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THE
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
OF
. S O Z O M E N.
IN NINE BOOKS.
LOWI) () N*
PRINTED BY J. wertheimer ANI) Co.,
circus Plac E, FINSBURY CIRCUs.
T H E
e G R E E K
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORIANS
OF
THE FIRST SIX CENTURIES OF
THE CHRISTIAN ERA.
IN SIX VOLUMES.
C O N T A IN IN G —
I. EUSEBIUs's LIFE OF CONSTANTINE, ORATION, ETC.
II. EUSEBIUs's ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, TO 324 A.D.
III. Socrates scholasTICUs’s HISTORY, FROM ABOUT 305 TO 445 A.D.
Iv. Sozom EN’s NARRATIVE, 324 TO ABOUT 440 A.D.
v. THEODORET's ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, FROM 322 TO 428 A.D.
VI. EVAGRIUS's ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, FROM 431 TO 594 A.D.
IIoAAAI psy 8vnrot's radt'TAI, put a 6'aôavaroto ºv. • " , " ,
LONDON :
SAMU E L B A G S T E R A N D S O N S ;
WAREHOUSE FOR BIBLES, NEW TESTAMENT8, PRAYER-Books, LEXICONS,
GRAMMARS, CONCORDANCES, AND PSALTERS, IN ANCIENT
AND MODERN LANGUAGES;
P A T E R N O S T E R. R. O.W.
M.DCCC.XLVI.

* ow, L. Nºvov-a-L, 5% tº
$ºne... herº, at “y
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
A.
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
IN NINE BOOKS,
FROM A. D. 324 TO A. D. 440.
RY
SO ZOMEN.
A NEW TRANSLATION FROM THE GREEK :
WITH
A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
LONDON:
SA MU E L B A G ST E R A N D S O N S ;
WAREHOUSE FOR BIBLES, NEW TESTAMENTS, PRAYER-BOOKS, LEXICONS,
GRAMMARS, CONCORDANCES, AND PSALTERS, IN ANCIENT
AND MODERN LANGUAGES;
P A T E R N O S T E R R. O. W.
M.DCCC.XLVI.

* 2:...
i
3 - A -2.7
\º 3, 2,
ME MOIR OF SO ZO MEN.
LITTLE more than cursory allusions to SozomeN occur in the
works of contemporary writers; and the materials for a memoir of
his life are therefore at best but few and scanty. We should, in
fact, be destitute of almost all knowledge as to his birth, educa-
tion, mode of life and private history, had not some information
on these points been furnished by himself. In the work before
us, the only one which has caused his name to be handed down
to posterity, he draws aside the curtain which would otherwise
have concealed his origin and parentage, and makes known to us
a portion of his family history. He tells us (Book V. chap. xv.)
that his grandfather was a native of Palestine, and of Pagan
parentage; that he, with all his family, was converted to Chris-
tianity on witnessing a miracle wrought by St. Hilarion; and that,
being possessed of great mental endowments, he afterwards be-
came eminently useful to the men of Gaza and Ascalon, by his
extraordinary power in expounding the most obscure passages of
Holy Writ.
Our author himself seems to have been born about the begin-
ning of the fifth century. He tells us that in his youth some of
the founders of monasticism in Palestine were still living, although
they had reached a very advanced period of life, and that he had
enjoyed opportunities of intercourse with them. To this circum-
stance may probably be attributed the tone of reverential admira-
tion in which Sozomen invariably speaks of the ascetic denizens
of the desert.
The education of Sozomen was conducted with a view to the
legal profession; and he studied for some years at Berytus, then
noted for its school of law. He afterwards established himself at
viii MEMO IR OF SO ZOMEN.
Constantinople, and, it has been conjectured, held some office at
the court of Theodosius the younger. He is reputed to have
possessed some skill in the law, but it is certain that he never
attained any eminence in his profession. It is only in the cha-
racter of an historian that he has rendered himself conspicuous.
His first work was an abridgment of Ecclesiastical History, from
the ascension of our Lord to the death of Licinius, but this is not
extant. The work before us seems to have been commenced
about the year 443. It is generally admitted to have suffered
many alterations and mutilations; and this may, in some measure,
serve to account for the frequent inaccuracies in point both of
marrative and of chronology which pervade the nine books of
which it is composed. It is evident, from the very abrupt termi-
nation of this history, that it is but a fragmentary portion of a
larger work. The precise object of Sozomen in undertaking to
write this history is not apparent, as exactly the same ground had
previously been gone over by Socrates. The learned Photius prefers
the style of Sozomen to that of Socrates; yet Sozomen frequently
evinces great deficiencyin point of judgment, and on many occasions
enlarges upon details which are altogether omitted by Socrates as
unworthy of the dignity of Ecclesiastical History. To us, there
is manifest advantage in possessing these separate chronicles of the
same events. Facts which might perhaps have been doubted, if
not rejected, had they rested upon the sole authority of a single
writer, are admitted as unquestionable when authenticated by the
combined testimony of Socrates, of Sozomen, and of Theodoret.
And, indeed, the very discrepancies which, on several minor points,
are discernible in the histories of these writers, are not without
their use, inasmuch as they tend to the removal of all suspicion of
connivance or collusion.
THE TABLE OF CONTENTS.
THE HISTORY.—BOOK I. Pages 1–43.
PAGE
CHAPTER I. On the Jewish nation. Authorities whence the Author
drew the materials of his history tºs tº tº - 1
Chap. II. Principal bishops during the reign of Constantine - sº 6
Chap. III. Conversion of Constantine sº &- - - * gº 7
Chap. IV. Standard of the cross borne in the army - - gº - 8
Chap. W. Refutation of the assertion that the conversion of Constan-
tine originated from the murder of Crispus - es s 9
Chap. VI. Extension of the Christian religion under Constantius and
Constantine - * - tº-º sº Gº e º - 10
Chap. VII. Dispute between Constantine and Licinius s - - 12
Chap. VIII. The profession of Christianity authorised by Constantine - 13
Chap. DX. Laws enacted in favour of the clergy - - * = - 16
Chap. X. Confessors of this period £º g-s *g tº tº - 18
Chap. XI. Account of St. Spyridion; his modesty and tranquillity - 18
Chap. XII. Manners and customs of the monks sº gº º - 21
Chap. XIII. Antony the Great, and St. Paul - gºs tº- 4- - 24
Chap. XIV. Account of St. Ammon - {-} * tº --> tºº - 26
Chap. XV. Origin and progress of the Arian heresy - *E* * - 29
Chap. XVI. Efforts of Constantine to restore unanimity of opinion
among the bishops - * * - tº wº º - 32
Chap. XVII. Council of Nicaea - gº gº $º * s gº- - 33
Chap. XVIII. Conversion of two philosophers sº tºº tº- º - 35
Chap. XIX. The emperor harangues the synod - * t- gº - 37
Chap. XX. The Arians condemned to exile gº º gº gº - 38
Chap. XXI. Decrees of the Council of Nicaea - * º tº- - 39
Chap. XXII. Acesis, bishop of the Novatians gº sº * * * - 40
Chap. XXIII. Canons established by the council - * tº º - 41
Chap. XXIV. Melitius and the enactments of the council - - - 42
Chap. XXV. Honour paid to the bishops by the emperor - i- - 42
THE HISTORY..—BOOK II. Pages 44–102.
CHAPTER I. Discovery of the cross and holy nails ſº º tº - 44
Chap. II. Helena, the mother of Constantine; her visit to Jerusalem 47
Chap. III. Sacred edifices erected by Constantine - tº gº - 48
Chap. IV. Superstition abolished by Constantine - * gº - 51
Chap. V. Demolition of Pagan temples º * sº tº-, - 53
Y
C ON TENTS.
Chapter VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap. IX.
Chap. X.
Chap. XI.
Chap. XII.
Chap. XIII.
Chap. XIV.
Chap. XV.
Chap. XVI.
Chap. XVII.
Chap. XVIII.
Chap. XIX.
Chap. XX.
Chap. XXI.
Chap. XXII.
Chap. XXIII.
Chap. XXIV.
Chap. XXV.
Chap. XXVI.
Chap. XXVII.
Chap. XXVIII.
Chap. XXIX.
Chap. XXX.
Chap. XXXI.
Chap. XXXII.
Chap. XXXIII.
Chap. XXXIV.
CHAPTER I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
Chap. VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap.
Letter of Julius, bishop of Rome - -
IX. Ejection of Paul and Athanasius - -
Conversion of several distant nations -
Conversion of the Iberians
Conversion of the Armenians and Persians
Continuation of the persecution - -
Martyrdom of Tarbula, the sister of Symeon
Martyrdom of St. Acepsimus - º -
Martyrdom of many bishops in Persia -
Letter of Constantine to Sapor in behalf of the Christians
Restoration of Eusebius and Theognis to their bishoprics
Persecution of Christians in Persia under Sapor
Martyrdom of Christians under Sapor -
Election of Athanasius to the bishopric of Alexandria
Refusal of Athanasius to admit Arius into communion
Council of Antioch. Deposition of Eustathius
Macarius succeeded by Maximus in the bishopric of Jeru-
Salem -
Relapse of Eusebius and Theognis into the errors of Arius
Machinations of the Arians and Meletians against Athana-
sius - tº
Calumny respecting Athanasius and the hand of Arsenius
Conversion of Indian nations - - -
Council of Tyre.
Deposition of Athanasius
Erection and dedication of a church in Jerusalem
Re-call of Arius from exile; his formulary of faith -
Letter of Constantine.
Exile of Athanasius
Refusal of Alexander, bishop of Constantinople, to admit
Arius into communion.
Account given by Athanasius of the death of Arius -
Letter
Death of Arius
Law enacted by Constantine against heresy
Marcellus, bishop of Ancyra; his heresy and deposition
Death and burial of Constantine tº-
Renewal of the controversy concerning the doctrines esta-
blished at Nicaea
Return of Athanasius from exile - -
Paul, bishop of Constantinople.
Sedition at the ordination of Paul - -
Council of Antioch
Bishopric of Alexandria refused by Eusebius and accepted
by Gregory
Bishops of Rome and of Constantinople -
Fresh troubles arise in the church of Alexandria.
of Constantine
THE HISTORY.—BOOK III. Pages 103–145.
Heresy of Macedonius
PAGE
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59
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63
64
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I 11
1 13
1 15
C O N TENT S. xi
PAGE
Chapter X. Dispute concerning Athanasius between the bishop of Rome
and the Eastern bishops - sº *- * tº - 1 16
Chap. XI. Council of Sardica gº * sº tº- º gº - 118
Chap. XII. Deposition of the Eastern by the Western bishops - - 120
Chap. XIII. Schism between the churches of the East and of the West - 121
Chap. XIV. Of the holy men who flourished in Egypt at this period - 123
Chap. XV. Didymus the blind, and Aetius the heretic * & - 130
Chap. XVI. Piety of St. Ephraim - - - - - - - 132
Chap. XVII. Progress of Christianity - * tº-3 &º * º - 136
Chap. XVIII. Religious sentiments of the sons of Constantine gº - 137
Chap. XIX. Council of Ariminum - wº tº º sºs 4- - 138
Chap. XX. Return of Athanasius to Alexandria - - - - 139
Chap. XXI. Letter of Constantius in behalf of Athanasius - tº - 141
Chap. XXII. Letter from the Council of Jerusalem in favour of Athana-
sius º gº º gº tº ſº i- tº- - 142
Chap. XXIII. Innocence of Athanasius acknowledged by Valens and
Ursacius gº *-º gº tº sº s ſºme - 143
Chap. XXIV. Letter written by Valens and Ursacius to Athanasius - 144
THE HISTORY..—BOOK IV. Pages 146—201.
CHAPTER I. Death of the Emperor Constans - sº º s - 146
Chap. II. Arianism favoured by Constantius --> º s - 146
Chap. III. Martyrdom of Martyrius and Marcian - tº - 147
Chap. IV. Military expeditions of Constantius sº sº sº - 148
Chap. V. Appearance of the sign of the Cross in the heavens - - 149
Chap. VI. Council of Sirmium. Three formularies of faith - - 149
Chap. VII. Death of Magnentius, Silvanus, and Gallus - tº- - 152
Chap. VIII. Arrival of Constantius at Rome. Cabals of the Arians
against Athanasius - gº iº Es ū- * - - 153
Chap. IX. Council of Milan. Banishment of Athanasius tº - 155
Chap. X. Miraculous escape of Athanasius. Cruelty of George - 157
Chap. XI. Exile of Liberius, bishop of Rome gº tº-º: sº - 159
Chap. XII. Heresy of Aetius tºº g gº sº * wº - 161
Chap. XIII. Letter of George, bishop of Laodicea - &º tº- - I 63
Chap. XIV. Letter of Constantius against Eudoxius - º sº- - 164
Chap. XV. Return of Liberius to Rome - * tº-3 º wº - 166
Chap. XVI. Earthquake at Nicomedia & gº tºº. tº tº- - 167
Chap. XVII. Council of Ariminum - tº tº tº ſº- * * - 172
Chap. XVIII. Letter from the Council to Constantius - se sº - 174
Châp. XIX. Reply of the emperor. Second letter of the Council - 177
Chap. XX. Persecution of those who held that the Son is consub-
* stantial with the Father - sº tº- e Tºº - 180
Chap. XXI. Persecution of the Novatians in Paphlagonia. Translation
of the body of Constantine tº- tº- º- t- - 181
Chap. XXII. Council of Seleucia 3- tº- {- sº º t- - 183
Chap. XXIII. The deputies of the Council of Seleucia accept the formulary
of the Council of Ariminum - gºe tº: sº - 188
xii CONTENTS.
PAGE
Chapter XXIV. Formulary of Ariminum approved by the partizans of
Acacius - * tº gº tº i_ º- tº - 190
Chap. XXV. Deposition of Cyril, and consequent dissensions - - 194
Chap. XXVI. Death of Macedonius - gº sº gº s tº - 195
Chap. XXVII. Heresy of Macedonius defended by Marathonius - - 196
Chap. XXVIII. Exile of Meletius - - - - - - - 198
Chap. XXIX. Fresh disturbances excited by the partizans of Acacius - 200
Chap. XXX. Cruelty of George, bishop of Alexandria. Bishops of
Jerusalem Eºs tº $º * gº tº Q = - 201
THE HISTORY..—BOOK W. Pages 202—247.
CHAPTER I. Apostasy of Julian. Death of Constantius - - - 202
Chap. II. Education of Julian. His accession to the throne - – 204
Chap. III. Progress of the Christian religion impeded by Julian - 209
Chap. IV. Inhabitants of Caesarea cruelly persecuted by Julian - 211
Chap. V. Julian affects to act with clemency and moderation. New
form of persecution sº sº e- gº tº- - 212
Chap. VI. Return of Athanasius to Alexandria &= * * – 214
Chap. VII. Death of George - gº sº gº * tº tº º - 215
Chap. VIII. Death of Theodore. Death of Julian, the uncle of the
emperor - wº s tºº * gºs tºº zº - 217
Chap. IX. Martyrdom of Eusebius, Nestabis, and Zemo - x - - 218
Chap. X. Character and miracles of Hilarion. Martyrdom of Some
holy virgins tº <--> se *E* {-} tº sº - 220
Chap. XI. Martyrdom of several Christians - tº gº * - 223
Chap. XII. Council of Alexandria - gºs gº gº dº º - 225
Chap. XIII. Dissensions between Paulinus and Meletius, Eusebius and
Lucifer - *sº s sºr * sº tº-> tº - 226
Chap. XIV. Dispute between the partizans of Macedonius and of
Acacius sº e- sº *-* º-> i º tº - 227
Chap. XV. Banishment of Athanasius. Ancestors of Sozomen - 228
Chap. XVI. Paganism fostered by Julian. His letter to a Pagan priest 231
Chap. XVII. Julian strives to destroy Christianity without having
recourse to open persecution - E. tº gº - 234
Chap. XVIII. Julian prohibits Christians from the study of literature.
