The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret
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Translated with Notes by the Rev. Blomfield Jackson, M.A.
Vicar of St. Bartholomew's, Moor Lane, and Fellow of King's College,
London.
Under the editorial supervision of Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D.,
Professor of Church History in the Union Theological Semimary, New York,
and Henry Wace, D.D., Principal of King's College, London
Published in 1892 by Philip Schaff,
New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co.
Book I.
Prologue.--Design of the History.
When artists paint on panels and on walls the events of ancient
history, they alike delight the eye, and keep bright for many a year
the memory of the past. Historians substitute books for panels, bright
description for pigments, and thus render the memory of past events
both stronger and more permanent, for the painter's art is ruined by
time. For this reason I too shall attempt to record in writing events
in ecclesiastical history hitherto omitted, deeming it indeed not
right to look on without an effort while oblivion robs [235] noble
deeds and useful stories of their due fame. For this cause too I have
been frequently urged by friends to undertake this work. But when I
compare my own powers with the magnitude of the undertaking, I shrink
from attempting it. Trusting, however, in the bounty of the Giver of
all good, I enter upon a task beyond my own strength.
Eusebius of Palestine [236] has written a history of the Church from
the time of the holy Apostles to the reign of Constantine, the prince
beloved of God. I shall begin my history from the period at which his
terminates. [237]
Footnotes
[235] sulao. Cf. 2 Cor. xi. 8
[236] Cf. Basil de Spir. Sanct., 29. "ho palaistinos" means "of
Cæsarea," his see, to distinguish him from his namesake, Bishop of
Nicomedia.
[237] The last event mentioned by Eusebius is the defeat of Licinius,
who was put to death a.d. 324.
Chapter I.--Origin of the Arian Heresy.
After the overthrow of the wicked and impious tyrants, Maxentius,
Maximinus, and Licinius, the surge which those destroyers, like
hurricanes, had roused was hushed to sleep; the whirlwinds were
checked, and the Church henceforward began to enjoy a settled calm.
This was established for her by Constantine, a prince deserving of all
praise, whose calling, like that of the divine Apostle, was not of
men, nor by man, but from heaven. He enacted laws prohibiting
sacrifices to idols, and commanding churches [238] to be erected. He
appointed Christians to be governors of the provinces, ordering honour
to be shown to the priests, and threatening with death those who dared
to insult them. By some the churches which had been destroyed were
rebuilt; others erected new ones still more spacious and magnificent.
Hence, for us, all was joy and gladness, while our enemies were
overwhelmed with gloom and despair. The temples of the idols were
closed; but frequent assemblies were held, and festivals celebrated,
in the churches. But the devil, full of all envy and wickedness, the
destroyer of mankind, unable to bear the sight of the Church sailing
on with favourable winds, stirred up plans of evil counsel, eager to
sink the vessel steered by the Creator and Lord of the Universe. When
he began to perceive that the error of the Greeks had been made
manifest, that the various tricks of the demons had been detected, and
that the greater number of men worshipped the Creator, instead of
adoring, as heretofore, the creature, he did not dare to declare open
war against our God and Saviour; but having found some who, though
dignified with the name of Christians, were yet slaves to ambition and
vainglory, he made them fit instruments for the execution of his
designs, and by their means drew others back into their old error, not
indeed by the former method of setting up the worship of the creature,
but by bringing it about that the Creator and Maker of all should be
reduced to a level with the creature. I shall now proceed to relate
where and by what means he sowed these tares.
Alexandria is an immense and populous city, charged with the
leadership not only of Egypt, but also of the adjacent countries, the
Thebaid and Libya. After Peter [239] , the victorious champion of the
faith, had, during the sway of the aforesaid impious tyrants, obtained
the crown of martyrdom, the Church in Alexandria was ruled for a short
time by Achillas [240] . He was succeeded by Alexander [241] , who
proved himself a noble defender of the doctrines of the gospel. At
that time, Arius, who had been enrolled in the list of the presbytery,
and entrusted with the exposition of the Holy Scriptures, fell a prey
to the assaults of jealousy, when he saw that the helm of the high
priesthood was committed to Alexander. Stung by this passion, he
sought opportunities for dispute and contention; and, although he
perceived that Alexander's irreproachable conduct forbade his bringing
any charges against him, envy would not allow him to rest. In him the
enemy of the truth found an instrument whereby to stir and agitate the
angry waters of the Church, and persuaded him to oppose the
apostolical doctrine of Alexander. While the Patriarch, in obedience
to the Holy Scriptures, taught that the Son is of equal dignity with
the Father, and of the same substance with God who begat Him, Arius,
in direct opposition to the truth, affirmed that the Son of God is
merely a creature or created being, adding the famous dictum, "There
once was a time when He was not [242] ;" with other opinions which may
be learned from his own writings. He taught these false doctrines
perseveringly, not only in the church, but also in general meetings
and assemblies; and he even went from house to house, endeavouring to
make men the slaves of his error. Alexander, who was strongly attached
to the doctrines of the Apostles, at first tried by exhortations and
counsels to convince him of his error; but when he saw him playing the
madman [243] and making public declaration of his impiety, he deposed
him from the order of the presbytery, for he heard the law of God
loudly declaring, "If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and
cast it from thee [244] ."
Footnotes
[238] ekklesia. The use of the word in 1 Cor. xi. 18 indicates a
transition stage between "Assembly" and "Building." The brethren met
"in assembly:" soon they met in a church. Cf. Aug. Ep. 190, 5. 19: "ut
nomine ecclesiæ, id est populi qui continetur, significemus locum qui
continet." Chrysost. Hom. xxix. in Acta: hoi progonoi tas ekklesias
okodomesan
[239] Succeeded Theonas as Archbishop of Alexandria, a.d. 300.
Beheaded by order of Maximinus, a.d. 311. Euseb. vii. 32.
[240] Patriarch of Alexandria, a.d. 311-312. Promoted Arius to the
priesthood. Soz. i. 15.
[241] Patriarch, a.d. 312-326.
[242] en pote hote ouk en
[243] korubantionta
[244] ean...skandalize, St. Matt. v. 29 and xviii. 9;
ei...skandalizei, cf. Mark ix. 43
Chapter II.--List of the Principal Bishops
Of the church of Rome at this period Silvester [245] held the reins.
His predecessor in the see was Miltiades [246] , the successor of that
Marcellinus [247] who had so nobly distinguished himself during the
persecution.
In Antioch, after the death of Tyrannus [248] , when peace began to be
restored to the churches, Vitalis [249] received the chief authority,
and restored the church in the "Palæa [250] " which had been destroyed
by the tyrants. He was succeeded by Philogonius [251] , who completed
all that was wanting in the work of restoration: he had, during the
time of Licinius, signalised himself by his zeal for religion.
After the administration of Hermon [252] , the government of the
church in Jerusalem was committed to Macarius [253] , a man whose
character was equal to his name, and whose mind was adorned by every
kind of virtue.
At this same period also, Alexander, illustrious for his apostolical
gifts, governed the church of Constantinople [254] .
It was at this time that Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, perceiving
that Arius, enslaved by the lust of power, was assembling those who
had been taken captive by his blasphemous doctrines, and was holding
private meetings, communicated an account of his heresy by letter to
the rulers of the principal churches. That the authenticity of my
history may not be suspected, I shall now insert in my narrative the
letter which he wrote to his namesake, containing, as it does, a clear
account of all the facts I have mentioned. I shall also subjoin the
letter of Arius, together with the other letters which are necessary
to the completeness of this narrative, that they may at once testify
to the truth of my work, and make the course of events more clear.
The following letter was written by Alexander of Alexandria, to the
bishop of the same name as himself.
Footnotes
[245] Bp. of Rome, from Jan. 31, a.d. 314, to Dec. 31, a.d. 335.
[246] Otherwise Melchiades. July 2, a.d. 310, to Jan. 10, a.d. 314.
[247] Jan. 30, a.d. 296, to Oct. 25, a.d. 304. Accused of apostasy,
under Diocletian.
[248] Bishop of Antioch during the persecution of Diocletian, kath'
hon ekmasen he ton ekklesion poliorkia. Eus. H.E. vii. 32.
[249] 21st Bp. of Antioch, a.d. 312-a.d. 318.
[250] The ancient part of the city of Antioch.
[251] a.d. 319-323.
[252] a.d. 302-311.
[253] Macarius = Blessed. a.d. 311-?334. Vide Chapters iv. and xvii.
[254] Circa ?a.d. 313 or 317-340.
Chapter III.--The Epistle of Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria to
Alexander, Bishop of Constantinople.
"To his most revered and likeminded brother Alexander, Alexander
sendeth greeting in the Lord.
"Impelled by avarice and ambition, evil-minded persons have ever
plotted against the wellbeing of the most important dioceses. Under
various pretexts, they attack the religion of the Church; and, being
maddened by the devil, who works in them, they start aside from all
piety according to their own pleasure, and trample under foot the fear
of the judgment of God. Suffering as I do from them myself, I deem it
necessary to inform your piety, that you may be on your guard against
them, lest they or any of their party should presume to enter your
diocese (for these cheats are skilful in deception), or should
circulate false and specious letters, calculated to delude one who has
devoted himself to the simple and undefiled faith.
"Arius and Achillas have lately formed a conspiracy, and, emulating
the ambition of Colluthus, have gone far beyond him [255] . He indeed
sought to find a pretext for his own pernicious line of action in the
charges he brought against them. But they, beholding his making a
trade of Christ for lucre [256] , refused to remain any longer in
subjection to the Church; but built for themselves caves, like
robbers, and now constantly assemble in them, and day and night ply
slanders there against Christ and against us. They revile every godly
apostolical doctrine, and in Jewish fashion have organized a gang to
fight against Christ, denying His divinity, and declaring Him to be on
a level with other men. They pick out every passage which refers to
the dispensation of salvation, and to His humiliation for our sake;
they endeavour to collect from them their own impious assertion, while
they evade all those which declare His eternal divinity, and the
unceasing [257] glory which He possesses with the Father. They
maintain the ungodly doctrine entertained by the Greeks and the Jews
concerning Jesus Christ; and thus, by every means in their power, hunt
for their applause. Everything which outsiders ridicule in us they
officiously practise. They daily excite persecutions and seditions
against us. On the one hand they bring accusations against us before
the courts, suborning as witnesses certain unprincipled women whom
they have seduced into error. On the other they dishonour Christianity
by permitting their young women to ramble about the streets. Nay, they
have had the audacity to rend the seamless garment of Christ, which
the soldiers dared not divide.
"When these actions, in keeping with their course of life, and the
impious enterprise which had been long concealed, became tardily known
to us, we unanimously ejected them from the Church which worships the
divinity of Christ. They then ran hither and thither to form cabals
against us, even addressing themselves to our fellow-ministers who
were of one mind with us, under the pretence of seeking peace and
unity with them, but in truth endeavouring by means of fair words, to
sweep some among them away into their own disease. They ask them to
write a wordy letter, and then read the contents to those whom they
have deceived, in order that they may not retract, but be confirmed in
their impiety, by finding that bishops agree with and support their
views. They make no acknowledgment of the evil doctrines and practices
for which they have been expelled by us, but they either impart them
without comment, or carry on the deception by fallacies and forgeries.
Thus concealing their destructive doctrine by persuasive and meanly
truckling language, they catch the unwary, and lose no opportunity of
calumniating our religion. Hence it arises that several have been led
to sign their letter, and to receive them into communion, a proceeding
on the part of our fellow-ministers which I consider highly
reprehensible; for they thus not only disobey the apostolical rule,
but even help to inflame their diabolical action against Christ. It is
on this account, beloved brethren, that without delay I have stirred
myself up to inform you of the unbelief of certain persons who say
that "There was a time when the Son of God was not [258] ;" and "He
who previously had no existence subsequently came into existence; and
when at some time He came into existence He became such as every other
man is." God, they say, created all things out of that which was
non-existent, and they include in the number of creatures, both
rational and irrational, even the Son of God. Consistently with this
doctrine they, as a necessary consequence, affirm that He is by nature
liable to change, and capable both of virtue and of vice, and thus, by
their hypothesis of his having been created out of that which was
non-existent, they overthrow the testimony of the Divine Scriptures,
which declare the immutability of the Word and the Divinity of the
Wisdom of the Word, which Word and Wisdom is Christ. `We are also
able,' say these accursed wretches, `to become like Him, the sons of
God; for it is written,--I have nourished and brought up children
[259] .' When the continuation of this text is brought before them,
which is, `and they have rebelled against Me,' and it is objected that
these words are inconsistent with the Saviour's nature, which is
immutable, they throw aside all reverence, and affirm that God
foreknew and foresaw that His Son would not rebel against Him, and
that He therefore chose Him in preference to all others. They likewise
assert that He was not chosen because He had by nature any thing
superior to the other sons of God; for no man, say they, is son of God
by nature, nor has any peculiar relation to Him. He was chosen, they
allege, because, though mutable by nature, His painstaking character
suffered no deterioration. As though, forsooth, even if a Paul and a
Peter made like endeavours, their sonship would in no respects differ
from His.
"To establish this insane doctrine they insult the Scriptures, and
bring forward what is said in the Psalms of Christ, `Thou hast loved
righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore thy God hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows [260] .' Now that the Son
of God was not created out of the non-existent [261] , and that there
never was a time in which He was not, is expressly taught by John the
Evangelist, who speaks of Him as `the only begotten Son which is in
the bosom of the Father [262] .' This divine teacher desired to show
that the Father and the Son are inseparable; and, therefore, he said,
`that the Son is in the bosom of the Father.' Moreover, the same John
affirms that the Word of God is not classed among things created out
of the non-existent, for, he says that `all things were made by Him
[263] ,' and he also declares His individual personality [264] in the
following words: `In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God....All things were made by Him, and without
Him was not any thing made that was made [265] .' If, then, all things
were made by Him, how is it that He who thus bestowed existence on
all, could at any period have had no existence himself? The Word, the
creating power, can in no way be defined as of the same nature as the
things created, if indeed He was in the beginning, and all things were
made by Him, and were called by Him out of the non-existent into
being. `That which is [266] ' must be of an opposite nature to, and
essentially different from, things created out of the non-existent.
This shows, likewise, that there is no separation between the Father
and the Son, and that the idea of separation cannot even be conceived
by the mind; while the fact that the world was created out of the
non-existent involves a later and fresh genesis of its essential
nature [267] , all things having been endowed with such an origin of
existence by the Father through the Son. John, the most pious apostle,
perceiving that the word `was' applied to the Word of God [268] was
far beyond and above the intelligence of created beings, did not
presume to speak of His generation or creation, nor yet dared to name
the Maker and the creature in equivalent syllables. Not that the Son
of God is unbegotten, for the Father alone is unbegotten; but that the
ineffable personality of the only-begotten God is beyond the keenest
conception of the evangelists and perhaps even of angels. Therefore, I
do not think men ought to be considered pious who presume to
investigate this subject, in disobedience to the injunction, `Seek not
what is too difficult for thee, neither enquire into what is too high
for thee [269] .' For if the knowledge of many other things
incomparably inferior is beyond the capacity of the human mind, and
cannot therefore be attained, as has been said by Paul, `Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love Him [270] ,' and as
God also said to Abraham, that the stars could not be numbered by him
[271] ; and it is likewise said, `Who shall number the grains of sand
by the sea-shore, or the drops of rain [272] ?' how then can any one
but a madman presume to enquire into the nature of the Word of God? It
is said by the Spirit of prophecy, `Who shall declare His generation
[273] ?' And, therefore, our Saviour in His kindness to those men who
were the pillars of the whole world, desiring to relieve them of the
burden of striving after this knowledge, told them that it was beyond
their natural comprehension, and that the Father alone could discern
this most divine mystery; `No man,' said He, `knoweth the Son but the
Father, and no man knoweth the Father save the Son [274] .' It was, I
think, concerning this same subject that the Father said, `My secret
is for Me and for Mine [275] .'
"But the insane folly of imagining that the Son of God came into being
out of that which had no being, and that His sending forth took place
in time, is plain from the words `which had no being,' although the
foolish are incapable of perceiving the folly of their own utterances.
For the phrase `He was not' must either have reference to time, or to
some interval in the ages. If then it be true that all things were
made by Him, it is evident that every age, time, all intervals of
time, and that `when' in which `was not' has its place, were made by
Him. And is it not absurd to say that there was a time when He who
created all time, and ages, and seasons, with which the `was not' is
confused, was not? For it would be the height of ignorance, and
contrary indeed to all reason, to affirm that the cause of any created
thing can be posterior to that caused by it. The interval during which
they say the Son was still unbegotten of the Father was, according to
their opinion, prior to the wisdom of God, by whom all things were
created. They thus contradict the Scripture which declares Him to be
`the firstborn of every creature [276] .' In consonance with this
doctrine, Paul with his usual mighty voice cries concerning Him; `whom
He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds
[277] ' `For by Him were all things created that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
Him and for Him: and He is before all things [278] ' Since the
hypothesis implied in the phrase `out of the non-existent' is
manifestly impious, it follows that the Father is always Father. And
He is Father from the continual presence of the Son, on account of
whom He is called [279] Father. And the Son being ever present with
Him, the Father is ever perfect, wanting in no good thing, for He did
not beget His only Son in time, or in any interval of time, nor out of
that which had no previous existence.
"Is it not then impious to say that there was a time when the wisdom
of God was not? Who saith, `I was by Him as one brought up with Him: I
was daily His delight [280] ?' Or that once the power of God was not,
or His Word, or anything else by which the Son is known, or the Father
designated, defective? To assert that the brightness of the Father's
glory `once did not exist,' destroys also the original light of which
it is the brightness [281] ; and if there ever was a time in which the
image of God was not, it is plain that He Whose image He is, is not
always: nay, by the non-existence of the express image of God's
Person, He also is taken away of whom this is ever the express image.
