, and in these words makes supplication to God on high:

'Thou, O Lord God of our fathers, who, when the first man Adam had sinned against thee and transgressed thy commandment, tempering the penalty of his fault, turnedst the sentence of malediction upon the earth, saying, «Cursed be the earth in thy works»: now therefore, having compassion on the brotherly blood of these young men, which is in peril, command that these waters be accursed in the works of these men, for whose sake, kindled with fury, they have forgotten brotherly love; so that never in this place may either a fish appear or water abide, but let it be a plain enduring the plough and fruitful of crops, and let it persevere as a guardian forever of brotherly concord.' As soon as he made an end of praying, straightway the water, withdrawing itself and fleeing back with a swifter course, being bidden to depart from the sight above, is restored to its own depths, and left a dry plain to the now-reconciled brothers.

But even to this day the soil is said to be fruitful of crops, which before had been fruitful of ships. There is also recorded another deed of his, more illustrious and more divine. In a certain place of narrow countryside, when the situation demanded that a church be built, a certain crag of a neighbouring mountain set in the way on the eastern side, and on the other a river flowing past, denied the space that would suffice for a church. And when they had no [place] for building the church, he, full of faith, is said to have passed the night in prayer and faithfully to have reminded the Lord Jesus of his own promise, by which he had said: 'If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say to this mountain: Take thyself up and cast thyself into the sea, and it would surely be done.'

And when he sought this with full faith and devotion, as the peoples gathered together toward the light the obstructing rock was found to have withdrawn just as much space as was needed. Very many other things besides are handed down concerning him; but lest we seem to draw out our discourse to great length, passing over the rest I will add just one more of his deeds. It is said that he once made a journey through the Alps in winter time, and when he had come to the highest ridge of the Alps, all things were filled with snow; there was no lodging anywhere. There was only a temple of Apollo there, into which he entered, and after the night had passed he departed. Now there was a certain priest of that temple, whose custom it was to consult the image of Apollo and to render responses to those who inquired, whence he seemed also to derive the gain of his sustenance.

So then, after Gregory had departed, the priest came according to custom to offer sacrifices and to seek oracles and responses, but no response came forth from thence. He repeated the victims; the silence remained. Again and again he made offering, but he was pouring out his tale to deaf ears. And when the priest was in a ferment of astonishment at this strange silence, at night the demon, standing beside him, said to him in his sleep: 'Why do you invoke me there, whither I can no longer come?' And when the priest asked the reason, it said that it had been driven out by the coming of Gregory. And when he inquired what remedy might now be given, it said that it was not permitted to it to enter that place in any other way unless Gregory allowed it. Having heard these things, the priest set out upon the road, turning many things over within himself and pondering with a reluctant mind.

He came to Gregory and, approaching him, laid out the matter in order; he reminded him of his own courtesy and hospitality, set forth his complaint about the expelled deity, lamented the loss of the means of his livelihood, and demanded that everything be restored to him in its former state. But Gregory, without any delay, wrote a letter in these words: 'Gregory to Apollo. I permit you to return to your place and to do the things you were accustomed to do.' The priest received this letter and carried it to the temple; and when it had been placed beside the image, the demon was present and gave responses to the one who inquired. Then that man, turning within himself, said:

'If Gregory commanded and this god departed, and could not return unless bidden, and was restored again at Gregory's bidding, how is Gregory not far better than this one, whose commands the god obeys?' Therefore, having closed the doors of the temple, he went down to Gregory, carrying with him the letter he had received, and disclosing to him the whole order of what had been done; and at the same time, prostrating himself at his feet, he begged that Gregory would offer him to that God by whose power Gregory held command over the gods of the nations. And when he persisted the more earnestly and stubbornly, he was made a catechumen by him. And when, forsaking all things, he had bound himself to a most chaste and abstinent life, not only from the errors of the demons but also from the pursuits of the world, he also obtained baptism.

And he advanced so far by the merit of his life and the virtue of his faith that he himself succeeded the blessed Gregory in the episcopate. Moreover, Gregory left us the greatest monuments of his genius in a small compass. For the same Gregory most magnificently composed a paraphrase upon Ecclesiastes, and left behind an exposition of the catholic faith, briefly set forth, which I have thought it fitting to add here for the edification of the churches: 'The Faith of Gregory, martyr and bishop of Neocaesarea. There is one God, the Father of the living Word, of subsisting Wisdom and Power, and of His own Image; the perfect begetter of the Perfect, the Father of the only-begotten Son.'