Works of Apollinarius - º * tº-e tº- - 237
Chap. XIX. Book of Julian against the inhabitants of Antioch. Relics
of Babylas tº- tº *- gº * gº *-*. - 238
Chap. XX. Fortitude of Theodore the confessor. Conflagration of
the temple of Apollo sº &= gº sº es - 241
Chap. XXI. Statue of Jesus Christ. Fountain of Emmaus. Tree of
Egypt 㺠gº ū- sº * wº sº * - 243
Chap. XXII. Permission granted by Julian to the Jews to rebuild their
temple. Failure of the undertaking - gº tº- - 245
THE HISTORY. —BOOK WI. Pages 248–322.
CHAPTER I. Expedition of Julian against the Persians. His death - 248
C O N T ENTS.
xiii
Chapter II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
Chap. VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap. IX
Chap. X
Chap. XI.
Chap. XII.
Chap. XIII
Chap. XIV.
Chap. XV.
Chap. XVI.
Chap. XVII.
Chap. XVIII.
Chap. XIX.
Chap. XX.
Chap. XXI.
Chap. XXII.
Chap. XXIII.
Chap. XXIV.
Chap. XXV
Chap. XXVI.
Chap. XXVII.
Visions concerning the death of Julian - tº- -: º
Proclamation of Jovian - gº tºº * sº sº *
Council of Antioch. Letter from the council to Jovian -
Virtues of Athanasius recognised by Jovian - wº Gºe
Death of Jovian. Proclamation of Valentinian - tº
Council of Lampsacus - º s s dºg sº dº
Revolt and death of Procopius º * * wº º sº
Persecution of those who adhered to the doctrines of Nicaea
Persecution of the orthodox by Valens - tºº * * sº
Formulary of faith drawn up by the Macedonians - tº:
Persecution of the orthodox. Flight and return of
Athanasius ise gºe tº º tº- tº tº- - º
Demophilus is elected to the bishopric of Constantinople
by the Arians, and Evagrius by the Orthodox sº tº
Eighty priests put to death by order of Valens tº tº
Dispute between Eusebius and Basil sº. & tº- tº
Eusebius succeeded by Basil - gº * - * º tº-
Friendship between Basil and Gregory - sº sº sº
Fidelity manifested by the citizens of Edessa in defence of
the faith - iº ſº sts tº. tº s * 4-
Death of Athanasius sº tº se sº * s º
Persecution of monks in Egypt -> * = º, tºº $º
Firm adherence of the Scythians to the Christian faith -
The Holy Ghost declared to be of the same substance as
the Father and the Son - tºº * * & sº gº
Death of Liberius. Contest between Damasis and Ursinus
Election of Ambrose to the bishopric of Milan E- gº
Heresies propounded by Apollinarius tº jº E. s
Innovation concerning the rite of baptism introduced by
Eunomius tº <º *-*. tº- º gº º *
Heresy of Eunomius condemned by the holy ascetics of
PAGE
251
254
255
257
258
260
262
263
264
266
270
271
272
273
274
275
277
278
280
281
282
285
287
290
Chap. XXVIII.
Chap. XXIX.
Chap. XXX.
Chap. XXXI.
Chap. XXXII.
Chap. XXXIII.
Chap. XXXIV.
Chap. XXXV.
Chap. XXXVI.
Chap. XXXVII.
Ch. XXXVIII.
Chap. XXXIX.
Chap. XL.
this period sº tº- * sº gº gº t_º gºg
Account of the ascetics who flourished in Egypt - ſº
Celebrated monks of Thebais sº -- º as tº
Monks of Scetis - gº sº * -º * ſº º º
Monasteries of Nitria - tº- tº- º :- sº º
Monks of Palestine s cº tº- ºs tº- gº *
Celebrated ascetics of Syria - ſº º sº gº
Account of the monks who dwelt near Edessa tº- º
Persecution of Philosophers by Valens - º tº tº
Death of Valentinian. Proclamation of Valentinian the
younger - tº ge sº sº sº sº tº gº
Christianity embraced by the Goths gº tºº sº gº
War between the Romans and Saracens. Conversion of
the latter nation & ſº * - * sº gº º
Peter installed in the government of the Churches of Egypt
Death of Valens - tº- sº gº sº gº = -
293
295
297
302
304
306
308
308
310
312
313
317
320
321
xiv.
C O N T E N T S.
CHAPTER I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
Chap. VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap. IX.
Chap. X.
Chap. XI.
Chap. XII.
Chap. XIII.
Chap. XIV.
Chap. XV.
Chap. XVI.
Chap. XVII.
Chap. XVIII.
Chap. , XIX.
Chap. XX.
Chap. XXI.
Chap. XXII.
Chap. XXIII.
Chap. XXIV.
Chap. XXV.
Chap. XXVI.
Chap. XXVII.
Chap. XXVIII.
Chap. XXIX.
CHAPTER I.
Chap. II.
THE HISTORY.—BOOK VII. Pages 323–372.
Assistance rendered to the Romans by the Saracens. Law
of Gratian - - - º - º s *
Elevation of Theodosius to the throne. Council of Antioch
Dissension between the followers of Meletius and of Pau-
linus º - - t- º - -> *
Baptism of Theodosius. Law against diversity in religious
opinions - º - *- *- - º ſº- -
Expulsion of Demophilus, the Arian bishop, from Constan-
tinople - - - º - - g- º -
Intrigues of the Arians. Eloquence of Eunomius - -
Council of Constantinople tº- *- - º * -
Election of Nectarius to the see of Constantinople - -
Decrees of the Council of Constantinople º º -
Humility of Martyrius. Translation of the body of Paul -
Flavian ordained to the bishopric of Antioch - tº- -
Attempt to establish uniformity in religion *- - -
Tyranny of Maximus. The Empress Justina and Ambrose.
Death of Gratian - -: tº- - -- º -
Birth of Honorius - - - - - - -
Demolition of Pagan temples, and consequent sedition -
Regulations of Nectarius concerning Penance - - -
Errors of Eunomius, Theophronius, and Eutychus - -
New heresy introduced by the Novatians. Feast of the
Passover - • - • - - --> -
Digression on the diversity prevailing in different churches
on points of discipline - * - - º -
Progress of Christianity. Demolition of Pagan temples.
Inundation of the Nile - tº- - ºrg *- -
Discovery of the head of John the Baptist - * sº
Death of Valentinian the younger. Revolt of Eugenius -
Sedition at Antioch. The wrath of the emperor appeased
by Flavian - - - - - º º -
Victory of Theodosius over Eugenius - t- - -
Massacre at Thessalonica. Intrepidity of Ambrose, bishop
of Milan - º cº- * º- º - * &-
Miracles performed by Donatus and Theotimus i- -
Miracles of St. Epiphanius - º - - tº- *
Exemplary conduct of Acacius, bishop of Beroea, of Zemo,
and of Ajax - - - º - - º -
Discovery of the relics of Habakkuk and Micah. Death of
Theodosius * - * gº - º - -
THE HISTORY.—BOOK VIII. Pages 373–420.
Accession of Arcadius and Honorius - - --> -
Account of John Chrysostom; his elevation to the see of
Constantinople - R- - tº- - • *- º
PAGE
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350
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361
363
366
367
369
371
373
375
C O N T E N T S.
XV
Chapter III. John establishes discipline among the clergy, and reconciles
Flavian with the Pope - tº- - - - *
Chap. IV. Death of Gainas - - - sº - - - -
Chap. W. Eloquence of John. Miracle wrought by him - - -
Chap. VI. Asia and Phrygia visited by John - - e- - tº-
Chap. VII. History and death of Eutropius sº - tº- - -
Chap. VIII. Ministry of John Chrysostom. Effects of his preaching -
Chap. IX. Advice given by John to Olympiade. Murmurs of the
clergy against him - *- - - s - sº
Chap. X. Dispute between Severian, bishop of Gabales, and John -
Chap. XI. Dispute in Egypt concerning the nature of the Deity -
Chap. XII. Enmity of Theophilus against four monks, called the
“Great Brothers” – - - - tº- - -
Chap. XIII. The monks appeal to John, bishop of Constantinople -
Chap. XIV. Books of Origen condemned by Eugenius. He excites the
people against John - * º - * - t-
Chap. XV. Conference between Epiphanius and the “Great Brothers”
Chap. XVI. Enmity of the empress against John - * a- -
Chap. XVII. Council held by Theophilus. Condemnation of John -
Chap. XVIII. Sedition of the people. Re-call of John - º - -
Chap. XIX. Departure of Theophilus. Restoration of John - -
Chap. XX. Statue of the empress. Deposition of John - - jºr
Chap. XXI. Attempt against the life of John - - º - -
Chap. XXII. Departure of John - - - - - - -
Chap. XXIII. Arsacius obtains the bishopric of John. Persecution of the
followers of John - - - - - - -
Chap. XXIV. Cruelty perpetrated upon a reader, a priest, and a pious
lady - - A - *- t- - * - -
Chap. XXV. Troubles excited by Stilicho - * * - sº - º
Chap. XXVI. Letter of Innocent, bishop of Rome - tº- - -
Chap. XXVII. Death of the Empress Eudoxia. Death of Arsacius. Elec-
tion of Atticus - - º †- - º -- **
Chap. XXVIII. Efforts of Innocent to convene a council and obtain the
restoration of John. Death of John - - - º
PAGE
379
380
383
384
386
387
388
390
391
392
394
395
398
399
400
402
404
406
407
409
410
412
414
415
418
420
THE HISTORY..—BOOK IX. Pages 421–442.
CHAPTER I. Death of Arcadius. Accession of Theodosius the
younger - - - - - - & - *
Chap. II. Discovery of the relics of forty martyrs - tº - rº-
Chap. III. Commendations on Pulcheria and her sisters - - sº
Chap. IV. Truce concluded with the Persians. Death of Stilicho -
Chap. V. Peace concluded with several nations, while others are
dispersed rº- - wº- tº- - sº - :-
Chap. VI. Siege of Rome - - - - - ºs - -
Chap. VII. Embassy despatched to Alaric - - * = - -
Chap. VIII. Proclamation of Attalus. He yields to Honorius - sº
421
423
426
426
428
429
430
431
xvi
CONTENTS.
Chapter
Chap.
Chap.
Chap.
Chap.
Chap.
Chap.
Chap.
Chap.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
Surrender of Rome sº-
Virtue of a Roman lady
Defeat of tyrants in the West
Constantine and Constans retire to Arles
Maximus, at the instigation of Gerontius, accepts the
insignia of imperial power -
Defeat and death of Edovicus
Ordination of Constantine.
Death of Honorius.
two empires - -
Discovery of the relics of Zechariah the prophet, and of
Stephen the proto-martyr
His death
His successors.
gº
Prosperity of the
PAGE
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
THE
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
O F
S () Z () M E N.
BOOK I.—CHAPTER I.
CONCERNING THE JEWISH NATION.—AUTHORS TO WIHOM
SOZOMEN WAS INDEBTED.
My mind has been often exercised in inquiring how it
is that other men are ready to believe in the Word of
God, while the Jews are so incredulous, although it was
to them that instruction concerning the things of God
was, from the beginning, imparted by the Prophets, who
likewise made them acquainted with the events attend-
ant upon the coming of Christ before they came to pass.
Besides, Abraham, the head of their nation and of the
circumcision, was accounted worthy to be an eye-witness,
and the host of the Son of God. And Isaac, his son,
was honoured as the type of the sacrifice on the cross,
for he was led bound to the altar by his father, and, as
accurate students of the Sacred Scriptures affirm, the
sufferings of Christ came to pass in like manner.
Jacob predicted that the hope of the nations would be
in Christ, which prediction is now accomplished; and he
likewise foretold the time of Christ's appearance when
he said, “The princes of the Hebrews of the tribe of Judah,
the chiefs of the tribe shall fail.” This clearly referred
to the reign of Herod; for this king was, on his father's
side, an Idumean, and on his mother's an Arabian, and
the government of the Jewish nation was delivered to
him by Augustus Caesar and the Roman senate. And
besides, among the other prophets, some declared before-
hand the birth of Christ, his ineffable conception, his
family, his country, and the continuance after his birth
of his mother's virginity; some predicted his divine and
1
2 EC CLESIASTIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK 1.
wonderful actions, while others foretold his sufferings, his
resurrection from the dead, his ascension into the heavens,
and the signs by which each of these events was accom-
panied. But if any be ignorant of these facts, it is not
difficult to obtain information by referring to the Sacred
Books. Josephus, the son of Matthias, who was a priest,
and moreover held in the highest repute by the Jews and
Romans, may likewise be regarded as a notable witness
to the truth concerning Christ (see Joseph. Antiq.lib. xviii.
c. 4.); for impressed, no doubt, by the wonderful works
wrought by our Lord, and the truthfulness of his doctrines,
this writer evidently shrinks from calling him a man, but
openly calls Him Christ, and records that he was con-
demned to the death of the cross, and appeared alive
again the third day. Nor was he ignorant of number-
less other wonderful predictions accomplished in Christ,
and uttered by the holy prophets. He further testifies
that many, both Jews and Greeks, followed after Christ
and continued in His love; and that the people who
bear His name had never lost, their corporate existence.
It appears to me that, in bearing witness to these things,
he loudly proclaims as the truth implied by the works,
that Christ is God. It appears, too, that, being struck
by the lustre of our Lord's miracles, he was led to steer
a middle course, and did not vilify those who believed
in Him, but, on the contrary, rather coincided in opinion
with them. When I reflect on these things, I am seized
with profound astonishment at the fact that Christianity
was not, in the first place, embraced by the Hebrews
prior to its reception by any other nation. It is true,
indeed, that the sibyl and certain oracles foretold what
was about to happen to Christ; yet all the Greeks must
not on that account be accused of unbelief: these pro-
phecies were, for the most part, written in verse, and
were intelligible only to the few who by their erudition
were able to understand more important truths than
those commonly taught to the people. It was, as appears
to me, by a Providence from above directing the harmo-
nious sequence of events, that truth was declared, not by
the prophets only, but also, in part, by men of other
CHAP. I.] CALLING OF THE GENTILES. 3
nations. It was, in fact, as if a musician, in order to elicit
some rare melody, were to strike a supernumerary chord,
or attach an additional chord to his instrument.
Having now shown that the Hebrews, although in the
possession of numerous and most distinct prophecies con-
cerning the coming of Christ, were less willing than the
Greeks to embrace the faith that is in Him, let what has
been said on the subject suffice. Yet let it by no means
be hence accounted contrary to reason that the church
should have been mainly built up by the conversion of
other nations ; for, in the first place, it is evident that,
in divine and great affairs, God delights to bring to pass
changes in a marvellous manner; and then, be it remem-
bered, it was by the exercise of no common virtues that
those who, at the very beginning, were at the head of
religious affairs, maintained their influence. If they did
not, indeed, possess resplendent gifts of eloquence, nor
the power of convincing their hearers by means of ma-
thematical demonstration, yet they accomplished the
work they had undertaken. They gave up their pro-
perty, neglected their kindred, were stretched upon a
cross, and, as if endowed with bodies not their own, suf-
fered divers excruciating tortures; neither seduced by
the adulation of the rulers and people of any city, nor
terrified by their menaces, they clearly evidenced by their
conduct that they were supported in the struggle by the
hope of a high reward. So that they, in fact, needed not
to resort to verbal arguments; for without any effort on
their part, their very deeds constrained the inhabitants of
every city and of every house to give credit to their tes-
timony even before they knew wherein it consisted.