Hence it may be seen, that the Sonship of our Saviour has not even
anything in common with the sonship of men. For just as it has been
shown that the nature of His existence cannot be expressed by
language, and infinitely surpasses in excellence all things to which
He has given being, so His Sonship, naturally partaking in His
paternal Divinity, is unspeakably different from the sonship of those
who, by His appointment, have been adopted as sons. He is by nature
immutable, perfect, and all-sufficient, whereas men are liable to
change, and need His help. What further advance can be made by the
wisdom of God [282] ? What can the Very Truth, or God the Word, add to
itself? How can the Life or the True Light in any way be bettered? And
is it not still more contrary to nature to suppose that wisdom can be
susceptible of folly? that the power of God can be united with
weakness? that reason itself can be dimmed by unreasonableness, or
that darkness can be mixed with the true light? Does not the Apostle
say, `What communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath
Christ with Belial [283] ?' and Solomon, that `the way of a serpent
upon a rock [284] ' was `too wonderful' for the human mind to
comprehend, which `rock,' according to St. Paul, is Christ [285] . Men
and angels, however, who are His creatures, have received His
blessing, enabling them to exercise themselves in virtue and in
obedience to His commands, that thus they may avoid sin. And it is on
this account that our Lord being by nature the Son of the Father, is
worshipped by all; and they who have put off the spirit of bondage,
and by brave deeds and advance in virtue have received the spirit of
adoption through the kindness of Him Who is the Son of God by nature,
by adoption also become sons.
"His true, peculiar, natural, and special Sonship was declared by
Paul, who, speaking of God, says, that `He spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us [286] ,' who are not by nature His sons. It
was to distinguish Him from those who are not `His own,' that he
called Him `His own son.' It is also written in the Gospel, `This is
My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased [287] ;' and in the Psalms
the Saviour says, `The Lord said unto Me, Thou art My Son [288] .' By
proclaiming natural sonship He shows that there are no other natural
sons besides Himself.
"And do not these words, I begot thee `from the womb before the
morning [289] ,' plainly show the natural sonship of the paternal
birth [290] of One whose lot it is, not from diligence of conduct, or
exercise in moral progress, but by individuality of nature? Hence it
ensues that the filiation of the only-begotten Son of the Father is
incapable of fall; while the adoption of reasonable beings who are not
His sons by nature, but merely on account of fitness of character, and
by the bounty of God, may fall away, as it is written in the word,
`The sons of God saw the daughters of men, and took them as wives,'
and so forth [291] . And God, speaking by Isaiah, said, `I have
nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me
[292] .'
"I have many things to say, beloved, but because I fear that I shall
cause weariness by further admonishing teachers who are of one mind
with myself, I pass them by. You, having been taught of God, are not
ignorant that the teaching at variance with the religion of the Church
which has just arisen, is the same as that propagated by Ebion [293]
and Artemas [294] , and rivals that of Paul of Samosata, bishop of
Antioch, who was excommunicated by a council of all the bishops.
Lucianus [295] , his successor, withdrew himself from communion with
these bishops during a period of many years.
"And now amongst us there have sprung up, `out of the non-existent'
men who have greedily sucked down the dregs of this impiety, offsets
of the same stock: I mean Arius and Achillas, and all their gang of
rogues. Three bishops [296] of Syria, appointed no one knows how, by
consenting to them, fire them to more fatal heat. I refer their
sentence to your decision. Retaining in their memory all that they can
collect concerning the suffering, humiliation, emptying of Himself
[297] , and so-called poverty, and everything of which the Saviour for
our sake accepted the acquired name, they bring forward those passages
to disprove His eternal existence and divinity, while they forget all
those which declare His glory and nobility and abiding with the
Father; as for instance, `I and My father are one [298] .' In these
words the Lord does not proclaim Himself to be the Father, neither
does He represent two natures as one; but that the essence of the Son
of the Father preserves accurately the likeness of the Father, His
nature taking off the impress of likeness to Him in all things, being
the exact image of the Father and the express stamp of the prototype.
When, therefore, Philip, desirous of seeing the Father, said to Him,
`Lord, show us the Father,' the Lord with abundant plainness said to
him, `He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father [299] ,' as though the
Father were beheld in the spotless and living mirror of His image. The
same idea is conveyed in the Psalms, where the saints say, `In Thy
light we shall see light [300] .' It is on this account that `he who
honoureth the Son, honoureth the Father [301] .' And rightly, for
every impious word which men dare to utter against the Son is spoken
also against the Father.
"After this no one can wonder at the false calumnies which I am about
to detail, my beloved brethren, propagated by them against me, and
against our most religious people. They not only set their battle in
array against the divinity of Christ, but ungratefully insult us. They
think it beneath them to be compared with any of those of old time,
nor do they endure to be put on a par with the teachers we have been
conversant with from childhood. They will not admit that any of our
fellow-ministers anywhere possess even mediocrity of intelligence.
They say that they themselves alone are the wise and the poor, and
discoverers of doctrines, and to them alone have been revealed those
truths which, say they, have never entered the mind of any other
individuals under the sun. O what wicked arrogance! O what excessive
folly! What false boasting, joined with madness and Satanic pride, has
hardened their impious hearts! They are not ashamed to oppose the
godly clearness of the ancient scriptures, nor yet does the unanimous
piety of all our fellow-ministers concerning Christ blunt their
audacity. Even devils will not suffer impiety like this; for even they
refrain from speaking blasphemy against the Son of God.
"These then are the questions I have to raise, according to the
ability I possess, with those who from their rude resources throw dust
on the Christ, and try to slander our reverence for Him. These
inventors of silly tales assert that we, who reject their impious and
unscriptural blasphemy concerning the creation of Christ from the
non-existent, teach that there are two unbegotten Beings. For these
ill-instructed men contend that one of these alternatives must hold;
either He must be believed to have come out of the non-existent, or
there are two unbegotten Beings. In their ignorance and want of
practice in theology they do not realize how vast must be the distance
between the Father who is uncreate, and the creatures, whether
rational or irrational, which He created out of the non-existent; and
that the only-begotten nature of Him Who is the Word of God, by Whom
the Father created the universe out of the non-existent, standing, as
it were, in the middle between the two, was begotten of the
self-existent Father, as the Lord Himself testified when He said,
`Every one that loveth the Father, loveth also the Son that is
begotten of Him [302] .'
"We believe, as is taught by the apostolical Church, in an only
unbegotten Father, Who of His being hath no cause, immutable and
invariable, and Who subsists always in one state of being, admitting
neither of progression nor of diminution; Who gave the law, and the
prophets, and the gospel; of patriarchs and apostles, and of all
saints, Lord: and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of
God, begotten not out of that which is not, but of the Father, Who is;
yet not after the manner of material bodies, by severance or
emanation, as Sabellius [303] and Valentinus [304] taught; but in an
inexpressible and inexplicable manner, according to the saying which
we quoted above, `Who shall declare His generation [305] ?' since no
mortal intellect can comprehend the nature of His Person, as the
Father Himself cannot be comprehended, because the nature of
reasonable beings is unable to grasp the manner in which He was
begotten of the Father [306] .
"But those who are led by the Spirit of truth have no need to learn
these things of me, for the words long since spoken by the Saviour yet
sound in our ears, `No one knoweth who the Father is but the Son, and
no one knoweth who the Son is but the Father [307] .' We have learnt
that the Son is immutable and unchangeable, all-sufficient and
perfect, like the Father, lacking only His "unbegotten." He is the
exact and precisely similar image of His Father. For it is clear that
the image fully contains everything by which the greater likeness
exists, as the Lord taught us when He said, `My Father is greater than
I [308] .' And in accordance with this we believe that the Son always
existed of the Father; for he is the brightness of His glory, and the
express image of His Father's Person [309] ." But let no one be led by
the word `always' to imagine that the Son is unbegotten, as is thought
by some who have their intellects blinded: for to say that He was,
that He has always been, and that before all ages, is not to say that
He is unbegotten.
"The mind of man could not possibly invent a term expressive of what
is meant by being unbegotten. I believe that you are of this opinion;
and, indeed, I feel confident in your orthodox view that none of these
terms in any way signify the unbegotten. For all the terms appear to
signify merely the extension of time, and are not adequate to express
the divinity and, as it were, the primæval being of the only-begotten
Son. They were used by the holy men who earnestly endeavoured to clear
up the mystery, and who asked pardon from those who heard them, with a
reasonable excuse for their failure, by saying `as far as our
comprehension has reached.' But if those who allege that what was
`known in part' has been `done away [310] ' for them, expect from
human lips anything beyond human powers, it is plain that the terms
`was,' and `ever,' and `before all ages,' fall far short of this
expectation. But whatever they may mean, it is not the same as `the
unbegotten.' Therefore His own individual dignity must be reserved to
the Father as the Unbegotten One, no one being called the cause of His
existence: to the Son likewise must be given the honour which befits
Him, there being to Him a generation from the Father which has no
beginning; we must render Him worship, as we have already said, only
piously and religiously ascribing to Him the `was' and the `ever,' and
the `before all ages;' not however rejecting His divinity, but
ascribing to Him a perfect likeness in all things to His Father, while
at the same time we ascribe to the Father alone His own proper glory
of `the unbegotten,' even as the Saviour Himself says, `My Father is
greater than I [311] .'
"And in addition to this pious belief respecting the Father and the
Son, we confess as the Sacred Scriptures teach us, one Holy Ghost, who
moved the saints of the Old Testament, and the divine teachers of that
which is called the New. We believe in one only Catholic Church, the
apostolical, which cannot be destroyed even though all the world were
to take counsel to fight against it, and which gains the victory over
all the impious attacks of the heterodox; for we are emboldened by the
words of its Master, `Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world
[312] .' After this, we receive the doctrine of the resurrection from
the dead, of which Jesus Christ our Lord became the first-fruits; Who
bore a Body, in truth, not in semblance, derived from Mary the mother
of God [313] ; in the fulness of time sojourning among the race, for
the remission of sins: who was crucified and died, yet for all this
suffered no diminution of His Godhead. He rose from the dead, was
taken into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high.
"In this epistle I have only mentioned these things in part, deeming
it, as I have said, wearisome to dwell minutely on each article, since
they are well known to your pious diligence. These things we teach,
these things we preach; these are the dogmas of the apostolic Church,
for which we are ready to die, caring little for those who would force
us to forswear them; for we will never relinquish our hope in them,
though they should try to compel us by tortures.
"Arius and Achillas, together with their fellow foes, have been
expelled from the Church, because they have become aliens from our
pious doctrine: according to the blessed Paul, who said, `If any of
you preach any other gospel than that which you have received, let him
be accursed, even though he should pretend to be an angel from heaven
[314] , and `But if any man teach otherwise, and consent not to
wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the
doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing
[315] ,' and so forth. Since, then, they have been condemned by the
brotherhood, let none of you receive them, nor attend to what they say
or write. They are deceivers, and propagate lies, and they never
adhere to the truth. They go about to different cities with no other
intent than to deliver letters under the pretext of friendship and in
the name of peace, and by hypocrisy and flattery to obtain other
letters in return, in order to deceive a few `silly women who are
laden with sins [316] .' I beseech you, beloved brethren, to avoid
those who have thus dared to act against Christ, who have publicly
held up the Christian religion to ridicule, and have eagerly sought to
make a display before judicial tribunals, who have endeavoured to
excite a persecution against us at a period of the most entire peace,
and who have enervated the unspeakable mystery of the generation of
Christ. Unite unanimously in opposition to them, as some of our
fellow-ministers have already done, who, being filled with
indignation, wrote to me against them, and signed our formulary [317]
.
"I have sent you these letters by my son Apion, the deacon; being
those of (the ministers in) all Egypt and the Thebaid, also of those
of Libya, and the Pentapolis, of Syria, Lycia, Pamphylia, Asia,
Cappadocia, and in the other adjoining countries. Whose example you
likewise, I trust, will follow. Many kindly attempts have been made by
me to gain back those who have been led astray, but no remedy has
proved more efficacious in restoring the laity who have been deceived
by them and leading them to repentance, than the manifestation of the
union of our fellow-ministers. Salute one another, with the
brotherhood that is with you. I pray that you may be strong in the
Lord, my beloved, and that I may receive the fruit of your love to
Christ.
"The following are the name of those who have been anathematized as
heretics: among the presbyters, Arius; among the deacons, Achillas,
Euzoius, Aïthales, Lucius, Sarmates, Julius, Menas, another Arius, and
Helladius."
Alexander wrote in the same strain to Philogonius [318] , bishop of
Antioch, to Eustathius [319] , who then ruled the church of the
Beroeans, and to all those who defended the doctrines of the Apostles.
But Arius could not endure to keep quiet, but wrote to all those whom
he believed to agree with him in opinion. His letter to Eusebius,
bishop of Nicomedia, is a clear proof that the divine Alexander wrote
nothing that was false concerning him. I shall here insert his letter,
in order that the names of those who were implicated in his impiety
may become generally known.
Footnotes
[255] Alexander's words seem to imply that Colluthus began his
schismatical proceedings in assuming to exercise episcopal functions
before the separation of Arius from the Church, and that one cause of
his wrong action was impatience at the mild course at first adopted by
Alexander towards Arius. The Council of Alexandria held in a.d. 324
under Hosius, decided that he was only a Presbyter.
[256] chriostemporia. The word christemporos is applied in the
"Didache" to lazy consumers of alms. Cf. Ps. Ignat. ad Trall.: ou
christianoi alla christemporoi, Ps. Ignat. ad Mag. ix., and Bp.
Lightfoot's note.
[257] Readings vary between alektos = indescribable, and alektos =
ceaseless. Cf. 'Alekto, the Fury.
[258] ?;En pote hote ouk en ho huiès tou theou. kai Gegonen
husteron ho proteron me huparchon toioutos genomenos hote kai pote
gegonen hoios kai pas pephuken anthropos
[259] Isai. i. 2 huious egennesa kai hupsosa, as in Sept. Vulg.,
filios enutrivi et exaltavi. Revd., marg., "made great and exalted."
[260] Ps. xlv. 7, as in Sept., except that adikian is substituted for
anomian
[261] Oute ex ouk onton gegenetai
[262] John i. 18
[263] John i. 3
[264] hupostasin
[265] John i. 1, 3
[266] to on, the self-existent of philosophy.
[267] The history of the word hupostasis is of crucial value in the
study of the Arian controversy. Its various usages may be classified
as (i) Classical; (ii) Scriptural; (iii) Ecclesiastical. The
correlative substantive of the verb huphistemi, I make to stand under,
[from hupo = sub. under, and histemi, [STA]; it means primarily a
standing under. Hence, materially, it means in (i) Classical Greek,
sediment, prop. foundation: substances as opposed to their reflexions,
substantial nature, as of timber [Theoph. C. P. 5. 16. 4]. So
naturally grew the signification of ground of hope, actual existence;
and, in the later philosophy, it had come to be employed instead of
ousia for the noetic substratum "underlying" the phænomena. (ii)
Scriptural. In the N.T. it is found five times, twice in 2 Cor. and
thrice in Heb. (a) 2 Cor. ix. 4, and (b) xi. 17. "Confidence" of
boasting. (g) Heb. i. 3, ho charakter tes hupostaseos, A.V. the
express image of His "person." R.V., the very image of His
"substance." (d) Heb. iii. 14, "Confidence". (e) Heb. xi. 1, A.V.
"substance" of things hoped for. R.V. Assurance of things hoped for.
(iii) Ecclesiastical. The earlier ecclesiastical use, like the later
philosophical, identified it with ousia, and so the Nicene Confession
anathematized those who maintained the Son to be of a different
substance or essence from the Father (hupostaseos e ousias). In the
version of Hilary of Poictiers (de Synodis, §84; Op. ii. 510) ousia is
translated by "substantia," the etymological equivalent of hupostasis,
except in the phrase quoted, when "substantia aut essentia" represents
ousia by its own etymological equivalent "essentia." Thus in a.d. 325
to have contended for treis hupostaseis would have been heretical. But
as the subtilty of controversy required greater nicety of phrase, it
was laid down (Basil the Great, Ep. 38) that while ousia is an
universal denoting that which is common to the individuals of a
species, hupostasis makes an individual that which it is, and
constitutes personal existence. Hence mia hupostasis became Sabellian,
and treis ousiai Arian, while treis hupostaseis was orthodox. cf
Theod. Dial. i. 7. Eranistes loq. "Is there any distinction between
ousia and hupostasis?" Orthodoxus. "In extra-Christian philosophy
there is not; for ousia signifies to on, that which is, and hupostasis
that which subsists. But according to the doctrine of the Fathers
there is the same difference between ousia and hupostasis as between
the common and the particular; the race, and the species or
individual."..."The Divine ousia (substance) means the Holy Trinity;
but the hupostasis indicates any prosopon (person) as of the Father,
the Son, or of the Holy Ghost. For we who follow the definitions of
the Fathers assert hupostasis, prosopon and idiotes (substantial
nature, person, or individuality) to mean the same thing." Vide also
Newman's Arians of the Fourth Century, Appendix, Note iv. fourth
Edition.
[268] "In the beginning was the word." John i. 1
[269] Ecclus. iii. 21
[270] 1 Cor. ii. 9
[271] Gen. xv. 5
[272] Ecclus. i. 2
[273] Isai. liii. 8
[274] Matt. xi. 27
[275] Is. xxiv. 16: "My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me." A.V.
"Secretum meum mihi." Vulg.
[276] Col. i. 15
[277] Heb. i. 2. Vide Alford. proleg. to Ep. to Heb., "Nowhere except
in the Alexandrian Church does there seem to have existed any idea
that the Epistle was St. Paul's." "At Alexandria the conventional
habit of quoting the Epistle as St. Paul's gradually prevailed over
critical suspicion and early tradition."
[278] Col. i. 16, 17
[279] chrematizo = (i) to have dealings with; (ii) to deal with an
oracle or divine power; (iii) to get a name for dealing, and so to be
called. Cf. Matt. ii. 12; Acts xi. 26
[280] Prov. viii. 30
[281] Heb. i. 3 on apaugasma tes Doxes kai charakter tes hupostaseos
autou
[282] Contrast the advance of the manhood. Luke ii. 52, "proukopte,"
the word used in the text.
[283] 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15
[284] Prov. xxx. 19
[285] 1 Cor. x. 4
[286] Rom. viii. 32
[287] Matt. iii. 17
[288] Ps. ii. 7
[289] Ps. cx. 3. Sept. ek gastros pro 'Eosphorou egennesa se
[290] The readings vary between genneseos, geneseos, and maieuseos
(cf. Plat. Theæt. 150 B), which is adopted by Valesius.
[291] Gen. vi. 2
[292] Isa. i. 2
[293] The imaginary name for the founder of Ebionism, first started by
Tertullian. N%W+¹J+B+i#¶ = poor.