'There is one God, sole from the Sole, God from God, the figure and image of the Deity, the effectual Word, the Wisdom comprehending all things, and the Power by which the whole creation could be made; the true Son of the True, the Invisible of the Invisible, the Incorruptible of the Incorruptible, the Immortal of the Immortal, the Everlasting of the Everlasting. There is one Holy Spirit, having its substance from God, and who appeared through the Son; the Image of the perfect Son, the perfect Cause of the living, the Holiness that bestows sanctification, through whom God who is over all and in all is made known, and the Son through all. A perfect Trinity, in majesty and eternity and kingdom in no way divided nor estranged.'

'Therefore in the Trinity there is nothing made or serving, nor anything superadded, as though not subsisting before but afterward entering in from without. Thus the Son was never lacking to the Father, nor the Holy Spirit to the Son, but the same Trinity is unchangeable and immutable.' As for the remaining matters, which up to the present time have followed in order, whether we found them in the writings of our forefathers or our own memory has touched upon them, by the precepts of the pious father and in this our parents as far as we were able. Concerning the bishop Spyridon and his marvels. An example of the Nicene faith and its decrees. Concerning the cross of the Savior found in Jerusalem by Helena. Concerning the conversion of the nation of the Iberians brought about by a captive woman.

Concerning Constantia, sister of Constantine, and the presbyter she introduced to her brother. Concerning the conflict of Alexander and Eusebius and Arius. XVII. Concerning the council of the heretics at Tyre against Athanasius. XVIII. Concerning the severed arm of Arsenius and the other frauds of the heretics. XX. How the emperor Constans wrote to his brother Constantius on behalf of Athanasius and ordered him to be restored to his church. XXI. Concerning the council held at Milan and the exiles of Eusebius. XXIII. Concerning the bishops of Jerusalem and of Alexandria. XXV. Concerning the intermingling of bishops at Antioch. XXVI. Concerning the schism of the Arians, which was divided into three parts, some of them being Eunomians, others Macedonians, and others again... XXVII. Concerning the end of the emperor Constantius and the rise of Julian. XXVIII.

Concerning the council of the holy bishops at Alexandria and Lucifer. XXX. Concerning the things decreed in that same council. XXXI. Concerning Eusebius and Hilary and the restoration of the churches through them. XXXIII. Concerning the persecutions of Julian, both flattering and cunning. XXXIV. Concerning his savagery toward Athanasius the bishop. XXXVII. Concerning Theodore the confessor at Antioch.

XXXVIII. Concerning the attempts of the Jews, who, deceived by Julian, sought to rebuild the temple. XXXIX. How by an earthquake there and by fire kindled from heaven the Jews were driven off from the undertaking. XL. Concerning the terrifying signs and wonders, which were turned to their destruction. When at Alexandria, after Achillas, who had succeeded the martyr Peter, Alexander had taken up the priesthood, since there was peace and quiet for our people from persecutions, and the glory of the churches rejoiced in the merits of the confessors, the prosperity of our affairs was disturbed by a domestic contention. And a certain man, religious in appearance rather than in virtue, but wickedly greedy for glory and praise and novelty, began to put forward certain perverse notions concerning the faith of Christ, and matters that had never before come into question.

He attempted to cut off and separate the Son from that eternal and ineffable substance or nature of God the Father. The bishop, of a gentle and quiet nature, desired by constant admonitions to recall Arius from his depraved undertaking and impious assertions, yet the matter did not proceed according to his wish, since the contagion of that pestilent assertion had already infected very many, not only at Alexandria but, as became known, throughout other cities also. The report reached even the ears of the religious emperor, who indeed with all zeal and diligence took care of those things that are ours. Then he, on the advice of the bishops, ordered an episcopal council to be convened at the city of Nicaea, and that judgment be made concerning Arius's propositions and questions.

But in that council I do not think a remarkable deed of the emperor ought to be passed over in silence. For when the bishops had gathered from almost every place and, as usually happens, had brought forward certain quarrels among themselves from various causes, the emperor was frequently interrupted by individuals; petitions were presented, faults were set forth, and they gave their minds to these things more than to that for which they had come. But he, seeing that through quarrels of this kind the cause of the highest business was being frustrated, appointed a fixed day on which each of the bishops, if he seemed to have any complaint, should present it. And when he had taken his seat, he received the petitions from each. Holding all of them together in his bosom, and not opening them to reveal what was contained in them, he said to the bishops:

'God has appointed you priests and has given you power to judge concerning us as well, and therefore we are rightly judged by you; but you cannot be judged by men. On this account, await among yourselves the judgment of God alone, and let your quarrels, whatever they are, be reserved for that divine examination. For you have been given to us as gods by God, and it is not fitting that a man should judge gods, but only He of whom it is written: God stood in the assembly of the gods, and in the midst He discerns the gods. And therefore, setting aside these matters, which do not pertain to the faith of God, settle them without any contention of spirits.'

