διέξεισι.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, IN FIVE BOOKS.
PREFACE. THE SCOPE OF THE HISTORY.
A Painters, in depicting ancient histories upon panels and walls, provide pleasure to those who look upon them, and preserve the memory of past events in a flourishing state for a very long time. Historians, however—using books instead of panels, and the flowers of language instead of colors—render the memory of human deeds far more lasting and permanent; for time eventually mars the art of the painter. Induced by this reasoning, I shall endeavor to commit to writing those things which are lacking in the ecclesiastical history. For I did not deem it right to allow the glory of most noble deeds and most useful accounts to be exposed to the injuries of oblivion. For this same reason, some of my acquaintances have often urged me to undertake this labor. I, however, weighing this task against my own abilities, was fearful of approaching the undertaking. Yet, trusting in the bountiful Giver of all good things, I set my hand to a work greater than my own strength. B Since, then, Eusebius of Palestine, beginning his history from the holy apostles, wrote an account of the events that occurred in the Churches down to the reign of the God-beloved Constantine, I shall make the end of his writing the beginning of my own history.
VOLUME ONE
BOOK ONE
A 6 CHAPTER ONE. Whence the heresy of the Arians began.
When those wicked and impious tyrants were taken from our midst—I mean Maxentius, Maximin, and Licinius—the storm against the Church was quieted, which those furies had stirred up like whirlwinds. Once those violent winds had ceased, the Church began to enjoy a stable calm. The author of this was the ever-praiseworthy Emperor Constantine, who, according to the divine Apostle, was called to this office not from men, nor through man, but from heaven. He wrote laws by which he prohibited the sacrifice of victims to idols and commanded the building of churches. Furthermore, he appointed as governors over the provinces men adorned with the Christian faith, commanding them to honor the priests and threatening with death anyone who dared to show them insolence. Then, truly, some rebuilt the churches that had been destroyed, while others built others, wider and more splendid. While these things were being done, our affairs were full of rejoicing and gladness, while those of our opponents were full of sorrow and dejection. For the temples of the idols were closed, while in the churches frequent feast days and assemblies were held. B But the most wicked and envious demon, the bane of the human race, seeing the Church moving along on a favorable and prosperous course, could not bear it; but he devised pestiferous councils, by which he might strive to overthrow that which was governed by the Creator and Lord of all. For he saw that the Greek error had been laid bare, and the varied tricks of the demons had been clearly detected, and that creation was no longer worshipped by the majority, but the Creator instead was celebrated with praises. For this reason, he no longer openly stirred up war against God and our Savior, but having found men who were Christians in name, but in reality slaves to ambition and empty glory, he began to use them as suitable instruments for his own designs; and by their means he led many back to their former error—not indeed intending that they should worship the creature again, but bringing it about that the Creator and Maker of the world should be ranked in the same order as the creature. But in what place and in what manner
he sowed the tares, I shall relate. Alexandria is a very great and populous city, presiding not only over the Egyptians but also over the Thebans and the Libyans bordering on Egypt. After Peter, that victorious athlete who had won the martyr's crown under the impious tyrants, Achillas governed for a short time and held the helm of the Church. After him came Alexander, who became a noble defender of the evangelical doctrines. B
At this same time, Arius, who was enrolled in the number of the presbyters and had been entrusted with the interpretation of the divine Scriptures, seeing Alexander promoted to the helm of the Churches, could not bear the sting of envy by which he was goaded; he sought for material for contention and strife. And while he looked upon the praiseworthy conduct of the man, he could find no calumnies with which to attack him; yet envy did not allow him to remain at peace. Having found in him a suitable instrument for his own malice, the enemy of truth stirred up and roused through him the storm of the Church. For he persuaded him to openly oppose the apostolic teaching of Alexander. And whereas Alexander, following the divine oracles, declared the Son to be equal in honor to the Father and to possess the same essence as the God who begat Him, Arius, fighting openly against the truth, pronounced Him a creature and a product, and added the phrase "there was when He was not," and other things which we shall learn more clearly from his letters. C And he did not cease to say these things not only in the church, but even outside in gatherings and assemblies of men. And going around the houses, he enslaved as many as he could. Alexander, however, the defender of the apostolic dogmas, first tried to move him back from his opinion through exhortations and counsels. But when he saw that he was acting like a madman and openly proclaiming his impiety, he cast him forth from the priestly order; for he heard the divine law crying out: "If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it away from you."
CAPUT II. Enumeration of the chief bishops.
At this time, Silvester held the reins of the Roman Church, having succeeded Miltiades, who after Marcellinus—who was highly praised during the raging persecution—received the office of the episcopate. In Antioch, after Tyrannus, D
with peace now restored to the Churches, Vitalis obtained the episcopate, and he rebuilt the church in the "Palaea" [Old City] which had been torn down by the tyrants. A Philogonius succeeded him in the administration, and he completed what was lacking in the building and showed great zeal for the defense of the faith in the times of Licinius. The see in Jerusalem was entrusted after Hermon to Macarius, a man worthy of his name [blessed], and adorned with all manner of good things. At that same time, in Constantinople, Alexander was deemed worthy of the high-priestly office, and he was illuminated by apostolic gifts. At that time, therefore, Alexander of Alexandria, seeing Arius caught in the goad of his love for power, and gathering together those who had been snared by his blasphemy, and holding private meetings, declared their blasphemy to the leaders of the Churches by means of letters. I shall insert into this history the letter written to his namesake, which clearly teaches everything concerning him, so that no one may suppose that I am inventing these things as I write, and after that, the letter of Arius himself, and after that others, which the narrative of this history requires; so that they may bear witness to the truth of this composition, and teach more clearly what has come to pass. B And Alexander of Alexandria writes these things to his namesake:
CHAPTER III. [St. Ch. V. 4.]
Letter of Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, to Alexander, Bishop of Constantinople.
To the most honorable brother and like-minded Alexander, Alexander sends greeting in the Lord.
The desire of wicked men for honor and money is wont always to lie in wait for the larger parishes, and to attack the ecclesiastical piety through various pretexts. For those who are C spurred on by the devil working in them toward their own desired end, having leaped away from all piety, trample upon the fear of the judgment of God. Regarding whom it is necessary for me, who am suffering, to signify this to your reverence, so that you may be on your guard against such people, for it was my duty to make it known to your reverence, that you might be on your guard against such persons, lest [9] any of them should dare to invade the churches under your charge, as they have done here, or should seek to lead others astray by their own blasphemies. For they have become [p. 888] D experts in setting snares through their deceptive words, against which it is impossible for those who are easily led to protect themselves. Therefore, I have felt it necessary to inform your piety of the faith that is held by these men, and which they oppose, putting forward their own unorthodox notions in opposition to the religious dogmas of the Church.
A You must take care that none of them dare to set foot in your parishes, either by themselves—for these impostors are clever at dissembling for the sake of deception—or through letters mendaciously composed and able to lead astray those who have applied themselves to the simple and sincere faith. Arius and Achillas, having recently formed a conspiracy, have emulated the ambition of Colluthus much more wickedly than he himself. For he, while accusing these very men, found a pretext for his own base resolve. But they, observing his trafficking in Christ, no longer endured to remain subject to the Church; but having built for themselves dens of thieves, they hold constant B assemblies therein, and night and day they occupy themselves with slanders against Christ and us. Those who attack the entire pious apostolic doctrine, having under a Jewish pretext set up a workshop to fight against Christ, deny the divinity of our Savior and preach Him as equal to all others. Selecting every utterance concerning His saving dispensation and His humiliation for our sake, they attempt to gather from these sources the proclamation of their own impiety, while turning away from the words which declare His eternal divinity and His ineffable glory with the Father. Thus, by confirming the impious opinion of the Greeks and Jews concerning Christ, they seek to the utmost of their power to gain praise from them, zealously pursuing all those things that they are accustomed to ridicule in us, and stirring up seditions and persecutions against us daily. And indeed, they initiate lawsuits against us through the petitioning of loose women whom they have deceived; now they detract from the Christian religion through their young women C who shamelessly run about all the streets. Nay, even the seamless tunic of Christ, which the executioners did not choose to divide, they have dared to rend.
We, therefore, as the character of their life and their nefarious undertaking demands, and being late to act because they were hiding, have with unanimous vote cast them out of the Church which adores the divinity of Christ. But they, running here and there against us, began to go to our colleagues of the same faith, under the pretext of seeking peace and concord, but in truth so that they might draw some of them into the contagion of their error through the allurements of speech; and by requesting more talkative letters from them, and reading these in the presence of those whom they have led into error, they act so that, without
A repentance for their own fall, they may render them unrepentant regarding those things in which they have stumbled, driving them into impiety so that they might seem to have bishops as fellow voters and of the same mind. They do not confess to them the things that, to our hurt, were wrongly taught and perpetrated among us—for which reasons they were expelled—but either they pass over these things in silence, or they deceive [others] by cloaking them in feigned words and writings. By more persuasive and fawning B discourses, therefore, they conceal their destructive teaching and snatch away those who are exposed to deception, not even refraining from slandering our piety before all. Whence it comes about that some, by subscribing to their letters, receive them into the Church; a matter which, I think, brings the greatest disgrace upon the fellow ministers who have dared to do this, since not only does the apostolic canon not permit it, but it also enflames more intensely the diabolical operation against Christ that is in them. For which reason, Beloved, I have hesitated not at all to reveal to you the infidelity of such men, who say: "There was a time when the Son of God was not, and He who did not exist before came to be afterwards," having become such, whenever He came to be, as every man is by nature. C For "God made all things out of non-existent things," they say, including the Son of God in the creation of all things, both rational and irrational. And, consistently with this, they say that He is of a mutable nature, capable of both virtue and vice; and by this assertion of "non-existent things," they subvert the divine Scriptures, which teach that He always was, and which signify the immutability of the Word and the divinity of the Wisdom of the Word, which is Christ.
Hence, we too, as these madmen say, can become sons of God, just as He is. For it is written: "I have begotten and exalted sons." D But when the passage that follows is objected to them, "but they have rejected me," which does not befit the nature of the Savior, who is immutable by nature, casting off all shame, they say that God, known by His foreknowledge and prior vision that He would not reject Him, chose Him out of all. For it is not that He had by nature, and beyond other sons, anything exceptional (nature indeed, as...
they say, having no characteristic property toward Him), but that, because he was of a mutable nature, He chose him because, through the care of his ways and his training, he did not turn to the worse. So that if Paul and Peter had labored at this, his sonship would be no more excellent than theirs. In order to demonstrate this senseless teaching, they even mock the Scriptures, and putting forward the utterance in the Psalms concerning Christ, which is as follows: 'You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.'
Now concerning the fact that the Son of God was neither brought into being from non-existence, nor was there ever a time when He was not, John the Evangelist is sufficient to instruct us, writing thus concerning Him: B 'The only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father.' For the divine teacher, desiring to show that the Father and the Son are two things that cannot be separated, named Him as being in the bosom of the Father. But also, that the Word of God is not numbered among those things that came into being from non-existence, the same John testifies, saying that all things were made through Him. For he revealed His unique mode of subsistence by saying: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made.' For if all things were made through Him, how could He who granted existence to the things that were made, C not have existed at some time? For the Word, the Maker, is not in any way classified as being of the same nature as the things that were made; if indeed He was in the beginning, and all things were made through Him, and He made those things which were from non-existence. For that which *is* appears contrary to, and very far removed from, those things which came into being from non-existence. For the former shows that there is no interval between the Father and the Son, not even such as the mind can imagine; but the creation of the world from non-existence has a more recent and novel generation, D with all things having received such an existence from the Father through the Son. Therefore the most holy John, having contemplated that 'was' of the Word of God, which transcends the intellect of generated beings, refused to speak of His generation and creation, not daring to name the Maker with the same syllables as those things which come into being; not because He was unbegotten (for the Father is the Unbegotten), but because it is not within the intellect of...
the evangelists, and perhaps A even beyond the comprehension of angels, is the ineffable subsistence of the Only-begotten God.
There are those, however, who, in my opinion, are not to be numbered among the pious, who do not hesitate to make inquiries into these matters, for they do not heed the saying: B "Seek not things that are too high, and search not out things above thee." For if the knowledge of many other things, and these incomparably more trifling than these, remains hidden from human comprehension (such as those things mentioned by Paul: "The eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," and God says that Abraham could not number the stars; and furthermore, "The sand of the sea and the drops of rain, who shall number them?"), how could anyone curiously investigate the subsistence of the Word of God, unless he happened to be seized by a melancholic disposition, concerning which the prophetic Spirit says: "Who shall declare his generation?" Even our Savior Himself, wishing to relieve the columns of the whole world—by which I mean the God-inspired apostles—of the knowledge of these things, taught that the comprehension of them was not natural to any of them, but that this knowledge of this most divine mystery was reserved for the Father alone. "For no one," He says, "knew who the Son is, save the Father; and no one knew the Father, save the Son." Concerning which I think the Father also says: "My secret to me."
C That it is truly madness, however, to think that the Son came into being from non-existence, and had His procession in time, is shown by the phrase "from non-existence" itself, even if the senseless are ignorant of the madness of their own words. For this term "he was not," which they use, must necessarily exist within time, or within some interval of an age. If, therefore, it is true that all things were made through Him, it is evident that every age, and time, and interval, and the "when," in which "the he was not" is found, were made through Him. And how is it not absurd to say that He who made the times, and ages, and seasons—within which "the he was not" is entangled—does not at some time exist? For it is unthinkable and of all folly...
A to assert that the one who is the cause and author of anything is later than the production of that thing. For, according to their opinion, that interval precedes the Wisdom of God, which created all things—the interval in which they claim the Son was not generated by the Father—and Scripture, which declares Him to be the firstborn of all creation, is rendered a liar according to them. Consistent with these things, the most loud-voiced Paul shouts, saying of Him: "Whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the ages." And also: "In Him were all things created, those in the heavens and those on the earth, visible and invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers; all things have been created through Him and for Him; and He is before all things."
Since, therefore, that assumption—"out of non-beings"—is manifest as most impious, it is necessary that the Father should always be Father. But the Father is [Father] B when the Son is present, through whom He is designated Father. And since the Son is present with Him, the Father is always perfect, lacking nothing in goodness; He did not beget the only-begotten Son in time, nor after an interval, nor out of non-beings. What then? Is it not sacrilegious to say that there was ever a time when the Wisdom of God was not, which says: "I was beside Him, fitting together; I was that in which He delighted"? Or that the Power of God did not exist at some time, or that His Word was ever mutilated, or the other things from which the Son is known and the Father is characterized? For to say that the radiance of His glory does not exist C is to take away also the prototype Light, of which it is the radiance. And if the Image of God was not always, it is manifest that neither is He whose image it is always; but by the [non-existence] of the character of the essence of God, that also is destroyed which is entirely characterized by Him. From this it is possible to see that the sonship of our Savior has no communion with the sonship of others. [14] For just as His ineffable subsistence was shown to be superior, with incomparable excellence, to all [things] to which He granted existence, so also His sonship, being by nature of the paternal divinity, excels by an ineffable excellence those who are adopted as sons through Him. For He indeed is of an immutable nature, being perfect and lacking nothing in all things; but they, being subject to change in either direction, D stand in need of help from Him. For what could the Wisdom of God progress in, or what could the Truth Itself take on, or the God Word? How could the Life or the true Light be improved? If this is so, how much more is it unnatural for the Wisdom to become capable of folly, or for the Power of God to be seized by weakness...
or for reason to be obscured by temerity, or for darkness to be mixed with the true Light? Since the Apostle himself A says: "What fellowship has light with darkness, or what concord has Christ with Belial?" and Solomon says that it would be impossible even to find "the ways of a serpent upon a rock," which, according to Paul, is Christ. But those who are his creatures, both men and angels, have received a benefit, so that they might make progress by practicing virtue, and by the laws of the commandments, so that they might not sin. For this reason, our Lord Jesus Christ, being by nature the Son of the Father, is worshipped by all. But those who, having laid aside the spirit of slavery, have received the spirit of adoption through good deeds and progress, being benefitted by Him who is the Son by nature, become sons by adoption.
Paul therefore declared his genuine, proper, natural, and excelling B filiation in this manner, speaking of God: "He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us,"—meaning, obviously, for those who are not sons by nature—distinctly calling him his "own" Son, in contrast to those who are not his own. And in the Gospel: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And in the Psalms again, the Savior says: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son." Demonstrating this genuineness, he signifies that there are no other genuine sons of his besides Him. What, furthermore, of the passage: "From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten you?" Does it not clearly demonstrate the natural filiation of the paternal birth, for Him who obtained this not by the discipline of morals and the zeal of progress, but C by the property of nature? Whence the Only-begotten Son of the Father has his filiation unalterable; but the Scripture recognizes that the adoption of rational beings, which is not in them by nature, but exists by the suitability of their character and the gift of God, can cease. "For," it says, "the sons of God, seeing the daughters of men, took wives for themselves," and what follows. And we have learned that God said through Isaiah: "I have begotten and exalted sons, but they have rejected me."
Although, beloved, I have many things to say, I pass them by, thinking it burdensome to admonish those who are like-minded teachers at greater length. For you are taught by God, not ignorant D that this doctrine which has recently raised itself against ecclesiastical piety is that of Ebion and Artemas, and an emulation of Paul of Samosata, who was condemned by the council and judgment of bishops everywhere from the Church—
Lucian of Antioch, when expelled, remained separated from the Church for a long period of three bishops’ A time. Having drained the dregs of their impiety, there have now sprung up to us those who say that He is from things that are not, like the hidden shoots of those men, Arius and Achillas, and the band of those who join them in doing evil; and I do not know how three bishops ordained in Syria, by siding with them, inflame the matter for the worse. Concerning whom, let the judgment be reserved for your examination. These men, while holding in memory the utterances concerning the saving passion, abasement, and humiliation, and what is called His poverty, and whatever names the Savior assumed for our sake, use these as arguments to refute His supreme and eternal divinity; but they have completely forgotten the words which declare His natural glory, nobility, and dwelling with the Father, such as: "I and the Father are one." Which the Lord says, not proclaiming Himself to be the Father, nor demonstrating that two natures of substance are one; but that the Son of the Father is naturally accustomed to preserve exactly the likeness of the Father, having received the impression of His complete B similarity by nature, and being the unchanged image of the Father and an impressed character of the prototype. Whence also, when Philip the Apostle desired to see Him, the Lord abundantly manifests to him, saying in response to his request, "Show us the Father": "He who has seen me has seen the Father," as though the Father were being viewed through a most pure and living mirror of His divine image; a likeness which the most holy men in the Psalms mention: "In your light we shall see light." Therefore he who honors the Son, honors the Father, and rightly so; for every impious word dared to be said against the Son, has its reference toward the Father. C
And what further wonder is it, beloved, if I am about to write of the false slanders against me and our most pious people? For those who have drawn up their battle line against the divinity of the Son of God do not shrink from raving with ungrateful minds against us. They do not deem any of the ancients worthy to be compared to themselves, nor do they tolerate that they be said to be equal to the teachers with whom we have been associated from childhood. Indeed, they do not even consider any of our fellow ministers who are everywhere among the nations to have attained even a mediocre knowledge; they boast that they alone are wise, that they alone are destitute, and the inventors of doctrines, and that only to them have been revealed those things which could never have entered the mind of D any other person under the sun. O impious arrogance, and immense madness, and vain glory matched to melancholic
A fury, the satanic spirit, which has induced a callus upon their souls! Neither the divine clarity of the ancient Scriptures has struck them with shame, nor has the harmonious piety of their colleagues concerning Christ repressed their audacity against Him. Their impious crime is such that not even the demons themselves would endure it, for they carefully avoid uttering any blasphemous word against the Son of God.
These things, then, let it suffice for us to have argued within our present power against those who have exercised themselves with unlearned material against Christ B and who strive to slander our piety toward Him. For those inventors of ridiculous fables assert that we, while turning away from the impious and scriptureless blasphemy against Christ "out of things that do not exist," teach two unbegotten beings—the unlearned claiming that one of two things must be, either that we think He is from non-existence, or that we must absolutely affirm two unbegotten beings. They do not understand, being unrefined and inexperienced, how great is the difference between the unbegotten Father and those things which have been created by Him out of nothing, both those endowed with reason and those devoid of it. Between these two, the unique nature (the Only-begotten) holds the middle place, through whom the Father of the Word of God founded all things out of nothing, having been begotten of the Father Himself who exists; just as the Lord Himself testified somewhere, saying: "He who loves the Father loves also the Son, who is begotten of Him."
Concerning whom we believe as it pleases the apostolic C Church. In one unbegotten Father, having no author of His existence, who cannot be turned or changed, who always exists in the same way and similarly, incapable of progress or recession, the Giver of the law and the prophets and the Gospels, Lord of patriarchs and apostles and all the saints. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten not from that which is not, but from the Father who is, not in the fashion of bodies, by incisions or derivations from divisions, as it seems to Sabellius and Valentinus, but in an ineffable and inexpressible manner, according to the prophet's voice which we cited above: "Who shall declare His generation?" Since His subsistence cannot be investigated by any begotten nature, just as the Father Himself cannot be investigated by anyone, because the nature of rational beings does not grasp the knowledge by which the Father begat the God (the Word). Which things, indeed, it is not D necessary for men moved by the spirit of truth to learn from me, since in this matter the voice of Christ sounds in our ears, teaching us that: "No one knows the Father except the Son, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father."
A And we have learned that the Son is immutable, like the Father, in need of nothing, and perfect; and that he is like his Father in all things, lacking only the fact of not being unbegotten. For he is the exact and indistinguishable image of the Father. For since the image is full of all things—through which the greater likeness is represented, as the Lord himself taught, saying: "My Father is greater than I"—it is manifest that we believe by this that the Son has always existed from the Father. For he is "the radiance of his glory and the stamp of his nature" (Heb. I, 3).
But let no one take "always" as an insinuation of being unbegotten, as those think whose soul’s senses are blinded. For neither "was," nor "always," nor "before the ages" is the same as B "unbegotten," nor does any name that human thought could strive to invent signify "unbegotten." I believe that you also understand this, and I trust in the right judgment of you all, that these words in no way express "unbegotten." For these names seem to be a kind of extension of time, which cannot demonstrate the divinity of the Only-Begotten nor, as it were, his timeless antiquity; but they were uttered by holy men who, as each was able, strove to express this mystery, and who begged pardon from their hearers through a reasonable defense, saying: "As far as we have attained" (Phil. III, 16). And if men look for something greater than what can be uttered by human lips, saying that the things known to them in part have ceased, it is manifest that even the "was," and the "always," and the "before the ages"—whatever that may be—are far from the "unbegotten."
Wherefore, the proper dignity must be preserved for the unbegotten Father, C by acknowledging that no one is the cause of his being; but to the Son the fitting honor must be rendered, by ascribing to him the generation from the Father which is without beginning; and as we have already attained, we render worship to him, only piously and reverently speaking of the "was," and "always," and "before the ages" in relation to him. Yet we do not reject his divinity, but we assign to the image and stamp of the Father an exact likeness in all things, while judging that being unbegotten is the property of the Father alone—seeing that the Savior himself says: "My Father is greater than I" (John XIV, 28).
Besides this pious belief regarding the Father and the Son, just as the divine Scriptures teach us, D we confess one Holy Spirit, who restored those who…
A served God in the Old Testament, and the divine teachers of that which is called the New. We confess one, only, catholic, and apostolic Church, always impregnable—even if the whole world determines to wage war against it—and victorious over every most impious insurrection of those who hold different beliefs, since its Master has made us confident by crying out: "Take heart, I have conquered the world" (John XVI, 33). After this, we acknowledge the resurrection of the dead, of which our Lord Jesus Christ has become the first fruits, having truly—and not in mere appearance—taken a body from the Theotokos Mary. At the end of the ages, He came to the human race for the abolition of sin, was crucified, and died, but by this He was not rendered inferior in His own divinity. Having risen from the dead, He was taken up into the heavens and sits at the right hand of majesty. B
These things I have written in the letter in part, for I thought it absurd, as I said, to write out each detail with precision, since your holy devotion is not unaware of these matters. These things we teach, these things we preach; these are the apostolic dogmas of the Church, for which we are prepared even to die, showing contempt for those who urge us to abjure them, even if they compel us with tortures; we do not cast away the hope placed in them. C Opposing these, Arius and Achillas and the other enemies of the truth with them have been driven from the Church, having become estranged from our pious teaching, in accordance with the blessed Paul, who says: "If anyone preaches to you a gospel other than that which you received, let him be anathema, even if he pretends to be an angel from heaven" (Galat. I, 9). And also: "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the teaching which is in accordance with piety, he is proud, knowing nothing" (I Tim. VI, 3-4), and what follows. Let no one among you receive those who have been anathematized by the brotherhood in this way, nor should any think that their words or writings are to be tolerated. For the sorcerers lie in all things, and they will never speak the truth. For they go around the cities, D busy with nothing else than giving and receiving letters under the pretext of friendship and the name of peace, through hypocrisy and flattery, in order to lead astray through these means the few little women—burdened with sins—whom they have deceived, and so forth (II Tim. III, 6).
Therefore, those men whose audacity against Christ was so great—who have partly defamed Christianity in public and partly endeavored to bring it into disrepute in the courts, who have stirred up persecution against us in times of peace as far as it lay in their power, and who have [scorned] the ineffable...
A mystery of Christ's birth. I say, avoid them, dearly beloved and like-minded brothers; support us against their furious rashness, no differently than our colleagues have, who took this ill and have written to me against them, and have subscribed to the tome against them, which I have sent to you by means of my son here, the deacon Apion. This I have sent to all of Egypt and the Thebaid, and also to Libya and the Pentapolis, and Syria, and furthermore to Lycia and Pamphylia, Asia, Cappadocia, and the other surrounding regions; by whose example I trust that I shall receive similar support from you. For since many aids were at my disposal to heal those who have been harmed, this too has been found as a useful remedy for the people deceived by them, so that it might come about that they yield to the consensus of our colleagues and strive to return to repentance by this means. B Greet one another together with the brothers who are with you. I pray that you be well in the Lord, dearly beloved; may I enjoy your Christ-loving soul.
The heretics who have been anathematized from the presbyters are: Arius; and from the deacons: Achillas, Euzoius, Aithales, Lucius, Sarmates, Julius, Menas, Arius the younger, and Helladius.
He also wrote letters with the same intent to Philogonius, the president of the Church of the Antiochenes, and to Eustathius, who at that time was entrusted with governing Berrhœa, and to others who were champions of the apostolic dogmas. But neither could Arius keep himself quiet; he himself also wrote to those whom he believed to have the same way of thinking. That the divine Alexander wrote nothing false against him, Arius himself has testified in the letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia; I shall insert this too into this narrative, C so that I may make plain to those who are ignorant of them those who are also partners in this impiety.
CAP. IV.
The epistle of Arius to Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia.To the most desired lord, the man of God, faithful, orthodox Eusebius, Arius, who is unjustly persecuted by Alexander the Pope on account of the truth that overcomes all things, which you also defend, sends greetings in the Lord.
As my father Ammonius D is setting out for Nicomedia, it seemed a reasonable and due duty that I should greet you through him, and at the same time remind you of your innate love and affection, which you have for the brothers for the sake of God and His Christ, that great [troubles] are being brought upon us and we are being heavily persecu-
persecuted A by the bishop, who is pulling every string against us, even to the point of driving us out of the city as godless men, because we do not publicly agree with him when he says: "Always God, always the Son; at the same time Father, at the same time Son; the Son coexists with God unbegottenly; he is unbegotten-begotten; neither in thought nor in any moment does God precede the Son; always God, always Son; the Son is from God himself." And since your brother Eusebius at Caesarea, and Theodotus B, and Paulinus, and Athanasius, and Gregorius, and Aetius, and all those in the East say that God pre-exists the Son without beginning, they have been anathematized—with the sole exception of Philogonius, and Hellanicus, and Macarius, those heretical men, uninstructed, who call the Son, some an "eructation," others a "projection," and others "co-unbegotten." We are not even able to hear these impious expressions, even if the heretics should threaten us with a thousand deaths. But what do we say, and what do we think, and what have we taught and do we teach? That the Son is not unbegotten, nor a part of the unbegotten in any way, nor made from any existing substance; but that by His will and counsel He came into existence before times and before ages, fully God, only-begotten, unchangeable, and that before he was begotten, or created, or ordained, or founded, he was not. For he was not unbegotten. We are persecuted C because we said: "The Son has a beginning, but God is without beginning." For this reason we are persecuted; and because we said that he is "out of nothing." And we said it in this way, because he is not a part of God, nor from any existing substance; for this reason we are persecuted; for the rest, you know. I pray that you be well in the Lord, mindful of our afflictions, you who are truly a Collucianist in name, Eusebius.
D Of those whom this man enumerated, Eusebius was bishop of Caesarea, Theodotus of Laodicea, Paulinus of Tyre, Athanasius of Anazarbus, Gregorius of Berytus, and Aetius of Lydda. Lydda is a city which is now called Diospolis. Arius boasted that these men were in agreement with him. But he named as his adversaries Philogonius, the president of the Antiochenes, and Hellanicus of Tripolis, and Macarius of Jerusalem, casting upon them a false accusation, because he said the Son...
have declared Him eternal and before all ages, and equal in honor and consubstantial with the Father. Having received this letter, Eusebius also began to vomit forth the venom of his own impiety, and wrote to Paulinus, the bishop of Tyre, in this manner.
Chapter V. The Epistle of Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, to Paulinus, Bishop of Tyre.
Eusebius to my lord Paulinus, greeting in the Lord.
Neither has the zeal of my lord Eusebius A for the truth been consigned to silence, but the report of it has reached even unto us; nor has your own silence in this matter, my lord. And, as was to be expected, we rejoiced regarding my lord Eusebius, but we are grieved regarding you, conjecturing that the silence of such a man is no slight loss to us. Wherefore I beseech you, knowing as you do that it is unseemly for a prudent man to think one thing and keep silent about the truth, that you stir up your mind with the Spirit to write, and set about this task, which will be profitable both to you and to those who hear you, especially if you should resolve to write in accordance with the B sequence of the Scripture, and insisting upon the traces of its words and its meanings. For we have never heard, my lord, that there are two unbegotten beings, nor one divided into two, nor have we learned or believed that it has suffered anything corporeal. But one is unbegotten, and the other is truly from Him, yet not begotten from His essence, being utterly devoid of the unbegotten nature, nor existing from His essence; but having come into being as something C entirely different in nature and in power, made to the perfect likeness of the disposition and power of its Maker—whose beginning, we believe, is incomprehensible not only by word, but even by thought, not only of men, but even of all those who are above men. And these things we say, not setting forth our own reasonings, but having learned them from the holy Scripture; we declare that it is created, and founded, and begotten in essence, and in the immutable and ineffable nature, and in the likeness D to the one who made it, as the Lord Himself says: "The Lord created me the beginning of His ways, and before the ages He founded me, and before all the hills He begets me." But if it were from Him, that is, if it were from Him as if a part of Him, or from a flowing of His essence, it would no longer be said to be created and founded; nor, my lord, are you truly ignorant of this. For that [which is] from the
if a part of Him, or from a flowing of His essence, it would no longer be said to be created and founded; nor, my lord, are you truly ignorant of this. For that [which is] from the ingenerate substance exists, it cannot be created or founded by another or by the same, since from the beginning it is ingenerate. But if the fact that He is called "begotten" provides some indication that He was begotten from the paternal substance, and therefore possesses an identity of nature, we know that Scripture does not use the term "begotten" of Him alone, but also of others who are in nature altogether dissimilar to Him. For concerning men it says: "I have begotten and raised up children, but they have rejected me"; and: "You have forsaken the God who begat you." And in other places: "Who," it says, "has begotten the drops of dew?" It is not describing nature from nature, but the generation of each of the things that have come into being by His will. For nothing is of His essence, but all things that have come to be by His will are each as they came to be. For He is God; but those things that were to be similar to His likeness by a word, were made by His will. And all things were made through Him by God; and all things are finally from God. Taking these arguments, and polishing them with the grace that is divinely granted to you, hasten to write to my lord Alexander. For I am convinced that if you write to him, you will cause him to abandon his opinion. Greet all in the Lord. May divine grace keep you sound, my lord, and praying for us.
Such were the things that these men wrote to one another, arming themselves for a war against the truth. And when the blasphemy had been scattered in this manner through the Churches of Egypt and the East, contentions about divine dogmas and battles arose in every city and village. The remaining populace was merely a spectator of these things and a judge of the arguments; and some favored one side, others the other, and the events were matters worthy of tragedy and mourning. For it was not foreign enemies and foes that were besieging the Churches, as in times past, but men of the same race, dwellers under the same roof, and partakers of the same table, who, instead of spears, were sharpening their tongues against one another; or rather, being members of one body and forming one single whole, they were arming themselves against one another.
Chapter VI. What occurred at the great Council of Nicaea.
Having learned these things, the most wise emperor at first attempted to block the very fountainhead of the evils, and he sent a man of distinguished intelligence to Alexandria with letters, attempting to extinguish the desire for contention and expecting to lead the factions back to concord. But when hope deceived him, he assembled that celebrated council at Nicaea, and to the arriving bishops and their companions, he provided public asses, mules,
and horses A for their use. When all who were able to bear the fatigues of the journey had gathered, he himself also came to Nicaea, desiring both to see the multitude of the high priests and to long for the establishment of peace and concord among them; and he immediately commanded that all things be provided to them in abundance. Three hundred and eighteen high priests assembled. The [bishop] of Rome, on account of his extreme old age, did not come himself, but he sent two presbyters, having instructed them to assent to what was being done.
There were at that time many who were distinguished by apostolic gifts; and many, like the divine Apostle, bore on their bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus. For Jacob, the bishop of Antioch in Mygdonia—which the Syrians and Assyrians call Nisibis—both raised the dead and restored them to life, and performed ten thousand other miracles, which I consider it superfluous to insert again into this book, since I have recounted these in the history which is inscribed *Philotheus*. B And Paul of Neocaesarea (this is a fortress situated on the banks of the Euphrates) had experienced the rage of Licinius. For both his hands had been disabled, after glowing iron had been applied to them, and the nerves that cause the movement of the joints had been contracted and deadened. Others had their right eyes gouged out; others had their right hams cut through, among whose number was Paphnutius the Egyptian. And, in a word, it was possible to see a company of martyrs gathered in one place.
Yet this divine and celebrated assembly was not without its adversaries; but there were some present, few in number, but deceitful, who hid their perverse minds like short-lived creatures, and who did not openly advocate for the blasphemies of Arius. Now when all had arrived, the emperor prepared a very large hall in the palace C for them, having ordered as many benches and seats as possible to be placed there, enough for the assembly of the high priests. Having thus arranged the honor suitable to them, he permitted them to enter and to consult regarding the matters set before them. He himself also entered last of all with a few, being remarkable for the stature of his body, and by his appearance both noble and lovable, yet even more to be admired for the modesty that sat upon his countenance.
When a small seat was placed in the middle, he requested the bishops to permit him this, and sat down upon it, and together with him, that entire divine company sat down as well. And immediately, before the others, the great Eustathius, who had recently been elevated to the chair of the Church of the Antiochenes (for Philogonius, of whom I made mention before, D had departed to the better life; and the high priests, the priests, and the entire Christ-loving populace had, by common suffrage, compelled this man to shepherd that Church in his place against his will), began to adorn the emperor with the highest praises, rewarding his excellent zeal for sacred matters with his encomiums. When he had finished speaking, the most lauded emperor, taking up the speech, spoke regarding the concord and consensus of souls.
A He recalled the cruelty of those tyrants B and mentioned the most desirable, divinely granted peace of his own time, showing how grave and bitter a thing it would be if, once the enemies had been defeated and no one dared to resist, they should attack one another and provide joy and laughter to the adversaries, especially since they were disputing about divine matters and possessed the doctrine of the Most Holy Spirit delivered in writing. For, he said, the evangelical and apostolic books, and the oracles of the ancient prophets, clearly teach us what we ought to believe about the Divine. Therefore, having cast aside hostile contention, let us derive the solution to the questions at issue from the divinely inspired testimonies. These things and others similar to them, like a son who loves his father, he suggested to the priests as to fathers, desiring to establish the consensus of the apostolic doctrines. C The greater part of the council obeyed these words, and embraced mutual concord and sound doctrine. Yet a few—some of whom I have mentioned above, and in addition to them Menophantus of Ephesus, Patrophilus of Scythopolis, Theogonius, who was bishop of Nicaea itself, and Narcissus of Neronias (Neronias is a city in the Second Cilicia, which we now call Irenopolis), and with them Theonas of Marmarica and Secundus of Ptolemais in Egypt—undertook the defense of Arius and resisted the apostolic doctrine. They even offered to the council a formula of faith which they had drafted; but as soon as it was read, because all cried out that it was spurious and adulterated, it was immediately torn to pieces. But when a huge tumult was raised against them and everyone accused them of having betrayed piety, they rose up, struck with fear, and—with the exception of Secundus and Theonas—they were all the first to renounce Arius. That impious man having been thus cast out, and the formula of faith which has obtained in the Churches up to this very day having been composed by common consent and confirmed by subscriptions, they dismissed the council. D
CHAPTER VII
Refutation of the Arians from the books of Eustathius and Athanasius.
But that these men, whom we have mentioned, subscribed to this formula craftily and not sincerely, is made evident both by what they themselves later plotted against the defenders of the faith, and by the books which these men wrote against them. For that Eustathius, the prelate of Antioch, of whom mention was made before, exposing the events and refuting the blasphemy,
A and interpreting the proverb that says, "The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works" (Prov. viii, 22), writes of these things in this manner. But from this point I will now come to the acts of the council.
What then? Since, because of these matters, a very great council reached Nicaea, with about two hundred and seventy bishops gathered together — for I cannot write exactly of the number because of the multitude of the people, nor did I investigate this with great diligence; and when the method of the faith was being sought, the document containing the blasphemy of Eusebius was brought forward as a manifest proof. When it was read before all, it immediately caused B immeasurable distress to the hearers because of the man’s depravity, and it brought irreparable shame upon him who had written it. But since the workshop of those around Eusebius was clearly exposed, and their wicked document was torn to pieces in the sight of all, certain men, pretending to be acting for the sake of peace, effectively silenced all who were accustomed to speak most excellently. The followers of the Arian madness, fearing lest they should be banished by the authority of so great a council, sprang into the middle and themselves rejected and condemned the dogma of Arius by anathema, and signed with their own hands to the decree of common consent. Yet, after they had retained their bishoprics through very many machinations—whereas they ought to have prostrated themselves with repentance—they now secretly, now openly, propagate the condemned opinions, plotting with various arguments. Seeking to strengthen the tares, they fear inspectors, flee those who would observe them, and thus oppose the heralds of the truth. But we do not believe that the Divinity can ever be overcome by impious men. For even if they should gain strength again, they will again be defeated, according to the grave prophet Isaiah. These things, then, the great Eustathius says. C
But the fellow-combatant of this man, and the champion of the truth, Athanasius, the successor of the most celebrated Alexander in the episcopate, in the letter which he wrote to the Africans, mentions these things among others. For when the bishops who had gathered were desirous of removing the words of impiety invented by the Arians—the "out of nothing," and the saying that the Son was a creature and a work, and that "there was when he was not," and that he is of a mutable nature—and of D writing down the clearer expressions of the Holy Scriptures, that God is…
A by nature the only-begotten Son, Word, power, and only wisdom of the Father, true God, as John said, and as Paul wrote, the brightness of his glory and the express image of the Father’s substance. Those surrounding Eusebius, being pulled by their own perverse opinion, whispered to one another: "Let us agree, for even we are from God; for 'there is one God, from whom are all things,' and 'old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,' and all things are from God." They also reasoned B about what was written in the *Shepherd*: "First of all, believe that God is one, who created all things and set them in order, and made them out of nothing to be."
But the bishops, perceiving the malice of those men and the craftiness of their impiety, explained "from God" C more clearly and wrote that the Son is from the substance of God; so that while creatures, because they do not exist of themselves or without a cause, but have a beginning of coming into being, might be said to be "from God," the Son alone is properly from the substance of the Father. For this is the property of the only-begotten and true Word of the Father. And this was the occasion for writing "from the substance."
When the bishops again questioned those few who seemed to think otherwise, asking if they acknowledged the Son to be not a creature, but the sole power and wisdom of the Father, and an image of the Father eternal and unchangeable in all things, and true God, those surrounding D Eusebius were caught signaling to one another, as if these things also applied to us. For we, too, are called the image and glory of God, and it is said of us: "For we who live are always..." and, "There are many powers." For it says, "Every power of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." And the caterpillar and the locust are called a great power. And, "The Lord of hosts is with us, our helper is the God of Jacob." But we also possess the status of being God’s own in more than one way, since He has also called us brethren. And if they call the Son true God, it does not grieve us, for he who has become true is true. Such was the corrupted mindset of the Arians. But here, too, the bishops, perceiving their deceit, gathered from the Scriptures the "brightness," and the "fountain" and "river," and the "image" toward the substance, and that: "In thy light"
we shall see light" A (Ps. XXXV, 10). And that: "I and the Father are one" (John X, 30). And so, more clearly and briefly, they wrote that the Son is consubstantial with the Father. For all the aforementioned things have this meaning. And their murmuring, that the terms are unwritten, is shown by them to be in vain. For having acted impiously using unwritten terms, and blaming the unwritten phrases, "out of nothing" and "there was when he was not," they complain that they were condemned by terms which, though unwritten, were piously conceived. For they, as if having found them in the dung, spoke truly from the earth; but the bishops, not having invented the terms for themselves, but having the testimony from the Fathers, wrote thus. For there were ancient bishops, about one hundred and thirty years ago, both of great Rome and of our own city, who accused those who called the Son a creature and did not call Him consubstantial with the Father. And Eusebius, who became bishop of Caesarea, knew this well; who, having previously run with the Arian heresy, but afterwards having subscribed to the synod at Nicaea, also wrote to his own people, affirming that he found that some of the learned and illustrious bishops and writers of the ancients B used the term consubstantial regarding the divinity of the Father and the Son.
These men, therefore, concealing their sickness (for they feared the multitude of the bishops), agreed to those things which were set forth, drawing upon themselves the prophetic accusation. For the God of the universe cries out even to them: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" (Isa. XXIX, 13). But Theonas and Secundus, not willing to do this, were unanimously excommunicated by all, as having preferred the blasphemy of Arius to the evangelical doctrine. Afterwards, having gathered again into the council, they wrote twenty laws concerning ecclesiastical governance. C
miam evangelicæ doctrinæ anteposuissent. Iterum deinde in concilium convenientes episcopi administrationis ecclesiasticæ leges viginti conscripsere.
CHAPTER VIII. Concerning the actions taken against Meletius the Egyptian, from whom the Meletian schismatics have remained until this day; and the synodal letter concerning him.
A And since Meletius—who had been ordained bishop not long before the fury of Arius broke forth, and who was subsequently convicted of certain crimes and deposed by the most holy Peter, bishop of the Alexandrians, who also wove for himself the crown of martyrdom—did not acquiesce in the sentence of deposition, but filled the Thebaid and the neighboring Egypt with tumults and commotions, exercising a tyranny against the primate of Alexandria, the bishops wrote to the Church of Alexandria regarding those things which they had decreed concerning this innovator. The example of which is this:
SYNODAL EPISTLE.
To the holy and great Church of Alexandria, by the grace of God, and to the beloved brethren constituted throughout Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis: the bishops who have gathered in Nicaea and celebrated the great and holy synod, send greeting in the Lord.
Since, by the grace of God and at the summons of our most God-beloved emperor Constantine, the great and holy synod was celebrated at Nicaea, having gathered us from various provinces and cities, it seemed necessary to the whole sacred council that letters also be sent to you, so that you might understand what had been proposed and examined, and what has been decreed and established. B First, under the eyes of our most God-beloved emperor Constantine, the impious and perverse dogmas of Arius were discussed; and it pleased all by a unanimous vote that his impious opinion be condemned with anathema, as well as his blasphemous words and sentences which he sacrilegiously employed, saying that the Son of God came into being from things that were not, and that He did not exist before He was born, and that there was a time when He was not, and that the Son of God was capable of vice and virtue by the freedom of His own will, and that He was a creature and a product. To all these things the holy synod C spoke anathema, not enduring even to hear the words full of so great impiety and so great madness. And as to what end his affairs have come, you have either heard or will hear, so that we may not seem to insult a man who has received the wages worthy of his wickedness. Yet his impiety had such power that it also involved Theonas of Marmarica and Secundus of Ptolemais in his loss; for they were punished with the same penalty. D But since the grace of God, of that evil doctrine, and of the blasphemy, and of the persons of those who dared—
A to create dissension and division in the people who until now have lived in peace, has delivered Egypt, there remain the matters regarding the petulance of Meletius 13 and those ordained by him. And we signify to you, beloved brothers, what the synod has decided concerning this. For it seemed better, the holy synod being moved with greater clemency (for according to strict justice he deserved no pardon whatsoever 14), that Meletius should remain in his own city, and have no power at all, neither to appoint, nor to ordain, nor to appear in any region or city B for the sake of this undertaking; but only to retain the bare name of the honor. As for those who were installed by him, having been confirmed by a more mystical ordination 15, they are to be admitted to communion on these terms: that they retain their honor and office, but be in every respect second to those in each parish and church who are scrutinized and have already been ordained by our most honorable fellow-minister Alexander; so that these men may have no power to elect whom they please, C or to propose a name, or to do anything at all without the consent of the bishops of the Catholic and Apostolic Church who are under Alexander. But those who, by the grace of God and your prayers, have been found in no schism, but remain blameless within the Catholic and Apostolic Church, are to have the power both to elect and to propose the names of those who are worthy of the clergy, and generally to do everything according to the ecclesiastical law and rule. If it should happen that any of those who are currently in the Church 16 should pass away, then those who have been recently 17 received may advance to the honor of the deceased, provided only that they appear worthy, and the people elect them, with the bishop of Catholic Alexandria also casting his vote and confirming them. This, however, has been granted to all the others, but in the person of Meletius, on account of his previous petulance and the ready and headlong nature of his judgment, it was not thought fit to decree the same, so that no power or authority might be given to a man capable of causing the same disorders again. These are the things which specifically pertain to Egypt and to the most holy Church of the Alexandrians. But if anything else has been canonized or decreed in the presence of our lord and most honorable fellow-minister and brother Alexander, D he himself, being present, will set it forth 18, as the one who is both the author and participant in the events. He will also announce to you more cheerful
news regarding the accord on our most holy Pascha, namely A that by your prayers even this matter has been successfully settled, so that all our Eastern brethren who previously differed from the Romans, and from you, and from all those who from the beginning have observed the Pascha, will henceforth celebrate it with you. Rejoicing, therefore, in these achievements, and in our common peace and concord, and in the fact that every heresy has been rooted out, receive with greater honor and deeper love our fellow-minister, your bishop Alexander, who refreshed us with his presence and, despite his advanced age, sustained great labor to provide for your peace. Pray also for all of us, that the things which seem well established may remain firm, brought about, as we believe, through our Lord Jesus Christ by the will of God the Father in the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Trinity, consubstantial and eternal.
That divine assembly of high priests applied this cure to the malady of Meletius. Nevertheless, there remain to this very day the relics of that madness; there are in those regions certain companies of monks who neither agree with sound doctrine, and in their manner of life follow certain practices which do not shrink from the insanity of the Samaritans and Jews. B
CAP. IX. Letter of the Emperor Constantine to the absent bishops concerning the matters ordained at the synod.
The great emperor also wrote to those bishops who were unable to come to the council, informing them of the things transacted there. And I have thought it a task worth the effort to weave this letter into this work, because the God-loving spirit of the writer is clearly seen in it.
Constantine Augustus to the Churches.
Having learned from the flourishing state of the commonwealth how great is the kindness of divine power, I judged that this should be my primary concern D that among the most blessed multitudes of the Catholic Church, one faith, and sincere charity, and a consubstantial piety toward the Almighty God might be maintained. But since this could not be brought to a firm and stable state in any other way, unless all the bishops, or at any rate the majority of them, gathering into one
A place, should discuss each of the matters pertaining to the most holy religion: for this reason, as great a gathering as possible was convened, and I myself, as one of you, chanced to be present—for I would not deny that which gives me the greatest joy, namely, that I am your fellow-servant—and all things were discussed in a fitting manner, until the resolution, acceptable to God who watches over all, was brought to light for the concord of unity, so that there should no longer remain anything for dissension or for controversy regarding the faith.
Wherefore, when a question also arose concerning the most holy day of Pascha, it seemed best by common consent that all should celebrate it at one and the same time in every place. For what can be more honorable or more grave for us than that this feast, from which we have received the hope of immortality, should be observed by all in one way and by a clear reason, without lapse or error? And first of all, we judged it clearly B unworthy to conduct this sacred solemnity after the rite and custom of the Jews, who, since they stained their own hands with an impious crime, are rightly blinded in their souls. For it is right that, having rejected their custom, we should pass on to future ages the use of the more true practice, which we have observed from the day of the Passion until now. Therefore, let us have nothing in common with that most odious crowd of the Jews. For we have learned another way from the Savior. A path has been set before our religion that is both decent and lawful. Holding to this with one consent, let us withdraw ourselves from that shameful consciousness, most honored brothers. For it is indeed far C more absurd for them to boast that we would be unable to observe these things without their tutelage. For how can they think anything right, who, after that murder of the Lord, driven mad, are carried not by any reason, but by an unbridled impulse whithersoever their innate madness may drive them? Hence it is that they do not see the truth in this matter as well; for as they are, for the most part, always erring, instead of a proper amendment, they celebrate a second Pascha in one year. For what reason, therefore, should we follow those who are confessed to be laboring under a grave error? For we would by no means allow a second Pascha to be celebrated in one year. D Indeed, even if these things were not present, it was the duty of your sagacity to strive and pray constantly that the purity of your minds should not be mingled with the customs of most wicked men. Furthermore, this also should be considered, that it is a sacrilege in such a matter, and in the celebration of so great a festival, to find any discrepancy.
A For our Savior has handed down to us one day for our liberty, that is, of His most holy passion; and He has willed that there be one Catholic Church of His, whose members, although they are dispersed in many and various places, are nevertheless nourished by one spirit, that is, by the divine will. Let the solicitude of your holiness consider how grave and indecent it is that on the same days some should be occupied with fasts, while others are holding feasts; and that after the Paschal days, some should engage in feasts and relaxation of spirit, while others devote themselves to prescribed fasts. Therefore, it is the will of Divine Providence, as I believe all perceive, that this be fittingly corrected and reduced to one uniform practice. B Since, therefore, it was fitting that this be corrected so that we might have nothing in common with those parricides and murderers of the Lord, and since the practice which all the Churches of the western, southern, and northern parts of the world, and some also in the eastern parts, follow is fitting and decent, it was therefore judged that all should meet in the present, and I have taken it upon myself to pledge that your prudence would approve this: that what is observed with a single and concordant opinion in the city of Rome, and in all Italy and Africa, in Egypt, the Spains, the Gauls, the Britains, Libya, the whole of Greece, and C the Asian and Pontic dioceses, and in Cilicia, the same should also be gladly embraced by your prudence, reflecting in your mind not only that the number of Churches in the aforementioned places is greater, but also that it is most holy to desire what is determined by common counsel, which exact reason also seems to demand, and which has no fellowship with the perjury of the Jews. Finally, to summarize the matter briefly, it has pleased the common judgment of all that the most holy feast of Pascha should be celebrated by all on one and the same day. For in a matter so holy, no diversity ought to be seen, and it is better to incline toward that opinion which has nothing of the corruption or error of others mixed in it. Since these things are so, gladly receive this heavenly gift and truly divine command. D For whatever is decided in the holy councils of bishops must be entirely referred to the divine will. Wherefore, announcing to all our beloved brethren what has been written above, you ought from henceforth to admit and establish the aforementioned practice and the observance of the most holy day, so that when I come into the long-desired presence of your charity, I may be permitted to celebrate the sacred festivals on one and the same day with you, and may rejoice with you regarding all things, while the diabolical
A cruelty is seen to have been routed by divine power, with our faith, peace, and concord flourishing everywhere. May God keep you safe, most beloved brethren.
Chapter X. Concerning the allowance granted to the Churches, and other virtues of the Emperor.
These things he wrote to those who remained absent. But as for those who had come together—who, as has been said, were three hundred and eighteen in number—he treated them with great affection, both with words and with gifts. Having ordered many couches to be prepared, he entertained them all together; he received the more honorable ones at B his own table, dividing the others among the remaining tables. Seeing that some had had their right eyes gouged out, and having learned that it was their constancy in faith that had brought this suffering upon them, he applied his lips to their wounds, trusting that he would draw from them a blessing by that kiss. When the banquet was finished, he presented them with further gifts, and he also gave letters to the governors of the provinces, commanding that an annual allowance of grain be provided in every city to virgins and widows, as well as to those consecrated to the divine ministry, measuring this provision by C munificence rather than by necessity. A third part of this benevolence is supplied to this day. For although the impious Julian had taken everything away, he who succeeded him ordered that those things which are now dispensed should be provided; for famine had at that time diminished the tribute-offering. But if what was provided at that time by Constantine was triple the amount of that which is given now, any who wishes may easily perceive the magnitude of his generosity.
Neither do I think it right to pass this over in silence. Certain hateful accusers had written against some of the bishops and had presented D their written accusations to the emperor. But he, having received these before the concord had been brought about, ordered them to be tied with string, sealed with his ring, and kept safe. Afterward, when he had established peace, he brought them out and burned them in the presence of all, swearing an oath that he had read nothing of what was written. For he said that the failings of priests ought not to be made public to the many, lest they take occasion for scandal and become more bold in sinning. They say that he even added this, that if he were to behold with his own eyes a bishop committing adultery, he would cover the nefarious act with his own imperial cloak, so that the sight of the deed might not result in damage to anyone. When
A he had given such advice, and had shown such honor to the priests, he urged each one to return to his own flock.
CAP. XI. The Epistle of Eusebius of Caesarea concerning the faith set forth at Nicaea.
Truly, on account of the wickedness of the Arians, who not only despise the common Fathers of all, but also disparage their own, I desire to insert in this work the epistle which Eusebius of Caesarea wrote concerning the faith, as it holds a manifest refutation of their madness. For while they B honor this man as one of their own mind, they contradict directly what has been written by him. Now he wrote this epistle to certain men who held the views of Arius, who, as was to be expected, were accusing him of betrayal. But the words themselves declare the mind of the author better.
Epistle of Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, which he wrote from the city of Nicaea, when the great council was being held there.
Concerning the matters regarding the ecclesiastical faith which were handled at the great council celebrated at Nicaea, it is likely that you have learned from elsewhere, C since report is accustomed to run ahead of an accurate account of the events. But so that what has truly been done might not be reported to you differently by that rumor, we have necessarily sent to you, first, the formula of faith presented by us, and then the second one, which the bishops have issued after adding certain things to our own. Our own, therefore, which was read in the presence of our most God-beloved emperor and appeared to be right and proper, is as follows.
The faith set forth by us.
As we have received from the bishops who were before us D when we were first instructed, and when we were washed by the laver of baptism; as we have learned from the divine Scriptures; and as we believed and taught in the presbyterate itself, and in the episcopate itself, so now also, believing, we set forth our faith. It is of this kind: WE BELIEVE in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, God of God, light...
light from light, life from life, A only-begotten Son, firstborn of all creation, begotten of the Father before all ages; through whom also all things were made; who for our salvation was incarnate, and lived among men, and suffered, and rose again on the third day; and ascended to the Father; and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. We believe also in one Holy Spirit. Believing each of these to be and to exist—the Father truly Father, and the Son truly Son, and the Holy Spirit truly Holy Spirit—as our Lord also, sending forth his disciples to preach, said: “Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Concerning these things, we also certify that we so hold and so think, and have long held this way, and will stand by this faith even unto death, anathematizing every godless heresy. We testify before God Almighty and our Lord Jesus Christ that we have thought these things from the heart and soul, from the time we have known ourselves, and that we both think and speak them now in truth; and we are able to show by proof B and to persuade you that in past times also we have believed and preached in this way.
At this faith set forth by us, no place for contradiction remained. But the most God-beloved emperor himself was the first to attest that it contained the most correct doctrine; he both confessed that he himself thought so, and exhorted all others to assent to it, to subscribe to its dogmas, and to concur in these same things, with only one word added—that of *consubstantial* (homoousion), which he himself also interpreted, saying that *consubstantial* was not spoken according to the affections of bodies, nor did it subsist from the Father by division or by any cutting away; for it was impossible that an immaterial, intellectual, and incorporeal nature should undergo any bodily affection, but that such things must be conceived in divine and C ineffable terms. In this way did our most wise and pious emperor philosophize. But the others, by reason of the addition of *consubstantial*, drew up this document.
The Faith Set Forth in the Council
We believe in one God, Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father light from light, God of God, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through whom D all things were made,
A both those in heaven and those on earth; who for us men and for our salvation came down, and was incarnate, and was made man; suffered, and rose on the third day; ascended into the heavens, and is coming 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 begotten he was not," and, "That he was made out of nothing," or who say that the Son of God is of another hypostasis or essence, or is mutable or convertible, the holy catholic and apostolic Church anathematizes.
And indeed, when this formulary was dictated by them, we did not leave the expression "from the essence of the Father" and "consubstantial with the Father" unexamined. Hence, questions and answers were stirred up from this, and the meaning of the words was diligently weighed. And as for "essence," indeed, they confessed this to signify that he is from the Father, yet not that he is a part of the Father. To this notion it seemed right for us to assent, since pious doctrine teaches that the Son is from the Father, yet is not a part of his essence. Wherefore we do assent to this sense B and do not reject the term, having the goal of peace before our eyes, and [taking care] lest we fall away from the correct understanding. In like manner we accepted "begotten, not made," since they said that "made" was a common term for the rest of the creatures which were made through the Son, of which the Son has no likeness. Thus he is neither an artifact similar to those things made through him, nor is he of a substance inferior to any creature. That he has been begotten from the Father, the divine oracles teach, since the mode of generation is neither capable of being expressed in words nor comprehended by thought by any begotten nature. In the same way, the word "consubstantial" as applied to the Son of the Father, when examined, C establishes that this is not meant in the manner of bodies, nor similar to mortal living things. For it is not by division of essence, nor by abscission, nor yet by any passion, or conversion, or mutation of the power of the Father; for the nature of the unbegotten Father is foreign to all these. D But "consubstantial" is meant as demonstrating that the Son of God has no likeness to begotten creatures, but is wholly similar to the Father alone, who begat him, and is not from any other substance and essence, but
A from the Father. And this interpretation seemed proper to us to agree to, since we also know that some learned and illustrious bishops and writers of the ancients have used the term "consubstantial" in their theology of the Father and the Son. Let this be said concerning the faith that was set forth, to which we all agreed, not without examination, but according to the meanings delivered and examined in the presence of the most God-beloved Emperor, and proved by the arguments offered. We also thought the anathema placed by them after the formula of faith was to be accepted, because it forbids the use of unwritten B terms, through which almost all the confusion and instability in the Church has arisen. For since no divinely inspired Scripture has used "Out of nothing," and "There was a time when he was not," and the other phrases added hereafter, it did not seem reasonable to say and teach these things. We agreed also to this, since we were not accustomed to using these expressions in past time. Furthermore, the anathema against the saying, "Before he was begotten he was not," was not thought absurd, since it is confessed by all that he was the Son of God even before his birth according to the flesh. And now the most God-beloved emperor, by his reasoning, proved that he exists according to his divine generation before all ages; for even before he was begotten in actuality, he was in the Father potentially and unbegottenly C, since the Father is always Father, just as he is always King and Savior, and is potentially all things, and always exists in the same way and is similarly disposed. We have necessarily sent these things to you, beloved, that we might make clear what was decided by us during our investigation and agreement: having lauded how we firmly insisted until the very last hour as long as the writings in other forms offended us; but then, without contention, we embraced those things which contained no offense, when, as we inquired into the meaning of the words calmly, they appeared to agree openly with those things which we ourselves had confessed in our previously set forth formula of faith.
CAP. XII.
Confutation of the Arians now decrying us, from the books of Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea.That the word "consubstantial" is not new, D
not invented by the Fathers then gathered, but handed down from ancestors of old to their descendants, Eusebius has clearly borne witness. That all who were gathered at that time unanimously embraced the faith set forth, he states in that place, and testifies again in another work, in which he extols the life of Constantine the Great with the highest praises. He writes as follows: B "He having spoken these things in the Roman tongue, with another interpreting, gave the opportunity of speaking to the presidents of the synod. From there, some, having begun, started to accuse their neighbors; others made defense and recriminated, many things indeed being brought forward by each faction. And whereas at the beginning there was a great struggle, the emperor patiently heard all things, and with keen interest received what was proposed, and in turn defending the statements of both sides, he gradually reconciled the contentiously dissenting, and addressing each one kindly, and using the Greek language (for he was not ignorant of this either), he showed himself sweet and gentle, persuading some, and winning over others by his speech, praising those who spoke rightly; and driving all to concord, C until he had established them as having the same mind and the same opinion on all matters that had come into controversy, so that the faith might prevail in harmony, and the time of the saving feast might be acknowledged by all to be observed at the same time. The things which they had decreed by common vote were confirmed by an impressed subscription." And after a few words he adds again: "When he had bid farewell in this manner, he gave all the power to return to their own sees." They indeed returned rejoicing. And from then on, there prevailed among all one opinion, regarding which they had agreed before the emperor, those who had long since been divided coalescing into one body as it were. D But the emperor, glad that the matter had been well resolved, bestowed abundant fruit by letter upon those who had not been present at the synod, and commanded that a huge sum of money be distributed to the entire populace dispersed throughout the fields and cities, in this way honoring the festival day of the twentieth year of his empire. Wherefore, it was fitting that the Arians, even if they say it is impious to contradict other Fathers, should at least place faith in this one whom they are accustomed to revere, who teaches that that agreement was unanimous. But since they also fight against the opinions of their own Fathers, they ought at least, having been taught of the most shameful and horror-filled death of Arius, to flee with every effort the impiety fashioned by him. But since it is likely that the manner of his death is not known to everyone, I will also recount it as it came to pass.
Chapter XIII. Concerning the death of Arius, from the letter of Athanasius.
AHaving stayed for a long time at Alexandria, he wished to insult the ecclesiastical assemblies once more, abjuring his impious dogmas and promising to accept the confession of faith handed down by the Fathers. But when he persuaded neither the divine Alexander nor Athanasius, the successor to his throne and piety, he fled again to Constantinople through the efforts of Eusebius of Nicomedia. What he attempted there, and what sentence he received from the righteous Judge, the most excellent Athanasius recounted more clearly in his letters to Apion; and I shall insert that portion here. "I, for my part," he says, "was not at Constantinople when he died; but Macarius the presbyter was present, and I heard it from his account. B Arius had been summoned to Constantinople by the Emperor Constantine, at the instigation of those around Eusebius. When he had entered, the Emperor questioned him as to whether he held the faith of the Catholic Church. He swore that he believed rightly and presented a written confession of faith, concealing those things for which he had been cast out of the Church by Bishop Alexander, and by simulation using the expressions of Scripture. When he had sworn that he did not hold the views for which Alexander had cast him out, the Emperor released him, saying: 'If your faith is right, you have sworn well; but if your faith is impious, and yet you have sworn, may God from heaven judge your case.' C Thus, when he had departed from the Emperor, those around Eusebius wanted to lead him into the church by the violence they were accustomed to use. But the blessed Alexander, Bishop of Constantinople, resisted, claiming that the inventor of the heresy ought not to be received into communion. Finally, Eusebius uttered threats: 'Just as,' he said, 'in spite of you we acted to have him summoned by the Emperor, even so, against your will, Arius will hold assembly with us tomorrow in this church.' It was Saturday when he said this. D The bishop, Alexander, hearing these things and being exceedingly grieved, entered the church and, lifting up his hands to God, lamented; and throwing himself face down in the sanctuary, he lay upon the ground and prayed. Macarius was present also, praying with him and hearing his voice. He asked for these two things, saying: 'If Arius is to assemble tomorrow, dismiss 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—regard the words of Eusebius, and do not deliver your heritage into ruin and reproach; but take Arius from the midst, lest, when he enters into the church, heresy seem also to enter with him, and impiety hereafter occupy the place as though it were piety.' Having prayed this, the bishop departed in great anxiety: and a certain wondrous and horrendous...
event occurred. For while those around Eusebius were threatening, the bishop was praying; but Arius, confident in the followers of Eusebius, and prating much, went into an outhouse to satisfy a call of nature, and suddenly, according to the scripture, falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and falling down, immediately gave up the ghost, and was deprived at once of communion and of life. Such then was the end of Arius. And those around Eusebius, greatly ashamed, buried their like-minded companion. But the blessed Alexander, while the Church rejoiced, celebrated the B assembly with piety and orthodoxy, with all the brethren, praying and glorifying God greatly, not as one rejoicing in the death—God forbid; for it is appointed unto all men once to die—but because this was shown to be above human judgments. For the Lord Himself, having judged between the threats of those around Eusebius and the prayer of Alexander, condemned the Arian heresy, showing it to be unworthy of ecclesiastical communion, and manifesting to all that even if it has the testimony and patronage of the emperor and of all men, yet it has been condemned by the truth itself. Such were the sheaves Arius gathered from his wicked seeds; and having seen the forecourts of the punishments to come, he denounced his own impiety through his punishment.
I shall now turn to the narrative of the imperial piety. For to all the peoples subject to the Roman empire he C sent letters, exhorting them both to lay aside their former error and urging them to surrender themselves to the doctrine of our Savior, guiding all to this truth. Furthermore, he encouraged the bishops in every city to the building of churches, not only urging them to this by letter, but also bestowing money generously, and providing the expenses for the construction. The written letters also declare this, of which this is an example.
CHAPTER XIV. Epistola Constantini imperatoris de ecclesiarum exstructione.
Victor Constantinus, Maximus, Augustus, to Eusebius.
Since up to the present time the impious counsel and tyranny have been persecuting the servants of the Savior Christ, I have believed and fully persuaded myself, most beloved brother, that the D buildings of all the churches have either fallen into decay through neglect, or, through fear of the impending injustice, have been constructed on a scale smaller than they should have been. But now, with liberty restored, and with that dragon...
A driven from the administration of public affairs by the providence of the greatest God, and by our own ministry, I believe that it has become manifest to all that the divine power is indeed great, and that those who, whether through fear, or through lack of faith, or through having fallen into certain sins, have now come to recognize Him who truly is, will progress to a true and upright way of life. Therefore, concerning all the churches over which you yourself preside, or those where you know other local bishops, presbyters, or B deacons preside, remind them to apply themselves diligently to the works of the churches; either that those which exist be restored, or that they be enlarged, or where need requires it, that new ones be built. You also, and through you the others, shall request the necessary supplies from the provincial governors and from the prefect’s office, for they have been commanded to serve with all diligence those things which your holiness shall state. May God keep you, beloved brother. These, then, were the things which he wrote to the bishops of each province concerning the building of churches. C But as to what he wrote to Eusebius of Palestine concerning the preparation of the sacred Books, it is easy to learn from the letters themselves.
Chapter XV. The same emperor’s letter regarding the preparation of the divine Scriptures.
Victor Constantine, Maximus, Augustus, to Eusebius.
In the city that bears our name, by the assisting providence of God and our Savior, a great multitude of people has attached itself to the most holy Church; so that, as all things there have received great increase, it seems highly reasonable that more churches should be built therein. You, therefore, D receive with a ready mind that which has seemed good to our will. For we have deemed it consistent with your sagacity to declare that you should order fifty volumes to be produced on parchment, which are well-adapted for reading and convenient for use, by skilled calligraphers who are most expert in their art; of the divine Scriptures, that is to say, whose supply you know to be most necessary for the meeting of the Church. Letters have also been sent by our clemency to the catholic of the diocese, so that he may take care to provide all things necessary for their preparation. And in order that the volumes may be written and completed as quickly as possible, it shall be the work of your diligence to oversee them. For you are entitled to receive by the authority of this our rescript two public carriages for their transport. For in this way, the most beautifully written codices will most easily be brought into our sight. One, indeed, of the deacons of your church shall carry this out: who, when he comes to us...
shall experience our generosity. May God preserve you, beloved brother. A
These things, indeed, were sufficient to indicate, or rather to teach clearly, how the praise-worthy emperor transferred his every endeavor to divine matters. I shall add, however, to what has been said, the things successfully accomplished by him regarding the life-giving tomb. For having learned that those who, like the Corybantes and those maddened by the rites of idols, had occupied the Lord’s tomb, striving to consign the memory of our salvation to oblivion; and furthermore, that they had built a shrine to a wanton demon to insult the Virgin birth: he first ordered that that execrable structure be torn down, and that the earth, polluted by impure sacrifices, be carried out and cast far away from the city: he then ordered that a most spacious and most beautiful temple be built. The letter which he sent to the president of that Church shows this more clearly. B This man was Macarius, whom we mentioned earlier, who also attended the great council and, with the others, vanquished the impiety of Arius. This is the letter:
CAP. XVI. Another letter of the same, to Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, concerning the building of the divine temple.
Victor Constantinus, Maximus, Augustus, to Macarius.