[294] Artemas, or Artemon, a philosophizing denier of Christ's
divinity, excommunicated by Pope Zephyrinus (a.d. 202-21).
[295] Lucianus, the presbyter of Antioch, who became the head of the
theological school of that city in which the leaders of the Arian
heresy were trained, after the deposition of Paulus refused to hold
communion with his three successors in the patriarchate, Domnus,
Timæus, and Cyril. During the episcopate of the last named he once
more entered into communion with the church of Antioch. On the
importance of Lucianus as founder of the Arians, Vide Newman's Arians
of the Fourth Century, Chap. I. Sec. i. and cf. the letter of Arius
post. Chap. iv.
[296] Eusebius of Cæsarea, Theodotus of Laodicea, and Paulinus of
Tyre. See Arius' letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia, ch. iv.
[297] kenosis, cf. Phil. ii. 7
[298] John x. 30
[299] John xiv. 9
[300] Ps. xxxvi. 9
[301] John v. 23
[302] 1 John v. 1
[303] Condemned a.d. 261 by Council held at Alexandria.
[304] Taught in Rome in a.d. 140, and died in Cyprus in a.d. 160.
[305] Isa. liii. 8
[306] he patrike theogonia
[307] Matt. xi. 27: observe the slight variation.
[308] John xiv. 28
[309] Heb. i. 3
[310] 1 Cor. xiii. 10
[311] John xiv. 28
[312] John xvi. 33
[313] ek tes Theotokou Marias
[314] Gal. i. 9
[315] 1 Tim. vi. 3, 4
[316] 2 Tim. iii. 6
[317] Tomos. (i) a cut or slice; (ii) a portion of a roll, volume, or
"tome."
[318] Vide supra.
[319] Bp. first Beroea in Syria and then of Antioch, c. 324-331.
Beroea, the Helbon of Ezekiel (xxvii. 18) is now Aleppo or Haleb.
Chapter IV.--The Letter of Arius to Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia
"To his very dear lord, the man of God, the faithful and orthodox
Eusebius, Arius, unjustly persecuted by Alexander the Pope [320] , on
account of that all-conquering truth of which you also are a champion,
sendeth greeting in the Lord.
"Ammonius, my father, being about to depart for Nicomedia, I
considered myself bound to salute you by him, and withal to inform
that natural affection which you bear towards the brethren for the
sake of God and His Christ, that the bishop greatly wastes and
persecutes us, and leaves no stone unturned [321] against us. He has
driven us out of the city as atheists, because we do not concur in
what he publicly preaches, namely, God always, the Son always; as the
Father so the Son; the Son co-exists unbegotten with God; He is
everlasting; neither by thought nor by any interval does God precede
the Son; always God, always Son; he is begotten of the unbegotten; the
Son is of God Himself. Eusebius, your brother bishop of Cæsarea,
Theodotus, Paulinus, Athanasius, Gregorius, Aetius, and all the
bishops of the East, have been condemned because they say that God had
an existence prior to that of His Son; except Philogonius, Hellanicus,
and Macarius, who are unlearned men, and who have embraced heretical
opinions. Some of them say that the Son is an eructation, others that
He is a production, others that He is also unbegotten. These are
impieties to which we cannot listen, even though the heretics threaten
us with a thousand deaths. But we say and believe, and have taught,
and do teach, that the Son is not unbegotten, nor in any way part of
the unbegotten; and that He does not derive His subsistence from any
matter; but that by His own will and counsel He has subsisted before
time, and before ages, as perfect God, only begotten and unchangeable,
and that before He was begotten, or created, or purposed, or
established, He was not. For He was not unbegotten. We are persecuted,
because we say that the Son has a beginning, but that God is without
beginning. This is the cause of our persecution, and likewise, because
we say that He is of the non-existent [322] . And this we say, because
He is neither part of God, nor of any essential being [323] . For this
are we persecuted; the rest you know. I bid thee farewell in the Lord,
remembering our afflictions, my fellow-Lucianist [324] , and true
Eusebius [325] ."
Of those whose names are mentioned in this letter, Eusebius was bishop
of Cæsarea [326] , Theodotus of Laodicea, Paulinus of Tyre, Athanasius
of Anazarbus, Gregorius of Berytus, and Aetius of Lydda. Lydda is now
called Diospolis. Arius prided himself on having these men of one mind
with himself. He names as his adversaries, Philogonius, bishop of
Antioch, Hellanicus, of Tripolis, and Macarius, of Jerusalem. He
spread calumnies against them because they said that the Son is
eternal, existing before all ages, of equal honour and of the same
substance with the Father.
When Eusebius received the epistle, he too vomited forth his own
impiety, and wrote to Paulinus, chief [327] of the Tyrians, in the
following words.
Footnotes
[320] On the name "Pope," vide Dict. Christ. Ant., s.v. 1st, it was
applied to the teachers of converts, 2ndly, to Bishops and Abbots, and
was, 3rdly, confined to the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch,
Jerusalem, Constantinople, and to the Bp. of Rome; 4thly, it was
claimed by the Bp. of Rome exclusively.
[321] panta kalon kinei. Cf. Luc. Scyth. ii. The common proverb was
panta exienai kalon, to let out every reef. Ar. Eq. 756 Eur. Med. 278,
&c.
[322] ex ouk onton estin
[323] ex hupokeimenou tinos. Aristotle, Metaph. vi. 3, 1, defines to
hupokeimenon as that kath' hou ta alla legetai....maliota de dokei
einai ousia to hupokeimenon proton
[324] Arius and Eusebius had been fellow disciples of Lucianus the
Priest of Antioch martyred under Maximinus in a.d. 311 or 312. Vide
note on page 38.
[325] Arius plays on the name Eusebius, eusebes, pious.
[326] From the phrase "ho adelphos sou ho en Kaisarei‹," it has
been inferred by some that the two Eusebii were actually brothers.
Eusebius of Nicomedia, in the letter of Chapter V., calls the
Palestinian despotes; but this alone would not be fatal to the
brotherhood, for Seneca (Ep. Mor. 104), calls his brother Gallio
dominus. The phrase of Arius is not worth much against the silence of
every one else. Vid. Dict. Christ. Biog. Article, Eusebius. Theodotus,
bishop of Laodicea, Syria, (not the Phrygian Laodicea of the
Apocalypse), was a Physician of the body was well as of the soul
(Euseb. H.E. vii. 32). Paulinus, bishop first of Tyre, and then of
Antioch for six months, died in a.d. 329. (Philost. H.E. iii. 15, cf.
Bishop Lightfoot in Dict. Christian Biog. Article, Eusebius of
Cæsarea). Athanasius, bishop of Anazarbus, an important town of
Cilicia Campestris, is accused of dangerous Arianism by his great
namesake. (Athan. de Synod, 584.) Gregorius succeeded Eusebius of
Nicomedia at Berytus (Beyrout), on the translation of the latter to
Nicomedia. Aetius, Bishop of Lydda, (the Lydda of the Acts, on the
plain of Sharon, now Ludd, the city of El-Khudr, who is identified
with St. George), died soon after the Arian Synod of Antioch, a.d. 330
(Philost. H.E. iii. 12), and is to be distinguished from the
arch-Arian Aetius, Julian's friend, who survived till a.d. 367 (Phil.
H.E. ix. 6). Philogonius was raised to the episcopate per saltum, like
St. Ambrose (Chrysost. Orat. 71, tom. v. p. 507), he preceded the
Arian Paulinus. Hellanicus was present at Nicæa, but was driven from
the See of Tripolis, in Phoenicia, by the Arians (Athan. Hist. Ar. ad
Mon. §5). Macarius is praised by Athanasius (Orat. I. adv. Arian. p.
291). On a possible "passage of arms" between him and Eusebius of
Cæsarea at Nicæa, vide Stanley, Eastern Church, Lect. V. Cf. post,
cap. xvii.
[327] hegoumenos
Chapter V.--The Letter of Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, to Paulinus,
Bishop of Tyre.
"To my lord Paulinus, Eusebius sendeth greeting in the Lord.
"The zeal of my lord Eusebius in the cause of the truth, and likewise
your silence concerning it, have not failed to reach our ears.
Accordingly, if, on the one hand, we rejoiced on account of the zeal
of my lord Eusebius; on the other we are grieved at you, because even
the silence of such a man appears like a defeat of our cause. Hence,
as it behoves not a wise man to be of a different opinion from others,
and to be silent concerning the truth, stir up, I exhort you, within
yourself the spirit of wisdom to write, and at length begin what may
be profitable to yourself and to others, specially if you consent to
write in accordance with Scripture, and tread in the tracks of its
words and will.
"We have never heard that there are two unbegotten beings, nor that
one has been divided into two, nor have we learned or believed that it
has ever undergone any change of a corporeal nature; but we affirm
that the unbegotten is one and one also that which exists in truth by
Him, yet was not made out of His substance, and does not at all
participate in the nature or substance of the unbegotten, entirely
distinct in nature and in power, and made after perfect likeness both
of character and power to the maker. We believe that the mode of His
beginning not only cannot be expressed by words but even in thought,
and is incomprehensible not only to man, but also to all beings
superior to man. These opinions we advance not as having derived them
from our own imagination, but as having deduced them from Scripture,
whence we learn that the Son was created, established, and begotten in
the same substance and in the same immutable and inexpressible nature
as the Maker; and so the Lord says, `God created me in the beginning
of His way; I was set up from everlasting; before the hills was I
brought forth [328] .'
"If He had been from Him or of Him, as a portion of Him, or by an
emanation of His substance, it could not be said that He was created
or established; and of this you, my lord, are certainly not ignorant.
For that which is of the unbegotten could not be said to have been
created or founded, either by Him or by another, since it is
unbegotten from the beginning. But if the fact of His being called the
begotten gives any ground for the belief that, having come into being
of the Father's substance, He also has from the Father likeness of
nature, we reply that it is not of Him alone that the Scriptures have
spoken as begotten, but that they also thus speak of those who are
entirely dissimilar to Him by nature. For of men it is said, `I have
begotten and brought up sons, and they have rebelled against me [329]
;' and in another place, `Thou hast forsaken God who begat thee [330]
;' and again it is said, `Who begat the drops of dew [331] ?' This
expression does not imply that the dew partakes of the nature of God,
but simply that all things were formed according to His will. There
is, indeed, nothing which is of His substance, yet every thing which
exists has been called into being by His will. He is God; and all
things were made in His likeness, and in the future likeness of His
Word, being created of His free will. All things were made by His
means by God. All things are of God.
"When you have received my letter, and have revised it according to
the knowledge and grace given you by God, I beg you will write as soon
as possible to my lord Alexander. I feel confident that if you would
write to him, you would succeed in bringing him over to your opinion.
Salute all the brethren in the Lord. May you, my lord, be preserved by
the grace of God, and be led to pray for us."
It is thus that they wrote to each other, in order to furnish one
another with weapons against the truth [332] . And so when the
blasphemous doctrine had been disseminated in the churches of Egypt
and of the East, disputes and contentions arose in every city, and in
every village, concerning theological dogmas. The common people looked
on, and became judges of what was said on either side, and some
applauded one party, and some the other. These were, indeed, scenes
fit for the tragic stage, over which tears might have been shed. For
it was not, as in bygone days, when the church was attacked by
strangers and by enemies, but now natives of the same country, who
dwelt under one roof, and sat down at one table, fought against each
other not with spears, but with their tongues. And what was still more
sad, they who thus took up arms against one another were members of
one another, and belonged to one body.
Footnotes
[328] Prov. viii. 22-26 Sept.
[329] Isa. i. 2
[330] Deut. xxxii. 18
[331] Job xxxviii. 28
[332] Arius first published his heresy, a.d. 319.
Chapter VI.--General Council of Nicæa.
The emperor, who possessed the most profound wisdom, having heard of
these things, endeavoured, as a first step, to stop up their
fountain-head. He therefore despatched a messenger renowned for his
ready wit to Alexandria with letters, in the endeavour to extinguish
the dispute, and expecting to reconcile the disputants. But his hopes
having been frustrated, he proceeded to summon the celebrated council
of Nicæa [333] ; and pledged his word that the bishops and their
officials should be furnished with asses, mules, and horses for their
journey at the public expense. When all those who were capable of
enduring the fatigue of the journey had arrived at Nicæa, he went
thither himself, with both the wish of seeing the multitude of
bishops, and the yearning desire of maintaining unanimity amongst
them. He at once arranged that all their wants should be liberally
supplied. Three hundred and eighteen bishops were assembled. The
bishop of Rome [334] , on account of his very advanced age, was
absent, but he sent two presbyters [335] to the council, with
authority to agree to what was done.
At this period many individuals were richly endowed with apostolical
gifts; and many, like the holy apostle, bore in their bodies the marks
of the Lord Jesus Christ [336] . James, bishop of Antioch, a city of
Mygdonia, which is called Nisibis by the Syrians and Assyrians, raised
the dead and restored them to life, and performed many other wonders
which it would be superfluous to mention again in detail in this
history, as I have already given an account of them in my work,
entitled "Philotheus [337] ." Paul, bishop of Neo-Cæsarea, a fortress
situated on the banks of the Euphrates, had suffered from the frantic
rage of Licinius. He had been deprived of the use of both hands by the
application of a red-hot iron, by which the nerves which give motion
to the muscles had been contracted and rendered dead. Some had had the
right eye dug out, others had lost the right arm. Among these was
Paphnutius of Egypt. In short, the Council looked like an assembled
army of martyrs. Yet this holy and celebrated gathering was not
entirely free from the element of opposition; for there were some,
though so few as easily to be reckoned, of fair surface, like
dangerous shallows, who really, though not openly, supported the
blasphemy of Arius.
When they were all assembled [338] , the emperor ordered a great hall
to be prepared for their accommodation in the palace, in which a
sufficient number of benches and seats were placed; and having thus
arranged that they should be treated with becoming dignity, he desired
the bishops to enter in, and discuss the subjects proposed. The
emperor, with a few attendants, was the last to enter the room;
remarkable for his lofty stature, and worthy of admiration for
personal beauty, and for the still more marvellous modesty which dwelt
on his countenance. A low stool was placed for him in the middle of
the assembly, upon which, however, he did not seat himself until he
had asked the permission of the bishops. Then all the sacred assembly
sat down around him. Then forthwith rose first the great Eustathius,
bishop of Antioch, who, upon the translation of Philogonius, already
referred to, to a better life, had been compelled reluctantly to
become his successor by the unanimous suffrages of the bishops,
priests, and of the Christ-loving laity. He crowned the emperor's head
with the flowers of panegyric, and commended the diligent attention he
had manifested in the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs.
The excellent emperor next exhorted the Bishops to unanimity and
concord; he recalled to their remembrance the cruelty of the late
tyrants, and reminded them of the honourable peace which God had, in
his reign and by his means, accorded them. He pointed out how dreadful
it was, aye, very dreadful, that at the very time when their enemies
were destroyed, and when no one dared to oppose them, they should fall
upon one another, and make their amused adversaries laugh, especially
as they were debating about holy things, concerning which they had the
written teaching of the Holy Spirit. "For the gospels" (continued he),
"the apostolical writings, and the oracles of the ancient prophets,
clearly teach us what we ought to believe concerning the divine
nature. Let, then, all contentious disputation be discarded; and let
us seek in the divinely-inspired word the solution of the questions at
issue." These and similar exhortations he, like an affectionate son,
addressed to the bishops as to fathers, labouring to bring about their
unanimity in the apostolical doctrines. Most members of the synod, won
over by his arguments, established concord among themselves, and
embraced sound doctrine. There were, however, a few, of whom mention
has been already made, who opposed these doctrines, and sided with
Arius; and amongst them were Menophantus, bishop of Ephesus,
Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis, Theognis, bishop of Nicæa, and
Narcissus, bishop of Neronias, which is a town of the second Cilicia,
and is now called Irenopolis; also Theonas, bishop of Marmarica, and
Secundus, bishop of Ptolemais in Egypt [339] . They drew up a
formulary of their faith, and presented it to the council. As soon as
it was read it was torn to pieces, and was declared to be spurious and
false. So great was the uproar raised against them, and so many were
the reproaches cast on them for having betrayed religion, that they
all, with the exception of Secundus and Theonas, stood up and took the
lead in publicly renouncing Arius. This impious man, having thus been
expelled from the Church, a confession of faith which is received to
this day was drawn up by unanimous consent; and, as soon as it was
signed, the council was dissolved.
Footnotes
[333] Originally named Antigonea, after its founder; then Nicæa after
the Queen of Lysimachus; now Isnik.
[334] Sylvester.
[335] Vitus and Vincentius.
[336] Cf. Gal. vi. 17. The "stigmata" here meant are the marks of
persecution.
[337] i.e. The Philotheos historia, "Religious History," a work
containing the lives of celebrated ascetics, composed before the
Ecclesiastical History. For Dr. Newman's explanation of its apparent
credulity, Vide Hist. Sketches, iii. 314, and compare his Apologia pro
Vita sua, on his own acceptance of the marvellous, Appendix, p. 57.
[338] On the circumstances and scene of the opening of the Council
consult Stanley's Eastern Church, Lecture IV.
[339] Menophantus was one of the disciples of Lucianus (Philos. H.E.
ii. 14). He accepted the Nicene decision, but was excommunicated by
the Sardican Fathers. Cf. Book II. Chap. 6. Patrophilus, bishop of
Scythopolis, the Bethshan of Scripture, was an ardent and persistent
Arian. Theodoret mentions his share in the deposition of Eustathius
(I. 20). Theognis was sentenced to banishment on account of the Arian
sympathies he displayed at Nicæa, but escaped by a feigned acceptance.
Narcissus of Irenopolis, a town of Cilicia Secunda, took an active
part in the Arian movement: Athanasius says that he was thrice
degraded by different synods, and is the worst of the Eusebians (Ath.
Ap. de fuga, sec. 28). Marmarica is not a town, but a district. It lay
west of Egypt, about the modern Barca. There were two cities in Egypt
named Ptolemais, one in Upper Egypt below Abydos; one a port of the
Red Sea. After the time of Constantine, Cilicia was divided into three
districts; Cilicia Prima, with Tarsus for chief town; Secunda, with
Anazarbus; Tertia, with Seleuceia.
Chapter VII.--Confutation of Arianism deduced from the Writings of
Eustathius and Athanasius.