When he had said these things, he ordered all the petitions of complaints to be burned together, lest the rivalry of the priests should become known to any man. But when for many days in the council of bishops the question concerning the faith was being debated, and some held differing views and vehemently favored the undertakings of Arius, there were nonetheless more who execrated the impious enterprise. And since in that same council there was a great number of confessors among the priests, all of them opposed the novelties of Arius. But those who favored him were men crafty in disputations, and on that account hostile to the simplicity of the faith. Now how great a power the simplicity of faith possesses, we recognize also from those things which are reported to have been done there.

For when, at the zeal of the religious emperor, the priests of God had come together from every land, philosophers too, moved by report, and dialecticians most noble and most renowned, assembled. Among these a certain man distinguished in the art of dialectic stirred up, day by day, a contest of the highest struggle with our bishops, men likewise not inconsiderably learned in dialectic; and there arose a mighty spectacle, since no philosopher could be shut in or bound down by anyone of that class: for with such art of speaking did he meet the objections raised, that just where he seemed most tightly held, he would slip away like a slippery serpent.

But that God might show that the kingdom of God consists not in speech but in power, one of the confessors, a man of the most simple nature and knowing nothing else save Christ Jesus and Him crucified, was present among the other bishops who were listeners. When he had seen the philosopher insulting our people and boasting of the crafty art of his disputation, he asked from all a place, saying that he wished to converse a little with the philosopher. Then indeed our people, who knew the simplicity of the man and his inexperience in speech at least, were afraid and suffered a kind of shame, lest holy simplicity should be made a laughingstock among crafty men. The old man nevertheless persisted, and began the opening of his discourse thus.

'In the name of Jesus Christ,' he said, 'O philosopher, hear the things that are true. There is one God, who made heaven and earth, and who gave a spirit to man, whom He had formed from the clay of the earth; who created all things visible and invisible by the power of His Word and established them by the sanctification of His Spirit. This Word and Wisdom, whom we call the Son, having pity on human errors, is born of a Virgin, and by the suffering of His death freed us from perpetual death, and by His resurrection bestowed on us eternal life. And Him we also await as the coming Judge of all things that we do.

Do you believe that these things are so, O philosopher?' But he, as though he had never learned any speech of contradiction, so astounded by the power of the words, was rendered mute, and to all this could only answer that it seemed to him to be so, and that nothing else was true than what the man had said. Then the old man said: 'If you have believed that these things are so, arise and follow me to the church, and receive the seal of this faith.' And the philosopher, turning to his own disciples or to those who had gathered for the sake of hearing, said: 'Hear, O learned men; as long as the matter was carried on with words, I opposed words to words, and what was said I overthrew by the art of speaking. But when, in place of words, a power proceeded from the mouth of the speaker, words could not resist power, nor could a man oppose God.

And therefore, if any of you has been able, in the things that have been said, to perceive what I have perceived, let him believe in Christ and follow this old man, in whom God has spoken.' Thus the philosopher, having at last been made a Christian, congratulated himself on being conquered. There was moreover in that council also Paphnutius, a man of God, a bishop from the regions of Egypt, a confessor from among those whom Maximian had condemned to the mines with his right eye gouged out and his left knee hamstrung. But in this man there was so great a grace of virtues that signs were wrought through him no less than of old through the apostles. For he put demons to flight by a word alone, and healed the sick by prayer alone. But he is also said to have restored sight to the blind and to have recalled paralytics to the stability of their bodies.

Constantine held him in such veneration and affection that he often summoned him within the palace and embraced him, and would kiss that eye which had been gouged out in the confession of the faith. Of their number, and if there be any yet more eminent, is also said to have been Spyridon, the Cyprian bishop, a man of the order of the prophets, as far as we too have learned from the account of those who had seen him. This man, even when set in the episcopate, remained a shepherd of sheep. Now on a certain night, when thieves had come to the sheepfolds and had stretched out their wicked hands to make an entrance for leading out the sheep, they were held fast by certain invisible bonds and remained until daybreak as though handed over to torturers.

But when the old man betook himself in the early morning to lead the sheep out to pasture, he saw the young men hanging at the folds, bound fast without human fetters. And when he had learned the cause of the offense, he loosed by his word those whom their deserts had bound; and lest their nocturnal labor should turn out for them in vain, he said: 'Take, O young men, one ram for yourselves, lest you seem to have come without cause—one which you would better have sought by prayer than by theft.' They relate also this marvelous deed of him. He had a daughter named Irene, who, having ministered well to him, died a virgin. After her death a certain man came saying that he had entrusted a certain deposit to her. The father was ignorant of what had been done. Though sought throughout the whole house, what was demanded was found nowhere.