So great is the kindness of our Savior that no power of speech seems able to equal the present miracle. For the sign of His most holy Passion, long buried under the earth and hidden for so many revolutions of years, until it should shine forth upon His servants, who had been liberated through the destruction of the common enemy of all, truly exceeds all wonder. C And although all who are thought to be wise throughout the whole world were gathered into one place to say something worthy of the matter, they could not attain even its smallest part; and it surpasses the whole capacity of human reason and nature, by as much as heavenly things are more excellent than human things. Wherefore this is my one, constant purpose, that just as the true faith reveals itself daily by new miracles, so the minds of us all may be rendered more attentive toward the holy law with modesty and concordant alacrity. D Since this is manifest to all...
I would have you be most firmly persuaded of this: that I am concerned, above all else, that we should adorn with a magnificent structure of buildings that holy place which, by the command of God, I have relieved from the shameful addition of an idol, as if from a heavy weight—a place which was holy from the beginning by the judgment of God, but has become holier still since it brought to light the faith of the saving passion. It behooves your sagacity, therefore, to issue such orders and to make such provision for every necessary item, so that not only may the basilica excel all others everywhere, but that the other structures also may be such that the things which are most beautiful in each city might be surpassed by this building. And concerning the raising and embellishment of the walls, know that we have entrusted the care to our friend Dracilianus, who holds the place of the most illustrious praetorian prefects, and to the governor of the province. For it has been commanded by my piety that the artificers and workmen, and whatever they shall learn from your sagacity is required for the construction, should be placed at their disposal by their diligence. But concerning the columns and marbles, whatever you find after inspection to be more precious and more suitable to them, see that you inform us, so that we may learn from your letters how many and what kind are needed, and they may be B brought from all sides. For it is right that the place than which the world hath none more wonderful should be adorned with worthy splendor. Furthermore, I wish to learn from you whether it pleases you that the ceiling of the basilica should be paneled or finished in some other style. For if it is to be paneled, it can also be decorated with gold. It remains, therefore, that your holiness should inform the aforementioned judges as soon as possible how many workmen and artificers, and what expenses are required. And be sure to report these things to us immediately, not only concerning the marbles and columns, but also concerning the paneling, if you judge this to be more beautiful. May God keep you safe, most dear brother. C
CHAPTER XVII. Concerning Helena, the mother of the Emperor, and her zeal for the construction of the divine temple.
The bearer of this letter was none other than the mother of the Emperor herself, that parent of a noble son, celebrated by all the pious, who brought forth this great light and provided him with the nurture of piety. D She
A endured the labors of the journey, not regarding the discomforts of old age; for she undertook this journey but a short time before her death, and she reached the end of her life at the age of eighty. When she saw that place which had received the sufferings of our common salvation, she immediately ordered that the abominable shrine be torn down and the earth removed. When the hidden tomb emerged, three crosses were seen buried near the Lord’s sepulcher. And that one of these had belonged to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the others to the thieves who were crucified with Him, all believed without question; but which of them had touched the body of the Lord and been sprinkled with the drops of His precious blood, they were completely ignorant. But that most wise and truly divine Macarius, the bishop of the city, resolved the doubt in this way. There was a lady illustrious in rank who was afflicted with a long-standing disease. To her he applied each of these crosses in turn with diligent prayer, and thus discovered the power of the saving cross. For as soon as this was brought to the lady, it drove away her grave malady and restored her to health. B Having discovered this, the Emperor’s mother, her vow fulfilled, enclosed part of the nails in the imperial helmet, considering her son's safety, that it might ward off the weapons of his enemies. Another part she set into the horse's bridle, providing for the Emperor's safety and fulfilling the ancient oracle which the prophet Zechariah had once uttered: "And that which is upon the bridle of the horse shall be holy to the Lord Almighty." C A portion of the salutary cross she assigned to the imperial palace; the rest she had placed in a casket made of silver and gave it to the bishop of the city, enjoining him to keep it for future generations as a memorial of our salvation. Having then gathered together artisans of every kind of material, she built those largest and most splendid temples, whose beauty and magnificence I consider entirely superfluous to describe, since all the pious, I might almost say, flock there and contemplate the splendor of the works. Yet that most praiseworthy and venerable queen did another thing worthy of memory. For having summoned all the virgins who had dedicated themselves to perpetual virginity, and having commanded them to recline on many couches, she herself performed the role of a servant, ministering to them, serving food, offering cups, pouring out wine, carrying the ewer and basin, and pouring water onto their hands. Having accomplished these and other such things, she returned to her son; and not long after, she departed to the other life with a tranquil mind, having D instructed her son with many precepts regarding a pious life.
49 and having overwhelmed him with her parting blessings. She, accordingly, even after her decease, has obtained such honor as it was fitting should be obtained by one who had so diligently and fervently served the God of all. A
Chapter XVIII. De illegitima Eusebii Nicomediensis translatione.
The Arians, however, did not desist from the plots of the exceedingly wicked. For this very reason, in fact, they consented to the confessions of faith with their hands, B so that while clothed in sheep’s skins, they might act the part of wolves. For after that divine Alexander, who had transfixed Arius with the javelin of his prayer—I mean the Byzantian, for thus was Constantinople called at that time—had departed to the better life, Eusebius, the champion of impiety, setting little store by the decrees of which he himself had been the author along with other bishops, immediately left Nicomedia and seized the throne of Constantinople, in open defiance of the canon which forbids both bishops and presbyters to pass from one city into another. Nor is it any wonder that those who had thus raged against the divinity of the Only-Begotten should freely transgress other laws. C Nor did he innovate this for the first time, but had already dared this very same thing before. For having formerly been entrusted with Berytus, he had jumped over to Nicomedia; and from this city, after the synod, he had been expelled because of his manifest impiety, along with Theogonius, the bishop of Nicaea. And this the Emperor Constantine has made clear through his letters, the latter part of which I shall add to my narrative. This, then, is what he wrote to the Nicomedians.
Chapter XIX. Letter of Emperor Constantine against Eusebius and Theogonius, to the Nicomedians.
Who is it that has taught such innocent people these things? Eusebius, of course, the partner in tyrannical cruelty; for that he has everywhere adhered to the tyrant can be perceived from many sources. D For this is witnessed by the slaughters of the bishops—not of just any, but of the true bishops—and this the most grievous persecution of the Christians plainly cries out. For I will say nothing now of the outrages inflicted upon me, through which those of the opposing party have...
A intrigued. This man also sent out scouts to spy upon me, and barely stopped short of bringing an armed force to the tyrant to serve him. And let no one think me unprepared to provide proof of these things. For it is an accurate demonstration that the presbyters and deacons who followed Eusebius were openly apprehended by me. But I pass these things by, which have been brought forward by me not out of resentment, but to their shame. One thing alone I fear, and this is what I ponder, that I see you being called into fellowship in this crime. For through the instruction and perversion of Eusebius, you have received a conscience estranged from the truth. But the remedy will be swift and not slow, if even now you choose a faithful and sincere bishop, and lift your eyes to God; which is within your power at the B present time, and which ought to have depended upon your judgment long ago, had not the aforementioned Eusebius, aided by some at that time, come hither and impudently corrupted the proper order. But since a few things must be said to your charity concerning this very Eusebius, your patience will recall the synod celebrated at the city of Nicaea, at which I myself was present, as my conscience required, with no other intention than to establish concord among all, and above all to refute and cast off this wrong, which had taken its origin from the madness of Arius the Alexandrian, but had soon gained strength through the C absurd and destructive ambition of Eusebius. Yet this same Eusebius, most beloved and most honorable, with how great a concurrence—as you may suppose—oppressed by his own conscience, and with how much shame did he give his assent to a falsehood proven on every side! Now sending various persons to me to intercede for him, and now seeking some help from me, that, having been convicted of so great a crime, he might not be cast down from his rank of honor. God Himself, who is ever graciously present to me and to you, is my witness in this. For he also perverted me and shamefully deceived me, as you will learn from what I shall say. For all things were indeed done at that time according to his own will, for he had hidden every kind of evil in his mind. And to pass over the rest of his wicked deeds, I pray you, observe what he recently committed with Theogonius, his partner in madness. I had commanded that certain Alexandrians, who had apostatized from our faith, be sent hither, by whose work, needless to say, the torch of dissension had been kindled. But these honest and good bishops, whom I, led by the equity of the D synod, had once reserved for repentance, not only received them...
and placed them in safety, but also participated in their wickedness of character. For this reason I have decided to act against these ungrateful men; for I have ordered them to be seized and exiled as far away as possible. Now it is your duty to look toward God with that faith in which it is certain you have always been, in which it is fitting to be, and in which you ought to act; thus, having bishops who are pure, orthodox, and philanthropic, let us rejoice. But if anyone should rashly dare to act in memory of those plagues, or to incite others to such praise, he shall immediately be restrained from his own rashness by the action of God’s servant, that is, by me. May God keep you safe, beloved brothers. A At that time, therefore, these men were deposed and driven from their cities. And the see of Nicomedia was entrusted to Amphion, and that of Nicaea to Chrestus. But again, using their accustomed subterfuges and finding the emperor’s kindness a tool for their deception, they fought back and recovered their former power.
CHAP. XX.
De Eusebii sociorumque ejus fraudulento consilio adversus sanctum Eustathium episcopum Antiochenum.At Eusebius, as I have already said, seized the see of Constantinople by tyrannical force. Having thus attained greater power and frequenting the emperor closely, and confirming his confidence through constant association, he began to devise plots against the defenders of the truth. B And first, pretending a desire to see the holy places in Jerusalem, and having by this fraud circumvented the emperor—appearing as though he were going to inspect that celebrated work of construction—he departed from there with the highest honor, the emperor providing him with vehicles and all other necessaries. Theogonius of Nicaea also departed with him, being, as we have previously stated, a companion and partner in his evil designs. When they reached Antioch and put on the mask of friendship, they were received with the greatest possible kindness. For the great Eustathius, that champion of the truth, showed them every brotherly affection. But when they arrived at the holy places, and C had seen those of their own mind, Eusebius of...
A Cæsarea, and Patrophilus of Scythopolis, and Aetius of Lydda, and Theodotus of Laodicea, and the others whom the Arian plague had infected, they indicated to them what they were plotting, and with them returned to Antioch. The honor of an escort was held out as a pretext for the arrival of the others, but in secret a fraud was being prepared to attack piety. For having hired a prostitute who had a venal beauty, and having persuaded her to lend them the service of her tongue, they soon came to the council. Then, having ordered all others to go out, they brought in the wretched woman. She, showing an infant still at the breast, said that she had conceived and borne this child from union with Eustathius, and shouted it out shamelessly. Eustathius, however, who knew the falsity of the calumny, demanded that if she knew anyone who was privy to this matter, she should produce them into the middle. When she said that she had no witness to her accusation, those most iniquitous judges tendered an oath, although the law clearly cries out that matters shall be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses, and the Apostle B expressly commands that an accusation against a presbyter should not be received without two or three witnesses. But these men, despising the divine laws, accepted an accusation against such a great man without any witness. And when she, shouting, had confirmed with an oath what she had said—that the infant was truly Eustathius’s—those "lovers of truth" pronounced sentence upon him as an adulterer. But when other bishops (of whom there were not a few, who were zealous defenders of the apostolic doctrine and entirely ignorant of the concocted fraud) resisted and forbade him to undergo such an unjust sentence, those who had woven the tale hastened as quickly as possible to the emperor. By persuading him that the charge was true and that the sentence of deposition was just, they brought it about that the athlete of piety and continence was banished as an adulterer and a tyrant. C And he indeed was taken away through Thrace to a certain city in Illyricum.
CAP. XXI. Concerning the heretical bishops created at Antioch after the departure of saint Eustathius
D These men, in his place, first of all ordained Eulalius; and when he had died after a short time, they wished to transfer Eusebius the Palestinian from Cæsarea. But because he himself refused the translation, and the emperor forbade it to be done, they designated Euphronium. And when he too died (for he lived a year and a few months)
they committed the presidency of that Church to Placitus. A All of them, however, were equally infected with the Arian contagion, though they worked in secret. For this reason, very many of those who preferred piety, both among the clergy and the laity, avoided the ecclesiastical assemblies and held their own meetings in private. People commonly called them Eustathians, because they began to separate after his departure. However, that wretched little woman, having been seized by a most severe and prolonged illness, betrayed the plot and exposed the tragedy, revealing the fraud they had used not to two or three, but to a great many priests. For she confessed that she had been bribed to bring that false charge, yet that what she had sworn was not entirely false; for the infant was the child of a certain Eustathius, a coppersmith. Such were the things that that fine gang dared to perpetrate at Antioch. B
CAP. XXII. Concerning the faith of the Indians.
At this same time, the light of the knowledge of God rose among the Indians. For since the fortitude and piety of the emperor were being proclaimed in every land, and the barbarians round about had learned by experience to prefer peace to war, all were mingling with one another without fear; and many set out on long journeys, some for the sake of history, others for the sake of trade. C At that time, a certain Tyrian, skilled in secular philosophy and inflamed with a desire to explore the farthest India, set out with two youths, children of his brother. Having satisfied his desire, he was returning after having engaged in travel by sea. But as the ship had put in at a certain port for the sake of water, the barbarians fell upon them and drowned some, while others they led off into slavery. He himself was counted among those who perished, but the youths were brought to the king. Of these, one was named Edesius and the other Frumentius. The ruler of that land, having put them to the test over time and seeing that they were sagacious, entrusted the care of his house to them. And if anyone finds what is said incredible, let him consider the affairs of Joseph and the kingdom of Egypt; and in addition to these, let him call to mind the prophet Daniel and those three athletes of piety. For they too, having become captives, attained to the governorship of the Babylonians. D When the king died, they remained with his son, enjoying even greater honor. And because they had been reared in the true worship of God, they encouraged the merchants who came there to assemble according to the Roman custom and celebrate the divine ministries. After a long time had passed, they approached the king and, as a reward for their goodwill, asked for permission to return to their homeland. Having obtained this, they arrived in the Roman territory. And Edesius indeed set out directly for Tyre, while Frumentius
A preferring the care of divine matters to that B of his parents, went to Alexandria and taught the prelate of the Church that the Indians greatly desired to receive the intellectual light. At that time, Athanasius held the helm of that Church. Having heard his account, he said, "And who is better than you to dispel the mist of ignorance from this nation and bring to them the radiance of divine preaching?" Having said this, and having bestowed upon him the grace of the high priesthood, he sent him out, as it were, to the husbandry of that nation. He, having left his homeland and disregarding the vastness of the sea, arrived among the uncultivated nation; he cultivated it eagerly, having the God-given grace as his co-worker. For, employing apostolic miracles, he caught those who dared to contradict his words, and his wonder-working, bearing witness to what was said, captured many every day.
CHAPTER XXIII. Regarding the Leading of the Iberians to the Faith.
Frumentius, then, was the guide of the Indians to the knowledge of God. But at the same time, a captive woman led the Iberians to the truth. For she was accustomed to constant prayer; and as for a bed and soft bedding, her bed was a sackcloth spread out on the floor, and she considered fasting as the highest luxury. This labor gained her apostolic gifts. For since the barbarians, lacking knowledge of the medical arts, were accustomed when they fell ill to visit one another, and to inquire about the method of recovering health from those who had already been afflicted by disease and had been delivered from it, a certain woman came to the praiseworthy woman, having a sick child, and beseeching her to teach her what should be done. She took the child and laid him on the bed, and prayed to the Creator of all things to grant her plea and dispel the disease. He, having received the prayer, restored health. From that time on, the wonderful woman became famous; for the news of what had happened did not escape the king's wife. C She immediately sent for her, for she herself was held by a grievous malady. But she, possessing a humble mind, did not accept the queen's request. But the queen, compelled by necessity, not considering what royal dignity was, hastened herself to the captive. She again laid her on the humble bed, and used prayer as a healing remedy for the disease. The queen offered a reward for the cure which she considered excellent: gold and silver, and tunics and mantles, and those things which royal magnificence is accustomed to give. But the divine woman said that she had no need of these, but that she would consider it a great reward if she would come to the knowledge of religion; and at the same time, she instructed her, as she was able, in divine ordinances, and exhorted her to build a temple to Christ, her Savior. Having heard these things, she returned to the palace, and her husband, having learned of such a sudden D
A cure, was struck with amazement; then she revealed the power of the God whom the captive woman worshipped, persuading him to acknowledge this God alone, to build a temple to Him, and to bring over the entire nation to His worship. He indeed praised the miracle that had occurred to his spouse, but he would not consent to build the temple. A short time having elapsed, he went out hunting. But the benevolent Lord hunted him, as He did Paul. For a darkness suddenly falling upon him prevented him from proceeding any further; and while the rest of the hunters enjoyed their accustomed light, he alone was caught and bound in the chains of blindness. Being reduced to these straits, he found the way of salvation. For immediately remembering his unbelief, and invoking the God of the captive woman as his helper, he received his light, and having reached that admirable captive woman, he asked her to show the form of the building to be constructed. B And He who had imbued Bezalel with architectural skill granted grace to her also, so that she might aptly describe the divine temple. Thus she drew the design, and they indeed dug and built. After the building was completed and the roof put on, only the priests were wanting; this matter also, the admirable woman easily expedited. For she persuaded the king to send envoys to the Roman emperor, and to request from him that a teacher of piety be sent to them. The king, having embraced this counsel, dispatched envoys. The emperor, having understood the cause of the petition (for this was Constantine, that most ardent lover of piety), received the envoys with the greatest humanity, and sent, as a herald of divine knowledge to the nation, a man adorned in faith, doctrine, and life, and distinguished by episcopal honor, together with very many gifts. Thus, in this manner, he provided for those who were making the request. C But for the nurslings of piety who were dwelling in Persia, he took care of his own accord. For having been informed that they were being harassed by the impious, and that their king, enslaved to error, was surrounding them with all kinds of secret plots, he wrote letters to him, in which he both exhorted him to embrace piety and requested that he show honor to its worshippers. But the zeal of the writer will better declare the epistle itself.
D
CHAPTER XXIV.
*Epistle of Emperor Constantine to Sapor, King of the Persians, concerning his providence toward the people of God.*“Preserving the divine faith, I attain the light of truth; following the light of truth as my guide, I arrive at the knowledge of the divine faith. From this source, therefore, as the matter itself proves, I acknowledge the most holy religion [...]
A of this God. Having the power of this God as my ally, starting from the furthest ends of the Ocean, I have raised up the whole world in succession with firm hopes, so that all who had been enslaved by so many tyrants and, yielding to daily calamities, had wasted away, might, by participating in the common relief of the state, be revived as if by some medicinal cure. This is the God I worship, whose sign my army, dedicated to God, bears upon its shoulders B, and to whatever point the logic of justice calls, it is directed, and immediately, through those very things, I receive the grace of manifest trophies. I profess that I honor this God with immortal memory; I contemplate with a pure and sincere mind that He dwells in the highest places; I invoke Him on bended knee, shunning every abominable blood, and turning away from odors that are foul and detestable, and from every earthly splendor; with all of which a nefarious and unspeakable error is stained, having cast down many C of the nations and entire peoples into the lowest places of the abyss. For those things which the God of all, providing for men through His own love for mankind, brought forth into the light for the use of life, He does not in any way allow to be snatched away for the lust of each individual. He requires from men only a pure mind and an undefiled soul, weighing the actions of virtue and piety in these. For He is pleased by works of equity and gentleness; He loves the meek, and hates the turbulent; He loves the faith, and punishes infidelity; He breaks all boastful power, and avenges the insolence of the proud; He utterly overturns those puffed up by pride, and awards to the humble and patient what they deserve. Thus, also, holding a just empire in high regard, He fortifies it with His own aids, and preserves the royal intelligence in the tranquility of peace. I do not think I am mistaken, my brother, D when I confess this one to be God, the leader and Father of all, Whom many of those who have held this empire, led away by insane errors, have attempted to deny. But all of those were consumed by such an end of vengeance that those men living thereafter are accustomed to hold up their calamities instead of any other example, imprecating all those who emulate similar things. Among that number, I consider there to have been one whom the wrath of God, like a certain thunderbolt, cast out from our borders and threw into yours, where
A he erected a trophy joined with his own disgrace. Yet, it seems to have turned out for the good that the punishment of such men should be made manifest even in our own age. For I myself have seen the ends of those who recently disturbed the people dedicated to God with impious decrees. On this account, I feel great gratitude to God, because by His perfect providence, the whole of humankind which has devoted itself to the divine law rejoices and exults, peace having been restored to it. B Hence, I am also persuaded that all things are in the best and safest state, since through their pure and approved religion, He deigns to gather all things unto Himself through an unanimous concord regarding the Divine. In the number of these men—I mean the Christians, of whom my entire discourse consists—since I hear that the primary regions of Persia are being adorned in the highest degree, as I desired, what pleasure do you suppose fills me? Thus, it goes excellently with you, and similarly it goes excellently with them; what is good for you is also good for them. For thus you will have the Lord of all things clement, propitious, and benevolent. Because you are so great, I commend these to you; and because you are illustrious in piety, I deliver them C into your hands. Love them in a manner becoming to His own philanthropy. For by your faith you will bestow an immense benefit upon both yourself and us. D Such great care did the all-excellent emperor exercise for those who were adorned with piety, that he provided not only for his own subjects, but also, to the best of his ability, for those who lived under a foreign scepter. For this reason, he himself was also the object of divine solicitude; and as he held the reins of all Europe, and of Africa, and of the greater part of Asia in addition, he had subjects who were well-disposed and who obeyed with pleasure, as if holding a bridle. Indeed, even the barbarians, partly of their own accord and partly subdued by war, were in servitude. Everywhere trophies were erected, and he was proclaimed a victorious emperor. But others have celebrated these things at greater length; let us proceed with the history we have begun. The all-renowned emperor truly revolved apostolic cares in his mind. But those who held the priestly office not only refused to build up, but even attempted to overturn the very foundations of the Church. For they wove various calumnies against those who were preeminent in apostolic doctrine, and they drove out—to recount that memorable crime against the great Eustathius—
the Church. For they wove various calumnies against those who were preeminent in apostolic doctrine, and they drove out—to recount that memorable crime against the great Eustathius—those who were worthy of the priesthood, not only desiring to dismantle the structure entirely, but even attempting to dig up the very foundations of the Church. Nor were they satisfied with this envy, having composed that widely-circulated tragedy against the great Eustathius; but they also attempted to undermine another great tower of piety, and brought to bear every kind of machination against it. I shall briefly narrate this tragedy as well, as much as possible. A
CAP. XXV. Concerning the plot devised against the holy Athanasius.
That admirable bishop Alexander, who had vanquished the blasphemy of Arius, having departed this life B five months after the Nicene Synod, Athanasius succeeded to the presidency of the Church of the Alexandrians—a man instructed from childhood in the divine scriptures, and having served with praise in each of the ecclesiastical orders. Having struggled vigorously in the great council for the apostolic doctrines, he obtained glory from the champions of the truth, but from his adversaries, as an antagonist, he received hatred and enmity. He was with the most celebrated Alexander, being young in age, but presiding over the order of deacons. Those who had decided to wage war against the only-begotten God, having learned by experience of his alacrity in defending the truth, and having learned that he had been entrusted with the helm of the Church of the Alexandrians, considered his leadership to be an obstacle to their power and a ruin to themselves. C And so they devise such a scheme as this: Since that Meletius, whom the Nicene Synod had deposed, did not cease to stir up commotions and troubles in the Thebaid and the neighboring Egypt, they hired certain individuals from his faction, in order that a false accusation might be without suspicion, and persuaded them to hasten to the emperor and to insinuate against Athanasius by calumny, as if he were exacting taxes in Egypt and providing the gold collected therefrom to some person contemplating tyranny. Having thus deceived the ears of the emperor, they dragged Athanasius to Constantinople. But upon arriving, he refuted the falsehood of his accusers and received back the Church that had been entrusted to him by God. The letters of the emperor to the Alexandrian Church declare these things, the latter part of which I shall append in this place. D
[Ch. XXVII.] Part of the letter of Emperor Constantine to the Alexandrians.
The wicked have availed nothing against your bishop, believe me, brothers; they have studied nothing else but how, by consuming our time, to leave no space in this life for repentance.
Therefore, come to your own aid, I beseech you; cherish your mutual love, and pursue with all your might those who desire to B destroy the grace of your concord; and looking to God, love one another. For I have gladly received your bishop Athanasius, and have spoken to him in such a way as to be persuaded that he is a man of God.
Chapter XXVI. Another plot formed against Athanasius.
But not even by this was the ungodliness of these men repressed; rather, they wove another tale, to which no ancient tragedian or comedian ever produced anything similar. For they hired accusers from their own faction and brought them before the emperor, shouting that this athlete of virtue had committed many unspeakable crimes. With them were Eusebius, Theogonius, and Theodorus of Perinthus (which they now call Heraclea, though it was formerly Perinthus), claiming that these things were intolerable and not even fit for the ears to hear. Accordingly, they persuaded the emperor to convene a C synod at Caesarea in Palestine, where, naturally, many were hostile to Athanasius, and there to order Athanasius to be judged. The emperor, complying with them as with priests (for he was completely unaware of their fraudulent schemes), ordered this to be done. But the divine Athanasius, knowing the malevolence of the judges, did not come to the council. Hence, they seized a stronger pretext for slander, and having engaged in battle against the truth, they accused him before the emperor, besides his other crimes, of tyranny and insolence. Nor were they altogether disappointed in their hope. For the emperor, moved by their words, wrote a letter to him in which he expressed his anger and commanded him to set out for Tyre. For there D he had ordered the synod to be gathered, suspecting, as I believe, that Athanasius was suspicious of Caesarea because of its bishop. He also wrote what was proper for a man distinguished by piety to write to the synod. They are of this kind:
Chapter XXVII. The letter of Emperor Constantine to the synod at Tyre.
Constantine Augustus to the holy synod at Tyre.
It was perhaps consistent, and most appropriate to the happiness of the times, that the Catholic Church should be free from sedition, and that the servants of Christ should now be free from all reproach. But since some, driven by the frenzy of insane contention (I will not say living in a manner unworthy of themselves), are attempting to confuse and disturb all things, which seems to me to exceed every measure of calamity: for this reason, you have of your own accord, as they say,
ore perciti quidam (non dico indignam se vitam ducentes) miscere ac turbare omnia nituntur, quod omnem mihi videtur calamitatis modum excedere: hac de causa vos sponte, quod aiunt, to run together to the same place, and to fulfill the synod, to bring aid to those who need help, to heal the brethren who are in danger, to lead back to harmony the divided members, and to correct the errors as time permits; so that you may render to so many and such great provinces the fitting harmony which, alas, the arrogance of a very few men has destroyed. That this is pleasing to God, the Lord of all, and beyond every prayer for us, and—if you restore peace—will be to you yourselves a matter of no common praise, I think there is no mortal who would deny. Do not, therefore, delay any longer: but with intent zeal now apply yourselves to conclude these current matters with a fitting outcome, coming together with all sincerity and faith, which that Savior whom we worship, by lifting up his voice as it were everywhere, demands of us especially. As for me and my providence, nothing shall be wanting. I have fulfilled all that you signified by letter. I wrote to the bishops whom you wished, that they should be present and come to share in your concerns. I also sent Dionysius, an ex-consul, who shall both remind the bishops who ought to come to the synod, and shall stand by as an observer B of what is done, and especially of good order. For if anyone—which I do not at all suspect—should desire even now to reject our command and refuse to be present, someone will be sent from us who, by our mandate, will cast him from his rank and teach him that it is a crime to resist the emperor’s decrees issued for the sake of the truth. It will further be the task of your Holiness, with a concordant judgment that serves neither hatred nor favor, but follows the ecclesiastical and apostolic canon, to find the fitting remedy for whatever has been sinned or admitted through error. So that you may both set the Church free from every form of blasphemy and lighten my concerns, and by restoring the benefit of peace to those who now dissent, you may acquire for yourselves the greatest glory. May God preserve you, most beloved brothers.
The bishops thus flocking together to Tyre, there came also some accused of corrupt doctrine, one of whom was Asclepas of Gaza. The admirable Athanasius also came. But I wish first to relate the tragedy of the accusation, and then the things which occurred in that famous trial. C
CHAPTER XXVIII. De concilio Tyri celebrato.
There was a certain Arsenius, of the Meletian communion. D
The men of the same faction hid him, and urged him to remain in seclusion. Then, having cut off the right hand of some dead body, they salted it, enclosed it in a wooden box, and carried it about everywhere, proclaiming that it had been cut from Arsenius and calling Athanasius a murderer. But the Eye that sees all things A did not allow Arsenius to remain hidden for very long. First, he was discovered to be alive in Egypt and the Thebaid. Then God led him to Tyre, where the hand in question was brought forward before the judges. Athanasius’s associates, having hunted him down, brought him there and forced him to lie low for a while in their lodging. The great Athanasius himself reached the council at the crack of dawn.
First, they brought in a woman of impure life. She cried out impudently, saying that she had vowed her virginity, but that Athanasius had stayed as a guest with her, forced her, and defiled her against her will. When she had said this, the accused entered, and with him there was a praiseworthy presbyter; his name was Timotheus. When the judges ordered Athanasius to answer the accusation, he remained silent, as if he were not Athanasius at all. B But Timotheus turned to the woman and said, “Did I ever, woman, have dealings with you, or have I ever entered your house?” But she clamored even more impudently, fighting against Timotheus, extending her hand, pointing with her finger, and saying, “You, you took my virginity, you stripped me of my chastity,” and all the other things that those who have lost their sense of shame through excessive intemperance are accustomed to say.
Thus were the authors of the drama put to shame; the judges, too, as many as were in on the plot, blushed, and the woman was sent away. Then the great Athanasius said that the woman ought not to be dismissed, but rather interrogated, so as to discover who had concocted these things. But the accusers boasted that they had other, more serious crimes, which could by no means be dispelled by any art or skill; for, they said, C the judgment would be by sight, not by hearing, in the matters they were about to present. Saying this, they showed that famous box and uncovered the preserved hand. When they saw it, every one of them cried out—some having assumed that the ghastly crime was true, and others who knew it was a lie but still believed that Arsenius was in hiding.
With difficulty, after a brief silence, the accused asked the judges if anyone among them knew Arsenius. When many affirmed that they knew the man well, he ordered him to be brought in, and again asked whether this was that Arsenius whom he had allegedly murdered, and whom these men had insulted after death and deprived of his right hand. When they all agreed that it was he, Athanasius pulled back his cloak and showed both of his hands, D the right and the left, and said, “Let no one seek another; for every human being has received two hands, and no more, from the Creator of all.” In this way, these matters were revealed.
privy to the crime—who ought to have hidden themselves in holes and prayed for the earth to swallow them up—filled the assembly with tumult and sedition. They called Athanasius a sorcerer and claimed he deceived men’s eyes with certain magic arts; and those who, a little before, had accused him of murder, now sought to tear him apart and slaughter him. But those entrusted by the emperor with the care of order prevented the murder; they snatched the victor from his enemies, placed him on a ship, and provided for his safety. He went straight to the emperor and informed him of the whole tragedy just as it had occurred.
The adversaries, meanwhile, sent certain bishops of their party—Theogonius of Nicaea, Theodore of Perinthus, Maris of Chalcedon, Narcissus the Cilician, and others who shared their views—to Mareotes. Now, Mareotes is a region of Alexandria, named after Lake Maria. There, they wove their falsehoods, fabricated certain records, and, having presented their previously exposed calumnies as true accusations, sent them to the emperor. B They themselves proceeded to Aelia.
CHAP. XXIX.
*Of the dedication of the churches in Jerusalem, and the exile of Saint Athanasius.*For the emperor had commanded the whole council to leave Tyre and move to Aelia, and had ordered all others from everywhere to gather there, and to consecrate the temples built by him. He also sent some of the nobles from among his friends, distinguished for their piety and faith, and commanded them to provide everything liberally for all—not only for the bishops and their retinues, but also for all the needy who were arriving from every quarter. The divine altar was adorned with royal curtains and with golden vessels sparkling with every kind of jewel. C When the most splendid festival had been completed in this manner, each of the bishops returned to his own see. The emperor, having been informed of the splendor and magnificence of the celebration, rejoiced greatly and gave thanks to the Giver of all good things, by whom he had been made to attain this desire as well.
When Athanasius arrived and protested against the iniquitous judgment, the emperor ordered the bishops of whom he complained to come. When they arrived, fearing the obvious refutation provided by the evidence, they abandoned their former calumnies and suggested to the emperor that Athanasius had threatened to prevent the shipment of grain. D Trusting these words, the emperor banished him to a city of the Gauls called Treveri. This was the thirtieth year of his reign.
A
CAP. XXX. Of the testament of the blessed Emperor Constantine.
When another year and a few months had passed, he fell ill while staying in Nicomedia of Bithynia; and, not ignorant of how uncertain human life is, he received the gift of holy baptism. He had delayed until this time, desiring to obtain it in the river Jordan. He left behind three sons as heirs to the empire: Constantine, Constantius, and Constans, the youngest. He ordered the great Athanasius to return to Alexandria, and this he did in the presence of Eusebius, even though the latter attempted to persuade him to the contrary.
CAP. XXXI. The Emperor’s defense.
Let no one be surprised B if, being deceived, he banished such great men. For he believed bishops who concealed the truth while possessing an outward appearance of distinction, and who misled him by their other manner and luster. Those trained in the divine Scriptures know that even divine David the prophet was deceived; yet he was not deceived by a high priest, but by a domestic slave and a scoundrel, Siba by name, who reported false things to the king concerning Mephibosheth and thus obtained his land. I say this, not to accuse the Prophet, but to offer a defense for this emperor C and to demonstrate the weakness of human nature, and to teach that one should not believe only the accusers, even if they are highly trustworthy, but must reserve the other ear for the accused.
CAP. XXXII. Of the Emperor’s death.
The emperor then departed to a better kingdom. The prefects and the generals and all the rest placed him in a golden coffin and transported him to Constantinople, with the entire army leading and following, and bitterly lamenting their loss. For they had all experienced him as a most gentle father. As for how much honor was paid to that body, and how long it remained in the palace, D while the officers awaited the return of his son, I deem it superfluous to write, as others have chronicled these events, which it is easy for one to read and thereby learn with what rewards the Moderator of all things endows His faithful servants. But if anyone does not yet believe those things, let him look at what is now done at his sarcophagus and statue, and let him believe what has been written, and the Master who said: “Those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be despised.”
VOLUME II
BOOK II
CHAP. I. On the return of Saint Athanasius.
The divine Athanasius, having spent two years and four months in Treves, returned to Alexandria. Emperor Constantine, the eldest of the sons of Constantine the Great (for he ruled over the regions of the West in Gaul), wrote the following letter to the Church of the Alexandrians:
Epistle of Emperor Constantine, son of Constantine, to the Alexandrians.
Constantine Caesar, to the people of the Catholic Church of the city of the Alexandrians.
I do not suppose that it has escaped the knowledge of your sacred understanding why Athanasius, the interpreter of the adorable law, was sent for a time into Gaul, so that, because the cruelty of his bloodthirsty and hostile enemies threatened his sacred life with danger, he might not suffer some irreparable harm through the perversity of wicked men. To elude this, therefore, he was removed from the jaws of those who were gaping for him and was ordered to live under my protection, in such a way that in the very city where he resided, he might abound in all necessities; although his commendable virtue, relying chiefly on divine aids, disdained all the burdens of a harsher fortune. Since, therefore, our lord of blessed memory, Constantine Augustus, my father, although he earnestly desired to restore the same bishop to his own place for your most beloved devotion, was nevertheless carried off by the human lot and died before he could fulfill his wish, I deemed it proper to follow and complete the will of the emperor of divine memory. When he comes into your presence, you shall understand in what great reverence he has been held by us. Nor is it to be wondered at if I have done something in his favor. For the image of your longing, and the appearance of so great a man, have moved and spurred my soul to do this. May divine providence preserve you, most beloved brothers.
With this letter the divine Athanasius set out, and was eagerly received by all, both the city-dwellers, and A B C
A the villagers, both by few and by many. Only the partisans of Arian madness were distressed by his return. For this reason, Eusebius and Theogonius 53 and all who belonged to their faction once again set their machinations in motion, and once again B they whispered into the ears of the still young emperor. But I shall relate how he was led astray from the integrity of the apostolic doctrines.
CAP. II. How the emperor Constantius was perverted from the true faith.
Constantia, the wife of Licinius and sister of Constantine, had a certain presbyter as an intimate, who was infected with the Arian corruption. And although he did not openly disclose the disease, yet by constantly conversing with her, he affirmed that Arius had been falsely accused. Constantine, who is to be praised in every way, after the death of the impious man, cherished her with all affection and did not allow her to experience the hardships of widowhood; and even at the very moment of her death he was present with her, providing the comfort that was appropriate. Then she, ordering this presbyter to be called, requested the emperor to hold him in high regard. C Constantine agreed to do this immediately, and later fulfilled what he had promised, granting him the greatest liberty in his presence. Yet, although he enjoyed such great benevolence, he did not dare to disclose the disease, seeing the emperor's mind steady in divine matters. But when Constantine, departing to the immortal kingdom, divided this transient kingdom among his children by testament, since none of them was present at his death, he entrusted the tablets of the testament to this one presbyter, ordering them to be delivered to Constantius. 71 For he, being nearer than the others, was expected to arrive before the others. Then, having become known to Constantius, for he had delivered the testament as he had been ordered, he became an intimate and was commanded to visit him frequently. D Observing the mind of Constantius to be like reeds that are swayed hither and thither by contrary winds, he took courage to undertake the war against the evangelical doctrines. And, ostensibly lamenting the storm by which the Churches were tossed, he laid the blame upon those who had inserted the unwritten term "consubstantial" into the confession of the faith; and he said that this alone created dissension among the clergy and among the laity. Then, accusing Athanasius and those who held the same views as he, he prepared to lay snares against them. Using him as an assistant, Eusebius and Theogonius, and Theodorus of Perinthus (this Theodorus was a man of excellent doctrine)
and indeed he also wrote an interpretation of the divine Gospels; many call him the Heracleot) — these men, being constantly in attendance, as they were neighbors, and seeing the emperor, declared that the return of Athanasius from exile had been the cause of a great many evils, and that it was not only Egypt that was sharing in this tempest, but also Palestine and Phoenicia and the other neighboring nations. A
CAP. III. On the second exile of the blessed Athanasius, and the ordination and death of Gregory.
By these and similar arguments they besieged his most fickle mind and persuaded him to expel Athanasius from the Church. But Athanasius, having learned of their plot in advance, withdrew and betook himself to the West. For the Eusebians had sent off the slanders they had fabricated against Athanasius to the bishop of Rome—Julius, that is, who at that time was governing that Church. He, however, following the rule of the Church, ordered them also to come to Rome and summoned the divine Athanasius to the trial. The latter, as soon as he received the summons, set out on his journey as quickly as possible. But those who knew the drama, inasmuch as they had invented it themselves, did not go to Rome, because they knew that their lie would be easily detected. B Seeing, however, that the sheep were deprived of their shepherd, they set a wolf over them in the place of a shepherd, by the name of Gregory. For six years he treated the flock more cruelly than wild beasts, but finally paid the penalty for his wickedness, being bitterly destroyed C by the sheep themselves. Athanasius, meanwhile, having arrived to see Constans (for Constantine the elder had died in war), lamented the schemes of the Arian faction and bewailed the war waged against the apostolic faith. He reminded him of his father and of that great synod which he had assembled, and how he had confirmed by imperial law the decrees written by those men, as one who had participated in that council. By recounting such things with tears, he stirred the emperor to the emulation of his father; for having heard these things, he wrote a letter to his brother, encouraging him to preserve the inheritance of his father’s piety inviolate, for he had established his empire through piety, had destroyed the tyrants of the Romans, and had brought the surrounding barbarians into subjection. D Persuaded by these letters, Constantius ordered the bishops of the East and West to convene at Sardica, which is a city of Illyricum and the metropolis of the province of Dacia. For there were also many other evils in the Church that required synodical correction.
CAP. IV. Of Paul, who was bishop of Constantinople.
A For the Arians, who had been infected with the disease of heresy, wrote against Paul—who was bishop of Constantinople and a champion of sound dogmas—accusing him of being the ringleader of sedition; and they added other charges, such as they were accustomed to fabricate against the heralds of piety. At that time, however, the people, fearing the plots of his adversaries, did not allow him to be led off to Sardica. But a little later, having persuaded the emperor, who was of a very fickle mind, they expelled him from the royal city and relegated him to Cucusus. This is a small town, once belonging to the Cappadocian nation, but now reckoned as part of Armenia Secunda. Yet it did not suffice for these disturbers of all things that this admirable Paul should be detained in a desolate wilderness; for having sent the ministers of their bloodthirsty intent, they delivered him over to a violent death. B The divine Athanasius informs us of this in his *Apology for his own flight*, writing, among other things, as follows: "For having pursued Paul, the bishop of Constantinople, and found him at Cucusus, as it is called, in Cappadocia, they openly caused him to be strangled, having used for this purpose the prefect Philippus, who was both the champion and defender of their heresy and a minister of their wicked schemes." Such were the murders that the blasphemy of Arius brought forth. For the outrages committed against the servants of the Only-begotten correspond to the fury directed against Him.
CAP. V. Of Macedonius, and the heresy introduced by him.
C But when they had thus sent him to his death—or rather, to the kingdom of heaven—they promoted Macedonius in his place, deeming him to be of the same mind as themselves, because he blasphemed against the all-holy Spirit just as they did. Yet not long afterward they drove him out as well, since he could not be induced to call Him a creature whom the divine Scripture designates as the Son. For this reason, being separated from them, he became the author of his own heresy, for while he did not assert that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, he taught that He is like the Begetter in all things, but openly designated the Spirit as a creature. These things, then, occurred not long after, as we have said.
CAP. VI. Of the synod held at Sardica.
At Sardica, two hundred and fifty bishops assembled, as the ancient records teach. D Thither came also the great Athanasius, and Asclepas of Gaza, whom I mentioned earlier, and Mar-
Acellus of Ancyra, a metropolis of Galatia, who was also a bishop at the time of the great synod. Their accusers also arrived, as well as the leaders of the heretical phalanx, who had long before acted as judges in the case of those around Athanasius. But when they learned of the steadfastness of the synod and the soundness of their divine doctrines, they did not enter the council even when summoned; instead, they fled, taking their accusers along with the unjust judges. The letters of the synod itself, which I shall insert into this history for the sake of clear instruction, teach this much better.
Synodal Letter written by the bishops assembled there to the bishops throughout the world.
The holy synod, assembled by the grace of God at Sardica—from Rome, Spain, Gaul, Italy, Campania, Calabria, Africa, Sardinia, Pannonia, Moesia, Dacia, Dardania, Dacia Ripensis, Macedonia, Thessaly, Achaia, Epirus, Thrace, Rhodope, Asia, Caria, Bithynia, Hellespont, Phrygia, Pisidia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia Pacatiana, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lydia, the Cyclades islands, Egypt, the Thebaid, Libya, Galatia, Palestine, and Arabia—to the bishops B everywhere, and to the fellow ministers of the catholic and apostolic Church, our beloved brethren in the Lord, greeting.
The Arian heretics have dared much and often against the servants of God who keep the right faith. By introducing a spurious doctrine, they attempted to drive out the orthodox. They stood up against the faith to such an extent that it did not escape the ears of the most religious emperors. Therefore, with the grace of God assisting, these same most religious emperors gathered us from various provinces and cities, and permitted this holy synod to be celebrated in the city of Sardica, that every dissension might be cut off, that all base C doctrine might be utterly cast out, and that piety toward Christ alone might be preserved among all. For bishops came from the East, urged on by the same most religious emperors, especially because they were frequently spreading rumors about our beloved brethren and fellow ministers, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, Marcellus, bishop of Ancyra in Galatia, and Asclepas of Gaza. Indeed, their slanders have perhaps reached you, and perhaps they have attempted to disturb your ears so that you might believe what they say against the innocent, and thereby cloak the suspicion D of their own wicked heresy. But these things shall not long remain
A permitted to be done. For the Lord is the Governor of the Churches, who endured death for them and for us all, and through Himself has granted to us all the ascent into heaven. Of old, therefore, when Eusebius, Maris, Theodorus, Theogonius, Ursacius, Valens, Menophantus, and Stephanus had written to Julius, our fellow-minister and Bishop of the Roman Church, against our aforementioned fellow-ministers—I mean Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria; Marcellus, Bishop of Ancyra in Galatia; and Asclepas of Gaza—bishops from other parts also wrote, testifying to the innocence of our fellow-minister Athanasius, and that what had been done by Eusebius was nothing but lies and full of calumny. And although, even from the fact that they did not come when called by our B fellow-minister Julius, and from the things which were written by that same Bishop Julius, the falsity of their accusation clearly appeared—for they would certainly have come, had they had any confidence in the things they had done and in those things which they had acted out against our fellow-ministers—yet even from the things which they did in this holy and great synod, they demonstrated the evidence of their own fraud more clearly. For when they had come to the city of Sardica and saw our brothers Athanasius, Marcellus, Asclepas, and the others, they were afraid to come to trial. And not once, nor twice, but being called many times, they did not obey the summons; C although all the assembled bishops, and especially the most venerable Osius, who, because of his age, his confession of the faith, and his having endured such great labors, was worthy of all reverence and honor, were waiting for them and exhorting them to come to judgment, so that they might be able to prove in person the things they had spoken or written against them while the fellow-ministers were absent. But when called, as we have said, they did not come, by this very act showing their own calumny and, in a manner of speaking, proclaiming their fraudulent intrigue and treacherous evasion. For those who trust in their own words do not refuse to assert them face to face. But since they did not dare to come, it is obscure to no one, we believe, that if they wish to cause harm again, since they can prove nothing against our fellow-ministers, they slander them while they are absent, but avoid them while they are present.
76 For they fled, beloved brethren, not only because of the slander they directed against these men, but also because they saw that those whom they were accusing of various crimes had appeared. For chains and fetters were being brought forward, and men who had returned from exile, and sent by those who were still being held in exile, were present as fellow-ministers, and kinsmen and friends of those who had died on their account were there; and, most importantly, bishops were present, one of whom showed the iron and the chains which he had worn because of them, and others bore witness to the death brought upon them by their slander. For they had reached such a height of madness that they even attempted to kill a bishop, and they would have killed him, had he not escaped their hands. Our fellow-minister, the blessed Theodulus, then, stood forward, bearing the weight of their slander; for he had been ordered to die as a result of their slander. Others showed the wounds from swords, others lamented that they had endured starvation at their hands. And these things were not testified to by insignificant men, but B were the whole Churches, on whose behalf those who had appeared as representatives informed the soldiers girded with swords, the crowds with clubs, the threats of the judges, and the fabrication of false letters. For letters fabricated by the party of Theogonius against our fellow-ministers Athanasius, Marcellus, and Asclepas were read, in order to incite the emperor against them; and the men who were then the deacons of Theogonius refuted these things. In addition to these, there were the stripping of virgins, the burning of churches, and the imprisonment of fellow-ministers, and all these things for no other reason than the unspeakable heresy of the Arians. For those who refused communion with them were forced to suffer these things. C When they considered these things, they were at a loss as to what course of action to take. For, being ashamed of what they had done, because those things could no longer be hidden, they came to the city of Sardica, so that, by their arrival, they might appear to be beyond suspicion, as if they had committed no wrong. But when they saw there the accusers whom they themselves had falsely slandered and burdened with calamities, and saw the proofs of conviction before their eyes, they refused to enter, though called. And this, although our fellow-ministers Athanasius, Marcellus, 77 and Asclepas were using great boldness, and lamenting, and urging
A them to come in, and promising not only to refute the calumny, but also to show how many wrongs they had committed against their Churches. But they were so seized by the terror of a guilty conscience, that they took to flight, and by their flight betrayed their own calumny, and confessed by their sudden departure the things in which they had been guilty.
Although their wickedness and calumny are shown B not only from what occurred previously, but also from these events; yet, so that they might not even from flight find a pretext to manufacture some other act of wickedness, we determined, according to the rule of truth, to examine the farcical acts staged by them. And having set this before us, we found from the deeds actually performed that they were calumniators, and had done nothing else but plot against our fellow-ministers. For that Arsenius, whom they said had been murdered by Athanasius, is alive, and is counted C among the living: and from this one fact it is clear that the other things they bruited about concerning others are fantasies. Because they also bruited about the cup, as if it had been broken by Macarius, the presbyter of Athanasius, those who came from Alexandria, and Mareotis, and the remaining places, testified to them that nothing of the sort had been done. And the bishops from Egypt, who wrote to Julius our fellow-minister, sufficiently assured him that there was not even a suspicion that such a thing had happened there. Besides, the records that they say they have against him, it is established, have been composed D as a one-sided account. And yet, even in these very records, pagans and catechumens were questioned; and one catechumen, when questioned, replied that he was inside when Macarius arrived at the place; and another, when questioned, said that Ischyras, whom they were then touting as a presbyter, was at that time lying sick in a cell; so that from this it appears that no mystery was celebrated at all, because the catechumens were inside, and Ischyras was not present, but was lying sick. Indeed, that wickedest of men, Ischyras himself, having lied in saying that Athanasius had burned one of the divine books, and having been refuted, confessed that he was sick at that time when Macarius was present, and was lying down, so that from this he is also shown to be a calumniator. In short, they gave to Ischyras as a reward for this calumny the name of bishop, he who was not even a presbyter. For two presbyters, who had been with Meletius at that time, and were later received by Alexander — of blessed memory — the bishop of Alexandria, and who now are with Athanasius, testified that this man had never been a presbyter of Meletius, nor did Meletius possess any church or minister in Mareotis. And yet this man, who was not a presbyter, as though he were a bishop...
they brought forward, that by this name they might seem to strike terror into their hearers concerning their false accusation. B
The book of our fellow-minister Marcellus was also read, and in it the malicious craft of Eusebius and his associates was detected. For as for the things which Marcellus had set down as if in inquiry, these they calumniously represented as matters which he had confessed. The portions following and preceding the questions were therefore read, and the man’s faith was found to be orthodox. For he did not write—as they themselves asserted—that the Word of God had a beginning from holy Mary, nor that His kingdom would have an end; rather, he wrote that His kingdom is without beginning and without end. And Asclepas, our fellow-minister, produced the records made at Antioch in the presence of the accusers and of Eusebius of Caesarea, and by the decisions of the presiding bishops he proved himself to be innocent. It is with good reason, therefore, beloved brethren, that although summoned many times, they did not obey; with good reason they fled. For, driven by the pricks of their own conscience, they confirmed their own false accusations by their flight, and caused themselves to be believed guilty of those things which the accusers who were present were asserting and demonstrating. Furthermore, in addition to all this, those who had been accused and cast out on account of the Arian heresy they not only received, but even raised to higher ranks, making deacons into presbyters, and presbyters into bishops, with no other intent than that they might be able to spread and propagate their impious doctrine and corrupt the sincere faith. C
The leaders and chiefs of these men, following Eusebius, are now Theodore from Heraclea, Narcissus from Neroniada in Cilicia, Stephen from Antioch, George from Laodicea, Acacius from Caesarea in Palestine, D Menophantus from Ephesus in Asia, Ursacius from Singidunum in Moesia, and Valens from Mursa in Pannonia. For these men would not permit those who came with them from the East even to enter the holy synod, nor did they allow them to approach the church of God at all. And when they came to Sardica, they held private synods among themselves by turns, and entered into agreements, reinforced by threats, that when they arrived at Sardica, they would not approach the judgment at all, nor join in one assembly with the holy and great synod; but that as soon as they entered the city and had given a token of their arrival for the sake of their own vindication, they would immediately withdraw in flight. We were able to learn these things from our fellow-ministers Macarius from Palestine and Asterius from Arabia, who came with them but withdrew from their treachery. For these men, on reaching the holy synod, lamented the violence they had suffered, and rightly affirmed that nothing was being done by them—
A adding that there were many there who held the orthodox faith, but were prevented by those men from coming here, and were being intimidated by their threats against those who wished to depart from them. For this reason, they strove to have all stay together in one house, not permitting them even to be separated in the slightest degree.
Since, therefore, it was not right to keep silent, nor to leave unpunished B their slanders, bonds, murders, wounds, the fabrication of forged letters, assaults, the stripping of virgins, exiles, the destruction of churches, acts of arson, the transfers from small towns to larger parishes, and before all else, the Arian heresy—that ill-named sect which has now risen up against the true faith through them—for this reason, we have declared our beloved brothers and fellow-ministers, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, Marcellus of Ancyra in Galatia, Asclepas of Gaza, and those who serve the Lord with them, to be innocent and pure, having written to the diocese of each so that the people of every church may know the innocence of their own bishop and may recognize and await this one man as their bishop. But as for those who have invaded their churches like wolves—Gregory in Alexandria, Basil in Ancyra, and Quintianus in Gaza—let no one call them bishops, nor even Christians; let them have absolutely no communion with them, nor give them letters, nor receive any from them.
As for Theodore of Heraclea in Europe, Narcissus of Neronias in Cilicia, Acacius of Caesarea in Palestine, Stephen of Antioch, Ursacius of Singidunum in Moesia, Valens of Mursa in Pannonia, Menophantus of Ephesus, and C George of Laodicea, even if he did not come from the East for fear—nevertheless, because he was deposed by the bishop of blessed memory, Alexander of Alexandria, and because he himself, along with the others, embraced the fury of Arius, and because of the crimes brought against them, the holy synod has by common vote deposed them all from the episcopal rank: and we have judged not only those bishops
A not to be such, but not even to be worthy of communion with the faithful. For it is fitting that those who separate the Son from the substance and divinity of the Father, and alienate the Word from the Father, should be separated from the catholic Church and be strangers to the name of Christian. Let them, therefore, be anathema to you and to all, because they have adulterated the word of truth. For there is an Apostolic precept: "If anyone preaches a gospel to you other than that which you have received, let him be anathema." Command that no one communicate with these, for there is no communion of light with darkness. Put all these far away: for there is no participation of Christ with Belial. And take heed, beloved brothers, not to write to them, nor to receive letters from them. But strive also, beloved brothers and fellow-priests, as if present in spirit, to concur with our synod and to decree by your own signatures that concord may be preserved by all our fellow-bishops throughout the world. Furthermore, we renounce and excise from the catholic Church those who maintain that Christ is indeed God, but not true God; that he is Son, but not true Son; that he is begotten and at the same time unbegotten. For this is how they profess to understand the "begotten," because they have said: "That which is, is begotten"; and because, although Christ is before the ages, they attribute to him a beginning and an end, he who has his generation not in time, but before all time. B Recently, two vipers have also emerged from the Arian serpent, Valens and Ursacius, who boast and do not hesitate to call themselves Christians, and who declare that both the Word and the Spirit were crucified, wounded, and died, and rose again, and who—as the company of heretics contends—pronounce that there are diverse hypostases of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and that they are separate. But we have received, and have been taught, and we hold this catholic tradition, and faith, and confession, that there is one hypostasis—which these heretics themselves call *ousia*—of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And if they ask what the hypostasis of the Son is, we profess that it is the same which is acknowledged to be C that of the Father alone. Nor has the Father ever been without the Son, nor the Son without the Father, nor can the Word that is exist without the Spirit. For it is most absurd to say D that at one time the Father was without the Son, nor
A to be named, nor to be able to exist; for there is a testimony of the Son himself concerning Him, saying: "I am in the Father, and the Father in me," and, "I and the Father are one." None of us denies that He is begotten, but begotten before all things which are called invisible and visible, the creator and fashioner of archangels and angels, and of the world, and of the human race, since it says: "The fashioner of all things taught me wisdom," and, "All things were made through him." For it could not be that He was always, if He received a beginning, because the Word that is always has no beginning; but God never suffers an end. We do not say that the Father is the Son, nor again that the Son is the Father; but the Father is B Father, and the Son is the Son of the Father. We confess the Son to be the power of the Father. We confess the Word to be of God the Father, beside whom there is no other; and we affirm the Word to be true God, and wisdom, and power. We deliver Him as the true Son; but we do not call the Son "Son" in the same way as other sons are called; for they are gods by a grace of rebirth, or because they are counted worthy to be called sons, not by reason of the one substance which is of the Father and of the Son. We confess Him to be both Only-Begotten and Firstborn: but the Word is Only-Begotten, who always was and is in the Father; and Firstborn, with respect to man. But He differs from the common creation C in that He is also the firstborn from the dead. We confess that He is God; we confess the one divinity of the Father and of the Son. Nor does anyone ever deny that the Father is greater than the Son, not because of another hypostasis, nor because of a difference, but because the very name of Father is greater than that of Son. But this interpretation of theirs is impious and corrupt; for this reason they contend that He said: "I and the Father are one," on account of consent and concord. But the catholics consider the base and abject opinion of these men
A to be entirely rejected. For just as mortal men, when they begin to differ, fall into discord, having offended one another, and later return to reconciliation, so they say that dissension and discord can exist between the Father, God Almighty, and the Son, which is most absurd both to suspect and to conceive. We, however, both believe, and assert, and understand that this divine utterance: "I and the Father are one" (John x, 30), is to be taken as concerning the unity of substance, which in the Father and the Son is one. We believe also that He always reigns with the Father, without beginning and without end; and that His kingdom has no time by which it is defined, nor can it ever cease; because that which is always, and never began to be, cannot cease to be. We believe and embrace with our mind the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord Himself promised to us and sent; and we believe Him to have been sent. But He did not suffer; rather, the man whom He clothed Himself with, whom He assumed from the Virgin Mary—the man who could suffer, because he was a mortal man, while God is immortal. We believe that He rose on the third day: yet not God in man, but man in God, whom He also offered as a gift to His Father, and whom He delivered from sin and destruction. We believe also that B at the opportune and appointed time, He will judge all men and all things. For so great is their folly, and their mind is so blinded by dense darkness, that they cannot perceive the light of the truth. They do not understand in what sense it was said: "That they also may be one in us" (John xvii, 21). For it is clear why they are "one": because the apostles received the Holy Spirit of God, and yet they themselves were not the Spirit, nor was any one of them the Word, or wisdom, or power, or the Only-Begotten. "As I," He says, "and Thou are one, so also they may be one in us." But the divine voice also accurately distinguished: "In us," He says, "they may be one." He did not say, "As we are one, I and the Father," but that the disciples, joined and linked among themselves, might be one in faith and confession, and in the grace and piety of God the Father, and in the concession and charity of our Lord and Savior might be able to be one. C From this epistle, both the calumny of the accusers and the iniquity of the former judges, and furthermore the soundness of the doctrines, can be detected. For those blessed Fathers taught us not only about the divine nature, but also explained the mystery of the incarnation. Having learned these things, Constans, seeing the levity of his brother, was troubled and became angry with those who had plotted these
A things and had imposed upon the emperor’s facility. He therefore chose two of the bishops who had assembled at Sardica and sent them to his brother with letters; he sent along with them a general, Salianus by name, who was distinguished for his piety and justice. The letter contained not only exhortation and counsel, but also a threat, such as befitted a pious prince. For he first wrote to his brother, requesting him to lend an ear to the bishops and to learn of the iniquitous deeds perpetrated by Stephanus and the others; and then, that he should restore Athanasius to his flock, since the calumny had now been exposed, as well as the iniquity and malice of the former judges. He added that if he would not allow himself to be persuaded and do what was just, he himself would proceed to Alexandria, and would restore Athanasius to the sheep who longed for him, and would drive out the troop of his enemies. When Constantius received B this letter, being at that time in Antioch, he promised to do what his brother had signified.
CAP. VII. Of Euphratas and Vincentius, and the treacherous plot contrived against them at Antioch.
But since these things were grievous to those who were accustomed to war against the truth, they contrived an execrable and impious crime. For that pair of bishops had lodged at a house located at the foot of the hill, while the master of the soldiers had taken up his lodging elsewhere. Stephanus, C however, who at that time held the helm of the Church of the Antiochenes and was bringing the vessel to shipwreck, had others as accomplices in his tyrannical deeds, by whose agency he afflicted with various calamities those who followed the orthodox doctrines. The leader of these was a certain young man, living in effrontery and embracing a lawless life, who was accustomed not only to drag men from the marketplace with stripes and contumely, but also to break impudently into houses and drag out men and women adorned with modesty. And that I may not be too long in recounting his wickedness, I shall relate what he dared to do against the most excellent men; for it is sufficient to prove by this what was wickedly done by him against the D citizens. Approaching a certain harlot, he told her that some strangers had just arrived and required her services at night. Then, having collected fifteen factious satellites and hidden them among the hedges at the foot of the hill, he betook himself with the woman, and having given the signal as had been agreed upon, and learning that those who were privy to the plot were present, he went to the gate of the inn at the entrance, in which those two bishops…
A were spending the night; and finding it open (for he had bribed one of the servants to do this), he brought the woman in, and showing her the door of the room in which one of the bishops happened to be sleeping, he ordered her to go inside, while he himself went off to summon his band of conspirators. Now it happened that Euphratas (for this was the name of the presbyter) was sleeping in the vestibule, while Vincentius, as the other was called, was resting in the inner chamber. When the harlot had entered, Euphratas, hearing the sound of footsteps, and since it was dark, asked who was walking there. When she spoke in return, Euphratas was filled with alarm, conjecturing that it was a demon who had mimicked a female voice, and immediately he began to call upon the help of Christ the Savior. But Onager—for that was the name by which the leader of that nefarious troop was addressed, because he used not only his hands but also his feet as weapons against the pious—had entered with his band, calling those who expected to be the judges of his impiety "lawbreakers." B A great outcry arose, and the servants ran together, and Vincentius also jumped up; and having shut the gateway of the courtyard, they were able to apprehend seven of the conspirators, but Onager escaped with the others. The woman was also detained with them. At daybreak, they awoke the general of the army who had come with them, and went together to the palace, and crying out against the insolence of Stephanus, they declared that his crimes required neither trial nor investigation. The general, however, clamored even more loudly, imploring the emperor to order that the wicked deed be examined—not synodically, but judicially—promising that he would be the first to hand over the bishops' clerics to torture; and that it was fitting that Stephanus’s servants suffer the same. Because he [Stephanus] resisted this with brazen impudence, saying that clerics ought not to be subjected to scourging, it pleased the emperor and the nobles that the examination of the matter should take place inside the palace. And C first of all they questioned the woman, as to who had led her to the bishops' lodging. She replied that a certain young man had come to her, speaking of the arrival and need of strangers, and had led her to the lodging in the evening. She said that, once there, he had sought out his own band and found them, and had brought her inside the courtyard gate and told her to enter into the vestibule. She added also the bishop's questioning, and the terror that had arisen, and the prayer he poured out to God, and the sudden irruption of those who had broken in. D
CHAPTER VIII. On the deposition of Stephen.
A Having learned these things, the judges brought into the midst the youngest of those who had been seized. He, not awaiting the compulsion of the lash, revealed the fabricated plot and confessed that Onager had done all these things. Being brought forward, he said that Stephanus had ordered these things. Thus, having discovered the wickedness of Stephanus, they permitted the bishops present at that time to depose him, and they drove him from the Church. Not, however, was the Church entirely delivered from the Arian plague. For Leontius obtained the see after him, a man Phrygian by race, but in his mind artful and hidden, and similar to sunken rocks in the sea. But I shall speak of him a little later.
CHAPTER IX. On the second return of Saint Athanasius.
Then, indeed, Constantius, having learned by experience of the things being fraudulently contrived against the bishops, wrote to great Athanasius once, and twice, and even three times, urging him to return from the West. For my part, I shall weave into the narrative the middle letter, which is short. B
Constantius Victor, Augustus, to Athanasius.
Although we have already signified by former letters that you should come to our court without anxiety, because we desire above all to send you to your own see, yet now also we have provided this letter to your gravity, through which we exhort you to embark upon the public carriages without any distrust or fear, and to hasten to us, that you may be able to obtain what you desire.
C Thus, he saw him upon his return kindly, and ordered him to take back the Church of the Alexandrians. But those who were then powerful at court, being infected with the Arian disease, said that Athanasius ought at least to grant one church to those who did not wish to commune with him. When they had suggested these things to the emperor, the emperor answered Athanasius that it was right to obey the commands of the prince; but that he himself had something to suggest and to request. When the emperor promised that he would willingly grant whatever he asked, he then said that those at Antioch also, who did not wish to commune with those holding the churches, had need of oratories, D and that it was fair that one of the divine houses be granted to them as well. Since the emperor assented, judging the petition to be upright and just, those who were leading the heretical phalanx cried out against it, saying that no churches should be given to either side.
or assented, judging the petition to be upright and just, those who were leading the heretical phalanx cried out against it, saying that no churches should be given to either side. Constantius, having admired Athanasius in this way, sent him back to Alexandria. For Gregory had already died, having been killed by those very citizens. Therefore, having seen their pastor, they held public feasts and most splendid celebrations, honoring him and praising God. But a short time later, Constans reached the end of his life.
Chapter X. De tertio ejusdem exsilio, et fuga.
Concerning his third exile and flight.But those who had been accustomed to urge Constantius wherever they wished, reminded him of the discord that had arisen with his brother on account of Athanasius, which had proceeded so far that it had nearly broken the bonds of nature, and they were on the point of waging war against one another. Spurred on by these, Constantius ordered that the divine Athanasius be punished not only with exile, but with death; and having sent Sebastian the commander with a large force, he gave instructions that he should be removed from the midst as a criminal. B But in what manner he made his incursion, or how the latter committed himself to flight, he himself, who underwent the danger and was delivered in a wondrous manner, will better relate; for in the *Apology* which he wrote concerning his flight, he tells the story thus:
"Let them also examine the manner of my withdrawal, and learn it from their own side. For the Arians had joined themselves to those soldiers, both to incite them and to point us out to those who did not know us. If no compassion touches those men, yet they should not refuse to listen quietly. For it was already night, and many were keeping vigil, awaiting the assembly, when suddenly the commander arrived with more than five thousand armed men, with drawn swords, bows, arrows, and clubs, as has been said before. Hemmed in by these, he besieged the church, stationing his soldiers in close array so that no one leaving the church could escape their hands. But I, believing it absurd to leave the people in such a great disturbance, and not rather to come into danger for their sake, sitting upon the chair, commanded the deacon to recite the psalm, 'For his mercy is for ever'; C then I ordered that all should withdraw and go home. But when the commander finally broke in with violence, and the soldiers had surrounded the sanctuary to intercept me, the clergy and laity who were then present there cried out and begged that we also should withdraw. But I, on the contrary, firmly refused to leave unless all to the last man had departed. And so, rising and offering a prayer..."
I then urged them all to depart, saying it was better that I should incur danger than that any of you should suffer harm. When most of them had gone out, and the rest were following, the monks who were there with me, along with some of the clergy, came up and pulled us away. And thus, I call the truth itself to witness, through the soldiers—of whom some were surrounding the sanctuary, while others were roaming about the church—we passed out, with the Lord as our guide and protector, and escaped them secretly, glorifying God that we had not betrayed the people, but by sending them ahead, we had been able to save ourselves and escape the hands of those who were seeking us.
CAP. XI.
Concerning George and his wicked deeds in Alexandria.
A When he had thus escaped their bloody hands, the care of his sheep was entrusted to George, another wolf, who exercised greater cruelty toward them than any wolf, bear, or leopard. For he compelled the virgins who had vowed their lives to virginity not only to abjure the communion of Athanasius, but even to renounce the faith of the Fathers. Furthermore, he had as an assistant in his cruelty a certain commander of military units, Sebastian, who lit a pyre in the middle of the city and, placing the virgins naked around it, commanded them to deny the faith. They, however, presenting a sad and piteous spectacle to believers and unbelievers alike, counted the ignominy as a great honor and willingly endured the lashes inflicted for the sake of the faith. But their shepherd will explain these things more clearly. Then, he says, George, who had been sent by them from Cappadocia, arriving in the time of Lent, multiplied the crimes he had learned from them. B For after the week of Easter, virgins were thrust into prison, bishops were led away in chains by soldiers, the houses of orphans and widows were plundered, pillaging and raids were made against homes, Christians were dragged off by night, houses were sealed, and the brothers of the clergy were called into danger on behalf of their brethren. These things were indeed grave, but what they dared afterward was graver still. For in the week that followed the holy Pentecost, when the people, having completed their fasts, had gone out to the cemetery for prayer, because they abhorred communion with George, when that most wicked man learned of this, he incited Sebastian, the commander of the troops, who was a Manichaean by sect. He, therefore, with a military force bearing arms, drawn swords, bows, and missiles, on that very Lord's day, made an assault. C D
Finding but few at prayer—for the majority had already dispersed because of the lateness of the hour—they committed such deeds as it was appropriate to hear that they had performed. A For, having kindled a fire and placed virgins beside it, he compelled them to declare that they were of the Arian faith. When he saw that they could not be vanquished and paid no heed to the fire, he stripped them bare, and so smote them upon their faces that, after a long time, they could scarcely be recognized. Forty men he also seized and punished in an even more novel fashion; for, having straightway cut branches from palm trees, he tore their backs with them while the thorns were still upon the wood, in such a way that some had frequently to undergo surgery because of the thorns that remained embedded in them, while others, unable to endure the agony, perished. All the survivors, moreover, and the virgins, they banished to the Great Oasis; and they did not even allow the bodies of the deceased to be returned at first to their own people, but hid them away as they wished, casting them into the earth without burial, so that their great cruelty might seem to go unnoticed. In this, the senseless men acted with perverted minds. For since the kin of the deceased rejoiced in their confession, yet mourned for their bodies, the accusation of their impiety and cruelty was spread all the more widely. B Indeed, they immediately banished from Egypt and Libya the bishops Ammonium, Muium, Caius, Philon, Hermes, Plenius, Psinosiris, Nilammon, Agapius, Anagamphus, Marcus, a second Ammonium, and a second Marcus, Dracontius, Adelphius, and Athenodorus, and the presbyters Hierax and Dioscorus; and these they drove away with such severity that some perished on the road, and others died in their very exile. They banished more than thirty bishops in all. For they had an eager compulsion, following the example of Ahab, to remove the truth from the midst, if they could. Concerning those virgins, too, who endured these dire sufferings, he wrote words of consolation, and inserted this among other things: "For these things," he said, "let none of you be sorrowful, even if the impious begrudge you burial and prevent your funerals from being carried out (for to this point the wickedness of the Arians has progressed), and block the gates, and remain at the tombs like malignant ghouls, so that none of the deceased might be brought in." Such were the crimes of Georgius at Alexandria. But divine Athan-
Athanasius considered no place a strong fortress for his safety, since the Emperor had ordered that he be brought to him either alive or dead, promising an immense reward to whoever might accomplish this. B
CHAPTER XII.