Since then so divine and marvellous a change has
taken place in the circumstances of men, that ancient
superstitions and national laws have fallen into con-
tempt; since many of the most celebrated writers among \
the Greeks have tasked their powers of eloquence in
describing the Calydonian boar, the bull of Marathon,
and other similar prodigies which have had a real or
imaginary existence, why should not I rise above myself,
and write a History of the Church? For I am persuaded
4 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
ſ
that as the topic is not the achievements of men, it may
appear almost incredible that such a history should be
written by me, but, with God, nothing is impossible.
I at first felt strongly inclined to trace the course of
events from the very commencement; but on reflecting
that similar records of the past, up to their own time, had
been compiled by the learned Clemens and Hegesippus,
successors of the apostles, by Africanus the historian,
and by Eusebius surnamed Pamphilus,” a man inti-
mately acquainted with the sacred scriptures and the
writings of the Greek poets and historians, I merely drew
up an epitome in two books of all that is recorded to
have happened to the churches, from the ascension of
Christ to the deposition of Licinius. Now, however, by
the help of God, I will endeavour to relate the sequel of
the history.
I shall record the transactions with which I have been
connected, and also those concerning which I have been
informed by persons who, from their own observation or
otherwise, were well acquainted with them; and I shall
embrace the history of our own and the preceding gene-
ration. But I have sought for records of events of earlier
date amongst the established laws appertaining to reli-
gion, amongst the proceedings of the synods of the period,
amongst the novelties that arose, and in the epistles of
kings and priests. Some of these documents are pre-
served in palaces and churches, and others are dispersed,
and in the possession of the learned; I thought seriously,
at one time, of transcribing the whole, but on further
reflection I deemed it better, on account of the pro-
lixity of the documents, to give merely a brief synopsis
of their contents; yet whenever controverted topics are
introduced, I will readily transcribe freely from any
work that may tend to the elucidation of truth. If any
one who is ignorant of past events should conclude my
* The Greek Ecclesiastical Historians of the First Six Centuries,
newly Translated into English: viz. I. Eusebius's History, to A.D. 324 ;
II. Eusebius's Life of the Emperor Constantine, Orations, &c.; III.
Socrates's History, A.D. 305—445; IV. Sozomen's Narrative, A.D.
324–440; W. Theodoret's History, A.D. 322–428 ; VI. Evagrius's
History, A.D. 43 l—594. In Six uniform Volumes. *
CHAP. I.] SCOPE AND TENDENCY OF THIS HISTORY. 5
history to be false because he meets with conflicting
statements in other writings, let him know that since the
dogmas of Arius and other more recent hypotheses have
been broached, the rulers of the churches, differing in
opinion among themselves, have transmitted in writing
their own peculiar views, for the benefit of their respec-
tive followers; and further, be it remembered, these
rulers convened councils and issued what decrees they
pleased, often condemning unheard those whose creed
was dissimilar to their own, and striving to their utmost
to induce the reigning prince and nobles of the time to
side with them. Intent upon maintaining the orthodoxy
of their own dogmas, the partisans of each sect respec-
tively formed a collection of such epistles as favoured
their own heresy, omitting all documents of a contrary
tendency. Such are the obstacles by which we are beset
in our endeavours to arrive at a conclusion on this sub-
ject Still, as it is requisite, in order to maintain histo-
rical accuracy, to pay the strictest attention to the means
of eliciting truth, I felt myself bound to examine all
writings of this class with great diligence.
Let not an impertinent or malignant spirit be imputed
to me, for having dwelt upon the disputes of ecclesiastics
among themselves, concerning the primacy and the pre-
eminence of their own sect. In the first place, as I have
already said, an historian ought to regard every thing as
secondary in importance to truth; and, moreover, the
purity of the doctrine of the Catholic church is evidenced
by the fact of its being the most powerful, for often has
it been tested by the attacks of opinionists of antago-
nistic dogmas: yet, the disposal of the lot being of God,
the Catholic church has maintained its own ascendancy,
has re-assumed its own power, and has led all the churches
and the people to the reception of its own truth.
I have had to deliberate whether I ought to confine
myself to the recital of events connected with the church
under the Roman government, but it seemed more ad-
visable to include, as far as possible, the record of trans-
actions relative to religion among the Persians and bar-
barians. Nor is it foreign to ecclesiastical history to
6 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
introduce in this work an account of those who were
the fathers and originators of what is denominated
monachism, and of their immediate successors, whose
celebrity is well known to us either by observation or
report. For I would neither be considered ungracious,
and willing to consign their virtue to oblivion, nor yet
be thought ignorant of their history; but I would wish
to leave behind me such a record of their manner of life
that others, led by their example, might attain to a
blessed and happy end. As the work proceeds, these
subjects shall, therefore, meet with due attention.
I now, in full reliance upon the help and propitious-
ness of God, proceed to the narrative of events; so here
closes the introduction to the work.
CHAPTER II.
OF THE BISHOPS OF THE LARGE TOWNS IN THE REIGN OF
CONSTANTINE; AND HOW, FROM FEAR OF LICINIUS, CHRIS-
TIANITY WAS PROFESSED IN SECRET IN THE EAST AS FAR.
AS LYBIA, WHILE IN THE WEST, THROUGH THE FAVOUR OF
CONSTANTINE, IT WAS OPENLY PROFESSED.
A.D. 324.—DURING the consulate of Constantine Caesar
and Crispus Caesar, Silvester governed the church of
Rome, Alexander that of Alexandria, and Macarius that
of Jerusalem. No one, since Romanus, had been appointed
over the church of Antioch on the Orontes, for the per-
secution, it appears, had prevented the ceremony of
ordination from taking place. The bishops assembled
at Nicaea were, however, so sensible of the purity of the
life and doctrines of Eustathius, that they adjudged him
worthy to fill the apostolic throne; he was then bishop
of Beroea, a place in the neighbourhood; they, there-
fore, translated him to Antioch.
The Christians of the East, as far as Lybia on the
borders of Egypt, did not dare to meet openly as a
church, for Licinius had withdrawn his favour from
them; but the Christians of the West, the Greeks, the
Macedonians, and the Illyrians, met for worship in safety
through the protection of Constantine, who was then at
the head of the Roman Empire.
CHAP. III.] VISION OF THE CROSS.—A.D. 312. 7
CHAPTER III.
BY THE VISION OF THE CROSS, AND BY THE APPEARANCE OF
CHRIST, CONSTANTINE IS LED TO EMBRACE CEIRISTIANITY.
—HE RECEIVES RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION FROM OUR BRETH-
REN.
WE have been informed that Constantine was led to
honour the Christian religion by the concurrence of
several different events, particularly by the appearance
of a sign from heaven. When he first formed the reso-
lution of entering into a war against Maxentius, he was
beset with doubts as to the means of carrying on his
military operations, and as to the quarter whence he
could look for assistance. In the midst of his perplexity,
he saw, in a vision, the sign of the cross shining in
heaven. He was amazed at the spectacle, but some holy
angels, who were standing by, exclaimed, “Oh Constan-
tine! by this, go forth to victory!” And Christ himself
appeared to him, and showed him the symbol of the
cross, and commanded him to construct one like unto
it, and to retain it as his help in battle, as it would ensure
the victory. Eusebius, surnamed Pamphilus, affirms
that he heard the emperor declare with an oath that, as
he was reclining, about the middle of the day, he and the
soldiers who were with him, saw in heaven the trophy
of the cross composed of light, and encircled by the fol-
lowing words, “By this, go forth to victory.” This sign
met him by the way, when he was perplexed as to whi-
ther he should lead his army. While he was reflecting
on what this could mean, night came on ; and when
he fell asleep, Christ appeared with the sign which he
had seen in heaven, and commanded him to construct
a representation of the symbol, and to use it as his help
in hostile encounters. There was nothing further to be
elucidated, for the emperor clearly apprehended the
necessity of serving God. At daybreak, he called toge-
ther the priests of Christ, and questioned them concerning
their doctrines. They opened the sacred scriptures, and
expounded the truths relative to Christ, and showed him,
8 EC CIL E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
from the prophets, how the things which had been pre-
dicted had been fulfilled. The sign which had appeared
to him was the symbol, they said, of the victory over
Hell; for Christ came among men, was stretched upon
the cross, died, and returned to life the third day. On
this account, they said, there was hope that at the close
of the present dispensation, there would be a general
resurrection of the dead, and entrance upon immortality,
when those who had led a good life would receive accord-
ingly, and those who had done evil would be punished.
Yet, continued they, the means of salvation and of purifi-
cation from sin are provided; namely, for the unini-
tiated, initiation according to the canons of the church;
and, for the initiated, abstinence from renewed trans-
gression. But as few, even among holy men, are capable
of complying with this latter condition, another method
of purification is set forth, namely, repentance; for God,
in his love towards man, bestows forgiveness on those
who have fallen into sin, on their repentance and the
confirmation of their repentance by good works.
CHAPTER IV.
CONSTANTINE COMMANDS THE SIGN OF THE CROSS TO BE
CARRIED BEFORE HIM IN BATTLE.
THE emperor, amazed at the prophecies concerning
Christ which were expounded to him by the priests, sent
for some skilful artizans, and commanded them to re-
model the standard called by the Romans Labarum,
to convert it into a representation of the cross, and to
adorn it with gold and precious stones. This warlike
trophy was valued beyond all others, for it was always
carried before the emperor, and was worshipped by the
soldiery. I think that Constantine changed the most
honoured symbol of the Roman power into the sign of
Christ, chiefly that by the habit of having it always in
view, and of worshipping it, the soldiers might be in-
duced to abandon their ancient forms of superstition,
and to recognise the true God whom the emperor wor-
shipped, as their leader, and their help in battle: for
this symbol was always borne in front of the household
CHAP. V.] THE TIME OF CONSTANTINE’s conversION. 9
legions, and was, at the command of the emperor, carried
among the phalanxes in the thickest of the fight, by an
illustrious band of spearmen, of whom each one in turn
took the standard upon his shoulders, and paraded it
through the ranks. It is said that, on one occasion, on
an unexpected movement of the hostile forces, the man
who held the standard, placed it in the hands of another,
and fled; when he got beyond the reach of the enemy's
weapons, he suddenly received a deadly wound and fell,
while the man who had stood by the divine symbol re-
mained unhurt, although many weapons were aimed at
him; for the missiles of the enemy, directed by divine
agency, lighted upon the standard, and the bearer thereof
was preserved in the midst of danger. It is also asserted,
that no soldier who bore this standard in battle was
ever killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.
CH APT ER. W.
REFUTATION OF THE ASSERTION THAT CONSTANTINE EM-
BRACED CHRISTIANITY IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE DEATH
OF HIS SON CEISPU.S.
I AM aware that it is reported by the Greeks that Con-
stantine, after slaying some of his nearest relations, and
particularly after assenting to the murder of his son Cris-
pus, repented of his evil deeds, and inquired of Sosipater,
the philosopher, who was then master of the school of
Plotinus, concerning the means of purification from guilt.
The philosopher (so the story goes), replied that such
moral defilement could admit of no purification; the em-
peror was grieved at this repulse, but happening to meet
with some bishops who told him that he would be cleansed
from sin on repentance and on submitting to baptism,
he was delighted with their representations and doc-
trines, and became a Christian, and the leader of those
who were converted to the same faith. It appears to
me that this story was the invention of persons who
desired to vilify the Christian religion. Crispus, on
whose account, it is said, Constantine required purifi-
cation, did not die till the twentieth year of his father's
10 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK I.
reign; he held the second place in the empire and bore
the name of Caesar, and many laws, framed with his
sanction, in favour of Christianity, are still extant.
That this was the case, can be proved by referring to
the dates affixed to these laws, and to the lists of the
legislators. It does not appear likely that Sosipater had
any intercourse with Constantine, whose government
was then centered in the regions near the ocean and the
Rhine ; for his dispute with Maxentius, the governor
of Italy, had created so much dissension in the Roman
dominions, that it was then no easy matter to dwell in
Gaul, in Britain, or in the neighbouring countries, in
which, it is universally admitted, Constantine embraced
the religion of the Christians, previous to his war with
Maxentius, and prior to his return to Rome and Italy:
and this is evidenced by the dates of the laws which he
enacted in favour of religion. But even granting that
Sosipater chanced to meet the emperor, or that he had
epistolary correspondence with him, it cannot be ima-
gined the philosopher was ignorant that Hercules, the
son of Alcmena, obtained purification at Athens by the
celebration of the mysteries of Ceres, after the murder
of his children, and of Iphitus, his guest and friend.
That the Greeks held that purification from guilt of this
nature could be obtained, is obvious from the instance I
have just alleged, and he is a false calumniator who re-
presents that Sosipater taught the contrary. I cannot
admit the possibility of the philosopher's having been
ignorant of these facts; for he was, at that period, esteemed
the most learned man in Greece.
CHAPTER WI.
THE FATHER OF CONSTANTINE PERMITTED THE PROPAGA-
TION OF CHRISTIANITY, BUT CONSTANTINE THE GREAT
CAUSED IT TO BE PREACHED THROUGEIOUT THE WORLD.
UNDER the government of Constantine, the churches
flourished, and increased in numbers, they were enriched
by the benevolence and favour of the emperor, and God
preserved them from the persecutions and troubles which
CHAP. VI.] CONSTANTIUS THE FATHER OF CONSTANTINE. 11
they had previously encountered. When the churches
were suffering from persecution in other parts of the
world, Constantius alone, the father of Constantine, pro-
tected the Christians. I know of an extraordinary fact
relating to him which is worthy of being recorded. He
wished to test the fidelity of certain Christians, excellent
and good men, who were attached to his palace. He
called them all together, and told them that if they
would sacrifice to idols as well as serve God, they should
remain in his service and retain their appointments; but
that if they refused compliance with his wishes, they
should be sent from the palace, and should scarcely
escape his vengeance. When difference of judgment
had divided them into two parties, separating those who
consented to abandon their religion from those who
preferred the honour of God to their present welfare,
the emperor determined upon retaining those who had
adhered to their faith as his friends and counsellors;
but he turned away from the others, whom he regarded
as unmanly impostors, and sent them from his presence,
judging that they who had so readily betrayed their
God, could not be faithful to their king. Hence, as
Christians were deservedly retained in the service of
Constantius, he was not willing that Christianity should
be accounted unlawful in the countries beyond the con-
fines of Italy, that is to say, in Gaul, in Britain, or in
the region of the Pyrenean mountains as far as the
Western Ocean. When Constantine succeeded to this
government, the affairs of the churches became still
more prosperous. And when Maxentius, the son of
Herculius, was slain, the government of his provinces
devolved upon Constantine; and the nations who dwelt
by the river Tiber and the Eridanus, the people who
were called the aborigines of Padua, those who dwelt by
the Aquiline, whither, it is said, the ship of Argos was
dragged, and the inhabitants of the coasts of the Tyr-
rhenian Sea, were permitted the exercise of their religion
without molestation.
When the Argonauts fled from Æetes, they returned
homewards by a different route, crossed the sea of
12 EC CLESIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
Scythia, sailed up the mouth of some river, and so gained
the shores of Italy, where they built a city, which they
called Hemona. The following summer, with the assist.
ance of the people of the country, they dragged their
ship, by means of machinery, the distance of four hun-
dred stadia, and so reached the Aquiline, a river which
falls into the Eridanus: the Eridanus itself falls into the
Italian Sea.
After the battle of Cibalae, the Greeks and the Mace-
donians, the inhabitants of the banks of the Danube, of
Achaia, and the whole nation of Illyria, became subject
to Constantine.
CHAPTER VII.
CONCERNING THE DISPUTE BETWEEN CONSTANTINE AND
LICINIUS, HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, ABOUT THE CHRISTIANS.