The above-named bishops, however, did not consent to it in sincerity,
but only in appearance. This was afterwards shewn by their plotting
against those who were foremost in zeal for religion, as well as by
what these latter have written about them. For instance, Eustathius,
the famous bishop of Antioch, who has been already mentioned, when
explaining the text in the Proverbs, `The Lord created me in the
beginning of His way, before His works of old [340] ,' wrote against
them, and refuted their blasphemy.
[341] "I will now proceed to relate how these different events
occurred. A general council was summoned at Nicæa, and about two
hundred and seventy bishops were convened. There were, however, so
many assembled that I cannot state their exact number, neither,
indeed, have I taken any great trouble to ascertain this point. When
they began to inquire into the nature of the faith, the formulary of
Eusebius was brought forward, which contained undisguised evidence of
his blasphemy. The reading of it before all occasioned great grief to
the audience, on account of its departure from the faith, while it
inflicted irremediable shame on the writer. After the Eusebian gang
had been clearly convicted, and the impious writing had been torn up
in the sight of all, some amongst them by concert, under the pretence
of preserving peace, imposed silence on all the ablest speakers. The
Ariomaniacs, fearing lest they should be ejected from the Church by so
numerous a council of bishops, sprang forward to anathematize and
condemn the doctrines condemned, and unanimously signed the confession
of faith. Thus having retained possession of their episcopal seats
through the most shameful deception, although they ought rather to
have been degraded, they continue, sometimes secretly, and sometimes
openly, to patronize the condemned doctrines, plotting against the
truth by various arguments. Wholly bent upon establishing these
plantations of tares, they shrink from the scrutiny of the
intelligent, avoid the observant, and attack the preachers of
godliness. But we do not believe that these atheists can ever thus
overcome the Deity. For though they `gird themselves' they `shall be
broken in pieces,' according to the solemn prophecy of Isaiah [342] ."
These are the words of the great Eustathius. Athanasius, his fellow
combatant, the champion of the truth, who succeeded the celebrated
Alexander in the episcopate, added the following, in a letter
addressed to the Africans.
"The bishops convened in council being desirous of refuting the
impious assertions invented by the Arians, that the Son was created
out of that which was non-existent [343] , that He is a creature and
created being [344] , that there was a period in which He was not
[345] , and that He is mutable by nature, and being all agreed in
propounding the following declarations, which are in accordance with
the holy Scriptures; namely, that the Son is by nature only-begotten
of God, Word, Power, and sole Wisdom of the Father; that He is, as
John said, `the true God [346] ,' and, as Paul has written, `the
brightness of the glory, and the express image of the person of the
Father [347] ,' the followers of Eusebius, drawn aside by their own
vile doctrine, then began to say one to another, Let us agree, for we
are also of God; `There is but one God, by whom are all things [348] ;
`Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new, and
all things are of God [349] .' They also dwelt particularly upon what
is contained in `The Shepherd [350] :' `Believe above all that there
is one God, who created and fashioned all things, and making them to
be out of that which is not.'
"But the bishops saw through their evil design and impious artifice,
and gave a clearer elucidation of the words `of God,' and wrote, that
the Son is of the substance of God; in order that while the creatures,
which do not in any way derive their existence of or from themselves,
are said to be of God, the Son alone is said to be of the substance of
the Father; this being peculiar to the only-begotten Son, the true
Word of the Father. This is the reason why the bishops wrote, that He
is of the substance of the Father.
"But when the Arians, who seemed few in number, were again
interrogated by the Bishops as to whether they admitted `that the Son
is not a creature, but Power, and sole Wisdom, and eternal
unchangeable [351] Image of the Father; and that He is very God,' the
Eusebians were noticed making signs to one another to shew that these
declarations were equally applicable to us. For it is said, that we
are `the image and glory of God [352] ;' and `for always we who live
[353] :' there are, also, they said, many powers; for it is
written--`All the power of God went out of the land of Egypt [354] .'
The canker-worm and the locust are said to be `a great power [355] .'
And elsewhere it is written, The God of powers is with us, the God of
Jacob helper [356] .' To which may be added that we are God's own not
simply, but because the Son called us `brethren [357] .' The
declaration that Christ is `the true God' does not distress us, for,
having come into being, He is true.
"Such was the corrupt opinion of the Arians; but on this the bishops,
having detected their deceitfulness in this matter, collected from
Scripture those passages which say of Christ that He is the glory, the
fountain, the stream, and the express image of the person; and they
quoted the following words: `In thy light we shall see light [358] ;'
and likewise, `I and the Father are one [359] .' They then, with still
greater clearness, briefly declared that the Son is of one substance
with the Father; for this, indeed, is the signification of the
passages which have been quoted. The complaint of the Arians, that
these precise words are not to be found in Scripture, is proved
groundless by their own practice, for their own impious assertions are
not taken from Scripture; for it is not written that the Son is of the
non-existent, and that there was a time when He was not: and yet they
complain of having been condemned by expressions which, though not
actually in Scripture, are in accordance with true religion. They
themselves, on the other hand, as though they had found their words on
a dunghill, uttered things verily of earth. The bishops, on the
contrary, did not find their expressions for themselves; but, received
their testimony from the fathers, and wrote accordingly. Indeed, there
were bishops of old time, nearly one hundred and thirty years ago,
both of the great city of Rome and of our own city [360] , who
condemned those who asserted that the Son is a creature, and that He
is not of one substance with the Father. Eusebius, the bishop of
Cæsarea, was acquainted with these facts; he, at one time, favoured
the Arian heresy, but he afterwards signed the confession of faith of
the Council of Nicæa. He wrote to the people of his diocese,
maintaining that the word `consubstantial' was `used by illustrious
bishops and learned writers as a term for expressing the divinity of
the Father and of the Son [361] .'"
So these men concealed their unsoundness through fear of the majority,
and gave their assent to the decisions of the council, thus drawing
upon themselves the condemnation of the prophet, for the God of all
cries unto them, "This people honour Me with their lips, but in their
hearts they are far from Me [362] ." Theonas and Secundus, however,
did not like to take this course, and were excommunicated by common
consent as men who esteemed the Arian blasphemy above evangelical
doctrine. The bishops then returned to the council, and drew up twenty
laws to regulate the discipline of the Church.
Footnotes
[340] Prov. viii. 22, lxx. Kurios ektise me archen hodon autou eis
erga autou
[341] At this point, according to Valesius, a quotation from the
homily of Eustathius on the above text from Proverbs viii. 22, begins.
On Eustathius, see notes on Chapters III. and XX.
[342] Is. viii. 9, lxx. ean gar palin ischusete palin hettethesesthe
[343] 'Ex ouk onton
[344] Ktisma kai poiema
[345] Pote hote ouk en
[346] 1 Joh. v. 20
[347] Heb. i. 3. Cf. p. 37, note xxvii.
[348] 2 Cor. viii. 6
[349] 2 Cor. v. 17, 18
[350] Herm. Pastor. Vis. v. Mand. i.
[351] aparallaktos, cf. James i. 17, Par' o ouk eni parallage
[352] 1 Cor. xi. 7
[353] 2 Cor. iv. 11 aei gar hemeis hoi zontes. The aei of St. Paul
qualifies not "hoi zontes" but the paradidometha which follows, "For
we who live are ever being delivered to death."
[354] Exod. xii. 41, "The Hosts of the Lord," A.V. exelthe pasa he
dunamis Kuriou, Sept.
[355] Joel ii. 25, "My great army," A.V.
[356] "The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge,"
Ps. xlvi. 7
[357] Heb. ii. 11
[358] Ps. xxvi. 9
[359] Joh. x. 30
[360] Alexandria. The allusion, according to Valesius, is to
Dionysius, Bishop of Rome, 259-269, and to Dionysius, Bishop of
Alexandria. The Letter of Athanasius to the Africans was written,
according to Baronius, in 369. So trion may suit the chronology better
than triakonta
[361] Ath. Ep. ad Afros 5 and 6.
[362] Isai. xxix. 13
Chapter VIII.--Facts relating to Meletius the Egyptian, from whom
originated the Meletian Schism, which remains to this day.--Synodical
Epistle respecting him.
After Meletius [363] had been ordained bishop, which was not long
before the Arian controversy, he was convicted of certain crimes by
the most holy Peter, bishop of Alexandria, who also received the crown
of martyrdom. After being deposed by Peter he did not acquiesce in his
deposition, but filled the Thebaid and the adjacent part of Egypt with
tumult and disturbance, and rebelled against the primacy of
Alexandria. A letter was written by the council to the Church of
Alexandria, stating what had been decreed against his revolutionary
practices. It was as follows:--
Synodical Epistle.
"To the Church of Alexandria which, by the grace of God, is great and
holy, and to the beloved brethren in Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis, the
bishops who have been convened to the great and holy council of Nicæa,
send greeting in the Lord.
"The great and holy council of Nicæa having been convened by the grace
of God, and by the most religious emperor, Constantine, who summoned
us from different provinces and cities, we judge it requisite that a
letter be sent from the whole Holy Synod to inform you also what
questions have been mooted and debated, and what has been decreed and
established.
"In the first place, the impious doctrines of Arius were investigated
before our most religious emperor Constantine; and his impiety was
unanimously anathematized, as well as the blasphemous language and
views which he had propounded, alleging that the Son of God was out of
what was not, that before He was begotten He was not, that there was a
period in which He was not, and that He can, according to His own
freewill, be capable either of virtue or of vice. The holy council
anathematized all these assertions, and even refused so much as to
listen to such impious and foolish opinions, and such blasphemous
expressions. The final decision concerning him you already know, or
will soon hear; but we will not mention it now, lest we should appear
to trample upon a man who has already received the recompense due to
his sins. Such influence has his impiety obtained as to involve
Theonas, bishop of Marmarica, and Secundus, bishop of Ptolemais, in
his ruin, and they have shared his punishment.
"But after Egypt had, by the grace of God, been delivered from these
false and blasphemous opinions, and from persons who dared to raise
discord and division among a hitherto peaceable people, there yet
remained the question of the temerity of Meletius, and of those
ordained by him. We now inform you, beloved brethren, of the decrees
of the council on this subject. It was decided by the holy council,
that Meletius should be treated with clemency, though, strictly
speaking, he was not worthy of even the least concession. He was
permitted to remain in his own city, but was divested of all power,
whether of nomination or of ordination, neither was he to shew himself
in any province or city for these purposes: but only to retain the
bare name of his office. Those who had received ordination at his
hands were to submit to a more religious re-ordination; and were to be
admitted to communion on the terms of retaining their ministry, but of
ranking in every diocese and church below those who had been ordained
before them by Alexander, our much-honoured fellow-minister. Thus they
would have no power of choosing or nominating others to the ministry,
according to their pleasure, or indeed of doing anything with out the
consent of the bishops of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, who are
under Alexander. But they who, by the grace of God, and in answer to
your prayers, have been detected in no schism, and have continued
spotless in the Catholic and Apostolic Church, are to have the power
of electing, and of nominating men worthy of the clerical office, and
are permitted to do whatsoever is in accordance with law and the
authority of the Church. If it should happen, that any of those now
holding an office in the Church should die, then let these recently
admitted be advanced to the honours of the deceased, provided only
that they appear worthy, and that the people choose them, and that the
election be confirmed and ratified by the catholic bishop of
Alexandria. The same privilege has been conceded to all the others.
With respect to Meletius, however, an exception has been made, both on
account of his former insubordination, and of the rashness and
impetuosity of his disposition; for if the least authority were
accorded to him, he might abuse it by again exciting confusion. These
are the chief points which relate to Egypt, and to the holy Church of
Alexandria. Whatever other canons were made, or dogmas decreed, you
will hear of them from Alexander, our most-honoured fellow-minister
and brother, who will give you still more accurate information,
because he himself directed, as well as participated in, every thing
that took place.
"We also give you the good news that, according to your prayers, the
celebration of the most holy paschal feast was unanimously rectified,
so that our brethren of the East, who did not previously keep the
festival at the same time as those of Rome, and as yourselves, and,
indeed, all have done from the beginning, will henceforth celebrate it
with you. Rejoice, then, in the success of our undertakings, and in
the general peace and concord, and in the extirpation of every heresy,
and receive with still greater honour and more fervent love,
Alexander, our fellow-minister and your bishop, who imparted joy to us
by his presence, and who, at a very advanced age, has undergone so
much fatigue for the purpose of restoring peace among you. Pray for us
all, that what has been rightly decreed may remain steadfast, through
our Lord Jesus Christ, being done, as we trust, according to the good
pleasure of God and the Father in the Holy Ghost, to whom be glory for
ever and ever. Amen."
Notwithstanding the endeavours of that divine assembly of bishops to
apply this medicine to the Meletian disease, vestiges of his
infatuation remain even to this day; for there are in some districts
bodies of monks who refuse to follow sound doctrine, and observe
certain vain points of discipline, agreeing with the infatuated views
of the Jews and the Samaritans.
Footnotes
[363] Meletius (Meletios), Bishop of Lycopolis, in Upper Egypt, was
accused of apostasy. During the Patriarch Peter's withdrawal under
persecution he intruded into the see of Alexandria. He was deposed in
306.
Chapter IX.--The Epistle of the Emperor Constantine, concerning the
matters transacted at the Council, addressed to those Bishops who were
not present.
The great emperor also wrote an account of the transactions of the
council to those bishops who were unable to attend. And I consider it
worth while to insert this epistle in my work, as it clearly evidences
the piety of the writer.
"Constantinus Augustus to the Churches.
"Viewing the common public prosperity enjoyed at this moment, as the
result of the great power of divine grace, I am desirous above all
things that the blessed members of the Catholic Church should be
preserved in one faith, in sincere love, and in one form of religion,
towards Almighty God. But, since no firmer or more effective measure
could be adopted to secure this end, than that of submitting
everything relating to our most holy religion to the examination of
all, or most of all, the bishops, I convened as many of them as
possible, and took my seat among them as one of yourselves; for I
would not deny that truth which is the source of my greatest joy,
namely, that I am your fellow-servant. Every point obtained its due
investigation, until the doctrine pleasing to the all-seeing God, and
conducive to unity, was made clear, so that no room should remain for
division or controversy concerning the faith.
"The commemoration of the most sacred paschal feast being then
debated, it was unanimously decided, that it would be well that it
should be everywhere celebrated upon the same day. What can be more
fair, or more seemly, than that that festival by which we have
received the hope of immortality should be carefully celebrated by
all, on plain grounds, with the same order and exactitude? It was, in
the first place, declared improper to follow the custom of the Jews in
the celebration of this holy festival, because, their hands having
been stained with crime, the minds of these wretched men are
necessarily blinded. By rejecting their custom, we establish and hand
down to succeeding ages one which is more reasonable, and which has
been observed ever since the day of our Lord's sufferings. Let us,
then, have nothing in common with the Jews, who are our adversaries.
For we have received from our Saviour another way. A better and more
lawful line of conduct is inculcated by our holy religion. Let us with
one accord walk therein, my much-honoured brethren, studiously
avoiding all contact with that evil way. They boast that without their
instructions we should be unable to commemorate the festival properly.
This is the highest pitch of absurdity. For how can they entertain
right views on any point who, after having compassed the death of the
Lord, being out of their minds, are guided not by sound reason, but by
an unrestrained passion, wherever their innate madness carries them.
Hence it follows that they have so far lost sight of truth, wandering
as far as possible from the correct revisal, that they celebrate a
second Passover in the same year. What motive can we have for
following those who are thus confessedly unsound and in dire error?
For we could never tolerate celebrating the Passover twice in one
year. But even if all these facts did not exist, your own sagacity
would prompt you to watch with diligence and with prayer, lest your
pure minds should appear to share in the customs of a people so
utterly depraved. It must also be borne in mind, that upon so
important a point as the celebration of a feast of such sanctity,
discord is wrong. One day has our Saviour set apart for a
commemoration of our deliverance, namely, of His most holy Passion.
One hath He wished His Catholic Church to be, whereof the members,
though dispersed throughout the most various parts of the world, are
yet nourished by one spirit, that is, by the divine will. Let your
pious sagacity reflect how evil and improper it is, that days devoted
by some to fasting, should be spent by others in convivial feasting;
and that after the paschal feast, some are rejoicing in festivals and
relaxations, while others give themselves up to the appointed fasts.
That this impropriety should be rectified, and that all these
diversities of commemoration should be resolved into one form, is the
will of divine Providence, as I am convinced you will all perceive.
Therefore, this irregularity must be corrected, in order that we may
no more have any thing in common with those parricides and the
murderers of our Lord. An orderly and excellent form of commemoration
is observed in all the churches of the western, of the southern, and
of the northern parts of the world, and by some of the eastern; this
form being universally commended, I engaged that you would be ready to
adopt it likewise, and thus gladly accept the rule unanimously adopted
in the city of Rome, throughout Italy, in all Africa, in Egypt, the
Spains, the Gauls, the Britains, Libya, Greece, in the dioceses of
Asia, and of Pontus, and in Cilicia, taking into your consideration
not only that the churches of the places above-mentioned are greater
in point of number, but also that it is most pious that all should
unanimously agree in that course which accurate reasoning seems to
demand, and which has no single point in common with the perjury of
the Jews.
"Briefly to summarize the whole of the preceding, the judgment of all
is, that the holy Paschal feast should be held on one and the same
day; for, in so holy a matter, it is not becoming that any difference
of custom should exist, and it is better to follow the opinion which
has not the least association with error and sin. This being the case,
receive with gladness the heavenly gift and the plainly divine
command; for all that is transacted in the holy councils of the
bishops is to be referred to the Divine will. Therefore, when you have
made known to all our beloved brethren the subject of this epistle,
regard yourselves bound to accept what has gone before, and to arrange
for the regular observance of this holy day, so that when, according
to my long-cherished desire, I shall see you face to face, I may be
able to celebrate with you this holy festival upon one and the same
day; and may rejoice with you all in witnessing the cruelty of the
devil destroyed by our efforts, through Divine grace, while our faith
and peace and concord flourish throughout the world. May God preserve
you, beloved brethren."
Chapter X.--The daily wants of the Church supplied by the Emperor, and
an account of his other virtues.