Concerning the Synod held at Milan.
Now Constantius, when Magnentius had seized the Empire of the West following the death of Constans, set out for Europe to fight against his tyranny. Yet this grievous war did not put an end to the war he was waging against the Churches. For those who easily persuaded him of anything, and who had admitted the heretical contagion, persuaded him to convoke a synod at Milan, which is a city of Italy. They sought first to force all who came there to give their assent to the deposition at Tyre, C carried out piece by piece by those impious judges, and thereafter, with Athanasius expelled from the Churches, to set forth a different doctrine of faith.
Therefore, those who had received the royal letters gathered there, but they could not be induced to do either of these things. Instead, they argued before the Emperor in his presence that he was commanding unjust and impious things, and they were expelled from their Churches and condemned to reside in the furthest corners of the earth. Concerning this matter, the admirable Athanasius once again writes in that same Apology of his: "Who," he says, "could recount as much villainy as these men have committed? For while the Churches were lately in peace, D and the people were praying in the assemblies, Liberius, Bishop of Rome, and Paulinus of the metropolis of the Gauls, and Dionysius of the metropolis of Italy, and Lucifer of the metropolis of the Sardinian islands, and Eusebius from Italy—all good bishops and heralds of the truth—were seized and punished with exile, for no reason at all, except that they did not agree with the Arian heresy and would not subscribe to their false calumnies and slanders against us. For I think it superfluous to speak of that great confessor of venerable age, Osius, truly worthy of his name, since everyone knows...
that they have caused even him to be exiled. For he is not an obscure man, but rather the most distinguished of all elders. A For what synod has he not presided over, and by speaking rightly, has he not persuaded everyone? What church does not possess the most beautiful proofs of his guardianship? Who ever came to him in sorrow and departed from him not rejoicing? Who ever begged of him, being in need, and did not leave having obtained what he desired? And yet, even against him they have dared to act, because he, knowing the calumnies they were weaving due to their impiety, did not sign the plots against us. What they dared to do against those holy men, the writings teach. But how many others the leaders of the Arian phalanx B plotted against, this divine man has again recounted in his writings. For whom have they ever pursued and captured whom they did not abuse just as they wished? Whom have they sought out and found, whom they did not treat so as to result in either a miserable death or to be ravaged on every side? For what the judges seem to do is essentially their own work, and they themselves are rather the servants of their will and wickedness. What place, then, does not have a monument of their malice? Whom among those who thought differently from them did they not entrap by inventing pretexts, in the manner of Jezebel? What church does not now mourn because of their plots against its bishops? C Antioch, on account of Eustathius, the confessor and orthodox; the Balaneatae, on account of Euphration; and Antaradus, on account of Cymatius and Carterius; Adrianopolis, on account of Eutropius, who loved Christ, and his successor, Lucius, who, after being frequently laden with chains by them, died in like state; Ancyra, again, on account of Marcellus; Beroea, on account of Cyrus; and Gaza, on account of Asclepas. For these wretched men first abused them greatly, and then caused them to be exiled. But Theodulus and Olympius, who were from Thrace, and us, and our own presbyters, they saw to it that we were hunted down D so that if we were found, we would suffer the penalty of beheading; and perhaps we would have died in that way, had we not, even then, escaped their designs by flight. For letters to this effect were issued regarding Olympius to the proconsul Donatus, and regarding us to Philagrius. These were the evil deeds of the impious sect against the holy ones. Now, this Osius was the bishop of Corduba, who in the great synod of Nicaea...
bold deeds of this impious gang against the saints. This holy man was bishop of Corduba, and he was conspicuous in the great Synod at Nicaea, A and presided over those who had gathered at Sardica. I, however, wish to insert into this history the courage displayed by the most praiseworthy Liberius on behalf of the truth, and the noble words he used toward Constantius. For they were recorded by those who at that time were lovers of God, as they are sufficient to stir up and arouse the lovers of things divine to zeal. He, after Julius, who had succeeded Sylvester, guided the Church of the Romans. B
CHAPTER XIII. Colloquy of the Emperor Constantius and Liberius, Pope of Rome.
Constantius the Emperor said: "We, both because you are a Christian and because you are the bishop of our city, have judged it worthy—and for this reason we have sent for you—to exhort you to renounce the communion of the impious insanity of the unholy Athanasius. For the whole world has deemed this to be right, and has judged him, by the ballot of a synod, to be alien to ecclesiastical communion." Liberius the Bishop said: "O Emperor, ecclesiastical judgments ought to be conducted with great justice. Therefore, if it pleases your piety, command that a tribunal be constituted; and if Athanasius is seen to be worthy of condemnation, then, in accordance with the manner of ecclesiastical order, the vote against him will be delivered. For it is not possible to condemn a man whom we have not judged." Constantius the Emperor said: "The whole world has passed sentence concerning his impiety, but he, as he has done from the beginning, is mocking the time." Liberius the Bishop said: "Those who signed [the condemnation] were not eyewitnesses of the things that took place, but they did so on account of glory, and fear, and the dishonor [inflicted] by you." The Emperor: "What is glory, and fear, and dishonor?" Liberius: "Those who do not love the glory of God, having preferred the gifts from you, C condemned without judgment a man whom they did not see with their eyes; which is alien to Christians." The Emperor: "And yet, he was judged in person at the synod held at Tyre, and all the bishops of the world voted against him." Liberius: "Never was that man judged in person. For those who condemned him there, after Athanasius had departed from the tribunal, condemned him unreasonably." Eusebius the eunuch said: "In the synod at Nicaea he was declared alien to the Catholic faith." Liberius: "Only five of those who had sailed with him D passed judgment in the Mareotis, having been sent for that purpose by his adversaries, in order to con-
- A duct their investigations against him. Now, of these, two are dead, Theogonius and Theodorus; but the other three, Mares, Valens, and Ursacius, are still alive. B It was from among these men, whom they had sent to Sardica for this very business, that the vote was gathered C, after they had presented documents to the synod, requesting pardon for the things they had carried out in the Mareotis through calumny and by a one-sided investigation against Athanasius; and their documents we now have in our hands. To which of these parties must we, O Emperor, be persuaded to communicate? To those who first condemned them and afterward sought pardon, or to those who now condemn them?" Epictetus the bishop said: "O Emperor, Liberius is not speaking today on account of the faith, or out of concern for ecclesiastical judgments, but so that he may boast to the senators in Rome that he has outwitted the Emperor." The Emperor said to Liberius: "What part of the world are you, Liberius, that you alone are siding with an unholy man and destroying the peace of the world and of the whole earth?" Liberius: "The argument for the faith is not diminished because I am alone. For in the old days, there were three found who resisted the command." The eunuch Eusebius said: "You make our Emperor a Nebuchadnezzar." Liberius: "Not at all; but you no less rashly condemn a man against whom no trial has taken place. I, for my part, first demand that a general subscription be made whereby the faith set forth at Nicaea be confirmed. Then, that the brethren, having been recalled from exile and restored to their own sees, be allowed to D [9] proceed to Alexandria to examine the proceedings, so that those who have been judged in their absence—since those who were present were not able to judge—may be brought to trial by the confession of those who have recanted their own actions. For those who have recanted their own earlier deeds and have sought pardon, they themselves are confessing that they acted through calumny."
[alt-version omitted]
A If those who are currently stirring up disturbances in the Churches are seen to consent to the apostolic faith, then let us all assemble at Alexandria, where both the accused and the accusers are, as well as the defender of them, and having examined the case, let us deliver our judgment. Epictetus the bishop said: But the public post will not suffice to transport the bishops. Liberius: Ecclesiastical causes have no need of the public post; for the churches have sufficient means to escort their own bishops as far as the sea. The Emperor: It is not possible to undo matters that have already been settled. For the vote of the majority of the bishops ought to be valid. You alone are the one who embraces the friendship of that impious man. Liberius said: Emperor, we have never heard of a judge who, in the absence of the accused, proclaims his crimes, as if venting a private hatred against the man. The Emperor: He was indeed hostile to everyone in general, but to no one as much as to me. B Not content with the demise of my elder brother, he did not cease to incite the late Constant of blessed memory to enmity against us, had we not endured the assault of both the agitator and the agitated with greater gentleness. No victory of mine is of such importance, not even against Magnentius or Silvanus, as it would be if I were to expel this wicked man from ecclesiastical affairs. Liberius: Do not avenge your enmities through the bishops, Emperor. For the hands of bishops ought to be free for sanctification. Wherefore, if it pleases you, command that the bishops be recalled to their own sees; and if they should be seen to be of the same mind as the one who today maintains the orthodox faith set forth at Nicaea C, then let them come together to the same place and take counsel for the peace of the world, so that it may be proven that an innocent man is not to be maligned. The Emperor: There is one thing being sought. For I wish, once you have embraced communion with the Churches, to send you back to Rome. Therefore, consult for peace, and by subscribing, return to Rome. Liberius: I have already taken leave of the brethren who are in Rome. For the ecclesiastical laws are more important than habitation in Rome. The Emperor: Therefore you have an interval of three days to deliberate so that, either by subscribing you may return to Rome, or you may decide to what place you wish to be deported. Liberius: An interval of three days cannot change my mind. Therefore, send me whither you wish. D Two days after these things, the Emperor, having examined Liberius and seeing that he did not change his mind, ordered him to be relegated to Beroea in Thrace. When Liberius had departed, the Emperor sent him five hundred gold pieces for his expenses. But Liberius replied to the one who had brought them: "Go, and give them to the Emperor. For he has need of them to pay his soldiers." The Empress likewise sent others in an equal amount. And Liberius said: "Return them to the Emperor. For he has need of these, too, for his military expedition."
And if the Emperor has no need of them, let him give them to Auxentius and Epictetus; for they have need of them." A Since he would not accept them from them, Eusebius the eunuch offered him others. But Liberius said to him: "You have despoiled the churches of the world, and do you bring me alms as if I were a condemned criminal? Go, first become a Christian." And three days passed, and having received nothing, he was sent into exile.
CAP. XIV. Concerning the exile and return of Saint Liberius.
B The athlete of truth, then, having triumphed, set out for Thrace as had been commanded. When two years had passed, Constantius came to Rome. The wives of the nobles and men of rank besought their husbands to demand of him that the shepherd be restored to his flock, adding that if they did not prevail, they would forsake them and flee to that excellent shepherd. But they said they feared the anger of the Emperor, for he would perhaps grant no pardon to them because they were men; yet to you, they said, if you entreat him, he will undoubtedly grant it, and one of two things will happen: either he will accept your petition, or, if he refuses, he will send you away unharmed. Having embraced this suggestion, the C excellent women betook themselves to the Emperor, adorned with their customary splendor, so that, judging them to be noble by their attire, he might show them reverence and kindness. Appearing thus, they besought him to take pity on so great a city, deprived of its shepherd and exposed to the machinations of wolves. He, however, replied that the city had no need of another shepherd, for it had one who was capable of caring for it. For after the great Liberius, one of his deacons had been ordained, Felix by name, who indeed preserved the faith set forth at Nicaea intact, but freely communicated with those who corrupted it. The result was that while he was inside, no Roman citizen entered the church. D When the matrons had pointed this out to the Emperor, he was moved by this fact and ordered that excellent shepherd to return, and that they should both govern the Church by joint effort. When these letters were read in the circus, the people exclaimed that the Emperor's decision was just. For the spectators there were divided into two parties, distinguished by names derived from the variety of their colors, and therefore they said that it was fitting that one should preside over the one party and the other over the others. In this way, the Emperor’s letters were
A mocked, and they burst forth with one voice: "One God, one Christ, one bishop." I have judged that their very words should be recorded. After this acclamation, which was rendered famous by the piety and righteousness of the Christian people, the divine Liberius returned, while Felix departed and fixed his seat in another city. I have appended these matters to what had befallen the bishops at Milan for the sake of the narrative's coherence; now I return again to the order of events. A
CHAPTER XV. De concilio Ariminensi.
For when the champions of the faith had been driven out, those who were swaying the Emperor’s mind to their own purposes, thinking that it would be very easy for them to overturn the faith that was contrary to their own and to establish the teaching of Arius, persuaded Constantius to summon the bishops of the East and the West to Ariminum, and to command that the terms "substance" and "consubstantial"—which had been devised by the Fathers as a kind of engine against the deceits of Arius—be removed from the formula of faith. For they said that these had produced the dissension in the Churches. But after they had gathered, those who were stained by the Arian contagion attempted to lead the rest of the multitude of bishops, and especially the Westerners, whose character and customs were simple, into deception. They declared that the body of the Church ought not to be rent asunder for the sake of two terms, neither of which exists in Scripture, but that they should confess the Son to be like the Father in all things, while passing over the name of "substance" as an unscriptural term. But the bishops, having perceived the fraud, excommunicated those who were saying these things; and they themselves made their own opinion known to the Emperor by letter. For they said that they were children and heirs of the Fathers who had gathered at Nicaea. "If," they said, "we should dare to remove anything from what was written by them, or to add anything to what was rightly established, we would prove ourselves to be base-born and accusers of those who begat us." The letters written by them to Constantius will more clearly demonstrate the exact rule of their faith.
Synodical letter to Emperor Constantius written by the Synod of Rimini.
"By the command of God and the decree of your piety, we believe that the things that were formerly decreed concerning the faith are being maintained. For at Ariminum all of the Western cities D
A all the bishops came together, that the faith of the Catholic Church might be acknowledged, and that those who hold contrary opinions might be made manifest. For as we have examined it at great length, it seemed best to keep and to observe until the end the faith which has endured from former times, which the prophets, and the Gospels, and the apostles proclaimed through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the guardian of your empire and the protector of your person. For it seemed absurd and unlawful to change anything of what has been rightly and justly defined, and which was considered at Nicaea together with the most glorious Constantine, your father and emperor, the teaching and opinion of whom spread abroad and was proclaimed to the ears and minds of all men; a faith which alone stood as the adversary and destroyer of the Arian heresy, by which not only that one, but also other heresies were overthrown. In which indeed to add anything is unsafe B and to take anything away is dangerous; for if either were to happen, the adversaries would have free rein to do whatever they wish. Whence Ursacius and Valens, since they had shown themselves to be sharers and supporters of the Arian dogma, were declared excluded from our communion. But in order to recover this, they sought to obtain repentance and forgiveness for the things in which they acknowledged they had offended, just as their written petitions testify, through which impunity and the forgiveness of their sins were granted to them. These things were done at the time when the assembly of the synod C was held at Milan, with the presbyters of the Roman Church also present. Since therefore we understood together that even after his death, the memory of the worthy Constantine had promoted the faith written with the greatest care and investigation, and since after receiving baptism he ceased to live in this world and was translated to the rest due to him, we judged it absurd to innovate anything after him, and to disregard so many holy confessors and martyrs, the authors and discoverers of this dogma, who never swerved from their opinion according to the ancient custom of the Church, whose faith God has transmitted through the Lord Jesus Christ even to the times of your empire, through whom you reign so widely that you rule also over our world. But these wretched and deplorably minded men again, with a wicked daring, have professed themselves to be heralds of an impious opinion, and the whole
A frame of truth they endeavor to overturn. For as the council of the synod was being assembled according to your command, they too revealed the intent of their own deceit. For they attempted through a certain knavery and disturbance to introduce some innovations, having found as companions in such a clique B some Germanus, and Auxentius, and Gaius, who were causing heresy and schism, whose teaching, being but one, has exceeded every multitude of blasphemies. But when they perceived that we were not of the same mind, nor were we agreeing with those things upon which they evil-thought, they transferred themselves into our council, so that they might appear to be writing something else. And the time was short, which also put their opinions to the test. In order, therefore, that the affairs of the Church may not fall into the same straits, and that disturbance and confusion, rolling on, may not confound all things, it appeared firm and safe to preserve the ordinances defined of old and unchangeable, and to remove the aforementioned from our communion; for which reason we have sent delegates C to your clemency, who shall explain the mind of the council through our letter, to whom before all else we have enjoined this: to confirm the truth from those things which were rightfully sanctified of old by the ancients, and at the same time to instruct your piety, not as Ursacius and Valens said, that there will be peace if anything of the right be overturned (for how can they be avengers of peace who destroy peace?), but that discord and disturbance will arise from this both in the remaining cities and in the Roman Church. Wherefore we beseech your clemency that with kind ears and a serene countenance you may receive our delegates, and not permit anything new to be introduced to the insult of the dead; but let us abide in those things which were defined D and sanctified by our forefathers, whom we may affirm to have done all things with insight and wisdom and the Holy Spirit. For the things now being innovated by them bring disbelief to those who believe, and cruelty to those who do not believe. We further beseech you that to the foreign bishops, whom both grave age and poverty afflict, you might order an easy return to their sees be granted, lest the churches be left deserted of their bishops. Finally, we pray this to the last, that nothing be taken away from the ancient decrees, nor anything added; but let all things remain inviolate which have been preserved from the times of your pious father to this very day. Nor allow us to be any longer wearied and absent from our parishes; but
that the bishops, together with their own people, may spend their time in peace, in prayers, and in worship, supplicating for your empire, your safety, and the peace which the Divinity shall grant you forever. Our delegates bring A the signatures and the greetings of the bishops, who will also instruct your holiness from the very divine Scriptures.
These things being written, and the delegates having been sent, those who were abusing their power with the emperor received the letter and delivered it to the emperor, but they did not introduce the delegates, saying that the sovereign was occupied with public cares. They did this, thinking that the bishops, weary from the length of time and desiring to revisit their own cities, would at last be compelled to undermine and pull down the wall that had been raised against the heresy. But this device profited them nothing. For the noble champions of the faith B sent another letter to the emperor, entreating both that the delegates be admitted and that leave to depart be granted to themselves. I have also inserted this into the narrative.
Another letter of the synod to Constantius.
To the victorious Constantius, most pious emperor, the bishops gathered at Ariminum.
We have received the letters of your clemency, most glorious sovereign emperor, confirming that on account of public business you have hitherto been unable to see our delegates, and bidding us to await their return, in order that your piety may learn our intent and the dogmas of our ancestors. But indeed we declare that, in no way receding from our purpose, we now C reiterate the same to your clemency by these letters; and we pray that you may receive with a placid countenance both the letters of our humility, in which we now respond to your piety, and those things which we commissioned our delegates to suggest to your clemency. Furthermore, your clemency understands with us how grievous and how little in accordance with your most happy times it is that so many Churches should appear to be destitute of bishops. Wherefore we again entreat, most glorious
emperor, that before the severity of winter, if it please your kindness, you would command that we return to our Churches, so that we may be able to offer solemn prayers together with the people to the almighty God, and to Christ his Son, our Lord and Savior, for the state of your empire, just as we have done hitherto and are still doing. A
Chapter XVI. Regarding the council held at Nice in Thrace, and the exposition of faith written by them.
When this letter had been brought forward, and the Arians had inflamed the emperor's temper, they led many of the bishops, against their will, to a certain city of Thrace, Nice by name. B By deceiving some on account of their simplicity, and terrifying others with fear, they persuaded them to complete and perfect the device they had long ago contrived against piety. They removed the terms "substance" and "consubstantial" from the formula of faith, and in their place substituted "like." I insert this formula of theirs into my history, not because it is sound, but because it clearly exposes the faction of Arius. For the impious of this present age do not embrace even that, but instead of "like," they preach "unlike." C
The formula of the perverse faith composed at Nice in Thrace.
We believe in one and only true God, the Father almighty, from whom are all things. And in the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of God before all ages and before every beginning, through whom all things were made, both visible and invisible. Begotten, moreover, as the only-begotten from the only Father, God from God; like the Father who begat him, according to the Scriptures. His generation no one knows, except the Father alone who begat him. We know that this same only-begotten Son of God was sent by the Father D and descended from the heavens, as it is written, for the destruction of sin and death; and was born of the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, as it is written, according to the flesh, and conversed with his disciples. And when the whole dispensation had been fulfilled according to the will of the Father, he was nailed to the cross, died, and was buried, and descended into the lower parts; whom Hades itself feared. He rose from the dead on the third day, and having conversed with his disciples for the full forty days, he was taken up into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and he shall come on the last day of the resurrection with the glory of the Father, to render to each according to his works. And in the Holy Spirit, whom the only-begotten Son of God himself, Jesus Christ, God and Lord, promised to send to the race of men
according to what is written, the Spirit of truth. And he himself sent him after ascending into heaven and taking his seat at the right hand of the Father, and from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. But as for the name of essence, which was set down by the Fathers in a simpler manner but, being unknown to the common people, brought about scandal because it is not contained in the Scriptures, it was decided that it be removed and that from now on no mention of essence whatever should be made, especially since the divine Scriptures never once mention the essence of the Father and the Son. Nor was it to be permitted that one should speak of a single hypostasis in the person of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We confess the Son to be similar to the Father, just as the divine Scriptures say and teach. And let all heresies, whether previously condemned or also if any have recently sprung up that are contrary to this set-forth writing, be anathema. Now, some signed these things out of fear, and others because they were deceived; but those who were unwilling to agree were sent off to the ends of the earth. B
CHAPTER XVII.
Synodal letter of Damasus, bishop of Rome, and the bishops of the West, concerning the Council of Ariminum.
That all the athletes of truth, and especially those residing in the West, greatly disapproved of this formula, is attested by what was written by them to the Illyrians. The leader of those who wrote was Damasus, a man distinguished by many virtues, who obtained the chair of the Roman Church after Liberius. Ninety bishops from Italy and Galatia—which is now called Gaul—who had gathered at Rome, wrote along with him. I would have included their names here too, if I had not deemed it a superfluous task. They wrote as follows:
The bishops gathered in the holy council at Rome, Damasus, Valerianus, and the rest, to our beloved brothers the bishops established in Illyricum, greeting in the Lord.
We believe that our holy faith is founded upon the doctrine of the apostles: to hold this, and to hand this on to the people, which in no way differs from the decrees of the Fathers, is the duty of the priests of God, by whom it is just that the rest be instructed. But by the report of our brothers in Gaul and Venetia, we have learned that some are striving for heresy. This evil, which the bishops ought not only to take precautions against, but also, insofar as it has occurred through the ignorance of some or the simplicity of those deceived by perverse interpretations, to oppose from now on, providing that they do not slip into various doctrines, but rather adhere to the opinion of our Fathers, as often as different opinions are brought to their ears.
Auxentius of Milan, therefore, has been pre- A scriptively condemned in this matter above all others. Hence it is just that all teachers of the law in the Roman world should comprehend those things which are of the law, and not defile the faith with diverse doctrines. For indeed, when the perversity of the heretics first began to flourish, just as the blasphemy of the Arians is creeping in again even now, our Fathers—three hundred and eighteen bishops, together with the most holy bishops who had come from the Roman region—held a deliberation at Nicaea, B and established this wall against the weapons of the devil. By this remedy they repelled the deadly poisons, so that the Father and the Son must be believed to be of one substance, one divinity, one virtue, one power, and one character; and likewise the Holy Spirit must be believed to be of the same hypostasis and substance. They judged that anyone holding a different view is alien to our communion. This salutary definition and adorable deliberation, some later wished to corrupt and stain with other notions. But from the very beginning, C among these very men who were forced to renew or reconsider things at Ariminum, the matter was corrected to the extent that they confessed that they had been deceived in another dispute, and that they did not understand that this was contrary to the opinion of the Fathers established at Nicaea. For no prejudice could be created by the number of those gathered at Ariminum, since it is certain that neither the Roman bishop, whose opinion should have been awaited before all others, D nor Vincentius—who had borne his bishopric for so many years in integrity—nor the others, had given their consent to such things; especially since those very men, as we have said, who appeared to have slipped through fraud, having used better counsel, bore witness that these things displeased them. Your sincerity, therefore, perceives that this faith alone, which was founded at Nicaea by the authority of the Apostles, must be preserved with perpetual firmness, and that Orientals who recognize themselves as Catholics, and Occidentals, should rejoice together. We believe, moreover, that those who teach otherwise in this endeavor will shortly be both separated from our communion and deprived of the name of bishop, so that their people, being freed from error, may breathe again. For they cannot correct the error of the people as long as they themselves are detained by error. Let the opinion of your reverence, therefore, be in agreement with all the priests of God, in which you remain stable and firm.
...should attempt to separate themselves from our communion, and be deprived of the name of bishop, so that the peoples, being freed from their error, may draw breath. For in no way will they be able to correct the error of the crowds, since they themselves are held fast by error. Let the judgment of your honesty, therefore, agree with all of the priests of God, in which we believe you to be firm and steadfast. Thus also we ought to believe along with you. Refresh us with the reciprocal A expressions of your love. Farewell, most honorable brethren.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Epistle of Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, concerning the same synod.
But the great Athanasius, in the epistle which he wrote to the Africans, discourses in this manner concerning the council of Ariminum. Since these things are so, who would listen to those who name Ariminum, or any other synod besides that of Nicaea? Or who would not hate those who abolish the things of the Fathers, and prefer newer things constructed through violence and contention? Or who would wish to meet with men who do not even approve of their own work? For those who, in ten or more synods, as has been said, have B written one thing at one time and another at another, openly show that they repudiate each several one of them. And the same happens to them as befell the traitors among the Jews of old. For as they, having abandoned the only fountain of living water, as it is written in the prophet Jeremiah, dug for themselves broken cisterns which could not hold water, so these, attacking the one ecumenical synod, have dug for themselves many C synods, and all of them are empty among them, and have appeared as sheaves having no strength. Let us not, therefore, tolerate those who name Ariminum, or any other synod besides that which took place at Nicaea. For indeed, those who name Ariminum seem not to know the things that were done there; otherwise, they would have been altogether silent about it. For you, beloved, are not ignorant, having learned it from those who went from you to Ariminum, that Ursacius and Valens, Eudoxius and Auxentius, and Demophilus who was there with them, were deposed because they wished to decree other things than those which were established at Nicaea, and when asked to condemn the Arian heresy by anathema, they refused, and preferred to be its patrons and defenders. But the bishops who were true servants of the Lord, and endowed with the right faith, being about two hundred in number, wrote that one must rest content with the D synod of Nicaea alone, and that neither more nor less should be sought or thought beyond that. This they also signaled to Constantius, who had commanded that the synod be gathered. But those who were deposed at Ariminum...
having gone to Constantius, brought it about that those who had pronounced sentence upon them were treated with contumely, and were threatened that if they did not return to their own parishes, those who had declared against them would inflict violence—and they did indeed suffer violence in Thrace during that very winter, so that they might consent to the innovations being made by them. If, therefore, any should mention Ariminum, let them first show the deposition of those I have mentioned, and what the bishops wrote, saying that nothing more than what was confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea should be sought, nor should any other synod be named besides that one. But these things they keep hidden, while they boast of those things done by violence in Thrace; from which it is clear that they are supporters of the Arian heresy and alien to the sound faith. And if anyone should wish to compare and examine the Great Synod alongside their synods, he would perceive the piety of the former and the folly of the latter. For those who assembled at Nicaea did not assemble having been deposed, but further, they confessed that the Son is of the essence of the Father. B These men, however, having been deposed once and a second time, and a third time at Ariminum itself, dared to write that one should not say that God has essence or hypostasis. Such were the frauds and machineries which the followers of Arius contrived in the West against the dogmas of the truth.
CHAPTER XIX. Concerning the craftiness of Leontius, bishop of Antioch, and the boldness of Flavian and Diodorus.
At Antioch, after Stephanus, who, having succeeded Placitus, was ejected from the ecclesiastical assemblies, Leontius received the chair, having taken it contrary to the canons written at Nicaea. For he was a eunuch, having been the perpetrator of his own audacity. The blessed Athanasius also relates the cause of this audacity. For Leontius, he says, when he was being ill-spoken of on account of a certain young woman named Eustolia, and was being prohibited from living with her, castrated himself for her sake so that he might be able to associate with her freely. Yet he did not thereby wash away the suspicion; and for this reason, even more, he was deprived of the rank of presbyter which he held. These things, then, have been written concerning the rest of his life. But I shall briefly set forth his malice and craftiness. For although he was utterly infected with the Arian blasphemy, he endeavored to hide the malady. And seeing the clergy and the remaining congregation divided into two camps, and some using the conjunction "and" in the glorification of the Son, while others applied the preposition "through" to the Son and "in" to the Holy Spirit, he himself used to utter the whole glorification in silence, so D
A that only those who stood nearby heard the phrase "FOR EVER AND EVER." And if other things did not show his great malice of soul, one might have said that he devised these things out of concern for the concord of the people. But since he B plotted many terrible things against the champions of the truth and favored with all zeal those who partook of impiety, it was clear that he was concealing his corruption, partly out of fear of the populace, and partly because of the severe threats of Constantius against those who dared to say that the Son is unlike the Father. His actions themselves revealed his opinion. For as many as followed the apostolic doctrines neither received from him any care nor ordination; but those who shared in the madness of Arius were in the highest authority with him and were advanced to sacred honors.
At that same time Aetius, the teacher of Eunomius, who enriched the Arian blasphemy with his own inventions, was enrolled in the chorus of deacons. But Flavian and Diodore, who pursued a religious life and openly championed the apostolic dogmas, openly refuted the snares of Leontius against piety, arguing that he had deemed a man—one who had been nurtured in depraved customs and who was contriving to gain prominence through impiety—worthy of the name of deacon to the ruin of the Church. They even threatened to withdraw from his ecclesiastical communion, to depart for the West, and to expose his fraudulent attempts. Terrified by these things, Leontius removed Aetius from his ministry but did not cease to favor and protect him in other ways.
These two admirable men, Flavian and Diodore, although they had not yet attained the office of priesthood and were still counted among the laity, nevertheless aroused everyone to the pursuit of piety night and day. C These were the first to divide the choirs of chanters into two parts and teach them to sing the Davidic melody in alternation. This practice, which began at Antioch, prevailed everywhere thereafter and spread to the ends of the earth. They also used to gather those who were zealous for divine things at the shrines of the martyrs and spend the nights with them praising God. Seeing this, Leontius did not think it safe to forbid it, for he saw the populace was very well disposed toward those fine men. But, coloring his words with a pretense of moderation, he requested that they perform this function in the churches. They, although they clearly perceived his malice, nevertheless complied and willingly summoned their companions in the work to the churches, exhorting them to the praise of the good Lord. D However, nothing swayed Leontius to correct his malice; rather, having assumed the mask of moderation, he obscured the crimes of Stephen and Placitus.
For he enrolled in the order of presbyters and deacons those who had embraced the corruption of their doctrines, even if they had pursued a dissolute life; but he left unhonored those who were adorned with every kind of virtue and held fast to the apostolic doctrines. Because of this, the clergy for the most part consisted of those who had been infected with the heretical contagion, while the majority of the people fought for the sound doctrines. For the preachers of this teaching did not dare to expose their blasphemy openly. Now, the impious and illegal deeds perpetrated by Placitus, Stephen, and Leontius at Antioch require a work of their own A due to their number, and should be lamented with the lamentation of David due to their magnitude. For it is appropriate to say concerning these things: "For behold, your enemies have made a noise, and they who hate you have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against your people, and have consulted against your holy ones. They said: Come, and let us destroy them from being a nation, and that the name of Israel may be remembered no more." But let us continue the history we have begun. B
CAP. XX. Concerning the innovation of Eudoxius of Germanicia, and the struggle of Basil of Ancyra and Eustathius of Sebastia against him.
Germanicia is a city situated on the borders of Cilicia, Syria, and Cappadocia, and it belongs to the province called Euphratensis. Eudoxius, who was presiding over the Church there, upon learning of the death of Leontius, seized Antioch and snatched the throne, ravaging the divine vineyard like a wild boar. For he did not secretely hide his malice like Leontius, but openly exercised his rage against the apostolic C doctrines and visited every kind of misfortune upon those who dared to contradict him. At that time, Basil governed the Church of Ancyra, the metropolis of Galatia, as successor to Marcellus, while Eustathius presided over Sebastia, which is the chief city of Armenia. Having learned of the lawlessness and frenzy of Eudoxius, they informed the Emperor Constantius of his audacity by letter. The Emperor was still tarrying in the western regions, healing the wounds inflicted by the tyrants after their removal. Both men were on familiar terms with the Emperor, and due to their praiseworthy life, they possessed D great influence with him.
CAP. XXI. Concerning the council again convened at Nicaea.
Having learned these things, Constantius wrote to the Antiochenes,
declaring that he had by no means granted the bishopric of that Church to Eudoxius—for this was what he had bruited about—and he ordered Eudoxius to be expelled from the city and to pay the penalty for the things he had done in Nicaea of Bithynia, having instructed the synod to assemble there. Eudoxius, however, had persuaded those who administered affairs in the palace to assign Nicaea for the celebration of the council. But the Moderator of all, who knows future things as if they were already past, hindered the council by means of a certain stupendous earthquake. For that earthquake cast down the greatest part of the city and destroyed very many of its inhabitants. Having learned of this, those who had gathered there, being struck with great terror, returned to their own Churches. This, to my mind, appears to have been the work of divine wisdom. For since the teaching of the apostolic faith had been written in that city by the holy Fathers, and those who were about to gather there again intended to write things contrary to it; and since the similarity of the name would have provided an opportunity for deceit B to the followers of Arius, by which they might have outwitted the simpler ones, calling this synod of theirs also "Nicene" and putting it forward in place of that ancient one; therefore, God, who has the care of the Churches, inhibited the assembly.
CAP. XXII. Concerning the council held at Seleucia in Isauria.
After some time had passed, Constantius, being prompted by the accusers of Eudoxius, ordered the synod to be held at Seleucia. This is a city of Isauria situated by the sea, the principal one and the head of the cities of the whole nation. He ordered the bishops of the East to gather there, and also those of the Pontic and Asian dioceses. At that time, Acacius was presiding over the metropolis of Caesarea in Palestine, having succeeded Eusebius; this Acacius, whom the synod gathered at Sardica had condemned—but he, having despised the multitude of so many pontiffs, did not admit the sentence passed against him. C Of Jerusalem, after that Macarius whom I have often mentioned, Maximus had taken the see, a man illustrious for the struggles he had undertaken for the sake of piety; for he had had his right eye gouged out and the sinew of his right foot severed. Upon his translation to the immortal life, Cyril, a vigorous and eager champion of the apostolic dogmas, was endowed with episcopal grace and honor. These men, contending with each other for primacy, became the cause of the greatest evils to the public. For Acacius, having seized a slight pretext, deposed Cyril and expelled him from Jerusalem; Cyril, however, having passed by Antioch, which he found bereft of a shepherd, and seeking Tarsus, stayed with the admirable Silvanus, who was then presiding over that Church. Having learned this, Acacius wrote to Silvanus and informed him of the deposition of Cyril. But he [Silvanus], both fearing Cyril and alarmed by the people, who were enjoying Cyril's instruction most pleasantly, D [excluded him] from the ecclesiastical
ministry. A When they arrived at Seleucia, Cyril was present at the council along with Basil, Eustathius, Silvanus, and the rest. Acacius also came to the assembled bishops—there were one hundred and fifty of them—but he refused to deliberate with them on any matter before Cyril, as one divested of his episcopacy, was cast out of the council. Some of those who were anxious for peace entreated Cyril to withdraw, promising that after the discussion of the dogmas they would adjudicate his case. When he did not comply with them, Acacius left them and departed; and having met with Eudoxius, he drove away the fear by which he was held and inspired him with confidence, promising that he would be his patron and ally in the conflicts. He forbade him indeed from entering the council, but he proceeded with him to Constantinople. B
CAP. XXIII. Concerning the things that befell the orthodox bishops at Constantinople.
For Constantius, having returned from the West, was staying there. Acacius, having leveled many accusations against the bishops who had gathered at Seleucia, and having called them a gathering of wicked men, convened for the ruin and destruction of the Churches, he inflamed the emperor's wrath. C But the emperor was particularly moved by the things that he had fabricated against Cyril. For he said that the sacred robe, woven with gold threads, which the most praiseworthy Emperor Constantine—who should be celebrated with all praise—had given to Macarius, the bishop of that city, to honor the Church of Jerusalem, so that he might wear it while performing the solemnities of the divine baptism, had been sold by Cyril; and that a certain theatrical dancer had purchased it, and while dancing in it, had fallen, and having been crushed by the fall, had perished. "It is with such an associate," he said, "that they are attempting to act as judges and pass sentences on others." Having seized this pretext, the courtiers persuade the emperor not to summon the whole council (for they feared the agreement of the multitude), but to summon only ten of the leaders. D Among these were Eustathius of Armenia, Basil of Galatia, Silvanus of Tarsus, and Eleusius of Cyzicus. When these had arrived, they urged the emperor to order an investigation into the blasphemy and iniquity of Eudoxius. But he, having been taught the contrary by others, replied that the matters of faith must be decided first, and thereafter his case should be examined. And when Basil, relying on his former familiarity, began to rebuke the emperor more freely as one who was plotting against the apostolic dogmas, Constantius bore it with an angry mind, and Basil, while...
A commanded him to be silent as the author of the disturbances in the Churches. When Basil had ceased from speaking, Eustathius said: "Since it is your pleasure, Emperor, that the matters of the faith be examined, consider the blasphemies which Eudoxius has rashly uttered against the Only-Begotten." And speaking thus, he presented a confession of faith B written by him, in which, among other impious statements, the following was contained: "Things which are brought forward in a dissimilar manner are dissimilar according to substance: One God the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things; but since 'from whom' and 'through whom' are dissimilar, is then the Son dissimilar to God the Father?" Constantius ordered this confession of faith to be read, and being greatly angered by the impiety contained therein, he asked Eudoxius if he had written these things. He immediately denied it, and said that Aetius had written them. C This Aetius was the one whom Leontius had formerly stripped of the diaconate, fearing the accusations of Flavian and Diodore; but George, that conspirator against the Church of Alexandria, had found him an assistant in his impious discourses and nefarious endeavors; at that time, however, he was living with Eudoxius along with Eunomius. For when Leontius had died, and Eudoxius had usurped the see of the Church of Antioch, the latter returned from Egypt, bringing Eunomius with him; and finding Eudoxius to be of the same mind, and seeing him given over to impious doctrine and Sybaritic luxury, he preferred the residence at Antioch to all others, and there he attached himself to his master's cushions along with Eunomius. For he led a parasitic life, and was accustomed to visit now this one, now that one, for the sake of his belly. When the emperor heard this, he ordered Aetius to be brought in, and upon his arrival showed him that document, asking if he were its author. D But he, being totally ignorant of what had taken place and of the intent of the questioning, and thinking that he would gain praise from his confession, professed himself to be the author of that writing. Then the emperor, having perceived the magnitude of the impiety, immediately ordered him to be exiled and deported to a certain place in Phrygia. Thus was he thrust out of the palace, reaping infamy as the fruit of his blasphemy. Eustathius, however, affirmed that Eudoxius was also of the same opinion; for Aetius had been his intimate companion and table-fellow, and had composed that blasphemy to serve his will. And he said that this was sufficient proof that he was privy to the writing, in that no one else but him had mentioned that Aetius was its author. "But," said the emperor, "judges ought not to decide based on conjectures, but to investigate those things which have been done with diligence." To which Eustathius replied: "Let Eudoxius then give us all assurance that he does not hold these views, by condemning the writing of Aetius with an anathema." When the emperor approved of this demand and ordered it to be done, Eudoxius hesitated, and in many ways attempted to evade the challenge.
But when the emperor grew angry and threatened to send him into exile along with Aetius, as a partner in his impious opinion, he abjured his own doctrine, which he had not ceased to profess both then and thereafter. Yet he in turn objected to Eustathius and his companions, saying that they also ought to condemn the term *homousion*, which is not found in Scripture. But Silvanus said, "If we are to cast out those things which are not in Scripture, then it is also just to reject and banish from the divine assemblies the terms 'from things that are not,' 'creature,' and 'of another substance,' which are not in the Scriptures and are nowhere to be found in prophetic or apostolic writings." The emperor agreed with this and ordered them to pronounce anathema upon those terms. At first they resisted, but later, seeing the emperor's anger, they reluctantly condemned the things which Silvanus had proposed. B Thereafter they insisted more vehemently, demanding that the *homousion* be condemned. But Silvanus stated cleverly and truthfully to them and to the emperor: "If God the Word is not from things that are not, nor a creature, nor of another substance, then he is certainly consubstantial with the God who begat him, as God from God and Light from Light, and possesses the same nature as the Begetter." Although these things were said by him with firm and true reasoning, they persuaded none of those present. Instead, a great outcry was raised by the party of Acacius and Eudoxius. Therefore, the emperor, enraged, threatened that he would eject them from the Churches. Eleusius and Silvanus, along with the others, said that it was indeed in his power to inflict punishment, and in his power to dispose of their piety or impiety, but that they would not betray the doctrine of the Fathers. But Constantius, whereas he ought to have admired their wisdom and courage and their boldness in defending the apostolic dogmas, instead expelled them from the Churches and ordered others to be subrogated in their place. At that time, Eudoxius tyrannically seized the see of the Church of Constantinople; and in Cyzicus, having expelled Eleusius, they substituted Eunomius in his stead.
Chapter XXIV.
Synodical epistle written against Aetius.
With these things having thus been done, the emperor ordered that Aetius be condemned in writing; and those who were his partners in impiety, obeying, condemned the man who shared their opinion. They also wrote an epistle about him to George, the leader of the Alexandrians, which I shall insert into this history, in order that their wickedness may be made manifest; for they treated those who favored their own doctrine and their adversaries in no different way.
Copy of the letter written by the whole synod to George, against Aetius the deacon, on account of his impious blasphemy.
The holy synod gathered in Constantinople, to the most honorable lord bishop of Alexandria, George, greeting. A That Aetius has been condemned by the synod on account of his impious writings, which are full of scandals, was done by the bishops in accordance with ecclesiastical canons. For he has been deprived of his diaconate and alienated from the Church; and our admonitions followed, that his impious letters should not be read, but cast away as useless and unprofitable. We add to this that he is also to be anathematized if he persists in the same intent, along with those who agree with him. It would indeed have been fitting that all the bishops who had come to the synod should have detested the author of the scandals, the disturbances, the schisms, the rumors throughout the world, and the dissensions in the Churches, and should have approved the sentence passed against B him. But contrary to our hopes and to all expectation, Seras, and Stephen, and Heliodorus, and Theophilus, and their associates, would neither accede to our votes nor subscribe to the sentence published against him, although Seras himself accused the aforementioned Aetius of another insane arrogance. For he said that, lunging forward with a certain reckless audacity, he asserted that God had revealed to him those things which He had kept hidden from the times of the apostles until now. And after these insane and boastful words of Aetius, concerning which Seras bore witness, the aforementioned persons were not moved, nor were they induced to confirm by their own suffrage the judgment we all had reached regarding him. We, however, C enduring it patiently, delayed our votes regarding them for a long time, now expressing indignation, now exhorting, now rebuking, and now even praying more earnestly that they might listen themselves and decree what is consistent with the whole synod; and for a long time we waited, to see if they might perhaps listen, if they might understand and be persuaded. But since they would not be bent by our urgent entreaties over a long period to follow what had been decreed against Aetius, we, holding the canon of the Church of greater account than the friendship of men, decreed excommunication against them, granting them an entire space of six months for conversion and penitence, D and for the desire of union and concord with the synod. If within the fixed time they should be converted and seek the concord of their brothers, and consent to the decrees against Aetius, we decided that they should be received into the Church, so that they might recover their authority in the synods and charity among us. But if they should pertinaciously remain in their purpose,
A preferring the friendship of men to the canons of the Church and to the friendship they owe us, then we consider them alienated from episcopal dignity. When they have submitted to deposition, it is necessary to install other bishops in their places, so that the Lawful Church, having received its proper order, may be in accord with itself, with the bishops from every place guarding the bond of charity by saying the same things, being perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. In order, therefore, that you may know what the synod has decided, we have sent these things to your reverence, which we pray you to observe, guarding by the grace of Christ the Churches subject to you, governing them peacefully and according to law.
CAP. XXV. What cause separated the Eunomians from the Arians
B Aetius is extolled by Eunomius in his books, and he calls him a man of God, honoring him with very many praises. Yet at that time he was with those who deposed him, and he received his episcopal ordination from them. Eudoxius and Acacius, however, who had consented to the decrees at Nicaea in Thrace—of whom we made mention in the preceding books—ordained others in their Churches in the place of those around Basil and Eleusius; concerning all of whom I think it superfluous to write. Wherefore I shall speak only of Eunomius. C For after Eunomius had seized Cyzicus while Eleusius was yet living, Eudoxius, seeing the sound faith of the common people, and observing the emperor's hatred against those who affirmed that the only-begotten Son of God was a created being, advised Eunomius to conceal his opinion and not to disclose it to those who were on the watch for an opportunity to bring accusations. "For having attained an opportune time," he said, "we shall preach what we now conceal, and we shall teach those who are ignorant, and as for those who speak against us, we shall either persuade them with words, or force them by necessity, or punish them." Yielding to these suggestions, Eunomius put forward his impiety wrapped in obscurity. But those who had been reared in the divine scriptures, seeing the hidden ulcer of what was said, were indeed grieved; but they judged that to oppose him openly was an act of rashness rather than of prudence. Therefore, putting on the mask of heretical wickedness, they came to his house and begged that he would openly [reveal] the truth of his dogma.
and A that he would not overlook those who were being carried to and fro by various doctrines. Encouraged, he then disclosed the opinion he had concealed. But they said that it was unjust and very impious not to allow all those who were subject to him to partake of the truth. Immediately, persuaded by these and similar words, he exposed his blasphemy in the public assemblies of the church. But they, having whetted their souls with zeal, ran to Constantinople; and first of all they reported Eunomius to Eudoxius; but when he would not receive them, they approached the emperor and lamented the ruin that he was bringing about, affirming that his words surpassed the blasphemy of Arius in impiety. B The emperor, provoked by these things to anger, commanded Eudoxius to summon Eunomius, and, if he were convicted, to strip him of his priesthood. But when Eudoxius, having been often interrupted by his accusers, persisted in causing delays, they returned again to the emperor and complained and cried out that Eudoxius had done none of the things that had been commanded, and that he was neglecting so great a city, as it lay exposed to the blasphemies of Eunomius. Then Constantius threatened Eudoxius himself with exile, unless he held a trial regarding Eunomius and condemned him, having convicted him of the charges. Terrified by these threats, Eudoxius signified by letter to Eunomius that he should withdraw C by flight from Cyzicus, and that he should blame himself for not having followed his advice. Eunomius, therefore, struck with fear, withdrew; but being impatient of the disgrace, he accused Eudoxius of betrayal and proclaimed that an injury had been done by him to himself and to Aetius. From that time forth he established his own separate faction. For as many as were privy to the agreement of their doctrine abandoned Eudoxius, condemning his betrayal, and joined themselves to Eunomius, from whom they retain the name to this day. Hence Eunomius, having become the leader and author of the heresy, heaped up with additions of impiety the blasphemy of Arius. That he established his own assembly, serving his own ambition, the very facts proclaim. For when Aetius was D condemned and cast out, he did not follow him, although he called him his master and a man of God, but remained joined and in communion with Eudoxius. But after he himself paid the penalties for his impiety, he did not acquiesce in the sentence of the synod, but himself, already stripped of episcopal dignity, ordained bishops and presbyters. These things, therefore, have been done in Constantinople.
CHAPTER XXVI. On the siege of the city of Nisibis, and the apostolic life of Bishop Jacob.
Sapor, king of the Persians, having [waged] war against the Romans...
Constantius collected an army and set out for Antioch. A Yet the enemies were profligated not by the Roman army, but by the God of those who among the Romans live piously. I shall narrate how this victory came about. Nisibis, which some call Antioch in Mygdonia, is situated on the border of the Persian and Roman empires. The bishop, guardian, and leader of this city was Jacob, whom I mentioned earlier—a man flashing with the rays of apostolic grace. Since I have written of his admirable and most famous miracles in the *Philotheos History*, I consider it unnecessary and extraneous to recount them again. I will set down only one, for the sake of the narrative at hand. A Persian army was besieging the city over which he ruled, which was subject to the Romans. B Having pressed the siege for seventy days, and having moved many siege towers against the walls, and having surrounded the city with many other machines, trenches, and ditches, they were unable to take the city in any way. Later, having blocked the bed of the river which flows through the middle of the city—the Mygdonius by name—far upstream, and having piled up and raised the banks on both sides to constrain the flow, they saw that a vast amount of water had collected and was overflowing the embankment. Suddenly, they released it against the wall like a siege engine. The wall, unable to withstand the violence of such a force, was shaken and collapsed. Another part of the outer wall, through which the Mygdonius had its exit, suffered the same fate and fell, not bearing the force of the water. C Seeing this, Sapor hoped that he would from then on take the city without a struggle. He rested for the remainder of that day so that the mud might dry out and the river become fordable. But when he attacked with his entire force the following day, expecting to enter the city through the collapsed sections of the wall, he saw the wall rebuilt on both sides, his labor having been rendered in vain. For that divine man, by prayer, had filled the courage of the soldiers and the rest of the inhabitants, and he had rebuilt the circuit wall and, by stationing machines, had driven back those who came against it. D He accomplished these things not by approaching the wall, but by supplicating the Lord of all from within the divine temple. Sapor was not only stunned by the speed of the construction, but another sight also terrified him. For he saw someone standing on the wall, wearing imperial attire and radiant with the splendor of purple and diadem. Assuming him to be the Roman emperor, he threatened death to those who reported that he was not present; but when they confirmed that the things they had said were true, and asserted that Constantius was still staying in Antioch, he understood what this vision signified.
And he A declared that God fought on behalf of the Romans. The wretched man, overcome with vexation, shot an arrow into the air, knowing indeed that he could not strike one who is without a body, but unable to restrain the vehemence of his madness. Then the admirable Ephrem, who was an excellent writer among the Syrians, entreated the divine Jacob to ascend the wall, behold the Barbarians, and cast the darts of imprecation against them. The man of God obeyed, and ascended a certain tower. Seeing the countless multitude, he used no other imprecation, but asked that gnats and mosquitoes be sent against them, so that they might recognize the power of their protector through the smallest of creatures. The prayer was followed by clouds of gnats and mosquitoes, which filled the hollow trunks of the elephants, and the ears and nostrils of the horses and the other beasts of burden. Unable to bear the assault of these tiny creatures, the animals broke their bridles, threw off their riders, and threw the ranks into confusion. They abandoned their camp and took to sudden flight. Thus, the most miserable king, having learned through this small and gentle chastisement the power of God who protects the pious, withdrew from that place, reaping infamy rather than victory from that siege. B
CHAPTER XXVII.
Concerning the synod held at Antioch, and what occurred there against Saint Meletius.
At this time, Constantius was staying in Antioch. When quiet was restored and the Persian war had ceased, he again gathered the bishops, compelling everyone to deny the consubstantial and [profess] the heterousian. C But since Eudoxius had seized that see after Leontius, and had then been expelled, and after many synods had illegitimately intruded himself into Constantinople, the Church of Antioch remained deprived of a pastor. Therefore, the bishops who had assembled from all sides—and they were very many—said that before all else a shepherd should be assigned to the flock, and then, together with him, they should deliberate concerning the dogmas. At that time, the divine Meletius, being the bishop of a certain city in Armenia, D was offended by the disobedience of his subjects and had removed himself elsewhere, where he was living in retirement. The Arian faction, supposing him to be of one mind with themselves and a partaker of their own doctrines, requested Constantius to commit the governance of the Church of Antioch to him. For they did not hesitate to break any law while they struggled to establish impiety, and the transgression of all laws was their foundation for blasphemy. They introduced many such things in many places. But those who clung to the apostolic dogmas, knowing the soundness of the great Meletius’s doctrine, as well as the brightness of his life and his wealth of virtue, were...
A in agreement, and they arranged with the greatest diligence that the decree should be written and signed by all. This, both the one party and the other bound themselves to entrust to Eusebius, the bishop of Samosata, a noble athlete of the truth, as a kind of common covenant. When the great Meletius arrived, having been summoned by the emperor, all the bishops went out to meet him, as did the other orders of the Church and the entire multitude of the city; Jews and Greeks were also present, longing to see the much-talked-of Meletius. The emperor instructed him, and the others who had the ability to speak, to explain to the people that saying: “The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works” (Prov. viii, 22); and he ordered skilled notatiaries to write down what was said by each, believing that by this means a more accurate doctrine would be brought forth. Firstly, George of Laodicea vomited out the foul-smelling poison of heresy. After him, Acacius, bishop of Caesarea, brought forward a middle doctrine, B which was indeed far removed from their blasphemy, but which did not keep the apostolic character pure and undefiled. Third, the great Meletius arose and demonstrated the straightness of the theological rule; for, using the truth as a level, he avoided both the excessive and the deficient. Since the people offered him great applause and begged him to present a brief summary of the doctrine to them, he showed three fingers, then, folding down two and leaving one extended, he uttered that memorable saying: “There are three things that are conceived, but we speak as if of one.” Against this doctrine, those whose souls were infected with the plague of Arius sharpened their tongues and wove a calumny, babbling that the divine Meletius held the views of Sabellius. They persuaded that Euripus, who was easily swayed this way and that, and C they brought it about that he banished him to his own homeland. Immediately they installed Euzoius in his place, an obvious defender of the dogmas of Arius; for the great Alexander, together with Arius, had deprived this very man of his diaconate. Straightway, therefore, the sound portion of the people, separating themselves from those who had contracted the disease, began to assemble in the apostolic church which is situated in what is called the Old City. For thirty years, since the plots laid against the most praiseworthy Eustathius, they had patiently endured the Arian insolence, expecting some good change. But when they saw that the impiety was increasing among them, and that those who held to the apostolic dogmas were being openly attacked and sought out by secret plots, that the divine Meletius had been driven out, and that Euzoius had obtained the D seat of that heresy, there came to their minds then those things which concerned the Lot...
"Saving, save thy soul" (Gen. xix, 17). A Furthermore, they reflected upon the evangelical laws, which openly command: "If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee" (Matt. v, 29). The Lord ordained the same thing regarding the hand and the foot, and added: "It is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." In this way, then, the division of the Church came about.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Regarding Eusebius, bishop of Samosata.
The admirable Eusebius, whom I mentioned before, B to whose faithfulness the common decree had been committed, seeing the violation of the agreements, returned to the city entrusted to him. But those who feared the written exposure suggested to Constantius that he send someone to recover the decree. The emperor, being persuaded, sent one of those accustomed to changing horses along the way and bringing back responses as quickly as possible. When he arrived and set forth the emperor's mandate, the admirable Eusebius said: "I cannot return the common deposit, unless all those who entrusted it meet together." The messenger reported this answer to the emperor. He, inflamed with anger, wrote again, ordering the decree to be returned, and added that he had ordered his right hand to be amputated if he did not return it. He wrote this only for the sake of terror; for he had forbidden the courier to carry out the threats. C After that divine man had opened the letter and learned what punishment the emperor was threatening, he stretched out his left hand as well as his right, advising him to cut off both hands: "For," he said, "I will not return the decree, which is a clear proof of the Arian wickedness." When Constantius learned of this constancy, he both admired it greatly at that time, and continued to admire it thereafter. For even enemies admire the splendid virtues of their opponents, compelled by the greatness of the deeds. At that same time, Constantius, when he heard that Julian, whom he had created Caesar of Europe, was aspiring to greater things and was gathering an army against his benefactor, departed from D Syria, and finished his life in Cilicia. For he did not have the helper whom his father had left him, since he had not kept intact the inheritance of paternal piety; on account of which, because he had changed the faith, he bitterly lamented.BOOK III. CHAPTER I. Concerning the reign of Julian: that having been raised from childhood in piety, he slipped into impiety; and how, hiding his impiety at first, he later exposed it.
A Constantius, therefore, groaning and lamenting that he had turned aside from the paternal faith, departed this life. Julian, meanwhile, crossing from Europe into Asia, was informed of the death of Constantius, and taking heart, as one having no longer any rival, he seized the empire.
He, being of young age along with his brother Gallus, and still a child, suckled the milk of pious instruction. B And even when he became a youth and a teenager, he participated in the same. But fearing Constantius—for he used to remove his own kinsmen from the midst, dreading tyrannies—he was deemed worthy of the choir of readers, and he used to read aloud the holy books to the people in the ecclesiastical assemblies. He even built a shrine of the martyrs; but the martyrs did not accept it, foreseeing his defection into impiety. For the foundations, reflecting the instability of his mind, collapsed before it could be consecrated. Such was the state of his first and second age.
C But when Constantius was departing for the West—for the war against Magnentius was drawing him there—he declared Gallus as Caesar of the East, who was pious and remained so until the end. Julian, however, cast off from his soul that useful fear. Having received boldness, as he ought not to have, he coveted the royal scepters. For which reason, traveling through Greece, he sought out soothsayers and oracle-mongers, longing to learn if he would obtain that which he desired. He happened upon a man who promised to foretell these things, who led him into one of the shrines of the idols, and having made him enter into the inner sanctum, he called upon the deceitful demons. They having appeared with their accustomed apparition, D fear compelled him to place the sign of the cross upon his forehead. Those, having beheld the shape of the Lord’s trophy, and recalling their own defeat, vanished instantly. The sorcerer, having understood the cause of the flight, rebuked Julian. He then explained the fear he had been in, and the power of the cross...
for the demons fled, unable to endure the sight of its sign. “Do not suppose this, my good man,” the sorcerer said, “for they did not fear, as you say, but they departed in disgust at what was done by you.” Having thus beguiled the wretch, he initiated him and filled him with defilement; and the desire for the empire stripped the thrice-unhappy man of piety. Yet, upon receiving the power, he hid his impiety for a long time. For he was especially afraid of the soldiers, who had been instructed in the teachings of piety. For first, the all-renowned Constantine, having freed them from their former error, had educated them in the teachings of the truth. Then his sons had confirmed in them the doctrine handed down from their father. For even if Constantius, under the influence of those by whom he was ruled, did not admit the word “consubstantial,” he nonetheless sincerely confessed its meaning. Indeed, he named the Word of God as the genuine Son begotten of the Father before the ages, and he openly renounced those who dared to call Him a creature; he completely forbade the worship of idols. I shall also mention another praiseworthy deed of his, from which one may form a conjecture as to his zeal for divine matters. For during the war against Magnentius, having gathered his entire army, he advised all to partake of the divine mysteries, saying that the end of life is always uncertain, and most of all in war, where thousands of missiles, javelins, spears, and naked swords, daggers, and other instruments by which violent death is brought about, are hurled from both sides. Therefore, he said, it is necessary for each one to be clothed in that precious robe, of which we have the greatest need in the life to come. “And if anyone,” he said, “delays in taking this garment now, let him depart from here and go home; for it is not my pleasure to use as fellow-soldiers those who are not initiated.” B
Chapter II. On the return of the bishops, and the ordination of Paulinus.
When Julian learned of these things, he did not betray the impiety of his soul. Wishing, however, to win the benevolence of all, he ordered the bishops who had been expelled from the Churches by Constantius and were living in the furthest regions to return to their own Churches. This law having been proposed, the divine Meletius returned to Antioch, and the most celebrated Athanasius to Alexandria. But Eusebius, and Hilary from Italy, and Lucifer, who had obtained the lot of shepherding the island of Sardinia, were living in the Thebaid, adjacent to Egypt; for Constantius had relegated them thither. C These men, having gathered together with others who held the same views, said that the Churches must be brought back into harmony. For not only were they being assaulted by those who followed the contrary doctrine, but they were also divided among themselves; for the sound body of the Church at Antioch was divided into two parts. D
A For those who had from the beginning separated themselves from others for the sake of the all-praiseworthy Eustathius were gathering by themselves; and those who, together with the admirable Meletius, had separated from the Arian faction, were celebrating the divine mysteries in what is called the Old Church. Now, both these and the others held a single confession of faith; for both groups steadfastly defended the doctrine set forth at Nicaea. Only strife, and their affection for their own leaders, kept them apart 128. Nor did the death of one of the leaders resolve the schism; for even though Eustathius had died before the ordination of Meletius, and those who held to piety had—after the exile of Meletius and the ordination of Euzoius—withdrawn from the communion of the impious B and were assembling by themselves, those who bore the name of Eustathius could not be persuaded to join them. Eusebius and Lucifer sought a way and means to bring about this union; and Eusebius begged Lucifer to go to Alexandria and consult with the great Athanasius about this matter, while he himself would take on the labor of achieving concord.
5. At Lucifer did not go to Alexandria, but instead went to the city of Antioch. And when he had urged concord upon both parties with a lengthy speech, and saw the Eustathians—whose leader was the presbyter Paulinus—opposing it, he ordained Paulinus as bishop for them, a thing which should not have been done at all. C
This action made that schism last longer. For it continued for eighty-five years, until the presidency of Alexander, who was worthy of all praise. When he assumed the helm of the Church of the Antiochenes, he moved every resource and brought to bear all possible zeal and eagerness for the sake of concord, and he joined the separated member back to the rest of the body of the Church. But Lucifer, having at that time intensified the schism, D spent a very long time in Antioch. Eusebius, however, having arrived in Antioch and perceiving that the affliction had become more difficult to cure due to the poor treatment it had received, set sail for the West. Lucifer, having returned to Sardinia, added certain other things to the ecclesiastical dogmas; those who accepted these adopted a name from him and were long called Luciferians. But this dogma too was extinguished and handed over to oblivion. These things, then, occurred after the return of the bishops.
CHAPTER III. What and how great things the Gentiles dared against the Christians, having received authority from him.
A When Julian uncovered his own impiety, the cities were filled with seditions. For those who were enslaved to the error of idols, having taken heart, opened the shrines of the idols and performed those abominable rites worthy of oblivion. They kindled fire on the altars, polluted the earth with the blood of victims, and defiled the air with the stench and smoke. Instigated by the demons whom they worshipped, they ran about the streets in a frenzy after the manner of the Corybantes, attacking the holy ones with scurrilous and theatrical insults, and abstaining from no sort of contumely or disgrace. When the worshippers of piety could not bear their slanders, they would cast back reproaches and refute the error they were following. The artificers of impiety, B taking this ill, and having as an aid to their audacity the freedom granted by the Emperor, punished them in an unworthy manner.
[Ch. VI.] For the most wicked Emperor, when it was equitable to provide for the peace of his subjects, himself stirred up the peoples to mutual hatred; for he ignored the outrages which the more insolent dared against the more moderate, and he entrusted civil and military offices to the most savage and impious men. These, while they did not openly compel the lovers of piety to sacrifice, yet afflicted them with every kind of contumely. He even took away the gifts which Constantine the Great had bestowed upon the clergy.
[Ch. VII.] As for what those who were held by the error of idols dared to perpetrate during that time, although they are very many and require a work of their own, I shall briefly recount a few out of the many. For in Ascalon and Gaza, which are cities of Palestine, they ripped open the bellies of men worthy of priestly dignity and of women who had professed perpetual virginity, and then, filling them with barley, they set them before swine as food. In Sebaste, which also belongs to the same nation, they opened the shrine of John the Baptist, and having burned the bones, they scattered the ashes. D
[Ch. VII.] But the crime which was committed in Phoenicia, who could recount without tears? There was in Heliopolis, which is situated near Lebanon, a certain deacon named Cyril. During the reign of Constantine, he, being fired with divine zeal, had smashed many of the idols that were worshipped there. Remembering this deed, those execrable men not only killed him, but also, having cut open his belly, they tasted of his liver.
A Yet the eye that beholds all things did not escape notice, and they paid the just penalties for their daring deed. For as many as shared in that defilement were deprived of their teeth, which all fell out at the same time; they were also deprived of their tongues, for these too fell out, consumed by rot; and finally, they were deprived of their sight, and through their own sufferings they proclaimed the power of piety.
In Emesa, a neighboring city, they dedicated to the effeminate Bacchus the church recently built by the Christians, and set up a ridiculous statue of double sex. Moreover, in Dorostolum, a famous city of Thrace, Emilianus, that invincible athlete, was cast into the pyre by Capitolinus, the governor of all Thrace.
B The story of Marcus, Bishop of the Arethusians, requires the grandiloquence of an Aeschylus or a Sophocles to lament his sufferings as they deserve. For since he, in the times of Constantius, had destroyed an idol temple and built a church in its place, the Arethusians, as soon as they perceived the mind of Julian, gave vent to the hatred they had held for him. He himself, in the beginning, obedient to the evangelical law, tried to flee. But when he learned that some of his people had been seized in his stead, he turned back and surrendered himself to that bloodthirsty nation. They, having taken him, did not pity him as an old man, nor did they show reverence for him C as a lover of virtue; but that man, conspicuous for the ornaments of both life and doctrine, they first stripped and beat with scourges, inflicting blows upon every one of his limbs. Then they cast him into foul-smelling sewers, and having brought him up from there, handed him over to a crowd of youths, ordering them to pierce him with their styluses without sparing him. After these things, they put him into a basket, and having smeared him with brine and honey, they suspended him in the open air in the height of summer, inviting wasps and bees to a feast. They did these things, compelling him to choose one of two things: either to rebuild the shrine he had destroyed, or to pay the expenses for its reconstruction. But he, D enduring those most grievous torments, affirmed that he would do none of the things they proposed. And when they, thinking him unable to provide such an amount of money on account of his poverty, remitted half of what was proposed and ordered him to pay the rest, he, even while suspended and pierced by styluses, and devoured by wasps and bees, not only gave no sign of pain, but mocked the impious, saying that they were low and earthbound, while he was high and lifted up. When at last they demanded only a small fraction of the money, he replied that it was of equal impiety to give even one obol as to give everything. Thus, defeated, they released him, greatly admiring his constancy, and
by means of these contrary circumstances, were themselves led into a contrary state A. For through his tongue they learned piety.
CAP. IV. What laws he enacted against the Christians.
Innumerable other things were also dared everywhere on land and sea at that time by the impious against the pious. For now, the hater of God openly enacted laws against piety. And first, he forbade the children of the Galileans—for that is what he called the followers of our Savior—to engage in the study of poetry, rhetoric, or philosophy. "For we are struck," he said, according to the proverb, "by our own wings." For from our own writings, they equip the armor with which they wage war against us. After this, he passed another law, ordering the Galileans, that is, the Christians, to be expelled from military service. B
CAP. V. Concerning the fourth exile and flight of Saint Athanasius.
At that same time, Athanasius, that most seasoned athlete of the truth, was called once again into another danger. For the demons, unable to endure the power of Athanasius's tongue and prayer, armed their own ministers to spread slanders against him. And while they uttered many other pleas, begging the commander of impiety to drive Athanasius into exile, they added this one as well: "If Athanasius remains, no Hellene will remain, for he will gather everyone into his own flock." C Julian accepted these entreaties and ordered not only that Athanasius be exiled, but also that he be put to death. When his companions were struck with fear, it is said that he foretold that the tumult would shortly cease, calling it a cloud that would dissolve most quickly. He withdrew, however, when he learned that those sent against him had arrived. Having found a boat on the riverbank, he was sailing toward the Thebaid when the one commanded to kill him heard of his flight and strove to pursue him with all his might. But one of his friends, having anticipated this and having told him to press on with speed, some of those present begged him to withdraw into the desert. He himself, however, ordered the helmsman to direct the boat toward D Alexandria. Thus, as they were sailing directly toward those pursuing them, they met the man who had received the order for the murder, who asked how far distant Athanasius was. He himself replied that he was close by; and having left him behind, he reached Alexandria, and there remained hidden for the remainder of Julian's life.
Chapter VI. Concerning Apollo at Daphne and the Holy Babylas.
A Julian, wishing to campaign against the Persians, sent his most loyal subjects to every oracle throughout the Roman Empire, while he himself prayed to the Pythian god at Daphne to show him what would happen. The god replied that the nearby corpses were an obstacle to his prophecy and that they ought first to be moved to another place, so that he might then deliver his prediction. For, he said, he could not speak at all unless the sacred grove were purified.At that time, the remains of the triumphant martyr Babylas and the youths who contended with him lay at that place, and it was evident that the false prophet was being restrained from his customary lying by the grace of the martyr. Julian, grasping this—for from his former piety he had known the power of the victorious martyrs—transferred no other body from there, but commanded the Christians to carry away only the remains of the victorious martyrs. They went to the grove with eager spirits, and having placed the coffin on a wagon, they led it, with the whole populace dancing, and singing the Davidic melody, B and at every verse they called out: "Let all those who worship carved images be put to shame." For they interpreted the removal of the martyr as the defeat of the demon.
Chapter VII. Concerning Theodore the Confessor.
Julian, unable to endure the disgrace brought upon him by this event, ordered the leaders of that procession to be arrested the next day. Sallustius, who was prefect at that time, although he was a slave to impiety, tried to persuade the tyrant not to grant the Christians what they desired, as they were seeking glory. But seeing that the emperor could not restrain his anger, he seized a certain youth C who was adorned with divine zeal, as he was walking through the marketplace, and having hanged him publicly upon a gibbet, he tore his back with thongs and pierced his sides with iron claws. He continued to torture him this way, starting in the morning and not ceasing until the end of the day; then, he cast him into prison, bound in iron chains.