That man who had entrusted it persisted, and urged with weeping and tears, testifying that he would even bring about the end of his own life unless he received back what he had entrusted. Moved by his tears, the old man hastened to his daughter's tomb and called her by name. Then she answered from the tomb: 'What do you wish, father?' 'The deposit of this man,' he said, 'where did you place it?' But she, indicating the place, said: 'There you will find it buried.' Having returned to the house, he found the thing just as his daughter had answered from the tomb, and handed it over to the one demanding it back. But many other marvelous deeds of his are also related, which even now are celebrated on the lips of all.

Such then, and very many, were the men who in those times still shone forth in the churches of the Lord, of whom very many were present in that council. But Athanasius too, at that same time deacon of Alexander the Alexandrian bishop, was present, aiding the old man with very many counsels. Meanwhile, day by day the assembly was carried on, and they did not dare to decide such a great matter easily or rashly. Arius was frequently summoned into the council, and by continual discussion his assertions were examined, and it was sought with the utmost deliberation what ought to be held or decreed against these things.

But after long and much discussion it pleased all, and as though with the one mouth and heart of all it was decreed, that the homoousion ought to be written—that is, to confess the Son to be of the same substance with the Father—and this was pronounced by the most firm judgment of all. Only seventeen are then said to have been those to whom the faith of Arius rather pleased, affirming that the Son of God was created from without out of things not subsisting, and not begotten from the very Deity of the Father. The sentence of the priestly council was reported to Constantine. He venerated it as though brought forth by God, and protested that if anyone should attempt to resist it, he would act to send him into exile as one coming against divine decrees. So only six, together with Arius, suffered themselves to be expelled; but the rest subscribed with the tongue alone, not with the mind.

The chief author of this dissimulation was Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia. Meanwhile, in one way or another—some by truth, some by dissimulation, as the outcome afterward showed—as they subscribed and fixed sure decrees concerning each and every ecclesiastical observance, the council was dissolved. 'We believe in one God the Father almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord our Jesus Christ, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, homoousion with the Father, that is, of the same substance with the Father, through whom all things were made, both those in heaven and those on earth;

who for us men and for our salvation came down and was made flesh, and is thence to come to judge the living and the dead; and in the Holy Spirit. But those who say: There was a time when He was not, and before He was born He was not, and that He was made from things not subsisting, or who say that the Son of God is of another subsistence or substance, or changeable or mutable—these the catholic and apostolic church anathematizes.' That one baptized, before being examined more cautiously, should become a cleric. II. And that none of the bishops or of the other clerics should dwell with unrelated women, except with a mother or a sister or an aunt, or with such persons as are of these kinds of kinship. IV.

And that a bishop, if it can be done, should be ordained by the bishops of the whole province. If this is difficult, at least by no fewer than three, yet in such a way that the metropolitan bishop is especially had, either by his presence or by his authority; without which they willed the ordination to be invalid. V. And that whomever another bishop has expelled from the church, whether cleric or layman, another should not receive.

Indeed, lest this—being done unjustly out of some wrath or contention, as often happens—should have no remedy, they decree that each year, twice, in each and every province, councils ought to be held by all the provincial bishops, and that matters of this kind be judged; so that if perchance anything has been done unjustly by one, it may be corrected by the rest, and if rightly, it may be confirmed by all. VI. And that at Alexandria and in the city of Rome the ancient custom be preserved, since the former has authority over the churches of Egypt, and the latter over the suburbicarian churches. VII.

And that if perchance in ordaining a bishop two or three should dissent on account of some contention, the authority of the rest and especially of the metropolitan should prevail. VIII. And that to the bishop of Jerusalem the prerogative of honor anciently handed down be preserved, the dignity of the metropolitan himself nonetheless remaining. IX. And that the Cathari, who among us are the Novatians, if perchance repenting they should be converted to the church, having confessed the ecclesiastical doctrines, ought indeed to be received as clerics in their order, but with ordination given anew. Yet if their bishop should come to our bishop, he ought to sit in the place of the presbyters, but the name of bishop should remain with him alone who has always held the catholic faith:

unless of his own will he should wish to honor that man with such a name, or if it should please him to seek for him a vacant place of a bishop. X. And that in one city there should not be two bishops. XI. And if perchance any, having been indiscriminately advanced to the priesthood, afterward either themselves have confessed something criminal about themselves, or have been convicted by others, that they be cast out; but also if any of those who have lapsed and perchance through ignorance... XII. That if any have lapsed in persecutions without tortures and perform penance from the heart, they should spend five years among the catechumens, and for two years after this be joined to the faithful only in prayer, and so... XIII. But those who on account of the confession had cast off military service and again...