Thus did the emperor write to the absent. To those who attended the
council, three hundred and eighteen in number, he manifested great
kindness, addressing them with much gentleness, and presenting them
with gifts. He ordered numerous couches to be prepared for their
accommodation and entertained them all at one banquet. Those who were
most worthy he received at his own table, distributing the rest at the
others. Observing that some among them had had the right eye torn out,
and learning that this mutilation had been undergone for the sake of
religion, he placed his lips upon the wounds, believing that he would
extract a blessing from the kiss. After the conclusion of the feast,
he again presented other gifts to them. He then wrote to the governors
of the provinces, directing that provision-money should be given in
every city to virgins and widows, and to those who were consecrated to
the divine service; and he measured the amount of their annual
allowance more by the impulse of his own generosity than by their
need. The third part of the sum is distributed to this day. Julian
impiously withheld the whole. His successor [364] conferred the sum
which is now dispensed, the famine which then prevailed having
lessened the resources of the state. If the pensions were formerly
triple in amount to what they are at present, the generosity of the
emperor can by this fact be easily seen.
I do not account it right to pass over the following circumstance in
silence. Some quarrelsome individuals wrote accusations against
certain bishops, and presented their indictments to the emperor. This
occurring before the establishment of concord, he received the lists,
formed them into a packet which he sealed with his ring, and ordered
them to be kept safely. After the reconciliation had been effected, he
brought out these writings, and burnt them in their presence, at the
same time declaring upon oath that he had not read a word of them. He
said that the crimes of priests ought not to be made known to the
multitude, lest they should become an occasion of offence, and lead
them to sin without fear. It is reported also that he added that if he
were to detect a bishop in the very act of committing adultery, he
would throw his imperial robe over the unlawful deed, lest any should
witness the scene, and be thereby injured. Thus did he admonish all
the priests, as well as confer honours upon them, and then exhorted
them to return each to his own flock.
Footnotes
[364] Jovian.
Chapter XI
I shall here insert the letter respecting the faith, written by
Eusebius, bishop of Cæsarea, as it describes the effrontery of the
Arians, who not only despise our fathers, but reject their own: it
contains a convincing proof of their madness. They certainly honour
Eusebius, because he adopted their sentiments, but yet they openly
contradict his writings. He wrote this epistle to some of the Arians,
who were accusing him, it seems, of treachery. The letter itself
explains the writer's object.
Epistle of Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea, which he wrote from Nicæa when
the great Council was assembled.
"You will have probably learnt from other sources what was decided
respecting the faith of the church at the general council of Nicæa,
for the fame of great transactions generally outruns the accurate
account of them: but lest rumours not in strict accordance with the
truth should reach you, I think it necessary to send to you, first,
the formulary of faith originally proposed by us, and, next, the
second, published with additions made to our terms. The following is
our formulary, which was read in the presence of our most pious
emperor, and declared to be couched in right and proper language.
The Faith put forth by us.
"`As in our first catechetical instruction, and at the time of our
baptism, we received from the bishops who were before us and as we
have learnt from the Holy Scriptures, and, alike as presbyters, and as
bishops, were wont to believe and teach; so we now believe and thus
declare our faith. It is as follows:--
"`We believe in one God, Father Almighty, the Maker of all things,
visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God,
God of God, Light of Light, Life of Life, Only-begotten Son,
First-born of every creature, begotten of the Father before all
worlds; by Whom all things were made; Who for our salvation was
incarnate, and lived among men [365] . He suffered and rose again the
third day, and ascended to the Father; and He will come again in glory
to judge the quick and the dead. We also believe in one Holy Ghost.
"`We believe in the being and continual existence of each of these;
that the Father is in truth the Father; the Son in truth the Son; the
Holy Ghost in truth the Holy Ghost; as our Lord, when sending out His
disciples to preach the Gospel, said, `Go forth and teach all nations,
baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost [366] .' We positively affirm that we hold this faith, that
we have always held it, and that we adhere to it even unto death,
condemning all ungodly heresy. We testify, as before God the Almighty
and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we have thought thus from the heart,
and from the soul, ever since we have known ourselves; and we have the
means of showing, and, indeed, of convincing you, that we have always
during the past thus believed and preached.'
"When this formulary had been set forth by us, there was no room to
gainsay it; but our beloved emperor himself was the first to testify
that it was most orthodox, and that he coincided in opinion with it;
and he exhorted the others to sign it, and to receive all the doctrine
it contained, with the single addition of the one
word--`consubstantial.' He explained that this term implied no bodily
condition or change [367] , for that the Son did not derive His
existence from the Father either by means of division or of
abscission, since an immaterial, intellectual, and incorporeal nature
could not be subject to any bodily condition or change [368] . These
things must be understood as bearing a divine and mysterious
signification. Thus reasoned our wisest and most religious emperor.
The addition of the word consubstantial has given occasion for the
composition of the following formulary:--
The Creed published by 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; only-begotten, that is, of the substance of the Father,
God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God, begotten not made,
being of one substance with the Father: by Whom all things were made
both in heaven and on earth: Who for us men, and for our salvation,
came down from heaven, and was incarnate, and was made man; He
suffered, and rose gain the third day; He ascended into heaven, and is
coming to judge both quick and dead. And we believe in the Holy Ghost.
The holy Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes all who say that
there was a time when the Son of God was not; that before He was
begotten He was not; that He was made out of the non-existent; or that
He is of a different essence and of a different substance [369] from
the Father; and that He is susceptible of variation or change.'
"When they had set forth this formulary, we did not leave without
examination that passage in which it is said that the Son is of the
substance of the Father, and consubstantial with the Father. Questions
and arguments thence arose, and the meaning of the terms was exactly
tested. Accordingly they were led to confess that the word
consubstantial signifies that the Son is of the Father, but not as
being a part of the Father. We deemed it right to receive this
opinion; for that is sound doctrine which teaches that the Son is of
the Father, but not part of His substance. From the love of peace, and
lest we should fall from the true belief, we also accept this view,
neither do we reject the term `consubstantial.' For the same reason we
admitted the expression, `begotten, but not made;' for they alleged
that the word `made' applies generally to all things which were
created by the Son, to which the Son is in no respect similar; and
that consequently He is not a created thing, like the things made by
Him, but is of a substance superior to all created objects. The Holy
Scriptures teach Him to be begotten of the Father, by a mode of
generation which is incomprehensible and inexplicable to all created
beings. So also the term `of one substance with the Father,' when
investigated, was accepted not in accordance with bodily relations or
similarity to mortal beings. For it was also shown that it does not
either imply division of substance, nor abscission, nor any
modification or change or diminution in the power of the Father, all
of which are alien from the nature of the unbegotten Father. It was
concluded that the expression `being of one substance with the
Father,' implies that the Son of God does not resemble, in any one
respect, the creatures which He has made; but that to the Father
alone, who begat Him, He is in all points perfectly like: for He is of
the essence and of the substance [370] of none save of the Father.
This interpretation having been given of the doctrine, it appeared
right to us to assent to it, especially as we were aware that of the
ancients some learned and celebrated bishops and writers have used the
term `consubstantial' with respect to the divinity of the Father and
of the Son.
"These are the circumstances which I had to communicate respecting the
published formulary of the faith. To it we all agreed, not without
investigation, but, after having subjected the views submitted to us
to thorough examination in the presence of our most beloved emperor,
for the above reasons we all acquiesced in it. We also allowed that
the anathema appended by them to their formulary of faith should be
accepted, because it prohibits the use of words which are not
scriptural; through which almost all the disorder and troubles of the
Church have arisen. And since no passage of the inspired Scripture
uses the terms `out of the non-existent,' or that `there was a time
when He was not,' nor indeed any of the other phrases of the same
class, it did not appear reasonable to assert or to teach such things.
In this opinion, therefore, we judged it right to agree; since,
indeed, we had never, at any former period, been accustomed to use
such terms [371] . Moreover, the condemnation of the assertion that
before He was begotten He was not, did not appear to involve any
incongruity, because all assent to the fact that He was the Son of God
before He was begotten according to the flesh. And here our emperor,
most beloved by God, began to reason concerning His divine origin, and
His existence before all ages. He was virtually in the Father without
generation [372] , even before He was actually begotten, the Father
having always been the Father, just as He has always been a King and a
Saviour, and, virtually, all things, and has never known any change of
being or action.
"We have thought it requisite, beloved brethren, to transmit you an
account of these circumstances, in order to show you what examination
and investigation we bestowed on all the questions which we had to
decide; and also to prove how at one time we resisted firmly, even to
the last hour, when doctrines improperly expressed offended us, and,
at another time, we, without contention, accepted the articles which
contained nothing objectionable, when after a thorough and candid
investigation of their signification, they appeared perfectly
conformable with what had been confessed by us in the formulary of
faith which we had published."
Footnotes
[365] "politeusamenon." Cf. Phil. i. 27, and iii. 20, and Acts xxiii.
1
[366] Matt. xxviii. 19
[367] pathe, pathos
[368] pathe, pathos
[369] hupostaseos and ousias
[370] hupostaseos and ousias
[371] The genuineness of the following sentence is doubted. It is not
found in Socrates or in Epiphanius. But it is not unreasonably held by
Valesius that Socrates, who seems to have undertaken to clear the
character of Eusebius of all heretical taint, purposely suppressed the
passage as inconsistent with orthodoxy. Soc. i. 8. Dr. Newman writes
of this passage, "It is remarkable as shewing his (Constantine's)
utter ignorance of doctrines which were never intended for discussion
among the unbaptized heathen, or the secularized Christian, that, in
spite of bold avowal of the orthodox faith in detail" (i.e. in his
letter to Arius), "yet shortly after he explained to Eusebius one of
the Nicene declarations in a sense which even Arius would scarcely
have allowed, expressed as it is almost after the manner of Paulus.
"Arians," 3rd ed., p. 256.
[372] Here it has been proposed to read for agennetos, without
generation, which does not admit of an orthodox interpretation,
aeigennetos, i.e. by eternal generation.
Chapter XII.--Confutation of the blasphemies of the Arians of our
time, from the writings of Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea.
Eusebius clearly testifies that the aforesaid term "consubstantial" is
not a new one, nor the invention of the fathers assembled at the
council; but that, from the very first [373] it has been handed down
from father to son. He states that all those then assembled
unanimously received the creed then published; and he again bears
testimony to the same fact in another work, in which he highly extols
the conduct of the great Constantine. He writes as follows [374] :--
"The emperor having delivered this discourse in Latin, it was
translated into Greek by an interpreter, and then he gave liberty of
speech to the leaders of the council. Some at once began to bring
forward complaints against their neighbours, while others had recourse
to recriminations and reproaches. Each party had much to urge, and at
the beginning the debate waxed very violent. The emperor patiently and
attentively listened to all that was advanced, and gave full attention
to what was urged by each party in turn. He calmly endeavoured to
reconcile the conflicting parties; addressing them mildly in Greek, of
which language he was not ignorant, in a sweet and gentle manner. Some
he convinced by argument, others he put to the blush; he commended
those who had spoken well, and excited all to unanimity; until, at
length, he reduced them all to oneness of mind and opinion on all the
disputed points, so that they all agreed to hold the same faith, and
to celebrate the festival of Salvation upon the same day. What had
been decided was committed to writing, and was signed by all the
bishops."
Soon after the author thus continues the narrative:--
"When matters had been thus arranged, the emperor gave them permission
to return to their own dioceses. They returned with great joy, and
have ever since continued to be of the one opinion, agreed upon in the
presence of the emperor, and, though once widely separated, now united
together, as it were, in one body. Constantine, rejoicing in the
success of his efforts, made known these happy results by letter to
those who were at a distance. He ordered large sums of money to be
liberally distributed both among the inhabitants of the country and of
the cities, in order that the twentieth anniversary of his reign might
be celebrated with public festivities."
Although the Arians impiously gainsay the statements of the other
fathers, yet they ought to believe what has been written by this
father, whom they have been accustomed to admire. They ought,
therefore, to receive his testimony to the unanimity with which the
confession of faith was signed by all. But, since they impugn the
opinions of their own leaders, they ought to become acquainted with
the most foul and terrible manner of the death of Arius and with all
their powers to flee from the impious doctrine of which he was the
parent. As it is likely that the mode of his death is not known by
all, I shall here relate it.
Footnotes
[373] anothen. Cf. St. Luke i. 3. Plat. Phil. 44 D. &c.
[374] Euseb. Vit. Constant. lib. iii. c. 13.
Chapter XIII.--Extract from the Letter of Athanasius on the Death of
Arius [375] .
After Arius had remained a long time in Alexandria, he endeavoured
riotously to obtrude himself again into the assemblies of the Church,
professing to renounce his impiety, and promising to receive the
confession of faith drawn up by the fathers. But not succeeding in
obtaining the confidence of the divine Alexander, nor of Athanasius,
who followed [376] Alexander alike in the patriarchate and in piety,
he, helped and encouraged by Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, betook
himself to Constantinople. The intrigues upon which he then entered,
and their punishment by the righteous Judge are all best narrated by
the excellent Athanasius, in his letter to Apion [377] . I shall
therefore now insert this passage in my work. He writes:--
"I was not at Constantinople when he died; but Macarius, the
presbyter, was there, and from him I learnt all the circumstances. The
emperor Constantine was induced by Eusebius and his party to send for
Arius. Upon his arrival, the emperor asked him whether he held the
faith of the Catholic church. Arius then swore that his faith was
orthodox, and presented a written summary of his belief; concealing,
however, the reasons of his ejection from the Church by the bishop
Alexander, and making a dishonest use of the language of Holy
Scripture. When, therefore, he had declared upon oath that he did not
hold the errors for which he had been expelled from the Church by
Alexander, Constantine dismissed him, saying, `If thy faith is
orthodox, thou hast well sworn; but if thy faith is impious and yet
thou hast sworn, let God from heaven judge thee.' When he quitted the
emperor, the partizans of Eusebius, with their usual violence, desired
to conduct him into the church; but Alexander, of blessed memory,
bishop of Constantinople, refused his permission, alleging that the
inventor of the heresy ought not to be admitted into communion. Then
at last the partizans of Eusebius pronounced the threat: `As, against
your will, we succeeded in prevailing on the emperor to send for
Arius, so now, even if you forbid it, shall Arius join in communion
[378] with us in this church to-morrow.' It was on Saturday that they
said this. The bishop Alexander, deeply grieved at what he had heard,
went into the church and poured forth his lamentations, raising his
hands in supplication to God, and throwing himself on his face on the
pavement in the sanctuary [379] , prayed. Macarius went in with him,
prayed with him, and heard his prayers. He asked one of two things.
`If Arius,' said he, `is to be joined to the Church to-morrow, let me
Thy servant depart, and do not destroy the pious with the impious. If
Thou wilt spare Thy Church, and I know that Thou dost spare her, look
upon the words of the followers of Eusebius, and give not over Thy
heritage to destruction and to shame. Remove Arius, lest if he come
into the Church, heresy seem to come in with him, and impiety be
hereafter deemed piety.' Having thus prayed, the bishop left the
church deeply anxious, and then a horrible and extraordinary
catastrophe ensued. The followers of Eusebius had launched out into
threats, while the bishop had recourse to prayer. Arius, emboldened by
the protection of his party, delivered many trifling and foolish
speeches, when he was suddenly compelled by a call of nature to
retire, and immediately, as it is written, `falling headlong, he burst
asunder in the midst [380] ,' and gave up the ghost, being deprived at
once both of communion and of life. This, then, was the end of Arius
[381] . The followers of Eusebius were covered with shame, and buried
him whose belief they shared. The blessed Alexander completed the
celebration, rejoicing with the Church in piety and orthodoxy, praying
with all the brethren and greatly glorifying God. This was not because
he rejoiced at the death of Arius--God forbid; for `it is appointed
unto all men once to die [382] ;' but because the event plainly
transcended any human condemnation. For the Lord Himself passing
judgment upon the menaces of the followers of Eusebius, and the prayer
of Alexander, condemned the Arian heresy, and shewed that it was
unworthy of being received into the communion of the Church; thus
manifesting to all that, even if it received the countenance and
support of the emperor, and of all men, yet by truth itself it stood
condemned."
These were the first fruits, reaped by Arius, of those pernicious
seeds which he had himself sown, and formed the prelude to the
punishments that awaited him hereafter. His impiety was condemned by
his punishment.
I shall now turn my narrative to the piety of the emperor. He
addressed a letter to all the subjects of the Roman empire, exhorting
them to renounce their former errors, and to embrace the doctrines of
our Saviour, and trying to guide them to this truth. He stirred up the
bishops in every city to build churches, and encouraged them not only
by his letter, but also by presenting them with large sums of money,
and defraying all the expenses of building. This his own letter sets
forth, which was after this manner:--
Footnotes
[375] The letter was written to Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis, not Tmi el
Emdid, in Egypt. St. Anthony left one of his sheepskin to Serapion,
the other to Athanasius. Cf. Jer. de Vir. illust. 99.
[376] Athanasius, chosen alike by the designation of the dying
Alexander, by popular acclamation, and by the election of the Bishop
of the Province, was, in spite of his reluctance and retirement,
consecrated, a.d. 326.
[377] The name does not vary in the mss. of Theodoretus, but Schulze
would alter it to Serapion on the authority of the mss. of Athanasius.
[378] sunachthesetai. The word sunaxis, originally equivalent to
sunagoge, and little used before the Christian era, means sometimes
the gathering of the congregation, sometimes the Holy Communion. Vide
Suicer s.v. Here the meaning is determined by parallel authority. (Cf.
Soc. I. 38.)
[379] hierateion. The sacrarium or chancel, also to hagion. Cf. Book
V. cap. 17, where Ambrosius rebukes Theodosius for entering within the
rails.
[380] Acts i. 18
[381] We are not necessarily impaled on Gibbon's dilemma of poison or
miracle. There are curious instances of sudden death under similar
circumstances, e.g. that of George Valla of Piacenza, at Venice circa
1500. Vide Bayle's Dict. s.v.
[382] Heb. ix. 27
Chapter XIV.--Letter written by the Emperor Constantine respecting the
building of Churches [383] .
"Constantinus Augustus, the great and the victorious, to Eusebius.