The next day, as he recounted the matter to Julian and reported the youth's steadfastness, he said that these events were evidence of their own defeat and of the glory of the Christians. Moved by this, the enemy of God forbade others from being afflicted in the same way; D and he even ordered Theodore—for that was the name of that youth, that noble athlete of the truth—to be released from prison. When he was asked by some whether he had felt pain while enduring those bitter and cruel tortures, he replied that at the beginning, indeed, he had felt some slight pain; but that afterward, someone had appeared to him who wiped away his sweat
A with a soft and cool linen cloth, and encouraged him to be of good courage. For this reason, when the executioners ceased, he said that he had felt not joy, but sorrow, because the one who provided him with comfort had also departed. The lying spirit and diviner, however, instead of diminishing the martyr’s glory, exposed his own falsehood. For a lightning bolt, sent down from heaven, burned the entire sanctuary and reduced the very statue of the Pythian to the finest dust; for it was made of wood, though overlaid on the outside with gold. When Julian, the uncle of Julian [the emperor]—who was at that time the governor of the East—learned of this during the night, he hastened with all speed to Daphne, intending to bring aid to the god whom they worshipped. But when he saw that the god, as they called him, had turned to dust, he cruelly tortured the temple-wardens, suspecting that the fire had been kindled by some Christian. They, however, even under torture, could not be induced to say anything false; they insisted that the fire had not begun from below, but from above. Some peasants from the neighboring fields, having arrived, also testified that they had seen a lightning bolt falling from heaven. B
CAP. VIII. On the confiscation of the sacred vessels, and the withdrawal of the grain-allowance.
Although the ungodly were aware that these things were so, they nevertheless took up arms against the God of the universe. For the tyrant ordered that the sacred vessels be brought into the royal palace; and having barred the doors of the great church which Constantine had built, he prevented access to those who were accustomed to assemble there—though at that time, it was held by the Arian faction. Together with Julian, the governor of the East, there entered the divine temple Felix, the superintendent of the imperial treasuries, and Elpidius, who had been entrusted with the administration of the emperor’s private funds and properties—a man whom the Romans are accustomed to call the Count of the Private Estate. It is said that Felix and Elpidius, who had been Christians, had fallen away C from the true faith to win the favor of the ungodly emperor. As for Julian, it is certain that he urinated upon the holy table, and that when Euzoius attempted to prevent him, he struck him a blow and said that the affairs of the Christians were destitute of divine providence. But Felix, when he beheld the magnificence of the sacred vessels (for Constantine and Constantius had provided everything in a splendid and lavish manner): “Behold,” he said, “with what cups the Son of Mary is served!” D
[V. 13. Ch. 12.] But they did not long delay in paying the penalty for these impious and frantic deeds.
CAP. IX. The penalties that Julian, the uncle of the Emperor, and Felix paid for their impiety.
A For Julian, having immediately fallen into a severe disease, had his inward parts destroyed by rot, and he no longer passed excrement through the usual passages, but his impious mouth, which had become an instrument of blasphemy, served for the discharge of excrement. They say that his wife, who was shining with faith, spoke these words to her husband: “It is right, my husband, to praise Christ the Savior, because through this chastisement He has shown you His own power. For you would not have known who it was you were fighting against, if He, indulging in His customary patience, had not inflicted these divinely guided blows upon you.” B Understanding the cause of his disease from these words and the afflictions that were pressing upon him, the wretched man begged the Emperor to restore the church to those from whom it had been taken away; but he did not obtain it, and so he reached the end of his life. Felix, too, having suddenly received a divinely guided lash, brought forth blood from his mouth day and night, as the blood from the vessels of his body flowed from all sides to this part. And thus, every drop of his blood having been exhausted, he himself also perished and was sent forth to eternal death. These men, therefore, paid these penalties for their impiety.
CAP. X. Concerning the son of the priest.
C Now a certain young man, the son of a priest, having been raised in impiety, at that time joined the company of the pious. For a certain woman, distinguished in piety and deemed worthy of the grace of the diaconate, was a friend of this youth’s mother. When he came with his mother—for he was still but a lad—she would embrace him and encourage him toward piety. After his mother had died, the young man continued to visit her and delight in her customary instruction. Having firmly accepted her counsels, he asked his teacher by what way it might be possible to flee his father’s superstition and to lay hold of the truth which she preached. She told him that he must flee his father and prefer the Creator of both him and his father, and seek another city in which it was possible to hide and escape the hands of the impious D king; and she promised that she would make it her concern to provide for this. The young man then said: “I will come to you henceforth, and I will place my soul in your keeping.” A few days later, Julian ascended to Daphne to celebrate a public feast; his father ascended with him, being a priest and accustomed to attending the Emperor: this youth was with his father, and his brother as well; for both were temple-wardens, and they were purifying the Emperor’s feasts with sprinkling. It is the custom to celebrate the festival at Daphne for seven days. On the first day, therefore, the young man, standing by the couch of the Emperor,
A having sprinkled it according to custom and filled it with defilement, ran quickly and reached Antioch. Arriving at that admirable woman, “I have come to you,” he said, “not having been false to my promise; do you see to the salvation of us both, and fulfill your pledge.” She immediately arose and led the young man away to the man of God, Meletius, who ordered him to stay for the time being in the upper part of the lodging. The father, searching for his son, went round about Daphne, and returning to the city, patrolled the streets and narrow lanes, casting his eyes in every direction, desiring to track him down. When he had arrived at that place where the divine Meletius had his lodging, he looked up and saw B him peering out through the lattice. Running up, he seized him, dragged him down, and brought him home; he first beat him most severely with many lashes, then, having heated iron spits, applied them to his hands, feet, and back; finally, he shut him in a chamber, fastened the bolts from the outside, and went back up to Daphne. I heard this from the man himself when he had reached an advanced age. He added, besides, that being divinely inspired and filled with divine grace, he had crushed all his father’s idols and mocked their weakness. But later, when he considered what he had done, he feared his father’s return and besought Christ the Lord to give him a sign, and to break the bolts, and to open the doors. “For Your sake,” he said, “I have suffered these things and done these things.” “As I was saying these things,” he related, “the bolts sprang off, and the doors were opened. I ran again in haste to my teacher, who, clothing me in woman’s attire and placing me in a carriage with her, led me again to the divine Meletius; and he handed me over C to the bishop of Jerusalem—Cyril was the bishop at that time—and thus by night we set out for Palestine. After the death of Julian, he also led his own father to the true religion. For he taught us this also among other things. In this manner, then, were they guided to the knowledge of God and partook of salvation.
Chapter XI. On Juventinus and Maximinus, holy martyrs.
But Julian was now arming himself more boldly, or rather more shamelessly, against piety, wearing the mask of kindness while setting snares and nets, to entangle the deceived in the ruin of impiety. For first, he polluted the fountains in the city and at Daphne with detestable sacrifices, so that all who used the water partook of the abomination. Then, he filled with the defilement D those things that were offered for sale in the marketplace. For bread, meat, fruits, vegetables, and all other edible things were sprinkled. When those who had received their name from the Savior saw this,
A they groaned and lamented, loathing what was done; yet they partook, obeying the apostolic law: "Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience sake." Now, two men who were distinguished in the military service—for they were shield-bearers and guards of the emperor—at a certain banquet, having lamented the filthiness of what was occurring more vehemently than the rest, used the admirable words of the youths who were renowned in Babylon: "You have delivered us to an unrighteous king, a lawless one, beyond all the nations that are upon the earth." One of their dinner companions reported this. The emperor immediately had those excellent men brought forward and inquired what it was that had been said. They, having seized upon the emperor’s interrogation as an opportunity for speaking freely, and having sharpened their praiseworthy zeal, spoke as follows: "Educated in piety, O Emperor, and having served under praiseworthy laws—for such were the laws of Constantine and his sons—we now lament, seeing everything filled with abomination, and food and drink contaminated by wicked sacrifices. We have wept for this at home, and now we lament it in your presence. This is the only thing in your empire that offends us." Upon hearing these words, the "most mild" and "most wise" emperor, as he is called by his like-minded followers, stripped off the mask of kindness and revealed the face of impiety; and having ordered them to be subjected to grievous and harsh tortures, he deprived them of this present life—or rather, he rescued them from that calamitous time and sent them on to the crowns of victory. He attached a different cause to their punishment, not the piety for which they were executed, but insolence. For he said they were killed because they had been insulting to the emperor; and he ordered this report to be spread, begrudging the athletes of truth the name and honor of martyrs. B One of them was called Juventinus, the other Maximinus. The city of Antioch, honoring them as athletes of religion, laid them in a precious tomb, and they are venerated with an annual feast to this day.
And others among the dignitaries and magistrates also used similar freedom of speech and obtained the same crowns.
Chapter XII. Concerning Valentinian, who later obtained the empire.
For even that Valentinian, who obtained the empire a little later—but who was at that time a tribune commanding the spearmen who served in the palace—did not hide the zeal he had for piety. C For when that madman was about to enter the temple of Fortune, leaping in his frenzy, and D
A on either side of the doors stood the temple attendants, sprinkling those who entered with cleansing water, as they believed, Valentinian, who was walking before the emperor, observed that a drop had fallen upon his cloak. Having obtained the imperial dignity for the sake of this very cause, he struck the temple attendant with his fist, saying that he had been defiled, not cleansed. When that most wicked man saw what had happened, he banished him to a fort situated in the desert and ordered him to live there. But after a year and a few months had passed, Valentinian received the empire as a reward for his confession. For the just Judge does not only honor the pious in that life, but sometimes He also bestows the rewards of holy labors immediately, confirming the hope of future things by the gifts presently granted.
The tyrant devised another engine against piety as well. For when, according to ancient custom, he was distributing gold to the military cohorts, and was sitting himself upon the royal throne, he placed—contrary to custom—an altar full of coals and set incense upon a table. He commanded each of those receiving the gold first to cast incense upon the altar, and then to receive the gold from his own right hand. Most people were completely ignorant of this snare; but those who had been forewarned feigned sickness and escaped that cruel trap. Others, greedy for money, neglected their own salvation; others betrayed piety out of cowardice. B
Chap. XIII. Concerning other confessors.
After that ruinous distribution of money, some of those who had received the gold were dining together in a certain mess hall. One of them, having taken up a cup, did not drink before he had marked it with the saving sign. When one of his fellow diners complained, saying that this was contrary to what he had done a little while before, and he asked what he called contrary to his actions, he reminded him of the altar, the incense, and the denial that had occurred; for these things were contrary to the Christian confession.
[B. St. 17.] When the majority of those dining heard this, they began to wail and lament, and pulling out their hair, they leapt up from the banquet. Running through the marketplace, they proclaimed that they were Christians, that they had been ensnared by the emperor's deceits, and that they were singing a palinode and renewing the struggle in which they had fallen through ignorance. C With these shouts they hastened to the palace, crying out against the tyrant’s subtleties and requesting to be cast into the fire, so that they, having been defiled by fire, might receive purification through another fire. As they uttered these things and others like them, they enraged the soul of that wicked man, who soon ordered their heads to be cut off. When they were being led outside the city,
A a multitude of the people followed, observing their strength of soul and admiring their boldness for the sake of piety. When they reached the place where they were accustomed to punish criminals, the eldest of them entreated the executioner to behead the youngest of them all first, so that he might not have to see the slaughter of the others and perhaps be seized by cowardice. But when the latter had fixed his knees to the ground and the executioner had bared his sword, someone came up announcing a remission of the punishment and crying out from a distance to forbid the slaughter. Then the youngest, feeling vexed at the release from the execution, said, "It appears, then, that Romanus was not worthy to be called a martyr of Christ." For that was his name. But that evil-minded man prevented the slaughter, B stung by envy and grudging the athletes their glory; nevertheless, he did not allow them to live in the cities, but banished them to the farthest extremities of the Roman empire.
CAP. XIV. Concerning Artemius the Duke, and Publia the Deaconess, and her freedom of speech in God.
For Artemius, who had been a general of the soldiers in Egypt, because he had smashed very many of the idols while holding that command in the times of Constantius, he not only despoiled of his goods, but also finally deprived his body of its head. These and such-like deeds did he perform, who by the impious was called most gentle and most self-controlled in anger. But I shall add to this narrative C an excellent account of a most noble woman. For even women, armed with divine zeal, despised the madness of this man.
[141] Publia was in those days most renowned, and most celebrated for the achievements of her virtue. Having submitted to the yoke of marriage for a short time, she offered to God a fruit truly worthy of wonder. For John, who for a very long time was the chief of the presbyters in Antioch, and who, though often chosen to take the apostolic see, always refused that dignity, was born of this admirable woman. She, having with her a choir of virgins who had professed perpetual virginity, was accustomed to sing praises continually to D God, the creator and savior; and when the emperor passed by, they sang together even more loudly, considering that scourge to be worthy of contempt and derision. They sang especially those psalms in which the weakness of idols is mocked, and with David they said: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands." And after the other verses in which their stupidity is described, they added: "Let those who make them become like them."
A Hearing this, he was extremely annoyed and commanded them to be silent as he passed by. But she, thinking little of his laws, gave the choir even greater confidence, and as he passed by again, she ordered them to chant: "Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered." B Greatly moved by this, he ordered the choir leader to be brought before him; and seeing an old age most worthy of reverence, he neither pitied the gray hairs of her body, nor honored the virtue of her soul, but ordered some of his guards to strike her on both cheeks and to stain her face with her own blood. But she, regarding this humiliation as the highest honor, returned home, whence she habitually assailed him with spiritual songs, just as the author and teacher of those very songs quieted that evil spirit which was vexing Saul.
CAP. XV.
B A [20.] *De iis quæ Judæis templi ædificationem aggressis acciderunt, et de plagis eisdem divinitus inflictis.*For this man, having received the furies of demons within him, did not cease to rage like the Corybantes, maddened against piety. Therefore, he even armed the Jews against the Christians. Having first gathered them together, he asked why it was that, since the law commands them to sacrifice, they did not use sacrifices. And when they replied that their worship was confined to the one place, that enemy of God immediately ordered the destroyed temple to be restored, hoping in his madness to prove the Lord's prediction false, he who actually confirmed its truth. For when his speech was heard by them with eager minds, they signified what had been commanded to all their tribes who were dispersed throughout the world. And they came running from everywhere, contributing both money and prompt zeal to the construction. He himself, who had ordered it, also provided a great deal, not out of praise of munificence, but with a mind hostile to the truth. He also sent a governor along, a suitable minister for his impious commands. They even say that they made pickaxes, shovels, and baskets out of silver. But after they began to dig and to move the earth, an infinite multitude of men did this all day long, but at night the earth that had been removed was carried away of its own accord from the embankment. They also demolished the remains of the old building themselves, hoping to construct everything anew. But when they had gathered many thousands of bushels of gypsum and lime, violent winds suddenly arose, and whirlwinds, gales, and storms scattered everything at once. And while they continued to be mad, neither from the divine
A long-suffering being brought to their senses, a great earthquake first occurred, sufficient to strike terror even into those entirely uninitiated in divine things. But because they did not fear, fire burst forth from the excavated foundations, consuming most of the diggers and putting the rest to flight. And at night, while very many were sleeping in a nearby portico, the building collapsed all at once with its roof, burying everyone sleeping there. And during the same night, and again the next day, the bright shape of the saving cross was seen in the sky, and even the garments of the Jews themselves were filled with crosses—not bright, however, but fashioned in a black color. Seeing these things, the adversaries of God, dreading the God-sent scourges, fled away and reached their own homes, confessing as God him who was nailed to the wood by their ancestors. Julian heard of these things, for they were spoken of by all; but in his heart, like Pharaoh B of old, he hardened himself.
CAP. XVI. Regarding the expedition against the Persians.
Since the Persians, having learned of the death of Constantius, took heart and arrived at the borders of the Romans having declared war, it seemed best to him [Julian] to assemble the army, although he had no protector for it. He sent to Delphi, and to Delos, and to Dodona and the other oracles, to ask the seers if he should undertake the campaign. They ordered him to go to war and promised him victory. I shall insert one of these oracles into this narrative for the sake of exposing its falsehood. It is as follows: "Now we all, the gods, are prepared to bring trophies of victory beside the beast-river; of these C I, fierce, war-stirring Ares, shall be the leader." Let those who call the Pythian god eloquent and the leader of the Muses mock their own verses' nonsense; but I, having discovered his falsehood, pity the one who was deceived by him. He called the Tigris river a "beast," because there is a beast that shares a name with it. And it [the river] rises from the Armenian mountains and, flowing through Assyria, empties into the Persian Gulf. Beguiled by these oracles, the wretch dreamt of victory, and planned a war against the Galileans after the Persian battle. He called the Christians "Galileans," thinking he would attach infamy to them by the name. But it was fitting for a man trained in literature to consider D that reputation is in no way damaged by a change of name. For neither would Socrates, if he had been named Critias, nor Pythagoras, if he had been called Phalaris, have had any stain cast upon him from a change of names; nor would Nireus, if he had been called Thersites, have suffered a loss of the beauty which he had received from nature. But having learned none of these things, he did not turn them over in his mind, and believed that he would harm us with a name not at all applicable; and having placed his faith in the lies of the oracles, he [was]
A threatened to set up the image of the licentious demon in the churches.
Chapter XVII. Of the boldness of a Beroean citizen.
Departing with these threats, he was defeated by one man in Beroea. This man was otherwise distinguished, for he led the curials in that place; but his zeal showed him to be more distinguished still. For having seen his son lapse into the impiety that was then dominant, he cast him out of his house and publicly disowned him. The young man, approaching the emperor while he was staying at a station near the city, explained his own opinion and the fact of his disinheritance by his father. B The emperor bade the young man keep a calm and quiet mind, promising that he would reconcile the father to him. And when he had arrived in Beroea, he invited the illustrious and honorable men to a banquet. The young man's father came among the others, and he ordered him to recline on the couch with his son. But in the middle of the meal, turning to the father, he said: "It does not seem right to me to do violence to a mind that is drawn elsewhere, and to force one who is unwilling to move to other things. Do not, therefore, force your son to follow your dogmas when he is unwilling; for I do not force you, he said, to follow mine, C although I could very easily compel you." But the man, whetting his mind with faith in divine matters, said regarding this: "O Emperor, do you speak of that impious, God-hated man who chose falsehood over the truth?" But he, again putting on the mask of mildness, said: "Cease, good man, from reviling." And turning his face toward the youth, he said: "I will take care of you, since I could not persuade your father to do so." I have not mentioned this story lightly, but desiring to show not only the praise-worthy boldness D of a wonderful man, but also that very many despised his power.
Chapter XVIII. Of the pedagogue’s prediction.
For in Antioch, too, a certain excellent man, who was entrusted with the schooling of boys, was a friend—inasmuch as he was more learned than pedagogues usually are—of the prince of the teachers of that age, that is, of Libanius, the most celebrated of sophists. But he, being impious and expecting victory, and turning over the threats of Julian in his mind, mocking our people, asked the pedagogue, saying: "What is the carpenter’s son doing?" But he, being filled with divine grace, predicted what was shortly to come about. "The Creator of all things, O sophist," he said, "is currently fashioning a coffin, he whom you in your mockery called the carpenter’s son." A few days later, the death of that raging man was announced, and
of that wretched man's death was reported, and he was brought in a A bier, and the boasting of his threats was shown to be empty, and God was glorified.
CAP. XIX. On the prophecy of the holy monk Julian.
But he who in the body imitated the life of the incorporeal ones—I mean Julian, called Sabas in the tongue of the Syrians, whose life we have recorded in the *Philotheos Historia*—when he had learned of the threats of that impious man, offered up his supplications with greater diligence to the God of all. On that very day on which that man received the slaughter, he knew of this while praying, although the monastery was distant by an interval of more than twenty stations from the camp. They say that he, while entreating and begging the merciful Master, suddenly restrained the flow of his tears, and was poured out into joy, and possessed a cheerful countenance, and beamed, and by this indicated the pleasure of his soul. His familiar disciples, having observed this change in him, begged him to reveal to them the cause of his gladness. Then he said that the wild boar, the devastator of the Lord’s vineyard, had paid the penalty for the injuries done to Him, and was now lying dead, and had put an end to his treachery. Having heard such things, they all leaped for joy and offered a hymn of thanksgiving to God. And it was known from those who reported his death that it was the very same day and hour that the divine old man had known and predicted that the wicked man had been destroyed. [146]
CAP. XX. On the slaughter of Julian the Emperor in Persia.
B His death showed his imprudence the more clearly. For having crossed the river that borders the Roman empire from the Persians, and having transferred the army, he immediately burned the ships, compelling [the soldiers] to war, not persuading them. Although the best commanders are accustomed to fill their subordinates with confidence, and even if they see them despondent, to revive them and raise their hopes, he on the contrary immediately cut off all good hope, having burned the bridge as it were for their return. Furthermore, when it was necessary to collect and provide the essential food for the soldiers C from all sides, he neither commanded that this be brought from his own lands, nor did he provide abundance by plundering the enemy's territory. For having left the inhabited world, he traversed the wilderness. There, indeed, the soldiers, lacking both drink and food, and having no guides for their journey, but wandering in a desert land, recognized the imprudence of the most wise emperor. While they were lamenting and groaning, they suddenly found lying there, wounded, the man who had vented his rage against his D Creator; and neither could help him
A nor did the god of war, Mars, whom he had promised would be his ally, prove of any assistance, nor did Apollo, who had prophesied falsely, nor did Jupiter the Thunderer hurl a bolt at the author of the slaughter. Instead, the boast of his threats was cast down to the ground. However, no one to this day has discovered who it was that inflicted that just wound. Some say it was dealt by some invisible power; others, one of the nomads, whom they call Ishmaelites; others still, a soldier who could no longer endure the hardships of hunger and the desert. But whether man or angel drove the sword, it is certain that, whoever he may have been, he was a minister of the divine will. They report, furthermore, that upon receiving the wound, he filled his hand with blood, threw it into the air, and said: "You have won, Galilean!" And at the same time he confessed the victory and vomited forth that blasphemy, so utterly demented was he.
CAP. XXI. Of the sorcery discovered at Carrhae after his death
But after his slaughter, the illusions of his incantations were exposed. For the city of Carrhae still retains the remnants of his impiety. Passing through there in his senseless journey (for he had left Edessa to his left, as a city adorned with piety), B he entered a temple that was held in honor by the impious; and having performed certain dark rites there with his accomplices in crime, he locked and sealed the doors, and set soldiers to guard them, ordering that no one should enter until he returned. But when his death was announced, and a pious prince had succeeded the impious one, some entered and discovered the emperor's "admirable" courage, wisdom, and piety. For they saw a woman suspended by her hair, with her hands stretched out, whose belly that wicked man had dissected, in order to learn of his supposed victory over the Persians from her liver. And this abomination was laid bare at Carrhae. C
CAP. XXII. Of the heads found in the palace at Antioch, and of the public dances regarding the death of Julian
They report that at Antioch, many chests filled with human heads were found in the palace, and many wells full of corpses. Such is the instruction of those infamous gods.
[V. 28.] Furthermore, the city of Antioch, upon learning of his slaughter, indulged in banquets and festivals. And not only in the churches and the oratories of the D martyrs did they lead dances, and
tyrant's enclosures, but also in the theaters A proclaimed the victory of the cross, and mocked his prophecies. I would like to record their admirable voices, so that there may be a memory of this for those who come after us. For with one voice they all shouted: "Where are your oracles, you foolish Maximus? God has conquered, and His Christ."
For at that time there was a certain Maximus, who wore the guise of a philosopher, but who practiced sorcery and boasted of his ability to foretell the future. B That the Antiochenes, having received the divine doctrines from that most excellent pair, Peter and Paul, and being fervent lovers of the Lord and Savior of all, always harbored a hatred for the abominable Julian, he himself clearly demonstrated by writing a discourse against them, which he entitled the *Misopogon*. I, however, shall conclude this book with the exultation over the tyrant's death. For I considered it improper to link an impious rule with a pious reign.
BOOK FOURTH
CHAPTER I
On the reign and piety of Jovian.
After the slaughter of Julian, the generals gathered together with the prefects and consulted as to who should take up the reign, and how they might protect the army in hostile territory, and strengthen the Roman state, which was—as the saying goes—balanced upon the razor’s edge due to the rashness of the deceased. While they were deliberating on these points, the army assembled in one place and demanded Jovian as emperor. He was neither a commander of the soldiers, nor ranked second to the commanders, yet he was an illustrious and famous man, known for many things. For he possessed a massive body and a noble soul, and was accustomed to distinguishing himself in wars and in the gravest of trials. For having used great boldness against impiety, he did not fear the tyrant’s power, but by the strength of his spirit, he was made equal to the martyrs of Christ. Then the generals, judging the consensus of the army to be a certain divine vote, brought that most valiant man into the
A midst, and having constructed a high platform, they placed him upon it. Then, when all had offered him the imperial acclamations and addressed him as Augustus and Caesar, that man, worthy of all admiration, used his customary frankness; and fearing neither the magistrates nor the change of the soldiers for the worse, he said: “I cannot, being a Christian, rule over such men, nor be the emperor of Julian’s army, which has been instructed in wicked depravities; for such men, being stripped of divine providence, will easily become caught and turned into a mockery by the enemy.” Having heard these words, the soldiers uttered a common cry: “Do not hesitate, O Emperor, nor shun our leadership as if it were wicked; for you will rule over Christians, and those who have been nurtured in the teachings of piety. For those among us who are older have drunk in the doctrine of Constantine himself, and those who are younger have been instructed by B Constantius; for the time of the latter’s reign who has deceased was short, and not even sufficient to implant his own depravity in those deceived.”
CHAPTER II. De reditu sancti Athanasii.
Being pleased at these words, the Emperor began to deliberate concerning the safety of the commonwealth, and in what manner he might lead the army back unscathed from the enemy’s territory. But there was no need for long deliberation; rather, he at once plucked the fruits of the seeds of piety. For God, who is over all, immediately revealed His own providence and dispelled the apparent difficulty. For the King of the Persians, as soon as he learned that this man had been created Emperor, sent envoys to him requesting peace. Then he sent provisions to the soldiers and ordered a market to be established for them in the desert. Having thus concluded a peace of thirty years, he led the army back safe from the enemy’s C soil. Immediately upon entering the lands of his own empire, he enacted a law first of all, which commanded that the bishops return from exile and ordered the churches to be restored to those who had kept the faith of Nicaea inviolate. He also wrote to Athanasius, that advocate of these doctrines, requesting that he write him an accurate instruction concerning divine things. He, having gathered the more illustrious of the bishops, wrote back encouraging him to keep hold of the faith set forth at Nicaea, as being in harmony with the apostolic doctrines. I shall insert this letter here, for the sake of the benefit of those who might read it.
Chapter III. Synodical letter on the faith to Emperor Jovian.
To the most religious and most humane, the victor, Augustus Jovian, Athanasius and the rest of the bishops D send greetings in the Lord.
A bishops who have arrived as representatives of all the bishops of Egypt, the Thebaid, and Libya.
A right-minded preference and a longing for things heavenly befit a prince who is dear to God. For thus truly will you have your heart in the hand of God, and will perform your reign in peace over many cycles of years. Since, then, your piety has desired to hear from us the faith of the Catholic Church, we, giving thanks to the Lord on this account, have judged it best of all to remind your God-fearing self of the faith confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea. For certain men, rejecting this, have laid various snares for us, because we do not yield to the Arian heresy; and they have become the authors of heresies and schisms in the Catholic Church. The true and pious faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is manifest to all, and is known and read from the divine Scriptures. B For in this faith the holy ones were also brought to perfection and bore witness, and now they are resting in the Lord. But the faith has always remained unshakable for all time, had not the malice of certain heretics dared to corrupt it. For Arius and those with him attempted to destroy it and to introduce impiety against it, saying that the Son of God is from things that are not, a creature, a work, and mutable. And they deceived many in these matters, so that even those who seemed to be of some standing were carried away by their blasphemy. And our holy Fathers, having foreseen this, gathered C as we said before, in the synod at Nicaea, and both anathematized the Arian heresy and confessed in writing the faith of the Catholic Church, in such a way that, as this was preached everywhere, the flame of heresy ignited by the heretics might be extinguished. This, therefore, was known and preached in every church. But since certain men, desiring to renew the Arian heresy, have dared to reject the very faith confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea, while others pretend to confess it but in truth deny it by misinterpreting "consubstantial," and these people also blaspheme against the Holy Spirit by saying that He is a creature and a work fashioned D through the Son, we, having necessarily observed the harm arising from such blasphemy against the peoples, have hastened to provide your piety with the faith confessed at Nicaea, that your God-fearing self may know with what precision it is written and how greatly those who teach anything outside of it are wandering. Know, most God-fearing Augustus, that this is the faith preached in all ages. This was professed by the Fathers who gathered at Nicaea. With this, all the churches in every nation agree, those which are in Spain and Britain and Gaul,
A and those of all Italy, and Campania, Dalmatia, and Mysia, Macedonia, and all Greece, and all those in Africa, and Sardinia, and Cyprus, and Crete, and Pamphylia, and Isauria, and Lycia, and those in all Egypt, and Libya, and Pontus, and Cappadocia, and local parts nearby, and the Eastern churches, except for a few who hold the opinion of Arius. For we know the mind of all those mentioned above by experience, and we have their letters, and we know, most religious Augustus, that even if a few people contradict this faith, they cannot bring prejudice to the entire world. For, having been infected by the Arian heresy for a long time, they now stand against piety more contentiously. And in order that your piety might know—though it already knows—we have nevertheless endeavored to submit the faith professed at Nicaea by the three hundred and eighteen bishops. It is as follows:
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, B unique-begotten, that is, of the substance of the Father; God of God, light of light, true God of true God; begotten, not made, consubstantial 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 incarnate, and became man, suffered, and rose on the third day, ascended into heaven, and is coming to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit. And those who say, "There was a time when he was not," and, "Before he was begotten he was not," and that he was made out of things that were not, or who claim that the Son of God is of another substance or essence, or that he is created, or changeable, or mutable, the holy catholic and apostolic Church anathematizes.
In this faith, most religious Augustus, as it is divine and apostolic, it is necessary to stand, C and no one ought to change it with persuasive and accommodating arguments; which is what the Arian madmen did at the beginning, saying that the Son of God was from things that were not, and that there was a time when he was not, and that he is created, and made, and changeable. For this reason, the synod of Nicaea, as we said before, branded such heresy with an anathema and professed the faith of the truth. For they did not say the Son was simply like the Father, lest he be considered merely like God, but that he is believed to be true God from God; but they also wrote "consubstantial," which is the property of a genuine and true son from a true and natural father. But neither did they separate the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, but rather they glorified him with the Father and the Son, in the one faith of the holy Trinity, because there is one divinity in the holy Trinity. D
CAP. IV. Regarding the grain rations restored to the churches and the death of the emperor.
A Having read these letters, the emperor confirmed his own opinion and sentiment regarding divine matters. He enacted another law ordering that the measure of grain, which Constantine the Great had assigned, be restored to the churches. For Julian had hindered even this provision, inasmuch as he had waged war against God and our Savior. Since the famine which had broken out as a result of his impiety did not allow the levies of the Constantinian assignment to be collected, Jovian immediately ordered a third part to be provided, promising to provide the full ration once the famine had ceased.
Having embellished the beginnings of his reign with such laws, he left Antioch and headed toward the Bosphorus B. In Dadastana (this is a village situated on the border of Bithynia and Galatia), he reached the end of this life. He departed with the greatest and most beautiful provisions, but left those who had tasted that royal kindness in great sorrow. It seems to me, however, that the Governor of all, in order to reprove our wickedness, shows us good things and then again deprives us of them—teaching us by the former how easily He bestows what He wills, and by the latter convicting us as unworthy of those good things, and exhorting us to a better life.
CAP. V. Regarding the reign of Valentinian, and how he made his brother Valens a partner in the empire.
C When the soldiers learned of the sudden death of the emperor, they mourned the departed one as a father. They proclaimed as emperor that Valentinian who, having struck a temple attendant with his hand, had been sent away into exile in a fortress—a man outstanding not only in courage, but also in prudence, temperance, justice, and stature of body. He was of such a kingly and magnanimous spirit that, when the army attempted to propose a partner in the empire to him, he is said to have uttered what is now on everyone's lips: "It was your role, soldiers, when there was no emperor, to hand over the reins of the empire to me; but now that I have assumed the empire, it is mine from here on, not yours, to deliberate on public affairs." The soldiers, having admired and embraced these words of his, followed his lead and obeyed his signs. D He, having summoned his brother from Pannonia—who had not yet attached himself to different dogmas—appointed him a partner in the empire (would that he had not done so!). Leaving to him the governance of Asia and Egypt, he attributed Europe to himself. Having set out for the West, he [ruled] it with every justice.
A beginning with the proclamations of piety. For when Auxentius, who had received the plague of Arianism and had been entrusted with the Church of Milan, had been deposed in very many synods and had departed from this life, the emperor summoned the bishops and addressed them with these words: "You know well, as those who have been nurtured in the divine scriptures, what kind of person it behooves a man to be who is adorned with the episcopacy, and that it is not fitting for him to guide those under him by word alone, but also by his life, and to set himself forth as a pattern of every virtue, and to have his conduct as a witness to his teaching. Such a man, then, seat now upon the episcopal throne, so that we also, who steer the empire, might sincerely bow our heads to him, and might willingly accept the rebukes that proceed from him—for being men, it is necessary that we stumble—as if we were welcoming the treatment of a physician." B
CHAPTER VI. Regarding the ordination of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.
When the emperor had said these things, the synod requested that he himself, who was distinguished by wisdom and piety, should choose the bishop. But he said, "This task is greater than my strength. You, since you have been deemed worthy of divine grace and have been illumined by that splendor, will judge more rightly." The bishops therefore went out and deliberated among themselves. But the citizens and inhabitants in the city were in a state of dissension, with some clamoring for this man to be elected, and others for that one, struggling for their candidates. For those who had been infected with the disease of Auxentius were designating men of their own persuasion, while those of the sounder party desired to have a leader who was of like mind with themselves. C When Ambrose, who was then the governor of that province, noticed this dissension and feared that some disorder might occur, he hastened to the church. Then they, having quieted their sedition, all with a common voice demanded that Ambrose be given to them as their pastor, although he was not yet initiated into the sacred mysteries.
When the emperor learned of this, he immediately ordered the most praiseworthy man to be baptized and ordained. For he knew that his mind was straighter than any plumb line and his judgments more accurate than any rule. And he also believed this to be a divine vote, inferring it from the concord of those whose opinions were opposed. After he had attained both the gift of divine holy baptism and had received the episcopal grace, the most excellent emperor—for he was present at all these events—is D said to have returned thanks to the Lord and Savior in these words: "I give thanks to you, O Lord Almighty and our Savior, that to this man I indeed committed bodies, but you, however, committed souls, and you have declared my vote to have been just." And when, a few days later, the divine Ambrose, speaking to the emperor with the greatest freedom, rebuked him concerning certain things as having been done incorrectly by the governors, the emperor said, "Your liberty...
A I have known for a long time; and being clearly aware of it, I not only did not speak against it, but I have also been a fellow-voter in your ordination. Heal, therefore, as the divine law dictates, the faults of our souls." These things, then, the emperor both said and did in Milan.
Chapter VII. Epistle of the emperors Valentinian and Valens, written to the Asian diocese concerning the consubstantial.
When he had learned that some in Asia and Phrygia were disputing about divine dogmas, he ordered a synod to be held in Illyricum, and he sent to those who were disputing the things which had been both voted upon and confirmed by them. Those who had assembled B voted that the faith set forth in Nicaea should be maintained; and he himself also sent a letter, having made his brother a partner in the writing, urging them to abide by the things decreed. I shall read also the law, which openly proclaims his piety and likewise declares the soundness of Valens at that time concerning divine dogmas.
Greatest emperors, ever-venerable, victors, augusti, Valentinian, and Valens, and Gratian, to the bishops of the diocese of Asia, Phrygia, Carophrygia, Pacatiana, greeting in the Lord.
A synod of such magnitude having been held in Illyricum, and a great inquiry having taken place concerning the saving Word, the most blessed C bishops demonstrated the Trinity to be consubstantial, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And not at all deviating from this, they perform the duties which rightly fall to them, worshipping the worship of the great King. Our authority has commanded that this be proclaimed; yet in such a way that some might not say, "We follow the religion of the emperor who governs this land, not attending to Him who gave us commandments concerning salvation." For the Gospel of our God, which has this judgment, says: Render the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God. What say you, O bishops, and ministers D of the saving Word? If your profession is thus, then, loving one another, cease to abuse the dignity of the emperor; and do not persecute those who minister accurately to God, by whose prayers both wars on earth are quelled and the incursions of apostate angels are turned away. Those who, striving to drive away all harmful demons by prayer, and paying tributes according to the laws,
know how to conduct themselves, and do not gainsay the power of the one who rules; but they sincerely keep the commandment of the King from above, and are subject to our laws. But you have shown yourselves to be disobedient. We have indeed reached the letter "alpha" A (as it were, to the end), but you have given yourselves over. We, however, wishing ourselves to be pure of you, even as Pilate, at the examination of the Christ who dwells in us, not wishing to kill him, and being urged to let him suffer, turned toward the regions of the East, and having asked for water, washed his hands, saying: "I am innocent of the blood of this just man." So, too, our majesty has always commanded, not to persecute, nor to oppress, nor to envy those who labor in the field of Christ, nor to expel the stewards of the great King; so that you might not seem to grow today, under our rule, and meanwhile to suffer those things of his testament, as in the case of the blood of Zechariah. But those who were with him between the arrival of our King from above, Jesus Christ, were broken, having been delivered to judgment of death, along with the harmful demon who joined them. B We gave this mandate, with Ametius, and Ceronius, and Damasus, and Lampo, and Brentisius listening. Indeed, we have also sent the very acts to you, so that you might know what was done in the virtuous synod. But we have also added the synod’s decrees to these letters, which in summary contain these things: We confess, following the great and orthodox synod, that the Son is consubstantial with the Father. And we do not understand "consubstantial" in the way some formerly explained it, who signed fallaciously, and now others, who call those men Fathers and abolish the force of the word, follow those who wrote that by "consubstantial" is meant "similar," insofar as the Son is similar to no other of the created beings that were made through him, but refers only to the similitude of the Father. For those who hand down these things, the Son C
Concerning the Faith
A of God is impiously taught to be an extraordinary creature. We, however, believe, as do the synods now in Rome and in Gaul, that the substance of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is one and the same, in three persons, that is to say, in three perfect subsistences. We confess, moreover, according to the Nicene exposition, that the Son of God, who is consubstantial, was incarnate from the holy Virgin Mary, and dwelt among men, and fulfilled the entire economy for our sake, in birth, in passion, in resurrection, and in his ascension into heaven; and that he will come again, B to render to us according to each one’s life on the day of judgment, seen in the flesh and demonstrating his own divine power, for he is God bearing flesh, and not a human being who is God-bearing. And those who hold the contrary we anathematize, and those who do not sincerely anathematize him who says that before he was begotten the Son was not; but who have written that, even before he was begotten in actuality, he was in the Father in potentiality. For this is the case even with all created beings, which are not always with God, whereas the Son is always with the Father, begotten by eternal generation. These things, then, the emperor has set forth in summary. I, for my part, shall insert the actual letters of the synod at this point.
Cap. VIII. Synodal letter of the synod held in Illyricum concerning the faith.
C The bishops of Illyricum to the Churches of God and to the bishops of the dioceses of Asia, Phrygia, Carophrygia, and Pacatiana, greeting in the Lord.
Having gathered together, and after a long investigation having been held concerning the saving Word, we demonstrated that the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is consubstantial. And it was right to write letters to you, not treating the things pertaining to the worship of the Trinity with sophistry, but with the humility of those accounted worthy. We have sent this letter of ours through our beloved brother and fellow-minister, Elpidius the presbyter. For it is written not in letters D written by our own hands, but in the books of our Savior Jesus Christ: “I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.” Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? And these things were sufficient for our humility, so that we might not write letters at all
A to you, on account of such great fear, since you everywhere in the province under you are preaching, separating the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. We were therefore under a necessity to send to you our lord and fellow-minister Elpidius, who has letters from the royal Roman government, to investigate whether your preaching indeed stands in this way. For those who do not glorify the Trinity as consubstantial, let them be anathema. And if anyone is found communicating with them, let him be anathema. But for those who preach the Trinity as consubstantial, the kingdom of heaven is prepared. We therefore exhort you, brothers, not to teach differently, nor to hold vain, different opinions, but by always and in everything preaching the Trinity as consubstantial, you may be able to inherit the kingdom of heaven. B
Writing about this, and having a reminder, we have inscribed this our letter also concerning the establishing of bishops, or the appointing of fellow-ministers, if they should be from those who have exercised this office as bishops in sound health; if not, from the presbytery itself. Likewise also presbyters and deacons must be taken from the clerical order itself, so that they may be irreprehensible on all sides, and not from the curia or military office. Therefore, we did not wish to write to you at greater length, because one has been sent from all of us, our lord and fellow-minister Elpidius, who might diligently investigate your preaching, whether it stands as we have heard from our lord and fellow-minister Eustathius. It remains that if at any time you were in error, putting off the old man, you should put on the new. For our same brother and C fellow-minister Elpidius will teach you to preach the true faith: that the Holy Trinity, which is consubstantial with God and Father, with the Son and Holy Spirit, is sanctified, is glorified, is manifest, Father in Son, Son in Father, with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages. For when this is made manifest, we shall be able to clearly confess the Holy Trinity as consubstantial, according to the faith formerly set forth in Nicaea, which also the Fathers confirmed. D preaching this faith, therefore, we shall be able to escape the snares of the soul-destroying demon. And when this has been extinguished, we shall be able to honor one another with peaceful letters, living in peace. We have written indeed to you, so that you may know that we have deposed the Arians who do not confess the substance of the Father.
Also, we have added their names: Polychronius, Telemachus, Faustus, Asclepiades, Amantius, Cleopater. A And these things are thus, to the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen. We pray that you may fare well for many cycles of years, our Savior with the Father and the Son, together with the Holy Spirit.
Chapter IX. On the heresy of the Audians.
The most laudable emperor concerned himself in this way with the apostolic dogmas. B Audaeus, a certain Syrian by race and language, the inventor of new dogmas, appeared at that time, having begun long ago to endure the pains of wicked labor, but manifesting himself only then. For first, he foolishly understood the text, "Let us make man according to our image and likeness" (Gen. I, 26). For he supposed that the Divine has a human form, and he imagined that it is enclosed in bodily limbs, because he did not perceive the meaning of the Divine Scripture. For it often applies the names of human members to divine operations, since those who are not able to comprehend more subtle things are more easily instructed in the providence of God through these. C But to this impiety he added other similar things. For, having plucked these from the error of Manes, he said that the God of all is the creator of neither fire nor darkness. But these things, and all that are of such a kind, those of his faction conceal. They boast that they have separated themselves from the ecclesiastical gatherings. And because some collect the detestable interest, and some live unlawfully by cohabiting with women without the bond of marriage, and those who are free from these things communicate freely with them, therefore they say that they live apart from others, concealing the blasphemy of their dogmas. However, this pretense is full of arrogance D and is a descendant of the Pharisaic teaching. For they too used to accuse the Physician of souls and bodies, saying to the holy apostles, "Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?" (Marc. II, 16). And through the prophet, God also says concerning such people: "Who say, 'I am clean, do not touch me: this is the smoke of my wrath'" (Isa. LXV, 5). But to refute their folly is not for the present time. Wherefore, I shall proceed to the rest of the narrative.
Chapter X. On the heresy of the Messalians.
At this same time there arose also the heresy of the Messalians.
A They are called Euchites in the Greek tongue, and they have also another name derived from the thing itself. For they are called Enthusiasts, because they receive the operation of a certain dæmon, which they fancy to be the presence of the Holy Spirit. Those who have thoroughly imbibed this disease avoid the labor of the hands as an evil thing; and giving themselves up to sleep, they call the fantasies of their dreams prophecies. The leaders of this heresy were Dadoes, Sabbas, Adelphius, Hermas, and Symeones, and others besides, who did not separate themselves from the ecclesiastical communion, saying that the divine food, concerning which the Lord Christ said: « He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood shall live for ever, » B neither profits nor harms him who partakes of it. Moreover, striving to hide their malady, even when they are convicted they deny it impudently, and anathematize those who hold the same opinions that they themselves have introduced into their souls. Letoius, therefore, the bishop of the Church of Melitene, a man burning with divine zeal, when he saw that many monasteries — or rather, dens of thieves — had drunk in this pestilence, burned them down and drove the wolves from the flock. In the same way also, the most praiseworthy Amphilochius, who was entrusted with the government of the metropolis of Lycaonia and ruled the whole nation, having learned that this plague had spread thither, arose in his turn and delivered the flocks which he governed from that contagion. C Flavianus also, the most celebrated high priest of the Antiochians, having learned that they were tarrying in Edessa and instilling their poison into their neighbors, sent a company of monks, brought them to Antioch, and refuted the disease from which they were suffering in this way. For he asserted that their accusers were slandering them and that the witnesses were lying; and having kindly called Adelphius, who was a very old man, and bidding him sit down near him, he said: « We, O old man, who have lived a longer life, have learned the human nature more exactly, and we have perceived the attempts of the opposing dæmons, and by experience itself we have been taught the gift of grace. But these men, being young, and knowing nothing of these things accurately, do not endure to hear spiritual discourses. D Wherefore, tell me how you affirm that the opposing spirit departs and the grace of the Holy Spirit arrives? » Being mollified by these words, the old man vomited out all the hidden poison, saying that the holy Baptism brings no advantage to those who receive it, but that only by fervent prayer
A is the indwelling demon expelled. For he said that all who are brought to the light draw from our first parent just as they draw nature, so also the servitude of demons. But when these have been put to flight by fervent prayer, the Holy Spirit thereafter descends, indicating His presence to the senses and eyes, both delivering the body from the movements of the passions and completely turning the soul away from its inclination toward worse things: so that there is no longer any need for fasting to constrain the body, nor for teaching to restrain it and instruct it in how to walk in an orderly manner; and he who has attained this is exempt not only from the wanton movements of the body, but also clearly foresees future events and contemplates the divine Trinity with his eyes. Having in this way broken open the foul spring and drawn out the waters of impiety, Flavian spoke to the wretched man: B “You who have grown old in evil days, your own mouth convicts you, and not I; let your own lips testify against you.” Now that this disease became manifest, they were driven out of Syria and proceeded to Pamphylia, and filled that region also with this pestilence.
CHAPTER XI.
How Valens turned aside into the heresy.I shall now recount the remainder of the history, and I shall show the beginning of the storm which stirred up many most grievous waves against the Churches. For Valens, having received the empire, was initially adorned with the apostolic dogmas. But when the Goths had crossed the Ister and were plundering Thrace, he decided C to gather an army and to make war upon them. It pleased him not to embark upon the expedition naked of divine grace, but fortified with the panoply of holy Baptism. And this indeed reached a good, and even a very wise, decision; but that which followed reveals great weakness of soul and a betrayal of the truth. For the wretch experienced a passion similar to that of Adam, our first parent. For, being enticed by the words of his spouse, he too fell into servitude, and became not only a prisoner of war, but also a submissive listener to deceitful womanly words. For she, having been previously ensnared by the Arian error, ensnared him also, and induced him D to rush into the same pit of blasphemy along with herself. Now the leader and mystagogue in these matters was Eudoxius, who...
still held the tiller at Constantinople, not steering the ship, but swamping it. A
CAPUT XII. How he drove into exile the bishops who shone in virtue.
At that very time, when he was initiating him into baptism, he bound that most wretched man with oaths, so that he would abide in the impious dogma and drive out from every place those who held contrary opinions. Thus, he abandoned the apostolic doctrine and crossed over to the opposite party; and after a short time had passed, he fulfilled the things to which he was sworn. For he cast out the great Meletius from Antioch, and the divine Eusebius from Samosata. Further, he deprived Laodicea of the admirable pastor Pelagius. In his youth, Pelagius had received the yoke of marriage, but in the bridal chamber itself, on the very first day of the wedding, he persuaded his bride to prefer chastity to the marital union, and taught her to embrace brotherly affection instead of conjugal intercourse. B Thus he gave proof of perfect continence; and since other virtues accompanied this good quality, dancing together with it in him, by common vote he received the episcopate. But not even the brilliance of a life worthy of praise could bend the enemy of the truth to reverence. Rather, he banished him to Arabia, Meletius to Armenia, and Eusebius, who was redundant with apostolic labors, to Thrace. C When Eusebius learned that many of the Churches were destitute of pastors, he donned a military disguise, covered his head with a tiara, and traveled through Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, ordaining presbyters and deacons and filling up the other orders of the Church; and if ever he chanced upon bishops who agreed in doctrine, he would appoint them as prelates to the needy churches.
CAPUT XIII. Concerning Eusebius, bishop of Samosata, and others.
I believe it is necessary for those who are ignorant to know what greatness of soul and wisdom he showed when he received the emperor's command ordering him to depart to Thrace. For his bearer arrived in the evening D and warned him to keep silence and to conceal the reason for his arrival. "For if the people," he said, "who are nurtured in divine zeal, should find out, they will plunge you into the river, and the penalty for your death will be required of me." Having said this, and having performed the evening service in the customary manner, and...
at the onset of sleep, the old man went out alone on foot, having entrusted the matter to one of his household, who followed him with only a cushion and a book. When they arrived at the banks of the river (for the Euphrates flows past the walls of the city), he boarded a boat and instructed the rowers to direct their course toward Zeugma. By daylight he reached Zeugma, while Samosata was filled with mourning and lamentation. For when that servant had made known to the acquaintances the instructions given to him—as to who were to accompany him and what books were to be brought—everyone mourned the loss of their shepherd, and the bed of the river became crowded with those traveling. When they arrived and saw the shepherd they longed for, they endeavored with lamentations and groans and abundant fountains of tears to persuade him to remain and not abandon the sheep to the wolves. B When they could not persuade him, and they heard him reading to them the apostolic law, which clearly commands us to be subject to rulers and authorities, some offered him gold, others silver, others clothing, and still others slaves, as if he were setting out for a foreign and distant land. He, having accepted a few small things from those who were better known to him, and having empowered everyone with teachings and prayers, and having exhorted them to champion the apostolic doctrines, departed for the Ister; but they, having returned to their own city and inciting one another, awaited the incursions of the wolves.
Chapter 14
C I shall also recount the fervor and sincerity of their faith, judging it to be an injustice if it were not rendered immortal by my writings. For when the Arians, after having removed by far the best shepherd from the flock, had substituted another in his place, there was no one among the inhabitants of the city—neither any who lived in poverty, nor any abounding in wealth, neither slave, nor artisan, nor farmer, nor gardener, neither man, nor woman, neither young nor old—who would come to the ecclesiastical assemblies in the customary manner. He lived entirely alone, while no one would look upon him or hold speech with him. And yet they say that he practiced great moderation. D I shall provide a proof of this as well. For when he had decided to bathe, the attendants of the bathhouse blocked the doors so as to prevent others from approaching. But he, having caught sight of the multitude standing before the doors, ordered them to be opened and commanded that whoever wished to bathe with him be allowed to do so freely; and he did this same thing inside within the vaults as well. For when he saw those standing by while he was bathing, he invited them to enjoy the hot waters with him: and though they remained in silence—thinking this was done out of regard for his own honor—
he surmised what they meant, stood up instantly, and departed. They, thinking that the water had been contaminated by the pollution of his heresy, let that water run off into the sewers and ordered fresh water to be poured for them. Upon learning of this, he left the city, considering it both foolish and exceedingly senseless to inhabit a city that detested him and held him in such common aversion.
B 15. When Eunomius had left Samosata (for that was his name), they appointed Lucius in his place, a manifest wolf and a plotter against the sheep. Yet the sheep themselves, though deprived of their shepherd, fulfilled the task of shepherds and kept the apostolic doctrine uncorrupted. How much he was hated by everyone, another narrative will demonstrate. Boys were playing with a ball in the forum, amusing themselves with the game, and it chanced that as Lucius was passing by, the ball slipped and rolled between the feet of his donkey. The boys cried out, thinking the ball had been contaminated. When he noticed this, he ordered one of his attendants to wait and observe what would happen. The boys lit a fire and, passing the ball through the flame, believed it to be cleansed in this manner. I am not unaware that this was a childish act and a relic of ancient custom, but it is sufficient to prove how great was the hatred that that city felt toward the Arian sect. Lucius, however, did not imitate the gentleness of Eunomius; instead, he persuaded the governors to send many others of the priestly order into exile, and those who defended the divine doctrines more zealously than the rest he relegated to the furthest borders of the Roman Empire. He sent Evolcius, a deacon, to Oasi, a desert hamlet, and Antiochus—who was both distinguished by his kinship with the great Eusebius (for he was his brother's son) and illustrious for his many excellent deeds and endowed with priestly honor—he sent to the furthest reaches of Armenia. How he contended for the divine doctrines, the following account will show. For when the divine Eusebius, after many contests and an equal number of victories, had closed his life with a martyr's death, the council of the nation assembled, as is customary, and there also arrived Jovinus of Perrha, who was at that time bishop and who had for some time adhered to the communion of the Arians. And so, when everyone had chosen Antiochus as successor to his uncle and was compelling him, once brought to the holy table, to bend his knees, he turned as he saw Jovinus laying his right hand upon his head
[...hand, he pushed it away and ordered him to be removed from the number of those consecrating, saying that he could not bear that a right hand which had received mysteries consecrated through blasphemy should be laid upon him. But these things happened not long after; at that time, however, he was led away into the interior of Armenia. A The divine Eusebius was dwelling by the Ister, while the Goths were plundering Thrace and besieging the cities, as his own writings indicate.
CAP. XIV. Concerning holy Barses, bishop of Edessa, and the clerics exiled with him.
Barses—whose fame is great even now—ruled not only in Edessa and the neighboring cities, but also in Phoenicia, Egypt, and the Thebaid B (for he had passed through all these nations, scattering the radiance of his virtue). Valens first ordered him to dwell on the island of Aradus; but when he learned that countless multitudes were streaming to him from everywhere (for being full of apostolic grace, he drove away diseases with a word), he sent him off to Oxyrynchus, a city of Egypt. But when his fame drew everyone there as well, the man worthy of heaven was led away to a remote fortress neighboring the barbarians of that region (its name is Pheno). C They say that in the island of Aradus his bed is preserved to this day and is held in great honor, because many sick people, being laid upon it, gather health through faith.
CAP. XV. Concerning the persecution stirred up at Edessa, and concerning Eulogius and Protogenes, presbyters of Edessa.
Again, therefore, Valens, having despoiled the flock of its shepherd, set a wolf in place of the shepherd. And since all, having left the city, were gathering outside the walls, he himself arrived at Edessa. He commanded the prefect D (Modestus was exercising the office at that time) to assemble the soldiers who are accustomed to collect taxes, and to take any who were present from the armed militia, and to disperse the multitude that was gathered, beating them with rods and clubs, and using other weapons of war if there should be need. At dawn, therefore, the prefect was carrying out what had been commanded; and as he was passing through the forum, he saw a woman with an infant in her arms hastening rapidly. For she had even disregarded the soldiers and had broken through their first ranks. Incensed by divine
A zeal, a soul does not admit of any human fear, but considers such threats to be a subject for laughter and play. When the prefect caught sight of her and understood what was happening, he had her brought to him and asked whither she was going. She replied, "I have learned of the plots devised against the servants of God, and I wish to reach my fellow believers, longing that I too may be found worthy to suffer the slaughter you are inflicting upon them." "But why," the prefect asked, "are you carrying this infant?" She answered, "So that he too may share with me in this most desirable death." Upon learning this from the woman, and through her understanding the readiness of them all, the prefect reported B it to the emperor and demonstrated that the slaughter would be in vain. "For we shall reap only disgrace from what is done," he said, "and we shall not quench their fervor." However, after saying this, he did not allow the multitude to suffer the torments they were expecting, but commanded that their leaders, I mean the presbyters and deacons, be summoned, and ordered one of two things: either that they be persuaded to share in the communion of the wolf or that they be driven from the city and banished to remote regions. Having gathered them all together, he attempted with gentle words to persuade them to obey the emperor’s laws. For he said it was the height of folly for a handful of men to withstand an emperor who ruled so many and such great territories.
Since they all stood silent and mute, the prefect turned to their leader—Eulogius, a man C of great merit—and asked, "Why is it that you do not answer what has been said by us?" He replied, "I did not think that I ought to answer when I had not been asked anything." "And yet," the prefect responded, "I have addressed you at length, giving you advice that would be to your benefit." Eulogius said that those words of his had been addressed to everyone, and that he thought it absurd to answer alone while the others were excluded. "But if you ask me alone, I will not hide my opinion." Then the prefect said, "Then enter into communion with the emperor." The other, speaking with irony and great wit, replied, "Has he D also obtained the priesthood along with the empire?" The prefect, sensing the irony, was gripped by anger, and after using insults against the old man, added, "I did not say that, you fool, but I advised you to hold communion with those with whom the emperor holds communion." When the elder responded that they had a shepherd whose beck and call they followed, the prefect arrested eighty of them together and sent them into Thrace. While they were being deported, they were everywhere received with the utmost care
A, for cities and villages met them, following the victorious athletes with praises. But envy incited their adversaries to suggest to the emperor that the very thing which was considered a disgrace had brought the greatest honor to those men. Hearing this, Valens ordered them to be divided into pairs, and some to be dispersed through Thrace, others to the furthest reaches of Arabia, and others to the small towns of Thebaid. It is said that these most cruel men even separated those whom nature had joined, and parted brothers from brothers. Eulogius, who presided over the others, and Protogenes, who was next to him, he relegated to Antinoö in the Thebaid.
I, however, will not consign the virtue of these men to oblivion. For when they had found a bishop of the city who was of like mind with them, they participated in the ecclesiastical assemblies, and noticing that the congregation was very small, they inquired into the reason, and learned that the inhabitants were Gentiles, they were grieved, as was fitting, and lamented their infidelity. But they did not deem it sufficient to lament; rather, they applied all their strength to heal them.
The divine Eulogius B truly, shut up in a cell, supplicated God day and night for everyone. The admirable Protogenes, however, both instructed in legitimate literature and skilled in rapid writing, having found a suitable place, established it as a schoolhouse and place of instruction; he became a teacher of boys, teaching them at once to write quickly and instructing them in the divine oracles. For he dictated to them the Davidic psalms and proposed for them to learn from the apostolic doctrine what was most appropriate.
When one of the boys was seized by a disease, he arrived at the house C, and touching the right hand of the invalid, he drove away the disease by prayer. When the parents of the other children learned of this, they brought him to their own homes and implored him to help those who were ill. But he said that he would not sooner supplicate God to drive away the disease, before the invalid was deemed worthy of the gift of baptism. They willingly obeyed, for the longing for health urged them on, and at the same time they reaped the health of both soul and body.
And if ever he persuaded any of those who were healthy to partake of divine grace, he would bring him to Eulogius, and striking the door, he would entreat him to open and to impose upon the one hunted the Master’s seal. When he [Eulogius] was annoyed at this, as his prayer was being interrupted, he [Protogenes] said that the salvation of those who were wandering was more necessary. D Everyone, however, felt admiration for Protogenes, when they saw him who performed so many miracles, and who was in divine
A light of the knowledge of God distributing so much to so many, and while yielding the precedence to Eulogius, he brought to him those who were being caught. They reasonably supposed, therefore, that his virtue was much greater and superior. But since the storm had ceased and a pure calm had returned, and they were ordered to return from exile, all escorted them, lamenting and weeping, and not least the leader of the Church, who was deprived of their husbandry. And when they reached their home country, divine Eulogius, after Barse the Great had passed over to the life free from pain, was entrusted with the rudders of the Church which had been governed by him; but to the admirable Protogenes was assigned the cultivation of Carrhae, a city uncultivated and filled with the thorns of the Gentiles, and needing much toil and diligence. These things, then, took place after peace was restored to the Churches.
CAP. XVI. Concerning St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, and the events that happened to him by Valens and the Prefect Modestus.
Now Valens, having—I might almost say—robbed every Church of its shepherd, rushed to Caesarea, which the Cappadocians inhabit. Basil the Great, that splendid light of the world, was presiding there at that time. He had sent the Prefect ahead, having instructed him either to persuade Basil to embrace communion with Eudoxius, or, if he did not comply, to banish him. For, having already heard of the man's reputation, he did not wish to attack him first, lest, by receiving the assault with a brave spirit and repelling it, he should provide C an example of fortitude to others. But this design appeared like a spider's web. For to the other bishops, the ancient stories were sufficient for their benefit, and like some towers, they held the wall of faith unshaken. However, when the Prefect arrived in Caesarea and summoned Basil the Great, he treated him with honor and used gentle words, urging him to yield to the times, and not to bring so many Churches into danger for the sake of a minute precision of dogmas. He promised both the friendship of the emperor, and many benefits to be derived through him for others. But that divine man replied that such words were suitable for little boys. "For they, and those who are like them, gape D after such things; but those who are nurtured in the sacred Scriptures do not allow a single syllable of the divine dogmas to be scorned; for these, if the matter requires it, they do not refuse any kind of death. The friendship of the emperor, if joined with piety, I value greatly; without this, I call it pernicious." And when the Prefect was indignant and said that he was insane, the divine Basil said: "I, for my part, would wish to be always insane with this madness." When he was ordered to leave, and whatever was to be done...
was discussed, and he was to disclose his opinion the following day, a threat was also added to his words. It is said that that most praiseworthy man replied: "I, for my part, am the same, and I will come to you tomorrow; but you, do not change your opinion, but carry out your threats." After these words, the prefect met the emperor and reported what Basil had said, and informed him of the man's virtue, and made known the courage and boldness of his soul. At that time, the emperor was silent and entered the city. But when he saw the divine plagues sent against his house (for his son was sick and near the gates of death, and his wife A was afflicted with various maladies), and recognized the cause of these calamities, he begged the divine man, against whom he had threatened punishment, to come to his house. The leaders obeyed the imperial commands. B At that time, the great Basil, arriving at the palace and seeing the emperor's son at the very point of death, promised that he would return to life if he were to receive the holy baptism at the hands of the pious; and, having said this, he departed. But the emperor, mindful of his oath like the foolish Herod, ordered him to be baptized by those present with him of the Arian faction, and he immediately received the end of his life. But Valens, led to repentance and considering how harmful the reality of the oath had been, came to the divine church, and received the teaching of the great Basil, and offered the customary gifts at the altar. And, having commanded that he be allowed within the divine veils where he was sitting, he made many C speeches to him concerning divine doctrines, and indeed heard him speaking. A certain man named Demosthenes was present, being in charge of the imperial kitchen, who found fault with the teacher of the inhabited world and spoke barbarously. But the divine Basil, smiling, said: "We have now seen a Demosthenes who is illiterate." And when that man, stirred by anger, threatened him, the great Basil said: "It is your business to concern yourself with the seasoning of soups; for you are unable to understand divine doctrines, having your ears stopped up." These things, then, he said to him. But the emperor so admired the man that he donated the best lands he had there to the poor who were under his care, who, having their bodies entirely maimed, had the greatest need of care. In this way, then, the great Basil avoided the first attack of Valens. But when he came again, D and, having forgotten previous events (for his mind was held captive by certain seducers), he incited Basil to transfer himself to the opposing side; then, when he could not persuade him, he ordered an edict of exile to be written. When he attempted to seal it with his own hand, he could not complete the stroke of a single letter. For the reed pen was broken. And when the same thing had happened a second and third time with the pen, and yet he attempted to seal the impious
A law, his right hand shook and was seized with trembling; and his soul, filled with fear, tore the parchment with both hands. And the Governor of all convinced him that He had permitted the others to suffer such things as these, and had rendered Basil superior to the snares, and in the things that happened to him had displayed His own power, while on the other hand He celebrated the fortitude of the most excellent men. B Thus, therefore, the hope of Valens regarding his incursion was frustrated at this place.
Chapter XVII. On the death of the great Athanasius, and the succession of Peter.
At Alexandria, indeed, when Athanasius—the victorious, having received a release from his toils after many struggles and crowns equal in number to them, and having been translated to a life free from toils—had departed, the excellent man Peter received the primacy. First, that blessed head himself had designated him, but all had voted for him: the sacerdotal order, the men of honor, and the magistrates. The entire populace also declared their joy with acclamations. For he had been a partaker of the toils of Athanasius, and had been his constant companion both at home and abroad, and had undergone every kind of danger with him. For this reason, the neighboring bishops also hastened, and those who were living in the monastic wrestling-schools, leaving them, prayed that Peter might obtain the throne of Athanasius. C
Chapter XVIII. On the ejection of Peter, and the introduction of Lucius the Arian.
But after they had installed him in the pontifical throne, the governor of the province immediately, having gathered a multitude of Gentiles and Jews, surrounded the precincts of the church, ordering Peter to depart and threatening that he would otherwise expel him against his will. This he did, in appearance to do a thing pleasing to the emperor and by inflicting losses upon those who held opposite views, but in reality to indulge the impious wrath with which he was boiling. For he was devoted to the worship of idols, and he believed the turbulent agitation of the Church to be a most splendid festival. D Therefore the admirable Peter, observing the unexpected war, departed secretly and, having boarded a ship, set sail for Rome. But a few days having passed, Euzoius arrived from Antioch bringing Lucius, and delivered to him the churches, whose impiety—
and lawlessness Samosata had already experienced. But the multitude, having been nourished by the teachings of Athanasius and then seeing contrary nourishment, withdrew from the ecclesiastical assemblies.
A Lucius, however, using as his satellites those who worshiped idols, scourged some, imprisoned others, and forced others to flee, while he plundered the houses of others in a barbaric manner. But the admirable Peter has related these things better in his letter, which I shall insert into my work, where I shall set forth one of the wicked deeds of Lucius. There are men in Egypt who, emulating the angelic life, have withdrawn from the tumults of the cities and have preferred to pass their life in the desert; they have rendered the sandy and barren soil fruitful, bringing forth to God the sweetest and most beautiful fruit, namely the virtue which they set as a law for themselves. Many others also became the guides of this way of life; but the best instructor of the ascetic order was that most celebrated Anthony, who made the desert a training ground of virtue for the ascetics. B Accordingly, that miserable and most wretched man persecuted the disciples of that man (for he himself had already arrived at the tranquil harbors with the greatest and most beautiful burdens). He led forth from their caves those who were the leaders of those divine choirs—the celebrated Macarius, and his namesake, and Isidore, and the others—and sent them off to a certain island that was inhabited by impious men and had never received a teacher of piety. When the ferry approached the shore of the island, the demon who was worshiped among those people, abandoning the idol that had been set up—which had been his ancient dwelling—drove the priest's daughter to madness and led her, raving, to the shore where the boatmen had brought the ferry to land. Using the tongue of the girl as an instrument, he cried out through her the same things that she who had the spirit of Python once cried out at Philippi; and all, both men and women, heard that demon saying: C "O the power of you servants of Christ! We have been driven out by you from every place, from cities and villages, from mountains and hills, from the desert void of inhabitants; we had hoped that by living in this little island we would be free from your darts, but our hope has deceived us; for those who persecute you sent you hither, not to afflict you, but so that they might drive us out through you. We are departing even from the island, for we are being struck by the rays of your virtue." Saying these things and others similar to them, they threw the girl to the ground, and they themselves vanished completely. That divine choir, having prayed, raised up the girl, and restored her to her father, sound in mind and D restored to health. But those who had seen the miracle, having fallen at the feet of those holy men, sought the means of salvation.
A And having destroyed the shrine of the idols, they were illuminated by the rays of instruction and were deemed worthy of the grace of the all-holy baptism. When these things became known in the city, the whole populace gathered, hurling reproaches at Lucius and saying that a heaven-sent wrath would overtake them unless that divine choir of holy men were released. Lucius, fearing the tumult of the city, granted the divine men permission to return to their caves. B Assuredly, these things are sufficient to show his depravity and impiety. But the letters of the admirable Peter will more clearly reveal his daring transgressions. I, however, wishing to avoid length, shall insert into my narrative only those excerpts from the letter that fall in between.
CHAPTER XIX.