sought after this service again—these should do penance for thirteen years and afterward be received, if nevertheless they do penance from the heart. Yet it is also in the power of the bishop to moderate the term, if he perceives their penance to be fruitful and attentive. XIV. But concerning those who depart from life while penitent, they decree that none ought to be dismissed empty. If, however, anyone who has received communion should survive, he ought to complete the appointed times, or at least as the bishop shall moderate. XV. Concerning catechumens who have lapsed, they decreed that for three years they be separated from the prayer of the catechumens and afterward be received. XVI. And that no one, whether bishop or even another cleric, should aspire to pass from a lesser city to a greater church. XVII.

And that no cleric who, having deserted his own church with no probable cause existing, wanders and roves about through other churches, should be received into... XVIII. And that no one, stealing away one who belongs to another, should ordain him as a cleric in his own church without the consent of the one to whom he belongs. XIX. And that no cleric should either accept interest, or an increase of grain or wine—which is customarily received on a new loan as the half again or even double—and that if he does this, he be cast out as one guilty of base gain. XX. And that deacons should not be preferred to presbyters, nor sit in the assembly of the presbyters, nor distribute the eucharist in their presence; but... only then it is also permitted to them to distribute; and those acting otherwise are to be cast out. XXI.

And that the Paulianists, who are the Photinians, be rebaptized. XXII. But also the deaconesses, since indeed they do not receive the laying on of hands, that they too ought to be counted among the laity.

Therefore, when they had decreed concerning these matters, as the reverence for the divine laws had demanded, and had also handed down to the churches concerning the observance of Easter an ancient canon, through which no variety would thenceforth arise, all things having been duly arranged, the peace and faith of the churches in the regions of both East and West... About the same time Helena, mother of Constantine, an incomparable woman in faith, in religion of soul, and in singular magnificence—whose son Constantine both was and was believed to be—admonished by divine visions, sought Jerusalem, and there inquired of the inhabitants for the place in which the most sacred body of Christ had hung affixed to the gibbet.

That place was on this account difficult to find, because by the ancient persecutors an image of Venus had been set up in it, so that if any of the Christians had wished to adore Christ in that place, he would seem to adore Venus. And on this account the place had become little frequented and almost consigned to oblivion. But when, as we said above, the religious woman had hastened to the place designated to her by a heavenly indication, casting down from it all things profane and polluted, and when the rubble had been cleared away, she found deep down three crosses in confused order. But the undistinguished sameness of each cross disturbed the joy of the discovered gift.

There was present indeed also that title which had been inscribed by Pilate in Greek and Latin and Hebrew letters; but this uncertainty of human ambiguity now demanded a divine testimony. It happened that in the same city a certain woman of first rank of that place, worn out by a grave illness, lay half-dead. Macarius was at that time bishop of that church. When he saw the queen hesitating and all who were present likewise, he said: 'Bring hither all the crosses that have been found, and God will now reveal to us which it is that bore God.' And having entered, together with the queen and the people, to her who was lying sick, and having fixed his knees, he poured out a prayer of this kind to God: 'Thou, O Lord, who through Thine only-begotten Son...

deigned to confer salvation on the human race through the passion of the cross, and now in these last times hast breathed into the heart of Thy handmaid to seek out the blessed wood on which our salvation hung: show clearly, out of these three, which was the cross unto the Lord's glory, and which stood for servile punishment; so that this woman, who lies half-alive, as soon as the saving wood shall have touched her, may be recalled from the gates of death to life.'

And when he had said these things, he first applied one of the three, and nothing was accomplished; he applied the second, and not even so was anything done; but when he brought forward the third, suddenly, with her eyes opened, the woman rose up, and having recovered stability of strength, much more sprightly than when she had been well, she began to run about through the whole house and to magnify the power of the Lord. Thus by an evident sign the queen, made partaker of her vow, built a [church] on that spot. The nails also, with which the Lord's body had been affixed, she carried to her son. Out of these he made bridles, which he might use in war, and out of others he is said to have fashioned a helmet, likewise adapted to the uses of war.

But of the saving wood itself she brought part to her son, and part, enclosed in silver caskets, she left behind in the place, which even now is kept with careful veneration for a memorial. The queen also left this token of her religious spirit. It is said that she invited to a banquet the venerable virgins whom she found there consecrated to God, and cared for them with such devotion that she deemed it unworthy if they should use the services of servants; but she herself, girded in the garb of a serving-maid, would set out food with her own hands, hold out the cup, and pour water over their hands—and the queen of the world and mother of the empire accounted herself the handmaid of the handmaids of Christ. These things indeed were done at Jerusalem.