—DEFEAT AND DEATH OF LICINIUS. *
AFTER this battle, Licinius, who had previously re-
spected the Christians, withdrew his favour from them,
and ill treated many of the priests who lived under his
government; he also persecuted several other persons,
but especially the soldiers. He was deeply incensed
against the Christians on account of his disagreement
with Constantine, and thought to wound him by their
sufferings; and, besides, he suspected that they earnestly
desired that Constantine alone should enjoy the sovereign
rule. In addition to all this, we may mention that, when
on the eve of another war with Constantine, Licinius, in
order to prepare his mind for the event of the contest,
had recourse to sacrifices and Oracles, and that, deceived
by promises of power, he returned to the religion of the
Greeks. The Greeks themselves, too, relate that, about
this period, he consulted the oracle of Apollo Didymus at
Miletus, concerning the result of the war, and received
an answer from the demon, couched in the following
words of Homer:—
O old man, much do the youths distress thee, warring with thee!
Thy strength has become enfeebled, but thy old age shall be hard.
It has often appeared to me that the Christian religion
CHAP. VIII.] DEATH OF LICINIUS.—A.D. 324. 13
is supported, and its advancement secured, by the super-
intendence of Divine Providence; but never was I more
fully convinced of this truth, than by the circumstances
which occurred at this period; for, at the very moment
that Licinius was about to persecute all the churches in
his dominions, the war in Bithynia broke out, which
ended in a war between him and Constantine, and in
which Constantine was so strengthened by Divine assist-
ance, that he was victorious by land and by sea. On
the destruction of his fleet and army, Licinius retired to
Nicomedia, and resided for some time at Thessalonica
as a private individual, but was eventually killed.
Such was the end of one who, at the beginning of his
reign, had distinguished himself in war and in peace,
and who had been honoured by receiving the sister of
Constantine in marriage.
C H APTER VIII.
CONSTANTINE LEGALISES THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRIS-
TIAN RELIGION, CONSTRUCTS RELIGIOUS EDIFICES, AND
PERFORMS OTHER, DEEDS FOR THE PUBLIC WELFARE.
As soon as the sole government of the Roman Empire
was vested in Constantine, he issued a decree command-
ing all the people of the East to honour the Christian
religion, to worship the Divine Being, and to recognise,
as God alone, the one true God whose power endureth
for ever and ever : for He delighteth to give all good
things abundantly to those who zealously embrace the
truth; He prospers their undertakings and fulfils their
desires, while misfortunes, whether in peace or in War,
whether in public or in private life, befall transgressors.
Constantine then added, but without vain boasting, that,
God having accounted him meet and Worthy to reign, he
had been led from the British Seas to the Eastern Pro-
vinces in order that the Christian religion might be
extended, and that the worshippers of God who had
confessed His name and had remained faithful under
sufferings, might be advanced to public honours. After
making these statements, he entered upon other details
14 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
connected with the interests of religion. He decreed
that all acts and judgments passed by the persecutors of
the Church against Christianity should be revoked; and
commanded that all those who, on account of their con-
fession of Christ, had been sent to banishment—(either
to the isles or elsewhere, contrary to their own inclina-
tion)—and all those who had been condemned to labour
in the mines, the public works, the manufactures, or had
been enrolled as public functionaries, should be restored
to liberty. He removed the stigma of dishonour from
those upon whom it had been cast, and permitted those
who had been deprived of high appointments in the army,
either to re-assume the command, or to remain in pri-
vacy, according to their own choice; and when he re-
called them to the enjoyment of their former liberties
and honours he likewise restored their possessions. In
the case of those who had been slain, and whose property
had been confiscated, he enacted that the inheritance
should be transferred to the next of kin, or, in default
of heirs, to the church belonging to the locality where
the estate was situated: and when the inheritance had
passed into other hands, and had become either private or
national property, he commanded it to be restored. He
likewise promised to resort to the fittest and best pos-
sible arrangements when the property had been pur-
chased by the Exchequer, or had been received there-
from by gift. These measures, as it has been said,
having been enacted by the emperor, and ratified by law,
were forthwith carried into execution. Christians were
thus placed in almost all the principal posts of the Roman
government; the worship of false gods was universally
prohibited; and the arts of divination, the dedication of
statues, and the celebration of Grecian festivals were
interdicted. Many of the most ancient customs observed
in the cities fell into disuse; and, among the Egyptians,
the measure used to indicate the increase of the waters
of the Nile, was no longer borne into Grecian temples,
but into churches. The combats of gladiators were then
prohibited among the Romans, and the custom which
prevailed among the Phoenicians of Lebanon and Helio-
CHAP. VIII.j CONSTANTINE SOLE EMPEROR.—A.D. 324. 15
polis, of prostituting virgins before marriage, was abo-
lished. As to the houses of prayer, the emperor
repaired those which were of sufficient magnitude, en-
larged and beautified others, and erected new edifices in
places in which no building of the kind had existed pre-
viously. He furnished the requisite supplies from the
imperial treasury, and wrote to the bishops of the cities
and the governors of the provinces, desiring them to
contribute whatever they wished, and enjoining submis-
sion and obedience to the hierarchy.
The prosperity of religion kept pace with the increased
prosperity of the empire. After the war with Licinius,
the emperor was successful in battle against foreign
nations; he conquered the Sarmatians and the people
called Goths, and concluded an advantageous treaty
with them. These people dwelt beyond the Danube;
and, as they were warlike, strong in numbers, and pos-
sessed of a large standing army, they kept the other
tribes of barbarians in awe, and found antagonists in
the Romans alone. It is said that, during this war,
Constantine perceived clearly, by means of signs and
visions, that the special protection of Divine Providence
had been extended to him. Hence, when he had van-
quished all those who rose up in battle against him, he
evinced his thankfulness to Christ by zealous attention
to the concerns of religion, and exhorted the governors
to recognise the one true faith and way of salvation.
He enacted that part of the funds levied from tributary
countries should be forwarded by the various cities to
the bishops and clergy, wherever they might be domiciled,
and commanded that the law enjoining this gift should
be a statute for ever. In order to accustom the soldiers
to worship God as he did, he had their weapons
marked with the symbol of the cross, and he erected
a house of prayer in the palace. When he engaged in
war, he caused a tent to be borne before him constructed
in the shape of a church, so that in case he or his army
might be led into the desert, they might have a sacred
edifice in which to praise and worship God, and parti-
cipate in the mysteries.* Priests and deacons followed
* Mvarmptov, that is to say the Sacraments.
16 E C C L E S I A ST ICA L H IS TO R.Y. [BOOK I.
the tent for the purpose of officiating therein, according
to the law and regulations of the Church. From that
period the Roman legions, which now were called by
their number, provided each its own tent, with attendant
priests and deacons. He also enjoined the observance
of the day termed the Lord's day, which the Jews call
the first day of the week, and which the Greeks dedicate
to the sun, as likewise the day before the seventh, and
commanded that no judicial or other business should be
transacted on those days, but that God should be served
with prayers and supplications. He honoured the Lord's
day, because on it Christ arose from the dead, and the
day above mentioned, because on it He was crucified.
He regarded the cross with peculiar reverence, on account
both of the power which it conveyed to him in war, and
also of the divine manner in which the symbol had
appeared to him. He abolished the law which had pre-
vailed among the Romans of putting criminals to death
by crucifixion. He commanded that this divine symbol
should be affixed to his image on coins and pictures; and
this fact is evidenced by the relics of this kind which are
still in existence. And indeed he strove in every thing,
particularly in the enactment of laws, to serve God. It
appears, too, that he prohibited many flagitious and licen-
tious connexions, which till that period had not been
forbidden, and, in fact, made so many laws of this kind,
that it would, it appears to me, be tedious to recount
them, so that I shall now bring this subject to a close.
I consider it necessary, however, to mention the laws
enacted for the honour and consolidation of religion, as
they constitute a considerable portion of Ecclesiastical
History. I shall therefore proceed to the recital.
CHAPTER IX.
CONSTANTINE ENACTS A LAW IN FAVOUR OF THE CI,ERGY
AND OF THOSE WHO PRESERVE THEIR VIRGINITY.
THERE was an ancient Roman law by which those who
Were unmarried at the age of twenty-five were not ad-
mitted to the same privileges as the married; amongst
CHAP. IX.] LAWS IN FAvoUR OF THE CLERGY. 17
other clauses in this law, it was specified that they were
not to receive any bequests by testament, except from
their own relatives; and also, that those who were child-
less, were to be deprived of half of any property that might
be bequeathed to them. The object of this ancient Roman
law was to increase the population of Rome and the pro-
vinces, which had been much reduced in numbers by
the civil wars. The emperor, perceiving that this enact-
ment militated against the interests of those who con-
tinued in a state of celibacy and remained childless for
the sake of God, and deeming it absurd to attempt the
multiplication of the human species by the care and
zeal of man (nature always receiving increase or de-
crease according to the fiat from on high), made a law
enjoining that the unmarried and childless should have
the same advantages as the married. He even bestowed
peculiar privileges on those who embraced a life of con-
tinence and virginity, and permitted them, contrary to
the usage which prevailed throughout the Roman em-
pire, to make a will before they attained the age of
puberty; for he believed that those who devoted them-
selves to the service of God and the cultivation of philo-
sophy would, in all cases, judge aright. For a similar
reason the ancient Romans permitted the vestal virgins
to make a will as soon as they attained the age of six
years, and the emperor was even more influenced by this
example than by his reverence for religion.
Constantine likewise enacted a law in favour of the
clergy, permitting judgment to be passed by the bishops
when litigants preferred appealing to them rather than
to the secular court; he enacted that their decree should
be valid, and as far superior to that of other judges
as if pronounced by the emperor himself; that the
governors and subordinate military officers should see
to the execution of these decrees; and that sentence,
when passed by them, should be irreversible.
Having arrived at this point of my history, it would
not be right to omit all mention of the laws passed in
favour of those individuals in the churches who had
received their freedom. Owing to the strictness of the
2
18 ECCLES IASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK I.
laws and the unwillingness of masters, there were many
difficulties in the way of the acquisition of freedom, that
is to say, of the freedom of the city of Rome; Constan-
tine, therefore, made three laws, enacting, that all those
individuals whose freedom should be attested by the
priests, should receive the freedom of Rome. The records
of these pious regulations are still extant, it having been
the custom to engrave on tablets all laws relating to
manumission. Such were the enactments of Constan-
tine; in every thing he sought to promote the honour of
religion: and religion was valued, not only for its own
sake, but also on account of the virtue of those who then
professed it.
C HAPTER X.
CONCERNING THE GREAT CONFESSORS OF THE FAITH WHO
FLOURISHED AT THIS PERIOD.
DURING this period of cessation from persecution,
many excellent Christians, and many who had survived
the recent troubles and had witnessed a good confession,
adorned the churches; among these were Hosius, bishop
of Cordova, Amphion, bishop of Epiphania in Cilicia,
Maximus, who succeeded Macarius in the bishopric of
Jerusalem, and Paphnutius, an Egyptian. It is said
that by this latter God wrought many miracles, enabling
him to expel demons and to heal divers kinds of sick-
ness. This Paphnutius and Maximus, whom we just
mentioned, were among the number of confessors whom
Maximinus condemned to the mines, after having de-
prived them of the right eye, and the use of the left leg.
CHAPTE R XI.
ACCOUNT OF ST. SPYRIDION; HIS MODESTY AND
TRANQUILLITY.
SPYRIDION, bishop of Trimithon in Cyprus, flourished at
this period. His virtues are evidenced by the fame which
still surrounds his name. The wonderful works which
he wrought by divine assistance are, it appears, generally
known by those who dwell in the same region. I shall
CHAP. XI.] ST. SPYRIDION.—A.D. 324. 19
not conceal the records concerning him which have come
to my knowledge.
He was a peasant, was married, and had children, yet
was not, on this account, deficient in spiritual attain-
ments. It is related that one night some wicked men
entered his sheepfold, and were in the act of stealing his
sheep, when they were suddenly bound, and yet no one
bound them; the next day, when he went to the fold, he
found them there, and released them from their invi-
sible bonds: he reproved them for having come as
thieves by night to steal the sheep, instead of having
asked for them. He felt compassion towards them, and,
desirous of affording them instruction, so as to induce
them to lead a better life, he said to them, “Go, and
take this ram with you; it is not just that all your
labour should be in vain, or that you should return
empty-handed after having watched all night.” This
action is well worthy admiration, but not less so is that
which I shall now relate. An individual confided a
deposit to the care of his daughter, who was a virgin,
and was named Irene. For greater security, she buried
it; and it so happened that she died soon after, without
mentioning the circumstance to any one. The person to
whom the deposit belonged came to ask for it; Spyri-
dion knew not what answer to give him, so he searched
the whole house for it; but not being able to find it, the
man wept, tore his hair, and seemed ready to expire.
Spyridion, touched with pity, went to the grave, and
called the girl by name, and inquired where the deposit
was concealed; after obtaining the information desired,
he returned, found the treasure in the place that had
been signified to him, and gave it to the owner. As
I have entered upon this subject, it may not be amiss to
mention another incident.
It was a custom with this Spyridion to give a certain
portion of his fruits to the poor, and to lend another
portion without interest; but neither in giving or re-
ceiving did he ever take the fruits in his own hands; he
merely pointed out the storehouse, and told those who
resorted to him to take as much as they needed, or to
20 EC CI, ESIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
restore what they had borrowed. A certain man once
came to return what had been lent to him, and Spyri-
dion, as usual, desired him to replace it in the store-
house. The man determined to act unjustly, and, ima-
gining that the matter would be concealed, did not
liquidate the debt, but went away under pretence of
having made restoration. This, however, could not be
long concealed. After some time the man came back
again to borrow, and was sent to the storehouse, with
permission to measure out for himself as much as he
required. Finding the storehouse empty, he went to
acquaint Spyridion, and this latter said to him, “I won-
der, O man, how it is that you alone have found the
storehouse empty and unsupplied with the articles you
require; reflect whether you do not now stand in need of
the things which you did not restore; were it otherwise,
what you seek would not be lacking. Go, trust, and you
will find.” The man felt the reproof and acknowledged
his error.
The firmness of this divine man, and his excellent
administration of ecclesiastical affairs, are worthy of
admiration. It is said that, on one occasion, the bishops
of Cyprus met to consult on some particular emergency;
TSpyridion was present, as likewise Triphyllius, bishop of
Ledra, an eloquent and learned man, who had studied
the law for many years at Berytus. Having been re-
quested to address the people, Triphyllius had occasion,
in the middle of his discourse, to quote the text, “Take
up thy bed and walk;” and he substituted the word
“couch” (orkiutovs), for the word “bed” (kpá88atos).
Spyridion, indignant at this refinement upon the text,
exclaimed, “Art thou greater than He who uttered the
word “bed,’ that thou art ashamed to use His words?”
Then, turning from the throne of the priest, he looked
towards the people, and said that such learning ought to
be used with moderation, lest the pride of eloquence
\ should arise. His age and honourable deeds excited
respect, and he ranked high among the presbytery, not
only on account of his age, but because he had been long
in the priesthood.
CHAP. XII.] MANNERS AND CUSTOMs of THE MONRs. 21
The reception which Spyridion gave to strangers will
appear from the following incident. When he was about
eighty years of age, it happened that a traveller came to
visit him at one of those periods of the year when it was
his custom to fast, with his household, on alternate days.
Perceiving that the stranger was much fatigued, Spyri-
dion desired his daughter to wash his feet and set meat
before him. The virgin replying that there was neither
bread nor meat in the house, for it would have been
superfluous to provide such things at the time of the
fast, Spyridion, after having prayed and asked forgive-
ness, desired her to cook some salt pork which chanced
to be in the house. When it was prepared, he sat down
to table with the stranger, partook of the meat, and told
him to follow his example. ... But the stranger declining,
under the plea of being a Christian, he said to him, “It
is for that very reason that you ought not to decline
partaking of the meat, for it is taught in the word of
God, that to the pure all things are pure.” Such are the
details which I had to relate concerning Spyridion.