*From the letter of Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a narrative of those things that happened at Alexandria under Lucius the Arian.*Palladius, the governor of the province, being a pagan in his sect and a constant worshipper of idols, and having often meditated on waging war against Christ, gathered the aforementioned multitudes and launched an attack upon the Church, as if he were intent on subduing barbarians. Then, indeed, then occurred the most dreadful things. And even to set them down in words, while memory provides me with pain, forces from me a great flood of tears; and I would have remained for a long time suffering this, had I not checked it by divine reason. For when the crowds had entered the church called the Theonas, instead of solemn words they gave utterance to praises of idols; instead of the reading of the divine Scriptures, they produced unseemly hand-clapping and voices broken with obscenity, and insults against the virgins of Christ, which the tongue refuses to utter, for it is base even to tell of them. Indeed, whoever among the sensible heard them would at once block his ears, and would have preferred to become deaf rather than to have heard their foul language with his own ears. C But would that they had been content with words and had sinned only in these, and had not surpassed the petulance of their words with their deeds! For a reproach, of whatever kind it may be, is tolerable to those in whom dwells the wisdom of Christ, along with divine teachings. But these men, vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, curling their noses, exhaled an obscene sound through their nostrils, and, so to speak, pouring it forth as if from a fountain, tore asunder the garments of the holy virgins of Christ, who by their religious exercise represented the image of the holy (angels); and, as nature has it, they led them naked in triumph through the whole city, mocking them with wantonness in whatever manner they wished. And, in short, all that happened was cruel and strange. If, then, anyone, touched by mercy, tried to dissuade and prevent D
this, he was dismissed with wounds. But alas for these calamities! Many virgins were defiled by force; many were killed when their heads were struck with clubs, their bodies not even being permitted to be handed over for burial. And so, even to this day, many bodies are not being found, their parents lamenting them. But why do I speak of small things when compared to greater ones? Why do I linger on these, and not press forward with vehemence to the urgent matters, at which I know you will marvel, and will stand with us for a long time in amazement, confounded by the Lord’s forbearance—that He did not utterly destroy the whole thing? For things that, according to the scripture, were neither done nor heard of in the days of our fathers, these the impious B performed upon the very altar. For just as on the stage of an immodest theater, they placed upon the very holy altar, where we invoke the descent of the Holy Spirit, a boy who had renounced the male sex and desired the female, having painted his eyes with stibium, as it is written, and reddened his face with rouge, just like their own idols; and they caused him, in womanish guise, to dance, wheeling in a circle, gesturing with his hands here and there, while they broke out in immoderate laughter and shouted impious outcries. And then, regarding even this as tending to confusion—as if they considered these past outrages to be honors—they took one from among them of most notorious indecency, who had cast off his modesty along with his clothes, and placing him naked as he was born upon the throne of the Church, they hailed him as a base preacher against Christ. For instead of divine words, he belched forth filth; instead of honorable speech, C indecency; instead of piety, impiety; instead of continence, he taught that fornication, adultery, pederasty, theft, gluttony, and drunkenness were useful for the life of men, along with the other things. Since matters were in such a state, and I had withdrawn from the Church (for how could I not, where there were incursions of soldiers, where there was a rabble hired for sedition with money, where there was greed for gold, and where there were throngs of pagans with the most immense promises?), our so-called successor was sent, who had purchased the episcopate as a worldly dignity with gold; a certain Lucius, one who was eager to exhibit the wickedness and deeds of a wolf, having obtained the episcopacy not by a synod of orthodox bishops, not by the suffrage of true D clerics, not by the solicitation of the people, as the ordinances of the Church prescribe. There were present with him—for he could not enter the city simply—not any bishops, not
A presbyters, not deacons, nor multitudes of the people; no monks went before him singing hymns taken from the Scriptures. But Euzoius was with him, he who had formerly been deposed along with Arius in the holy and great Council of Nicaea when he was a deacon of our Alexandria, and who was now devastating the see of Antioch. And there was also the Count of the Imperial Largesses, accompanied by an immense multitude of soldiers and known always for his every impiety, Magnus by name. He who, in the times of Julian, had burned the church of the Berytians (this is a famous city of the Phoenicians), was later, during the times of Jovian of blessed memory, compelled to restore it at his own expense, and he was very nearly beheaded, had he not obtained the emperor's clemency through the intercession of many. Now, therefore, it is fitting to consider from this your own zeal (which I beseech you to arouse for the vindication of these things), what and how great were the outrages committed against the Church of God since this tyrant, whom I mentioned, rose up against us. For at the same time, Lucius, who had been repeatedly excommunicated by your piety and by all the orthodox bishops everywhere, took over the city that was hostile to him for just causes. For he B is not only, as the blasphemous fool in the Psalms says, one who says, "Christ is not the true God," but he was corrupt in his way of life and corrupted others, rejoicing in the blasphemies that are cast against the Savior by those who, neglecting the Creator, worship the creature. For how would he not, since he possesses a mind similar to the Gentiles, dare as a wretch to worship a new god? Whence also they sang these praises to him before the citizens: "Your arrival is fortunate, O bishop, you who deny the Son: Serapis, loving you, has brought you here," calling him their ancestral idol. For immediately, without a moment’s delay, the aforementioned Magnus, his inseparable companion in impiety, a bitter guard and most cruel satrap, having gathered together the priests and deacons entrusted to his charge to the number of nineteen, some of whom had exceeded their eightieth year, seized them as though they were guilty of some foul crime contrary to the Roman laws; and having set up a public tribunal, he compelled them—being ignorant of the Christian laws concerning virtue—to betray the faith handed down to us from the apostles through the fathers, confirming that this would also be pleasing to the most humane Emperor Valens. "Obey," he exclaimed in a loud voice, "you wretches, obey the opinion C of the Arians. For the Deity,” he said, “will forgive you, even if the religion you practice is true, since you have done this not of your own free will, but by necessity. For a defense is always left for necessity, but accusation is the companion of free will." Therefore, with these arguments placed before your eyes, having cast aside all hesitation— D
A hasten with willingness to subscribe to the doctrine of Arius, which Lucius (as he is called) now preaches, knowing well that if you obey, you shall have money, and resources, and honors from the emperors; but if you refuse, you shall undergo bonds, and tortures, and inquisitions, and lashes, and the experience of the rack, and being deprived of your money and property alike, and migrating from your homeland, you shall be condemned to dwell in harsh places.
But this excellent man, tempering his threats with deceit, was inciting and forcing everyone to abandon their godly judgment. Yet they, considering the betrayal of piety to be more bitter than any torture (for indeed it is so), answered him, being forced by these things, with such words, trampling underfoot both the deceit and the threats by their virtue and noble spirit: "Cease at length, cease to terrify us with these words; B stop uttering empty expressions. For we do not worship a novice or a recent God. Though you may seethe and foam in vain, and rush upon us like a violent wind, we shall remain in the doctrine of piety even unto death, not regarding God as weak, nor without wisdom or truth, nor—as does this impious Arian—thinking the Son to be temporary or momentary, nor at-one-time-yet-at-another-not-being Father. For if the Son is a creature, according to the Ariomanites, not being consubstantial with the Father, then the Father, too, will vanish into nothing, since according to these men, without the Son existing, He would not have been a Father at some time. But if He is always Father, it is clear that the true offspring from Him exists, and not by any 'defluxion' (for God is impassible). C How then is he not senseless and maniacal who thinks that there was a time when the Son was not, through whom all things were graciously brought into being? Our Fathers, therefore, throughout all the inhabited world—from whom these men have fallen away and thus deservedly become fatherless—gathered at Nicaea, anathematizing the evil doctrine of Arius, of which this youngster is now the champion. They did not say the Son was of a different substance from the Father, as you now force us to say, but of the same substance: which, understanding correctly with a pious mind, from a long collation of divine utterances, they confessed to be consubstantial."
Saying these things and others of this kind, he cast them into bonds for many days, if by any way he might move them from the position of piety. But they, rather, like the most valiant athletes D in a stadium, casting off all fear and confirming themselves by the things previously enacted by the Fathers with divine guidance, showed greater courage for the defense of piety, believing the tortures to be a gymnasium of virtue. Thus, therefore, as they contended, and were a spectacle, as the blessed Paul writes*,
A to both angels and men, the whole city ran out, having seen the athletes of Christ, B overcoming the scourges of the torturing judge by their constancy, and raising trophies of patience against impiety, and celebrating triumphs over the Arians; whom that bitter enemy, having thought that he would deliver these, subdued by threats and tortures, into the ranks of those who were impious against Christ. Having, therefore, become weary of the cruel attacks of his contrivances and tortures, as all the crowds lamented in various ways with mourning, that bitter man, utterly devoid of humanity, having again gathered the mobs accustomed to disorder, he summoned them to a judgment—or rather, to an empty condemnation—by the harbor of the sea, with the usual voices of the Gentiles and Jews hired against them. And when they would not yield to the manifest heresy of the Ariomanians, he pronounced that they, having been driven from Alexandria, should be deported to Heliopolis in Phoenicia, where not one inhabitant can even bear to hear the name of Christ, for they are all idolaters. Immediately C he ordered them to board a ship, and he himself, standing by the harbor (for he had passed judgment upon them near the public bath), displayed his naked sword, thinking that by this he would strike terror into those who had often wounded the hostile demons with the two-edged sword. And thus he ordered them to sail, without any provisions being provided, and instructed with no consolation at all for their exile; and—a thing which may seem wonderful and incredible—the sea was foaming and, I think, took the matter ill, and was unwilling, if I may so speak, to share in the unjust command by receiving the men. For it demonstrated the barbarian intention of the judge even to those who were ignorant of it. One may, therefore, truly say: *The heaven was astonished at this.* For the whole city groaned, and even to this day it mourns. And some, by striking their breasts with successive blows of their hands, produced great sounds; others, stretching out both their hands and eyes to heaven, protested the violence done to them, almost saying: *Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth,* for the things that are being done are lawless. And, in short, the whole place D was full of wailing, and a dirge and lamentation resounded throughout the entire city: and a river of tears, almost overwhelming the sea with its flood, immediately flowed from all. But when he, standing in the harbor, commanded the rowers to spread the sails, then the promiscuous wailing of virgins and women, of elders and youths, and the lamentations mingled with bitter tears and the clamors of all, obscured the noise stirred up by the waves of the troubled sea. But while they were sailing to Heliopolis, where all are addicted to superstitions, where the arts of the devil flourish for pleasure, and where there are the horrible lairs of wild beasts (the mountains
A rising on every side to heaven), as everyone else, both in common and privately as individuals, lamented in the middle of the city and raised up mournful voices, they were not even permitted to weep, by order of the city prefect Palladius, who was himself most addicted to superstition. For many B of those who were weeping were seized and thrown into prison, then beaten and lacerated and tortured, and sent off to the Phennensian and Proconnesian mines—men who were defending the Church with divine zeal. For most of them were monks living in the desert out of religious devotion, twenty-three in number. With them, shortly thereafter, the deacon who had brought us consolatory and communicatory letters from our beloved Damasus, bishop of Rome, was led away publicly by the lictors with his hands bound behind his back, like some notorious criminal; and he, tormented beyond what is even customary for murderers, his neck having been long bruised by stones and leaden masses, and deprived of all aid and assistance, went up into the ship on the sea, just like the others, having marked his forehead with the sign of the holy cross. He was handed over to the Phennensian copper mines. Furthermore, as the judge was torturing the tender bodies of children, some expired amidst the torments and were denied even burial, despite their parents, brothers, C and kinsmen, and indeed—to put it briefly—the whole city, begging that this last consolation be granted to them. But, O the utter inhumanity of the judge, or rather of the executioner! Those who had fought for piety were treated as equal to murderers; their bodies lay unburied; those who had fought strenuously were exposed to be devoured by wild beasts and birds of prey; those who were touched by the compassion of the fathers for the sake of conscience were beheaded as if for grave crimes. What Roman law, what barbarean decree ever took vengeance on those who mourned for the fathers? Where did any of the ancients ever commit as great an iniquity as this? Pharaoh once ordered the male infants of the Hebrews to be slaughtered, but envy and fear had inspired that mandate. How much more humane were those times than these! How much more desirable, if a choice of injury must be made! How much preferable, if the degrees of iniquity are compared! Although, in truth, to separate D
A the iniquities from each other is impossible. The things that are said are unbelievable, inhuman, and terrible, savage and barbaric, merciless and bitter. But the subjects of the madness of Arius exulted in these things, dancing. And while the whole city was mourning (for there was no house in which there was not a dead person, as it is written in Exodus), those who had trained their habits to an insatiable wickedness did not rest again. For, inciting their will toward worse things and diffusing the poison of their iniquity even unto the bishops of the province, using as their henchman for injustice the aforementioned Comes Largitionum, Magnus, they delivered some to the city council, and ensnared others in whatever ways they pleased, desiring to entangle all on every side in impiety, leaving nothing unattempted. But, even going about B like the devil, the proper parent of the heresy, they were eager to devour someone. In general, therefore, when they were attempting everything in vain, eleven bishops from Egypt, men who from childhood to old age had inhabited the desert for the sake of the religious life, and had subjected the passions by reason and action, fearlessly preaching the pious faith, nurtured on the milk of the dogmas of piety, and having been polished by victory many times against demons, striking shame into the adversary by their virtue, and refuting the Arian heresy with most wise speech, having used the same man as an instrument of cruelty, they cast into exile in Diocæsarea, a city inhabited by those Christ-killing Jews. And yet, like Orcus, not satiated by the slaughter of the brethren, these mad and foolish men dared to leave everywhere among the nations monuments of their own iniquity, courting the fame of nobility C from their crimes. For behold, again, the clergy of the Catholic Church residing in Antioch, together with monks of proven virtue who had resolved to testify to their tragic deeds, they caused to be relegated to Neocæsarea in Pontus, by dulling the imperial ears against them: who perhaps were deprived of life itself on account of the ruggedness of the places. Such tragedies did those times bear, worthy indeed of silence and oblivion, but committed to writings for the reproach of those who moved their tongues against the Only-Begotten: and who, implicated in the disease of blasphemy, not only attempt to touch the Lord of all, but also have undertaken an implacable war against his pious servants D who, mad and destitute of their own cruelty, dared everywhere in the world to leave behind memorials, wishing to have the hallmark of their evils. For behold, again, the clergy of the Catholic Church staying at Antioch, together with earnest monks who had proposed to testify to their dramaturgy, having sounded imperial ears against them, they arranged for them to inhabit Neocæsarea of Pontus; who perhaps were even deprived of life, on account of the wildness of those places. Such tragedies did that time receive—worthy, indeed, of silence and oblivion, but placed in writings for the reproach of those who moved their tongues against the Only-Begotten; who, having received the madness of blasphemy, not only attempt to shoot at the Master of all...
but have also undertaken an implacable war against His pious servants.
CAP. XX. Concerning Mavia, queen of the Saracens, and the ordination of Moses the monk.
At that time, the tribes of the Ishmaelites were ravaging the regions neighboring the Roman Empire. Mavia was their leader, a woman who had forgotten her natural sex and had put on a manly spirit. After many conflicts, having made a treaty and having received the light of the knowledge of God, she requested that a certain Moses, who dwelt on the borders of Egypt and Palestine, be ordained bishop for her people. Valens granted this request and ordered the holy man to be led to Alexandria, so that he might there receive the priestly grace on account of the proximity of the place. When he had been brought there and saw that Lucius was trying to lay his hand upon him, he said, “Far be it from me to be ordained by your hand; for the grace of the Spirit does not come when you call upon it.” Lucius said, “By what conjecture do you say this?” And he replied, “I do not follow conjecture, but I certainly know that you fight against the apostolic doctrines, and you teach contrary things, and your impious deeds are consistent with your words of blasphemy. For who of the impious has not reviled the ecclesiastical assemblies on your account? Who among the praiseworthy men has not been driven out? What barbarous ferocity does not your daily daring outdo?” These things he spoke with a confident spirit. Lucius, indeed, listened breathing out slaughter, and he desired to kill him, but he feared lest he might kindle again the war that had been brought to an end. Wherefore he ordered him to be led to other bishops, whom he had requested. Having received the priestly grace from them with admirable faith, he departed to those who had requested him, and he guided them to the truth by his apostolic teachings and miracles. And these were the things done by Lucius at Alexandria, and managed by divine providence.
CAP. XXI. Concerning the atrocities committed at Constantinople.
At Constantinople, the Arian faction filled a ship with pious presbyters and turned it loose into the sea without ballast; then, having put some of their own like-minded men into another vessel, they ordered them to set fire to the ship of the presbyters. When this had been done, struggling with both fire and sea, they were finally sent into the deep, and they bound upon themselves the crown of martyrdom. At Antioch, Valens, having spent a very long time, had granted license to all—Greeks, Jews, and others who, while wearing the name of Christian, professed a doctrine repugnant to the Gospel. For even those of the Gentiles were performing their rites who...
had been enslaved by error, and this man allowed the deceit, which had been extinguished after Julian by Jovian, to flourish once again. And they filled the city, not in hiding as they did under a pious emperor, but running about the middle of the forum, revelling with the rites of the Diasia, the Dionysia, and the mysteries of Demeter. To those who professed the apostolic doctrine, however, he was an enemy alone. For first, he drove them from the sacred buildings, for to them the most praiseworthy Jovian had granted even the newly built church. And because they were gathering at the foot of the mountain A and praising the Lord with hymns, and enjoying the divine oracles, while enduring the contrary assaults of the weather—now rain, snow, and cold, and now the most vehement heat—he did not even allow them to enjoy this laborious benefit, but sending soldiers, he dispersed the gathering.
CHAPTER XXII. How Flavian and Diodore carried on the gathering of the orthodox in Antioch.
Flavian and Diodore, like certain barriers, were breaking the waves that rushed upon them. For since Meletius, their own shepherd, was forced to live in remote places, they had taken upon themselves the care of the flock, opposing their own fortitude and wisdom to the wolves, and offering appropriate care to the sheep. B Being driven, therefore, from the foot of the mountain, they pastured the sheep by the banks of a neighboring river. For they did not, like the captives of old in Babylon, hang their harps upon the willows, but they praised the Creator and Benefactor in every place of his dominion. But the enemy did not tolerate even this, the gathering of pious shepherds in this place who were asserting and preaching the divinity of Christ the Lord. C Therefore, the pair of admirable shepherds once again gathered the divine sheep into a field destined for the exercises of soldiers, and provided them with spiritual nourishment. And the most wise and most valiant Diodore, like some clear and great river, was watering his own, while washing away the blasphemies of the adversaries; he did not consider the splendor of his birth, but gladly endured hardships for the sake of the faith. Flavian, that excellent man, was also born of noble ancestors, yet he considered piety to be the only nobility, and like some master of a training school, he anointed the great Diodore as a pentathlete athlete. D For at that time he did not deliver sermons in the ecclesiastical gatherings, but he supplied those who did with a great abundance of arguments and scriptural insights. And while they were shooting their arrows against the blasphemy of Arius, he, as if from a quiver of his mind, was suggesting the shafts. Conversing both privately and publicly, he easily broke the snares of the heretics, like spider—
and offered A them. But by conversing in public, he easily tore asunder the snares of the heretics and showed their arguments to be cobwebs. To these, that Aphraates also, whose manner of life we have described in the *Philotheos*, joined in the struggle. For, preferring the salvation of the flock to his own tranquility, he left his monastic hut and undertook the toils of a shepherd. How great a wealth of virtue he gathered for himself, I deem superfluous to speak of now, having written of these things in another treatise. I shall, however, relate one thing that is quite appropriate to this history. B
CAP. XXIII. Concerning the holy monk Aphraates.
The river Orontes flows past the palace from the north; but from the south, a very large two-storied portico is built onto the city wall, having high towers on either side. Between the palace and the river is a public road, which receives those leaving the city through the gates there and sends them on to the suburban fields. The divine Aphraates, passing by this way, was going to the place where the soldiers were accustomed to practice, so that he might afford the proper care to the holy sheep. The emperor, looking down from the palace portico on high, saw him, clad in a sheepskin cloak and walking briskly in extreme old age, and when someone said that this was Aphraates, upon whom the whole populace of the city depended, the emperor said to him: "Tell me, where are you going?" And he, both wisely and appropriately: "To pray for your empire." "But you ought to remain at home," the emperor said, " C and pray there according to the rule of a solitary." But that divine man said: "You speak very well, O Emperor; this is what I ought to have done, and this I have continued to do up until now, as long as the sheep of the Savior enjoyed peace. But since they have endured great disturbance and are in great danger of being torn apart by wild beasts, it is necessary to set everything in motion and to save the little flock. For tell me, I pray you, O Emperor, if I were a young girl sitting inside in a chamber, and keeping watch over the house, and I saw a fire break out and my father’s house burning, what would it be right to do, tell me? Would it be right to sit inside and ignore the house burning, and wait for the fire to advance? Or to leave the chamber and run up and down, and fetch water, and extinguish the fire?" It is clear that you would reply: "This is what a sensible and wise girl would do." "This is what I am doing now, O Emperor. For since you have cast fire into our father’s house, we are running about and striving to extinguish it." Having said these things, D the emperor was silent, having threatened him. But one of his chamberlains, because...
A he had been entrusted with the care of the bath, immediately after these words went down to prepare it for the emperor. Having entered, and being struck in his mind, he leapt into the boiling, unmixed water and perished. The emperor sat waiting for him to announce his entry; but as a long time passed, the emperor sent others to report the cause of the delay. They entered, and looking all around, they found him dead in the boiling water, dissolved by the heat. When this was reported to the emperor, they recognized the power of the prayer of Aphraates. Yet they did not depart from their impious B doctrines, but hardened their hearts after the example of Pharaoh; and that madman, having heard of the miracle of the holy man, persevered in raging against piety.
CHAPTER XXIV. Concerning Saint Julian the monk.
At this same time, that celebrated Julian also, whom I mentioned before, was forced to leave the desert and come to Antioch. For, since the fosterlings of lies, always graver artificers of framing calumnies—I speak of the Arians—asserted that that great man was of their party, those luminaries of truth, Flavian, Diodorus, and Aphraates, sent Acacius, a strenuous athlete of virtue—I mean the man who C afterwards very wisely directed the Church of the Beroeans—to that most praiseworthy man, imploring that he take pity upon so many thousands of men, and that he might wish to refute the falsity of the adversaries and confirm the preaching of the truth. Now, the miracles he performed while coming, while returning, and within that very great city itself, are written down in our Philotheus history, which it is permitted to those who wish to learn these things to consult. But that he gathered the entire population of the city to our assemblies, I think no one would doubt who has considered human nature; for unusual things are accustomed, for the most part, to draw everyone to themselves. And that he also performed great wonders, even the enemies of the truth bear witness. D This, moreover, the great Antony had done even before this time, in the days of Constantius, at Alexandria. For, leaving the desert, he walked about that entire city, teaching everyone that Athanasius is the herald of apostolic doctrine, and that the followers of the Arian faction are enemies and foes of the truth. Thus did those divine men know how to adapt to each occasion the things that were appropriate, and when it was fitting to embrace their solitude, and when to prefer the cities to the desert.
CAP. XXV.
A Quinam alii monachi hoc tempore claruerint.There were others also at that time who shone with the brilliance of the monastic philosophy. In the desert of the Chalcidians, Avitus, Marcianus, Abraames, and others besides these, not easily numbered, were practicing a life free from passion within passible bodies. In the region of the Apameans, Agapetus, Symeones, Paul, and others were reaching for the pinnacle of philosophy. In the region of the Zeugmatensians, Publius and Paul. In the region of the Cyrestians, the all-laudable Acepsemas was enclosed in a cell and had lived in this manner for sixty continuous years, neither being seen by anyone nor speaking to anyone. B The admirable Zeumatius, although deprived of sight, went about strengthening the sheep and resisting the wolves. For this reason, they burned his monastic hut; but Trajan, the most faithful commander of the soldiers, built another and provided him with the rest of his needs. In the region of the Antiochians, again, Marianus, Eusebius, Ammianus, Palladius, Symeones, Abraames, and others besides these preserved the divine image undefiled. Of both these and those, we have set down the life in writing. Moreover, the mountain situated near the great city blossomed like a meadow. For in it shone Peter the Galatian, and another of the same name, the Egyptian, C as well as Romanus, Severus, Zeno, Moses, Malchus, and very many others, unknown indeed to the many, but known to God.
CHAPTER XXVI.
De Didymo Alexandrino et Ephræmo Syro.At this same time, Ephrem the admirable flourished at Edessa, and Didymus at Alexandria, both of them composing books against the enemies of the truth. The former, using the Syrian language, sent forth the rays of spiritual grace. For although he had not tasted of Greek learning, he nevertheless refuted the manifold errors of the Greeks and laid bare the fraudulent weakness of every heresy. And because Harmonius, the son of Bardesanes, had formerly composed certain odes and had mingled impiety with the sweetness of melody, D soothing his listeners and drawing them to destruction, he took the harmony of the melody and mixed in piety, offering to his listeners a medicine at once most sweet and profitable. These songs to this day make the festivals of the triumphant martyrs more joyful. Didymus, however, having been deprived of the sense of sight from childhood, was instructed in both poetical and rhetorical disciplines, and he learned arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, the syllogisms of Aristotle, and the eloquence of Plato, not as if these things could teach the truth, but because they are weapons for the truth.
He also learned not only the letter of the Holy Scriptures, but their inner meanings as well. A Among the ascetics and those who cultivated virtue, these men shone forth at that time.
CAP. XXVII. Which bishops were illustrious in the Asian and Pontic dioceses at this time.
Among the bishops, two Gregories shone forth, the Nazianzen and the Nyssen; the latter was the brother of the great Basil, and the former his companion and assistant. These men fought most bravely in Cappadocia on behalf of the truth, and Peter also contended strenuously alongside them. Though he was born of the same parents as Basil and Gregory, he had not been instructed in secular learning as they had, yet he was illustrious for the purity of his life. In Pisidia, Optimus, and Amphilochius in Lycaonia, B stood with a brave spirit in the battle line for the faith of their forefathers and repelled the hostile assaults. In the West, Damasus, presiding over Rome, and Ambrose, entrusted with the governing of Milan, struck at those who were casting their weapons from afar; and along with them, those who had been relegated to the furthest regions confirmed their own people through letters and confounded the enemies. For the Governor of all awakened overseers equal to the magnitude of the storm, and he set the virtue of these leaders against the violence of the enemies, and he gave remedies appropriate to the difficulty of the times. Nor did the benevolent Lord bestow this providence alone upon the Churches, C but he also deemed them worthy of other care.
CAP. XXVIII. On the letters written by Valens to the great Valentinian concerning the war, and of his pious response.
For having incited the Gothic nation to war, he drew him—who had learned to make war only against the pious—to the Bosphorus. Then that vain man, realizing his own weakness, sent to his brother to ask for an army. The brother wrote back that it was impious to bring aid to one who was waging war against God, and that it seemed just that his rashness should be curbed. These things filled that unhappy man with distress; yet he did not cease from his rashness, D but persisted in fighting against the truth.
CAP. XXIX. On the piety of Count Terentius.
Terentius, a most excellent commander and one distinguished by piety, had returned from Armenia, having erected trophies of victory. When Valens had given him the option of asking for whatever he wished, he asked for that which befitted a foster child of piety.
For he asked not for gold, nor silver, nor land, nor power, nor a house, but that one church be granted to those who were struggling for the apostolic doctrine. Valens, however, having received the petition and having learned what it contained, became enraged and tore it up, and ordered him to ask for other things. But he, having collected the fragments of the petition, said, "I have received it, O Emperor, and I have the gift from you, and I shall ask for nothing else. For the judge of all shall be the judge of my purpose."
CHAPTER XXX. De libera voce Trajani, magistri militum.
A When he had crossed the Bosphorus and reached Thrace, at first he remained a very long time in Constantinople, fearing the war. B Meanwhile, he sent Trajan, the master of soldiers, with the army against the barbarians. When he was defeated by them and had returned, having suffered a slaughter, he was received with heavy reproaches by Valens, who accused him of inaction and cowardice. But he, using his freedom of speech, as became a brave man, said, "I have not been defeated, O Emperor, but you have betrayed the victory, by drawing up a battle line against God, and by procuring His help for the barbarians. For since you have provoked Him, He passes over to them; but victory follows God, and it falls to those who are led to battle by God. Or do you not know whom you have driven from the churches, and to whom you have handed them over?" Arintheus and Victor, who were also masters of soldiers, also affirmed that these things were so, and they begged the Emperor not to be angry at reproofs which were joined with the truth. C
CHAPTER XXXI. De Isaacio monacho Constantinopolitano, et Bretanione episcopo Scythiae.
It is also said that Isaac, who had a monastic cell there, when he saw him setting out on an expedition with the army, exclaimed with a loud voice, "Where are you going, O Emperor, waging war against God, and lacking His aid? For He Himself has incited the barbarians against you, because you have incited many tongues to blasphemy against Him, and have driven from the sacred houses those who praise Him. D Therefore, cease from warring, and He will cease the war; restore to the flocks the best shepherds, and you will obtain victory without labor. But if you neglect these things and proceed to battle, you will learn by experience how hard it is to kick against the pricks. For you will not return, and
you will lose the army." A Angered by this, the emperor said, "I shall return, and I will kill you, and I will exact penalties for your false prediction." But he, fearing the threat not at all, cried out and said, "Kill me, if any falsehood is detected in my words."
B But Vetranio, a man illustrious for the attainments of all virtues, and entrusted with the governance of the cities of all Scythia with episcopal authority, inflamed his spirit with divine zeal, and refuted the corruption of the dogmas and the iniquitous persecutions of the saints by Valens, crying out with the most divine David: "I spoke of thy testimonies in the presence of kings, and I was not confounded." [b]
CHAPTER XXXII.
*Of the expedition of Valens against the Goths, and how he paid the penalty for his impiety.*But Valens, having despised those best of counselors, sent his prepared forces to join battle; he himself, remaining in a certain village, awaited the victory. B But the soldiers, not sustaining the onslaught of the Barbarians, turned their backs and were slaughtered by those pursuing; they fled with the greatest speed, while those pursued with all their might. [B. St. 36.] And when the Barbarians had arrived at that village, where Valens, having learned of the defeat, attempted to lie hidden, they applied fire and burned the enemy of piety together with the village. Thus, even in this life, he paid the penalty for his transgressions.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
*Whence the Goths contracted the Arian heresy.*I deem it worthwhile to teach those who are ignorant by what means the contagion of the Arian plague reached the Barbarians. C [B. St. 37.] At the time when they had crossed the Ister and struck up treaties of peace with Valens, Eudoxius that infamous man, who was present, suggested to the emperor that he should persuade the Goths to accept his communion. For previously, from the time they had received the rays of divine knowledge, they had been nourished by the apostolic dogmas. For he said that a common understanding of doctrine would produce a firmer peace. Valens, having praised this counsel, proposed to the leaders of the Goths a concord of doctrines. But they said they would not endure to abandon the paternal teaching. D At that time, Ulphilas was their bishop, to whom they deferred greatly, and they held his words as fixed laws. Eudoxius, having beguiled him with words and enticed him with money, persuaded him to induce the Barbarians to embrace the emperor's communion. He persuaded him by saying that the controversy had arisen out of ambition, [and that it was only a matter of] dogmas—
that there is no difference. For which reason, even to this day, the Goths say that the Father is greater than the Son, but they do not endure to call the Son a creature, even though they hold communion with those who do so call him. Nevertheless, they have not altogether abandoned their ancestral teaching; for indeed Ulphilas, in persuading them to hold communion with Eudoxius and Valens, A said that there was no difference of doctrine, but that the division had arisen merely from vain contention.
BOOK FIVE
BCHAPTER I. Concerning the piety of the Emperor Gratian.
That the Lord God bears for a very long time with those who rage against him, and how He punishes those who do not use His forbearance as they ought, the deeds and sufferings of Valens have accurately taught. For as if by certain balances and scales, the lover of mankind, employing mercy and justice, whenever He sees someone exceeding the measure of kindness by the magnitude of his sins, restrains him with just punishment, lest he fall into graver ones. C Gratian, then—the son of Valentinian and nephew of Valens—took up the entire Roman government. For long before, he had taken up the sceptres of Europe after the death of his father; and indeed, even while he was alive, he had been a partner in the empire. But with Valens having been extinguished without children, he also obtained Asia and the remaining parts of Libya.CHAPTER II. Concerning the return of the bishops.
D He, however, soon made the piety that was innate in him more manifest, and offered the first fruits of his reign to the King of all. For he wrote a law, commanding both that the exiled pastors return and be restored to their own flocks, and that the divine houses be delivered to those who preferred the communion of Damasus. This Damasus was bishop of Rome, and was adorned with a praiseworthy life, and was ready in all things both to speak and to act for the apostolic doctrines; he had succeeded Liberius in the administration of the Church. Together with the law, he also sent Sapor the general, who was at that time most renowned, and commanded that the heralds of the Arian blasphemy, like some wild beasts, be driven from the sacred enclosures, and that the best of pastors be restored to their divine flocks.A And while this was done without dispute among each of the other nations, in Antioch, the primary city of the East, a contention of the following sort was ignited.
CHAPTER III.
Concerning the contention of Paulinus, and the innovation of Apollinarius of Laodicea, and concerning the philosophy and piety of Meletius.
As we have already said, those who fought in defense of the apostolic doctrines had been divided into two parties. Some, immediately after the treachery concocted against the great Eustathius, having detested the Arian impiety and holding their assemblies apart, had Paulinus as their leader. B Others, after the ordination of Euzoius, having separated themselves from the impious along with the illustrious Meletius, and having endured those dangers which we have described, were guided by the most wise teaching of Meletius. In addition to these, Apollinarius of Laodicea showed himself as the leader of another faction; he, having put on the mask of piety and having seemed to defend the apostolic doctrines, a little later appeared as a manifest enemy. For he reasoned perversely concerning the divine nature, creating certain degrees of dignities, and dared to represent the mystery of the dispensation as imperfect, and affirmed that the rational soul, to which the government of the body had been entrusted, was devoid of the salvation that has been brought about. For he claimed that the God Word did not take this [soul] upon Himself according to his doctrine, nor did He provide medicine for it, nor did He bestow honor upon it; but that while the earthly body is worshipped by invisible powers, the soul, which was made in the divine image, remained below, enveloped in the disgrace of sin. C And in addition to these things, he gathered many other errors through a blind mind. For sometimes he himself also confessed that the flesh was taken from the holy Virgin; at other times he said that it had come down from heaven together with the God Word; at other times that He Himself became flesh, having taken nothing from us. He also joined other fables and trifles to the divine promises, which I have thought superfluous to recount at present. Now while he taught such things, he not only filled his own followers with the damage, but he also infected some of our own with this same stain. For later, seeing their own insignificance and viewing the splendor of the Church, they were all joined, with few exceptions, to the Church and received ecclesiastical communion; yet they did not cast off the disease with which they previously labored, but by this very means they corrupted many who had once been healthy. D From this root in the Churches sprang the saying that there is one nature of the flesh and the divinity, and [the notion] of attributing the passion to the divinity of the Only-begotten, and other things of this kind, about which contentions between the peoples and the priests have arisen. But these things indeed happened later. At that time, however, when Sapor the magister entered Antioch...
and produced the imperial law, Paulinus asserted that he himself was of the party of Damasus; and Apollinaris also asserted the same, concealing his malady. But the divine Meletius, ignoring their contention, kept himself in quiet. B Flavianus, that most wise man, who was still numbered in the order of presbyters, spoke first to Paulinus in the presence of the magister: "If you embrace the communion of Damasus, O friend, demonstrate clearly to us the kinship between your doctrine and his. For he, while confessing one essence of the Trinity, explicitly preaches three hypostases; but you, on the contrary, by abolishing the hypostases, destroy the Trinity. Show, then, the harmony of your doctrines, and take the churches according to the law." Having thus stopped his mouth with these refutations, he turned to Apollinaris and said: "I marvel at you, O friend, that you should so shamelessly fight against the truth, especially when you know clearly that the admirable Damasus affirms that our nature was assumed in its entirety by the Word of God; but you continue to teach the opposite. For you deprive our mind of salvation. If, however, we say these things falsely, accusing you, then at least now abjure the innovation brought forth by you, embrace the doctrine of Damasus, and take the divine churches." Thus, then, the most wise Flavianus with true arguments suppressed their audacity. But Meletius, the C gentlest of all men, addressing Paulinus lovingly and kindly, said: "Since the Lord of the sheep has entrusted to me the care of these sheep, and you have undertaken the care of others, and the sheep are united with one another in the communion of piety, let us, O friend, join our flocks together and put an end to the contention regarding the leadership; and by pasturing the sheep in common, let us bestow upon them common care. If, however, the throne in the middle is the cause of the strife, I will try to remove even this. For let the divine Gospel be placed upon it, I pray, and let us sit on either side: and if I should be the first to depart from this life, you alone, O friend, shall rule the flock; but if you should happen to be the first to suffer this, I in turn will care for the sheep to the best of my ability." Although these things were offered by the divine Meletius gently and lovingly, Paulinus did not consent. And the magister, having become the judge of these things said, handed the churches over to the great Meletius: but Paulinus remained the bishop of those sheep that had long since been separated.
CHAPTER IV. On Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.
Apollinaris, being repulsed from the government of the churches, thereafter openly preached his new doctrine and declared himself the leader of the heresy. He was dwelling, for the most part, in Laodicea; An- D
Atiochia, however, he had already ordained Vitalis, a man distinguished for the honesty of his life and nourished in the apostolic doctrines, although afterwards he was defiled by the stain of error. But the divine Meletius appointed that Diodorus—whom I have already mentioned, and who kept the ship of the Church safe and un-submerged in the most grievous tempest—as pastor of the Tarsians, and entrusted to him the nation of the Cilicians. To Apamea he entrusted the episcopal care to John, who was indeed sprung from a distinguished family, but was more illustrious for his own virtue than for that of his ancestors. For he shone equally in the ornaments of doctrine and of life. During the time of the storm, he governed the congregation of those who agreed with him in the faith, having as an assistant the praiseworthy Stephen, whom the divine Meletius also B destined for other struggles. For having learned that Germanicia had been corrupted by the pestilence of Eudoxius, he sent this man as a physician to ward off the evil; for he had attained to all the disciplines of the Greeks, and had been trained in the divine doctrines from an early age. Nor was his hope frustrated. By exhibiting spiritual instruction, he changed wolves into sheep. But the great Eusebius, having returned from exile, ordained as bishop of Beroea Acacius, whose fame is celebrated, and in Hierapolis, Theodotus, whose religious life is even now on the lips of all. He also appointed Eusebius to Chalcis and Isidore to our own Cyrus; both were admirable and conspicuous for divine zeal. They say also that the same man ordained as pastor of Edessa that Eulogius who struggled strenuously for the apostolic doctrine and was exiled to Antinopolis with Protogenes, for the divine Barse had already reached C the end of his life. And Eulogius placed Protogenes, his companion in conflicts, over Carrhae, providing a capable physician to heal the city, which was in a poor state of health. Last of all, the divine Eusebius created Maris bishop of Doliche—a small town, and one infected at that time with the Arian malady. Wishing to place this Maris, a man truly praiseworthy and illustrious in many kinds of virtues, in the episcopal seat, the great Eusebius came to Doliche. As he was entering the city, a certain woman suffering from the Arian pestilence threw a tile from the roof and struck his head, and from that wound, not long afterward, he departed to a better life. Being close to death, he bound those who were present with an oath that they should exact no penalty from the woman for this deed, imitating his own Lord, who, praying for His crucifiers, said: D "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" c; and his fellow-servant Stephen, who, after many blows from stones, cried out: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." d By such a death, after many and various contests, the great Eusebius finished his life, and he who had Bar-
escaped the Barbarians in Thrace could not escape the hands of the impious heretics, but by them was adorned with the crown of martyrdom. These things, then, occurred after the return of the bishops. Gratian, having learned that Thrace was being ravaged by the Barbarians who had burned Valens, left Italy and arrived in Pannonia. A
CHAPTER V. Concerning Theodosius, master of soldiers.
At that time, Theodosius, on account of the celebrity of his ancestors as well as his own courage, was most renowned; and for this reason, being assailed by the envy of his peers and countrymen, he was living in the Spains, for in those regions he had been born and bred. The emperor, being at a loss what to do—for the Barbarians, puffed up by their victory, were, and deemed themselves, difficult to overcome—conceived that Theodosius having the command would be the solution to these evils. He therefore immediately sent for the man from the Spains, appointed him master of the soldiers, and dispatched him with a muster of troops. He, having protected himself with faith, set out confidently; and upon entering Thrace and seeing the Barbarians advancing to meet him, he drew up his army for battle. A skirmish taking place, they, failing to withstand the charge, abandoned their ranks; and once the rout had occurred, some fled, while others pursued them with force. B A great slaughter of the Barbarians ensued. For they were not only cut down by the Romans, but they were also destroying one another with their own blows. Most having been killed in this way, and only a few having been able to save themselves by crossing the Ister, the excellent general at once stationed the army he had in the neighboring cities, and himself traveled with great speed toward the emperor Gratian, to be the messenger of his own trophies. The emperor, however, astonished at the magnitude of the event, found what he related incredible; and others, who were stung by the goads of envy, said that he had himself fled and lost his army. Then he requested that those very men who were opposing him be sent, so that they might learn the number of the slaughtered Barbarians. For he said it was easy to discover the number even from the spoils. Persuaded by these words, the emperor sent those who would investigate the deeds and subsequently report on them. C
CHAPTER VI. De ejusdem imperio, et viso per somnum.
While the excellent general remained with Gratian, he saw a divine vision, clearly manifested to him by the God of all. For he seemed to see the divine Meletius, the president of the Church of Antioch, D placing upon him the imperial mantle [and...].
and a similar crown upon his head. Having seen these things by night, he reported them in the morning to one of his familiars; and he said that the dream was clear, containing nothing enigmatic or ambiguous. And after very few days had passed, the scouts returned from the operations, and reported that many myriads of the barbarians had been slain. The emperor, being persuaded that he had made an excellent decision in appointing him general, proclaimed him emperor and entrusted to him the scepter of the portion which Valens had governed. He himself set out for Italy, having sent Theodosius off to the provinces committed to him. As soon as he obtained the empire, he concerned himself before other matters with the concord of the Churches, and commanded the bishops of his own government to hasten to Constantinople. For this was the only part B filled with the Arian plague; for the West remained free of this disease. For Constantine, the eldest of the sons of Constantine, and Constans, the youngest, had preserved the ancestral faith unadulterated, and Valentinian the emperor of the West likewise preserved the piety pure.
CHAPTER VII. Quinam insignes fuerint Arianae factionis antistites.
B Now the Eastern part contracted this corruption from many authors. For Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria in Egypt, was the first of all to produce this blasphemy. Then Eusebius and Patrophilus and Aetius the Palestinians, Paulinus and Gregory the Phoenicians, and Theodotus of Laodicea, and his successor George, and after him Athanasius and Narcissus the Cilicians, nourished the seeds that had been badly sown; Eusebius C and Theognis the Bithynians, and Menophantus the Ephesian, and Theodorus the Perinthian, and Maris the Chalcedonian, and certain others from Thrace, noble only in their wickedness, for a long time watered and fostered the sowing of the tares. The ease of Constantius and the malice of Valens aided these perverse husbandmen. For this reason, he commanded only the bishops of his own empire to be gathered at Constantinople. When they arrived, being one hundred and fifty in number, he forbade anyone to point out to him who the great Meletius was, desiring to recognize the man from the memory of his dream. When, therefore, that entire band of bishops had entered the palace, he passed over all the others and ran to the great Meletius, D and, like a devoted son enjoying the paternal gaze after a long time, he embraced him, and kissed his eyes, his lips, his chest, his head, and the right hand which had placed the crown upon him. He also explained the vision that had been presented to him. After he had also affectionately greeted the others, he requested that they, as Fathers, consult regarding the matters proposed.
CHAPTER VIII. On the council convened at Constantinople.
A At that time, the man who had most recently shepherded the church of Nazianzus was staying in Constantinople, vehemently opposing the Arian blasphemies. By saturating the holy people with evangelical doctrines, and by recalling the sheep wandering outside the fold and leading them away from noxious fodder, he made that flock large, though it had been small. The divine Meletius, seeing this and understanding the intention of those who had written the canon—for they, wishing to cut off occasions for ambition, had forbidden the translation of bishops—confirmed Gregory in the episcopate of Constantinople. Shortly thereafter, the divine Meletius departed to the life free from pain, being honored with funeral orations by all who were able to speak with eloquence.
But Timotheus, the prelate of the Alexandrians—who had succeeded Peter, who himself had become the heir to Athanasius’s throne—in place of the admirable Gregory, ordained a certain Maximus, a Cynic, having suddenly shorn off his Cynic hair. This man was also full of the trifles of Apollinarius. B However, those who had gathered there, being men worthy of admiration and full of divine zeal and wisdom, did not endure the absurdity of what had been done. Among them was Helladius, the successor to the Great Basil in the episcopate; and Gregory and Peter, who were born of the same father as Basil; and Amphilochius, the shepherd of the Lycaonians; and Optimus of the Pisidians; and Diodorus of the Cilicians. There were also present Pelagius of Laodicea, and Eulogius of Edessa, and Acacius, and our own Isidore, and Cyril of Jerusalem, and Gelasius of Caesarea in Palestine, a man adorned with doctrine and character, and very many other athletes of virtue.
C Then, all these men, separating themselves from the Egyptians, celebrated the divine assemblies together with the great Gregory. The divine Gregory exhorted them, since they had met for the sake of establishing concord, to prefer their mutual agreement to the injustice done to one man. "For I," he said, "being delivered from many cares, shall receive the quietude that is dear to me, and you, after that long and grievous war, shall enjoy the long-desired peace. For it would be most absurd indeed if we, who have only just escaped the weapons of war, were to pierce one another with our own weapons and consume our own strength. D For thus we shall provide laughter and joy to our enemies. Seek out, therefore, a man worthy of praise and endowed with understanding, who is able to take upon himself and rightly sustain the weight of so many cares, and designate him as bishop." The excellent shepherds, persuaded by these exhortations, ordained Nectarium, a man of patrician rank, illustrious by the nobility of his lineage and distinguished in all virtues, as bishop of that greatest city. But Maximus, as a participant in the madness of Apollinarius, they stripped of the episcopal dignity and deposed.
Having also written canons regarding ecclesiastical good order, and having declared that the faith set forth at Nicaea should remain firm, they returned to their own homelands. B In the following summer, when most of them had returned to that same city again—for ecclesiastical needs had called them together again—they received a synodical letter from the bishops of the West, inviting them to come to Rome, as a great synod was being assembled there. But they declined the journey, as it would be of no profit, yet they sent a letter in which they signified the tempest that had arisen against the Churches, and hinted at their negligence in this matter. They also included in the same letter a summary of the Apostolic doctrine. But the letter itself will more clearly demonstrate the courage and wisdom of those who wrote it.
Chapter IX. Synodical letter of the Council of Constantinople.
To our most honorable and reverend C brothers and fellow-ministers, Damasus, Ambrose, Britton, Valerian, Ascholius, Anemius, Basil, and the rest of the holy bishops assembled in the great city of Rome, the holy synod of orthodox bishops who have assembled in the great city of Constantinople, send greetings in the Lord.
To instruct your reverence as though you were ignorant, and to describe the multitude of the calamities inflicted upon us by the power of the Arians, seems perhaps superfluous. For we do not judge your piety to think so lightly of our affairs that you have need to be taught these things, when you ought to sympathize with us; nor were the storms that have battered D us such that they could remain hidden due to their insignificance. For the time of the persecutions is recent, and still keeps the memory fresh, not only in those who have suffered, but even in those who, through love, share the troubles of those who have suffered. For yesterday, so to speak, or the day before, some who were released from the bonds of exile returned to their own Churches through a thousand dangers; and the remains of those who had died in exile were brought back. Others also, even after their return from exile, falling into the still burning fury of the heretics, were pelted with stones by them like the blessed Stephen, and endured graver afflictions in their own country than on foreign soil. Others, mangled by various tortures, still carry the marks of Christ and the bruises on their bodies. But the loss of money, and the many proscriptions of cities and private individuals, the plots, the insults, and the prisons...
who can enumerate? For in truth all afflictions have been multiplied upon us beyond number, A perhaps that we might pay the penalty for our sins, or perhaps because the benevolent God is exercising us through the multitude of our sufferings. For these things, therefore, thanks must be rendered to God, who has instructed His own servants through such great afflictions, and according to the multitude of His mercies has again brought us out into a place of refreshment. For we had need of long leisure, and much time and labor, for the restoration of the Churches, so that, as if from a long illness, by slow and gradual treatments we might heal the body of the Church and restore it to the ancient health of piety. For although we seem to have been liberated from the severity of the persecutions, and to be receiving back the churches long occupied by the heretics, nevertheless burdensome wolves are still troublesome to us, who, even though they have been cast out from the sheepfolds, tear the flocks of sheep in the woods, hold contrary assemblies, stir up seditions among the people, and omit nothing that might harm the Churches. B Wherefore it was necessary for us, as we have said, to bestow the labor of a longer time. But now, since you, showing your brotherly love toward us, and by the will of God congregating a synod at Rome, have called us also as your own members through the letters of the most religious emperor, so that just as we were condemned then alone to undergo afflictions, now, in this harmony of the emperors concerning piety, you might not reign alone without us, but that we might also, according to the Apostolic voice (1 Cor. iv, 8), reign with you: our prayer was, if it were possible, all of us at once to abandon the Churches, and to yield to desire rather than to necessity. For who will give us wings as of a dove, and we will fly and rest among you (Ps. liv, 7)? But because this would have completely stripped the Churches, which are now just beginning to find renewal, and many were altogether unable to perform this task—for we had gathered at Constantinople, in accordance with the letters sent last year after the Council of Aquileia by your Reverence to the most religious emperor Theodosius, having prepared C for this journey to Constantinople alone, and bringing with us the consent of the bishops who remained in the provinces only for this synod, neither suspecting the burden of a longer journey, nor having heard anything of it at all before we arrived in Constantinople; and since the narrowness of the time prescribed was enough neither to prepare for a longer journey, nor to notify the bishops of our communion who were in the provinces, and to obtain their consent: because these and many other things prevented most from coming, what was closest at hand,
A and at the same time serves to correct the situation and to demonstrate your love for us, we have done, by urging our most reverend and honorable fellow-ministers and brothers, the bishops Cyriacus, Eusebius, and Priscianus, to willingly undertake the labor of traveling to you. Through them, we make manifest both our peaceful disposition and purpose for unity,B and also our zeal for the sound faith. For we have endured for the sake of the evangelical faith, which was ratified at Nicaea in Bithynia by the three hundred and eighteen Fathers—whether persecutions, or tribulations, or imperial threats, or the cruelties of magistrates, or any other temptation whatsoever posed by the heretics. It is fitting that this [faith] be approved both by you and by us, and by all who do not pervert the word of the true faith, inasmuch as it is most ancient and consonant with Baptism, teaching us to believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Truly, so that there is believed to be one divinity, and power, and substance of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, of equal dignity and coeternal sovereignty, in three perfect hypostases, or rather three perfect persons: so that neither the plague of Sabellius may find a place, whereby the hypostases are confounded or the properties are abolished; nor the blasphemy of the Eunomians, Arians, and those who oppose the Holy Spirit may prevail, which cuts asunder the substance, or nature, or divinity, and introduces into the uncreated, consubstantial, and coeternal Trinity some nature either later, or created, or of a different substance. We also keep the doctrine of the Incarnation uncorrupted, neither admitting of a dispensation of the flesh devoid of soul or mind, or imperfect; but knowing the whole, that the Word of God was perfect before the ages, and became perfect man in the final days for the sake of our salvation. These, therefore, are in summary those things pertaining to the faith which we openly preach; concerning which you will be able to satisfy your minds more fully if you deign to examine the volume of the Antiochene synod, and that which was issued last year at Constantinople by the universal synod, where we have set forth the confession of faith more abundantly, and have written down the sentence of anathema against recently invented heresies. Concerning the private administration of the Churches, however, an ancient custom has prevailed, as you know, D as well as the definition of the holy Fathers at Nicaea, that in every province the bishops of that province—and, if they themselves so desire, those bordering upon them—should perform ordinations according to necessity. By this arrangement, know that the remaining churches among us
A are administered, and that priests have been created for the most illustrious churches. Wherefore, for the newly founded, as one might call it, church of Constantinople, which we have recently, by the mercy of God, snatched as it were from the lion’s mouth of the heretics’ blasphemy, we have ordained the most reverent and most God-beloved Nectarius as bishop in the general council with the common consent of all, and in the presence of the most God-beloved Emperor Theodosius, and of the whole clergy, and of the entire city giving its assent. And for the most ancient and truly apostolic church of Antioch in Syria — in which the venerable name of Christians was first heard — the most reverent and God-beloved Bishop Flavian was canonically ordained by the bishops of the province and of the Oriental diocese who had gathered together, with the whole church consenting and praising the man as if with one voice; which legitimate ordination the universal synod also confirmed. Furthermore, we declare that the most reverent and God-beloved Cyril is bishop of the Mother of all the churches, B the church in Jerusalem, who was also canonically ordained long ago by the bishops of the province and struggled greatly against the Arians in various places. We beseech your Reverence to rejoice with us over these men, as they have been legitimately and canonically instated among us, with spiritual charity intervening, and the fear of the Lord restraining every human affection, and placing the edification of the churches above private favor and grace toward any individual. For thus, with the doctrine of faith in harmony and Christian charity strengthened among us, we shall cease C to say that which was condemned by the apostles: "I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas" (1 Cor. 1, 12), and showing that we are all of Christ, who is not divided among us, we shall, God willing, preserve the body of the Church indivisible, and we shall stand before the judgment seat of the Lord with confidence. These things they wrote against the madness of Arius, and Aetius, and Eunomius, and likewise against Sabellius, and Photinus, and Marcellus, and Paul of Samosata, and Macedonius. Likewise, they also openly condemned the heresy of Apollinarius, saying: "We also keep the doctrine of the Lord’s incarnation uncorrupted, neither admitting an D ensouled or mindless, or imperfect dispensation of the flesh."
CHAPTER X.
A Synodical letter of Damasus, bishop of Rome, written against Apollinarius and Timotheus.But the most praiseworthy Damasus, having learned that this heresy had sprung up, not only deposed and excommunicated Apollinarius, but also Timotheus, his disciple; and he made this known to the bishops governing the East by means of letters, which I have thought useful to insert into this history.
Epistle of Damasus, bishop of Rome.
That your charity renders the reverence due to the apostolic see, you confer most upon yourselves, most honored sons. For although in the holy Church, in which the holy Apostle sat and taught how we ought to steer the rudders which we have taken up, we confess nevertheless that we are inferior to that honor, yet for that reason we strive by all means, if we might by any way arrive at the glory of his blessedness. Know, therefore, that we have condemned the once profane Timotheus, the disciple of the heretic Apollinaris, along with his impious doctrine; and we do not at all believe that his remains B will possess any power henceforth. But if that ancient serpent, having been struck once and again, has revived to his own harm—he who, being an alien from the Church, does not cease trying to subvert certain faithless ones with his deadly poisons—do you nevertheless avoid this like a pestilence, and, mindful of the apostolic faith, especially that which was set forth in writing by the Fathers at Nicaea, remain stable and immovable in the faith with a firm step, and do not suffer vaniloquence or obsolete questions to be heard hereafter from your clergy or your laity. For we have already given a standard once C for all, so that he who professes himself a Christian might keep that which was delivered by the apostles, since the holy Paul says: "If anyone preaches to you a gospel other than that which you have received, let him be anathema." For Christ, the Son of God, our Lord, conferred most complete salvation upon the human race through his own passion, so that he might liberate the whole man, entangled in sins, from every sin. If anyone should say that He possessed imperfect humanity or divinity, that man, being filled with a diabolical spirit, shows himself to be a son of hell. Why, therefore, do you again D ask of me the deposition of Timotheus, who was deposed here also by the judgment of the apostolic see, in the presence of Peter, the bishop of the city of Alexandria, together with his master?
Apollinaris, who shall also on the day of judgment undergo the due penalties and torments. But if he persuades any of the more unstable ones, as though he had some hope, he who has exchanged the true hope in Christ with his confession, he who desires to struggle against the canon of the Church shall perish in like manner along with him. May God keep you in health, most honored sons. Moreover, the bishops gathered in great Rome also wrote certain other things against various heresies, which I thought fitting to weave into the narrative. A
CAP. XI. Confession of the Catholic Faith, which Pope Damasus sent to Paulinus the bishop in Macedonia, who was at Thessalonica.
BSince after the Nicene council this error has arisen, that some with profane mouth dare to say that the Holy Spirit was made through the Son, we anathematize those who do not most freely preach that the Holy Spirit exists of the same substance and power with the Father and the Son. Likewise, we also anathematize those who follow the error of Sabellius, and say that the Father and the Son are the same. We anathematize Arius and Eunomius, who with equal impiety, though they differ in words, assert that the Son and the Holy Spirit are a creature. We anathematize the Macedonians, who, propagated from the root of Arius, have changed not the impiety, but the name only. We anathematize Photinus, who, while renewing the heresy of Ebion, confessed our Lord Jesus Christ to be only from Mary. We anathematize also those who insist that there are two sons, one before the ages, and another after the assumption of flesh from Mary. We anathematize also those who assert that the Word of God was in human flesh instead of a rational soul. For this very Word of God was not in His body in place of a rational and intelligent soul, but He assumed and saved our soul, that is, a rational and intellectual one, without sin. We anathematize those who say that the Word of God is separated from the Father by extension and contraction, and blaspheme that He is without subsistence and destined to perish. Those, however, who have migrated from one church to another, we hold as strangers to our communion until they return to those cities in which they were first ordained. But if someone, upon another having moved from place to place, has been ordained in the place of a living person, he who defends his own city shall remain void of priestly dignity, until his successor rests in the Lord. If anyone shall not say that the Father is always, and the Son is always, and that the Holy Spirit is always...
A existing, let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that the Son is begotten of the Father, that is, from His divine substance, let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that the Son of God is true God, just as His Father is true God, and that He can do all things, and knows all things, and is equal to the Father, let him be anathema. If anyone shall say that the Son of God, while He was on earth, was not in the heavens and with the Father while dwelling in the flesh, let him be anathema. If anyone shall say that the Son of God endured the agony of the passion of the cross in His divinity, and not in the flesh and rational soul which He assumed in the form of a servant, as the holy Scripture has said, let him be anathema. If anyone B shall not say that the Word of God suffered 215 in the flesh, and tasted death in the flesh, and was made the firstborn from the dead, inasmuch as the Son is life and the life-giver, let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that He sits in the flesh which He assumed at the right hand of the Father, in which also He shall come to judge the living and the dead, let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that the Holy Spirit is truly and properly from the Father, as is the Son, from the divine substance, and is God as the Word of God, let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that the Holy Spirit can do all things, and knows all things, and is present everywhere, as are the Son and the Father, let him be anathema. If anyone shall say that the Holy Spirit is a creature, or that He was made through the Son, let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that the Father made all things C through the Son who was incarnate, and through the Holy Spirit—that is, the visible and the invisible—let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that there is one divinity, authority, one power, one glory, one lordship, one kingdom, one will and truth of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that the three persons, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, are true, ever-living, holding all things, visible and invisible, all-powerful, judging all things, vivifying all things, creating all things, conserving all things, let him be anathema. If anyone shall not say that the Holy Spirit is to be worshipped by all creation, just as the Son and the Father D are, let him be anathema. If anyone thinks rightly concerning the Father and the Son, but does not think rightly concerning the Holy Spirit, let him be anathema, because he is a heretic: for all heretics who do not think rightly concerning the Son of God, and concerning the Holy Spirit—
they are convicted of being mired in the unbelief of the Jews and the Gentiles. But if anyone divides the Godhead, calling the Father a God in part, as well as the Son a God, and the Holy Spirit a God, and insists that they are called "gods" rather than "God"—on account of the one Godhead and power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which we believe and know as one God in three hypostases—or if, on the other hand, he removes the Son and the Holy Spirit, supposing that only the Father is called or believed to be the one God, let him be anathema. For the name of gods has been granted by God to the angels and to all the saints; but concerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, on account of their one and equal Godhead, it is not the names of "gods" that are displayed and signified, but the name of our God, so that we may believe that we are baptized into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and not into the names of archangels or angels, as the heretics, or the Jews, or the Gentiles, in their madness, suppose. This, therefore, is the salvation of Christians: believing in the Trinity—that is, in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit—and being baptized into the same one Godhead, and power, and divinity, and essence, we believe in Him. These things, then, occurred while Gratian was still alive. A
CHAPTER XII. On the death of Gratian, and the tyranny of Maximus.
For since he had distinguished himself in wars, and governed the cities soberly and justly, he died B by treachery, having left behind no children as heirs to the empire, but only a brother who was quite young and bore the same name as his father. But a certain Maximus, having scorned the youth of Valentinian, seized the sovereignty of the West. C
CHAPTER XIII. On Justina, the wife of Valentinian, and the plot against Ambrose.
At that time Justina, the wife of Valentinian the Great and mother of the young man, revealed to her son the seeds of the Arian doctrine which she had long ago received. For knowing her husband's fervor for the faith, she had striven to conceal them throughout his entire life. But seeing her son’s mind to be tender and easily swayed, she more confidently introduced her deception. And he, taking his mother’s instructions D as if they were beneficial (for looking at the bait of nature, he did not see the lethal hook), when first with Ambrose...
A he brought forward arguments regarding these matters, thinking that if he could persuade him, he would easily prevail over the others. But he reminded him of the piety of his father, and exhorted him to guard the inheritance he had received inviolate. He taught him also the difference of the dogmas, and how some are consistent with the doctrine of the Lord and the preaching of the Apostles, while others are directly contrary and war against the spiritual law. But the youth, being and acting as a youth, and being incited by his mother B who had been deceived, not only did not accept what was said, but also became full of rage, and surrounded the church enclosures with companies of heavy-armed soldiers and pelt-wearers. But since he saw that that greatest champion was not at all frightened by the things done by him (for he considered these things to be bugbears, which are accustomed to be presented to little boys by some), he then grew angrier, and openly ordered him to leave the holy portals. But he said, “I will not do this of my own will, nor will I betray the sheepfold to the wolves, nor will I hand over the divine temple to those who blaspheme. But if it pleases you to kill me, drive the sword or the spear into me inside. For I shall gladly accept such a slaughter.”
CAP. XIV. Concerning the things signified by Maximus the tyrant to Valentinian the younger.
C After a considerable time had passed, Maximus learned of what had been attempted against that most illustrious herald of the truth; and he wrote to Valentinian, exhorting him to cease the war against piety, and warning him not to abandon his father’s piety. He also added threats of war if he did not obey; and he confirmed these words by the deed itself. For having gathered an army, he marched toward Mediolanum, where he was dwelling. He, however, upon hearing of his approach, fled into Illyricum, having learned by experience what his mother’s counsel had profited him.
CAP. XV. Concerning the letters written about this matter by the Emperor Theodosius.
The most laudable Emperor Theodosius, having been informed D of the things which the emperor had done, and what the tyrant had written to him, wrote to the fugitive youth, saying that it was not to be wondered at if fear were joined to the emperor, but victory to the tyrant, because the emperor had warred against piety, but the tyrant had assisted it. The former, discarding it, flees naked; the latter, armed with it, overcomes the one who is despoiled: for the Legislator of piety is present with it. These things he wrote while he was still at a distance. But after he learned of his flight, he set out to bring him aid, so that, having left his own kingdom...
arrived; and he saw the one who had abandoned his own kingdom, but had come to his own. First of all, he brought healing to his soul, A cast out the disease of impiety that had supervened, and restored him to the ancestral piety. Then, having encouraged him to be of good courage and leading his forces against the tyrant, he handed over the kingdom to the youth without bloodshed, and slew the tyrant. For he supposed it would be an unjust act, and a violation of the treaties made with Gratian, if he did not exact retribution from those who had committed the slaughter.
Chapter XVI. Concerning Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
After his return from there, the admirable Amphilochius, whom I have often mentioned, arrived, petitioning that the gatherings of the Arians be driven out of the cities. The emperor, B thinking the request too harsh, did not accept it. But the most wise Amphilochius, after a moment of silence, devised a memorable stratagem. For going back into the palace and seeing the emperor’s son, Arcadius, standing by—who had recently been appointed emperor—he greeted the emperor in the usual manner, but offered no honor to his son. The emperor, supposing this was an oversight on the part of Amphilochius, ordered him to approach and kiss his son. But he replied that the honor already shown to him was sufficient. When the emperor became annoyed, interpreting the slight of his son as an insult offered to himself, C the most wise Amphilochius then revealed the purpose of his action, and said in a firm voice: "Do you see, O emperor, how you do not bear the dishonor of your son, but are bitterly angry with those who treat him insolently? Believe, therefore, that God, the Lord of all, also detests those who blaspheme His only-begotten Son, and regards them as ungrateful toward their Savior and Benefactor." Understanding the matter in this way, and admiring both his deeds and his words, the emperor immediately wrote a law prohibiting the gatherings of the heretics.
But indeed it is not easy to escape all the snares of the common enemy of mankind. For often one who has escaped the disease of licentiousness D is caught in the snare of avarice; and if he overcomes this as well, the abyss of envy arises from another side. And if he should leap over this again, he will find the net of anger spread before him. He sets ten thousand other traps for men, hunting them toward destruction. The passions of the body serve as tools for the plots he fashions against the soul; but the mind alone, being vigilant, prevails, breaking the force of these engines through its inclination toward divine things. As this admirable emperor was a participant in human nature, he was also a participant in the passions, and having added excess to righteous anger, he committed a sin that was both excessive and unlawful. But I will tell of...
recount for the benefit of the readers. It contains not only a reprimand of the admirable emperor, but also praise most worthy of his memory. A This I have done for the sake of the profit of those who inquire. For it
CHAPTER XVII. Concerning the slaughter at Thessalonica, and concerning the boldness of Bishop Ambrose, and the piety of the Emperor.
Thessalonica is a very large and populous city, situated in the nation of the Macedonians, but it is the capital not only of Thessaly and Achaia, but also of very many other nations which are governed by the Praetorian Prefect of Illyricum. A sedition having arisen in this city, certain magistrates were stoned and roughly treated. When this was announced, the emperor, inflamed, could not bear the onset of his anger, nor did he curb its force with the bridle of reason, but entrusted to it the decision of vengeance. B Having received this power, as if he were a law unto himself and a tyrant, having broken the reins and cast off the yoke of reason, he drew unjust swords against all, and slaughtered the innocent together with the guilty. For seven thousand men, it is said, were killed, without any judicial process preceding, and without those who had dared those terrible things being convicted; but as in a harvest, they were all mown down together like ears of corn.
C Having learned of this calamity, full of lamentations, that Ambrose whom I have often mentioned, when the emperor had arrived at Milan and, as was his custom, wished to enter the sacred temple, going out to meet him beyond the vestibule, forbade him to set foot upon the sacred entrance, saying: "You seem not to know, O emperor, the magnitude of the slaughter that has been committed by you; nor has your reason yet perceived the crime that has been committed, even after your anger has subsided. For perhaps imperial power does not allow one to recognize sin, and authority casts shadows over reason. Yet it is fitting that you should know your nature, how fragile and fleeting it is, and the ancestral dust from which we have sprung and into which we shall return; and do not, deceived by the glitter of the purple, be ignorant of the weakness of the body that it covers. You rule over those who share the same nature, O emperor, and indeed over your fellow-servants; for one is the King and Lord of all, the Creator of the universe. With what eyes, then, will you look upon the temple of the common Lord? With what feet will you tread that holy floor? How will you stretch out hands still dripping with the blood of unjust slaughter? How will you receive with such hands the most holy body of the Lord? How will you bring to your mouth the precious blood, having so unlawfully poured out so much blood because of the impulse of anger? D Depart, therefore, and do not attempt to increase the former transgression by a second; but accept the bond with which God the Lord of all from above approves you to be bound. It is a medicine
A for the soul, and a cause of health.” Yielding to these words—for, being nurtured in the divine oracles, he clearly knew which matters pertained to the priests and which to the emperors—the emperor returned to the palace with groans and tears. And a long time having elapsed, for eight months had passed, the festival of our Savior’s birth arrived; and the emperor sat in the palace, shedding a great flood of tears. Rufinus, who was at that time Master of the Offices and enjoyed much freedom of speech as he was on intimate terms with him, B went to him and asked the cause of his tears. He, groaning bitterly and pouring forth his tears even more abundantly, said: “You play, Rufinus, for you do not perceive my evils. I myself groan and lament, considering my calamity, because the divine temple is open to servants and beggars, and they enter without fear and pray to their own Lord, but to me it is inaccessible, and furthermore, heaven is closed to me. For I remember the Lord’s voice, which says explicitly: ‘Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.’ ” Rufinus said, “I will run, if it pleases you, to the pontiff, and I will persuade him with entreaties to release your bonds.” C “He will not be persuaded,” said the emperor. “I know the justice of Ambrose’s verdict, and he, out of respect for the imperial power, will not transgress the divine law.” Yet, as Rufinus insisted with many words and promised that he would convince Ambrose, the emperor ordered him to depart quickly; and he himself, deluded by hope, followed shortly after, trusting in the promises of Rufinus. But as soon as the divine Ambrose saw Rufinus, he said: “You emulate the shamelessness of dogs, Rufinus. For having been the counselor of such murder, you have wiped away the shame from your forehead, and you neither blush nor fear, having committed such madness against the divine image.” And when D Rufinus applied pleas, and said that the emperor would soon arrive, the holy Ambrose, kindled with divine zeal, said: “But I, Rufinus, declare that I will prevent him from crossing the sacred thresholds. If he changes his empire into tyranny, I too shall welcome the slaughter with pleasure.” Having heard these things, Rufinus notified the emperor through a messenger of the high priest’s intention, and advised him to remain inside the palace. But the emperor, having learned these things while in the middle of the forum, said: “I will go, and I will endure the just reproaches.” And when he had reached the sacred precincts, he did not enter into the divine temple, but approaching the pontiff who was sitting in the salutatorium, he besought him that he might be released from his bonds. He, however, [regarding] his tyrannical arrival and
said that Theodosius was raging against God and trampling upon His laws. The emperor replied: "I am not rebelling against the laws that have been established, nor do I seek to enter the holy vestibules unlawfully; but I ask that you release me from my bonds, and that you recall the common kindness of the Lord, and not shut to me the door which the Lord has opened to all who repent." The high priest then said: "What repentance, then, have you shown after so great an iniquity? By what medicines have you healed your grievous wounds?" The emperor replied: "It is your work to show and to mix the medicines; it is mine to receive those that are applied." Then the divine Ambrose said: "Since you allow judgment to be governed by wrath, and not reason but fury delivers the sentence, B write a law that shall render the sentences of wrath null and void; let all sentences of death or confiscation remain on record for thirty days, awaiting the judgment of reason. When those days have passed, let those who have written down the judgments present what was commanded, and then, with anger appeased, reason, judging for itself, shall weigh what has been decreed and discern whether they are just or unjust. If indeed it finds them unjust, it shall tear up the writings; but if they are just, it shall confirm them, and the number of days shall in no way hinder those things that have been rightly judged." The emperor, embracing this counsel and thinking it best, immediately ordered the law to be written and confirmed it with the subscription of his own hand. This being done, the divine Ambrose loosened the bond. C Thus, the most faithful emperor finally daring to enter the temple, he did not pray to God standing or with bended knees, but lying prone upon the floor, he uttered the Davidic cry: "My soul hath cleaved to the pavement; quicken thou me according to thy word." And plucking at his hair with his hands, beating his brow, and watering the floor with drops of tears, he begged that he might be granted pardon. When the time arrived for him to offer the gifts at the holy table, arising with the same tears, he went up to the sanctuary, and having offered the gifts, stopped within the railings as he was accustomed. But here again the great Ambrose was not silent, but taught him the difference between the D places. First he asked what he might be seeking, and when the emperor declared that he was waiting to partake of the divine mysteries, he made it known to him, using the chief of the deacons as his minister, that "The inner parts, O emperor, are accessible only to priests; to all others they are inaccessible and forbidden; therefore go out, and remain with the others; for the purple makes emperors, not priests." The most faithful emperor, receiving this admonition with an equable mind, gave orders that word be sent back that he had not remained within the railings out of any arrogance of soul, but because at Constantinople this was the custom
and I owe thanks, he said, for this correction too. A With such and so great virtue did both the bishop and the emperor shine. For I admire both: the courage of the one, and the obedience of the other; the fervor of the one’s zeal, and the purity of the other’s faith. The rules of piety which he had learned from the great bishop, he kept even after returning to Constantinople. For when a holy festival again brought him to the divine temple, having presented the offerings at the holy table, he immediately went out. When the presiding bishop of the church—at that time this was Nectarius—asked, "Why have you gone out, and not remained within?," he sighed and said, B "With difficulty, at last, have I been taught the difference between an emperor and a priest; with difficulty have I found a teacher of the truth. For I know only Ambrose who is worthily called a bishop." So much benefit does a rebuke confer when it is applied to a man who shines with virtue.