Meanwhile Constantine, relying on his piety, subdued by arms upon his own soil the Sarmatians, the Goths, and other barbarian nations—except those which had anticipated peace either by friendship or by their surrender. And the more religiously and humbly he had subjected himself to God, the more abundantly did God subject all things to him. To Antony too, the first inhabitant of the desert, he sent letters as suppliant as though to one of the prophets, that he might make supplication to the Lord on behalf of himself and his children. Thus he yearned to make himself commendable to God, not only by his own merits and by the religion of his mother, but also by the intercession of the saints.

Now since we have made mention of so great a man as Antony — of his virtues and manner of life and sobriety of mind, how, passing his life in solitude, he had only the company of wild beasts for his fellowship, and, winning frequent triumphs over the demons, was pleasing to God above all mortals, and how by his discipline he left to monks illustrious examples that endure even to this day — though I was willing to set forth some things concerning him, that little book excluded me from doing so, the one written by Athanasius and published also in the Latin tongue.

Wherefore, passing over those things which have already been told by others, we shall record those which, though grounded on the reliability of what was actually done, were nonetheless made known by men who dwelt far off. In that division of the earth which was carried out by lot through the apostles for the preaching of the word of God, when different provinces fell to different men, Parthia is said to have been allotted to Thomas, Ethiopia to Matthew, and to Bartholomew the nearer India that borders upon it. Between this India and Parthia, but lying deep within by a long stretch, lies farther India, inhabited by many and diverse tongues and nations; and this land, as being far removed, no ploughshare of apostolic preaching had touched. Yet in the times of Constantine it first received the seeds of the faith through some such occasion as this.

A certain philosopher named Metrodorus is said to have penetrated into farther India for the sake of viewing the regions and exploring the world. Invited by his example, a certain Tyrian philosopher named Meropius also wished, for a like reason, to visit India, having with him two young boys whom, as being his kinsmen, he was instructing in liberal letters. Of these, the one who was younger was called Aedesius, and the other Frumentius. So then, when he had seen and taken note of the things upon which his mind fed, and the philosopher had begun to return, the ship in which he was carried put in at a certain harbour for the sake of water and other necessaries.

It is the custom of the barbarians there that whenever the neighbouring nations report to them that their treaty with the Romans has been broken, all Romans found among them are put to the sword. The philosopher's ship was attacked, and all together with himself were slain. But the two boys, found beneath a tree studying and preparing their lessons, were spared out of the barbarians' pity and led to the king. Of these he made the one, that is Aedesius, his cupbearer, while to Frumentius, whom he had perceived to be sharp-witted and prudent, he entrusted his accounts and archives. From this they were held in great honour and affection by the king.

But when the king was dying, he left his wife with a little son as heir of the kingdom, and to the young men he gave free power to do what they wished. The queen, however, humbly entreated them — inasmuch as she had none more faithful in all the kingdom — to share with her the care of governing the realm until her son should come of age, and especially Frumentius, whose prudence sufficed to administer a kingdom; for Aedesius simply displayed a pure faith and a sober mind.

And while they did this, and Frumentius held the helm of the kingdom in his hands, God stirring his mind and heart, he began to inquire more diligently whether there were any Christians among the Roman merchants, and to give them the greatest liberty and to urge them to hold assemblies in the various places, to which they might come together after the Roman manner for the sake of prayer. And he himself did the same still more zealously, and thus encouraged the rest, inviting them by favour and benefits, supplying whatever was needful, providing places for buildings and other necessities, and striving in every way that the seed of Christians might arise there.

But when the royal boy for whom they were exercising the administration of the kingdom had grown up, having accomplished everything and faithfully handed it over, though the queen and her son much detained them and begged them to remain, they nonetheless returned again to our world. And while Aedesius hastened to Tyre to see again his parents and kinsmen, Frumentius went on to Alexandria, saying that it was not right to hide the Lord's work. So he laid the whole matter before the bishop, as it had been done, and urged him to provide some worthy man whom, now that many Christians were gathered and churches built on barbarian soil, he might send as bishop.

Then indeed Athanasius — for he had lately received the priesthood — considering the words and deeds of Frumentius more attentively and carefully, said in the council of the priests: «And what other man do we find such as this, in whom the Spirit of God is as it is in you, who can so fulfil these things?» And bestowing the priesthood upon him, he bade him return with the Lord's grace to the place whence he had come. And when this bishop had gone on to India, so great a grace of miracles is said to have been given him by God, that apostolic signs were wrought through him, and a countless number of barbarians were converted to the faith. From this there arose in the regions of India both peoples of Christians and churches, and the priesthood had its beginning.