CHAPTER XII.
ON THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE MONKS;-THEIR
ORIGIN AND FOUNDERS.
A.D. 324.—THOSE who at this period had embraced
monasticism, manifested the glory of the Church, and
evidenced the truth of their doctrines, by their virtuous
line of conduct. Indeed, the most useful thing that has
been received by man from God is their philosophy.
They neglected many branches of mathematics and the
technicalities of dialectics, because they regarded such
studies as superfluous, and as a useless expenditure of
time, seeing that they contribute nothing towards the
better regulation of life and conduct. They applied
themselves exclusively to the cultivation of natural and
useful science, in order that they might mitigate if not
eradicate evil. They invariably refrained from ac-
counting any action or principle as good which occupies
a middle place between virtue and vice, for they delighted
22 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
only in what is good and virtuous. They regarded
every man as wicked, who, though he abstain from evil,
does not do good. They practised virtue, not only in
word but in deed, and sought not honour of man. They
manfully subjugated the passions of the soul, yielding
neither to the necessities of nature, nor to the weakness
of the body. Being strengthened by divine assistance,
they lived in ceaseless contemplation of the Creator,
night and day worshipping Him, and offering up prayers
and supplications. Pure in heart and blameless in con-
duct, they faithfully performed their religious duties,
and despised such outward observances as lustrations
and instruments of sprinkling, for they believed that sin
alone requires purging. They lived above the reach of
the external casualties to which we are liable, and
held, as it were, all things under their control; and were
not therefore diverted from the path they had selected
by the accidents of life or by the force of necessity. They
never revenged themselves when injured, nor complained
when suffering from disease or privations, but rather
rejoiced in such trials, and endured them with patience
and meekness. They accustomed themselves to be con-
tent with little, and approximated as nearly to God as is
possible to human nature. They regarded this life only
as a journey, and were not therefore solicitous about
acquiring wealth, or amassing more than necessity re-
quired. They admired the beauty and simplicity of
nature, but their hope was placed in heaven and the
blessedness of the future. Wholly absorbed in the
worship of God, they revolted from obscene language;
and as they had banished evil practices, so they would
not allow such things to be even named. They limited,
as far as possible, the demands of nature, and compelled
the body to be satisfied with moderate supplies. They
overcame intemperance by temperance, injustice by
justice, and falsehood by truth, and attained the happy
medium in all things. They dwelt in harmony and fel-
lowship with their neighbours. They provided for their
friends and strangers, imparted to those who were in
want, according to their need, and comforted the afflicted.
CHAP. XII.] MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE MONKs. 23
As they were diligent in all things, and zealous in seeking
the supreme good, their instructions, though clothed in
modesty and prudence, and devoid of vain and meri-
tricious eloquence, possessed power, like sovereign
medicines, in healing the moral diseases of their audi-
ence; they spoke, too, with fear and reverence, and,
eschewed all strife, raillery and anger. Indeed, it is but
reasonable to suppress all irrational emotions, and to
subdue carnal and natural passions. Elias the prophet
and John the Baptist were the authors, as some say, of
this sublime philosophy. Philo the Pythagorean relates,
that in his time the most virtuous of the Hebrews as-
sembled from all parts of the world, and settled in a
tract of country situated on a hill near Lake Mareotis,
for the purpose of living as philosophers. He describes
their dwellings, their regulations and their customs, as
similar to those which we now meet with among the
monks of Egypt. He says that from the moment they
began to apply to the study of philosophy, they gave up
their property to their relatives, relinquished business
and society, and, quitting the cities, dwelt in fields and
in gardens. They had also, he informs us, sacred edifices
which were called monasteries, in which they dwelt
apart and alone, occupied in celebrating the holy mys-
teries, and in worshipping God with psalms and hymns.
They never tasted food before sunset, and some only
took food every third day, or even at longer intervals.
Finally, he says that on certain days they lay on the
ground and abstained from wine and the flesh of animals;
that their food was bread, salt, and hyssop, and their
drink, water; and that there were aged virgins among
them, who, for the sake of philosophy, had refrained
from marriage. In this narrative, Philo seems to de-
scribe certain Jews who had embraced Christianity, and
yet retained the customs of their nation, for novestiges of
this manner of life are to be found elsewhere; and hence
I conclude that this philosophy flourished in Egypt from
this period. Others, however, assert that this mode of
life originated from the persecutions for the sake of
religion which arose from time to time, and by which
24 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
many were compelled to flee to the mountains and
deserts and forests, and adopt these customs.
CHAPTER XIII.
ANTONY THE GREAT AND ST. PAUL.
WHETHER the Egyptians or others are to be regarded
as the founders of this philosophy, it is universally ad-
mitted that it was carried to perfection by Antony, an
ascetic, virtuous, and renowned monk. His fame was so
widely spread throughout the deserts of Egypt, that the
Emperor Constantine sought his friendship, entered into
epistolary correspondence with him, and urged him to
proffer any request that he might desire. He was an
Egyptian by birth, and belonged to an illustrious family
of Coma, a village situated near the town, called by the
Egyptians Heraclea. He was but a youth when he lost
his parents; he bestowed his paternal inheritance upon
his fellow-villagers, sold the rest of his possessions, and
distributed the proceeds among the needy ; for he was
aware that philosophy does not merely consist in the
relinquishment of property, but in the proper distribution
of it. He obtained the acquaintance of the most eminent
men of his time, and strove to imitate all the virtues dis-
played by others. Believing that the practice of goodness
would become delightful by habit, though arduous at
the onset, he entered upon a course of rigid and increas-
ing austerity, and day by day his zeal seemed to augment,
just as if he were always re-commencing his undertaking.
He subdued the voluptuousness of the body by labour,
and restrained the passions of the mind by the aid of
divine wisdom. His food was bread and salt, his drink
water, and he never broke his fast till after sunset. He
often remained two or more days without eating. He
watched, so to speak, throughout the night, and continued
in prayer till day-break. If at any time he indulged in
sleep, it was but for a little while on a mat spread upon
the ground, but generally he lay upon the ground itself.
He rejected the practice of anointing with oil, and of
bathing, regarding such habits as likely to relax the body
CHAP. XIII.] ANTONY THE GREAT.—A.D. 309. 25
by moisture; and it is said that he never at any time saw
himself naked. He neither possessed nor admired learn-
ing, but he valued a good understanding, as being prior,
to learning, and as being the origin and source of it. He
was exceedingly meek and philanthropic, prudent and
manly; cheerful in conversation and friendly in disputa-
tions, even when others used the controverted topics as
occasion for strife. He possessed so much skill and saga-
city, that he restored moderation, and stilled altercations
at their very commencement, and tempered the ardour
of those who conversed with him. Although, on account
of his extraordinary virtues, he received the gift of fore-
telling future events, he never regarded this power as
being superior to virtue, nor did he counsel others to
seek this gift rashly, for he considered that no one woul
be punished or rewarded according to his ignorance or
knowledge of futurity: for true blessedness consists in
the service of God, and in obeying His commands. “But,”
said he, “if any man would know the future, let him seek
spiritual purification, for then he will have power to walk
in the light, and to foresee things that are to happen, for
God will reveal the future to him.” He never suffered
himself to be idle, but exhorted all those who seemed
disposed to lead a good life to diligence in labour, to
self-examination and confession of sin before Him who
created the day and the night; and when they erred, he
urged them to record the transgression in writing, that
so they might be ashamed of their sins, and be fearful
lest they should come to the knowledge of others. He
zealously defended those who were oppressed, and in their
cause often resorted to the cities; for many came out to
him, and compelled him to intercede for them with the
rulers and men in power. All the people honoured
him, listened with avidity to his discourses, and yielded
assent to his arguments; but he preferred to remain
unknown and concealed in the deserts. When compelled
to visit a city, he never failed to return to the deserts as
soon as he had accomplished the work he had undertaken;
for he said, that as fishes are nourished in the water, so
the desert is the world prepared for monks; and as fishes
26 EC CLESIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
die when thrown upon dry land, so monks lose their
gravity in the world. His deportment was polite and
courteous towards all, and free from the very appearance
of pride. I have given this concise account of the
manners of Antony, in order that an idea of his phi-
losophy may be formed, by analogy, from the description
of his conduct in the desert.
He had many renowned disciples, of whom some flou-
rished in Egypt, and others in Lybia, Palestine, Syria,
and Arabia; like their master, they all dwelt in solitude,
and subjugated themselves, and they instructed others in
philosophy and virtue. But it would be difficult to find
the disciples of Antony or their successors, for they
sought concealment more earnestly than many ambitious
men, by means of pomp and show, now seek popularity
and renown.
We must relate, in chronological order, the history of
the most celebrated disciples of Antony, and particu-
larly that of Paul, surnamed the Simple. It is said that
he dwelt in the country, and was married to a beautiful
woman, and that, having surprised her in the act of adul-
tery, he declared, with a smiling and placid countenance,
that he would live with her no longer; that he left her
with the adulterer, and went immediately to join Antony
in the desert. It is further related, that he was exceed-
ingly meek and patient; and that, being aged and unac-
customed to monastic severity, Antony put his strength
to the proof by various trials; and that, having given evi-
dence of perfect philosophy, he was sent to live alone, as
no longer requiring a teacher. And God Himself con-
firmed the testimony of Antony; for Paul manifested
his illustrious character by his wonderful works and by
his power in expelling demons, in which he even sur-
passed his teacher.
CHAPTER XIV.
ACCOUNT OF ST. AMMON AND EUTYCHIUS OF OLYMPUS.
IT was about this period that Ammon the Egyptian
embraced philosophy. It is said that he was compelled
CHAP. XIV.] LIFE OF ST. AMMON.—A.D. 309—324. 27
to marry by his family, but that his wife never knew him
carnally; for, on the day of their marriage, when they
were alone, and when he as the bridegroom was leading
her as the bride to his bed, he said to her, “Oh woman
our marriage has indeed taken place, but it is not con-
summated;” and then he shewed her from the Holy
Scriptures that it is good to remain a virgin, and entreated
that they might live apart. She was convinced by his
arguments concerning virginity, but was much distressed
by the thought of being separated from him; he there-
fore, though occupying a separate bed, lived with her
for eighteen years, during which time he did not neglect
the monastic exercises. At the end of this period, the
woman, whose emulation had been strongly excited by
his virtues, became convinced that it was not just that
such a man should, on her account, live in the domestic
sphere; and she considered that it was necessary that
each should, for the sake of philosophy, live apart from
the other. The husband therefore took his departure,
after having thanked God for the counsel of his wife,
and said to her, “Do thou retain this house, and I will
make another for myself.” He retired to a desert place,
south of the Mareotic Lake, between Scitis and the
mountain called Nitria; and here, during two and twenty
years, he devoted himself to philosophy, and visited his
wife twice every year. This divine man founded monas-
teries in the regions where he dwelt, and gathered round
him many disciples of note, whom we shall have occasion
to mention hereafter. Many extraordinary events hap-
pened to him, which have been diligently recorded by the
Egyptian monks, for they sought to hand down, in un-
broken tradition, the record of the virtues of the ancient
ascetics. I have here related a few of such facts as have
come to my knowledge.
Ammon and his disciple Theodore had once occasion
to take a long journey, and on the road found it requisite
to cross a watercourse called Lycus. Ammon ordered
Theodore to pass over backwards, lest they should witness
each other's nudity, and as he was likewise ashamed to see
himself naked, he was suddenly, and by a divine impulse,
28 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
seized and carried over, and landed on the opposite bank.
When Theodore had crossed the water, he perceived that
the clothes and feet of the elder were not wet, and en-
quired the reason; not receiving a reply, he expostulated
strongly on the subject, and at length Ammon, after
stipulating that it should not be mentioned during his
lifetime, confessed the fact.
Here follows another miracle of the same nature.
Some wicked people having brought to him their son,
who had been bitten by a mad dog, and was nigh unto
death, in order that he might heal him, he said to them:
“Your son does not require my interposition, restore to
your masters the ox which you have stolen, and he will
be healed.” And the result was even as had been pre-
dicted, for the ox was restored and the malady of the
child removed. It is said that, when Ammon died,
Antony saw his spirit ascending into heaven, and sur-
rounded by heavenly beings, singing hymns; Antony
regarded this wonderful spectacle with intense amaze-
ment, and on being questioned by his companions as to
the cause of his evident astonishment, he did not con-
ceal the matter from them. A short time after, certain
persons came from Scitis, bringing the intelligence of
Ammon's death; and the hour in which they stated this
event to have taken place was precisely that which had
been indicated by Antony. Thus, as is testified by all
good men, each of these holy persons was blessed in a
special manner: the one, by being released from this
life; the other, by being accounted worthy of witnessing
so miraculous a spectacle as that which God shewed him;
for Antony and Ammon lived at a distance of many
days’ journey from each other, and the above incident is
corroborated by those who were personally acquainted
with them both.
I am convinced that it was likewise during this reign
that Eutychius embraced philosophy. He fixed his
residence in Bithynia, near Olympus. He belonged to
the sect of the Novatians, and was a partaker of divine
grace; he healed diseases and wrought miracles, and the
fame of his virtuous life induced Constantine to seek his
CHAP. xv.] THE ARIAN HERESY.—A.D. 324. 29
intimacy and friendship. It so happened that, about this
period, a certain person, who was suspected of plotting
against the emperor, was apprehended near Olympus,
and imprisoned. Eutychius was besought to intercede
on his behalf with the emperor, and, in the meantime,
to direct that the prisoner's chains might be loosened,
lest he should perish beneath their weight. It is related
that Eutychius accordingly sent to the officers who held
the man in custody, desiring them to loosen the chains;
and that, on their refusal, he went himself to the prison,
when the doors, though fastened, opened of their own
accord, and the bonds of the prisoner fell off. Eutychius
afterwards repaired to the emperor, who was then
residing at Byzantium, and easily obtained a pardon,
for Constantine esteemed him too highly to refuse his
requests.
I have now given in few words the history of the most
illustrious professors of the monastic philosophy. If any
one desires further or more exact information, he will
find it in the numerous works on the subject which have
been issued.
CHAPTER XV.
THE ARIAN HERESY, ITS ORIGIN; ITS PROGRESS; AND THE
CONTENTION WEHICH IT OCCASIONED AMONG THE BISHOPS.
ALTHOUGH, as we have shown, religion was in a
flourishing condition at this period, yet the Church was
disturbed by sore contentions; for under the pretext of
piety and of seeking the more perfect knowledge of God,
certain questions were agitated, which had not, till then,
been examined. Arius was the originator of these dis-
putations. He was an elder of the Church at Alexandria
in Egypt, and was at first a zealous supporter of truth,
yet upholding at the same time the innovations of Me-
litius. Eventually, however, he abandoned these opinions,
and was ordained deacon by Peter, bishop of Alexandria,
who afterwards cast him out of the Church, because he
reprehended the conduct of this prelate in preaching
against the Meletians, and in rejecting their baptism.
30 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK I.