Chapter XVIII. Concerning the Empress Placilla.
The emperor had also another source of benefit. For his wife, who had accepted the yoke of marriage with him, did not cease to suggest to him the divine laws, in which she herself had first been accurately instructed. For the sovereignty of the empire did not puff her up, C but rather inflamed in her the divine longing. Indeed, the greatness of the boon she had received rendered her love for the Benefactor all the greater. Thus, she took the utmost care of those who were maimed in body or whose limbs were all wasted away, not by making use of the service of slaves or bodyguards, but by becoming a servant herself, going to their lodgings and providing for each his needs. Visiting also the hospices of the churches, she herself personally nursed the bedridden sick, herself handling the pots, tasting the broth, bringing the dish, breaking the bread, reaching out morsels, D rinsing the cups, and performing all the other tasks which are deemed the work of manservants and maidservants. And to those who tried to stop her from doing this chores, she would reply: "To distribute gold is appropriate to an empress; but I, on behalf of the empire itself, offer my service to Him who gave it." And she was accustomed to say incessantly to her husband: "Husband, you ought always to consider what you were once, and what you are now; for if you remember this perpetually, you will not be ungrateful to your Benefactor, but will administer the empire you have received according to the laws, and in this way you will honor Him who bestowed it." By constantly employing such words, she applied a certain most beautiful and fitting irrigation, as it were, to the seeds of virtue in the man.
A She died, however, before her husband, and after some time had passed since her death, a certain event occurred which revealed the emperor’s love for her.
CHAP. XIX.
Regarding the sedition that occurred in Antioch.
Constrained by the persistence of wars, the emperor had imposed an extraordinary levy upon the cities. The city of Antioch did not bear this general burden. But the populace, seeing those from whom it was being exacted being hung up, did other things that the mob is wont to do when it finds an occasion for sedition; moreover, they pulled down the bronze statue of the most praiseworthy Placilla—for this was the name of the empress—and dragged it through a large part of the city. Upon learning of these things, the emperor, as was to be expected, was gravely indignant; he stripped the city of its privileges and bestowed the primacy upon a neighboring city, judging that they would bear this most bitterly, for Laodicea had long been a rival to Antioch. B Furthermore, he threatened that he would burn the city down, destroy it, and reduce it to a mere village. The magistrates, moreover, had put to death some of those caught in the act itself, before the tragedy could reach the ears of the emperor.
B All these things, indeed, the emperor commanded; but that they should be carried out was prevented by the law enacted through the urging of the great Ambrose. When, therefore, those who carried his threats arrived—Elebechus, who was general of the army at that time, and Caesarius, the prefect of the palace, whom the Romans call *magister officiorum*—everyone was terrified by their threats and was in great fear. C But the athletes of virtue who lived at the foothills of the mountain—and at that time there were many of them, and they were the best—used many exhortations and entreaties with those men. Macedonius, however, of most divine character, knowing nothing of the affairs of this life and being utterly ignorant even of the divine scriptures, living on the mountain peaks and offering pure prayers day and night to the Savior of all, was neither struck with fear by the impetus of the emperor nor did he consider the power of those sent by him. In the middle of the city he grabbed hold of the cloak of one of them and ordered both to dismount from their horses. D They, seeing a little old man clothed in cheap rags, were at first indignant; but when some of those who were accompanying them explained the virtue of the man, they leaped down from their horses and, embracing his knees, asked for pardon. Then he, filled with divine wisdom, addressed them thus: "Say these things, O friendly men, to the emperor: You are not only an emperor, but also a man. Therefore, do not look only at your empire, but consider also your nature. For you are a man who rules those joined to you by nature; but to the image and likeness of the divine, of men
has been created. Do not, therefore, order the image of God to be so cruelly and inhumanely slaughtered. For you provoke the Creator when you punish His image. Consider that you yourself do these things because you are annoyed on account of a bronze statue. But how much that which is animate, living, and endowed with reason excels that which is inanimate, is clear to all who have any sense. Furthermore, let him consider this: that for us it is easy to create many bronze images in place of one, but for Him it is completely impossible to create even one hair of those who have been killed." When those wondrous men heard these things, they conveyed what had been said to the emperor, and quenched the flame of his anger; and in place of those threats, he wrote an apology and B explained the cause of his wrath. "It was not right," he said, "that a woman worthy of all praise, when she was not sinning, should suffer such outrage after her death; rather, it was fitting that those who were offended should have armed their indignation against me." He also added that he was grieved and distressed in spirit to learn that some had been killed by the magistrates. I have recounted these things because I thought it unjust that the boldness of a most praiseworthy monk should pass into oblivion, and to show the utility of that law which was written through the persuasion of the great Ambrose.
CHAP. XX. On the temples of idols destroyed everywhere in the world.
The most faithful emperor turned his zeal against the error of the Gentiles and enacted laws commanding the shrines of C the idols to be destroyed. For Constantine the Great, most worthy of all praise, who first adorned the empire with piety, seeing the world still raging, entirely forbade sacrificing to demons; but he did not destroy their temples, but commanded them to be made inaccessible. His sons also followed in their father’s footsteps. But Julian restored impiety and kindled the flame of ancient error. Jovian, upon receiving the empire, again prohibited the worship of idols, and Valentinian the Great also ruled Europe with the same laws. But Valens permitted all others to practice D whatever religion they wished, and to serve those whom they held as gods; but he alone persecuted those who defended the apostolic dogmas. Thus, during the whole time of his reign, fire burned upon the altars, and they offered libations and sacrifices to the idols, and held public banquets in the forum; and those initiated into the orgies of Bacchus ran about with goatskins, tearing dogs apart, raging, acting like bacchants, and doing other things that show the wickedness of their master. The most faithful Emperor Theodosius, having found all these things, rooted them out entirely and condemned them to perpetual oblivion.
CHAPTER XXI. Of Marcellus, Bishop of Apamea, and the Temple of Jupiter destroyed by him.
A Marcellus, a man in all respects most excellent, was the first among the other bishops who, fortified by that law, tore down the temples of the city entrusted to him, relying more upon his confidence in God than upon the aid of many. And I am about to relate this also as a thing most worthy of memory. John, the bishop of the Apameans, whom we have mentioned above, had departed this life, and the divine Marcellus had been ordained in his place, for he was boiling in the spirit according to the apostolic injunction. B Now, the Prefect of the East had arrived at Apamea with two tribunes and their soldiers. And the people, indeed, were kept quiet by the fear of the soldiers. But he [the Prefect], attempting to tear down the temple of Jupiter [which was a huge structure, and adorned with much ornament], when he saw its construction to be very solid and firmly compacted, thought it impossible for human strength to dissolve the joining of the stones. For they were very large, and fitted together with each other, and moreover bound together with iron and lead. Perceiving this desperation of the Prefect, the divine Marcellus sent him away to other cities, whilst he himself prayed to God to show him a way for the destruction.
Early in the morning, therefore, a certain man came to him of his own accord, who was neither a mason, nor a stone-cutter, nor skilled in any other art, but only a bearer of stones and wood. This man, having approached, promised that he would easily destroy the temple, but he asked for the wages of two workmen. When the divine bishop promised to give it to him, the man set to work in this manner. The temple had a portico attached to it on the four sides, resting upon heights. Furthermore, the columns were very large, and matched the measurements of the temple; each one was sixteen cubits in circumference. C The nature of the stone, moreover, was most firm, and did not easily yield to the tools of the stone-cutters.
He, excavating each one of these in a circle and propping up the parts above with olive wood, proceeded from one to the other. And having excavated three columns in this manner, he applied fire to the wood. But a certain black demon appeared and would not allow the wood to be consumed by the fire in the natural way, resisting the efficacy of the fire. When, after doing this several times, they observed that their effort was useless, they reported this to the shepherd, who was resting after midday. He immediately ran to the divine temple, and having ordered water to be brought in a vessel, he placed the water under the divine altar; D and he himself, casting his face upon the ground, besought the benevolent Master not to allow further indulgence to the tyranny of the demon, but to reveal his imbecility and show his own power, so that he might not
become a cause of greater harm for the unbelievers. A Having said these things and others like them, and having placed the sign of the cross upon the water, he ordered a certain Equitius, a man deemed worthy of the diaconate and fortified with faith and zeal, to take the water, to run with speed, and with faith to sprinkle it and bring the fire to it. When this was done, the demon fled, unable to endure the power of the water; and the fire, treating the water as if it were oil—as it were a rival—caught the wood and consumed it in an instant. The columns, their supports having been removed from the midst, collapsed of themselves, and pulled down twelve others with them, and the side of the sanctuary, which was attached to the columns, B fell in a like ruin. But the crash, which was immense, ran through the whole city and summoned everyone to see the spectacle. And when they learned of the flight of the hostile demon, they moved their tongues to praise and celebrate the God of the universe. In this same way that divine high priest demolished other temples as well. And although I have many other things, and highly admirable ones, to tell about this man—for he also used to write to the invincible martyrs and receive responses, and in the end he himself received the crown of martyrdom—I refrain from recounting them at present, lest by my prolixity I cause weariness to my readers. I turn, therefore, to another narrative.
CHAP. XXII. On Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, and the events that took place there during the demolition of the idols.
To that Athanasius, so celebrated by fame, succeeded the admirable Peter, and to Peter succeeded Timotheus, C and to Timotheus, Theophilus, a man of profound wisdom and lofty mind. He delivered the city of Alexandria from the error of idolatry. For he not only uprooted the temples of the idols from their foundations, but he also exposed to the eyes of those who were being deceived the crafty arts of the priests. For they used to construct bronze and wooden statues hollow within, and by attaching the backs of these to the walls, they left certain hidden passages in the walls. Then, entering through the secret inner chambers and getting inside the statues, they would command whatever they wished through them; and the deceived who heard them would do what was commanded. The most wise high priest, in destroying these, revealed the matter to the deluded populace. D Having gone up into the temple of Serapis—which, as some say, is the largest and most beautiful of all in the whole world—he saw the statue, which was of immense size, and which inspired terror in those who looked upon it by its sheer magnitude; and besides this magnitude, a false rumor had taken hold, that if anyone should approach it, the earth would shake, and total destruction would befall everyone. But he, deeming these reports to be nothing more than the ravings of drunken crones, and disregarding its size as that of an inanimate object, ordered...
someone who was holding an axe to strike Serapis eagerly. When he had struck the blow, a shout arose from all who were trembling on account of the common rumor. But Serapis, having received the blow, neither felt pain, for he was made of wood, nor did he utter a voice, being soulless. When his head was chopped off, mice ran out in droves from within; for the god of the Egyptians had been a residence for mice. Having broken him into small pieces, they delivered the remains to the fire, but they dragged the head through the whole city, while those who had worshipped him looked on, mocking the weakness of the one who had been worshipped by them. A In this way, then, the shrines of the demons were destroyed everywhere on land and sea.
CHAPTER XXIII. Concerning Flavian, bishop of Antioch, and the sedition of the Westerners on account of Paulinus.
In Antioch, Flavian took up the chair of the great Meletius—he who, together with Diodorus, had undergone those many conflicts for the salvation of the sheep. B For Paulinus had indeed wished to obtain the leadership of the Church, but the assembly of the priests resisted, stating it was not fitting that he who had rejected the counsels of Meletius should obtain his throne after his death; rather, it was fitting that he who had been renowned for many labors and had braved very many dangers for the sheep should become their shepherd. This affair brought upon the Orientals the most enduring hostility from the Romans and Egyptians. For their hatred was not abolished by the death of Paulinus. But even after him, when Evagrius had occupied his throne, they did not cease to exercise hostilities against the great Flavian, C and this though Evagrius had been promoted contrary to ecclesiastical law. For Paulinus alone had created him, violating many canons simultaneously. For they do not permit one who is dying to choose anyone for his own place, and they command that all the bishops of the province be called together; and again, they forbid an ordination of a bishop to take place without three bishops. Yet they, wishing to know nothing of these things, embraced the communion of Evagrius and stirred up the ears of the Emperor against Flavian. For having been importuned many times, he summoned him to Constantinople and commanded him to proceed to Rome. But Flavian, D pleading that it was winter, and promising that when spring began to shine he would fulfill what had been commanded, returned to his home country. But when the bishops of Rome—not only the admirable Damasus, but also his successor Siricius, and Anastasius, the successor of Siricius—berated the Emperor more sharply, saying that he indeed suppressed those tyrants who rose up against him, but left those who behaved insolently against the laws of Christ unpunished in their tyranny, he ordered him to be summoned again to compel him to go to Rome.
A Then Flavian the most wise, using praiseworthy boldness, said: "If indeed some accuse my faith, O emperor, of being incorrect, or claim that my life is unworthy of the priesthood, I shall not refuse those very accusers as judges, and I will abide by the sentence brought forth by them. But if they are contending over the throne and presidency, I will not engage in litigation, nor will I stand against those wanting to obtain it, but I will withdraw and abstain from the presidency. Therefore, give the throne of Antioch, O emperor, to whomever you wish." Admiration for this courage and wisdom of his led the emperor to order him to return to his homeland, and to shepherd the Church that had been entrusted to him. B After a long period of time, the emperor reached Rome and again encountered the same accusations from the bishops, namely that he was not putting an end to the tyranny of Flavian. He ordered them to state the nature of the tyranny, saying that he himself was Flavian, and that he had become his advocate. When they said that they could not sit in judgment with an emperor, he exhorted them henceforth to recall the Churches to peace, to resolve the dispute, and to extinguish the useless contention. For Paulinus, he said, had long since departed from the living, and Evagrius had been ordained unlawfully; while the Eastern Churches adhere to Bishop Flavian, and he has in communion joined with him not only the entire Eastern diocese, but also the Asian, the Pontic, and the Thracian C dioceses. Moreover, all Illyricum acknowledges him as presiding over the bishops of the East. Yielding to these exhortations, the bishops of the West promised to set aside their hostility and to receive the legates who would be sent. Upon hearing this, the divine Flavian sent to Rome some of the praiseworthy bishops, as well as presbyters and deacons of Antioch; at the head of all of them was Acacius, who had been allotted the pastoral care of the city of Beroea in Syria, but who was celebrated in every place on land and sea. Having arrived in Rome with the others, he did away with the long-standing hostility and, after seventeen years, restored peace to the Churches. When the Egyptians learned of this, they likewise extinguished their hatred and embraced concord. At that time, Innocent was presiding over the Church of the Romans, having succeeded Anastasius, a man D adorned with prudence and wisdom; and Theophilus over the Alexandrians, whom I mentioned before.
CHAP. XXIV. Concerning the tyranny of Eugenius, and the victory of the emperor Theodosius because of his faith.
In this way, then, the most faithful emperor arranged for the peace of the Churches. But prior to this peace...
A, having learned of the death of Valentinian and of the tyranny of Eugenius, he marched with his army into Europe. At that time there lived in Egypt a certain John, who embraced the ascetic life; he was gifted with spiritual grace and foretold many things to those who inquired of him. To him the Christ-loving emperor sent, desiring to know whether he should make war against the tyrants. And concerning the first war, he predicted a victory without bloodshed; but concerning the second, he foretold that the emperor would be victorious after much slaughter. Having marched with this hope 252, the emperor, when the battle line was drawn up, killed very many of the enemy, but also lost many of the barbarian auxiliaries who were supporting him. And when his generals said that few remained in arms, and advised him to suspend the war for a time and wait until spring to gather new forces and overcome the enemy by their numbers, the most faithful emperor rejected the suggestion. "For it is not right,” he said, “that we should attribute such weakness to the saving B Cross, or ascribe such great power to the image of Hercules; for the Cross leads our army, whereas that image leads the enemy." After he had spoken these words with such confidence, although the forces that remained were few and their spirits broken, he found a small oratory on the summit of the mountain where the camp was, and spent the entire night in prayer to the Lord of all. But at cockcrow, sleep overcame him against his will. Lying on the ground, he seemed to see two men dressed in white garments and riding on white horses, who ordered him to be of good courage, to cast off fear, and at first light to take up his arms and draw up his army for battle; for they said they had been sent as allies and defenders. Of these, one declared himself to be John the Evangelist, and the other, Philip the Apostle. Having seen this vision, the emperor did not cease from his prayers, but applied himself to them with greater zeal. A certain soldier having also seen this, reported it to his centurion, and he led him to the tribune, and the tribune to the general. The general, thinking he had something new to report, announced this to the emperor. But he said, “It is not on my account that this man has seen this; for I have believed those who promised victory. But lest anyone should think that I have fabricated the vision because I was eager for battle, He Who is the helper of my empire has shown this to him also, so that he might be a credible witness to my account; for the common Lord had already revealed this vision to me first. Having therefore cast off fear, let us follow the standard-bearers and the leaders of the war; and let no one judge the victory by the number of those fighting, but let each one consider the power of those Who lead us.” With these words he exhorted D the soldiers, and having strengthened the spirits of all, he led the forces down from the summit of the mountain. The tyrant also, seeing the soldiers from afar prepared for war, armed his own men and drew up his battle line. Remaining himself on a certain hill, he said that he desired the emperor to die and to depart from this life while fighting, and he ordered his generals to bring him to him
A alive and in bonds. But when the phalanxes stood in array, the number of the enemy was much greater, while that which was drawn up with the emperor was easily numbered. When both sides began to discharge their missiles, the defenders showed that their promises were true. For a violent wind, rushing against the faces of the enemy, turned back their arrows, spears, and javelins, so that no kind of weapon was of use to them, and neither the heavy-armed soldier, nor the archer, nor the peltast could harm the emperor's army. Moreover, a very great quantity of dust was carried into their faces, forcing them to close their eyelids and to protect their endangered pupils. But the soldiers of the emperor, suffering no harm from that storm, confidently slew the enemy. When the latter perceived these things and recognized the divine assistance, they cast down their arms and begged for mercy from the emperor. The emperor yielded, and granting pity, ordered them to bring the tyrant to him as quickly as possible. They ran and ascended the hill, where he sat ignorant of what had happened. B Seeing them panting, and indicating their haste by their frequent gasping, he took them for messengers of victory, and asked whether they had brought Theodosius bound, as they had been commanded. "We," they said, "have not brought him to you, but we are bringing you to him; for this the Ruler of all has commanded." Saying this, they pulled him from his carriage, put bonds upon him, and led him away, leading as a captive him who a little before had been boasting insolently. The emperor reminded him of the wrongs he had committed against Valentinian, and of his unlawful tyranny, and of the wars undertaken against the legitimate empire; at the same time, he mocked the image of Hercules and the empty confidence conceived from it. And then he pronounced against him the sentence C of punishment, just and in accordance with the laws. Such was he both in peace and in war, always asking for divine help, and always obtaining it.
CHAPTER XXV. De Theodosii imperatoris obitu.
After this victory, having fallen ill, he divided the empire among his sons; to the elder he gave the dominion he himself had ruled, and to the younger the scepters of Europe. He exhorted both to keep piety perfect. "For by this," he said, "both peace is preserved, and war D is brought to an end, and
A enemies are put to flight, and trophies are erected, and victory is bestowed." Having given these instructions to his children, he departed this life, leaving behind an everlasting reputation. And his successors in the empire became also the heirs of his piety.
CHAPTER XXVI. Of the Emperor Honorius, and the monk Telemachus.
For Honorius, who had received the empire of Europe, abolished the gladiatorial combats which used to take place in Rome, having taken this occasion to do so. A certain Telemachus, who had embraced the ascetic life, had set out from the East and had come to Rome for this very reason. At the time when that horrible spectacle was being held, he entered the stadium, and having descended into the arena, he endeavored to restrain those who were battling against one another with weapons. But the spectators of the bloody slaughter, indignant at this, and being incited by the frenzy of the demon who delighted in that blood, stoned the champion of peace to death. When the praiseworthy emperor learned of this, he both enrolled him among the victorious martyrs and prohibited that wicked kind of spectacle. B
CHAPTER XXVII. Of the piety of the Emperor Arcadius, and the ordination of John Chrysostom.
But in Constantinople, after the death of Nectarius, who had shepherded that Church, Arcadius, to whose lot that portion of the empire had fallen, having learned that John, that great luminary of the world, was numbered among the presbyters in Antioch, summoned him to himself. He commanded the assembled bishops to confer upon him the divine grace of the episcopate and to appoint him shepherd of that greatest of cities. By this one act, the emperor's zeal for divine matters shone forth. At that same time, the divine Flavian presided over Antioch, and Elpidius over Laodicea. This latter had been a companion of the great Meletius, and had reflected his manner of life C more exactly than wax reflects the designs of signet rings. He had succeeded the great Pelagius; whereas the praiseworthy Agapetus had succeeded the divine Marcellus—a man whom I have already mentioned as having excelled in monastic exercises during the time of the heretical storm. Over Seleucia, which is situated by the Taurus mountains, presided Maximus, a fellow-student of the great John, and there was Theodore of Mopsuestia; both were illustrious teachers. The divine Acacius also shone forth in both prudence and life, guiding Beroea; and Leontius fed the nation of the Galatians, being brilliant in many kinds of virtues. D
CHAPTER XXVIII. Of the divine boldness of this bishop.
The great John, having received the helm of the Church, spoke with boldness concerning the injustices committed by certain persons and...
A rebuked them, and suggested what was beneficial to the emperor and the empress. He advised the priests to live according to the established laws, and he forbade those who dared to violate these laws from entering the palace, saying that it was not right to enjoy the honor of the priesthood while failing to emulate the life of true priests. Nor did he exercise this care only in that city, but also throughout all of Thrace, which is divided into six provinces, and in all of Asia, which is governed by eleven administrators; indeed, he regulated the Pontic region by the same laws, as it has an equal number of governors as Asia.
CAP. XXIX. Of the shrines of the idols destroyed by him in Phoenicia.
Moreover, when he learned that Phoenicia was still raging with the sacrifices of idols, he gathered monks burning with godly zeal, and, having armed them with imperial edicts, he sent them against the shrines of the idols. The funds that were provided for the workmen who were pulling them down and their assistants were not taken from the imperial treasuries; rather, he persuaded wealthy women, distinguished by their faith, to provide these generously, demonstrating to them the blessing that would arise from such expenditure. Thus, in this way he utterly extirpated B the remaining shrines of the demons.
CAP. XXX. Of the Church of the Goths.
Seeing also that the Scythian people had been caught in the nets of the Arians, he himself devised a counter-strategy and found a way to catch them. For he ordained presbyters, deacons, and readers of the divine Scriptures of their own language, and he assigned them a single church, and through their labors he saved many from error. He himself also frequently went there and discoursed, using as an interpreter someone skilled in both languages, and he encouraged those who were able to speak to do the same. This he persevered in doing within the city, and he captured many of those who had been deceived, showing them the truth of the apostolic preaching.
CAP. XXXI. Of his concern for the Scythians, and his zeal against the Marcionites.
Again, when he learned that certain nomads living by the Ister C were thirsting for salvation but had no one to offer them the water, he sought out men who were emulous of the apostolic labor and set them over them. I have also read letters of his written to Leontius, the bishop of Ancyra, in which he signified both the conversion of the Scythians and as
he learned that some villages in our region were laboring under the heresy of Marcion, he wrote to the bishop who was then in charge, exhorting him to eradicate the disease, while at the same time offering the support of the imperial laws. How therefore he carried the care of the churches in his soul, according to the divine Apostle, these things are sufficient to teach. A It is possible also to learn of his boldness from another source.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Concerning the petition of Gainas, and the reply of John the Bishop.
Gainas, a man by race a Scythian, but in mind more barbaric, and possessed of a tyrannical spirit, was at that time B the master of the soldiers, and he had many of his own people under him, and led with them the cavalry and infantry of the Romans. B All others, moreover, feared him, but so did the emperor himself, perceiving that he was meditating tyranny. He, having been infected with the stain of Arius, requested that one of the divine temples be given to him. The emperor promised that he would see to it and take care of it; and, having summoned the divine John, he laid before him the petition, mentioning the power of that man and hinting at the tyranny he was meditating, and he begged that he might curb the fury of the barbarian by that concession. But that noble man said: "Do not promise such things, O Emperor, nor order that what is holy be given to the dogs. For I will never allow that those who preach the divine Word and celebrate Him with praises be cast out, and the divine temple be handed over to those who blaspheme Him. C But do not fear that barbarian, O Emperor; but having called both of us, me and him, do you listen in silence to what is said, and I will curb his tongue and persuade him by no means to request that which it is not expedient to grant." Having heard these things, the emperor was glad, and on the next day he summoned them both. Gainas was indeed demanding the promise; but the great John was objecting, saying that it was not permitted for an emperor, who professes piety, to contrive anything against divine matters. And when he affirmed that it was necessary that he also have an oratory D for himself: "To you, indeed," said the great John, "all the divine houses are open, and no one prevents you from praying if you wish." "But I," said Gainas, "belong to another sect, and I ask to have one divine temple with those of my own kind, and I ask quite justly, since I endure many warlike toils for the Romans." "But you," he said, "have received greater rewards for your labors; for you are master of the soldiers, and you have been deemed worthy of the consular robe; and it is right for you to consider what you were formerly, and what you have become now; and what your former poverty was, and what your present abundance of things is, and what garments you used before you crossed the Ister, and by what means—
hat you have become now; and what your former poverty was, and what your present abundance of things is, and what garments you used before you crossed the Ister, and by what means you have been adorned now. Consider, therefore, how slight are the labors, and how great the rewards, and do not be ungrateful to those who have honored you.” With this speech, the teacher of the world closed the mouth of Gainas and forced him to be silent. But when some time had passed, he unmasked the tyranny he had long brooded over, and having gathered an army in Thrace, he began to plunder and lay waste to various places. When this news arrived, everyone was so terrified, both rulers and subjects, that no one wished to engage with him in battle, nor did anyone think it safe to undertake an embassy to him, since all suspected his barbarian nature. B
CHAPTER XXXIII. Concerning his embassy to Gainas.
Then, therefore, all others being passed over as they were struck with fear, they approached this very valiant man and persuaded him to discharge the embassy. He, considering neither the altercation that had previously occurred with him, nor the enmity that resulted from it, set out for Thrace with a ready mind. When Gainas learned of the arrival of the ambassador, and reflected in his mind on the freedom with which he (the bishop) had spoken for the sake of piety, he went out to meet him gladly from a distance, and applied his right hand to his eyes, and brought his own children to his holy knees. To such a degree is virtue accustomed to overawe and put to shame even those who are most hostile. C
But envy could not endure the radiance of his wisdom; but, using its customary arts, it despoiled the royal city, or rather the whole world, of his tongue and mind.
CHAPTER XXXIV. Concerning those things which happened on account of Chrysostom.
But I, having arrived at this part of the history, do not know what to feel. For while I intend to narrate the injuries inflicted upon him, I revere the other virtues of those who inflicted them. For this very reason, I shall also attempt to conceal their names. These men, having various reasons for enmity, would not look upon the man’s shining virtue; but having secured some wretched accusers, and perceiving the manifest calumny, they held their meeting far from the city, and there pronounced their judgment. The Emperor, meanwhile, as if having faith in the priests, ordered him to be banished far from the city. He himself, having neither heard the accusation nor offered a defense, as though convicted of those things of which he had been accused, was forced to leave the city, and he arrived at Hierum, situated at the mouth of the Pontus; for this is what they call that port. But a great earthquake having occurred during the night, and the Empress being struck with fear, the legates [arrived] at dawn to ex-
oactus est, et ad Hierum in ostio Ponti situm pervenit: sic enim navale illud nominant. Terræ autem motu maximo noctu facto, et imperatrice metu perculsa, legati sub auroram ad ex- iled man, A requesting that he return as quickly as possible to the city and avert the danger from it. Others were sent after them, and others after those, and the Bosporus became filled with a great crowd of [embassies]. When the faithful people learned of this, they filled the mouth of the Propontis with boats. For everyone met him, carrying lighted wax torches. Then, indeed, the band of his enemies was dispersed. But after a few months had passed, they gathered again and demanded satisfaction, not for those former false accusations, but because of his performance of his ministry after his deposition. He, however, said that he had neither been judged, nor had he heard the charges brought against him, nor had he offered a defense, nor had he been condemned while present, but that he had been cast out into exile by the emperor and recalled by him again. But his enemies, having assembled another synod, did not seek a trial; but having persuaded the emperor that the sentence was legitimate and just, they not only drove him out of that city but also sent him off to a certain small B and desert town of Armenia, Cucusus by name; and leading him away from there again, they transferred him to Pityus; which is a boundary both of Pontus and of the Roman Empire, bordering on the most savage barbarians. But the benevolent Lord did not permit the excellent athlete to be carried off to that island. For when he had reached Comana, He summoned him to the age-less and painless life. C His body, having finished its glorious contests, was buried beside the casket of the martyr Basiliscus, as the martyr himself had commanded through a dream.
How many bishops were driven from their sees on his account and dwelt in the furthest regions of the earth, and how many monks also were afflicted with similar punishment, I think it superfluous to relate and to prolong the narrative: especially since I consider that sad events should be contracted, and the errors of those who were their authors—since they were of the same faith as ourselves—should be covered over. Many of them, however, certainly paid the penalty, and by their own sufferings D provided a useful lesson to others. This wicked deed was especially detested by the bishops of Europe; for they severed themselves from the communion of those who were its authors, and all the bishops of Illyricum joined them. Most of the cities of the East, however, avoided shared participation in the crime, yet they did not rend asunder the body of the Church. And even when the great teacher of the inhabited world was dead, the bishops of the West did not admit the communion of the bishops of Egypt, and the East, and the Bosporus, and Thrace, any sooner than they had restored the name of that divine man among the departed bishops. And Arsacius, indeed, who had been substituted in his place, they did not even deign to greet; but Atticus, the successor of Arsacius, after many
invitations, accepted the peace and eventually inscribed his name on the tablets. 241
CHAPTER XXXV. Concerning Alexander, Bishop of Antioch.
At that time Cyril, the son of Theophilus, was bishop of Alexandria, having succeeded his uncle on the throne. The Church of Jerusalem was governed by John, a praiseworthy man, who had succeeded Cyril, whom we mentioned before. B Alexander shepherded the people of Antioch, whose manner of life was in harmony with the episcopate. For, having spent the time before his episcopate in the monastic training ground, and having exercised himself therein for a long period, he appeared as a noble athlete, instructing by his speech and confirming his speech by his life. He had succeeded Porphyrius, who, holding the helm of that Church after Flavian, had left behind him many monuments of kindness; and he was indeed a man of excellent prudence of mind. Alexander, however, excelled in ascetic discipline, in the love of poverty, in readiness of speech, and in countless other gifts of grace. He also united the party of the great Eustathius—which Paulinus of old, and Evagrius after him, had not permitted to be restored—with the rest of the body by his persuasion and exhortation, and he held a feast, the like of which no one had ever seen. C For having gathered all those of the same faith, both the clergy and the laymen, he went to their assembly, and joining the singers together, and weaving one harmonious hymnody, he filled the entire forum with people from the small gate looking toward the west as far as the great temple, and showed a rational river, imitating the river that flowed past. Seeing these things, the Jews, and those infected with the blight of Arius, and the tiny remnant of the Gentiles, groaned and lamented; and seeing as they did other rivers being swept into the sea of the Church, they wept. He was the first to enter the name of the great John in the ecclesiastical diptychs.
CHAPTER XXXVI. Concerning the translation of the relics of John, and concerning the piety of the Emperor Theodosius and his sisters.
D Later, however, the very relics of the teacher were carried to the imperial city. And again the faithful multitude, using the Bosporus as if it were dry land by crossing it in boats, covered the mouth of the strait toward the Propontis with torches.
A This treasure, the reigning emperor—who shares both the name of his grandfather and his uncorrupted piety—brought into that city. Fixing his eyes and forehead upon the coffin, he offered a prayer on behalf of his parents, beseeching God to grant pardon to those who had sinned out of ignorance. For his parents had died long ago, leaving him quite young and orphaned; yet God, the God of his fathers and ancestors, did not allow him to experience the disadvantages of orphanhood. He ensured that he received a pious upbringing, preserved his empire free from sedition, and curbed tyrannical dispositions. Mindful of these benefits, he acts as a constant celebrant of his benefactor with hymns. He also has his sisters as companions in this hymnody, who have cultivated virginity throughout their lives, consider the meditation of divine oracles the greatest delight, and judge the relief of the needs of the indigent a safe treasure. Yet many other virtues, first and foremost humanity, gentleness, a serenity of soul that does not admit of any storm, and a sincere and proven faith, adorn the emperor himself. I shall produce a clear proof of this.
B A certain man, embracing the monastic life but possessing a rather rash disposition, approached the emperor to request something. Because he did not obtain it after doing this many times, he excommunicated him and, having imposed the bond, withdrew. The most faithful emperor, having returned to the palace, when it was time for a banquet and the guests were present, said that he would not partake of food before being released from the bond; and on account of this he sent a very close associate to the bishop, beseeching him to authorize the one who had imposed the bond to release it. C But when the bishop said that a bond imposed by anyone should not be accepted from just anyone, and had shown that he had been released, the emperor did not accept the release until he who had bound him was sought out with great labor and restored to him his communion; to such an extent did he obey the divine laws. For this reason, he also ordered the remaining pagan temples to be torn down from their foundations, so that those who come after us might see no trace of their former deception; for he infused this sentiment into the law written concerning these matters. D He constantly gathers the fruits of these good seeds; for he has the Lord of all as his provider. For indeed, when Rhoilas, the leader of the nomadic Scythians, had crossed the Ister with an extremely large army and was ravaging and plundering Thrace, and was threatening to besiege the royal city and capture it in an instant and make it desolate, God from heaven consumed him with thunderbolts and fiery whirlwinds, and destroyed his entire force. Such
A a thing did He also perform in the Persian War. For when they, having learned of the Romans' preoccupation, marched against their neighbors, having broken the peace treaties, and no one was coming to the aid of those being attacked—for the Emperor, trusting in the peace, had sent his commanders and soldiers to other wars—the Lord checked their further progress by means of an extremely heavy rain and a great hailstorm, and inhibited the speed of their horses, in such a way that for twenty days they could not complete even twenty thousand paces, until the commanders were able to arrive and assemble the soldiers.
And in the previous war, He had also rendered those same men, who were besieging the city named after the Emperor, objects of ridicule. B For when Vararanes had surrounded the aforementioned city for more than thirty days with all his forces, and had brought up many heptalepoleis [siege engines] and used thousands of machines, and had raised up high towers from the outside, the divine high priest—Eunomius was his name—resisted them alone and blunted the force of the engines brought against it. And when our own commanders had given up the fight against the enemy and dared not bring aid to those under siege, he stood in opposition and kept the city unconquered.
And when one of the kings among the barbarians had dared the customary blasphemy and had uttered the words of Rabsaces and Sennacherib, and in a maniacal frenzy had threatened to burn down the divine temple, this divine man, unable to bear the madness, ordered the stone-throwing engine, which was named after the Apostle Thomas, to be placed on C the rampart, and after having commanded a great stone to be placed upon it, he ordered it to be released in the name of Him who had been blasphemed. The stone, flying straight at that impious king, struck his wicked mouth, deforming his face, crushing his whole head, and scattering his brains upon the ground. Seeing this, he who had assembled the army and hoped to capture the city, departed at once; and by the event itself, acknowledging himself conquered and being struck with fear, he made a peace treaty. D In this manner the King of all cares for the most faithful Emperor. For he, too, acknowledges himself to be His servant and offers the proper service to the Lord.
Chapter XXXVII. Concerning Theodotus, Bishop of Antioch.
He it was who restored the relics of that great luminary of the world to the city that desired them. But this happened later.
To Innocent, that most excellent bishop of Rome, Boniface succeeded; and to Boniface, Zosimus; and to Zosimus, Celestine. In Jerusalem, after the admirable John, Praylius was entrusted with the care of the Church, a man who was truly worthy of his name. In Antioch likewise
after the divine Alexander, Theodotus, that pearl of purity, received the presidency of the Church, excelling in meekness and adorned by the discipline of an exact life. He brought the sect of Apollinarius back to the rest of the sheep, though he was earnestly entreated to unite them to the flock; but many of them remained, bearing the mark of their former blemish. A
CAP. XXXVIII. Regarding the persecution stirred up in Persia, and those who suffered martyrdom there.
At this time, Isdigerdes, the king of the Persians, declared war against the Churches, having seized the following pretext. There was a certain bishop, Abdas, who was adorned with many kinds of virtue. He, using his zeal not as one ought, destroyed a *pyreum*. Now, they call the temples of fire *pyrea*, for they consider fire to be God. B Being informed of this by the Magi, the king sent for Abdas, and at first he reproved the deed gently, and ordered the *pyreum* to be rebuilt. But when he resisted and declared that he would by no means do this, the king threatened that he would pull down all the churches—and indeed he put into execution what he had threatened. For, having ordered that divine man to be slain first, he commanded the churches to be destroyed. I, for one, say that the destruction of the *pyreum* was truly untimely. For the divine Apostle, when he had come to Athens and saw the city given over to idols, did not pull down any of the altars which they held in honor; but by his words he refuted their ignorance and taught them the truth. C However, that he preferred to be killed rather than to rebuild the destroyed temple, this I greatly praise and deem worthy of crowns. For to me it seems equal to worship fire, or to build a shrine for it. From this moment, therefore, the gale began and stirred up most heavy and savage waves against the disciples of piety; and even after thirty years had passed, the storm remained, fanned by the Magi as if by some squalls. The Persians call those *Magi* who deify the elements; we have described their mythology in another work, in which we have brought the solution to their inquiries. And Vararanes, the son of Isdigerdes, after his father’s death, received the war against piety together with the kingdom along with his father’s reign, and at his death left both of these conjoined as an inheritance to his son. D The kinds of torments and the exquisite tortures with which they afflicted the pious can hardly be expressed in words. For from some they flayed the skin from their hands, from others from their backs; of others they bared the heads from the forehead down to the beard by skinning them; others they surrounded with half-cut reeds, and applying them to the body where they were cut, they then bound them with tight bonds from the head down to the feet, and by force drew out each of the reeds, so that by tearing the adjacent skin they caused more bitter pains. Moreover, after pits had been dug and carefully plastered, they kept flocks of great mice...
A in them, and brought to them the athletes of piety as food, binding their hands and feet so that they might not be able to drive the beasts away from them. And the mice, pressed by hunger, little by little consumed the flesh of the holy ones, inflicting upon them a long and painful punishment. They also devised other punishments worse than these, having as their teacher the avenging spirit of nature and the enemy of the truth. But they did not overcome the bravery of the athletes. For they ran of their own accord, desiring to receive the death that is the harbinger of immortal life. I shall mention two or three, so that through them I may demonstrate the bravery of the others as well. There was a certain Hormisdas, one of the most distinguished among the Persians, an Achaemenid by race, who had been born to a prefect father. When the king learned that he was a Christian, he summoned him and commanded him to abjure God the Savior. But he said, "O king, you have commanded neither what is just nor what is useful. For he who has easily learned to despise and deny the God of the universe will much more easily despise the king, since he is a man who has received a mortal nature. And if he is worthy of the highest punishment who resists your scepters, O king, he is worthy of far heavier punishments who denies the Creator of all things." The king, instead of admiring the wisdom of what was said, stripped the noble athlete of his wealth and dignities, and commanded him to lead the camels of the army, wearing only a loincloth. B After many days had passed, the king, looking down from his balcony, saw that excellent man scorched by the rays of the sun and covered with dust; and being reminded of the nobility of his father, he summoned him and ordered him to put on a linen tunic. C Then, thinking that his mind had been softened by his previous hardship and the kindness shown, he said, "Now at least, lay aside that contention, and abjure the son of the carpenter." But he, filled with divine zeal, tore the tunic and threw it away, saying, "If you think I will abandon piety for the sake of this, keep the gift along with your impiety." Seeing this courage of his, the king drove him out of the palace naked. Furthermore, he treated Suenes, the master of a thousand slaves, who resisted him and refused to deny his Creator, by inquiring which of all his slaves was the most wicked, and D passed the mastery of all the others over to him, and ordered the master to serve him, and even coupled the master’s own wife to him, hoping by this means to cast down the champion of the truth from his resolve. But he was frustrated in his hope: for he had a house built upon a rock. He had also thrown the deacon Benjamin into chains; and after two years had passed, the Roman ambassador, who had come for other reasons, having learned about the deacon, requested his liberation from the king. The king ordered it to be promised by Benjamin that he would expound the Christian doctrine to none of the magi. And
the envoy promised that Benjamin would observe these orders; but Benjamin, having heard the envoy’s exhortations, said: "It is impossible for me not to share the light of which I have partaken. For the history of the holy Gospels teaches A how great a punishment he deserves who hides his talent." But the king, ignorant of all these things at that time, ordered him to be released from his bonds. He, however, persisted in what he was previously accustomed to doing, snatching those held in the darkness of ignorance and leading them to the intellectual light. A year later, when what he was doing had been reported to the king, he had him brought and ordered him to deny the one whom he worshipped. But he asked the king what punishment he thought worthy for someone who abandons his own kingdom and prefers another; and when he replied death and the most extreme punishment, that most wise man said: "What punishment, then, does he not deservedly suffer who abandons the Maker and Creator, and treats one of his fellow servants as God, and offers to him the worship which is owed to Him?" Offended by such speech, the king ordered twenty sharpened reeds to be driven under the nails of his hands and feet. And because he saw that he considered this torture a mere trifle, he forced another sharp reed into his private parts, and by repeatedly pulling it out and pushing it in, he caused him ineffable pains. After this torture, the impious and brutal man ordered a thick stake with branches attached to be driven through his lower seat; and thus the noble athlete exhaled his spirit. B Infinite other things of this kind were perpetrated by those impious men. Nor indeed is it to be wondered at that the Governor of all allows such ferocity and impiety of theirs. For even before the reign of Constantine the Great, as many Roman emperors as there were, they raged against the lovers of the truth. And Diocletian, on the very day of the saving Passion, destroyed all the churches in the entire Roman empire.
[B. St. 40.] C But when nine years had passed, they flourished again, and attained much greater magnitude and splendor, and that tyrant perished along with his impiety. Furthermore, the Lord foretold wars of this kind, and the unconquerable strength of the Church. And the events themselves teach us that war affords us more benefit than peace. For the latter renders us soft and unrefined and timid; but war sharpens the spirit, and teaches us to despise present things as fleeting. But we have often discussed these things in other books. D
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Concerning Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuestia.
At that time, when the divine Theodotus A governed the Church of the Antiochenes, Theodore, bishop of Mopsuestia—a teacher of the whole Church, and a conqueror of every heretical phalanx—received the end of his life. He had enjoyed the instruction of the great Diodorus, and had been a companion and fellow-worker of the most holy John; for together they had partaken of the spiritual streams of Diodorus. He spent six and thirty years in the episcopate, arrayed against the phalanx of Arius and Eunomius, subduing the piratical band of Apollinaris, and offering the finest pasture to the divine sheep. His brother also, Polychronius, governed the Church of the Apameans B in the best possible manner, uniting the brightness of his life with the grace of his speech. As for me, having brought my history to a close here, I entreat my readers to recompense my labor with their prayers. This history embraces a period of one hundred and five years, beginning from the madness of Arius and receiving its conclusion at the passing of those praiseworthy men, Theodore and Theodotus. I shall also list the bishops who presided over the great cities, according to the order C and those who presided after the persecution of the tyrants.
CATALOGUE
Of the bishops who presided over the great cities.
Of the Romans: Miltiades, Silvester, Julius, Liberius, Damasus, Siricius, Anastasius, Innocentius, Bonifacius, Zosimus, Caelestinus.
Of the Antiochenes, bishops: Vitalis, Philogonius, Eustathius—these were orthodox; then the Arians: Eulalius, Euphronius, Placitus, Stephanus, Leontius, Eudoxius; then the orthodox: Meletius, Flavianus, Porphyrius, Alexander, Theodotus; and joined to these were D those from the party of Eustathius, Paulinus and Evagrius.
Of the Alexandrians: Petrus, Achillas, Alexander, Athanasius, Gregorius the Arian; then again Athanasius; Georgius the heretic; then again Athanasius; Petrus, the disciple of Athanasius; then Lucius the Arian; then again Petrus, Timotheus, Theophilus, Cyrillus the son of Theophilus’s brother.
Of the Hierosolymitans, bishops: Macarius, Maximus, Cyrillus, Joannes, Praylius, Juvenalis.
A Of the bishops of Constantinople: Alexander, Eusebius of Nicomedia, transferred to that see—an Arian. After him, Paulus the Confessor; then Macedonius, the enemy of the Holy Spirit. Upon his expulsion, the impious Eudoxius seized the Church. Demophilus, a heretic from the Thracian city of Beroea, Gregorius Nazianzenus, Nectarius, Joannes Chrysostomus, Arsacius, Atticus, Sisinnius.
THE BLESSED THEODORET PHILOTHEUS OR RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
PREFACE OF GENTIANUS HERVETUS, TRANSLATOR OF THE RELIGIOUS HISTORY, TO REGINALD POLE, CARDINAL AND LEGATE TO ENGLAND.
Since many have written many things here and there concerning the life, character, and institutions of the monks, two authors, most famous and of great name—Palladius and Theodoret—have committed to literary record those things which they received from men worthy of faith who had seen them, or which they themselves beheld with their own eyes, having lived either in the times of those about whom they write or but a little while after them. One of these, indeed, namely, Palladius, had previously been translated into Latin and published under the name of Heraclides, but not in its entirety, since more than thirty lives of the Fathers are missing from it.
But as I considered that the B *Philotheos* (that is, the *Religious History*) of Theodoret, which he himself mentions very often in his *Ecclesiastical History*, would be of useful service to the Christian commonwealth if it were published through my labor, I translated it into Latin. And, as I said, because Palladius had previously been published in a maimed and mutilated form, I did not deem it sufficient to supply what was lacking in him, unless I were to translate him anew from the beginning. Many things moved me to wish for both of these to be published dedicated to your most holy name: primarily the fact that Joannes Morvillerius, the Bishop of Orléans—a man, as you know, of great learning and most devoted to you, who long ago took me into his household—judged that this work should be brought to light, especially under your auspices. Farewell.
Paris, on the Ides of August, 1555.
TESTIMONIES CONCERNING THE PHILOTHEUS, OR RELIGIOUS HISTORY
1
Theodoret himself in his *Ecclesiastical History*, bk. IV, chap. XXIV, narrating the arrival of the monk Julian at Antioch:
A And whatever deeds he performed, coming and returning, and even in the greatest city itself, are written down for us in our *Philotheus* history.
The same in *Epistle* LXXXII, to Eusebius of Ancyra, commemorating the books written by him:
We have also written a mystical book, and another on Providence, and the Lives of the saints.
Nicephorus, *History*, bk. XIV, chap. LIV:
He labored on two others as well: one of which he calls *Ecclesiastical*, and the other *Philotheus* or *Religious* history, in which he recounts the lives of those who lived holy lives in that age.
1090-1099 John of Damascus, *Book III on Images*:
From the *Philotheus* history of Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, concerning the life of Saint Simeon who lived on the column. For what need is there to speak about Italy? For they say that this man became so widely renowned in the great city of Rome that men set up small images of him in all the vestibules of their workshops, from which they procure a kind of protection and security for themselves.
Which passage is cited also in the Seventh Synod, Action V.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, RELIGIOUS HISTORY, OR THE ASCETIC WAY OF LIFE
PREFACE
It is indeed beautiful to behold the struggles of excellent men and athletes of virtue, and to draw profit with one’s own eyes. For things that are praised, when they are seen, appear worthy of being possessed and awaken love for themselves, and incite the spectators to procure them. A Yet the accounts of such noble deeds, when they are offered by those who know them to the ears of those who do not, bring no small profit. Some say that sight is more worthy of trust than hearing, yet hearing also gains credence, as it judges what is said by the truthfulness of those who speak. For just as the tongue and the palate are trusted to judge sweetness and bitterness and other such qualities, and pass sentence upon them, so too the faculty of speech is entrusted to the hearing, and it knows how to distinguish those things which bring some profit from those that are harmful. B If, therefore, the memory of those profitable accounts remained unharmed, and the blight of forgetfulness, like some mist scattered upon them, did not gradually cause them to fade away, it would indeed be superfluous and tedious to write down such things, since the profit derived from them would easily pass on to future generations. But since time brings harm to the body, inducing old age and death, and brings harm to noble deeds by producing forgetfulness, and
A obscuring memory, no one would rightly reproach us for setting out to write down the lives of the pious and God-loving men. For just as those who are entrusted with the care of bodies prepare remedies, warring against disease and offering aid to the suffering, so too the labor of writing such a work as this becomes a sort of specific remedy against evil, an ambush against forgetfulness and an aid to memory. For how would it not be absurd that poets and historians should write down deeds of valor performed in war, and that tragedians should openly dramatize calamities that were rightly kept hidden, leaving the memory of these things written down, while others consume their words in comedy and laughter; yet we should allow to be surrendered to oblivion men who, while in a mortal and passible body, have demonstrated impassibility and have zealously pursued an incorporeal nature? What penalty would we not rightly pay if we were to look on while the memory of these admirable struggles is obscured? For if they themselves, having emulated the highest philosophy of the saints who lived long ago, did not engrave their memory in bronze and letters, but by expressing all of their virtue, made themselves into living images and statues of them, what pardon could we rightly expect if we do not even honor their celebrated life with letters? B And this is while athletes and pancratiasts who compete in the Olympic games are honored with statues, and in the chariot races, the charioteers who emerge as victors receive this same reward. And not only these, but even effeminate men, and those about whom it is uncertain whether they are men or women—those who are fond of seeing such spectacles—are depicted on panels, with them striving to make their memory last for the longest time. Although this memory brings harm to souls, not profit, yet those who love these people, and others who love those, honor them with painting—even though it brings harm—and since death preys upon mortal nature, by mixing colors and placing their images on panels, they devise a way by which their memory is made far C longer than their life. D But we write of a life that is a teacher of philosophy, and one that has emulated the way of life that is practiced in heaven; and we do not depict the features of bodies, nor do we show these portrayals to those who do not know them, but we sketch the patterns of invisible souls, and we reveal invisible wars and unseen conflicts. For the leader and chief of their phalanx, Paul, has clothed them in such armor, saying: "Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." And again: "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet in the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one, and the-"
-" A helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Having clad them in this armor, He led them into the struggles. For such is also the nature of the enemies—incorporeal, invisible, attacking obscurely, lying in wait secretly, and striking suddenly and unexpectedly. Teaching this very thing, the Leader himself said: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” B
Yet, although the company of these saints had such adversaries—or, rather, each one of them was surrounded by so many and such great enemies; for they did not all attack together, but assailed them now this way, now that—they brought back so glorious a victory that the adversaries fled, and once they were put to flight, with no one standing in their way, they raised a trophy. However, it was not nature that provided them with victory—for nature is mortal and full of countless perturbations—but the mind, which attracts divine grace. For having become ardent lovers of divine beauty, and having resolved to gladly do and suffer everything for the sake of Him whom they loved, they bravely endured the uprising of the passions and vigorously repelled the snowstorm of the devil’s darts, and, to speak apostolically, having chastised the body and brought it into subjection, they calmed the heat of anger and forced the madness of the desires to be quiet. By fasting and lying on the ground, they quieted the stirrings of the soul and, having suppressed their assaults, forced the body to enter into a treaty with the soul, and they ended this innate war; C and having thus brokered peace between them, they routed the entire host of the adversaries. For when there were lacking to them thoughts that would betray them from within, and they lacked the help of human members, they could not wage war. For the devil uses our members as darts against us. When, therefore, the eyes were not enticed, nor the ears charmed, nor the touch tickled, nor the mind admitted wicked counsels, they who prepared the ambushes labored in vain. For just as no enemy can take a city built on a height and fortified with strong ramparts and surrounded on all sides by deep trenches, if none of those who are within betrays it and opens some gates, so it is impossible for the demons who wage war from without to overcome a soul surrounded by divine grace, unless the sluggishness of some thought opens some window of our senses D and lets the enemy in through it. Having learned these things openly from divine Scripture, those whom we praise, and having heard God saying through the prophet, “Death has climbed through the windows,” closed their senses as if with certain bolts and bars, entrusting the keys of them to the mind.
And neither tongue nor lips were opened unless the mind ordered it, nor was the pupil permitted to peer forth from the eyelids. A And the hearing, being unable to block the entrance with eyelids or lips, would push away foolish words and accept only those in which the mind took delight. Thus they trained their sense of smell not to crave fragrant things, inasmuch as these are of a nature to soften and relax. Thus they drove away the satiety of the belly, and taught it to receive such things as would satisfy not pleasure but need, and in such quantity as would prevent death from hunger. Thus they broke the sweet tyranny of sleep, and freeing their eyelids from its servitude, taught them to rule rather than to serve, and to admit its use not when it invaded them, but when they themselves summoned it for a brief relief of nature.
Therefore, having undertaken such guardianship of the walls and gates, and having brought their internal thoughts to concord, they mocked the adversaries attacking from without, who could not enter by force because of the protection of divine grace, nor could they find any traitor willing to admit the enemies. And although the enemies were invisible by nature, they could not conquer the body, which is seen by the eyes and is subject to the necessities of nature. For its charioteer, who was also its musician and its pilot, holding the reins most skillfully, persuaded the horses to proceed in order, and by playing upon the chords of the senses with rhythm, he caused them to render a sound in every way harmonious; and skillfully moving the tiller, he broke the storms of the waves and the onset of the winds. B C
These, then, who have journeyed through the life of a thousand labors, and have tamed the body with sweats and hardships, and have been ignorant of the passion of laughter, but have spent their whole life in mourning and tears; who have deemed fasting to be Sybaritic luxury, and toilsome vigils to be the sweetest sleep, and the hardness of the ground to be a soft bed, D and time spent in prayers and psalmody to be an immense and inexpressible pleasure: who would not justly admire these men, who have embraced every kind of virtue, or rather, who could praise them as they deserve? I know indeed clearly myself that no discourse could attain to their virtue; nevertheless, one must make the attempt. For it would not be right, just because they became perfect lovers of true philosophy, that they should therefore not receive even lesser praises. I shall write the encomium not as one single praise for all in common, for different gifts were given to them from God, as the blessed Paul, teaching this, said: “For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing, by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.” And showing the
A source of all these things, he added: "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." Since, therefore, they have received diverse gifts, we shall rightly institute a separate narration of each, not pursuing everything that was done by them (for a whole lifetime would not suffice to write these things), but when we have narrated a few things concerning the life and deeds of each, and have indicated the form of the whole life from a few examples, we shall proceed to another. Nor shall we attempt to write the history of the lives of all the saints who have flourished everywhere among the nations; for we neither know all who have shone forth everywhere, nor is it possible for all to be described by one person. I shall therefore write only the life of those who appeared in the East like luminaries and encompassed the ends of the world with their rays. The discourse will proceed narratively, not using the laws of encomiums, but simply setting forth a few things. B I ask those who come upon this religious history, or ascetic way of life—for let everyone call this work as he wishes—not to disbelieve what is said, if they hear anything that exceeds their own powers, nor to measure the virtue of those men by their own; but to know clearly that God is accustomed to measure out the gifts of the Holy Spirit from the souls of the pious from heaven, and to bestow greater things upon the more perfect. Let these words be said by me to those who are not sufficiently accurately initiated into the mysteries of divine things. For the mystics of the inner chambers of the Spirit know the magnificence of the Spirit, and what great miracles He works through men among men, to draw unbelievers to the knowledge of God. But he who is going to disbelieve in the things to be said by me, it is clear that he will not believe even those things that were done through Moses, and Jesus, and Elijah, and Elisha, and C will consider the miracles performed by the holy apostles to be fables. But if he testifies that those are true, let him believe that these also are alien to falsehood. For the same grace that worked in them, has caused it to be that they were wrought through these also. For the grace is perennial, and choosing those who are worthy, it pours forth the streams of its operation through them as through certain fountains. Furthermore, of the things that are to be said, some I saw myself; as for those I did not see, I have heard them from those who had seen them, men who were lovers of virtue, and who were deemed worthy to see them and to enjoy their teaching. And worthy of faith as writers of the evangelical doctrine are not only Matthew and John, the first and great evangelists, who saw the miracles of the Lord; but also Luke and Mark, whom those who had seen from the beginning and who had been ministers of the Word, accurately instructed in not only what the Lord suffered and did, D but also what He taught continuously. For the blessed Luke himself, who had not been a spectator, says at the beginning of his work that he is narrating those things of which he had been made certain; and we too, hearing that he was not an eyewitness of these very narrations, but had received this doctrine from others, do not
any the less attend to him, or to Mark, or to Matthew and John. For each of them is trustworthy in his narration, inasmuch as he has been taught by those who had seen. Therefore, we too shall recount those things which we have partly seen ourselves, and partly believed from those who had seen them and had zealously imitated their manner of life. I have discoursed at greater length on this matter, wishing to persuade you that I shall speak the truth. And from here I shall begin the narrative.
I. — JACOB
A Moses, the divine lawgiver, who laid bare the bottom of the sea, and overwhelmed the dry desert with waters, and worked all those other miracles, wrote down the way of life of the saints of old—not using the wisdom which he had learned from the Egyptians, but having received the radiance of grace from above. For from whence else would he have learned the virtue of Abel, and the love of God of Enoch, and the righteousness of Noah, and the pious priesthood of Melchizedek, and the calling of Abraham, his faith, fortitude, and diligent hospitality, the celebrated sacrifice of his son, and the catalog of his other noble deeds, and, in a word, the struggles, victories, and proclamations of those wondrous men, had he not received the rays of the B intelligent and divine Spirit? At the present time, I too have need of this assistance, I who am attempting to write the life of the saints who have flourished shortly before us and in our own times, and who wish to propose them as a kind of law for those who desire to imitate them. The prayers of these men, therefore, must be invoked, and the narrative begun.
Nisibis is a city situated on the border of the Roman and Persian empires, which formerly paid tribute to the Romans and was under their dominion. From this place came the great Jacob, who embraced a solitary and quiet life; and having taken possession of the peaks of the highest mountains, he spent his time in those places. In spring, summer, and autumn, he would dwell in the thickets, having heaven as a roof; but C in the time of winter, a cave would receive him, providing a brief shelter. He had food, not that which is sown and grows with labor, but that which springs up of its own accord. For by gathering the wild fruits born spontaneously from the trees, and the edible wild herbs, and things that are like vegetables, he provided from these what was sufficient for his bodily sustenance, rejecting entirely the need for fire. He also considered the use of wool to be superfluous, and the roughest goat-hair took its place; from these was made for him a tunic and a simple cloak. Thus, by mortifying his body, he continuously offered spiritual nourishment to his soul, D and by cleansing the vision of his mind, and making it a clear mirror of the divine Spirit, with unveiled face, according to the divine Apostle, "reflecting the glory of the Lord, he was transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." Hence his [affection] toward God
increased daily, and he received immediately whatever he asked of God that he ought to have asked. Hence he also foresaw future events in the manner of the prophets, and received from the grace of the Holy Spirit the power to perform miracles. I shall recount a few of these, and reveal the ray of his apostolic brilliance to those who are unaware of it.
At that time the madness of men regarding idols was flourishing, and while inanimate statues laid claim to divine worship, the worship of God was neglected by the majority, and those who did not wish to partake in their drunkenness were held in contempt—those who, being composed and possessing an accurate discernment of existing things, mocked the weakness of the idols and worshipped the Creator of all B things. At that time he arrived in Persia, intending to see the plants of true religion and to provide them with the appropriate care. As he was passing by a certain spring, some girls who were washing cloths in it and cleansing garments with their feet, having no respect at all for his novel and decent attire, cast off shame, and with brazen forehead and impudent eyes gazed upon the divine man, neither covering their heads nor letting down the garments they had tucked up. The man of God, taking this ill, and thinking it an opportune time to show the power of God, in order that he might deliver them from impiety by a manifest miracle, cursed the spring, and the stream immediately vanished. He also cursed the girls, and punished their impudent youth with premature grayness. The deed followed the word immediately: the black color of their hair was changed, and they became like new trees in spring covered with autumnal leaves. Thus, having sensed the punishment—for the waters of the spring had fled, and looking at one another’s heads, they saw that sudden transformation—they ran to the city to report what had happened. Those who heard then quickly ran and, finding the great James, begged him to appease his anger and remit the punishment. He, without any hesitation, offered prayers to the Lord and commanded the waters to gush forth again; and then it immediately erupted again from its own depths, directed by the nods of the righteous one. Having obtained this, they asked that the former color be restored to the hair of the daughters as well. They say that he granted this too, and asked for the girls who had been C afflicted with this punishment; and because they did not come, he left the punishment as a lesson in temperance, an argument for modesty, and a perpetual and clear reminder of divine power. Such was the miracle of this new Moses, brought to pass not by the striking of a rod, but by receiving its efficacy from the sign of the cross. I, however, beyond the miracle, am amazed at his meekness; for he did not, like the great Elisha, deliver those impudent girls to ravenous bears, but used a harmless discipline, which had little of humiliation in it, and taught both piety and moderation at once. I have said these things not in order to accuse the prophet of cruelty (God forbid that I should be so mad),
but to show that, while he possessed that power, he acted rather in ways that conformed to the gentleness of Christ and the New Testament. A Once, when he saw a Persian judge who had passed an unjust sentence, he cursed a very large stone that was lying nearby, commanding it to be shattered and dissolved, and by this to rebuke that man’s unjust decree. When the stone was immediately broken into ten thousand pieces, those present were terrified; and the judge, filled with horror, revoked his former sentence and brought forth a just one. In this, too, he imitated his own Master, who—wishing to show that he endured his passion voluntarily, and that he could easily have punished the wicked had he wished—did not inflict punishment upon them, but by withering the lifeless fig tree with a word, demonstrated what he B was able to do. Imitating this benevolence himself, he did not punish the unjust judge, but by the blow to the stone taught him justice.
Distinguished by such deeds and beloved by all, and with his fame on everyone’s lips, he was brought to the ministry of the episcopate and was allotted the guardianship of his country. Though he exchanged that mountain habitation for another, and had taken up life in the city against his own preference, he changed neither his food nor his clothing; rather, while he changed his location, his way of life underwent no change. But his labors increased and became many times greater than before. C For to his fasting, his sleeping on the ground, and his wearing of sackcloth were added the cares for all those in need—I mean the ministrations to widows, the protection of orphans, the reproving of those who acted unjustly, and the bringing of just aid to those who were wronged. And what need is there to recount everything to those who know what pertains to those who have taken upon themselves such a province? He embraced these labors with distinction, as one who both remarkably loved and feared the Lord of the sheep. And the more he gathered the riches of virtue, the more he enjoyed the grace of the most Holy Spirit. For when he was once traveling to some village or town (for I cannot say exactly which place it was), D some poor people approached him, having laid out one of their companions as if he were dead, and they begged him for some things necessary for his burial. He yielded to the supplicants, and offered prayers to God for him as for one dead, beseeching Him to remit whatever sins he had committed in life and to deem him worthy of the choir of the just. As these things were being said, the soul of the one who was feigning death fled, and the coverings for the body were provided. When the holy man had gone on a little way, those who had contrived this drama ordered the one who was lying there to rise; but when they saw that he did not hear them, but that the fiction had become reality, and that the mask had turned into a true face, they hastened to the great Jacob, entreating him, and throwing themselves at his feet, and saying that the cause of their daring act had been poverty, and they begged that the transgression
be forgiven, and that the life taken away be restored to the dead man. Therefore, imitating the Lord's clemency, he accepted their entreaty and performed the miracle, restoring by his prayers the life that had been taken away by his prayers to him who lay dead. To me, this seems A similar to the miracle of the great Peter, who consigned Ananias and Sapphira to death for having stolen and lied. For he, in the same way, stripped of life him who had stolen the truth and used falsehood. But whereas the former, once the theft was known—for the grace of the Spirit revealed it—inflicted the punishment, the latter, ignorant of the facts of the drama, offered his prayer, and stopped the course of life of the one who had pretended; and whilst the divine Apostle did not rescue the dead from their catastrophe (for the beginnings of the message of salvation required fear), he, full of apostolic grace, both punished for a time and quickly released the punishment, for in this way he knew he would profit those who had sinned. But we must proceed to other matters, and briefly explain those as well.