These things we relate as having so come to pass not by common report, but on the account of Aedesius himself, who was afterward made a presbyter at Tyre and who had earlier been Frumentius's companion. About the same time also the nation of the Iberians, which lies under the Pontic pole, received the covenants of the word of God and the faith of the kingdom to come. But of this so great a blessing a certain captive woman furnished the occasion; for being found among them, and leading a life faithful enough and sober and chaste, and offering to God vigils of supplication all day and all night, the very novelty of the thing began to be a marvel to the barbarians. And they inquired more curiously what this might mean. She, as the case was, simply confessed that she worshipped Christ as God by this rite.

At this the barbarians marvelled at nothing further than the novelty of the name. But, as usually happens, her very perseverance instilled a certain curiosity in the little women, whether any benefit might be gained from so great a devotion. It is said to be the custom among them that, if a little child fall sick, it is carried about by its mother through the several houses, so that if anyone who has had experience should know some remedy, he might contribute it to the ailing child. And when a certain woman had carried her little one about to all, according to custom, and had obtained no remedy by going through all the houses, she came also to the captive, that she might show whether she knew anything. She testified indeed that she knew no human remedy, but affirmed that her God Christ, whom she worshipped, was able to give the child the salvation despaired of by men.

And when she had laid the little one upon her haircloth garment and had herself poured out a prayer over him to the Lord, she gave the infant back healed to its mother. The report was carried to many, and the fame of the wondrous deed spread even to the ears of the queen, who, afflicted with some very grave bodily suffering, was in the utmost despair. She asked that the captive be brought to her. The captive refused to go, lest she should seem to presume anything more than her sex permitted. The queen ordered that she herself be carried to the captive's little cell.

When she had likewise laid her upon her haircloth garment and invoked the name of Christ, straightway after the prayer she made her rise up sound and lively; and she taught that Christ was God, the Son of the most high God, who had conferred this salvation, and reminded her that He must be invoked whom she knew to be the author of her own soundness and life — for it was He indeed who both distributes kingdoms to kings and life to mortals. But she, having returned home with joy, disclosed to her husband, who asked the cause of so sudden a recovery. And when he, glad for his wife's health, ordered gifts to be brought to the woman, she said: «Of these things, O king, the captive esteems nothing worthy.»

«She despises gold, rejects silver, feeds on fasting as though on food; this alone shall we give her as a gift: that we worship as God that Christ who healed me at her invocation.» At this the king was then rather slow and for a time deferred it, though he was often urged by his wife. It happened afterward, while he was hunting in the forests with his companions, that the day was overcast with the thickest darkness, and through the horror of a foul night, with the light withdrawn, a blind journey was denied to their groping steps.

His companions wandered off, one this way, one that; he alone, surrounded by the thickest gloom, knew not what to do nor whither to turn, when suddenly, to his anxious spirit despairing of safety, such a thought arose: if that Christ whom the captive had proclaimed to his wife were truly God, let Him now deliver him from this darkness, that, forsaking all else, he might henceforth worship Him. And no sooner had he vowed this, not yet in word but only in mind, than the day, restored to the world, brought the king unharmed to the city. He at once disclosed to the queen the matter as it had happened. He demanded that the captive be summoned there and then and hand over to him the rite of worship, and affirmed that he would henceforth worship no other god than Christ.

The captive came, taught him about Christ the God, and unfolded the manner of supplicating and worshipping Him, in so far as it was lawful to disclose these things to a woman. She nonetheless advised that a church be built, and described its form. So the king, having called together the whole people of the nation, set forth the matter from the beginning — what had been done concerning himself and the queen — and taught the faith; and though not yet initiated into the sacred mysteries, he became the apostle of his own nation. The men believed through the king, the women through the queen, and, all wishing the same, a church was earnestly built. And when the circuit of the walls had already been swiftly raised, the time had come when the columns ought to be set in place.

And when the first and second had been erected and they had come to the third, though all the machines and the strength of oxen and men were exhausted, and it had already been raised halfway aslant while the remaining part could be lifted by no machines, and though their strength was applied a second and a third time and more often, it could not be moved even from its place, all being worn out. There was amazement in the whole people; the king's spirits were flagging; all mortals and the very works ceased. The captive alone remained within, passing the night in prayer.