After the martyrdom of Peter, Arius asked forgiveness
of Achillas, and was restored to his office as deacon, and
afterwards elevated to the presbytery. Alexander, also,
held him in high repute. He was a most expert logician,
but perverted his talents to evil purposes, and had the
audacity to preach what no one before him had ever
suggested, namely, that the Son of God was made out of
that which had no prior existence, that there was a
period of time in which He existed not, that, as possessing
free will, He was capable of virtue or of vice, and that
He was created and made; to these, many other similar
assertions were added in support of the argument. Those
who heard these doctrines advanced, blamed Alexander
for not opposing opinions which seemed at variance with
the faith. But this bishop deemed it more advisable to
leave each party to the free discussion of doubtful topics,
so that by persuasion, rather than by force, unanimity
might be restored; hence he assembled some of his clergy
around him, and sat down, as judge, to hear the state-
ments of the contending parties. But it happened on
this occasion, as is generally the case in a strife of words,
that each party claimed the victory. Arius defended
the assertions he had advanced against the Son, but the
others contended that he was con-substantial and co-
eternal with the Father. The council was convened a
second time, and the same points contested, but they
came to no agreement amongst themselves. During the
debate, Alexander seemed to incline first to one party
and then to the other; finally, however, he declared
himself in favour of those who affirmed that the Son
was con-substantial and co-eternal with the Father, and
he commanded Arius to receive this doctrine, and to
reject his former opinions. Arius, however, would not
be persuaded to compliance, and many of the bishops
and clergy considered his statement of doctrine to be
correct; Alexander, therefore, ejected him, and the clergy
who concurred with him in sentiment, from the Church.
Those of Alexandria who had embraced his opinions
were the presbyters Aithalas, Achillas, Carpon, Sarmates,
and Arius, and the deacons Euzoius, Macarius, Julius,
CHAP. XV.] THE ARIAN HERESY. —A.D. 324. 31
Minas and Helladius. Many of the people, likewise,
sided with them; some, because they imagined their
doctrines to be of God, others, as frequently happens
in similar cases, because they believed them to have
been ill-treated and unjustly excommunicated. Such
being the state of affairs at Alexandria, the partizans
of Arius deemed it prudent to seek the favour of the
bishops of other cities; accordingly, they sent a written
statement of their doctrines to them, requesting them
that, if they considered such sentiments to be of God,
they would signify to Alexander that he ought not to
molest them; but that, if they disapproved of the doctrines,
they would do well to declare what opinions were neces-
sary to be held on the points in question. This precaution
was of no little advantage to Arius and his partizans, for
their tenets became thus universally disseminated, and
the questions they had started became matters of debate
among all the bishops. Some wrote to Alexander, en-
treating him not to receive the partizans of Arius into
communion unless they repudiated their opinions, while
others wrote to urge a contrary line of conduct. When
Alexander perceived that many who were eminent for
their virtues, their piety, or their eloquence, held with
the party of Arius, and particularly Eusebius bishop of
Nicomedia, a man of considerable learning, and held in
high repute at the palace, he wrote to the bishops of
every church, desiring them not to hold communion
with them. This measure only served to increase the
violence of the controversy, and, as might have been
expected, the contest was carried on more acrimoniously
than before. Eusebius and his partizans had often, though
without success, entreated Alexander to continue in com-
munion with them; and they considered themselves so
much aggrieved by this measure, that they came to a
stronger determination than before to support the doc-
trines of Arius. A synod having been convened in
Bithynia, they wrote to all the bishops, desiring them to
hold communion with the Arians, as with those making a
true confession, and to require Alexander to hold com-
munion with them likewise. As compliance could not
32 E C C L E S I ASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK I.
be extorted from Alexander, Arius sent messengers to
Paulinus bishop of Tyre, to Eusebius Pamphilus, who
presided over the Church of Caesarea in Palestine, and
to Patrophilus bishop of Scythopolis, soliciting permission
for himself and for his adherents, as he had already at-
tained the rank of presbyter, to form the people who
were with them into a Church. For it was the custom in
Alexandria, as it still is in the present day, that all the
churches should be under one bishop, but that each
presbyter should have his own church, in which to
assemble the people. These three bishops, in concur-
rence with others who were assembled in Palestine,
ranted the petition of Arius, and permitted him to
assemble the people as before; but enjoined submission
to Alexander, and commanded Arius to strive incessantly
to be restored to peace and communion with him.
CHAPTE R XVI.
CONSTANTINE, HAVING HEARD OF THE STRIFE OF THE
BISHOPS, AND THE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION CONCERNING
THE PASSOVER, IS GREATLY TROUBLED, AND SENDS
HOSIUS, A SPANIARD, BISHOP OF CORDOVA, TO ALEXAN-
DRIA, TO SETTLE THESE DISPUTES.
AFTER there had been many synods held in Egypt,
and the contest had still continued to increase in vio-
lence, the report of the dissension reached the palace,
and Constantine was thereby greatly troubled; for just
at this period, when religion was beginning to be more
generally propagated, many were deterred by the differ-
ence in doctrines from embracing Christianity. The
emperor openly charged Arius and Alexander with hav-
ing originated this disturbance, and wrote to rebuke
them for having made a controversy public which it was
in their power to have concealed, and for having con-
tentiously agitated a question which ought never to
have been mooted, or upon which, at least, their opinion
ought to have been quietly given. He told them that
they ought not to have separated from others on account
of difference of sentiment concerning certain points of
CHAP. XVII.] COUNCIL OF NICAEA.—A.D. 325. 33
doctrine, and that though they ought to entertain the
same views of Divine Providence, yet, that any occasional
variation of judgment on minor or doubtful topics ought
to be concealed. He exhorted them, therefore, to be of
One mind, and to refrain from contention; and added,
that the dissension had grieved him so exceedingly, that
he had renounced his intention of journeying to the
East. It was in this strain that he wrote to Alexander
and to Arius, reproving and exhorting them both.
Constantine was also deeply grieved at the diversity
of opinion which prevailed concerning the celebration of
the Passover, for some of the churches in the East,
although they did not secede from communion with the
others, kept the festival more according to the manner
of the Jews, and thus detracted from its glory. The
emperor zealously endeavoured to remove both these
causes of dissension from the church; and, with this view,
deputed one who was honoured for his faith, his virtuous
life, and his stedfast confession of truth, to put an end to
the strife which existed in Egypt on account of doctrine,
and in the East, on account of the Passover. This man
was Hosius, bishop of Cordova.
C HAPTER XVII.
OF THE COUNCIL CONVENED AT NICAEA ON ACCOUNT OF ARIU S.
WHEN it was found that the event did not answer the
expectations of the emperor, but that, on the contrary,
the breach was widened, so that he who had been sent
to make peace, returned without having accomplished
his mission, Constantine convened a synod at Nicaea, in
Bithynia, and wrote to the most eminent men of the
churches in every country, directing them to be there
on an appointed day. Of those who occupied the apos-
tolic thrones, the following were assembled at this
council:—Macarius, of Jerusalem; Eustathius, who pre-
sided over the church of Antioch on the Orontes; and
Alexander, of Alexandria on Lake Mareotis. Julius,
Bishop of Rome, was unable to attend on account of
extreme old age; but his place was supplied by Vito and
34 E CCI, E SIA ST I C A L H IS TO R.Y. [BOOK I.
Vicentius, presbyters of his church. Many other pious
and excellent men of the neighbouring provinces were
congregated together, of whom some were celebrated for
their learning, their eloquence, and their knowledge of
literature, sacred and profane ; some for the virtuous
tenor of their life, and others for the combination of all
these qualifications. About three hundred and twenty
bishops were present, accompanied by a multitude of
presbyters and deacons. There were, likewise, men
present who were skilled in the art of disputation, and
ready to assist in the discussions. And, as was usually
the case on such occasions, many priests resorted to the
council for the purpose of transacting their own private
affairs; for they considered this a favourable oppor-
tunity of effecting such alterations as they deemed
desirable, and of presenting petitions to the emperor
containing complaints against those by whom they con-
sidered themselves aggrieved. As this course was pur-
sued day after day, the emperor set apart one certain
day on which all complaints were to be brought before
him. When the appointed day arrived, he took the
memorials which had been presented to him, and said,
“All these accusations will be brought forward at the
great day of judgment, and will be judged by the Great
Judge of all men; as to me, I am but a man, and it
would be evil in me to take cognizance of such matters,
seeing that the accuser and the accused are priests; and
priests ought so to act as never to become amenable to
the judgment of others. Imitate, therefore, the divine
love and mercy of God, and be ye reconciled to one
another; withdraw your accusations against each other,
be, ye of one mind, and devote your attention to those
subjects connected with the faith on account of which
we are assembled.” After having thus urged them to
cease from criminating each other, the emperor com-
manded the memorials to be burnt; and then appointed
a day on which to commence the discussion of the ques-
tions which had brought them together. But before the
appointed day arrived, the bishops assembled together,
and having summoned Arius to attend, began to exa-
CHAP. xvii.I.] conversION OF Two PHILOSOPHERs. 35
mine the disputed topics, each one amongst them
advancing his own opinion. As might have been ex-
pected, however, many different questions started out of
the investigation ; some of the bishops spoke against
the introduction of novelties contrary to the faith which
had been delivered to them from the beginning, and
those, especially, who had adhered to simplicity of doc-
trine, argued that the faith of God ought to be received
without curious inquiries; others, however, contended
that former opinions ought not to be retained without
examination. Many of the bishops and of the inferior
clergy attracted the notice of the emperor and the court
by these disputations. Athanasius, who was then a deacon
of Alexandria, and had accompanied the bishop Alex-
ander, greatly distinguished himself at this juncture.
CHAPTE R XVIII.
Two PHILOSOPHERS ARE CONVERTED TO THE FAITH BY THE
SIMPLICITY OF TWO OLD MEN WITH WHOM THEY HELD
A DISPUTATION.
WHILE these disputations were being carried on, cer-
tain of the Pagan philosophers became desirous of
taking part in them; some, because they wished for in-
formation as to the doctrine that was inculcated, and
others, because, feeling incensed against the Christians
on account of the recent suppression of the Pagan
religion, they wished to stigmatize them with engaging
in strife about words, and to introduce dissensions
among them. It is related that one of these philoso-
phers, priding himself on his acknowledged superiority
of eloquence, began to ridicule the priests, and thereby
roused the indignation of a simple old man, highly
esteemed as a confessor, who, although unskilled in the
arts of reasoning and debating, undertook to oppose
him. The less serious of those who knew the confessor,
raised a laugh at his expense for engaging in such an
undertaking, but the more thoughtful felt anxious lest,
in opposing so eloquent a man, he should only render
himself ridiculous; yet his influence was so great, and
36 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTOR Y. [BOOK I.
his reputation so high among them, that they could not
forbid his engaging in the debate; and he accordingly
delivered himself in the following terms. “In the name
of Jesus Christ, O philosopher, hearken to me. There
is one God, the Maker of heaven and earth, and of all
things visible and invisible. He made all things by the
power of the Word, and established them by the holiness
of His Spirit. The Word, whom we call the Son of
God, seeing that man was sunk in error and living like
unto the beasts, pitied him, and vouchsafed to be born
of a woman, to hold intercourse with men, and to die for
them. And He will come again to judge each of us as
to the deeds of this present life. We believe these
things to be true with all simplicity. Do not, therefore,
expend your labour in vain by striving to disprove facts
which can only be understood by faith, or by scruti-
nizing the manner in which these things did or did not
come to pass. Answer me, dost thou believe?” The
philosopher, astonished at what had transpired, replied,
“I believe;” and having thanked the old man for having
overcome him in argument, he began to teach the same
doctrines to others. He exhorted those who still held
his former sentiments, to adopt the views he had
embraced, assuring them on oath that he had been
impelled to embrace Christianity by a certain inexplic-
able impulse.
It is said that a similar miracle was performed by
Alexander, bishop of Constantinople. When Constan-
time returned to Byzantium, certain philosophers came
to him to complain of the innovations in religion, and
particularly of his having introduced a new form of
worship into the empire, contrary to that followed by
his forefathers, and by all who were formerly in power,
whether among the Greeks or the Romans. They like-
wise desired to hold a disputation on the doctrine with
Alexander the bishop; and he, although unaccustomed
to the art of debating, accepted the challenge at the
command of the emperor; for he was a good and vir-
tuous man, and was supported by the consciousness of
his integrity. When the philosophers were assembled,
CHAP. XIX.] COUNCIL OF NICAEA.—A.D. 325. 37
and prepared to engage in the discussion, he requested
that one might be chosen as spokesman, while the others
were to remain silent. When one of the philosophers
began to open the debate, Alexander said to him, “I
command thee in the name of Jesus Christ, not to
speak.” The man was instantaneously silenced. Surely
it is a greater miracle that a man, and that man a philo-
sopher, should be struck dumb thus easily, than that a
stone wall should be cleft by the power of a word, which
miracle I have heard some attribute with pride to
Julian, surnamed the Chaldean.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE EMPEROR HARANGUES THE ASSEMBLED SYNOD.
THE bishops held long consultations; and after sum-
moning Arius before them, enquired diligently into his
doctrines, yet at the same time withholding their final
decision. When at length the appointed day arrived on
which the controversy was to be terminated, they assem-
bled together in the palace, because the emperor had
signified his intention of taking part in the deliberations.
On his entrance, the emperor passed through to the
head of the council, and seated himself on the throne
which had been prepared for him, and then motioned to
the members of the synod to be seated: for seats had
been arranged on either side along the walls of the palace,
which was a very large and beautiful edifice.
After they were seated, Eusebius Pamphilus arose, and
delivered an oration in honour of the emperor, return-
ing thanks to God on his account. When he had ceased
speaking, and silence was restored, the emperor deli-
vered himself in the following words:—“I give thanks
to God for all things, but particularly, O friends, for
being permitted to see you assembled here, for I desired
most ardently to gather the priests of Christ into one
place : now, it is my desire that you should be of one
mind, and hold the same opinions in fellowship of spirit,
for dissension in the Church of God is the greatest of
evils. I never experienced more poignant sorrow than
38 E C C L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
when I heard that dissension had crept in among you, for
such an evil ought to have no existence among you, who
are the servants of God and the dispensers of peace. On
this account it is, that I have called you together in a
holy Synod, and being both your emperor and your
fellow-physician, I seek from you a favour which is accept-
able to our common Lord, and as honourable for me to
receive as for you to grant. The favour which I seek is,
that you examine the causes of division, and bring the
controversy to a close, and that you thus restore peace
and unanimity among yourselves; so that I may triumph
with you over our enemy the devil, who excited this
internal strife because he was provoked to see our
external enemies subdued and trampled upon beneath
our feet.” The emperor pronounced this discourse in
Latin, and the interpretation was supplied by a
bystander.
CHA PTE R. XX.
AFTER GIVING AUDIENCE TO BOTH PARTIES, THE EMPEROR
CONDEMNS THE FOLLOWERS OF ARIUS TO EXILE.
THE next debate turned upon the doctrinal contro-
versy. The emperor gave patient attention to the
speeches of both parties; he applauded those who spoke
well, rebuked those who displayed a tendency to alterca-
tion, and, so far as he was able, addressed himself with
kindness to all, for he was almost ignorant of the Greek
language. At the close of the debate, all the priests
came to a conclusion that the Son is con-substantial with
the Father. At the commencement of the conference
there were but seventeen who defended the opinions of
Arius, but eventually the majority of these yielded assent
to the decision of the Council. To this judgment the
emperor likewise deferred, for he regarded the unani-
mity which prevailed in the Council to be of Divine ap-
pointment, and he ordained that any one who should be
rebellious thereto, should be forthwith sent into banish-
ment, as guilty of endeavouring to overthrow the Divine
determination, I formerly deemed it necessary to tran-
CHAP. XXI.] EXCOMMUNICATION OF ARIUS.—A.D. 325. 39
scribe the confession (or symbol orvpušoxov) of faith
drawn up by the unanimous consent of this Council, in
order that posterity might possess a public record of the
truth; but subsequently, I was persuaded to the contrary
by some godly and learned friends, who represented that
such matters ought to be kept secret, as being only
requisite to be known by disciples and their instructors,
and it is probable that this volume will fall into the hands
of the unlearned. I have not, however, entirely sup-
pressed the information derived from my authorities, for
I would not that my readers should be in total ignorance
as to the decrees of the Council.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE DECREES OF THE COUNCIL ; THE CONDEMNATION OF
ARIUS; HIS BOOKS ARE TO BE BURNED; CERTAIN OF THE
ARCHIERARCHY DIFFER FROM THE SYNOD; THE PASSOVER.