For when Arius, the father and contriver of the blasphemy against the Only-Begotten and the Holy Spirit, moving his tongue against Him who had created it, had filled Egypt with tumult and confusion, and Constantine the Great, our emperor, the Zerubbabel of our flock—for just as he had led the entire captivity of the pious back from exile, and raised on high the divine temples which had been leveled to the ground—had summoned all the presidents of the Churches to Nicaea, the great Jacob also came with the others, as a most valiant warrior and leader of the whole phalanx, ready to contend for the true dogmas. For in those days, Nisibis was under the Roman rule. B In that great synod, therefore, while many things were said well and correctly, yet many things were also said otherwise—for there were some few who held contrary views, but did not dare to betray their impiety, and covered it with certain nets, not known to the common crowd, but very evident to those who were mystics of the truth and could penetrate its arcana—the confession of faith, which now obtains and is preached throughout the whole world, was recited, and all subscribed, and by hand and pen professed that they so believed and thought. But the greater part did this willingly; only seven, the defenders of the blasphemy of Arius, while they gave their assent by tongue and hand, yet retained in their minds a sentiment repugnant to their tongue, according to the prophecy which says: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,” [Isa. xxix, 13] and according to the express voice of Jeremiah: “Thou art near to their mouth, C and far from their reins.” [Jerem. xii, 2] And consonant with these, the blessed David also says concerning them: [alt-version omitted]
“With their mouth they blessed, but in their heart they cursed.” [Ps cviii, 5] And again: “Their words were softer than oil, yet they are darts.” [Ps. liv, 22] These men were petitioning Alexander, the great bishop of the Alexandrians, to have compassion upon Arius, who had been excommunicated by that entire phalanx. But because he knew their craftiness and suspected the wickedness of that man, and for this reason would not grant their request, others of a simpler nature spoke at length in praise of clemency, suggesting that the God of all things is particularly pleased by this. Since the great Alexander called this unjust clemency toward one man a cruelty, A saying that it was destructive to many and that it would become an occasion of ruin for all the flocks, the divine Jacob exhorted all to devote themselves to the maceration of fasting, and for the space of seven days to pray to God in common that He might provide for what was advantageous to the Churches. When all had accepted the suggestion of the divine man—for they knew him to be shining with apostolic gifts—fasting was joined with prayer, and the governor of these matters set his mind upon what was for the benefit of the Churches. And when the Lord's Day arrived, on which the majority expected that the profane man would be received, and the time for the divine liturgy had come, and all were waiting to see the anti-theist granted pardon, then a truly divine and miraculous wonder took place. For in foul and stinking places that destroyer was B excreting the waste of his gluttonous appetite, and with this he also voided the very bowels in which they were contained, and by the dissolution of his inwards in this manner, and with his excrement poured out, the wretch suddenly collapsed and suffered that most disgraceful death, paying the penalty for his foul blasphemy in foul places, and receiving the death-blow through the tongue of the great Jacob. The divine Scripture truly admires Phinehas the priest, and rightly admires him, because he slew Zimri, the author of C ruin to the people; wherefore the blessed David also said in song: “Phinehas stood and made atonement, and the slaughter stopped; and it was counted to him for righteousness, from generation to generation, even for ever.” [Ps. cv, 30] But he used a weapon of war to perform that just and celebrated slaughter; to this man, however, the tongue sufficed instead of spear and sword, and it slew the ungodly man, that he might not see the glory of the Lord. And this alone suffices to refute the folly of the heirs of Arian impiety. For such a man was a herald and defender of the doctrines maintained by us; and he so utterly loathed their impiety D that he even struck down the father of it, using his tongue as a weapon. After that holy assembly had been dismissed, and each had returned to his own home, he too returned, like a valiant victor exulting over the trophies of piety. As time went on, that great and admirable emperor departed this life with crowns of piety, and his sons succeeded to the empire of the world. Then the King of the Persians, whose name
A was Sapores, holding the sons in contempt, as though they were not equal to their father, campaigned against Nisibis, bringing with him a vast number of cavalry and a vast infantry force; he also possessed a great many elephants. Having divided his army for the siege, he surrounded the city, constructed engines, built bulwarks, and drove in stakes, weaving the spaces between them with branches in the manner of hurdles. He ordered the soldiers to heap up earth and to raise towers against towers. Then, placing archers upon them and commanding them to discharge missiles against those who were standing upon the walls, he ordered others to tunnel underneath and undermine the walls. When all these B efforts proved futile, disrupted by the prayers of the holy man, he finally obstructed the course of the river that flowed past with the labor of many men, and having gathered a very great force of water, now dammed up by the barrier, he suddenly let it loose against the wall, employing it as a kind of most violent engine. The wall could not withstand the onset of the water; but, shaken by its force, it collapsed to the foundation in that part. The enemy raised a great shout, as if the city were now easy to capture (for they were ignorant of the great wall of the citizens); yet they postponed the assault, because they saw that the city could not be approached at that time due to the waters. Therefore, withdrawing further away, as if to recover from their toil, they both rested themselves and tended to their horses. The inhabitants, however, turned with greater fervor to prayers, having the great Jacob as their intercessor. But those who were still of vigorous age restored the walls with as much exertion as they were able, regarding neither beauty nor symmetry, but piling everything together haphazardly—stones, bricks, and whatever each person had brought. In one night C the work progressed and grew to such a height that it prevented both the horses from entering and the men from climbing up without ladders. Then all entreated the man of God to show himself upon the walls and strike the enemy with the weapons of his curses. He, being persuaded, ascended, and having beheld their infinite multitudes, entreated God to send against them a cloud of gnats and mosquitoes. And while he prayed, God, heeding him just as He had hearkened to Moses, immediately sent them. The men were wounded by these divine darts, while the horses and elephants, having broken their bonds because they could not endure those stings, were driven off, scattering hither and thither. Therefore, the impious king, seeing that all his engines had provided no benefit, and that his assault with the water had turned out to be useless—for the wall that had fallen had been rebuilt—and seeing his entire army both exhausted by toil and suffering from the hardships of fighting under the open sky, and struck by the divinely sent plague, and having caught sight of the divine man walking upon the walls (conjecturing him to be the Emperor overseeing the work, because he appeared girded in purple and diadem—although in reality it was not the Emperor but the saint appearing in that guise), D he was indignant at those who had deceived him and had urged the expedition upon him, and who had told him that the Emperor was not present. Wherefore, condemning them to death, he dismissed the army and returned with all possible speed to his royal city. God performed such things miraculously under this king, as He also did under Hezekiah, nor did He...
perform fewer miracles than those, but greater ones, in my opinion. For when the wall had fallen, that the city was not captured—what greater miracle could there be?
I also admire this exceedingly: that when he made use of imprecations, he did not ask for lightning and thunderbolts to be sent down from heaven upon them, as the great Elijah did when each captain of fifty came to him with his fifty men. For he had heard the Lord say plainly to James and John, when they tried to do this very thing: “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of” (Luke 9:55). Therefore, he did not ask for the earth to open up for them, nor did he pray for the company to be consumed by fire, but for them to be bitten by those little creatures, so that by recognizing the power of God, they might at long last learn piety. Such was the boldness this holy man had toward God, and such was the grace he enjoyed from above.
Continuing in these things, and growing daily in divine matters, he concluded his life with the greatest glory and departed from these places. But in the passage of time, when the city was surrendered to the one then holding the Persian rule, all the inhabitants left, and they carried out the body of their protector, grieving and lamenting the relocation, yet singing the praises of the victorious champion’s power. For had he still been alive, they would not have fallen under the power of the barbarians. Having set forth these things concerning this divine man, I shall move on to another narrative, imploring his blessing.
II. — JULIANUS
BJulian, whom the local people honored by calling him Sabbam—which name signifies “old man” in the Greek language—set up his monastic hut in the region formerly called that of the Parthians, but now Osroene. This region extends to the west as far as the bank of the river Euphrates, while toward the rising sun it marks the boundary of the Roman Empire; for it is met by Assyria, which is the western limit of the Persian kingdom, and which those who came after called Adiabene. In this nation there are many large and populous cities, yet the greater part of the region is thinly populated, and a considerable portion is uninhabited and desert. Having reached the edge of this desert, this divine man found a cave not made by hand, nor well and beautifully excavated, but one that could provide a small shelter for those arriving, and he gladly made his dwelling there, considering it more magnificent than palaces gleaming with gold and silver. C He lived in this place, taking food once a week. His food was millet bread, and it was bran—
and his seasoning was salt. His drink was the naturally flowing water, and he did not measure even this by satiety, but limited it by the need for the food previously consumed. His delight, his luxury, and his banquet of all kinds was the singing of the psalms of David and his constant discourse with God. Enjoying these insatiably, he was unwilling to find satiety; rather, as he was always being filled, he always cried out: "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth." A And he heard again the blessed David saying: "The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves, more to be desired than gold and much precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." He heard him again saying: "Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the petitions of thine heart"; and again, "Let the heart of them that seek the Lord rejoice"; and, "Make glad my heart, that it may fear thy name"; and, "O taste and see that the Lord is good"; and, "My soul hath thirsted for God, the strong and the living one"; and, "My soul hath followed hard after thee." And he transferred into himself the love of the one who had said these things. For this reason the great David, singing, taught them, so that he might make many companions and co-lovers of God. And he was not disappointed in his hope, but he wounded both this divine man and countless others with divine love. For this man was so kindled with such a fire of love that he was intoxicated by desire, and he saw nothing of earthly things, but only the Beloved, dreaming of Him by night and meditating on Him by day.
This sublime philosophy of his was learned by many, some living in the vicinity, others from further away—for report, winged, had run everywhere. C They ran up, begging to share in the wrestling-school and to live henceforth under him as if he were a gymnasium master and trainer. For not only do birds hunt birds by singing, calling their own kind to themselves and entangling them in nets laid for them; but humans also hunt those of their own nature—some for ruin, others for salvation. In this way, gathering together, they quickly became ten, then double and triple that, and then they reached the number of a hundred; and even though they were so many, that cave received them, for they had learned from the elder to neglect the care of the body. They fed themselves just as their teacher, on barley bread seasoned with salt. In time, however, they also began to collect wild herbs, and filling earthen vessels, they mixed in as much brine as sufficed to serve as a relish for those who had need of physical treatment. But this type of herb is harmful to damp dwellings, for it is wont to induce mold and rot. D When this corruption happened to this relish (for much moisture was flowing into the cave from all sides), the disciples begged the elder to allow them to build a small cell for themselves, such as would be enough to hold the vessels for this relish. But he at first...
A did not agree to the request; but eventually, being persuaded (for he had learned from the great Paul not to seek his own, but to accommodate himself to the humble), he gave the dimensions for a short and small cell, and went far away from the cave, intending to offer his accustomed prayers to God. For he was accustomed to walk through the desert for fifty stadia, and sometimes twice as many, separating himself from all human company, and withdrawing into himself, to converse with God in private, and to gaze upon that divine and ineffable beauty. Having obtained this leisure, those who were deemed worthy of his care built the cell, making it larger than they were commanded, although it was commensurate with the need. B Returning after the tenth day, like a Moses from the mount and from that ineffable contemplation, and seeing that the building had been made larger than he intended, "I fear, O men," he said, "lest while we enlarge our earthly dwellings, we diminish the heavenly ones; and yet these are temporary, and will not be useful to us for long: but those are eternal, and will not have any end." This he said, schooling the choir toward more perfect things, yet he endured it, obeying the apostolic voice, "I seek not what is useful for myself, but what is useful for the many, so that they might be saved." He taught them, indeed, to offer up a common hymn to God inside, but after dawn to pair off and go out into the desert, and one while bending his knees would offer the required adoration to the Lord, C while the other standing would sing fifteen Davidic psalms; then they would interchange the work, and he who had been standing would sing, while he who had been prostrated on the ground would adore. And this they continued to do from early dawn until late evening. A little before sunset, resting briefly, they would gather into the cave, some from this side and others from that, and all from everywhere would assemble, and together they would offer the evening hymn to the Lord.
The elder himself also was accustomed to take one of the more distinguished brothers as a companion in his service. A man followed him quite often, Persian by race, large and admirable in form, but endowed with an even more admirable soul; his name was Jacob, who even after the elder’s death shone brightly in all virtue; he was distinguished and D known, not only to those who were there, but also to those in the philosophy schools, or monasteries, of Syria, in which he ended his life, having lived, as it is said, one hundred and four years. He, traveling through the desert with the great elder, followed from a distance. For the master did not allow him to approach closely, lest it provide an occasion for conversation, and conversation might distract his mind from the contemplation of God. Following him, therefore, he sees a huge dragon lying in the path. Then, having seen it, he did not dare to proceed; but while he wanted to turn aside out of fear, he braced his mind again. Then, having bowed down, and a pebble...
ing in the path. Then, having seen it, he did not dare to proceed; but while he wanted to turn aside out of fear, he braced his mind again. Then, having bowed down, and a pebble A catching up, and throwing it into him, he noticed that the dragon remained in the same state, and was entirely unable to move. Understanding then that it was dead, he considered the death of the beast to be the work of the elder. Having completed the journey and finished the duty of the hymns, when the time for rest arrived, the elder sitting down ordered him also to surrender his body to a little rest; at first he was sitting silently. But when the elder began a certain conversation, Jacob, smiling gently, begged him to reveal to him that which he did not know. And when he gave him permission to ask, "I saw," he said, "a very large dragon cast along the road, and at first I was afraid, assuming it to be alive; but when I saw it was dead, I took courage and continued the journey. Tell me, therefore, Father, who killed it? For you were leading the way, and no one else has passed through this way." B But the elder said, "Cease, he said, from inquiring into such things, which are unable to bring any benefit to those who seek them." But the admirable Jacob insisted none the less, desiring to know the truth. And the elder, having tried for a long time to hide it, but not enduring longer to see his friend distressed, "I will tell you," he said, "if you desire to know; but I forbid you to make anyone else a witness to what will be said while I am living; for it is fitting to conceal such things, which often stir up arrogance and pride. But when I have departed from hence, and have been freed from such perturbations, I do not object to your telling it and narrating the power of divine grace. Know then," said the great Julian, "that while I was walking along the path, that beast rushed upon me, and opened its mouth desiring to devour me. But I, using the name of God, and C showing the trophy of the cross with my finger, cast off all fear, and I saw the beast falling immediately, and having praised the common Savior, I went on further." Having thus finished the story, he arose and set out on the path to the cave.
At another time a certain youth, born of a noble family, and softly raised, but possessed of an alacrity of mind greater than his strength, begged the elder to allow him to keep him company upon his pilgrimage into the desert, not the common one which all trod every day, but the longest, which often extended to a journey of seven, and often to ten days. This was the most famous Asterius. And when the divine elder prevented the young man, and warned him that the desert lacked water, the youth D insisted, begging him to grant him this gift. Overcome therefore by his prayers, the elder yielded; and he followed, at first indeed eagerly; but after the first and second and third day had passed, burning with the rays of the sun (for it was summer, and when summer is at its height, the flame of the sun is more ardent), he labored under constant thirst. At the beginning, indeed, mindful of what the master had predicted, he did not dare to reveal his ailment. But at last, overcome and clearly failing, he begged the elder to have pity on him. Then he, recalling to his memory what he had forewarned, ordered him to return: but when the youth said that he neither knew the path which leads to the
A cave, nor whether, if he knew it, he could climb it, his strength having been consumed by thirst, the divine man, having pity on the youth’s suffering and making allowances for the weakness of his body, bent his knees and besought the Master, and with hot tears watered the ground, and sought a way of salvation for the youth. He, however, who does the will of those who fear Him and hearkens to their prayer, turned the fountain of tears which had touched the dust into a spring of water, and having thus satiated the youth with the liquid, immediately commanded him to depart. This spring remains even to this day, bearing witness to the Mosaic prayer of the godly elder. For just as that man long ago, having struck that barren rock with his staff, caused river-like waters to gush forth to satisfy those B many thousands who were perishing of thirst, so this godly man, having watered that dry sand with his tears, drew forth streams of fountain-water, not to quench the thirst of many myriads, but of one youth. Being illuminated in his soul by divine grace, he saw the future perfection of the youth very clearly. For this man, being called long after by divine grace so that he might train others also in the same virtue, established a monastic wrestling school in the regions around Gindarus—a very large village subordinate to Antioch—and drew to himself many other athletes of philosophy, and also drew the great Acacius, the one I call "the great," the celebrated one who, indeed, stood out in the monastic way of life and sent forth the brilliant rays of virtue, having been deemed worthy of the high priesthood and having received the lot to shepherd Beroea. And having been entrusted with the leadership of that flock for fifty-eight years, he did not abandon the form of the monastic life, but blended the monastic and the civic virtue together; and taking the precision of the one and the stewardship of the other, he united in one what was formerly separate. But the hunter and trainer of this virtue was that Asterius, who remained such a warm lover of the great elder that many times twice, and often three times a year, he used to make the journey to him. C When coming, he was accustomed to bring dried figs for the brethren, loading three or four beasts of burden; but gathering two medimni, which would suffice for the elder for the whole year, he placed such a burden upon his own shoulders, making himself a beast of burden for his teacher. And carrying this load he would walk, not ten or twenty stadia, but accomplishing a journey of seven days. And once, seeing him carrying the load of dried figs on his shoulders, the elder was displeased and said that he would not make these his food. For it was not just that he should undergo such toil, and that he himself should luxuriantly enjoy another’s labors. But when he swore that he would not remove the burden from his shoulders unless the elder confirmed he would partake of the food brought, "I will do," said the elder, "what is commanded, only put down the sack at once." For in this too, he imitated the first of the apostles, who, when the Lord wished to wash his feet, at first refused, strongly affirming that it would not happen; but when he heard that he would be cut off from communion with the Lord unless he permitted it, he prayed that He wash not only his feet but his hands and head as well. Thus also the great John, ordered to baptize the Savior, at first confessed himself a servant, and [confessed that the] Lord [needed to be baptized by Him].
pointed out the Master; but afterwards he fulfilled what was commanded, not using audacity, but obeying the Master. Thus also this divine man felt burdened when another labored to provide him with food to eat; but when he saw the most fervent eagerness of the ministrant, he preferred that person’s ministry to his own choice.
B Perhaps someone among those who delight in finding fault and have learned only to carp at good things might say that this narrative is not worth recording. But I, in addition to the other miracles of this man, have added this one, wishing not only to show the respect that great men held for him, but also because I judged it worthwhile to declare the sweetness and moderation of his character. For such as he was, and being of such virtue, he did not deem himself worthy of even the slightest honor, but repelled it as something in no way pertaining to him; yet, on the other hand, he endured it because he caused a benefit to those who offered it. Fleeing from this (for when he had become known to all, he drew lovers of goodness to himself through his reputation), he at length set out for Mount Sinai with a few of his close associates, entering neither any town nor village, but making his journey through the trackless wilderness. They carried on their shoulders also the necessary food—bread, that is, and salt, and a wooden cup, and a sponge tied to a cord, so that if ever they found deeper water, they might draw it up with the sponge and, having squeezed it, drink into the cup. Having therefore traversed a journey of many C days, they arrived at the desired mountain and, when they had adored their Lord, they spent much time there, considering the solitude of the place and the quiet of the soul to be the greatest delight. And when he had built a church upon that rock, under which Moses, the prince of the prophets, while hiding, was deemed worthy to see God as far as it was possible to see Him, and had consecrated a divine altar, which remains to this day, he returned to his own arena.
But when he was informed of the threats of the emperor who bore the same name as he, but who was impious—for having threatened to destroy all the pious utterly, he had set out against the Persians—and when those who shared his views were awaiting with bated breath that abominable return, he himself then offered strenuous prayers to God, and extending these for up to ten days, he heard a voice saying that that execrable and foul-smelling pig had been removed from the midst. But not even when his prayers were finished did he immediately end his supplication; rather, he changed his petition into praises, giving thanks to the Savior of his own, and to the One who is long-suffering and powerful against the enemy of others. For He had endured the impious one for a very long time; but when His long-suffering had agitated the wicked man into greater madness, He brought about the punishment at the opportune moment. With his prayer completed, he turned to his own people and showed a visibly joyful and tranquil soul; for the gladness of the soul makes the face cheerful.
A Since those present were struck with wonder at the strange spectacle—for he who always appeared dejected was seen smiling at that moment—they asked for the cause. “This is a time for gladness, O men,” he said, “and for joy. For the impious man has ceased, as Isaiah says, and has paid the deserved penalty for his daring deeds; and he who exercised tyranny against God, the Creator and Savior, has been justly slain by a submissive hand. Therefore I rejoice, seeing the Churches which he attacked exulting, and observing that the wicked man obtained no help from the demons whom he worshipped.” Such was the foreknowledge he had concerning the death of this impious man.
But when Valens, who took up the reins of the Roman Empire after him, cast aside the truth of the evangelical dogmas and accepted the imposture of the Arian error, then a greater storm was raised against the Church, for B the leaders were driven out from every side, and plunderers and enemies were substituted in their place. And so that I do not recount that entire tragedy at the present time, I shall pass over the rest and mention only one thing, which clearly demonstrated the grace of the divine Spirit flourishing in this old man.
The great Meletius, to whom the God of all had entrusted the task of shepherding it, had been cast out of the Church of Antioch; and all the clergy who were in the sacred ministry, along with the like-minded people who worshipped the one divine essence of the Trinity, had been cast out of the divine temples. And now, they would go to the foothills of the mountain and hold their sacred assemblies there; at other times, they would set up an oratory on the bank of the river; and sometimes in the military training ground which is situated before the northern gate. For the enemies would not permit the pious to remain in one place. C The fosterlings of falsehood, however, boasted and spread a rumor in that city that the great Julian—I mean this old man here—was embracing the communion of the dogmas which they themselves followed. This matter especially distressed the pious, lest this rumor might perhaps deceive the more unlearned and simpler folk and entangle them in the snares of the heretics.
But the divine and blessed men, Flavian and Diodore, both adorned with the priesthood and presiding over the religious people, and Aphraates—whose life I shall add for you separately, God willing—persuaded that great Acacius, whom we have already mentioned, to take as his companion on the journey the illustrious Asterius, who was indeed his own teacher but a disciple of this holy old man; and to make haste to that common splendor of piety, that pillar of evangelical doctrine, and persuade him to leave his residence in the desert and come to bring help to so many thousands who were perishing through deception, D and by the dew of his arrival to extinguish the Arian flame. The divine Acacius ran, and having taken, as he was commanded, the great
Asterius, he arrived at that greatest luminary of the Church, and having greeted him, he said: "Tell me, O Father, for what reason do you endure all this labor with such joy?" When he replied, "The worship of God is more precious to me than my body, my soul, my life, and all things, and I endeavor, as far as I am able, to offer Him a service pure of any stain, and to please Him in all things," Acacius said, "I will reveal to you a way by which you may serve Him even more than you do now—and I say this not by relying on my own reasoning, but having learned from His own teaching. For when He once asked Peter B if he loved Him more than the others, and learned what He knew even before Peter’s voice, 'Lord, you know that I love you,' He showed him what he should do to serve Him more: 'If you love me,' He said, 'tend my sheep, and feed my lambs.' This too, O Father, you must do. For the flocks are in danger of being destroyed by wolves, but He who is greatly loved by you loves them greatly; and it is the nature of those who love to do those things which, when done, are pleasing to those who are loved. Moreover, there is no small danger, and a loss of those many and great exertions, if you endure to betray the truth, which is being grievously attacked, by silence, and that its followers should be captured, and that your own name should be used as bait for their capture. For the leaders of the Arian abomination C boast in vain that they have you as a companion in their impiety." Upon hearing this, the old man, immediately bidding farewell for the time being to his quiet life, and not shrinking from the city tumults to which he was unaccustomed, set out for Antioch. Having progressed two or three days' journey into the desert, he came by night to a certain little town. A wealthy woman there, hearing that that holy company was arriving, ran to receive their blessing and, falling upon her knees, begged that they would use her house as a lodging. The old man yielded, although for more than forty years he had refrained from such a sight. While that admirable woman was occupied in the service of the holy men, her seven-year-old son, the only child of a mother who had emulated the hospitality of Sarah, fell into a well in the evening darkness. When a great tumult had arisen on this account, as was natural, the mother, having learned what had happened, bade everyone to keep silent, and placing a cover upon the well, returned to her service. D When a table had been set before the holy men, the divine old man ordered the woman's son to be called, that he might receive a blessing. And when the admirable woman said he was unwell, he persisted in ordering him to be brought. But when the woman signified what had happened, the old man ran, abandoning the table, to the well, and having ordered the cover to be removed and a light brought, he saw the boy sitting on the surface of the water, splashing the water with his hand in a childish manner, and regarding as a game and a joke that which they had thought was his destruction; and having fastened a rope and lowered it into the well, they pulled the boy out: who, to
the feet of the elder he ran at once, saying that he had seen him on the waters, holding him up and preventing him from sinking. This is the reward for hospitality that the wonderful woman received from the blessed elder. But that I may pass over other things that happened on the journey, they arrived at Antioch; and all from every direction gathered, eager to see the man of God, and each one longing to receive some cure for their affliction. B He was lodged in the caves at the foot of the mountain, where they say the divine apostle, the blessed Paul, also lodged and hid himself. But immediately, so that all might know that he was a human being, a most violent attack of fever came upon him. The great Acacius, seeing the multitude of those gathered, was distressed at the illness that had occurred, fearing that those who were present might be disturbed if they learned of the sickness of the man from whose hand they hoped to receive healing. "Do not be distressed in spirit," said the elder, "for if health is necessary, the Lord will grant it immediately." Immediately, therefore, after these words, turning to prayer, and bowing his knees and forehead as he was accustomed to do, he besought that he might receive health, if any profit was to result from it for those who had gathered. He had not yet finished his prayer, when a copious sweat broke out on a sudden and extinguished the flame of the fever. C And having delivered many there from every kind of disease, he went on to the gathering of the pious. And as he was passing the gates of the palace, a certain beggar, who instead of feet used his buttocks and was being dragged along the ground, stretched out his hand, and touching the cloak of the elder, he drove out his infirmity by faith, and leaping up, he showed the gait he had before his sickness, doing the same as the lame man whom Peter and John raised. When this happened, the whole multitude of the city gathered, and the military gymnasium was filled with those running together. The calumniators and the artisans of lies were full of shame, while the foster-children of truth were in full joy and gladness, and those who were in need of some aid were dragging the splendid light of piety into their own homes. A certain man, endowed with the highest office, who held the prefecture D of the East, sent to him, asking him to come to him and free him from an urgent sickness. He, without any delay, went, and having besought the common Master, he drove away the sickness with a word, and urged him to render thanks to God.
Remaining in the ascetical hut. But making his journey through Cyrrhus—this city is two days' distance from Antioch—he was lodged in the shrine of the victorious martyr Dionysius. Those who were in charge of religion there joined together and besought him to bring help to them, as they were expecting certain destruction. For they said that Asterius, a man trained in the art of sophistry, who had defected to the church of the heretics, and
had been deemed worthy of the episcopal office, A was terribly defending the lie and employing wicked craft against the truth. "We fear," they said, "that as with some bait, by concealing the lie with his eloquence and spreading the traps of his syllogisms like nets, he may catch many who live in simplicity." It was for this reason that he had been summoned by the adversaries. The elder said: "Take heart, and pray to God with us, adding fasting and affliction to your prayers." While they were praying in this manner, on the day before that festival on which the defender and enemy of the truth was to speak, he was struck by a divine blow, and after being ill for only one day, he departed from the living, hearing, as it were, that voice: "Fool, this night they require your soul from you; and the evils you have prepared—the nets and the snares—they shall be for you and not for another." He suffered the same things as Balaam, who also had been summoned against the people of God, and after he had given impious counsel to Balak against them, he paid the penalty himself, receiving the slaughter at the hand of Israel. B Thus this man also, since he had plotted with evil intent against the people of God, was deprived of life through the people of God. Cyrus received this benefit through his intercession. As for me, the divine head, the great Acacius, who knew all his affairs accurately, handed down these accounts to me. Having departed from there, and having reached his companions and spent no small time with them, he migrated with alacrity to a life free from old age and distress, having pursued impassibility in a mortal nature and awaiting the immortality of the body. Here I shall end my discourse concerning this account and proceed to another, beseeching the saints whom I have commemorated to procure for me the favor from above through their intercession.
III. MARCIANUS
How could we worthily praise the most celebrated Marcianus? Or is it evident that we should rank him with Elijah and John and those like them, who "went about in skins and goatskins, destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth"? C For he once had Cyrus as his fatherland, which I mentioned before, and afterwards the desert; and having left both this and that, he now possesses heaven. The former indeed gave birth to him, the latter nourished him and rendered him a victor, and heaven received him crowned. For having despised the renown of his lineage—since he was descended from noble parents—and the splendor of the palace, in which he flourished, gifted by the Author of nature with greatness of body and beauty, and possessing a soul adorned with sharp intelligence, he transferred his entire love to God and the things of God; and having bidden farewell to everything, D he reached the center of the desert, and having built a small hut that could scarcely accommodate his body, and
A of fence surrounding it, he remained shut in continuously, separated from all human intercourse, conversing with the Lord of all, and hearing that sweet voice. For in occupying himself with the divine oracles, he reckoned that he was hearing the divine voice; while in praying and offering supplications, he himself carried on the conversation with the Lord. And always enjoying such delight, he never wished to be sated. For he had heard the divine Spirit chanting through the mouth of the great David: "For he who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night shall be like the tree planted by the streams of waters, which will give its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall." Desiring these fruits, he embraced this most sweet labor: and prayer succeeded to psalmody, and psalmody to prayer, and both in turn to the reading of the divine oracles. His only food was bread, and this was offered by weight; and the weight was such that it would not satisfy even an infant just weaned. They say, in fact, that a libra of bread, divided into four parts, was distributed over four days, and one part was allotted to each day. For he had determined to eat every evening, but never to be sated, but always to be hungry and always thirsty, and to provide to his body only what sufficed for life. For he said that he who takes food B after many days of fasting performs the divine offices more weakly on the days of fasting; and on the day when he again takes food, by consuming more, as is wont to happen, he burdens the stomach, and this being heavy, makes the soul more sluggish for vigils. It is better, therefore, he said, to take food every day, but never to await satiety. For a true fast is perpetual hunger. This law that divine man ceased not to propose, and although he had a very large body, and was the greatest and most beautiful of all the men of his time, he sustained it with little food. After some time had passed, he admitted two companions: Eusebius, who became the heir of that sacred hut, and Agapetus, who transplanted these angelic laws to Apamea. For there is a very large and populous village, C Nicerta by name, in which he constructed two very large gymnasia of philosophy, the one taking its name from him, the other from the admirable Simeon, who shone in this discipline for a space of fifty years. In these, even today, more than four hundred men dwell, athletes of virtue and lovers of piety, buying heaven with their labors; and the lawgivers of this manner of life were Agapetus and Simeon, having received the laws from the great Marcian. And from these, countless other ascetic dwellings were propagated, using the same laws, which it would be difficult to enumerate. But the sower and planter of them all was that divine man. For he who provided the most beautiful seed is rightly to be called the author of the goods which are born from it. Therefore, first, as I said, he occupied that voluntary prison alone. Then, when he had admitted these two,
they did not dwell under the same roof; for the little cell did not suffice for him alone, being extremely small and causing him much labor whether standing or lying down. For when standing he could not straighten himself, as the roof pressed upon his head and neck; nor could he extend his legs when lying down, since the length of the cell did not correspond to his stature. Therefore, having permitted them to construct B another, he ordered them to live in it and to chant hymns, pray, and read the divine oracles by themselves. But when it became necessary for more to become participants in this benefit, he arranged for another dwelling to be built at a distance and ordered those who desired to do so to live there. Eusebius was placed in charge of them, conveying to them the teaching of the great Marcian. As for that divine Agapetus, having been trained as he ought and exercised, and having been most excellently educated in this struggle, he departed, as I said, and sowed the seeds which he had received from that divine soul; and he became so illustrious and renowned that he was deemed worthy of the episcopal throne, and was entrusted with the pastoral care, and the charge of his own fatherland was committed to him.
The admirable Eusebius, presiding over the assembled flock, also took care of the master, and he alone had the authority to approach him at the proper time and to ask if he desired anything. Desiring one night to see what he was doing, he ventured to approach the light-aperture, which was very small; and having looked in, he saw a light, not of a lamp nor man-made, D but God-sent and proceeding from grace above, shining upon the head of the master and revealing the arrangement of the letters in the divine Scriptures. For he happened to be holding a book, seeking the inviolable treasure of divine will. When the admirable Eusebius saw this, he was filled with fear and dread, and he learned of the grace poured out upon the servant of God and the benevolence with which God pursues His servants. At another time, while the great Marcian was engaged in prayer in the vestibule of the house, a dragon, having crawled up the wall facing the east, peered down from above the wall, agape and looking with a grim visage, signifying its treacherous intent. Eusebius, standing at a distance and terrified by that horrendous sight, and thinking the master was unaware of it, cried out with a loud voice and pointed it out, begging him to flee. But he rebuked him, and ordering him to cast out fear as a ruinous emotion, he marked the sign of the cross with his finger and blew with his mouth, laying bare the ancient hostilities. For immediately the dragon, caught and inflamed by the spirit of his mouth as if by a flame, was broken into many pieces like burnt reeds. See, therefore, whether the benevolent servant did not imitate the Master. For when the sea was once raging against the disciples' boat, the Master, seeing them struggling, did not calm the surge of the sea before he restrained the disciples' unbelief with a rebuke. Taught by this, the admirable man
first removed the cowardice of the disciple, A and then surrendered the beast to punishment. Such was the great Marcian’s wisdom, and his power of working miracles, and his confidence in God. But yet, although he was endowed with such grace and was capable of performing great miracles, he strove to conceal his power, suspecting the devices of the plunderer of virtue, who, sowing the vice of pride, attempts to steal the fruits gathered with labor. Desiring to hide the grace given to him, he worked miracles unwillingly, as the brightness of his extraordinary works shone forth and laid bare the power he was hiding. And it happened one day that such a thing occurred.
A certain man of noble birth, who had often held military offices B and hailed from Berrhoea in Syria, had a daughter who for a long time had been afflicted and driven to madness by an evil demon. He came to the desert, having been an acquaintance of the great Marcian, and hoping that because of their previous familiarity he would be able to meet with him and ask his favor in person. But being disappointed in his hope, and failing to see the servant of God, he begged a certain elder, who at that time was entrusted with the service of the divine man, to accept a small flask full of oil and place it by the door of the little house. Though the elder frequently refused to undertake this,, having been asked again and again, he finally succumbed to his entreaties. C Hearing the noise, the great Marcian asked who it was and for what cause he had come. The man, however, hiding the true reason, pretended that he had come to inquire if there was any command he might have; and having said this, he was dismissed. But at dawn, when the father of the girl again asked for the flask to be returned to him, the elder, though fearful, went nevertheless as silently as he could, and reaching out his hand to take the flask, he attempted to hide away. But he again asked what the reason for his coming was. And when he offered the same excuse as he had in the evening, the man of God was vexed, since this had happened contrary to custom, and ordered the elder to report the truth. The man, fearing and trembling, D and unable to hide anything from one full of divine grace, said who had come, and explained the tragedy of the affliction, and showed the flask. The holy man was annoyed, as was to be expected, not wishing to display his virtue; yet he threatened that if he dared such things again, he would be deprived of that intimacy and removed from his service—a penalty that was the greatest of all to those who knew its value. He ordered him to send it back to the one who had given it.
So he gave these commands; yet the demon, stationed four days' journey away, cried out at the power of the one who was casting him out. For Marcian, while in Berrhoea, performed the part of a judge, using certain executioners against the demon, expelling that polluted one, and showing the girl to be free of that operation. The girl's father learned of this with exactness; for as he was returning, and when he was only a few stadia from the city, a servant met him...
having been sent out by his mistress. Upon seeing his master, the servant reported the miracle that had occurred, saying that the wonder had taken place four days earlier. Having thus counted the days and examined the time accurately, he learned that it was the very day on which the old man had brought the oil-flask.
But it comes into my mind to consider what that great man would not have done if he had wished to perform miracles. For if, even when he was eager to conceal the virtue he had received, he shone with such splendor, what wonder would he not have wrought had he desired to perform one? Thus, moreover, he would not reveal his spiritual wisdom to everyone; and this he demonstrated finally, after B he permitted those who wished to come to him after the feast of the saving Passion and the Lord's Resurrection—a time, indeed, when everyone was eager to catch a sight of him. And so it happened that the foremost of the bishops once came together to him: that great Flavian, who had been entrusted with the shepherding of the church of Antioch; and the divine Acacius, whom I mentioned earlier; and Eusebius, the bishop of the Chalcidians; and Isidore, who was then entrusted with the helm of Cyrus—all of them distinguished by their virtue. With them was also Theodotus, who held the reins of the people of Hierapolis, shining in asceticism and gentleness. There were also present some of those in positions of authority and rank, whom the fervor of faith had inflamed. Therefore, while everyone sat in silence awaiting his holy voice, he himself also sat for a long time in silence, keeping his tongue at rest but his ears attentive. Then one of those sitting with him, who was intimate with him by reason of the care of his soul, and was also distinguished C in rank, said: "Father, all these divine Fathers, thirsty for your teaching, await your most sweet streams. Bestow, therefore, the benefit upon all who are present, and do not close the channels of your beneficence." But he, after sighing heavily, said: "God, the God of all, speaks daily both through creation and discourses through the divine Scriptures; he counsels what is necessary, teaches what is useful, deters with threats, and urges on with promises, yet we derive no profit. How then would the speech of Marcian provide benefit, when so great a benefit is rejected along with the others, and when they do not wish to gather the fruit from them?" From this point many words were exchanged by the Fathers, which I deemed superfluous to insert into the narrative. But when they had stood up and prayed, and wished to confer the ordination of the priesthood upon him, they again feared to undertake it. And one exhorted another, yet because they all declined, they departed with the matter unfinished.
But I wish also to add to these another narrative, D from which his divine prudence may be known. A certain Avitus was the first to fix his ascetic hut in the other wilderness. It is situated a little further north than this one, and slopes slightly towards the east, facing the north wind that borders on the northeast. This man was, in both time and toil, an elder contemporary of the great Marcian, a philosopher, and one trained in a life of hardship. He…
A Having heard of the man’s renowned virtue, and having calculated that it would be more profitable to see such a sight than to enjoy his brief quiet, he ran, eager to see the one he desired. When the great Marcian learned of his arrival, he opened the door and let him in; he instructed the admirable Eusebius to boil some pulse and greens, if he had any. When they had been satisfied with their mutual conversation and had come to know each other’s virtue, they celebrated the service of the Ninth Hour together. Eusebius came bringing a table and offering bread. Then the great Marcian said to divine Avitus: "Come, most dear to me of all, and let us be partners at this table." But he said: "I do not remember, I tell you, ever having taken food before evening; often, indeed, I remain fasting for two or even three days at a time." But the great Marcian said: "For my sake, then, let your custom be changed today; for, being weak in body, I cannot wait until evening." B When, even after saying this, he could not persuade the admirable Avitus, he is said to have sighed and to have said: "But I am deeply distressed and stung in soul that you have undergone such labor just to see a man who loves labor and is a philosopher, only to be frustrated in your hope and discover a tavern-keeper and an intemperate man instead of a philosopher." And when the most divine Avitus became sad at these words and said that he would gladly eat meat rather than hear such things, the great Marcian said again: "And we, O friend, lead the same life as you, and we embrace the same manner of living; we prefer toil to rest, and we choose fasting over sustenance, and when night falls, then we take part in it. C But we know that the matter of charity is more precious than fasting. For the one is a work of divine law, while the other is of our own power and choice; and it is fitting that we should consider the divine laws much more precious than our own toils." Having discussed these things with one another, and having taken a little food, and having praised God, and having spent three days together, they parted, hoping to see each other again in the spirit. Who, then, would not admire the wisdom of this man, guided by which he knew the time for fasting? He knew also the time for philosophy and brotherly charity, and he recognized the difference among the parts of virtue, and which ought to yield to which, and to whom, according to the time, the victory should be attributed.
D I can also relate another story, which shows his perfection in divine matters. His sister had come to him from their homeland with her son, who was already a man and held the first rank in the city of Cyrrhus; she was bringing him an abundance of what was necessary for his living. He did not permit himself to see his sister, but he did admit his nephew into his presence, for the time for conversation with him had arrived. When they begged him to accept what they had brought, he said: "Through how many monasteries did you pass? To which of them did you distribute any of these things?" And since he said that they had given it to no one, "Depart," he said, "with those..."
things you have brought; for we neither need any of these, nor would we accept them if we did, since you wish to show us this favor out of natural kinship rather than out of zeal for divine service. For if you were honoring only the affinity of kindred, you would not have shared only with us what you brought." Saying this, he dismissed his nephew with his sister, forbidding them to accept any of the things they had brought. Thus had he risen above nature and passed over into the heavenly way of life. For what clearer proof could one provide that he was worthy of God, according to the very voice of God? "For he who does not leave," He says, "father and mother, and brothers and sisters, and wife and children, is not worthy of me." If, then, he who does not leave is unworthy, it is clear that he who does leave, and observes this perfection so exactly, was most worthy. B Furthermore, I also admire his extraordinary diligence in divine doctrines. For he detested the madness of Arius, which was being fanned by imperial power at that time. He also loathed the insanity of Apollinaris. He fought bravely against those who hold the views of Sabellius and gather the three hypostases into one. Moreover, he utterly turned away from those called Euchites, who, under a monastic habit, were suffering from the disease of the Manichæans. His zeal for ecclesiastical dogmas was so ardent that he even undertook a righteous struggle against an admirable and divine man. C For there was a certain old man in that desert, named Abraham—that is what the locals called him—a man with gray hair, but of even grayer wisdom, radiant in every virtue, and always pouring forth abundant tears of compunction. At the beginning, led by a certain simplicity, he did not hesitate to celebrate the first Pascha; being ignorant, as is to be expected, of what had been decreed about this matter by the Fathers at Nicæa, and desiring to serve an ancient custom. Many others, furthermore, were suffering from this same ignorance at that time. But the great Marcianus, having tried many times with many arguments to persuade the elder Abraham to bring himself into agreement with the Church, seeing him resisting, openly ceased to communicate with him. In the passage of time, however, that divine man, having wiped away the stain and embraced the agreement of the Church in celebrating the feast, truthfully sang: D "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord." And this magnificent achievement was the work of the great Marcianus. Many indeed built houses of prayer for him in many places: in Cyrrhus, his nephew Alypius; in Chalcis, a certain Zenobia, who was illustrious in family, distinguished in virtue, and possessed of great wealth. Not a few others were doing the same thing, striving to snatch that victorious athlete for themselves. When the man of God learned of this, he besought that admirable Eusebius, binding him with a threat-filled...
pledge, to lay his body to rest in that place and that no one, save two of his most familiar associates, should know of the tomb until a long series of years had passed. And this oath that admirable man fulfilled. For as soon as the illustrious victor had completed his life, and the choir of angels had transported that holy and divine soul to the heavenly mansions, he did not reveal his passing before he had, with the two more familiar acquaintances, dug the grave, deposited the body, and leveled the surface of the ground. And when fifty years or more had passed, although many gathered and searched diligently for the body, the tomb remained unknown. B But after each of the aforementioned oratories—the one of the apostles and the other of the martyrs—had received relics, the heirs of his cell and teaching, growing confident, had constructed a stone sarcophagus two years prior, and into it they transferred the relics of the precious body, with the one who alone of the three remained survivor pointing out the tomb.
Emulating his virtue, the admirable Eusebius did not cease to afflict his body with numerous labors. For, already wearing one hundred and twenty pounds of iron, he imposed upon himself another fifty belonging to the most divine Agapetus, and he added another eighty belonging to the great Marcian. He had for a dwelling a certain pit devoid of water, and he spent a period of three years living in this manner. I have digressed to recount these things in order to show what a cause of great achievements for many others the great Marcian was. The fruit of this philosophy was also gathered by the admirable Basil, who long after C built a monastic residence near Seleucobelus—a city of Syria. Having shone in many forms of virtue, and having shone especially in that possession most pleasing to God, charity, and in the divine work of hospitality, who could easily count how many laborers for God he also presented, in the words of the Apostle, "unashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (II Tim. II, 15)? For, leaving aside the others for the present—not because they are unworthy of praise but because they would make the narrative overly long—I shall mention only one of these.
There was a disciple of his named Sabinus, who consumed his body with infinite toils. For he partook of neither bread nor any dish of food; his nourishment was flour moistened with water. He was accustomed to mix his entire month's portion of food in such a way that it would become moldy and emit a great stench. Through this sort of food, he wished to dull the appetites of the body and to crush pleasure with the stench of the food. Living in this manner by himself, if ever any of his acquaintances came to him, he would partake of everything set before him without discrimination. D He received such grace from God that a certain woman from Antioch, noble by birth and proud of her wealth, fled to him and besought him to bring help to her daughter who was vexed by a demon.
She said that she had seen someone in a dream who told her to run there and secure healing for her daughter through the prayers of the one who presided over the monastery. A The one providing the answers then said that it was not the custom for the superior to converse with women; but as the woman persisted, weeping, wailing, and bitterly entreating, the superior of the monastery came out. The woman, however, said that it was not him, but that another had been shown to her, a man with a reddish complexion, having certain spots on his cheeks. When they learned who was being sought—he was the third in the monastery, not the first—they persuaded him and brought him to the woman; and as soon as she recognized his face, the evil demon cried out and left the girl. Such were the mighty deeds of the disciples of the great Marcian: such were the plants that the excellent husbandman propagated everywhere in the world. B I, for my part, placing an end to this narrative, pray and beseech that through the intercession of all these I may obtain divine aid.
IV. — EUSEBIUS
What kind of fruits the barren desert has brought to God, timely and ripe and pleasing to their cultivator, and lovable and desirable to prudent men, we have shown in the preceding narratives. But lest anyone suspect that virtue is circumscribed by place, and that only the wilderness is suitable for the harvest of such produce, come, let us now turn our discourse to the inhabited regions, and let us show that these are in no way an obstacle to the acquisition of philosophy.
There is a lofty mountain, situated to the east of Antioch and to the west of Beroea, C rising above the neighboring mountains, bearing the shape of a cone at its highest peak, and having received its name from its height; for those who dwell around it are accustomed to call it "Coryphe" (that is, the summit). D Formerly, on its very crest, there was a temple of demons, greatly honored by the neighboring peoples. Below it, towards the south, a plain extends in the shape of a bay, enclosed on both sides by hills of no great height which stretch as far as the carriage road, receiving the two paths that run from the south toward the north. In this plain, towns are settled, both great and small, adjacent to the mountains on either side; and at the very roots of the high mountain is a village, very large and populous, which the inhabitants in their native tongue call Teleda. Above, on the side of the mountain, is a glen not very steep, but gently sloping toward that plain and facing the south wind. In this, a certain Ammianus built a school of philosophy—a man shining with many other virtues, but excelling everyone in singular modesty. A proof of this is that, although he possessed learning enough to suffice not only for his own disciples but for as many again, he nevertheless often went to the great Eusebius, asking and beseeching him to be an assistant, a trainer, and a master of the wrestling school, which
A he had founded. He was twenty-five stades away, enclosed in a very small dwelling that did not even have any windows. Marianus, his uncle and a faithful servant of God, had led him to this virtue. It is enough to say this much, since the Master has honored the great Moses with this title. This Marianus, having tasted the divine love, did not wish to enjoy the blessings alone, but made many others companions in that love; he also hunted out the great Eusebius, and his brother—who was also a brother in his way of life. For he did not deem it reasonable to incite those who had no relation to him to virtue, while leaving his own nephews unhunted. Having enclosed them both in a small cell B, he instructed them in the angelic way of life. But sickness overtook the brother, interrupting the course, and death followed the sickness; for he ended his life a few days after he had departed from there. The great Eusebius, however, remained throughout the life of the uncle, neither speaking to anyone nor beholding the light, but being perpetually enclosed. And even after his death, he led the same life, until the admirable Ammianus, having persuaded him with many prayers, softened him. "Tell me," he said to him, "O good man, to please whom have you chosen this laborious and squalid life?" And when he, as was fitting, had replied, "To God, who is the lawgiver and master of virtue," Ammianus said: "Since therefore you love Him, I will show you a way through which you may love more ardently and serve Him whom C you love. For whoever consults only for himself cannot, in my opinion, escape the charge of selfishness. For the divine law commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves; and to communicate one's riches to many is the proper duty of charity, which the divine Paul called 'the fulfillment of the law,' and the Word cries out again: 'The law and the prophets are summed up in this saying, in the, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ' And the Lord, in the holy Gospels, commanded Peter, as he professed to love Him more than the others, to feed His sheep. Yet to those who neglect this, He says, chiding them through the prophet: 'O shepherds, do the shepherds not feed themselves, and not the sheep?' For this reason He commanded the great Elijah, who was pursuing this life, to move about among the impious. And the second Elijah, the very great John, who delighted in the desert, He sent to the banks of the Jordan, commanding him to baptize and to preach. Since, therefore, you too are a warm lover of God who has made and saved you, make many others lovers with you. For this is very pleasing to our common D Master. For this reason He also called Ezekiel a watchman, and commanded him to testify to sinners; and He commanded Jonah to set out for Nineveh, and when he would not go, He sent him bound." Saying these things and the like, he softened the holy man,
and brought him out of that voluntary prison, and handed over to him the care of his companions. I, for my part, know not which I should admire more, the modesty of the one or the readiness of the other’s obedience. For he fled from authority and preferred to be one of the subjects, fearing the peril of such a charge. And the great Eusebius, although he avoided the company of men, yet withdrew his refusal, and caught in the B snares of love, took upon himself the care of the flock and led the company, having no need of many words to instruct them. For his very presence was enough to rouse even the most slothful to the race of virtue. For those who saw him relate that his countenance always possessed such gravity that it was enough to strike a certain fear into those who looked upon him. He himself partook of food only after three or four days, but he ordered his companions to eat every other day. He commanded them to converse with God assiduously, and to leave no time empty of this work: but that they should perform the appointed duties in common, and in the intervals of time between these, each one privately—whether under the shade of some tree, or beside some rock, or where each might choose to find quiet—should pray to the Lord and ask for salvation for himself. He trained the individual parts of his body for virtue, so that they might do only those things which reason permits. To make this clear to all, I shall set forth one of the narratives concerning him.
He and the wonderful Ammianus were sitting upon a certain rock, C and one was reading the history of the divine Gospels, while the other was explaining the meaning of its more obscure passages. Seeing some farmers ploughing the land in the plain below, the great Eusebius was distracted towards contemplating them. When, therefore, the divine Ammianus had finished reading the Gospel passage and was asking for its interpretation, and the great Eusebius had ordered the reading to be repeated, and he had replied, “Perhaps, as it seems, being delighted by the farmers, you did not hear,” he subsequently imposed a law upon his own eyes: that he should never look at that field, nor be delighted by the sight of the heavens and the stars; but, walking upon a very narrow path, said to be one span in width, which led to the house of prayer, he did not allow himself to step off it thereafter. They further report that he lived more than forty years after this law was made. And that, along with his spontaneous will, some necessity might also compel him to these things, he bound his loins with an iron belt, D and having placed a very heavy collar upon his neck, he joined the belt to the collar with another piece of iron, so that in this way he was perpetually forced to bend down and look at the ground. These were the penalties he exacted upon himself, because he had contemplated those farmers. Many others who had seen him and had a clear understanding of all his affairs taught me these things; but this very story was told by the great old man Acacius, whom I have already mentioned in other matters. He said, moreover, that he once asked him, when he saw him thus bent over, for what fruit…
he was laboring, A since he did not endure to look at the sky, nor to gaze upon that field lying before him, nor to walk outside that narrow path. He replied that he was contriving these things against the machinations of the wicked demon. "For," he said, "so that he might not wage war over great things, attempting to steal away temperance and justice, and arming anger, and kindling desire, and making me ready to become inflamed and puffed up with pride, and whatever else he concocts against my soul, I try to transfer the war to these small things, where, even if he wins, he is not greatly harmed, and if he is defeated, he becomes all the more ridiculous, as one who is unable to conquer even in small matters. Since, therefore, I know this war to be less dangerous—for he who is struck in these matters sustains no great loss; for what harm is there in seeing a field, or in raising one's eyes to heaven?—I shift the form of the battle to this; for in this way he can neither kill nor strike. For these darts are not deadly, as they lack those iron points." The great Acacius said that he heard these things from him, and admired his wisdom, and recounted his martial skill as something worthy of admiration and memory, so that those desiring to learn might admire his courage and experience. B For which reason, to those wishing to learn, he also offered this...
The fame of this man
, running through everything, drew all lovers of virtue to him. There came, therefore, the rams of the most excellent flock of the most divine old man Julian, whose history we have already recorded. For after that divine man had reached the term of his life and migrated to the life above, Jacob the Persian and Agrippa, who were the leaders of that flock, ran to the great Eusebius, thinking it better to be ruled than to rule as they ought. Regarding Jacob, whom I have already mentioned above when I briefly displayed his virtue, I shall now also present clear proof of his supreme philosophy. For when the divine Eusebius was departing this life and had instructed him to have charge of the flock, and he, refusing the care, did not persuade those who desired him to take it up, he betook himself to another flock, preferring to be fed rather than to feed, and after many years passed he ended his life there. Agrippa, therefore, succeeded to that command, a man adorned with many other virtues, but C predominantly with the purity of his soul, through which he was also receiving the vision of divine beauty, and, being set on fire by the torch of that love, he watered his cheeks with continuous tears. And after he also had legally shepherded that choice and divine flock for a long time, and then departed this life, the divine Davides, of whose appearance I too was granted the enjoyment, succeeded to the command: a man who truly, according to the divine Apostle, had mortified his members which are upon the earth D (Coloss. III, 5). For he had progressed so much from the teaching of the great Eusebius, that when [he had attained] yearsin that monastery, he spent that entire time free from anger and wrath, and no one, even after he received the superiorship, ever saw him overcome by this mental disturbance. This is true, even though, as one might expect, infinite things offered themselves to compel him. For one hundred and fifty men were being shepherded under his right hand, some indeed emulating the heavenly life through [their] excellent virtue, while others, whose wings were still growing, were being taught to leap over and fly above the earth. And yet, though there were so many who were being taught divine things—and sometimes they would undoubtedly do wrong, since it is hardly possible for someone who has recently arrived to conduct himself rightly in all things—the divine man remained immovable, as if he were devoid of a body, nor did any occasion incite him to anger. B
This I have received not by hearsay alone, but have also tested by experience. For, desiring once to see that flock, I arrived [there], having as companions of my journey others also who embraced the same life as I. Spending, therefore, the whole cycle of the week with this divine man, we observed his countenance receiving no change at all, neither being diffused with joy at one moment, nor contracted with sadness at another, and his eyes similarly, not at one time stern and at another cheerful, but always continuing in the same state of decorum. These [signs] are also sufficient to indicate the tranquility of the soul. But perhaps someone might think that he was seen to be such because no cause was moving him. Therefore, what happened then in our presence must necessarily be explained. The divine man was sitting with us, discoursing on philosophy, and seeking out the pinnacle of the evangelical discipline. While such conversations were being held, a certain Olympius, a Roman by birth, himself admirable in character, endowed with the dignity of the priesthood, and holding the second place in that superiorship, came to us, rebuking the divine David with a loud voice, calling that gentleness a common injury, saying that his mildness was pernicious to all, and calling that supreme philosophy not modesty, but insanity. C But he, as if his soul were made of adamant, received those words in such a way that he was not at all stung by the things that are wont by nature to sting. Therefore, he did not change his countenance, nor did he break off the set discourse, but with a gentle voice and words testifying to the serenity of his soul, he dismissed that old man, asking him to attend to what he wished. "For I," he said, "am speaking with those who have come to us, as you see, thinking this duty to be necessary." D By what means could anyone more clearly demonstrate the gentleness of his soul? For him who held the supreme superiorship to be treated with such insult by him who held the second place—especially with foreigners standing by and hearing the abuse—and yet to have EXHIBITED not even one ripple of anger or disturbance, or which [kind of] manliness and endurance...
does it not surpass? A The divine Apostle, observing the weakness of human nature, measures the lawgiver’s requirement according to our nature, saying, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger" (Eph. iv, 26). For, knowing that the movements of anger are of nature and not of the volition, he was unwilling to decree things that were difficult to perform, and perhaps altogether impossible. Instead, he defined the limit for the movement of nature and the storm of anger as the span of a day, ordering it to be compressed by reason and held fast by a bridle, not allowing it to advance beyond these boundaries. But this divine man struggled beyond the laws laid down and leaped beyond the stadium’s barriers, not allowing his anger to be moved even until evening, but permitting it not to be moved at all. Such was the fruit he reaped from the company of the great Eusebius.
B I have also seen many others, lovers and zealots of this philosophy, who had come to that hut—some in the bloom of their youth, others in deep old age; for even those who had passed ninety years did not wish to abandon the laborious life, but excelled in taking on the labors of the young, praising God by night and by day, performing those holy services, and partaking of those meager foods after two days. And, so that I may pass over others, not because they are undeserving of silence, but because they are worthy of laudation and every kind of praise, yet I would not make the narrative longer than is proper: there was a certain man in that divine place whom they call Abba. He sprouted from an Ishmaelite root, but he was not cast out from the house of Abraham like the one from whom he drew his lineage; rather, he shared the paternal inheritance with Isaac, or rather, he snatched for himself the kingdom of heaven. This man, from the very beginning, took up this ascetic way of life with a certain man who was living in the desert at that time—the best of instructors in such things—whose name was Marosas. Later, however, he too ceased to be in charge of others and came to this flock with Abba; after surviving for no small amount of time, and having struggled brilliantly and become renowned, he departed this life. C But the former has already spent thirty-eight years there, and he desires to labor now just as if he had only recently begun to labor. For even until today, he has never covered his feet with shoes. When it is cold, he stays in the shade; when it is hot, he welcomes the sun, and he finds as much delight in its burning heat as if it were the breeze of a zephyr. During all this time, he has not deigned to take water, nor has he eaten those foods which are customary for those who practice the abstinence of drinking—for those people are accustomed to enjoying more liquid foods—but he enjoys the very same foods as the others. By eating few, and only those which provide slight strength, he considers a drink of water to be unnecessary. Girded with a heavy iron [weight] about his loins, he rarely sits, and the greatest part of the night and day he offers prayers to the Lord, either standing or kneeling. D He has entirely forbidden himself from lying down, and no one has ever seen him reclining to this day; but from the time he became leader of the choir and took on the position of prefect, he performed this whole labor with a cheerful
spirit, offering himself as an archetype of philosophy to all his subjects. Such were the triumphant athletes that the divine Eusebius, the trainer and coach of these contests, presented to God. And having made many others like them, he sent them as teachers to other training schools, and they filled that entire sacred mountain with these divine meadows and fragrant flowers. For, looking toward the east from the ascetical hut that was built at the beginning, one can see the offspring of this philosophy also toward the west and the south, like certain stars gleaming around the moon; and some praise the Creator in the Greek tongue, others in the regional language of the place where they dwell. But I am embarking on a task that is impossible if I were to wish to recount all the feats of that divine soul. Therefore, this narrative must be brought to an end, and our discourse must be turned to another, and from there once again we must seek profit, where we have implored the blessing of these great men. A B C
V. — PUBLIUS
D At the same time there was Publius, a man remarkable in appearance and possessing a soul consistent with that appearance, or rather, showing one far more admirable than his body. He was of senatorial rank by origin and was born in the city near which that most famous Xerxes, when he was advancing upon Greece and wished to cross the Euphrates River with his forces, gathered a multitude of ships and tied them together; and having in this way built a bridge over the river, he called the place Zeugma—that is, "the joining"—and gave the city its name from this event. Originating from thence, and born of such a family, he occupied a high spot of ground not more than thirty stadia distant from the city. Having built a small hut there, he sold everything he had received from his father—I mean his house, lands, flocks, clothes, and vessels of silver and bronze, and whatever else he happened to possess. Having distributed these according to the divine law to those who were in need, and having freed himself from every earthly concern, he took up one care in place of all: to serve Him who had called him. And this he kept turning over in his mind, and by night and by day he gave thought to how he might increase it. For this reason his labor grew continuously, and became more intense day by day; it was sweet and full of pleasure, keeping satiety at a distance. For no one ever saw him idle, even for the smallest part of the day; rather, prayer followed psalmodia, psalmodia followed prayer, and both were succeeded by the reading of the divine oracles; then came the care of the guests who arrived, and then other necessary tasks followed. Living a life of this kind, and presenting himself as an exemplar of virtue to those who wished to emulate it, he, like a sweet-voiced bird, enticed many of his own kind into these saving nets.
A At the beginning, however, he would not suffer anyone to live under the same roof with him; but by building small, adjacent cells, he commanded each of those who joined him to live apart. He would visit these cells frequently, and inspect them to see if they possessed anything beyond what was necessary. They say that he even carried scales with him, and would diligently weigh the bread, and if he ever found more than the prescribed amount, he was displeased, and labeled those who did this "gluttons." For he commanded them not to eat or drink to satiety, but to partake only of as much as sufficed to sustain the body. If he ever saw flour from which the bran had been separated, he would rebuke those who had done this as if they were indulging in Sybaritic luxuries. At night, too, he would come unexpectedly to each person’s door; if he found someone keeping vigil and praising God, he would pass by in silence, but if he perceived someone overcome by sleep, he would strike the door with his hand and rebuke the man lying inside with his tongue, as one who was serving his body more than he ought. B Seeing this labor of his, some of his associates suggested that he should build a single dwelling for all; for they said that in this way, those who were dispersed would live more accurately, and he himself would be relieved of a great part of his anxiety. The most wise man accepted the advice, and having gathered everyone together and pulled down those little cells, he built one structure for those who had been assembled, and exhorted them to live together and to sharpen one another; one, he said, should emulate the other’s gentleness, and another should temper his own gentleness with the other’s zeal, and one should share his vigils with another, and learn from him, in turn, the lesson of fasting. "For," he said, "by thus borrowing from one another what is lacking, we shall render virtue complete in all its parts. For just as in the marketplaces of the city, one is a bread-seller, another a vegetable-seller, another a merchant of garments, and another a shoemaker, and by borrowing from one another what they need they live more pleasantly—for he who gives a garment receives shoes in return, and he who buys vegetables sells bread—so it befits us to give one another in return the precious parts of virtue." C When those who spoke the same language were being trained and struggling in this way, and were praising God in the Greek tongue, a desire for this way of life seized others also, who used their native language. And some of them came running and begged to become part of the flock and to partake of his holy teaching. He accepted their request, mindful of the Lord’s legislation which He had delivered to the holy apostles, saying, "Go, make disciples of all nations." And building another dwelling beside the first, he commanded them to live there. He constructed a divine temple, into which he ordered both groups—those who spoke Greek and the others—to assemble at the beginning and the end of the day, so that they might offer the evening and morning hymnody to God in common, though divided in two, each using their own language, but singing in turn with one another. D The form of his institution has endured to this day, so that neither time, which is wont to change this and other things of this kind, nor his successors have dared to change the rules prescribed by him.
and this despite the fact that not two or three, but many have succeeded him in this A leadership. For immediately, once he had completed his struggle and departed from this life, and had migrated to that life which is free from sorrow, Theotecnus of the Greek tongue and Aphthonius of the Syrian tongue took up the leadership, both becoming, as it were, living pillars and images of his virtue. For they allowed neither those who were members of the community nor those who arrived from outside to feel any sense of grief at his passing, presenting themselves as distinct impressions of his way of life. But the divine Theotecnus did not survive for a long time, and handed over the leadership to Theodotus; while Aphthonius remained for a very long time caring for the flock and guiding it according to the established laws. B This Theodotus, hailing from Armenia, upon seeing that ascetic community, was at first among the number of the subordinates, obeying the great leader Theotecnus. But when, as I have said, he departed from this life and he himself assumed the supervision, he abounded in so many virtues that he almost eclipsed the glory of his predecessors. For divine love so affected him, and wounded him with such darts, that by night and by day he shed tears of compunction: and he was so filled with spiritual grace that when he prayed, all who were present fell silent, and were intent only upon those sacred words, regarding the hearing of them as a diligent prayer. For who was so adamantine that his soul was not softened C by those words so uttered, and who would not have had his hardness and disobedience melted and been brought to serve God? Therefore, increasing his wealth day by day, and filling his sacred treasuries with such goods, when he had shepherded the flock for five and twenty years, he was gathered, as the divine Scripture says, to his fathers, finished in a good old age, handing over the reins to Theotecnus, who was his brother's son by blood, but his brother in character. And that divine Aphthonius, having presided over the choir for more than forty years, accepted the episcopal throne, D neither changing his ascetic goatskin cloak, nor the tunic woven from goat hair, nor enjoying food different from that which he had enjoyed before the episcopate. And although he had undertaken that greater responsibility, he nonetheless continued to care for the flock, spending most of his days there, and now reconciling the disputes of those who were at odds, now bringing help to anyone who was afflicted by any trouble, and at times offering divine exhortation to his companions. And he performed each of these things in such a way that he would meanwhile mend the garments of his fellow dwellers, or clean the vegetables, or wash the grain, or do some other thing of the sort.
A Thus, having adorned the presidency and increased the virtue, he reached the divine harbor, along with the burdens thereof.
And what need is there to speak of Theotechnus, and of Gregory who came after him—the former having in his youth embraced every form of philosophy and departed this life with the glory of his ancestors, and the latter, even to this day, in his advanced old age, toiling with his body as if he were in his prime? For he remained entirely in the practice of refusing the fruit of the vine, and partaking neither of vinegar, nor of raisins, nor of milk, whether newly taken or curdled. For thus did the great Publius decree that one should live. And learning of the necessity of oil at the time of Pentecost, they even then abstain from its use.
These things I have learned about the great Publius, partly having received them by hearsay, and partly by looking at his disciples and recognizing the master in the disciples, and by the athletes understanding the trainer. Thinking it, therefore, unjust and invidious to suppress in silence so great a benefit, B I have added the narrative for those who are unaware, both to procure for them the fruit flowing from it and to secure for myself the gain from the remembrance. For I heard the Lord saying: «Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven.» And I know clearly that by bringing the memory of these men before people, I shall enjoy in return the memory of them before the God of all.
VI. SYMEONES THE ELDER
If anyone should willingly pass over Symeones the elder, and relegate the memory of his philosophy to oblivion, he could not rightly escape the charge of injustice and envy, as one who wishes neither to praise things which are worthy of praise, nor to propose things worthy of study as objects of imitation for those who desire to make progress. But I, not out of fear of accusation, but out of a longing for praise, will make a narrative of his way of life. For he spent the greatest possible amount of time embracing the eremitic life, and dwelling in a small cave, he enjoyed no human consolation; for he preferred to live alone, but conversed assiduously with the God of all. He made the edible herbs his food. C This labor of his also granted him the abundant grace from above, so that he could command even the most courageous and ferocious wild beasts. And this became known not only to the faithful, but even to the unbelieving Jews.
For on account of some necessity, they were traveling to one of the forts situated outside the regions inhabited by us. Because a violent rain had fallen and a storm had struck, they missed the road, being unable to see what was in front; they wandered through the desert, finding neither village, nor cave, nor traveler, and in the middle of the mainland, tossed by the storm just as if they were sailing, they arrive at the cave of the divine Symeones as if at some harbor, and they behold a man squalid and filthy, wearing a small goatskin on his shoulders. D He saw them at once and greeted them. For he was affable, and he asked the cause of their arrival. And when they had explained the incident to him, and asked to learn the road leading to the fort, «Wait,» he said, «and I will presently give you guides who will show you the desired road.» And they obeyed and rested; and while they were sitting there, two lions arrived, not looking with a fierce aspect, but as if to their master
A fawning and indicating their subjection. By nods, he ordered them to guide these men and lead them back to the road from which they had strayed. Let no one, therefore, think this story is mythical, since it has as witnesses to its truth the common enemies of the truth. For they themselves, having received the benefit, did not cease to proclaim it. And this the great Jacob related to me, saying that he was present when they were recounting this miracle to the divine Maro. Furthermore, he who does not believe when Jews testify to the miracle of Christians, how could he not justly be called more of an infidel than the Jews? For if they, although averse in spirit, are nevertheless overcome and yield to the rays of the truth, while those who are considered well-disposed and partakers of the same faith do not believe even when the enemies themselves confess the power of grace.
When that divine man had become famous through miracles of this kind, and had drawn to himself many of the neighboring barbarians (those who inhabit that desert and who boast that Ishmael is the ancestor of their race), he, longing for quiet, was compelled to leave that cave and, after traversing a long journey, arrived at the mountain which is called Amanus. This place had long labored under the madness of many gods, and he adorned it with many and various miracles and planted there the piety that now dwells in it. But since to narrate all his deeds would be very difficult, and perhaps impossible for me, B by mentioning one thing and setting forth a kind of character of his apostolic and prophetic operation of miracles, I leave it to my readers to consider from this what power of grace he had obtained.
It was summer, and the harvest time, and the sheaves were being gathered into the threshing floor. A certain man, not content with his own righteous labors, but coveting what belonged to others, stole some sheaves from his neighbor and attempted to increase his own heap with them. But God immediately condemned the theft with His verdict. A lightning bolt fell, and the threshing floor caught fire. That wretched man ran to the man of God, who had established his dwelling not far from the village, and explained the calamity but attempted to conceal the theft. However, when he was ordered to speak the truth and confessed the theft (for the pain compelled him to accuse himself), the divine man advised him to abolish the penalty by making amends for the injustice. «For as soon,» he said, «as you return the sheaves, that divinely sent fire will be extinguished.» It was then possible to see him running from one side, returning the stolen ears of corn to the one he had offended, and from the other side, the pyre being extinguished without water by the prayers and intercession of the divine old man. This event struck fear not only into those living near, but also compelled the entire city of Antioch (for the village was subject to it) to hasten there, C and D to petition him — one for the driving out of demoniacal madness, another for the cessation of fever, and another for a cure for some other troubling malady. And he, from the grace that dwelt within him, poured forth the streams in abundance. But again longing for quiet, he decided to set out for the Sinaean mountain. Upon learning this, the followers of this excellent man
A desired to join him as companions in his pilgrimage. Thus, after completing a journey of many days, when they arrived at the desert of the Sodomites, they saw from afar, from the depths of a hollow, the hands of a man stretched up on high. At first, they suspected some trick of a demon; but after praying more earnestly, and seeing the same thing again, they hastened toward that spot. They saw a small pit, such as foxes are accustomed to dig for themselves to take refuge in, yet they saw no one appearing there. For, having heard the sound of their feet, he who had his hands stretched out had hidden himself inside the cave. The elder, however, glancing in, entreated him very earnestly to show himself, if he were of human nature, and not some deceitful demon practicing such illusions.
• For as for us, he said, leading the ascetic life and loving quiet, we are wandering through this desert, desiring to worship the God of all on Mount Sinai, where He manifested His own appearance to Moses His servant and gave the tablets of the law. Not that we think the Divinity is bounded by place B (for we hear Him saying, "I fill the heaven and the earth, says the Lord," and that "He holds the circuit of the earth, and the inhabitants upon it are as locusts"); but because to those who love fervently, not only are the beloved themselves deeply desired, but also the places where they have granted their presence and fellowship, are lovely. C While the elder was saying these things and others like them, the man who had been hidden revealed himself from the cave; he was wild to behold, with matted hair, his face wrinkled, and all the limbs of his body dried up and exhausted, clad in some poor rags woven together with palm leaves.
After greeting them and offering the salutation of peace, he asked who they were, where they had come from, and whither they were going. They, too, answered his questioning, and in turn asked him whence he had come, and why he had chosen this life. He replied, "I, too, was possessed by the same desire that now leads you, and I had as a companion of this journey one of my acquaintances, who had the same mind and the same purpose as I. We had bound one another by an oath that not even death should sever our fellowship. D Therefore, since death befell him while we were on our journey in this place, I, constrained by my oath, dug the earth as best I could and committed his body to the grave; and having dug another grave for myself beside it, I await here the end of my life, and offer to the Master my customary service. I have for food dates, which a certain brother is ordered by Him who has care of me to bring me." While these things were being said, a lion appeared from afar. When his companions were terrified at the sight of it, the old man who was sitting in the pit, having noticed the matter, arose and signaled to the lion to pass to the other side. It obeyed immediately, and brought a bunch of dates, and then, being ordered to withdraw, it went away, and lying down far from those men, it fell asleep. When, therefore, he had divided the dates among each of them
A and shared in prayers and psalms with them, and after the end of the liturgy in the morning had greeted them, he sent away those who were astonished by this strange sight. If anyone does not believe what has been said, let him call to mind the life of the great Elijah and the service of the ravens, which continuously brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening. It is easy for the Creator of all things to find all ways to protect the salvation of His own. It was by this means that He preserved Jonah in the belly of the sea monster for three days and three nights, and caused the lions in the pit to be amazed by Daniel, and made the lifeless fire to act with reason, illuminating those who were within while burning those who were without. But I am doing something superfluous in bringing forward arguments to demonstrate the divine power.