When behold, in the morning, the king entering anxiously with all his people sees the column — which so many machines and so many people had been unable to move — erected and hanging poised above its base, yet not set upon it, but hanging in the air about the space of a single foot. Then indeed all the peoples, beholding and magnifying God, bore witness by the testimony of the present miracle that the king's faith and the captive's religion were true. And behold, while all still marvelled and stood amazed, before their very eyes the column, with none touching it, was gently lowered upon its base and settled with perfect balance.

After this the remaining number of columns was set in place with such ease, and the church was so magnificently constructed, and the peoples thirsted with greater ardour for faith in God, that, at the captive's admonition, an embassy of the whole nation was sent to the emperor Constantine. The whole affair was set forth. He was entreated to send priests who might complete the gift of God begun among them. And when he had sent these to them with all joy and honour, he was much more gladdened by this than if he had joined to the Roman empire nations unknown and kingdoms unheard of.

These things, as thus done, were set forth to us by that most faithful man Bacurius, king of that very nation and among us count of the domestics, whose greatest care was for both religion and truth, when at that time he was living with us at Jerusalem, quite harmoniously, as duke of the Palestinian frontier. But let us return to what we began. After Helena, the mother of the religious prince, endowed with the highest honours of the Roman realm, had departed from this light, Constantia, then left the widow of Licinius, enjoyed the solace of her brother Augustus.

It happened that a certain presbyter opened up matters of this sort in the presence of the prince's sister; and when much familiarity granted him opportunity, he began little by little to sprinkle in his talk, saying that envy had been engendered against Arius, and that his own bishop, goaded by the sting of rivalry, had contentiously stirred up the affair on account of private quarrels, because Arius was held dear enough among the common people. By suggesting these and other things of this kind more frequently, he won over the mind of Constantia to his own.

When she, being about to die, was visited by her brother and was gently and reverently addressed by him, she is said to have begged of him as a last favour, that he would receive the presbyter into his familiarity and would listen to whatever things should be suggested to him by that man for his hope and salvation; saying that she indeed, now departing from the light, cared for nothing, but was anxious for her brother's estate, lest perchance for the punishment of the innocent he might suffer the ruin of his kingdom. Having received these admonitions from his sister, and believing his own sister's solicitude on his behalf to be faithful, he lent his ear to the presbyter, and meanwhile ordered Arius to be summoned from exile, that he might set forth how he thought concerning the faith.

Then that man drew up a confession of faith which seemed to contain not indeed our meaning, yet our words and profession. The emperor indeed marvelled, and thought that one and the same doctrine was contained in his exposition and in that of the council formerly held.

Yet he in no way relaxed the vigour of his mind, but sent him back again to the examination of a council, since, indeed, priests were being invited to come together from all the world for the dedication of Jerusalem. He wrote to them concerning his name, that, if they approved the exposition of his faith and recognized that he had either been circumvented at that time through envy, as he alleged, or was now corrected from his error, they might use a clement judgment toward him — seeing that the moderation of the council had been so great that the assent even of his bishop Alexander should be accommodated to it, and not overthrown. But by those who at first, favouring his undertakings, had subscribed with dissimulation, he was easily received.

But when he had gone on to Alexandria, there his whole undertaking was frustrated, since indeed there is room for deceits among the ignorant, but to aim deceit at those who know it is nothing else than to provoke laughter. Meanwhile, while these things were being vainly agitated at Alexandria, the venerable Augustus Constantine, in a suburban villa of Nicomedia, in the thirty-first year of his reign, ended his days, having by testament written his children heirs to the succession of the Roman world.

At which time, since indeed Constantius, to whom he had decreed the kingdom of the East, was not present, it is said that he secretly summoned [a certain presbyter], whom he had thereafter treated familiarly, and delivered to him the testament which he had written, and adjured him under oath to hand it into no one's hands but Constantius's, when he should have come. And because the eunuchs who were in the palace also favoured this, by their art the report of the emperor's death was suppressed until the arrival of Constantius. But when Constantius had come, the presbyter restored the deposit. For the grace of this benefit the emperor, greedy of empire, was so bound to him that he who had striven to command all men suffered himself with an even mind to be commanded by that man.

From this, with the emperor bound to himself, he began to press for the restoration of Arius and to persuade him to compel the unwilling priests to acquiesce. At that time at Alexandria Alexander, at Jerusalem Maximus the confessor, at Constantinople likewise Alexander — as we have learned from the writings of Athanasius — were exercising the priesthood. But Eusebius, who was at Nicomedia, of whose dissimulation in subscribing we spoke above, having obtained an ample space of time and become familiar to the prince through the presbyter, contrived to overturn everything and to recall the acts of the council to nought. He caused Arius, who was vainly tarrying at Alexandria, to come, and by imperial edicts a council to be summoned once more to Constantinople.