IT ought to be known that the following points were
settled by the synod; that the Son is consubstantial with
the Father; and that those are to be excommunicated
who assert that there was a time in which the Son
existed not, and before which He was not, and that He
was made from what had no existence, and that He is
of another hypostasis and substance from the Father, and
that He is subject to change and mutation. This deci-
sion was sanctioned by Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia;
by Theognis, bishop of Nicaea, by Maris, bishop of Chal-
cedonia; by Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis; and by
Secundus, bishop of Ptolemais in Egypt. Eusebius Pam-
philus, however, at first withheld his assent, but on
further examination admitted the justice of the decree.
The Council excommunicated Arius and his adherents,
and prohibited his entering Alexandria. The words in
which his opinions were couched were likewise con-
demned, as also a work entitled “Thalia,” which he had
written on the subject. I have not read this book, but
have been told it is of a loose character, similar to the
odes of Sotades. It ought to be known that although
Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, and Theognis, bishop of
40 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK I.
Nicaea, assented to the exposition of faith set forth by
the Council, they neither agreed nor subscribed to the
deposition of Arius. The emperor sent Arius into
exile, and despatched edicts to the bishops and people of
every country, denouncing him and his adherents as un-
godly, and commanding that their books should be
destroyed, in order that no remembrance of him or of
the doctrine which he had broached might remain; and
the secretion of any of his writings was declared a capital
crime. The emperor wrote letters to every city against
Arius and those who had received his doctrines, and
commanded Eusebius and Theognis to quit the cities
whereof they were bishops ; he addressed himself in par-
ticular to the churches of Nicomedia and Nicaea, urging
them to adhere to the faith which had been set forth by
the Council, to elect orthodox bishops, and to let the past
fall into oblivion ; and he threatened those who should
venture to speak well of the exiled bishops, or to adopt
their sentiments. In these and in other letters, he ex-
pressed resentment against Eusebius, for having sided
with the tyrant against him. In accordance with the
imperial edicts, Eusebius and Theognis were banished,
and Amphion was elected bishop of Nicomedia, and
Chrestus of Nicaea. On the termination of the doctrinal
controversy, the Council decided that the Paschal feast
should be celebrated at the same time in every place.
CHAPTE R XXII.
ACESIS, BISHOP OF THE NOVATIANS, IS SUMMONED BY THE
EMPEROR TO BE PRESENT AT THE FIRST SYNOD.
IT is related that the emperor, under the impulse of
an ardent desire to see harmony re-established among
Christians, summoned Acesius, bishop of the Novatians
to the Council, placed before him the exposition of the
faith and of the feast, which had received the signature
of the bishops, and asked whether he could agree thereto.
Acesius answered that their exposition involved no new
doctrine, and that he accorded in opinion with the
synod, and that he had from the beginning held these
CHAP. xxIII.] DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF NICEA. 41
sentiments with respect both to the faith and to the
feast. “Why then,” said the emperor, “do you keep aloof
from communion with others, if you are of one mind with
them?” He replied, that the dissension first broke out
under Decius, between Novatius and Cornelius, and that
he considered such persons unworthy of communion
who, after baptism, had fallen into those sins which the
scriptures declare to be unto death; for that the remis-
sion of those sins, he thought, depended on the will of
God, and not on the priests. The emperor replied, by
saying, “Oh Acesius, take a ladder, and ascend alone to
Heaven.” By this speech I do not imagine the emperor
intended to praise Acesius, but rather to blame him,
because, being but a man, he fancied himself exempt
from sin.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CANONS APPOINTED BY THE COUNCIL; PAPHNUTIUS, A CERTAIN
CONFESSOR OF THE FAITII, RESTRAINS THE COUNCIL FROM
FORMING A CANON ENJOINING CELIBACY TO ALL WEHO
WOULD HAVE THE PRIESTHOOD HONOURED.
WITH the view of reforming the life and conduct of
those who were admitted into the churches, the synod
enacted several laws which were called canons. Some
thought that a law ought to be passed enacting that
bishops and presbyters, deacons and subdeacons, should
hold no intercourse with the wife they had espoused
before they entered the priesthood; but Paphnutius,
the confessor, stood up and testified against this propo.
sition; he said that marriage was honourable and chaste,
and advised the synod not to frame a law which would
be difficult to observe, and which might serve as an occa-
sion of incontinence to them and their wives; and he
reminded them that, according to the ancient tradition
of the church, those who were unmarried when they
entered the communion of sacred orders were required
to remain so, but that those who were married were
not to put away their wives. Such was the advice
of Paphnutius, although he was himself unmarried,
and, in accordance with it, the synod refrained from
42 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK I.
enacting the proposed law, but left the matter to the
decision of individual judgment. The synod, however,
enacted other laws, regulating the government of the
church; and these laws may easily be found, as they are
in the possession of many individuals.
CHAP TER XXIV.
CONCERNING MELITIUS, THE ORDINATIONS MADE BY HIM,
AND THE JUST ENACTMENTS OF THE EIOLY COUNCIL.
AFTER an investigation had been made into the conduct
of Melitius when in Egypt, the synod sentenced him to
reside in Lycus, and to retain only the name of bishop;
and prohibited him from ordaining any one either in a
city or a village. Those who had previously been ordained
by him, were permitted by this law to remain in com-
munion and in the ministry, but were to be accounted
inferior in point of dignity to other clergy; when by
death an appointment became vacant, they were allowed
to succeed to it, if deemed worthy by the vote of the
multitude, but in this case, were to be ordained by the
bishop of Alexandria, for they were interdicted from
exercising any power or influence in elections. This
regulation appeared just to the synod, for Melitius and
his followers had manifested great rashness and temerity
in administering ordination. The synod also vindicated
the honour of Peter, who had been ordained bishop of
the church of Alexandria, but who was obliged to flee
during the time of persecution, and had since received
the crown of martyrdom.
CHAPTER XXV.
HONOU R PAID TO THE BISHOPS BY THE EMPEROR.
At the very time that these decrees were passed by the
Council, the twentieth anniversary of the reign of Con-
stantine was celebrated: for it was a Roman custom to
have a feast on the tenth year of every reign. The
emperor, therefore, invited the bishops to the festival, and
• presented suitable gifts to them: and when they prepared
CHAP. xxv.] THE BISHOPS HONOURED. 43
to return home, he called them all together, and exhorted
them to be of one mind and at peace among themselves,
so that no dissensions might henceforth creep in among
them. After many other similar exhortations, he con-
cluded by commanding them to be diligent in prayer for
himself, his children, and the empire, and then bade them
farewell. He wrote to the churches in every city, in
order that those who had not been present at the Council,
might be informed of what had transpired; and address-
ing himself more particularly to the Alexandrians, he
urged them to receive unanimously the exposition of faith
which had been set forth by the Council, and had been
proved to be according to the Divine Will by the fact
that so many bishops, appointed by the Holy Spirit, had,
after lengthened disputation and investigation, consented
to it.
END OF BOOK I.
44 EC CLESIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
BOOK II.—CHAPTER I.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE CROSS AND OF THE HOLY NAILS.
WHEN the business at Nicaea had been transacted as
above related, the priests returned home. The emperor
rejoiced greatly at the restoration of unity of opinion in
the Church, and, desirous of expressing in behalf of him-
self, his children and the empire, the gratitude towards -
God which the unanimity of the Bishops inspired, he
directed that a house of prayer should be erected at
Jerusalem, near the place called Calvary. At the same
time his mother Helena repaired to that city, for the
purpose of offering up prayer, and of visiting the sacred
places. Her zeal for Christianity made her anxious to
find the wood which had formed the adorable cross.
But it was no easy matter to discover either this relic
or the Lord's sepulchre, for the Greeks, who in former
times had persecuted the Church, and who, at the first
promulgation of Christianity, had had recourse to every
artifice to exterminate it, had heaped up mounds of
earth upon the holy places, and, the more effectually to
conceal them, had enclosed the place of the Resurrection
and Mount Cavalry within a wall, and had moreover
ornamented the whole locality, and paved it with stone.
A temple and statue dedicated to Venus had also been
erected on the same spot by these people, for they
imagined that those who repaired thither to worship
Christ, would appear to bow the knee to Venus, and
that thus the true cause of offering worship in that
place would, in course of time, be forgotten; and that
as Christians would be unable to frequent the place in
safety, the temple and statue would come to be regarded
as exclusively appertaining to the Greeks. At length,
however, the secret was discovered and the fraud de-
tected; some say that the facts were first disclosed by
a Hebrew who dwelt in the East, and who derived his
information from some documents which had come to
CHAP. I.] DISCOVERY OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST. 45
him by paternal inheritance; but it seems more ac-
cordant with truth to believe that God revealed the
fact by means of signs and dreams; for I do not think
that human interposition is requisite when God has
determined upon the manifestation of hidden things.
When by command of the emperor the place was
excavated, the cave” whence our Lord arose from the
dead was discovered ; and, at no great distance, three
crosses were found and another separate piece of wood,
on which were inscribed in white letters, in Hebrew, in
Greek and in Latin, the following words, “Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” These words, as the
sacred book of the Gospels relates, were placed by com-
mand of Pilate, governor of Judaea, over the head of
Christ. There yet, however, remained a difficulty in
distinguishing the divine cross from the others, for the
inscription had been wrenched from it, and thrown aside,
and the cross itself had been cast aside with the others,
without any distinction, when the bodies of the crucified
were taken down. For, according to history, the soldiers
found Jesus dead upon the cross, and they took him
down, and gave him up to be buried; while, in order to
accelerate the death of the two thieves who were crucified
on either hand, they broke their legs, and then took
down the crosses, and flung them out of the way. It
was no concern of theirs to deposit the crosses in order,
for it was growing late, and as the men were dead, they
cared not to remain to attend to the crosses. A more
divine revelation than could be made by man, was there-
fore necessary in order to distinguish the true cross from
the others, and this revelation was given in the following
manner. There was a certain lady of rank in Jerusalem
who was afflicted with a grievous and incurable disease:
Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, accompanied by the
mother of the emperor and her attendants repaired
to her bedside. After engaging in prayer, Macarius
signified by signs to the spectators that the divine
cross would be the one which, on being brought in
contact with the invalid should remove the disease.
* Or sepulchre, &vrpóv.
46 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK II.
He approached her in turn with each of the crosses;
but when two of the crosses were laid on her, it seemed
but vanity and mockery to her, for she was at the gates
of death. When, however, the third cross was in like
manner brought to her, she immediately opened her
eyes, regained her strength, and arose. It is said that
a dead person was, in the same way, restored to life.
The divine cross having been thus identified, the greater
portion of it was deposited in a silver case, in which it
is still preserved in Jerusalem: but the empress sent
part of it to her son Constantine, together with the nails
by which the body of Christ had been fastened. Of
these, it is related, the emperor had a head-piece and
bit made for his horse, according to the prophecy of
Zechariah, who referred to this period when he said,
“That which shall be upon the bit of the horse, shall be
holy to the Lord Almighty” (Zech. xiv.). These things
indeed were formerly known to the sacred prophets, and
predicted by them, and at length, in God's own time,
were confirmed by wonderful works. Nor does this
appear so marvellous when it is remembered that, even
among the Greeks, it was confessed that the Sibyl had
predicted that thus it should be,
“Oh most blessed tree, on which our Lord was hung.”
Our most zealous adversaries cannot deny the truth of
this fact, and it is hence evident that a pre-manifestation
was made of the wood of the cross, and of the adoration
(oré80s) it received.
The above incidents we have related precisely as they
were delivered to us by men of great accuracy, by whom
the information was derived by succession from father
to son; and others have recorded the same events in
writing for the benefit of posterity.
CHAP. II.] THE EMPRESS HELENA.—A.D. 326. 47
C HAPTER II.
CONCERNING HELENA, THE MOTHER OF THE EMPEROR; SHE
VISITED JERUSALEM, BUILT TEMPLES IN THAT CITY, AND
PERFORMED OTHER GODLY WORKS: HER DEATH.
ABOUT this period the emperor, having determined
upon erecting a temple in honour of God, charged the
governors to see that the work was executed in the most
sumptuous and elaborate manner possible. His mother
Helena also erected two temples, the one at Bethlehem
near the cave where Christ was born, the other near the
top of the Mount of Olives, whence He ascended to heaven.
Many other pious acts of hers are on record; among
which the following is not the least remarkable. During
her residence at Jerusalem, it is related that she as-
sembled the sacred virgins at a feast, ministered to them
at supper, presented them with food, poured water on
their hands, and performed other similar services cus-
tomary on such occasions. When she visited the cities
of the East, she bestowed gifts on all the churches, en-
riched those individuals who had been deprived of their
possessions, supplied the necessities of the poor, and
restored to liberty those who had been long imprisoned,
or condemned to exile or the mines. It seems to me
that so many holy actions demanded a recompence;
and, indeed, even in this life, she was raised to the
summit of magnificence and splendour; she was pro-
claimed Augusta; her image was stamped on golden
coins, and she was invested by her son with unlimited
authority over the imperial treasury. Her death too
was glorious, for when, at the age of eighty, she quitted
this life, she left her son and her descendants, (like her
of the race of Caesar,) masters of the Roman world.
And if there be any advantage in being remembered
after death, it is certain that her name will be trans-
mitted to future generations, for two cities are named
after her, the one in Bithynia, and the other in Pales-
tine. Such is the history of Helena.
48 EC CLESIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
CHAPTER III.
TEMPLES BUILT BY CONSTANTINE :-THE CITY CALLED BY
HIS NAME :--THE TEMPLE DEDICATED TO MICHAEL THE
ARCHANGEL.