"I am well aware, and am thoroughly convinced, my beloved brother,
that as the servants of our Saviour Christ have been suffering up to
the present time from nefarious machinations and tyrannical
persecutions, the fabrics of all the churches must have either fallen
into utter ruin from neglect, or, through apprehension of the
impending iniquity, have been reduced below their proper dignity. But
now that freedom is restored, and that dragon [384] , through the
providence of God, and by our instrumentality, thrust out from the
government of the Empire, I think that the divine power has become
known to all, and that those who hitherto, from fear or from
incredulity or from depravity, have lived in error, will now, upon
becoming acquainted with Him who truly is, be led into the true and
correct manner of life. Exert yourself, therefore, diligently in the
reparation of the churches under your own jurisdiction, and admonish
the principal bishops, priests, and deacons of other places to engage
zealously in the same work; in order that all the churches which still
exist may be repaired or enlarged, and that new ones may be built
wherever they are required. You, and others through your intervention,
can apply to magistrates [385] and to provincial governments [386] ,
for all that may be necessary for this purpose; for they have received
written injunctions to render zealous obedience to whatever your
holiness may command. May God preserve you, beloved brother."
Thus the emperor wrote to the bishops in each province respecting the
building of churches. From his letter to Eusebius of Palestine, it is
easily learnt what measures he adopted to obtain copies of the Holy
Bible [387] .
Footnotes
[383] This letter, according to Du Pin, was written a.d. 324 or 325.
[384] Either Maxentius or Licinius.
[385] hegemoneuo, used in Luke ii. 2, of Quirinus, and iii. 1, of
Pontius Pilate, but Theodoretus employs it and its correlatives of
both civil and ecclesiastical authorities.
[386] eparchike taxis` eparchia occurs Acts xxiii. 34, of Cilicia, and
in xxv. 1, of Judæa, the province of the Procurator Festus, but in the
time of Constantine the eparchoi were civil præfects, without any
military command, governing four great eparchiai, viz. (i) Thrace,
Egypt, and the East, (ii) Illyricum, Macedonia, and Greece, (iii)
Italy and Africa, and (iv) Gaul, Spain, and Britain. (Zos. ii. 33.) On
the accurate use of titles in the N.T. vide Bp. Lightfoot in Appendix
to Essays on Supernatural Religion.
[387] ta iera biblia, or, "the holy books:" The Books, par excellence,
were about this time becoming The Book, whence Biblia Sacra as a
singular.
Chapter XV.--The Epistle of Constantine concerning the preparation of
copies of the Holy Scriptures.
"Constantinus Augustus, the great and the victorious, to Eusebius.
"In the city [388] which bears our name, a great number of persons
have, through the providential care of God the Saviour, united
themselves to the holy Church. As all things there are in a state of
rapid improvement, we deemed it most important that an additional
number of churches should be built. Adopt joyfully the mode of
procedure determined upon by us, which we have thought expedient to
make known to your prudence, namely, that you should get written, on
fine parchment, fifty volumes [389] , easily legible and handy for
use; these you must have transcribed by skilled calligraphers,
accurately acquainted with their art. I mean, of course, copies of the
Holy Scriptures, which, as you know, it is most necessary that the
congregation of the Church should both have and use. A letter has been
sent from our clemency to the catholicus [390] of the diocese, in
order that he may be careful that everything necessary for the
undertaking is supplied. The duty devolving upon you is to take
measures to ensure the completion of these manuscripts within a short
space of time. When they are finished, you are authorised by this
letter to order two public carriages for the purpose of transmitting
them to us; and thus the fair manuscripts will be easily submitted to
our inspection. Appoint one of the deacons of your church to take
charge of this part of the business; when he comes to us, he shall
receive proofs of our benevolence. May God preserve you, beloved
brother."
What has been already said is enough to shew, nay to clearly prove,
how great zeal the emperor manifested on the matters of religion. I
will, however, add his noble acts with regard to the Sepulchre of our
Saviour. For having learnt that the idolaters, in their frantic rage,
had heaped earth over the Lord's tomb, eager thus to destroy all
remembrance of His Salvation, and had built over it a temple to the
goddess of unbridled lust, in mockery of the Virgin's birth, the
emperor ordered the foul shrine to be demolished, and the soil
polluted with abominable sacrifices to be carried away and thrown out
far from the city, and a new temple of great size and beauty to be
erected on the site. All this is clearly set forth in the letter which
he wrote to the president [391] of the church of Jerusalem, Macarius,
whom we have already mentioned as a member of the great Nicene
Council, and united with his brethren in withstanding the blasphemies
of Arius. The following is the letter.
Footnotes
[388] Constantinople was dedicated a.d. 330 on the site of the ancient
Byzantium.
[389] somatia. The Codex Sinaiticus has been thought to be one of
these.
[390] i.e. the "Comes fisci," or officer managing the revenues of the
Province. Dioecesis is used in civil sense by Cicero, Ep. Fam. 3, 8,
4, and Ammianus (17, 7, 6), mentions the compliment paid by
Constantius II. to his empress Eusebia, by naming a "Diocese" of the
Empire after her.
[391] proedros. Cf. Thuc. iii. 25. The prutaneis in office in the
Athenian ekklesia were so called. In our author a common synonym for
Bishop. proedria = sedes = see.
Chapter XVI.--Letter from the Emperor to Macarius, Bishop of
Jerusalem, concerning the building of the Holy Church.
"Constantinus, the victorious and the great, to Macarius.
"The grace of our Saviour is so wonderful, that no words are adequate
to express the present marvel. The fact that the monument of His most
holy sufferings should have remained concealed beneath the earth,
during so long a course of years, until the time when, on the death of
the common enemy of all, it was destined to shine forth on His
liberated servants, surpasses every other subject of admiration. If
all the wise men throughout the world were collected into one place,
and were to endeavour to express themselves worthily of it, they could
not approach within an infinite distance of it; for this miracle is as
much beyond all human power of belief, as heavenly things by their
nature are mightier than human. Hence it is my first and only object
that, as by new miracles the faith in the truth is daily confirmed, so
the minds of us all may be more earnestly devoted to the holy law,
wisely, zealously, and with one accord. As my design is, I think, now
generally known, I desire that you, above all, should be assured that
my most intense anxiety is to decorate with beautiful edifices that
consecrated spot, which by God's command I have relieved from the
burden of the foul idol which encumbered it. For from the beginning He
declared it holy, and has rendered it still more holy from the time
that He brought to light the proof and memorial of the sufferings of
our Lord.
I trust, then, to your sagacity to take every necessary care, not only
that the basilica itself surpass all others; but that all its
arrangements be such that this building may be incomparably superior
to the most beautiful structures in every city throughout the world.
We have entrusted our friend Dracilianus [392] , who discharges the
functions of the most illustrious præfect of the province, with the
superintendence of the work of the erection and decoration of the
walls. He has received our orders to engage workmen and artisans, and
to provide all that you may deem requisite for the building. Let us
know, by letter, when you have inspected the work, what columns or
marbles you consider would be most ornamental, in order that whatever
you may inform us is necessary for the work may be conveyed thither
from all quarters of the world. For that which is of all places the
most wonderful, ought to be decorated in accordance with its dignity.
I wish to learn from you whether you think that the vaulted roof of
the basilica ought to be panelled [393] , or to be adorned in some
other way; for if it is to be panelled it may also be gilt. Your
holiness must signify to the aforesaid officers, as soon as possible,
what workmen and artificers, and what sums of money, are requisite;
and let me know promptly not only about the marbles and columns, but
also about the panelled ceiling, if you decide that this will be the
most beautiful mode of construction. May God preserve you, beloved
brother [394] ."
Footnotes
[392] Vide note 4 on chap. xiv.
[393] lakonaria, fr. Lat lacunar, (lacuna lacus LAK) = fretted
ceiling. Cf. Hor. Od. II. xviii. 2.
[394] On the traditional site of the Holy Sepulchre, and the buildings
on it, vide Stanley's "Sinai and Palestine," pp. 457 and seqq., and
Canon Bright in Dict. Christ. Ant., article "Holy Sepulchre."
Chapter XVII.--Helena [395] , Mother of the Emperor Constantine.--Her
zeal in the Erection of the Holy Church.
The bearer of these letters was no less illustrious a personage than
the mother of the emperor, even she who was glorious in her offspring,
whose piety was celebrated by all; she who brought forth that great
luminary and nurtured him in piety. She did not shrink from the
fatigue of the journey on account of her extreme old age, but
undertook it a little before her death, which occurred in her
eightieth year [396] .
When the empress beheld the place where the Saviour suffered, she
immediately ordered the idolatrous temple, which had been there
erected [397] , to be destroyed, and the very earth on which it stood
to be removed. When the tomb, which had been so long concealed, was
discovered, three crosses were seen buried near the Lord's sepulchre.
All held it as certain that one of these crosses was that of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and that the other two were those of the thieves who
were crucified with Him. Yet they could not discern to which of the
three the Body of the Lord had been brought nigh, and which had
received the outpouring of His precious Blood. But the wise and holy
Macarius, the president of the city, resolved this question in the
following manner. He caused a lady of rank, who had been long
suffering from disease, to be touched by each of the crosses, with
earnest prayer, and thus discerned the virtue residing in that of the
Saviour. For the instant this cross was brought near the lady, it
expelled the sore disease, and made her whole.
The mother of the emperor, on learning the accomplishment of her
desire, gave orders that a portion of the nails should be inserted in
the royal helmet, in order that the head of her son might be preserved
from the darts of his enemies [398] . The other portion of the nails
she ordered to be formed into the bridle of his horse, not only to
ensure the safety of the emperor, but also to fulfil an ancient
prophecy; for long before Zechariah, the prophet, had predicted that
"There shall be upon the bridles of the horses Holiness unto the Lord
Almighty [399] ."
She had part of the cross of our Saviour conveyed to the palace [400]
. The rest was enclosed in a covering of silver, and committed to the
care of the bishop of the city, whom she exhorted to preserve it
carefully, in order that it might be transmitted uninjured to
posterity [401] . She then sent everywhere for workmen and for
materials, and caused the most spacious and most magnificent churches
to be erected. It is unnecessary to describe their beauty and
grandeur; for all the pious, if I may so speak, hasten thither and
behold the magnificence of the buildings [402] .
This celebrated and admirable empress performed another action worthy
of being remembered. She assembled all the women who had vowed
perpetual virginity, and placing them on couches, she herself
fulfilled the duties of a handmaid, serving them with food and handing
them cups and pouring out wine, and bringing a basin and pitcher, and
pouring out water to wash their hands.
After performing these and other laudable actions, the empress
returned to her son, and not long after, she joyfully entered upon the
other and a better life, after having given her son much pious advice
and her fervent parting blessing. After her death, those honours were
rendered to her memory which her stedfast and zealous service to God
deserved [403] .
Footnotes
[395] Flavia Julia Helena, the first wife of Constantius Chlorus, born
of obscure parents in Bithynia, /-a.d. 328. "Stabulariam hanc primo
fuisse adserunt, sic cognitam Constantio seniori." (Ambr. de obitu
Theod. §42, p. 295.) The story of her being the daughter of a British
Prince, and born at York or Colchester, is part of the belief current
since William of Malmesbury concerning Constantine's British Origin,
which is probably due to two passages of uncertain interpretation in
the Panegyrici: (a) Max. et Const. iv., "liberavit ille (Constantius)
Britannias servitute, tu etiam nobiles, illic oriendo, fecisti." (b)
Eum. Pan. Const. ix., "O fortunata et nunc omnibus beatior terris
Britannia, quæ Constantinum Cæsarem prima vidisti." But is this said
of birth or accession? Cf. Gibbon, chap. xiv.
[396] Crispus and Fausta were put to death in 326. "If it was not in
order to seek expiation for her son's crimes, and consolation for her
own sorrows, that Helen made her famous journey to the Holy Land, it
was immediately consequent upon them." Stanley, Eastern Church, p.
211.
[397] i.e. of Venus, said to have been erected by Hadrian to pollute a
spot hallowed by Christians.
[398] The traditional which identifies the nail in Constantine's
helmet with the iron band in the famous crown of Queen Theodolinda at
Monza dates from the sixteenth century.
[399] Zech. xiv. 20 estai to epi ton chalinon tou hippou ;'Lgion to
Kuriû to pantokratori. lxx.
[400] This portion Socrates says (i. 17) was enclosed by Constantine
in a statue placed on a column of porphyry in his forum at
Constantinople.
[401] Carried away from Jerusalem by Chosroes II. in 614, it was
recovered, says the legend, by Heraclius in 628. The feast of the
"Exaltation of the Cross" on Sept. 14th, combines the Commemoration of
the Vision of Constantine, the exaltation of the relic at Jerusalem,
and its triumphal entry after its exile under Chosroes. In later years
it was, as is well known, supposed to have a miraculous power of
self-multiplication, and such names as St. Cross at Winchester, Santa
Croce at Florence, and Vera Cruz in Mexico illustrate its cultus.
Paulinus of Nola, at the beginning of the fifth century, sending a
piece to Sulpicius Severus, says that though bits were frequently
taken from it, it grew no smaller (Ep. xxxi.).
[402] May 3rd has been kept since the end of the eighth century in
honour of the "Invention of the Cross" and the Commemoration of the
ancient "Ellinmas" was retained in the reformed Anglican Calendar.
[403] Tillemont puts her death in 328. Eusebius (V. Const. iii. 47),
says she was carried epi ten basileuousan polin, by which he generally
means Rome, but Socrates (i. 17) writes, eis ten basileuousan nean
Romen, i.e. Constantinople. There is a chapel in her honour in the
church of the Ara Coeli at Rome, but her traditional burial-place is a
mile and a half beyond the Porta Maggiore, on the Via Labicana, and
thence came the porphyry sarcophagus called St. Helena's, which was
placed by Pius VI. in the Hall of the Greek Cross in the Vatican.
Chapter XVIII.--The Unlawful Translation of Eusebius, Bishop of
Nicomedia.
The Arian party did not desist from their evil machinations. They had
only signed the confession of faith for the purpose of disguising
themselves in sheeps'-skins, while they were acting the part of
wolves. The holy Alexander, of Byzantium, for the city was not yet
called Constantinople, who by his prayer had pierced Arius to the
heart, had, at the period to which we are referring, been translated
to a better life. Eusebius, the propagator of impiety, little
regarding the definition which, only a short time previously, he with
the other bishops had agreed upon, without delay quitted Nicomedia and
seized upon the see of Constantinople, in direct violation of that
canon [404] which prohibits bishops and presbyters from being
translated from one city to another. But that those who carry their
infatuation so far as to deny the divinity of the only-begotten Son of
God, should likewise violate the other laws, cannot excite surprise.
Nor was this the first occasion that he made this innovation; for,
having been originally entrusted with the see of Berytus, he leapt
from thence to Nicomedia. Whence he was expelled by the synod, on
account of his manifest impiety, as was likewise Theognis, bishop of
Nicæa. This is related a second time in the letters of the emperor
Constantine; and I shall here insert the close of the letter which he
wrote to the Nicomedians.
Footnotes
[404] i.e. Apost. Can. xiv., which forbids translation without an
"eulogos aitia, or prospect of more spiritual gain in saving souls;
and guards the application of the rule by the proviso that neither the
bishop himself, nor the paroikia desiring him, but many bishops, shall
decide the point." Dict. Christ. Ant. i. 226.
Chapter XIX.--Epistle of the Emperor Constantine against Eusebius and
Theognis, addressed to the Nicomedians.
"Who has taught these doctrines to the innocent multitude? It is
manifestly Eusebius, the co-operator in the cruelty of the tyrants.
For that he was the creature [405] of the tyrant has been clearly
shown; and, indeed, is proved by the slaughter of the bishops, and by
the fact that these victims were true bishops. The relentless
persecution of the Christians proclaims this fact aloud.
"I shall not here say anything of the insults directed against me, by
which the conspiracies of the opposite faction were mainly carried
out. But he went so far as to send spies to watch me, and scarcely
refrained from raising troops in aid of the tyrant. Let not any one
imagine that I allege what I am not prepared to prove. I am in
possession of clear evidence; for I have caused the bishops and
presbyters belonging to his following to be seized. But I pass over
all these facts. I only mention them for the purpose of making these
persons ashamed of their conduct, and not from any feeling of
resentment.
"There is one thing I fear, one thing which causes me anxiety, and
that is to see you charged as accomplices; for you are influenced by
the doctrines of Eusebius, and have thus been led away from the truth.
But your cure will be speedy, if, after obtaining a bishop who holds
pure and faithful doctrines, you will but look unto God. This depends
upon you alone; and you would, no doubt, have thus acted long ago, had
not the aforesaid Eusebius come here, strongly supported by those then
in power, and overturned all discipline.
"As it is necessary to say something more about Eusebius, your
patience will remember that a council was held in the city of Nicæa,
at which, in obedience to my conscience, I was present, being actuated
by no other motive than the desire of producing unanimity among all,
and before all else of proving and dispelling the mischief which
originated from the infatuation of Arius of Alexandria, and was
straightway strengthened by the absurd and pernicious machinations of
Eusebius. But, beloved and much-honoured brethren, you know not how
earnestly and how disgracefully Eusebius, although convicted by the
testimony of his own conscience, persevered in the support of the
false doctrines which had been universally condemned. He secretly sent
persons to me to petition on his behalf, and personally intreated my
assistance in preventing his being ejected from his bishopric,
although his crimes had been fully detected. God, who, I trust, will
continue His goodness towards you and towards me, is witness to the
truth of what I say. I was then myself deluded and deceived by
Eusebius, as you shall well know. In everything he acted according to
his own desire, his mind being full of every kind of secret evil.
"Omitting the relation of the rest of his misdeeds, it is well that
you should be informed of the crime which he lately perpetrated in
concert with Theognis, the accomplice of his folly. I had sent orders
for the apprehension of certain individuals in Alexandria who had
deserted our faith, and by whose means the firebrand of dissension was
kindled. But these good gentlemen, forsooth, bishops, whom, by the
clemency of the council, I had reserved for penitence, not only
received them under their protection, but also participated in their
evil deeds. Hence I came to the determination to punish these
ungrateful men, by apprehending and banishing them to some far-distant
region.
"It is now your duty to look unto God with that same faith which it is
clear that you have ever held, and in which it is fitting you should
abide. So let us have cause of rejoicing in the appointment of pure,
orthodox, and beneficent bishops. If any one should make mention of
those destroyers, or presume to speak in their praise, let him know
that his audacity will be repressed by the authority which has been
committed to me as the servant of God. May God preserve you, beloved
brethren!"
The above-mentioned bishops were then deposed and banished. Amphion
[406] was entrusted with the church of Nicomedia, and Chrestus [407]
with that of Nicæa. But the exiled bishops, employing their customary
artifices, abused the benevolence of the emperor, renewed the previous
contests, and regained their former power.