Since, therefore, he had reached the desired mountain, they say that that B wonderful old man, in that very place where Moses was deemed worthy to see God—seeing as much as it was permitted to mortal nature—bent his knees and did not rise before he heard the divine voice of the Lord indicating His benevolence toward him. And so, when he had spent the entire week prostrate in this manner, and had tasted nothing, an inspired voice commanded him to take what had been set before him and to eat with a ready mind. Stretching out his hand, and finding three apples, he fed upon them according to the command of the Giver, and received strength, and greeted his associates, as was fitting, with great joy of soul. He departed, glad and cheerful, as one who had both heard the divine voice and received food given by God.
Upon returning, he built two training grounds for religious philosophy, one on the ridge of the mountain of which we were speaking, and the other C below it, at the very roots of the mountain. Having gathered athletes of virtue in both, he became a master and coach to them both, teaching them the attacks of the hostile enemy, and promising the benevolence of the Contest-Master, and exhorting them to be confident and filled with high resolve, persuading them to maintain modesty toward their associates, but to use greatness of soul against the enemy. Teaching such things, living in such a way, flourishing with such great miracles, and shining with every splendor, he reached the end of his laborious life and departed to that life which is free from old age and pain, leaving behind him an undying glory and a memory that shall last forever.
My blessed, or rather most blessed mother, was enriched by his blessing while he was still alive, and she often brought many of these stories to me. I, for my part, D entreat to enjoy his power and the fruit of his intercession which he now possesses, and I know that I shall obtain it. For he will certainly grant my request, imitating the kindness of the Master.
VII. — PALLADIUS
Palladius, that most celebrated man, was a contemporary of this man, and was of similar character, and a close friend and acquaintance. For, as they say, they used to visit one another and enjoy mutual benefit, sharpening one another
A and inciting one another to divine zeal. He lived in a small cell near a very large and populous village called Imma. Regarding the man’s endurance, his abstinence from food and sleep, and his continual prayer, I consider it superfluous to speak; for he bore the same yoke in these matters as that divine Symeon. But the miracle, which is recounted even to this day, and which occurred through his voice and hand, I deemed worth relating.
A fair was being held in the aforementioned village, which had drawn merchants from all sides and attracted an immense multitude of people. A certain merchant there, having sold the wares he had brought and gathered the gold, wished to depart by night. A certain murderer, having seen that gold which had been collected, and being filled with a kind of goad of madness, chased sleep from his eyes and observed that man’s departure. When the merchant was B departing in safety after the cock’s crow, the murderer, getting ahead and occupying a place suitable for an ambush, leapt upon him suddenly, brought the blow, and committed murder; and to this abominable deed he added another impious act. For, having taken the gold, he threw the dead body at the door of the great Palladius. When day dawned and the rumor spread, and the entire fair was gossiping about what had happened, all ran together, and having broken down the door, they demanded from the divine Palladius accountability for the slaughter—and among those doing this was he who had committed the slaughter. The saintly man, therefore, being surrounded by such a crowd, looked up to heaven, and in his mind transcending heaven, he besought the Lord to expose the falsehood of the slander and make clear the truth that was hidden. Having prayed in this way, and taking the right hand C of the deceased, he said: “Tell me, O young man, who inflicted this blow upon you? Reveal the author of the crime, and declare the innocent one free from this wicked slander.” The word followed the word, and the act followed the man, and as he sat, he looked around at those standing by and pointed out the murderer with his finger. And a shout went up from all, both out of astonishment at the miracle and at the slander that had been perpetrated. Having stripped that murderer, they found the sword still stained with blood, and that gold which had been the cause of the slaughter. The divine Palladius, who had long been considered admirable, was deservedly considered even more admirable after this. For this one D miracle was indeed sufficient to demonstrate the man’s confidence before God.
PARS VIII: ABRAAMES
Abraames also, the admirable, was of the same order, who built what is called Paratoma, and sent forth the rays of his virtue in every direction. The miracles that occur after his death bear witness to the brightness of his life. For his tomb gushes forth healings of all kinds even to this day, and those who draw them therefrom abundantly through faith are witnesses. May it be my lot also to obtain their aid, for I have sanctified my tongue by the mention of them.
VIII. — APHRAATES.
That the nature of all men is one, and that it is easy for those who wish to practice philosophy, whether they be Greeks or barbarians, is readily learned from many sources; yet Aphraates alone is sufficient to demonstrate this clearly. For, born and bred among the Persians, a most iniquitous nation, and sprung from such parents, and instructed in their customs, he attained to such virtue that he eclipsed those who were born of pious parents and had received a religious education from their earliest youth. For first, despising his lineage—which was renowned and illustrious—he hastened to the worship of the Lord, imitating the Magi, his ancestors. Then, detesting the impiety of his own people, he preferred a foreign country to his own, and upon reaching Edessa (which is a very great and populous city, and is exceedingly radiant in the worship of piety), he found a small dwelling outside the walls, and having shut himself within, he applied himself to the care of his soul, just like an excellent husbandman extirpating the thorns of the passions, purging the Lord’s crop, and offering the ripe fruits of evangelical seeds to the Lord. B From thence he reached Antioch, which was then being fiercely agitated by the heretical storm, and having taken up residence in a school of philosophy before the city, and having learned a few small words of the Greek language, he immediately drew many to hear his divine sermons; and speaking in a semi-barbarous tongue, he expressed the sentiments of his soul, drawing those streams from the grace of the divine Spirit. For who of those that boast of their eloquence, and knit their brows, and speak arrogantly, and exult youthfully in the snares of their syllogisms, was ever superior to that unlearned and barbarous voice? For he vanquished reasons with reasons, and philosophical dissertations with divine oracles, crying out with the great Paul: "Though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge" (II Cor. XI, 6); and in this way he continued to persist according to the apostolic word: "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. X, 4-5). C And it was possible to see them flocking together: both those in office and dignity, and those enrolled in military service, and those who provided for their own livelihood by their hands; and in a word, the unlearned and the soldiers, the learned and those unskilled in doctrine, those laboring in poverty and those abounding in wealth. And some would listen to what was proclaimed in silence, while others would ask questions, and inquire, and suggest matter for the discourse. Yet, while sustaining such great labor, he could never be brought to admit a companion, but preferred to perform everything himself rather than make use of the ministry of others. And when he was accustomed to have conversations with those arriving at the door of the atrium, he himself would open for those who came, and send away those who were departing. He never accepted anything from anyone—no bread, no provisions, no garment—but only one of his acquaintances supplied him with bread; unless, in the extreme...
A of his old age, he would partake of herbs after sunset. They say that Anthemius, who later became a prefect and consul, when he returned from his embassy to the Persians, brought him a tunic woven among the Persians and said, "Father, knowing that for every man his own fatherland is sweet, and the fruits that grow there most delightful, I have brought you this tunic from your own country, and I beg you to accept it, and in turn grant me your blessing."
He, at first, ordered him to place it upon a stool; then, in the midst of other conversation, he said that he was troubled and distracted by a doubtful thought. When the other asked the reason, he said, "I have always chosen to have only one companion, and I have imposed a law upon myself to entirely reject the sharing of quarters with two. Therefore, B for sixteen years, one has dwelt with me, and he is dear to me; then a fellow-countryman of mine arrived, wishing to live with me, and asking to obtain this. This is what divides my mind: for I will not endure to have two at once; for I embrace the fellow-countryman as a fellow-countryman, but I consider it burdensome and unjust to expel my former companion, as he has become pleasing to me."
The other said, "Rightly so, Father; for it is not right to send away as unfit him who has served you for the longest time, while receiving the one who has not yet given a specimen of his character, for the sole reason of his fatherland."
To this the divine Aphraates said, "Therefore, O wonderful man, I will not take the tunic; for I will not endure to have two. But the one who has served me for so long a time is, according to my judgment, more pleasant and, according to your own verdict, better."
Thus, having outwitted Anthemius C and having excited wonder at his sagacity, he persuaded him to speak no more words to him regarding that tunic. I have recounted these things, wishing to show two things at once: both that he used the labor of only one person for the necessary care of the body, and that he was so filled with such wisdom that he was able to cause the one who was begging him to receive it to resolve that he should not receive it.
But leaving such things aside, I shall tell of greater matters.
After Julian, who was hateful to God, had paid the penalty for his impiety in the barbarian land, the nurslings of piety enjoyed D a brief calm when Jovian took the reins of the Roman empire. But after he too, having reigned for a very short time, reached the end of his life, and Valens received the empire of the East, storms and whirlwinds once again agitated our sea, and a most grievous tempest arose, and the huge waves began to strike our ship. The lack of helmsmen also increased the bitterness of the storm, as the emperor, who was hostile to piety alone, kept them in exile. Nor did he, after such wickedness, receive any satiety of impiety, but he endeavored to break up the gathering of the pious, and like a wild beast to scatter the flock. For this reason, he drove them not only from all the churches, but also from the foot of the mountain, and from the bank of the river, and from the field of battle.
A For all these places were alternately transformed, when an armed hand pursued them. Now the Scythians and other barbarians were plundering the whole of Thrace from the river Ister to the Propontis with impunity; but he, unable to endure to hear these things even with pricked-up ears, as the saying goes, turned his weapons only against his own subjects and those who were celebrated for their religion. But the divine people, lamenting the untimeliness of those evils, sang that Davidic canticle: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered Sion.” But the rest of the canticle was no longer appropriate for them; for Aphraates, and Flavian, and Diodorus did not allow the instruments of instruction to be hung upon the willows, nor could they bear to say: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” B But both in the mountains, and in the plains, and in the city, and in the suburbs, and in houses, and in the markets, they kept singing the Lord’s song unceasingly. For they had learned from David that “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof: the world, and they that dwell therein.” They had heard again the same prophet saying: “Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion.” They had heard also the divine Paul commanding: “that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands without wrath and doubting.” Furthermore, the Lord himself, speaking to the Samaritan woman, had predicted this same thing more clearly: “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father.” C Having been instructed in these things, they did not cease to bear witness both at home and abroad, and, to use the apostolic words, “publicly and from house to house,” like the most excellent commanders, both arming their own people and piercing their adversaries. That therefore the great Flavian and the divine Diodorus—who were shepherding the flock under another and holding the honor of the second throne—should do the things which I have previously described, is indeed admirable and worthy of praise; but yet they were chosen commanders, and subject to the laws of commanders. But the most wise Aphraates leapt into these struggles of his own accord. D For though he had been brought up in quiet, and had chosen to live for himself, and was, as the saying goes, out of range of the weapons, yet when he considered the atrocity of the war, he despised his own security and, bidding farewell for a time to quiet, he presented himself as a pacesetter to the phalanx of the pious, striking at them by his life, and by his word, and by his miracles, yet never once struck himself. So, when he was going to the field of battle, the emperor (who was indeed mad), having caught sight of him at some point (for the worshippers of the Trinity happened at that time to be gathered there, and someone had pointed him out to the emperor as he walked along the bank of the river), asked him whither he was hastening. And when he had replied that he was going, as
he was about to offer prayers for the world and for the empire, the emperor asked him once again: "And why is it, since you profess the solitary life, that you walk about the marketplace without fear, having abandoned your quietude?" A And he (for he was accustomed, in imitation of the Lord, to argue by means of parables) said: "Tell me, O emperor, if I were a maiden hidden away in some bridal chamber, and I saw someone casting flames into my father’s house, what would you advise me to do, seeing the flame igniting and the house burning? Ought I to sit inside and pay no heed while the house is set ablaze? But thus I, too, would become fuel for the fire. But if you say that I ought to [have] run and brought water and dashed up and down and extinguished the flame, do not blame me, O emperor, for doing this very thing. For that which you would advise a maiden cloistered in her chamber, I am compelled to do, having promised [to live] the monastic life. But if you blame me for leaving my quietude, blame yourself for having cast this flame into the house of God, rather than me for being compelled to extinguish it. B For that it is fitting to defend a father’s house when it is burning, you yourself have acknowledged; and that God is more truly our Father than those on earth is clear, I think, to everyone, even to those entirely ignorant of divine things. Nothing, therefore, taken from the scope [of our life], nor contrary to our initial purpose, are we doing, O emperor, in gathering together and pasturing the fosterlings of piety, and offering them the divine pasture." Having said these things, the emperor, convinced by the justice of the [monk's] defense, assented in silence.
C There was one among those who are classed neither as men nor as women, and who have been deprived of the possibility of ever becoming fathers, and who for this reason are thought to be well-disposed to the emperor and receive that appellation—this man had been railing at the man of God for a long time, and had even threatened him with death. But not long after, he paid the penalty for his insolence. For when the emperor wished to bathe his body in the bathhouse, the wretched man went on ahead to inspect the tub, to see if the temperature were right; but, his mind being deranged, he leaped into the basin which contained the boiling water: and as no one else was present—for he had entered alone to see if it was ready—he remained being boiled and dissolving. Some time later, the emperor sent another man to call him, but when he found no one in any of the rooms, he reported this to D the emperor. Upon this, many ran in to search through all the tubs, and arriving at the last one, they beheld him lying prostrate and deprived of life. A commotion arose, and while all were wailing, some bailed out that boiling water, others brought out the most miserable corpse. From this, fear fell upon the emperor and all those who were arming themselves against piety. A report went through the whole city of what heavy penalties that wretched man had paid for his insolent behavior toward Aphraates, and all continued to hymn the God of Aphraates. This occurrence hindered the opponents of the man of God from succeeding in their claim that he should be relegated into exile. For the emperor, having been struck with terror, shrank from those who were counseling this.
man, and he treated the man of God with reverence. Having been struck with terror, the emperor turned away from those who were advising such things, and held the man in honor. He learned of his virtue from other sources as well.
B A certain horse of noble breed, and very well trained, was exceedingly dear to the emperor. A condition befell this horse which distressed the emperor grievously; it was a difficulty in the discharge of urine. Those who were skilled in that art were called in for this treatment. But when this also failed, the emperor was grieved, and the one entrusted with the care of the horses lamented. Since he was pious and firm in the faith, in the middle of the day he arrived with the horse at the dwelling of the great Aphraates, and having explained the condition and declared his faith, he begged him to drive away the malady with his prayer. He, without any delay, but having immediately supplicated God, ordered water to be drawn from the well, and having placed upon it the sign of the saving cross, he ordered it to be offered to the horse. And it drank, contrary to its custom. Then, having filled oil with the divine invocation of blessing, he anointed the belly of the horse, and at the touch of his hand the malady was immediately loosed, and the discharge happened by nature immediately. Rejoicing, therefore, the man took the horse and ran to the stables. At evening twilight (for at this time the emperor was accustomed to visit the stable), he arrived and asked how the horse was. When he indicated its good health and brought out the horse, and saw it vigorous, exulting, neighing, and proudly lifting its neck, he inquired as to the cause of its health. C But although he hesitated for a long time, because he did not dare to betray the physician, knowing the inquirer to be hostile to him, yet at last he was compelled to tell the truth, and he described the method of the cure. The emperor was indeed astonished, and confessed that the man was altogether worthy of wonder; yet he did not desist from his former madness, but persisted in raging against the Only-Begotten, until he was consumed by barbarian fire, and was denied even a burial equal to that of servants or beggars. But the divine Aphraates even in that storm manifested his own virtue, and when tranquility was restored he continued to perform the same deeds; and he worked ten thousand other miracles, of which I shall mention one or two.
A certain woman of noble descent, united in the yoke of marriage to an intemperate man, arrived at that blessed man, bewailing her own calamity. D For she said that her husband was obsessed with a concubine, and had been bewitched by certain magical incantations, and had come to hate her, who was joined to him by the law of marriage. The woman said these things while standing at the outer door. For he was accustomed to hold his conversation with females in this way; for he never admitted any woman inside the door. Therefore, having taken pity on the wailing woman, by prayer he weakened the power of the sorcery, and sanctifying with the divine invocation a small vessel of oil brought by her, he ordered her to have her husband anointed with it. When she had done this, she transferred her husband's love to herself, and persuaded him to prefer the legitimate bed to the unlawful one. They also say that when, on one occasion, locusts had suddenly rushed into the region, and like fire were consuming everything—crops, trees,
marshes, groves, and meadows—a certain pious man came to him, begging him to defend him, as he had but one field, from which he supported himself, his wife, his children, and his household, and in addition to this, paid the imperial tax. Therefore, imitating the Lord’s kindness, he ordered a jar of water to be brought to him. When the petitioner brought the jar, he laid his hand upon it and prayed to God for the water to be filled with divine power. Then, finishing the prayer, he instructed him to sprinkle the water along the boundaries of the field. The man obeyed what was commanded, and that water became an impregnable and inviolable rampart for those fields. For the locusts, creeping and flying about as far as those boundaries like an army, retreated backward upon reaching them, fearing the blessing that had been bestowed and, as if checked by a sort of bridle, were prevented from proceeding any further. B And what need is there to recount everything performed by that blessed soul? For these things are sufficient to show the splendor of the grace that dwelt in him. I myself became a spectator of this, and I harvested the blessing of that holy right hand, being still a youth, having accompanied my mother on her journey to the man. And he, as was his custom, opened the door and deemed her worthy of conversation and a blessing; but me, having let me inside, he endowed with the wealth of his prayers. May I enjoy that even now, believing that he lives and dances with the choirs of angels, and uses greater boldness before God than he did of old. For then this was measured by the mortal weight of the body, so that his overflowing boldness might not become an occasion for arrogance. C But now, having laid down the burden of the passions, as a victorious athlete he uses his boldness before the Judge of the contest. For this reason, I pray to obtain his intercession as well.
IX. — PETRUS.
We hear of Galatians who are in Europe, the Westerners; but we know those in Asia, who are of their race, who settled near the Euxine Pontus. From these the blessed, and thrice blessed, Peter sprang. He, as they say, having been raised by his parents for seven years of labor, passed the rest of his whole life in the struggles of philosophy; and it is said that he died having lived ninety-nine years. Who, then, would worthily admire him who struggled for ninety-two years, and traveled through every day and night as a victor? What tongue would be D sufficient to recount the deeds performed 92 in childhood, in boyhood, in mature manhood, and in advanced, even extreme, old age? Who could measure his sweat? Who could enumerate the combats joined in such a long time? What speech could recount the seeds sown by him, or the sheaves gathered? Who is so great in mind as to see clearly the wealth collected from such a noble trade? I perceive the great sea of his deeds, and for this reason I am afraid to attempt the history of them, lest my speech be overwhelmed by the waves. Therefore, I will walk along the shore and admire those things that are nearest to the land.
I will leave the depths to him who, according to the Divine Scriptures, searches out the deep things and knows those that are hidden. A This man, therefore, struggled in Galatia during his first years. From there, for the sake of history, he reached Palestine, so that having viewed the places where the saving Passion was undergone, he might worship in them the God who saved us—not as one circumscribed by place (for he was not ignorant of the uncircumscribed nature of His divinity), but that he might also feast his eyes upon the contemplation of the things he desired, and not only that his mind's eye might enjoy the spiritual delights through faith, apart from sight. For it is the nature of those who are affectionately disposed toward someone to derive joy not only from the sight of the person themselves, B but also to contemplate their home, and clothing, and footwear with all delight. Carrying such love for the Bridegroom, the Bride mentioned in the Song of Songs cried out, saying: "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, which I had desired, and his fruit was sweet to my throat" (Cant. II, 3). Therefore, this divine man did nothing absurd, having caught the same love for the Bridegroom and using the same words as the Bride: "I am wounded with love" (Cant. V, 8). And desiring to see, as it were, a shadow of the Bridegroom, he sought out the places from which the saving springs gushed forth for all men. Having thus obtained what he longed for, he descended to Antioch. But after observing the godliness of the city, he preferred the foreign land to his own country, considering as his fellow citizens not those who were of the same nation and race, but those who were of the same mind and partakers of the same faith, and who drew the same yoke of piety. C Having decided to dwell there, he did not pitch a tent, nor did he fix a hut, nor did he build a small house, but he spent the entire time in a stranger's tomb. The upper, protruding part of this possessed a floor, to which a connected ladder gave access to those who wished to ascend. Shut up in this place, he remained for a very long time, drinking cold water and eating only bread, and this not every day, but remaining empty for one day and partaking of these same things on the next. When a certain man arrived who was possessed and raving, and filled with the energy of an evil demon, he cleansed him through prayer and freed him from that diabolical frenzy. But since the man did not wish to depart, but begged that he might be allowed to repay his service as a reward for his liberation, he admitted him into his dwelling. I know this man myself, D and I remember the miracle, and I saw the reward of the healing, and I heard the conversation they held together concerning me. For Daniel—for this was his name—said that I too would eventually become a participant in this noble ministry. But the divine man, considering my parents' love for me, denied that this would happen. Moreover, he often fed me with raisins and bread while I was placed upon his knees. For my mother, having experienced his spiritual grace, was accustomed to receive that blessing once in the week.
A He became known to her for the following reason. An ailment had befallen one of her eyes, which appeared to defy the medical art; for there was nothing, whether written by the ancients or discovered by those who came later, that had not been applied to the malady. But when she had put everything to the test and learned that it offered no benefit, one of her acquaintances came to her, telling her of the divine man and informing her of a miracle performed by him. For she said that the wife of the man who at that time held the helm of the East—this was Pergamius—had fallen into this same affliction, and that he had healed her by employing prayer and the sign of the cross. The mother heard this and immediately ran to the divine man. She wore earrings, necklaces, and other gold ornaments, as well as a variegated garment woven from silk threads. For she had not yet tasted of the more perfect virtue; she was in the flower of her age and took delight in the adornment of youth. The divine head, therefore, seeing such things, first healed the infirmity of excessive elegance, addressing her in this manner: “Tell me, my child” —for I shall use his own words, and shall not change the address of that holy tongue— “if some painter, well-trained in his art, were to paint an image according to the rules of the art, and were to set it forth for those who wished to see it; and then another person, unskilled in the art, were to come along, and, following his own whim, should try to paint over what had been painted; and then, disparaging that skillful painting, he should add longer lines to the eyebrows and eyelids, make the face whiter, and apply a red color to the cheeks, do you not think that the former painter would rightly be indignant, as if a great injury had been done to his art, and as if additions which were unnecessary had been imposed by an unlearned hand? B Therefore,” he said, “believe that the Creator of all things, and the Former and Painter of our nature, is also indignant that you accuse that immense wisdom of ignorance. For you would not have poured on red, white, and black color unless you thought that it stood in need of this addition; but while you believe that the body stands in need of these, you condemn the Author of weakness. Yet you must know that He possesses power equal to His will. For ‘all things,’ as David says [Ps. CXVII, 3], ‘whatsoever the Lord willed, He did.’ But providing for the utility of all, He does not impart those things which bring harm. Wherefore, do not corrupt the image of God, nor endeavor to add what He in His wisdom did not give, nor devise this spurious beauty, which also undermines the modest and sets snares for those who look upon it.” C The woman, who was most excellent, heard these things, and was soon caught in the net of Peter. For he too was fishing after the example of his namesake, and she, falling at his feet and imploring him, begged that health be restored to her eye. But he said that he was a man, and endowed with the same nature as she; that he carried, moreover, a heavy burden of sins, and for that reason had no boldness before God. And when the mother wept and besought him, and declared that she would not leave him unless she obtained health, he said that God was the healer of these things,
and that He always grants requests to those who believe. “He will therefore grant it now,” he said, “not bestowing the grace upon me, but looking upon your faith. If, then, you hold it pure and sincere, and free from all doubt, bid farewell to physicians and medicines, and receive this God-given remedy.” Having said these things, he laid his hand upon her eye, and having marked the sign of the saving Cross, he drove away the disease. She returned home, washed off the remedy, and cast away all external adornment, living according to the rules set down by the physician, neither putting on variegated clothing nor decking herself with gold; and this, although she was still quite young; for she was in her twenty-third year from birth, and had not yet become a mother; for it was seven years later that she bore me, who was her first and last birth. So much did she profit from the instruction of the great Peter; and she received a double healing, for while seeking medicine for her body, she also obtained the health of her soul. Such were the things he accomplished both by his words and the power he possessed in prayer.
B At another time, he brought a servant, a cook who was tormented by a wicked demon, and besought his aid. The divine man, having prayed, commanded the demon to declare the source of the power it had been given against a creature of God. And the demon, just like a murderer or a wall-breaker standing before a judge's bench, compelled by fear to speak the truth contrary to its custom, related everything in order. He said that at Heliopolis the master of this servant had fallen ill, and that his mistress was attending her husband as he lay sick; and that the maidservants of the house in which they were staying had been recounting the life of the monks who were practicing philosophy at Antioch, and how great power they possessed against demons. Then these maids, as girls enjoying a game, pretended to be demonized and raving, and the servant himself, clad in a skinskin garment, adjured them in the manner of the monks. “While these things were happening,” he said, “I was standing before the door, and, not bearing those glorious words about the monks, I wished to learn by experience what power they boasted of having. So, letting the maids go, I thrust myself into this man, wanting to know how I would be driven out by the monks. Now, however, I have learned, and I have no need of other experience; but at your command I am leaving at once.” Saying these things, he fled, and the servant enjoyed his freedom. Another rustic was also brought to him by my mother’s mother—my own nurse—who was demon-possessed, and she besought him to bring aid to him, the adversary of vices. He inquired of him again whence he was, and from whom he received the power over a creature of God. And when he remained silent and answered nothing, bending his knees, he prayed to God, beseeching him that the wicked one...
A should be shown the power of his servants. He rose again, and the other, still resisting, remained silent, and this went on until the ninth hour. But when he had offered a more fervent and earnest prayer to the Master, he rose and said to the wicked one: "It is not Peter who commands you, but the God of Peter; therefore, compelled by his power, answer." The nefarious man, though shameless, stood in awe of the holy man’s modesty, and crying out with a loud voice, he said: "I dwell on Mount Amanus; and having seen this man drawing water from a spring and drinking it on the road, I wished to make a home for myself in him." "But get out," said the man of God, "for he who was crucified for the world commands you this." He heard it and fled, and the farmer was restored to his nurse, free from madness. Though I have countless other such stories about that blessed soul, I shall omit most of them, fearing the weakness of many B who, looking to themselves, deny faith in the miracles of holy men; but having set forth one or two, I shall pass on to another athlete who looks to the miracles of divine men, and thus disbelieves those who do not.
X. Theodotius
There was once a licentious man who was a military commander in earlier times. A certain maiden, unmarried and of marriageable age, who was under his authority, left her mother and her relatives and fled to a women’s community that followed the life of athletes. For women also contend in a manner similar to men and descend into the stadium of virtue. Upon learning of her flight, the commander whipped the mother C and suspended her, and he did not release her from her chains until she showed him the dwelling of the pious women. Yielding then to his own madness, he snatched the maiden from there and brought her back to his own house; and the wretch hoped to satisfy his own licentiousness. But he who punished Pharaoh with great and grievous afflictions on account of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and kept the chaste woman untouched, and afflicted the Sodomites with blindness when they attempted to act madly as if toward strangers toward those who were bodiless—this same God, casting darkness over the eyes of this man, caused the prey to escape from the midst of the nets. Thus he entered the chamber, but she, who was being kept inside, immediately went out D and was vanished, reaching the dwelling she so longed for. Therefore, the foolish man, learning that he would not prevail over her who had preferred the divine Bridegroom, was forced to keep quiet, no longer pursuing her who, when captured, had escaped by divine power.
As time passed, this woman fell into a grievous malady; the disease was cancer, and as the breast swelled, the pain increased accordingly. But when the intensity of the pain was at its greatest, she would call upon the great Peter, and she declared that as soon as that holy voice sounded in her ears, all that pain was calmed, and she would not receive even the slightest stinging sensation from it. For this reason, she would send for him quite often and find enjoyment in his consolation. For she affirmed that at the time when he was present, all her pains entirely departed. But regarding her, after such certain...
A victories, he sent her forth from this life with praises. Again, my mother, who after the birth-pains in which she brought me forth was close to death, was snatched from the jaws of death by him, having been entreated by her nurse to come. For she was lying there, as they say, with the physicians having despaired, the household lamenting and awaiting her end, having her eyes closed, gripped by a violent fever, and recognizing no one among her acquaintances. But when he who bore both the apostolic name and grace arrived, and said, "Peace be to you, daughter" (for this was his greeting), it is said that she immediately opened her eyelids, and looked upon him with fixed eyes, and sought the fruit of his blessing. When the chorus of women had wailed (for grief and joy were mingled together), and had made that outcry, the divine man bade them all join with him in prayer; for thus, he said, Tabitha also had obtained salvation, when the widows were lamenting, and the great Peter was offering their tears to God. They prayed as he had commanded, and they obtained what he had foretold. For when the prayer was finished, the disease also reached its end; and a sweat suddenly flowing from every part extinguished that heat, and signs of recovery appeared. Such are the wonders the Lord performs even in our own times through His own servants. The skin of his garments worked in the same way as those of the most blessed Paul; and I have stated this not out of any desire for exaggeration, but relying on the testimony of truth. For he cut his own girdle in two (it was wide and long, woven of coarse linen), and with one half he girt his own loins, and with the other he girt mine. My mother, often placing this upon me when I was sick, and often also upon my father, drove away the disease; and she herself also very often used this same remedy for health. But very many of our friends, knowing this, would repeatedly take the girdle to relieve the sick, and it manifested the power of his grace everywhere. But when a certain person had obtained it, he deprived those who had given it of the benefactors, becoming ungrateful toward them; and in this way we were despoiled of that gift. Thus, having shone forth, and having illuminated Antioch with his rays, he came to the end of his struggles, awaiting the crown of victory laid up for the victors. I, however, beseeching that I may now also enjoy the same blessing C as I obtained from him while he was alive, will put an end to this narrative as well.
X. — THEODOSIUS.
Rhosus is a city of Cilicia, on the right to those entering the Gulf of Cilicia. To its east and south is a mountain, high, leafy, and shady, which also nourishes wild beasts in its thickets. Finding in this mountain a glen sloping toward the sea, the great and most celebrated Theodosius [built] for himself a small
hut and embraced the evangelical life alone. He was a man originating from Antioch, and noble and illustrious by birth, but having abandoned house and kin and all things else, he bought the precious pearl, as it is expressed in the Gospel. A Regarding his abstinence, and sleeping on the ground, and his hair-shirt, it is superfluous to speak to those who see his disciples and observe the same practice in them. He, however, performed these things in an outstanding way, as one who set himself up as an example to those whom he was instructing. To these he also added B a weight of iron upon his neck, his loins, and both of his hands. He also wore unkempt hair that reached down to his very feet, extending even further, and on account of this, it was bound to his loins. He devoted himself constantly to prayer and hymnody, and he tamed desire, and anger, and pride, and the other wild beasts of the soul. Always increasing labors with labors, he also applied himself to the work of his hands: now weaving what are called fans and baskets, now preparing small fields in the thicket, sowing seeds, and gathering the nourishment sufficient from them. Since, as time went on, his fame spread everywhere, many ran together from many places, desiring to share in his dwelling, his labors, and his way of life. Accepting these [men], he guided them to this life, and one might see some weaving sails, others hair-cloths, others plaiting fans or baskets, and others having undertaken husbandry. And since the place was near the sea, he also later constructed a boat, and he used it for the purpose of essential supplies, carrying out the products of his fellow-residents and bringing back what was necessary. For, C being mindful of the apostolic voice which says, “Working night and day, that we might not burden any of you,” and, “These hands have ministered to my needs, and to them that were with me,” he himself would work, and he urged his housemates to contribute bodily sweats alongside the labors of the soul. For indeed it is absurd that those who move about in the world, and endure hardships and struggle to feed children and wives, and in addition to these pay tributes and are required to pay taxes, and offer first-fruits to God, and assist the need of the beggars according to their ability—that we, on the other hand, should not provide the necessary supplies for ourselves through our own labors, D especially when we use cheap and meager food and cheap clothing, but rather that we should sit with folded hands and enjoy the hands of others. By saying these and similar things, he urged them to labor, while performing the divine offices customary everywhere at the proper time, and dedicating the time in between to work. Nor did he provide any less for the care of strangers, entrusting these duties to men adorned with gentleness and moderation of character and possessing love for their neighbor. He himself, however, would observe and examine everything, to see whether each person was fulfilling his duties according to the established rules. He attained such a great name that those who were sailing, even if they were more than a thousand stadia away, would invoke the God of Theodosius in times of danger, and through the naming of Theodosius would calm the storm of the sea. Him
A even the fierce and savage enemies, who had plundered and taken captive the greater part of the East, held in reverence. For who among those inhabiting our world is unaware of the calamities of those times, brought upon us by those who were once called Solymi, but are now called Isaurians? Yet they, who had spared neither city nor village, but had consigned all they could capture to plunder and flame, held this philosophy in reverence, and asking only for bread, and signifying that they should pray for them, they left that ascetic dwelling untouched, and this they did not once, but twice. Nevertheless, the presidents of the churches, fearing lest the devil, by casting a desire for money into the barbarians, might be the cause of that great luminary being led away captive—for there was no doubt that all who hold divine things in esteem would have sent them a most ample price for his ransom—persuaded him by their exhortations to betake himself to Antioch. For they had already driven into captivity two prelates of the churches, and though they had treated them with every mark of respect, yet they had only allowed them to return whither they wished after receiving fourteen thousand gold pieces for both of them. When, therefore, he had come to Antioch, he dwelt in a lodging near the river, and attracted to himself all who knew how to harvest such things.
C But, carried along by the course of my narrative, I omitted to recount a miracle performed by this divine man, which perhaps will seem incredible to many, but which remains until now, confirming the truth of the story and showing what grace and boldness this admirable man possessed before God. A precipitous rock overhangs the monastery which he himself built, which was formerly entirely dry and devoid of moisture. On this he laid out an aqueduct from the summit to the monastery, as if he had the flow of waters in his own power. Filled, therefore, with confidence in God, and sure, as is likely, that he possessed a propitious Lord, and bearing an undaunted faith, he awoke by night and ascended to the top of the aqueduct before his companions arose for their customary prayers. Supplicating God in prayer, and trusting in Him who performs the will of those who fear 1199 Him, he struck the rock with the staff upon which he was leaning, and it, having been cleft, gushed forth water like a river; and having been carried into the monastery through the aqueduct, and abundantly supplying all his needs, it flows out into the nearby sea. And the Mosaic grace of the great Theodosius is shown to be working to this very day. And this one thing is enough to demonstrate his confidence towards God. Having survived but a short time at Antioch, he was received into the choir of angels. And his sacred body was carried through the middle of the city, adorned D as if with golden crowns by that iron, with all preceding him, even those holding the highest magistracies. And there was a dispute and struggle around the bier, with everyone contending to carry it, and the blessing flowing from it...
Thus carried, he was laid to rest in the shrine of the holy martyrs, having become a tent-mate and roof-mate of Julian, the triumphant athlete of piety. A sarcophagus received him, the same one in which the divine and blessed Aphraates was also buried. The admirable Helladius took up the leadership of the flock, who having finished those labors for sixty years, afterwards divinely became the bishop of the Cilicians; not abandoning his former philosophy, but adding the sweats of the episcopacy to those daily labors. The blessed Romulus, who was once his hearer, also became a leader of a great flock; and his group remains to this day, holding to the same way of life. Adjacent to his monastery is a village, called Marato in the Syriac tongue. As for me, placing the end of this narrative here, I pray that I too may share in the blessing from thence.
XI. — ROMANUS.
The great Theodosius, then, springing from the Antiochenes, and having contended in the Rhosic mountains, after returning to the city of Antioch, thus received the end of his life. But the divine Romanus, born in Rhosus and there first nurtured, undertook the contests of virtue at Antioch, having fixed his residence outside the city walls, nay rather on the mountain, and living perpetually in another man’s cell, and that a small one. He lived until old age, neither using fire nor admitting the light of a lamp. For his food was bread with salt, his drink was spring water, his hair similar to that of the great Theodosius, and his clothing and iron likewise. He excelled, however, in the simplicity of his character, in the gentleness of his manners, and in the moderation of his mind. And for this reason he let shine the radiance of divine grace. "For on whom," saith the Lord, "shall I look, unless upon the meek and quiet, and him that trembleth at my words?" And again he said to his own disciples: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls." And again: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." And for Moses the lawgiver this was the mark of his accomplishments. "For he was," he says, "Moses, the meekest of all men who were on the earth." This the all-holy Spirit also testified concerning the prophet David: "Remember, O Lord, David, and all his meekness." And we have learned concerning the patriarch Jacob that he was a plain man, dwelling at home. Having gathered these virtues like a bee from those divine meadows, he prepared the honey of true philosophy. But he did not enjoy the fruit of his labors alone. His sweetest streams flowed forth even to those outside; and to those who came to him, using a gentle and sweet voice, he offered many exhortations concerning brotherly love, and many concerning concord and peace; and he made many lovers of divine things by his appearance alone. For who would not have admired, beholding the old man, exhausted in his limbs, heavily burdened of his own accord with much iron, and clothed in a hair garment…
and taking only enough food to ward off death by starvation? A Added to the magnitude and number of his toils, the grace that blossomed in him persuaded all to admire and honor him. For he frequently dispelled the grave diseases of many, and granted children to many barren women. And having received such power from the divine Spirit, he called himself a poor man and a beggar. Thus, for as long as he lived, he never ceased to overwhelm with benefits all who frequented him, both by his appearance and by his speech; and after he departed from here and was translated into the angelic choir, he left behind a memory not buried with his body, but one that blossoms, flourishes, remains unquenched forever, and is sufficient to provide aid to those who desire it. Therefore, I too, asking for a blessing from this source, shall narrate the deeds of the other athletes as best I can. B
XII. — ZENO
The admirable Zeno is not known to many, and those who do know him cannot praise him as he deserves. For he abandoned very great wealth in his homeland (which was Pontus) and was steeped in the streams of Basil the Great, as he used to say, who irrigated the neighboring Cappadocia; and he bore fruits worthy of that irrigation. For as soon as the Emperor Valens was taken from life, he laid aside his military belt, having been numbered among those who rapidly carry the letters of the emperors. C Retiring from the palace to a certain tomb—of which there are many on the mountain adjacent to Antioch—he lived there alone, purifying his soul and cleansing its vision, occupying himself with divine contemplation, setting in his heart the ascents unto God, desiring to receive wings like a dove, and longing to fly away into the divine rest. For this reason, he had no bed, no lamp, no hearth, no pot, no flask, no chest, no book, nor anything else; but he was clothed in old rags, and likewise in footwear needing bindings, for the soles of his shoes were worn away. He received necessary sustenance from one only of his acquaintances; this was one loaf of bread provided for two days. He would fetch the water himself from far away. D Yet, once, when someone saw him carrying a burden and begged him to allow him to lighten his toil, he at first resisted, saying he would not endure taking water brought by another. But when he saw that he could not be persuaded, he handed over the jars; for he was carrying two, one in each hand. But when he had arrived at the door of the courtyard, having poured out and scattered the water, he ran back to the spring, confirming his words by his deeds. I myself, too, when I first climbed the mountain desiring to see him, saw him holding the jars in his hands. Then, when I inquired where the dwelling of the admirable Zeno might be, he said he knew of no monk who was called by that name. Guessing from his modesty that he himself was the man, I followed, and having entered the door, I saw a bed ...
made of grass, and another sort of refuse spread over the stones, so that those sitting upon it would suffer no injury from them.
As we had moved on to many words about philosophy (for I was inquiring, and he was unfolding for us the things sought after), and it was time for us to return home, I begged him to give us the provision of his blessing. But he resisted, saying that it was right for us to perform the prayers, and naming himself a private person, he called us soldiers. For I happened at that time to be a Reader, A reciting the divine Scriptures to the holy people. When we pleaded our youth and the immaturity of our age (for the first down of the beard had barely appeared on us), and swore that we would not come again if we were forced to do this now, he was with difficulty moved by our requests; he offered the intercession to God, but purged the intercession with a long apology, saying that he had done it for the sake of love and obedience; for we kept approaching closer and were hearing him praying.
And who could worthily admire that an old man who had reached such a height of philosophy possessed such great humbleness of mind (for he had spent forty continuous years in ascetic labor), or what praise could one offer that would be equal to his greatness? Yet, though he possessed such riches of virtue, he would come as B if suffering from extreme poverty with the people to the divine church on the Lord’s day; he would listen to the divine discourses, lend his ears to the teachers, and having partaken of the mystic table, he would return to that new dwelling. He had no key, he left no guard; for it was inaccessible to evildoers and utterly inviolable, as it had nothing within it but that refuse. Receiving one book from his companions, he would read it through entirely, and having returned this one first, he would receive another. But although he had no locks and used no bolts, he was guarded by grace from above; and this we clearly learned through the experience itself. For when the band of Isaurians seized the citadel by night, and in the morning advanced as far as the roots of the mountain, ruthlessly stabbing many men and many women who were leading the monastic life, this divine man, seeing the slaughter of the others, C blinded their eyes by his prayer; and as they went past the door, they did not see the entrance. And as he reported, calling upon Truth as his witness, he also clearly saw three youths who were routing that entire host, as God openly demonstrated His own peculiar grace.
What sort of life, then, this divine man led, and what grace he enjoyed from God, these things are sufficient to teach. But it is necessary to add this as well to these accounts. It greatly troubled and burned him that his property remained, and had not been sold and distributed according to the evangelical law. The cause of this was the tender age of his nephews. For since the property and the money were held in common, he himself did not wish to journey to his homeland for the sake of the division; and he was unwilling for the estate to be [damaged] by another's distribution; and clearly God’s own grace…
A feared, lest, if the buyers treated the sons of his brethren with greed, the reproach might redound upon himself. Revolving these thoughts in his mind, he deferred the sale for a long time; but later, having sold everything to one of his acquaintances, he distributed the greater part, and was compelled by a lingering illness to deliberate about what remained. Having therefore summoned the bishop of the city (who was the great Alexander, the splendor of religion, the exemplar of virtue, the exact image of philosophy), he said: “Come hither, O venerable head, and be the best steward of these moneys also, distributing them according to God’s will, as one who must render an account to that Judge himself. For of the others, I was myself the agent, and I distributed them as I thought best; and I intended to manage the remainder in like manner. But since I am commanded to depart from this life, I appoint you as steward of these, for you are a high priest, and you live a life worthy of the high priesthood.” He thus surrendered the money as if to a divine treasurer; and he himself, surviving for no long time, departed from the stadium like some Olympic victor, receiving praise not only from men, but from angels also. I, however, entreating him to be an intercessor for me before the Lord, shall now turn to the next narrative.
XIII.—MACEDONIUS.
B Now Macedonius, who was called Critophagus (that is, “barley-eater,” for this food gave him the surname by which he was known), is known to all, not only the Phoenicians, Syrians, and Cilicians, but also their neighbors and those who dwell on their borders; some of whom have seen with their own eyes the miracles of the man, while others have heard the report praising and celebrating these deeds. Yet not everyone knows everything; but since some have learned this, and others that, they rightly admire only what each knows. But I, who know the affairs of this divine man more accurately than others—inasmuch as many things impelled me to visit and revere him—will set forth the individual details to the best of my ability. I have reserved this order for him, and have placed his narrative after many others, not because he was inferior to the others in virtue (for he vied with the highest and first), but because, having lived for a very long time, he departed this life after those of whom I have already written.
This man, then, had for his wrestling-school and stadium C the peaks of the mountains, not settled in one place, but living now in this one, and now moving to another. He did this not because he found the places tedious, but to escape the crowds that were flocking to him and running in from all sides. For forty-five years he continued to live in this manner, using neither a tent nor a hut, but remaining in a deep cavern; whence some also called him “Guba,” which name, when translated from the Syrian language into Greek, means a “pit.” After this time, having become an old man, he yielded to those who besought him and built a hut; and later, at the request of his friends, he also used small houses, D not his own, but belonging to others; and he passed his years in the hut and the small houses...
so that the total time of his struggles came to seventy years. A For food, he did not use bread or legumes, but crushed barley moistened only with water. My mother, who had become well-acquainted with him, provided him with this food for a very long time. And one day, when he came to visit her while she was ill and learned that she could not be persuaded to take food suitable for her sickness (for she too had embraced the monastic life), he exhorted her to yield to the physicians and to consider this food as a medicine, which she was taking not for the sake of luxury, but for the sake of necessity.
"For I myself," he said, "who have lived on barley alone for forty years, as you know, when a certain illness assailed me yesterday, ordered my housemate to seek and bring me a little bread. For this thought occurred to me: that if I were to die, I should have to render an account of my death before the just Judge, as one who had fled from the struggles and shirked the labors of servitude. For, since it was possible, by a little food, to ward off death and remain in this life, laboring and enduring hardship, and to gather the wealth that leads from this to the life in philosophy, I considered death by starvation to be preferable. B Struck with fear by this, and wishing to blunt the stings of this reasoning, I ordered bread to be sought, and when it was brought, I partook of it. And so, I command you no longer to provide me with barley, but with bread." Thus, from his own truthful tongue we learned that he made barley his food for forty years. These accounts are sufficient to testify to the man's asceticism and love of labor; but we shall manifest the antiquity and simplicity of his character through other means.
Concerning the Great Flavianus and the Ordination of the Saint
Since the great Flavianus was ordained as shepherd to the great flock of God, and learned of the man’s virtue (for it was proclaimed and carried on the lips of all), C he brought him down from the mountain top, under the guise of an accusation that had been made against him, and when the mystical liturgy was underway, he brought him to the altar and enrolled him among the priests. When the liturgy was finished and someone informed him of this (for he was completely unaware of what they had done), at first he reviled and assaulted everyone with harsh words; then, seizing his staff (for he was accustomed to walking by leaning on it because of his old age), he pursued the high priest himself and the others who were present. For he supposed that this ordination would deprive him of the mountain top and his longed-for way of life. At that time, his friends were barely able to calm his indignation.
But when the cycle of the week was completed, and the day of the Lord’s feast arrived again, the great Flavianus sent for him once more, inviting him to share in the celebration with them. But he said to those who had arrived, "Is it not sufficient for you what has already been done, but you wish to propose me for the priesthood again?" D And when they claimed that it was...
not possible for the same ordination to be imposed twice, he did not yield, nor did he return, until time and his acquaintances taught him this many times over. A We know, to be sure, that this narrative will not appear worthy of admiration to many, yet I have set it down, judging it to be memorable, as it is sufficient to demonstrate both the simplicity of his mind and the purity of his soul. For the Master promised the kingdom of heaven to such as these, saying: "Amen, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. xviii, 3). Since, therefore, we have shown in summary the character of his soul, come, let us also show the boldness that was born from his virtue. B
A certain commander of soldiers, who delighted in hunting, went up into the mountain to hunt; his dogs and soldiers followed him, and everything else suitable for the hunt. But when he saw the man from afar, and learned from his companions who he was, he immediately leaped from his horse, approached, greeted him, and asked what he was doing there. But he asked him in turn: "And you, for what purpose have you come here?" And when the commander replied that he had come to hunt, he said: "But I, for my part, am hunting for my God, and I desire to take Him, and I long to see Him, and I shall not desist from this noble hunt." Hearing these things, the commander, as was to be expected, went away in wonder. C
At another time, when the city had been stirred up by a certain evil demon and had vented its fury upon the imperial statues, the most prominent commanders of the soldiers arrived, bringing a sentence of total destruction upon the citizens. But he, descending from the mountain, stopped both commanders as they were passing through the forum. When they learned who he was, they leaped down from their horses and took hold of his hands and knees, and offered their greetings. But he commanded them to report to the Emperor that he was a man, endowed with the same nature as those who had committed the insult; and since it is fitting for nature to measure anger, that he was led by an immoderate wrath, who—on account of his own images—was delivering the divine images to destruction, and in place of bronze statues, was delivering human bodies to death. "And for us," he said, "it is easy and simple to recast and reform images of bronze; but as for you, even though you are an Emperor, it is not in your power to bring back to life those bodies which have been slaughtered. And why do I speak of bodies? For you cannot restore even a single hair." D These things he spoke in the Syriac tongue; and those who heard them through an interpreter translating them into the Greek language were struck with awe, and signified that they would report them to the Emperor.
For my part, I do not believe that anyone would dispute that these words were of the grace of the divine Spirit. For otherwise, how could a man bereft of all learning, raised in the fields, spending his life on the mountain peaks, carrying with him the utmost simplicity of soul, and not at all versed in the divine Scriptures, have spoken these things? Therefore, since we have shown his spiritual wisdom, and the boldness consonant with a righteous man...
A (justus enim confidit ut leo), I shall proceed to his miracles.
A woman of a wealthy family fell into the disease of gluttony; and some called this disease the operation of a demon, while others considered it an infirmity of the body. Whether it was this or that, it was of such a nature that, although she would eat thirty chickens in a single day, she would not satisfy her craving, but would further desire others. When her substance was thus being consumed, those who cared for her took pity on her and implored the help of that divine man. He came, and having prayed to God, and having placed his right hand into the water, and having imprinted the saving seal, he ordered her to drink, and healed the disease; and he so greatly blunted the excess of her appetite that, for all time thereafter, a small portion of a chicken each day sufficed for her need of food. B This disease, then, received such a cure.
But as for a certain girl who was still kept in the bridal chamber, and had suddenly been seized by the operation of an evil demon, her father ran to the divine man, suppliant and lamenting, and asking that his daughter might receive healing. He, having prayed, ordered the demon to depart from the girl immediately. But it said that it had not entered of its own accord, but had been compelled by magical sorcery; and it even mentioned the name of the one who had compelled it, and that love was the cause of the sorcery. Having heard these things, the father did not bear the onset of his anger, nor did he wait for the healing of the child; but, having reached the governor—who presided over the greater magistrates and governed many provinces—he accuses the man and narrates the tragedy.
The one who had been summoned denied it, and called the written accusation a calumny. But he [the father] called as a witness no other than the demon itself, which had been the minister of the sorcery, and he besought the judge to go to that divine man and receive the testimony of the demon. When the judge said that it was not lawful nor indeed holy for an investigation to be held in an ascetic cell, the girl's father promised to bring the divine Macedonius C to the judgment seat; and, having run, he persuaded him and brought him.
The judge, sitting outside the judgment hall, did not act as a judge, but as an observer; for the great Macedonius performed the part of the judge, using the power that resided in him, and commanding the demon to set aside its customary lying and to explain the whole tragedy of the affair with the truth. D Then the demon, driven by the greatest necessity, both pointed out the man who had exerted force through magical incantations and the maidservant through whom that potion had been administered to the girl. And when it was hastening to speak of other things also, which it had done having been urged on by certain others—in one case burning a house, in another killing livestock, in another inflicting some other damage—the man of God ordered it to keep silent and to depart immediately somewhere far from both the girl and the city. And it, as if obeying a command of the Lord, did what was ordered and fled immediately.
Thus did that divine man not only free her from her madness, but also snatched that wretched man from the accusation, and prevented the judge from delivering a capital sentence, declaring it was not holy that he who had been convicted through his own intervention should be punished with death, and that salvation should not rather be granted to him through repentance. These things, therefore, were more than sufficient, in order that...
showed the superabundance of divine grace; I, however, shall relate other matters as well. A
A certain noble and very wealthy woman, named Astrium, had become bereft of her senses, so that she recognized none of her own family, and refused to partake of any food or drink; she had persisted in this delirium for a long time. Some attributed this to the work of a demon, but the physicians called it a disease of the brain. When all medical skill had been exhausted and no help was forthcoming from that quarter, her husband, Avodianus—a man of high office and dignity—went to that divine man, explained his wife’s calamity, and sought a remedy. The man of God yielded, went to his house, and prayed to God with great fervor. Having finished his prayer, he ordered water to be brought, and having impressed upon it the saving sign, he bade her drink it. Though the physicians protested, claiming that this disease was aggravated by drinking cold things, the husband dismissed all that crowd, offered the draught to his wife, and as soon as she drank it, she immediately returned to herself, became compos mentis, and, being completely freed from the disease, she recognized the holy man. Suppliantly grasping his right hand, she placed B it to her eyes and brought it to her mouth, and from that time forward she possessed a sound mind.
When he was spending his life on the mountain, a certain shepherd, looking for straying sheep, arrived at the place where the man of God was. The night was dark and deep snow had fallen. He saw, as he reported, a pyre burning around him, and two men dressed in white garments who were supplying material to the fire. For bringing a readiness of mind, he was enjoying divine aid. He was also a partaker of the prophetic gift. For when the commander of the soldiers, a man illustrious for his piety—for who is ignorant of the virtue of Lupicinus?—came to him, he said that he was anxious about certain people who were bringing him necessary supplies from the imperial city by sea. He said that fifty days had passed since they set sail from the port, and not a single report had arrived concerning them. Without hesitation, he replied: “One ship, my friend, has perished; the other C will enter the port of Seleucia tomorrow.” And these things he heard from that divine mouth, and by experience he learned the truth of his words.
But that I may omit other things and narrate those that concern my own self: for thirteen years my mother had lived with my father, but she had not yet conceived children; for she was sterile, and nature prevented her from bearing fruit. This matter did not greatly afflict her, for being instructed in divine things, she believed this was expedient; but my father was vehemently troubled by the childlessness, D and he traveled about everywhere,
A beseeching the divine servants to ask for children for him from God. The others, indeed, promised to pray and exhorted him to acquiesce in the divine will. But this divine man openly promised to make the request, and he pledged that he would obtain a single son from the Creator of all things. When three years had passed, and the end of the promise had not been received, the father ran again, demanding the promise. He commanded that his wife be sent to him; and when the mother arrived, the divine man said that he would ask for him, and that she would receive the child, but that it would be necessary for this child to be returned to the one who had given him. And when the mother replied that she was in a state of prayer only for the salvation of her soul and for deliverance from Gehenna, "In addition to this," he said, "the munificent Giver will bestow a son. For to those who sincerely ask, He grants double the petitions." The mother returned from there, carrying the blessing of the promise; and in the fourth year of the promise she conceived, and became heavy in her womb, and arrived before the divine man, showing the sheaves of the seeds of the blessing. In the fifth month of her pregnancy, the danger of miscarriage occurred. She again sent to her new Elisha (for her condition prevented her from running), and she brought to mind that she had not desired to be a mother of children, and she brought his own promises into the middle. B He, however, having seen her arriving from afar, recognized her and understood the cause; for by night the Master had revealed to him both the condition and the salvation. Having therefore taken his staff, he went out, leaning upon it, and having entered into the house, and having given the greeting of peace as was his custom, "Be of good courage," he said, "and do not fear; for He who gave will not take away the gift, unless you violate the agreements that were made. For you promised that you would return what would be given, and would consecrate it to the divine service." "In this way," said the mother, "I both wish and pray to bear him. For I consider the unfinished birth better than the extraneous upbringing of a child." "Drink, therefore," said the divine man, "this water, and you will perceive the divine aid." She drank, therefore, as he commanded, and the danger of miscarriage fled. So many were the miracles of our Elisha. I often enjoyed the blessing and teaching of this man. For C he would often exhort me, saying: "With many labors, my child, you were born; I spent many nights petitioning God for this alone, that your parents might become that which they were called upon your birth. Therefore, lead a life worthy of those labors. Before birth, you were dedicated by the promises; and the things dedicated to God are venerable to all, and are not to be touched by the common people. It is proper, therefore, for you also, not to admit the base movements of the soul; but only to do, and to say, and to contemplate those things which are pleasing to God, the Lawgiver of virtue." Such things the man of God never ceased to exhort me. And I remember his words, and I have been instructed in the divine gift. But because my deeds do not correspond to his admonitions, I pray that I may obtain divine aid through his prayers, and that I may pass the remainder of my life according to his precepts. What sort of man he was, therefore, and by what labors he drew down the divine grace, these things are sufficient to show. But his death also obtained for him honor worthy of his labors even in this age. For all men, both citizens and strangers, and those who were the chief
magistrates, bearing that holy bier upon their shoulders, carried it into the temple of the triumphant martyrs, and deposited that holy and God-beloved body with those divine men, Aphraates and Theodosius. But eternal glory remains, which no age can destroy. We, however, having put an end to the narrative, have gathered a sweet fragrance from the account. B
XIV. — MAISYMAS.
I am not unaware that many other lights of piety shone forth near the city of Antioch, such as the great Severus, and Peter the Egyptian, and Eutychius, and Cyril, and Moses, and Malchus, and many others who followed the same path. But if we were to attempt to commit the deeds of all to writing, no time would suffice for us, besides the fact that the reading of so many things is wont to bring satiety to the common people. From those, therefore, who have been written of, let all make a conjecture about the life of those omitted, and let them recount their praises, imitate them, and gather the fruit. But I will betake myself to the meadows of Cyrus, and will, according to my ability, set forth the beauty of a few of the fragrant and fair flowers therein.
C There was in the times before us a certain Maisymas, a Syrian by language, and reared in the countryside, yet one who exhibited a specimen of every virtue. Having shone in his private life, the care of a certain village was committed to him. Therefore, administering the sacred rites, and shepherding the divine sheep, he said and did those things which the divine law commands. They say that he did not change his tunic or his cloak for a long time, but when they were torn, he stitched other rags onto them, and in this way provided for his old age. He cared for guests and the needy with such a ready mind that he opened his doors to all who passed by. It is also said that he had two jars, one of wheat and another of oil, from which he always dispensed to all the needy, yet they were always full, for the blessing granted to the widow of Sarepta was attributed also to these jars. For the same Lord of all, rich unto all who call upon Him, as He commanded that jar and that cruse to gush forth, returning sheaves for the seeds of hospitality, so also he bestowed upon this wonderful man a supply equal to his readiness. He also obtained from the God of all great grace for working miracles; of these I will mention only one or two, passing over the rest, as I am hastening to come to others. A certain woman, illustrious both in lineage and in faith, had a son of still tender age afflicted with a disease for many
A physicians to cure. But when the art of medicine failed, and the physicians gave up and explicitly stated that the child would die, the woman did not cast away her better hopes; rather, emulating that Shunamite woman, she placed a carriage upon mules. Having put herself and the child into it, she reached that divine man, and while lamenting and demonstrating the condition of nature, she begged for his help. He, taking the child into his hands and approaching the base of the altar, lay prostrate, entreating the Physician of souls and bodies; and having obtained his request, restored the son in good health to his mother. Now I have heard this from her very self, who saw the miracle and received the salvation of the child.
They say also that the master of that village arrived there one day. This was Letoius (who held the chief rank in the council of the Antiochenes, but was held B by the darkness of impiety), and he was exacting the fruits of the fields from the farmers more harshly than was proper. That divine man was instructing and exhorting him regarding philanthropy, and was speaking the words concerning mercy and compassion; but he remained implacable, yet through experience he learned the harm of his disobedience. For when it was time to leave, and the pair of mules was ready, and he sat down and ordered the charioteer to urge on the mules, they indeed struggled with all their might and strove to pull the carriage, but the wheels seemed to be bound fast with iron and lead. And when the multitude of rustics also, pushing the wheels with levers, achieved nothing, one of the companions sitting by Letoius suggested the cause, saying that the elderly priest had cursed him, and that it was C proper to make him favorable. Therefore, leaping down from the carriage, he became a suppliant to him whom he had spurned, and having fallen at his feet and embraced his filthy rags, he begged him to relax his anger. He, having received the supplication and offered it to the Master, released the invisible bonds of the wheels and allowed the carriage to move in the customary way. Many other such things are recounted about this divine head. From these things it is possible to learn that dwelling in cities and villages is not in the least harmful to those who have chosen the philosophical life. For this man and those like him who have the worship of God at heart showed that it is possible for those who move about in the midst of a crowd of men to reach the very pinnacle of the virtues. As for me, would that it might be granted to me, through their prayers, to be brought even a little above the base of the mountain.
D
XV. ACEPSIMAS.
Acepsimas lived during the same time, whose fame was spread wide throughout the East. He, having shut himself up in a small cell, spent sixty years, neither being seen nor speaking to anyone; but looking into himself and contemplating God, he received all his consolation from there, according to the prophecy that says: "Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the petitions of thy heart." Through a certain small hole, stretching out his hand...
he would receive the food that was brought to him. The opening, moreover, was not pierced straight through, so that it might not be exposed to those who wished to look in, but was constructed obliquely in a winding fashion. His food was lentils soaked in water. Once a week, going out at night, he would draw as much water as was necessary from a nearby spring.
Once, a shepherd tending his flocks, seeing him moving about in the darkness from a distance and supposing him to be a wolf—for because he was burdened with much iron he walked bent over—brandished his sling to cast a stone. But when his hand remained motionless for a long time and he could not release the stone, until that divine man had drawn his water and returned, he recognized his error. Early in the morning he went to the gymnasium of virtue, told what had happened, asked for forgiveness, and obtained cancellation of his transgression, not by hearing any spoken voice, but by understanding the benevolence through the movements of his hand.
Another man, led by a perverse curiosity and desiring to know what he was doing all the time, dared to climb a plane tree that stood near the fence, but he soon received the fruit of his audacity. For, having become paralyzed in half of his body, he came as a suppliant and confessed his sin. But he predicted that he would recover his health once the plane tree was cut down. For he ordered the tree to be cut down immediately, so that no one else might endure the same fate after daring such things; and the cessation of his punishment followed the cutting of the tree. Such, then, was the endurance of this saint, and such grace did he receive from the Arbiter of the contest.
B When he was preparing for his departure from this life, he signified that he would reach the end of his life after fifty days; and he granted a meeting to all who wished to see him. When the prelate of the Church also arrived, he urged him to submit to the yoke of the presbyterate. "I know, Father," he said, "both the height of your philosophy and the magnitude of my own poverty. But having been entrusted with the administration of the high priesthood, by this office I perform ordinations, and not by that other. Therefore receive," he said, "the gift of the priesthood, my right hand serving as the minister, but the grace of the Holy Spirit bestowing it." To this he is said to have replied: "Since I shall depart from here in a few days, I shall by no means contend over these things. For if I were about to live for a longer time, I would certainly flee from this heavy and fearful burden C of the priesthood, fearing the account that must be rendered for the deposit. But since I am about to depart from here shortly, leaving these things behind, I will obediently receive what is commanded."
Immediately, therefore, with no one leading him, the one knelt down and awaited the grace, while the other, laying on his hand, served the Spirit. Surviving the priesthood for only a few days, he exchanged life for Life, and obtained that which is ageless and painless in place of the one burdened with many cares. When everyone wanted to seize his body, and each was eager to transfer it to his own village, someone, having revealed the saint's oath, ended the dispute. For he said that he had bound him by an oath to bury him in this very place. So great was the care of the citizens of heaven for him even after
death: who neither in life ever bore a high spirit, nor when dead sought after glory from men; but translated their whole love to the Bridegroom, after the manner of chaste women, who desire to be loved and praised by their husbands alone, and disdain the praises of others. Therefore the Bridegroom rendered them renowned and famous even against their will, and granted them an abundance of glory before men. For when anyone, pursuing divine things, asks for heavenly ones, He adds along with them many other things, bestowing multiplied requests. For this reason, while establishing the law, He also said: "Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you." And again: "Everyone that hath forsaken father, or mother, or brethren, or wife, or children, for my name's sake and the Gospel's, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." These things He both said and performed. But for us, who are instructed both in word and deed, and supported by the prayers of these men, may it come to pass that we reach the goal, and attain the prize of the high calling, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
XVI. MARO
A After him I shall commemorate Maro; for he too adorned the divine choir of the saints. For having chosen to lead a life under the open sky, he occupied the summit of a mountain, which had formerly been honored by the impious; and having consecrated to God the temple of demons that was there, he dwelt in it, having set up a small tabernacle, which, however, he used but rarely. He did not occupy himself only with the customary labors, but devised others as well, accumulating the treasures of philosophy. But the judge of B the conflict measured out grace in proportion to his labors. For the munificent God so abundantly bestowed upon him the gift of healing, that his fame spread to every region, drawing all men from every side, and the experience of these proved the truth of the report. For it was possible to see fevers extinguished by the dew of his blessing, and shivering fits calmed, and demons put to flight, and all manner of diverse diseases healed by a single remedy. For while the sons of physicians offer a remedy appropriate to each malady, the prayer of the saints is a common antidote for all evils. C Nor did he heal bodily sicknesses only, but he also applied the appropriate cure to souls, healing the avarice of this one, the irascibility of that one; and to one he offered instruction concerning temperance, and to another he added the teachings of justice; and he instructed the licentiousness of one, while rousing the sloth of another. Exercising himself in this husbandry, he brought forth many plants of philosophy, and this garden, which currently flourishes D in the region of Cyrrhus, he himself planted for God. The work of this plantation
is the great James, to whom one might justly apply that prophetic utterance: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like the cedar in Lebanon" A, as well as all the others whom, God willing, I shall mention one by one. Thus keeping watch over the divine husbandry and healing souls and bodies alike, after suffering a brief illness—so that we might learn both the frailty of nature and the fortitude of his resolve—he departed this life. But a fierce struggle arose among the neighbors over his body. For the inhabitants of a populous neighboring village arrived in a body, put the others to flight, carried off that most desired treasure, built a very large shrine, and to this day they reap the benefit from it, honoring that victor with a public festival. We, too, though absent, reap the blessing; for the memory of him suffices for us instead of the tomb. B
XVII. — ABRAAMES
It is not right to pass over the memory of the wondrous Abraames, on the grounds that after his monastic life he adorned the episcopal dignity. Indeed, he may rightly be considered more worthy of remembrance for this very reason: that when compelled to change his manner of life, he did not abandon it, but passed through it practicing the ascetic life, and finished his course encompassed by monastic labors and episcopal cares at the same time. He too was a fruit of the region of Cyrrhus. For it was there that he was born and reared, and there he gathered the wealth of ascetic virtue. For those who associated with him say that by watching, standing, and fasting C he had so subdued his body that he remained motionless for a very long time, being unable to walk. Having been delivered from that infirmity by divine providence, he resolved to expose himself to dangers for the sake of divine grace, and set out for Lebanon, seeking a very large village which he had learned was held fast in the darkness of impiety. Disguising his monastic person under the guise of a merchant, and carrying sacks with his companions as if he were going to buy walnuts—for the village D was exceptionally productive of that fruit—he rented a house, gave a small sum of money to the owners, and kept silence for three or four days. Afterwards, he gradually began the divine office in a moderate voice. But when the singing of the Psalms was heard, at the voice of the herald calling them all, men and women flocked together, and having blocked the doors, they climbed onto the roof and threw down a large quantity of dirt. But when they saw that they were choking and being covered, and that they had nothing else in their mind, nor were they doing or saying anything, but only offering prayers to God, at the urging of others they ceased from their madness, unlocked the doors, and ordered them to depart immediately, having pulled them from the dirt. At that same time, tax collectors arrived, who were compelling them to pay taxes, and were maltreating some with chains and others with lashes. But that divine man, not mindful of
those things which had been done against him, A but imitating the Lord, who when fastened to the cross cared for those who had done this, entreated those tax collectors to be more humane in exacting the payment. And when they demanded sureties, he willingly accepted the summons, and promised that he would give one hundred gold pieces within a few days. Those who had perpetrated those terrible deeds, wondering beyond measure at the man's humanity, asked for forgiveness for what they had dared, and entreated him to become their leader. For the village had no master; they themselves were both the farmers and the lords. Having therefore arrived at the city—and this was Emesa—he found certain acquaintances, and obtained a loan from them. Then, returning to the village on the appointed day, he satisfied his promise. Observing this diligence of his, they repeated their request more earnestly. And when he pledged that he would do so if they would promise to build a church, they begged him to begin immediately; and they led the blessed man around, showing him the most suitable places. And as one man praised this spot and another that, he chose the better one, and having laid the foundations, in a short time he placed the roof upon it. When the building was finished, he advised them to appoint a priest. But when they declared they would appoint no other, and desired to have him as both father and shepherd, he accepted the grace of the priesthood. Having spent three years with them, and having instructed them excellently in divine matters, and having C seen to it that another of his companions was appointed in his place, he betook himself again to the monastic retreat. And so that I do not produce a long narrative by recounting every one of his deeds, having become illustrious through these achievements, he received the bishopric of Carrhae. Now that city was drunken with the errors of impiety, and abandoned to the fury of the demons. But after it became worthy of the cultivation of this man, and received the flame of his teaching, it remained free of its former thorns, and now abounds with the crops of the Spirit, offering up to God mature sheaves of grain.
But it was not without labor that the holy man performed this divine agriculture; but enduring D countless toils, and imitating the art of those to whom the healing of bodies is entrusted, sometimes soothing with exhortation, sometimes binding with sharper medicines, and occasionally even cutting and cauterizing, he brought them to this health. Indeed, the lights of his life also supported his teaching and his other diligence. For enlightened by these, they both followed what was said, and willingly accepted what was done. For as long as he was presiding, bread was superfluous to him, water was likewise superfluous, a bed was useless, and the need for fire was redundant. For he would complete the alternate hymnody for forty nights at a time, doubling the measure of the prayers interspersed between them, and for the rest of the night's space he sat in a chair, granting a brief rest to his eyelids. Now that man shall not live by bread alone, Moses the legislator said, and the Lord made mention of this saying when he [answered] the provocation of the devil.