Footnotes
[405] prosphux, originally a protected "runaway," then protégé or
client.
[406] Athanasius, Disp Prima Cont. Ar., mentions an Amphion, orthodox
bishop of Epiphania in Cilicia Secunda. That he is the same as the
Amphion of the text is asserted by Baronius and doubted by Tillemont.
Dict. Christ. Biog. s.v.
[407] In 328, Chrestus and Amphion retired on the recantation of
Theognis and Eusebius, whose biblion metanoias, or act of
retractation, is given in Soc. i. xiv.
Chapter XX.--The artful Machinations of Eusebius and his followers
against the Holy Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch.
Eusebius, as I have already stated, seized the diocese of
Constantinople by force. And thus having acquired great power in that
city, frequently visiting and holding familiar intercourse with the
emperor, he gained confidence and formed plots against those who were
foremost in the support of the truth. He at first feigned a desire of
going to Jerusalem, to see the celebrated edifices there erected: and
the emperor, who was deceived by his flattery, allowed him to set out
with the utmost honour, providing him with carriages, and the rest of
his equipage and retinue. Theognis, bishop of Nicæa, who, as we have
before said, was his accomplice in his evil designs, travelled with
him. When they arrived at Antioch, they put on the mask of friendship,
and were received with the utmost deference. Eustathius, the great
champion of the faith, treated them with fraternal kindness. When they
arrived at the holy places, they had an interview with those who were
of the same opinions as themselves, namely, Eusebius, bishop of
Cæsarea, Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis, Aetius, bishop of Lydda,
Theodotus, bishop of Laodicea, and others who had imbibed the Arian
sentiments; they made known the plot they had hatched to them, and
went with them to Antioch. The pretext for their journey was, that due
honour might be rendered to Eusebius; but their real motive was their
war against religion. They bribed a low woman, who made a traffic of
her beauty, to sell them her tongue, and then repaired to the council,
and when all the spectators had been ordered to retire, they
introduced the wretched woman. She held a babe in her arms, of which
she loudly and impudently affirmed that Eustathius was the father.
Eustathius, conscious of his innocence, asked her whether she could
bring forward any witness to prove what she had advanced. She replied
that she could not: yet these equitable judges admitted her to oath,
although it is said in the law, that "at the mouth of two or three
witnesses shall the matter be established [408] ;" and the apostle
says, "against an elder receive not any accusation but before two or
three witnesses [409] ." But they despised these divine laws, and
admitted the accusation against this great man without any witnesses.
When the woman had again declared upon oath that Eustathius was the
father of the babe, these truth-loving judges condemned him as an
adulterer. When the other bishops, who upheld the apostolical
doctrines, being ignorant of all these intrigues, openly opposed the
sentence, and advised Eustathius not to submit to it, the originators
of the plot promptly repaired to the emperor, and endeavoured to
persuade him that the accusation was true, and the sentence of
deposition just; and they succeeded in obtaining the banishment of
this champion of piety and chastity, as an adulterer and a tyrant. He
was conducted across Thrace to a city of Illyricum [410] .
Footnotes
[408] Deut. xix. 15
[409] 1 Tim. v. 19
[410] Jerome says Trajanopolis, but Eustathius died at Philippi, circa
337. Athanasius, who calls Eustathius "a confessor and sound in the
faith" (Hist. Ar. §4), says the false charge which had most weight
with Constantine was that the bishop of Antioch had slandered the
Empress Helena. Sozomen (II. 19) records the patience with which
Eustathius suffered, and sums up his character as that of "a good and
true man, specially remarkable for eloquence, to which his extant
writings testify, admirable as they are alike for the dignity of their
style of ancient cast, the sound wisdom of their sentiments, the
beauty of their language, and grace of expression." The sole survivor
of his works is an attack on Origen's interpretation of Scripture.
Chapter XXI.--Bishops of Heretical opinions ordained in Antioch after
the Banishment of St. Eustathius [411] .
Eulalius was first consecrated in place of Eustathius. But Eulalius
surviving his elevation only a short period, it was intended that
Eusebius of Palestine should be translated to this bishopric.
Eusebius, however, refused the appointment, and the emperor forbade
its being conferred on him. Next Euphronius was put forward, who also
dying, after a lapse of only one year and a few months, the see was
conferred on Flaccillus [412] . All these bishops secretly clung to
the Arian heresy. Hence it was that most of those individuals, whether
of the clergy or of the laity, who valued the true religion, left the
churches and formed assemblies among themselves. They were called
Eustathians, since it was after the banishment of Eustathius that they
began to hold their meetings. The wretched woman above-mentioned was
soon after attacked by a severe and protracted illness, and then
avowed the imposture in which she had been engaged, and made known the
whole plot, not only to two or three, but to a very large number of
priests. She confessed that she had been bribed to bring this false
and impudent charge, but yet that her oath was not altogether false,
as a certain Eustathius, a coppersmith, was the father of the babe.
Such were some of the crimes perpetrated in Antioch by this most
excellent faction.
Footnotes
[411] Socrates, H E. i. 24, says that on the deposition of Eustathius
"ephexes epi ete okto legetai ton en 'Antiochei‹ thronon tes
ekklesias scholasai opse de...cheirotoneitai Euphronios." Cf. Soz.
H.E. ii. 19. There is much confusion about this succession of bishops.
Jerome (Chron. ii. p. 92) gives the names of the Arian bishops thrust
in succession into the place of Eustathius, as Eulalius, Eusebius,
Eufronius, Placillus. "Perhaps Eulalius was put forward for the vacant
see, like Eusebius, but never actually appointed." Bp. Lightfoot,
Dict. Christ. Biog. ii. 315.
[412] This name is variously given as Placillus (Jerome), Placitus
(Soz.) Flacillus (Ath. and Eus.), and in different versions of
Theodoret are found Phlakitos, Plakentios, Phalkios
Chapter XXII.--Conversion of the Indians [413] .
At this period, the light of the knowledge of God was for the first
time shed upon India. The courage and the piety of the emperor had
become celebrated throughout the world; and the barbarians, having
learnt by experience to choose peace rather than war, were able to
enjoy intercourse with one another without fear. Many persons,
therefore, set out on long journeys; some for the desire of making
discoveries, others from a spirit of commercial enterprise. About this
period a native of Tyre [414] , acquainted with Greek philosophy,
desiring to penetrate into the interior of India, set off for this
purpose with his two young nephews. When he had accomplished the
object of his wishes, he embarked for his own country. The ship being
compelled to put in to land in order to obtain a fresh supply of
water, the barbarians fell upon her, drowned some of the crew, and
took the others prisoners. The uncle was among the number of those who
were killed, and the lads were conducted to the king. The name of the
one was Ædesius, and of the other Frumentius. The king of the country,
in course of time, perceiving their intelligence, promoted them to the
superintendence of his household. If any one should doubt the truth of
this account, let him recall to mind the history of Joseph in the
kingdom of Egypt, and also the history of Daniel, and of the three
champions of the truth, who, from being captives, became princes of
Babylon. The king died; but these young men remained with his son, and
were advanced to still greater power. As they had been brought up in
the true religion, they exhorted the merchants who visited the country
to assemble, according to the custom of Romans [415] , to take part in
the divine liturgy. After a considerable time they solicited the king
to reward their services by permitting them to return to their own
country. They obtained his permission, and safely reached Roman
territory. Ædesius directed his course towards Tyre, but Frumentius,
whose religious zeal was greater than the natural feeling of affection
for his relatives, proceeded to Alexandria, and informed the bishop of
that city that the Indians were deeply anxious to obtain spiritual
light. Athanasius then held the rudder of that church; he heard the
story, and then "Who," said he, "better than you yourself can scatter
the mists of ignorance, and introduce among this people the light of
Divine preaching?" After having said this, he conferred upon him the
episcopal dignity, and sent him to the spiritual culture of that
nation. The newly-ordained bishop left this country, caring nothing
for the mighty ocean, and returned to the untilled ground of his work.
There, having the grace of God to labour with him, he cheerfully and
successfully played the husbandman, catching those who sought to
gainsay his words by works of apostolic wonder, and thus, by these
marvels, confirming his teaching, he continued each day to take many
souls alive [416] .
Footnotes
[413] Peri tes 'Indon pisteos. The term "India" is used vaguely,
partly from the old belief that Asia and Africa joined somewhere south
of the Indian Ocean. Here the Indians are Abyssinians.
[414] The version adopted by Rufinus, the earliest extant authority
for this story, is followed, in the main, by Socrates, Sozomen, and
Theodoret. The Tyrian traveller is named Meropius.
[415] The words of Sozomen (ii. 24) corresponding with the passage in
which Rufinus (i. 9) speaks of meeting "romano ritu orationis caussa,"
are he rhomaiois ethos ekklesiazein, i.e. to assemble to worship after
the manner civilized citizens of the Empire, and not like savages. The
expression has nothing to do with the customs of the Church of Rome,
in the later sense of the word, as has sometimes been represented. Cf.
Soc. I. 19, tas christianikas ektelein euchas
[416] "The king, if we identify the narrative with the Ethiopian
version of the story, must have been the father of the Abreha and
Atzbeha of the Ethiopian annals." "Frumentius received the title of
Abbana, or Abba Salama" (cf. Absalom), "the Father of Peace." "The
bishopric of Auxume" (Axum, about 100 miles S.W. of Massowah) "assumed
a metropolitan character." (Dict. of Christ. Biog., Art. Ethiopian
Church). Constantius afterwards wrote to the Ethiopian Prince to ask
him to replace Frumentius by Theophilus, an Arian, but without success
(Ath. Ap. ad Const. 31).
Chapter XXIII.--Conversion of the Iberians [417] .
Frumentius thus led the Indians to the knowledge of God. Iberia, about
the same time, was guided into the way of truth by a captive woman
[418] . She continued instant in prayer, allowing herself no softer
bed than a sack spread upon the ground, and accounted fasting her
highest luxury. This austerity was rewarded by gifts similar to those
of the Apostles. The barbarians, who were ignorant of medicine, were
accustomed, when attacked by disease, to go to one another's houses,
in order to ask those who had suffered in a similar way, and had got
well, by what means they had been cured. In accordance with this
custom, a mother who had a sick child, repaired to this admirable
woman, to enquire if she knew of any cure for the disease. The latter
took the child, placed it upon her bed, and prayed to the Creator of
the world to be propitious to it, and cure the disease. He heard her
prayer, and made it whole. This extraordinary woman hence obtained
great celebrity; and the queen, who was suffering from a severe
disease, hearing of her by report, sent for her. The captive held
herself in very low estimation, and would not accept the invitation of
the queen. But the queen, forced by her sore need, and careless of her
royal dignity, herself ran to the captive. The latter made the queen
lie down upon her mean bed, and once again applied to her disease the
efficacious remedy of prayer. The queen was healed, and offered as
rewards for her cure, gold, silver, tunics, and mantles, and such
gifts as she thought worthy of possession, and such as royal
munificence should bestow. The holy woman told her that she did not
want any of these, but that she would deem her greatest reward to be
the queen's knowledge of true religion. She then, as far as in her
lay, explained the Divine doctrines, and exhorted her to erect a
church in honour of Christ who had made her whole. The queen then
returned to the palace, and excited the admiration of her consort, by
the suddenness of her cure; she then made known to him the power of
that God whom the captive adored, and besought him to acknowledge the
one only God, and to erect a church to Him, and to lead all the nation
to worship Him. The king was greatly delighted with the miracle which
had been performed upon the queen, but he would not consent to erect a
church. A short time after he went out hunting, and the loving Lord
made a prey of him as He did of Paul; for a sudden darkness enveloped
him and forbade him to move from the spot; while those who were
hunting with him enjoyed the customary sunlight, and he alone was
bound with the fetters of blindness. In his perplexity he found a way
of escape, for calling to mind his former unbelief, he implored the
help of the God of the captive woman, and immediately the darkness was
dispelled. He then went to the marvellous captive, and asked her to
shew him how a church ought to be built. He who once filled Bezaleel
with architectural skill, graciously enabled this woman to devise the
plan of a church. The woman set about the plan, and men began to dig
and build. When the edifice was completed, the roof put on, and every
thing supplied except the priests, this admirable woman found means to
obtain these also. For she persuaded the king to send an embassy to
the Roman emperor asking for teachers of religion. The king
accordingly despatched an embassy for the purpose. The emperor
Constantine, who was warmly attached to the cause of religion, when
informed of the purport of the embassy, gladly welcomed the
ambassadors, and selected a bishop endowed with great faith, wisdom,
and virtue, and presenting him with many gifts, sent him to the
Iberians, that he might make known to them the true God. Not content
with having granted the requests of the Iberians, he of his own accord
undertook the protection of the Christians in Persia; for, learning
that they were persecuted by the heathens, and that their king
himself, a slave to error, was contriving various cunning plots for
their destruction, he wrote to him, entreating him to embrace the
Christian religion himself, as well as to honour its professors. His
own letter will render his earnestness in the cause the plainer.
Footnotes
[417] This story, like the preceding, is copied or varied by Sozomen,
Socrates, and our author, from the version found also in Rufinus.
Iberia, the modern Georgia, was conquered by Pompey, and ceded by
Jovian.
[418] The Evangelizer of Georgia is honoured on Dec. 15th (Guerin Pet.
Bolland, xiv. 306) as "Sainte Chrétienne," and it is doubtful whether
the name Nina, in which she appears in the Armenogregorian Calendar
for June 11 (Neale, Eastern Church, ii. 799), may not be a title.
"Nina" is probably a name of rank, and perhaps is connected with our
nun (Neale, i. 61). Moses of Chorene (ii. 83) gives the name "Nunia."
Rufinus (i. 10) states that he gives the story as he heard it from
King Bacurius at Jerusalem. On the various legends of St. Nina and her
work, vide S. C. Malan, Hist. of Georgian Church pp. 17-33.
Chapter XXIV.--Letter written by the Emperor Constantine to Sapor
[419] , the King of Persia, respecting the Christians.
"In protecting the holy faith I enjoy the light of truth, and by
following the light of truth I attain to fuller knowledge of the
faith. Therefore, as facts prove, I recognize that most holy worship
as teaching the knowledge of the most holy God. This service I
profess. With the Power of this God for my ally, beginning at the
furthest boundaries of the ocean, I have, one after another, quickened
every part of the world with hope. Now all the peoples once enslaved
by many tyrants, worn by their daily miseries, and almost extinct,
have been kindled to fresh life by receiving the protection of the
State.
"The God I reverence is He whose emblem my dedicated troops bear on
their shoulders, marching whithersoever the cause of justice leads
them, and rewarding me by their splendid victories. I confess that I
reverence this God with eternal remembrance. Him, who dwelleth in the
highest heavens, I contemplate with pure and unpolluted mind. On Him I
call on bended knees, shunning all abominable blood, all unseemly and
ill-omened odours, all fire of incantation [420] , and all pollution
by which unlawful and shameful error has destroyed whole nations and
hurled them down to hell.
"God does not permit those gifts which, in His beneficent Providence,
He has bestowed upon men for the supply of their wants to be perverted
according to every man's desire. He only requires of men a pure mind
and a spotless soul, and by these He weighs their deeds of virtue and
piety. He is pleased with gentleness [421] and modesty; He loves the
meek [422] , and hates those who excite contentions; He loves faith,
chastises unbelief; He breaks all power of boasting [423] , and
punishes the insolence of the proud [424] . Men exalted with pride He
utterly overthrows, and rewards the humble [425] and the patient [426]
according to their deserts. Of a just sovereignty He maketh much,
strengthens it by His aid, and guards the counsels of Princes with the
blessing of peace.
"I know that I am not in error, my brother, when I confess that this
God is the Ruler and the Father of all men, a truth which many who
preceded me upon the imperial throne were so deluded by error as to
attempt to deny. But their end was so dreadful that they have become a
fearful warning to all mankind, to deter others from similar iniquity
[427] . Of these I count that man one whom the wrath of God, like a
thunderbolt, drove hence into your country, and who made notorious the
memorial of his shame which exists in your own land [428] . Indeed it
appears to have been well ordered that the age in which we live should
be distinguished by the open and manifest punishments inflicted on
such persons. I myself have witnessed the end of those who have
persecuted the people of God by unlawful edicts. Hence it is that I
more especially thank God for having now, by His special Providence,
restored peace to those who observe His law, in which they exalt and
rejoice.
"I am led to expect future happiness and security whenever God in His
goodness unites all men in the exercise of the one pure and true
religion. You may therefore well understand how exceedingly I rejoice
to hear that the finest provinces of Persia are adorned abundantly
with men of this class; I mean Christians; for it is of them I am
speaking. All then is well with you and with them, for you will have
the Lord of all merciful and beneficent to you. Since then you are so
mighty and so pious, I commend the Christians to your care, and leave
them in your protection. Treat them, I beseech you, with the affection
that befits your goodness. Your fidelity in this respect will confer
on yourself and on us inexpressible benefits."
This excellent emperor felt so much solicitude for all who had
embraced the true religion, that he not only watched over those who
were his own subjects, but also over the subjects of other sovereigns.
For this reason he was blessed with the special protection of God, so
that although he held the reins of the whole of Europe and of Africa,
and the greater part of Asia, his subjects were all well disposed to
his rule, and obedient to his government. Foreign nations submitted to
his sway, some by voluntary submission, others overcome in war.
Trophies were everywhere erected, and the emperor was styled
Victorious.
The praises of Constantine have, however, been proclaimed by many
other writers. We must resume the thread of our history. This emperor,
who deserves the highest fame, devoted his whole mind to matters
worthy of the apostles, while men who had been admitted to the
sacerdotal dignity not only neglected to edify the church, but
endeavoured to uproot it from the very foundations. They invented all
manner of false accusations against those who governed the church in
accordance with the doctrines taught by the apostles, and did their
best to depose and banish them. Their envy was not satisfied by the
infamous falsehood which they had invented against Eustathius, but
they had recourse to every artifice to effect the overthrow of another
great bulwark of religion. These tragic occurrences I shall now relate
as concisely as possible.
Footnotes
[419] Sapor II. (Shapur) Postumus, the son of Hormisdas II., was one
of the greatest of the Sassanidæ. He reigned from a.d. 310 to 381, and
fought with success against Constantius II. and Julian, "augendi regni
cupiditate supra homines flagrans." Amm. Marc xviii. 4.
[420] The reading of Basil. Gr. and Lat., and Pini Codex, epode for
geode, is approved by Schulze, and may indicate a side-hit at the
Magian fire-worship. But the adjectival form epodes for epodos is
doubtful.
[421] Cf. 2 Cor. x. i
[422] Cf. Matt xi. 29
[423] Cf. Jas. iv. 16
[424] Cf. Luke i. 51
[425] Cf. Luke i. 52
[426] Cf. 2 Tim. ii. 24
[427] The imperial writer may have had in his mind Tiberius, whose
miserable old age was probably ended by murder; Caius, stabbed by his
own guard; Claudius, poisoned by his wife; Nero, driven to shameful
suicide; Vitellius, beaten to death by a brutal mob; Domitian,
assassinated by his wife and freedmen; Commodus, murdered by his
courtiers, and Pertinax by his guards; Caracalla, murdered;
Heliogabalus, murdered; Alexander Severus, Maximinus, Gordianus,
murdered; Decius, killed in war; Gallus, Æmilianus, Gallienus, all
murdered; Aurelianus, Probus, Carus, murdered. On the other hand
Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, and Diocletian, who persecuted the Church
with less or more severity, died peaceful deaths.
[428] Valerianus, proclaimed Emperor in Rhoetia, a.d. 254, was
defeated in his campaign against the Persians, and treated with
indignity alive and dead. After being made to crouch as a footstool
for his conqueror to tread on when mounting on horseback, he was
flayed alive, a.d. 260, and his tanned skin nailed in a Persian temple
as a "memorial of his shame." Cf. Const. Orat. xxiv. Gibbon's catholic
scepticism includes the humiliation of Valerianus. "The tale," he
says, "is moral and pathetic, but the truth of it may very fairly be
called in question." (Decline and Fall, Chap. X.). But the passage in
the text, in which the allusion has not always been perceived, and the
parallel reference in the Emperor's oration, indicate the belief of a
time little more than half a century after the event. Lactantius (de
Morte Persecutorum V.), was probably about ten years old when
Valerianus was defeated, and, if so, gives the testimony of a
contemporary. Orosius (vii. 22) and Agathias (iv. p. 133) would only
copy earlier writers, but the latter states that for the fact of
Sapor's thus treating Valerianus there is "abundant historical
testimony." Cf. Tillemont, Hist. Emp. iii. pp. 314, 315.
Chapter XXV.--An account of the plot formed against the Holy
Athanasius.
Alexander, that admirable bishop, who had successfully withstood the
blasphemies of Arius, died five months after the council of Nicæa, and
was succeeded in the episcopate of the church of Alexandria by
Athanasius. Trained from his youth in sacred studies, Athanasius had
attracted general admiration in each ecclesiastical office that he
filled. He had, at the general council, so defended the doctrines of
the apostles, that while he won the approbation of all the champions
of the truth, its opponents learned to look on their antagonist as a
personal foe and public enemy. He had attended the council as one of
the retinue of Alexander, then a very young man, although he was the
principal deacon [429] .
When those who had denied the only-begotten Son of God heard that the
helm of the Church of Alexandria had been entrusted to his hands
knowing as they did by experience his zeal for the truth, they thought
that his rule would prove the destruction of their authority. They,
therefore, resorted to the following machinations against him. In
order to avert suspicion, they bribed some of the adherents of
Meletius, who, although deposed by the council of Nicæa, had
persevered in exciting commotions in the Thebaid and in the adjacent
part of Egypt, and persuaded them to go to the emperor, and to accuse
Athanasius of levying a tax upon Egypt [430] , and giving the gold
collected to a certain man who was preparing to usurp the imperial
power [431] . The emperor being deceived by this story, Athanasius was
brought to Constantinople. Upon his arrival he proved that the
accusation was false, and had the charge given him by God restored to
him. This is shown by a letter from the emperor to the Church of
Alexandria of which I shall transcribe only the concluding paragraph.
A Portion of the Letter from the Emperor Constantine to the
Alexandrians.
"Believe me, my brethren, the wicked men were unable to effect
anything against your bishop. They surely could have had no other
design than to waste our time, and to leave themselves no place for
repentance in this life. Do you, therefore, help yourselves, and love
that which wins your love [432] ; and exert all your power in the
expulsion of those who wish to destroy your concord. Look unto God,
and love one another. I joyfully welcomed Athanasius your bishop; and
I have conversed with him as with one whom I know to be a man of God."
Footnotes
[429] "tou chorou ton diakonon hegoumenos." The youth of Athanasius
indicates a variety in the qualifications for the archidiaconate, for
he can hardly have been the senior deacon. Cf. Dict. Christian Ant.,
Art. `Archdeacon.'
[430] In order to provide sticharia or variegated vestments. Ath.
Apol. cont. Ar. V. §60. The possibility of such charges indicates the
importance of the Patriarchate.
[431] Philumenus. Ath. Ap. cont. Ar. V. §60.
[432] to philtron to humeteron. Athanasius (Apol. cont. Ar. V. §62)
quotes the phrase as hemeteron, "our love."
Chapter XXVI.--Another plot against Athanasius.
The calumniators of Athanasius, however, did not desist from their
attempts. On the contrary, they devised so bold a fiction against him,
that it surpassed every invention of the ancient writers of the tragic
or comic stage. They again bribed individuals of the same party, and
brought them before the emperor, vociferously accusing that champion
of virtue of many abominable crimes. The leaders of the party were
Eusebius, Theognis, and Theodorus, bishop of Perinthus, a city now
called Heraclea [433] . After having accused Athanasius of crimes
which they described as too shocking to be tolerated, or even listened
to, they persuaded the emperor to convene a council at Cæsarea in
Palestine, where Athanasius had many enemies, and to command that his
cause should be there tried. The emperor, utterly ignorant of the plot
that had been devised, was persuaded by them to give the required
order.
But the holy Athanasius, well aware of the malevolence of those who
were to try him, refused to appear at the council. This served as a
pretext to those who opposed the truth to criminate him still further;
and they accused him before the emperor of contumacy and arrogance.
Nor were their hopes altogether frustrated; for the emperor, although
exceedingly forbearing, became exasperated by their representations,
and wrote to him in an angry manner, commanding him to repair to Tyre.
Here the council was ordered to assemble, from the suspicion, as I
think, that Athanasius had an apprehension of Cæsarea on account of
its bishop. The emperor wrote also to the council in a style
consistent with his devoted piety. His letter is as follows.
Footnotes
[433] Perinthus, on the Propontis also known as Heraclea, and now
Erekli, was once a flourishing town. Theodorus was deposed at Sardica.
On his genuine writings, vide Jer. de Vir. Ill. c. 90, and on a
Commentary on the Psalter, published in 1643, and attributed to him,
vide Dict. Christ. Biog. iv. 934.
Chapter XXVII.--Epistle of the Emperor Constantine to the Council of
Tyre [434] .
"Constantinus Augustus to the holy council assembled in Tyre.
"In the general prosperity which distinguishes the present time, it
seems right that the Catholic Church should likewise be exempt from
trouble, and that the servants of Christ should be freed from every
reproach.
"But certain individuals instigated by the mad desire of contention,
not to say leading a life unworthy of their profession, are
endeavoring to throw all into disorder. This appears to me to be the
greatest of all possible calamities. I beseech you, therefore, in post
haste, as the phrase goes, to assemble together, without any delay, in
formal synod; so that you may support those who require your
assistance, heal the brethren who are in danger, restore unanimity to
the divided members, and rectify the disorders of the Church while
time permits; and thus restore to those great provinces the harmony
which, alas! the arrogance of a few men has destroyed. I believe every
one would admit that you could not perform anything so pleasing in the
sight of God, so surpassing all my prayers as well as your own, or so
conducive to your own reputation, as to restore peace.
"Do not ye therefore delay, but when you have come together with all
that sincerity and fidelity which our Saviour demands of all His
servants, almost in words that we can hear, endeavour with redoubled
eagerness to put a fitting end to these dissensions.
"Nothing shall be omitted on my part to further the interests of our
religion. I have done all that you recommended in your letters. I have
sent to those bishops whom you specified, directing them to repair to
the council for the purpose of deliberating with you upon
ecclesiastical matters. I have also sent Dionysius [435] , a man of
consular rank, to counsel those who are to sit in synod with you, and
to be himself an eye witness of your proceedings, and particularly of
the order and regularity that is maintained. If any one should dare on
the present occasion also to disobey our command, and refuse to come
to the council, which, however, I do not anticipate, an officer will
be despatched immediately to send him into banishment by imperial
order, that he may learn not to oppose the decrees enacted by the
emperor for the support of truth.
"All that now devolves upon your holinesses is to decide with
unanimous judgment, without partiality or prejudice, in accordance
with the ecclesiastical and apostolical rule, and to devise suitable
remedies for the offences which may have resulted from error; in order
that the Church may be freed from all reproach, that my anxiety may be
diminished, that peace may be restored to those now at variance, and
that your renown may be increased. May God preserve you, beloved
brethren."
The bishops accordingly repaired to the council of Tyre. Amongst them
were those who were accused of holding heterodox doctrines; of whom
Asclepas, bishop of Gaza, was one. The admirable Athanasius also
attended. I shall first dwell on the tragedy of the accusation, and
shall then relate the proceedings of this celebrated tribunal.
Footnotes
[434] The Council of Tyre met a.d. 335, on the date, vide Bp.
Lightfoot in Dict. Christ. Biog. iii. 316, note. "The scenes at the
Council of Tyre form the most picturesque and the most shameful
Chapter in the Arian controversy." Id.
[435] Athanasius (Apol. cont. Ar. VI. §72) describes him as acting
with gross partiality.
Chapter XXVIII.--The Council of Tyre.
Arsenius was a bishop of the Meletian faction. The men of his party
put him in a place of concealment, and charged him to remain there as
long as possible. They then cut off the right hand of a corpse,
embalmed it, placed it in a wooden case, and carried it about
everywhere, declaring that it was the hand of Arsenius, who had been
murdered by Athanasius. But the all-seeing eye did not permit Arsenius
to remain long in concealment. He was first seen alive in Egypt; then
in the Thebaid; afterwards he was led by Divine Providence to Tyre,
where the hand of tragic fame was brought before the council. The
friends of Athanasius hunted him up, and brought him to an inn, where
they compelled him to lie hid for a time. Early in the morning the
great Athanasius came to the council.
First of all a woman of lewd life was brought in, who deposed in a
loud and impudent manner that she had vowed perpetual virginity, but
that Athanasius, who had lodged in her house, had violated her
chastity. After she had made her charge, the accused came forward, and
with him a presbyter worthy of all praise, by name Timotheus. The
court ordered Athanasius to reply to the indictment; but he was
silent, as if he had not been Athanasius. Timotheus, however,
addressed her thus: "Have I, O woman, ever conversed with you, or have
I entered your house?" She replied with still greater effrontery,
screaming aloud in her dispute with Timotheus, and, pointing at him
with her finger, exclaimed, "It was you who robbed me of my virginity;
it was you who stripped me of my chastity;" adding other indelicate
expressions which are used by shameless women. The devisers of this
calumny were put to shame, and all the bishops who were privy to it,
blushed.
The woman was now being led out of the Court, but the great Athanasius
protested that instead of sending her away they ought to examine her,
and learn the name of the hatcher of the plot. Hereupon his accusers
yelled and shouted that he had perpetrated other viler crimes, of
which it was utterly impossible that he could by any art or ingenuity
be cleared; and that eyes, not ears, would decide on the evidence.
Having said this, they exhibited the famous box and exposed the
embalmed hand to view. At this sight all the spectators uttered a loud
cry. Some believed the accusation to be true; the others had no doubt
of the falsehood, and thought that Arsenius was lurking somewhere or
other in concealment. When at length, after some difficulty, a little
silence was obtained, the accused asked his judges whether any of them
knew Arsenius. Several of them replying that they knew him well,
Athanasius gave orders that he should be brought before them. Then he
again asked them, "Is this the right Arsenius? Is this the man I
murdered? Is this the man those people mutilated after his murder by
cutting off his right hand?" When they had confessed that it was the
same individual, Athanasius pulled off his cloak, and exhibited two
hands, both the right and the left, and said, "Let no one seek for a
third hand, for man has received two hands from the Creator and no
more."
Even after this plain proof the calumniators and the judges who were
privy to the crime, instead of hiding themselves, or praying that the
earth might open and swallow them up, raised an uproar and commotion
in the assembly, and declared that Athanasius was a sorcerer, and that
he had by his magical incantations bewitched the eyes of men. The very
men who a moment before had accused him of murder now strove to tear
him in pieces and to murder him. But those whom the emperor had
entrusted with the preservation of order saved the life of Athanasius
by dragging him away, and hurrying him on board a ship [436] .
When he appeared before the emperor, he described all the dramatic
plot which had been got up to ruin him. The calumniators sent bishops
attached to their faction into Mareotis, viz., Theognis, bishop of
Nicæa, Theodorus, bishop of Perinthus, Maris, bishop of Chalcedon,
Narcissus of Cilicia [437] , with others of the same sentiments.
Mareotis is a district near Alexandria, and derives its name from the
lake Maria [438] . Here they invented other falsehoods, and, forging
the reports of the trial, mixed up the charges which had been shown to
be false with fresh accusations, as if they had been true, and
despatched them to the emperor.
Footnotes
[436] Here comes in the famous scene of the sudden apparition of
Athanasius before Constantine. "The Emperor is entering Constantinople
in state. A small figure darts across his path in the middle of the
square, and stops his horse. The Emperor, thunderstruck, tries to pass
on; he cannot guess who the petitioner can be. It is Athanasius, who
comes to insist on justice, when thought to be leagues away at the
Council of Tyre." Stanley, Eastern Church, Lect. VII.
[437] Bishop of Neronias, or Irenopolis. Cf. p. 44, note.
[438] Marea or Maria, a town and lake of Lower Egypt, giving its name
to the district: now lake Marrout.
Chapter XXIX.--Consecration of the Church of Jerusalem.--Banishment of
St. Athanasius.
All the bishops who were present at the council of Tyre, with all
others from every quarter, were commanded by the emperor to proceed to
Ælia [439] to consecrate the churches which he had there erected. The
emperor despatched also a number of officials of the most kindly
disposition, remarkable for piety and fidelity, whom he ordered to
furnish abundant supplies of provisions, not only to the bishops and
their followers, but to the vast multitudes who flocked from all parts
to Jerusalem. The holy altar was decorated with imperial hangings and
with golden vessels set with gems. When the splendid festival was
concluded, each bishop returned to his own diocese. The emperor was
highly gratified when informed of the splendour and magnificence of
the function, and blessed the Author of all good for having thus
granted his petition.
Athanasius having complained of his unjust condemnation, the emperor
commanded the bishops against whom this complaint was directed to
present themselves at court. Upon their arrival, they desisted from
urging any of their former calumnies, because they knew how clearly
they could be refuted; but they made it appear that Athanasius had
threatened to prevent the exportation of corn. The emperor believed
what they said, and banished him to a city of Gaul called Treves [440]
. This occurred in the thirtieth year of the emperor's reign [441] .
Footnotes
[439] Ælia Capitolina, the name given to Jerusalem on its restoration
by (Ælius) Hadrianus.
[440] Augusta Treverorum, Treveri, Trier, or Treves, on the Moselle,
was now the official Capital of Gaul.
[441] i.e. a.d. 336.
Chapter XXX.--Will of the blessed Emperor Constantine.
A year and a few months afterwards [442] the emperor was taken ill at
Nicomedia, a city of Bithynia, and, knowing the uncertainty of human
life, he received the holy rite of baptism [443] , which he had
intended to have deferred until he could be baptized in the river
Jordan.
He left as heirs of the imperial throne his three sons, Constantine,
Constantius, and Constans [444] , the youngest.
He ordered that the great Athanasius should return to Alexandria, and
expressed this decision in the presence of Eusebius, who did all he
could to dissuade him.
Footnotes
[442] a.d. 337.
[443] At the hand of Eusebius of Nicomedia.
[444] Vide Pedigree, in the Prolegomena. Constantine II. received
Gaul, Britain, Spain, and a part of Africa: Constantius the East, and
Constans Illyricum, Italy, and the rest of Africa. In 340 Constans
defeated his brother, who was slain near Aquileia, and became master
of the West.
Chapter XXXI.--Apology for Constantine.
It ought not to excite astonishment that Constantine was so far
deceived as to send so many great men into exile: for he believed the
assertions of bishops of high fame and reputation, who skilfully
concealed their malice. Those who are acquainted with the Sacred
Scriptures know that the holy David, although he was a prophet, was
deceived; and that too not by a priest, but by one who was a menial, a
slave, and a rascal. I mean Ziba, who deluded the king by lies against
Mephibosheth, and thus obtained his land [445] . It is not to condemn
the prophet that I thus speak; but that I may defend the emperor, by
showing the weakness of human nature, and to teach that credit should
not be given only to those who advance accusations, even though they
may appear worthy of credit; but that the other party ought also to be
heard, and that one ear should be left open to the accused.
Footnotes
[445] Our Author is of the same opinion as Sir George Grove, as
against Professor Blunt, on the character of Mephibosheth. Dict. Bib.
ii. 326.
Chapter XXXII.--The End of the Holy Emperor Constantine.
The emperor was now translated from his earthly dominions to a better
kingdom [446] .
The body of the emperor was enclosed in a golden coffin, and was
carried to Constantinople by the governors of the provinces, the
military commanders, and the other officers of state, preceded and
followed by the whole army, all bitterly deploring their loss; for
Constantine had been as an affectionate father to them all. The body
of the emperor was allowed to remain in the palace until the arrival
of his sons, and high honours were rendered to it. But these details
require no description here, as a full account has been given by other
writers. From their works, which are easy of access, may be learnt how
greatly the Ruler of all honours His faithful servants. If any one
should be tempted to unbelief, let him look at what occurs now near
the tomb and the statue of Constantine [447] , and then he must admit
the truth of what God has said in the Scriptures, "Them that honour Me
I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed
[448] ."
Footnotes
[446] Whitsunday, a.d. 337.
[447] Valesius explains this allusion by quoting the Arian
Philostorgius (ii. 17), who says that "the statue of Constantine,
standing on its porphyry column, was honoured with sacrifices,
illuminations, and incense." The accusation of idolatrous worship may
be disregarded. Cf. Chron. Alex. 665, 667.
[448] 1 Sam. ii. 30
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