THE emperor, always intent on the advancement of
religion, erected magnificent temples to God in every
place, particularly in metropolises, such as Nicomedia
in Bithynia, Antioch on the river Orontes, and Byzan-
tium. He greatly improved this latter city, and made
it equal to Rome in power and influence; for, when he
had settled the affairs of the empire according to his
own mind, and had freed himself from foreign foes, he
resolved upon founding a city which should be called
by his own name, and should be equal in celebrity to
Rome. With this intention he repaired to a plain at
the foot of Troy, near the Hellespont, above the tomb of
Ajax, where, it is said, the Achaians entrenched them-
selves when besieging Troy; and here he laid the plan
of a large and beautiful city, and built the gates on an
elevated spot of ground, whence they are still visible
from the sea to mariners. But when he had advanced
thus far, God appeared to him by night, and commanded
him to seek another site for his city. Led by the hand
of God, he arrived at Byzantium in Thrace, beyond
Chalcedon in Bithynia, and here he was desired to build
his city, and to render it worthy of the name of Con-
stantine. In obedience to the command of God, he
therefore enlarged the city formerly called Byzantium,
and surrounded it with high walls; he also erected
magnificent dwelling houses, and being aware that the
former population was insufficient for so great a city, he
peopled it with men of rank and their households,
whom he summoned thither from Rome and from other
countries. He imposed taxes to cover the expenses of
building and adorning the city, and of supplying its
inhabitants with food. He erected all requisite edifices,
a hippodrome, fountains, porticoes, and other beautiful
CHAP. III.] THE CHURCH AT HESTIIS. 49
embellishments. He named it Constantinople and New
Rome, and constituted it the Roman capital for all the
inhabitants of the North, the South, the East, and the
shores of the Mediterranean, from the cities on the
Danube, and from Epidamnus and the Ionian Gulf, to
Cyrene and that part of Lybia called Bonium. He
created another senate, which he endowed with the same
honours and privileges as that of Rome, and he sought
to render the city which bore his name equal in every
respect to that of Rome in Italy: nor were his wishes
thwarted, for, by the assistance of God, it became the most
populous and wealthy of cities. I know of no cause to
account for this extraordinary aggrandizement, unless it
be the piety of the builder and of the inhabitants, and their
compassion and liberality towards the poor. The zeal
they manifested for Christianity was so great that many
of the Jewish inhabitants, and most of the Greeks, were
converted. As this city became the capital of the
empire during the period of religious prosperity, it was
not polluted by altars, Grecian temples, nor sacrifices;
and although Julian authorised the introduction of ido-
latry for a short space of time, it soon afterwards became
extinct. Constantine further honoured this new city of
Christ by adorning it with numerous and magnificent
houses of prayer, in which the Deity vouchsafed to bless
the efforts of the emperor by giving sensible manifesta-
tions of His presence. According to the general opinion
of foreigners and citizens, the most remarkable of these
edifices was that built in a place called Hestiis, but since
named Michaelius. This place lies to the right of those
who navigate the Pontus to Constantinople, and is
about thirty-five stadia distant from that city by water,
but if you make the circuit of the bay, the distance is
seventy stadia and upwards. It is generally believed
that Michael, the divine archangel, once appeared at this
place, and hence its name. And I, too, can join my
testimony to theirs who assert that the power of Michael
was manifest in this place. This was evidenced by
many wonderful works; for those who had fallen into
inevitable peril, those who were oppressed with heavy
50 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
calamities, or who were suffering from disease and
sorrow, there prayed to God, and met with immediate
deliverance. I should be prolix were I to give details
of these miraculous cures. But I cannot omit mention-
ing the case of Aquiline, who is an advocate in the same
court of justice as that to which we belong, and who is
even at the present time residing with us. I shall relate
what I saw myself, and what I heard from him concern-
ing this occurrence. Being attacked with a severe fever,
arising from disordered bile, the physicians administered
an aperient medicine. This he vomited, and, by the
effort of vomiting, diffused the bile, which tinged his
countenance with its own colour. He had no power to
retain his food, and continued a long time in this state;
the skill of the physicians was utterly ineffectual. Find-
ing that he was already half dead, he commanded his
servant to carry him to the house of prayer; for he said,
that there he would either die or be freed from his
disease. While he was lying there, a Divine Power
(övvopus) appeared to him by night, and commanded
him to dip his foot in a confection made of honey, wine,
and pepper. The man did so, and was freed from his
complaint, although the prescription was contrary to the
professional rules of the physicians, a confection of so
very hot a nature being considered adverse to a bilious
disorder. I have also heard that Probianus, one of the
physicians of the palace, who was suffering greatly from
a disease in the feet, likewise met with deliverance from
sickness at this place, and was accounted worthy of being
visited with a Divine and wonderful vision. He had
formerly been attached to the Grecian superstitions, but
afterwards became a Christian; yet, while he admitted
the probability of the rest of our doctrines, he could not
understand how, by the Divine Cross, the salvation of all
is effected. While his mind was in doubt on this sub-
ject, the symbol of the cross which lay on the altar of
this church was pointed out to him in a divine vision,
and he heard a voice openly declaring, that, as Christ
had been crucified on the cross, the necessities of the
human race, or of individuals, whatsoever they might
CHAP. IV.] SUPERSTITION ABOLISHED BY CONSTANTINE. 51
be, could not be met by the ministration of angels or of
good men; for that there was no power to help apart
from the cross. I have only recorded a few of the
incidents which I know to have taken place in this
temple: I shall not now recount them all.
CHAPTER IV.
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT ABOLISHEs SUPERSTITION,
AND BUILDS A TEMPLE.
I CONSIDER it necessary to detail the proceedings of
Constantine in relation to what is called the Oak of
Mamre. This place is now called Terebinthus, and is
about fifteen stadia distant from Hebron, which lies to
the south, but is two hundred and fifty stadia distant
from Jerusalem. It is recorded, that here the Son of
God appeared to Abraham, with two angels, who had
been sent against Sodom, and foretold the birth of his
son. Here the inhabitants of the country, and of the
regions round Palestine, the Phoenicians and the Ara-
bians, assemble annually during the summer season to
keep a feast; and many others, both buyers and sellers,
resort thither on account of the fair. Indeed this feast
is diligently frequented by all nations; by the Jews,
because they boast of their descent from the patriarch
Abraham; by the Greeks, because angels there appeared
to men; and by Christians, because He who, for the
salvation of mankind, was born of a virgin, there mani-
fested himself to a godly man. This place was moreover
honoured as the scene of divers religious exercises. Here
some prayed to the God of all; some called upon the
angels, poured out wine, burnt incense, or offered an ox,
or he-goat, a sheep, or a cock: for they were all intent
upon offering at this feast, for themselves and their
neighbours, the most precious and beautiful sacrifices.
And either from honour to the place, or from fear of
Divine wrath, they all abstained from coming near their
wives, although the women made their appearance at the
feast, and were then more than ordinarily studious of their
deportment and attire. Nor did they act imprudently
52 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK II.
in any other respect, although the tents were contiguous
to each other, and they all lay promiscuously together.
The place being under cultivation, contains no houses,
with the exception of the buildings around Abraham's
oak and well. No one during the time of the feast drew
water from that well, for, according to Grecian super-
stition, some placed burning lamps near it; some offered
wine and libations; and others, gold, myrrh or incense:
hence, as I suppose, the water was rendered useless by
the variety of things cast into it. Whilst these proceed-
ings were being carried on with usual solemnity by the
Greeks, the mother-in-law of Constantine visited the
place, and apprized the emperor of what was being done.
On receiving this information, he rebuked the bishops of
Palestine in no measured terms, because they had
neglected their duty, and had permitted a holy place to
be defiled by impure libations and sacrifices; and he
expressed his godly indignation in an epistle which he
wrote on the subject to Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem,
to Eusebius Pamphilus, and to the bishops of Palestine.
He commanded these bishops to hold a conference on
this subject with the Phoenician bishops, and to issue
directions for the demolition of the altar, the destruction
of the images by fire, and the erection of a church
worthy of so ancient and so holy a place. The emperor
finally enjoined that no libations or sacrifices should be
offered on the spot, but that it should be exclusively
devoted to the worship of God according to the law of
the church; and that if any attempt should be made to
restore the former rites, the bishops were to inform
against the delinquent, in order that he might be sub-
jected to the greatest punishment. The governors and
priests of Christ strictly enforced the injunctions con-
tained in the emperor's letter.
CHAP. V.] DESECRATION OF PAGAN TEMPLES.–A. D. 331. 53
O HAPTER V.
CONSTANTINE DESTROYS THE PLACES DEDICATED TO THE
IDOLS, AND PERSUADES THE PEOPLE TO EMBRACE
CHRISTIANITY.
As many nations and cities throughout the Empire
retained a feeling of veneration and fear towards their
vain idols, which led them to disregard the doctrines of
the Christians, and to cling to their ancient customs, and
the manners and feasts of their fathers, it appeared
necessary to the emperor to teach the governors to
suppress their superstitious rites of worship. He thought
that this would be easily accomplished if he could get
them to despise their temples and the images contained
therein. To carry this project into execution, he did not
require military aid; for Christian men belonging to
the palace went from city to city, bearing letters from
the emperor commanding obedience to the decrees. The
people were induced to remain passive from the fear that,
if they resisted these edicts, they, their wives, and their
children, would be exposed to evil. The priests and those
who had the charge of the temples, being unsupported
by the multitude, brought out from the most secret.
places of concealment their most precious treasures,
and the idols called 8toterm, while recesses known only to
the priests, and wherein the people were never admitted,
were thrown open to all who desired to enter. Such of
the images as were constructed of the precious metals,
and whatever else was valuable, were purified by fire,
and became public property. The brazen images which
were skilfully wrought were carried to the city named
after the emperor, and placed there as objects of embel-
lishment, where they may still be seen in public places,
as in the Forum, the Hippodrome, and the palace.
Amongst them was the statue of Apollo by which the
Pythoness divined, and likewise the statues of the Muses
from Helicon, the tripods from Delphos, and the much-
extolled Pan, which Pausanias the Lacedaemonian and the
Grecian cities erected after the war against the Medes.
As to the temples, some were stripped of their doors, others
of their roofs, and others were neglected, allowed to fall
54 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
into ruin, or destroyed. The temple of Æsculapius in
AEgis, a city of Cilicia, and that of Venus at Aphaca,
near Mount Lebanon and the river Adonis, were
uprooted from their foundations. Both of these temples
were most highly honoured and reverenced by the an-
cients; in the former, it was said, the demon manifested
himself by night, and healed the diseases of the sick.
And at Aphaca, it was believed that on a certain prayer
being uttered on a given day, a fire like a star descended
from the top of Lebanon, and sunk into the neighbouring
river; this phenomenon they sometimes called Urania,
and sometimes Venus. The efforts of the emperor suc-
ceeded to the utmost of his anticipations; for, on behold-
ing the objects of their former reverence and fear boldly
cast down and stuffed with straw and hay, the people were
led to despise what they had previously venerated, and
to blame the erroneous opinion of their ancestors. Others,
envious at the honour in which Christians were held by
the emperor, deemed it necessary to conform to the
imperial institutions. Others devoted themselves to an
examination of Christianity, and by means of signs, of
dreams, or of conferences with monks and bishops, were
led to a conviction of its truth. From this period,
nations and citizens spontaneously renounced their former
superstitions. A port of Gaza, called Majuna, wherein
idolatry and ancient ceremonies had been hitherto upheld,
was now distinguished by the alacrity with which its
inhabitants suddenly and universally embraced Christ-
ianity; the emperor, in honour of their piety, raised their
town to the rank of a city, a distinction which it had not
formerly enjoyed, and, because of its godliness, bestowed
upon it the name of Constantia, after one of his children
who was more beloved by him than the others. On the
same account, also, Constantine in Phoenicia is known to
have received its name from the emperor. But it would
not be convenient to record every instance of this kind,
as the inhabitants of many cities about this time embraced
Christianity spontaneously, without any edict being
issued to that effect by the emperor, overturned the ad-
jacent temples and statues, and erected houses of prayer.
CHAP. VII.] DISSEMINATION OF CHRISTIANITY.—A.D. 331. 55
CHAPTER WI.
UNDER CONSTANTINE THE NAME OF CHRIST IS SPREAD
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
THE church having been in this manner spread
throughout the whole Roman world, religion was intro-
duced even among the barbarians themselves. The tribes
on both sides of the Rhine had embraced Christianity, as
likewise the Celts and the Gauls who dwelt upon the
most distant shores of the ocean; the Goths, too, and the
tribes who formerly dwelt on both sides of the Danube,
had long been converted to Christianity, and were dis-
tinguished by their superiority in manners and customs.
All the barbarians had professed to hold the Christian
doctrines in honour, from the time of the wars between
the Romans and foreign tribes, under the government of
Gallus and the emperors who succeeded him. For when
a multitude collected out of various nations passed over
from Thrace into Asia, and when other barbarians colo-
nised the boundaries of the Roman empire, many priests
of Christ who had been taken captive, dwelt among these
tribes; and during their residence among them healed the
sick, and cleansed those who were possessed of demons,
by the name of Christ, and by calling on the Son of
God; moreover they led a holy and blameless life, and
excited envy by their virtues. The barbarians, amazed
at the exemplary conduct and wonderful works of these
holy men, thought that it would be prudent on their
part, and pleasing to the Deity, if they imitated their
example: and accordingly, like them, they rendered
homage to the Supreme Being. After having been thus
practically taught, they received further instruction,
were baptized, and admitted into the church.
CHAPTER VII.
HOW THE IBERIANS RECEIVED THE FAITH OF CHRIST.
IT is said that during this reign the Iberians, a large
and warlike barbarian nation, were converted to Christ-
56 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
ianity. They dwelt to the north, beyond Armenia. A
Christian woman, who had been taken captive, induced
them to renounce the religion of their fathers. She was
very faithful and godly, and did not, amongst foreigners,
remit her accustomed routine of religious duty. To fast,
to pray night and day, and to praise God, constituted
her delight. The barbarians inquired as to the motives
of her self-denial: she simply answered, that it was ne-
cessary in this way to worship the Son of God: but the
name of Him who was to be worshipped, and the manner
of worshipping, appeared strange to them. It happened
that a boy of the country was taken ill, and his mother,
according to the custom of the Iberians, took him from
house to house, in hope that some one might be found
capable of curing the disease, and of removing it easily
and expeditiously. As no one capable of healing him
could be found, the boy was brought to the captive, and
she said, “As to medicines, I have neither experience nor
knowledge, nor am I acquainted with the mode of apply-
ing ointments or plaisters; but, O woman, I believe
that Christ whom I worship, the true and great God, is
the Saviour of thy child.” Then she prayed for him, and
freed him from the disease, although just before it was
believed that he was about to die. A little while after,
the wife of the governor of the nation was, by an incu-
rable disease, brought nigh unto death, yet she too was
saved in the same manner; and thus did this captive
make known Christ as the Dispenser of health, and as the
Lord of life, of power, and of all things. The governor's
wife, convinced by her own personal experience, believed
the words of the captive, held her in much honour, and
embraced the Christian religion. The king, astonished
at the celerity of the cure and the power of faith, sought
an explanation of the occurrence from his wife, and
commanded that the captive should be rewarded with
gifts. “Ofgifts,” said the queen, “her estimate is very low,
whatever may be their value; nothing is valuable in her
eyes but the services she renders to God. Therefore if
we wish to gratify her, or desire to do what is safe and
right, let us also worship God, who is mighty and a
CHAP. VII.] CONVERSION OF THE IBERIANs.-A.D. 328. 57
Saviour, and who, at His will, gives continuance unto
kings, casts down the high, renders the illustrious
abject, and delivers the oppressed from evil.” The queen
continued to argue in this excellent manner, but the
sovereign of Iberia remained in doubt and unconvinced,
for he was not only prejudiced against the doctrines, on
account of their novelty, but was also attached to the
religion of his fathers. A little while after, he went into
the woods with his attendants, on a hunting excursion;
all of a sudden thick clouds arose, which dispersed them-
selves through the air, and concealed the heavens and
the sun : profound darkness like unto night pervaded
the wood. Each of the hunters, alarmed for his own
safety, sought refuge in a different direction. The king,
while thus wandering alone, thought of Christ, as men
are wont to do in times of danger. He determined that
if he should be delivered from his present emergency, he
would walk before God and worship Him. At the very
instant that these thoughts were upon his mind, the
darkness was dissipated, the air became serene, the rays
of the sun penetrated into the wood, and the king went
out in safety. He informed his wife of the event that
had befallen him, sent for the captive, and commanded
her to teach him in what way he ought to worship
Christ. After having received her instructions, he called
together his subjects, and declared to them plainly the
divine mercies which had been vouchsafed to himself and
to his wife, and, although uninitiated, he declared to the
rulers the doctrines of Christ. The whole nation was
persuaded to embrace Christianity, the men being con.
vinced by the representations of the king, and the women
by those of the queen and the captive. The erection of
a church was immediately commenced with the joyful
consent of the whole nation. When the external walls
were completed, machines were brought to raise up the
columns, and fix them upon their pedestals. It is related,
that when the first and second columns had been elevated
by these means, great difficulty was found in fixing the
third column, neither art nor physical strength being of
any avail, although many were assembled to render
58 EC CLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
assistance. When evening came on, the female captive
remained alone on the spot, and she continued there
throughout the night, interceding with God that the erec-
tion of the columns might be easily accomplished. The
king and all the assistants had taken their departure, for
they were distressed at the failure of their attempt; the
column was only half raised, and one end of it was so
imbedded in the earth that it was impossible to move it.
It was God's will that by this, as well as by the preceding
miracle, the Iberians should be still further confirmed in
the truth concerning Himself. Early in the morning,
when they re-assembled at the church, they beheld a
wonderful spectacle, which seemed to them as a dream.
The column, which before had been immoveable, was now
erect, and elevated a small space above its proper place.
All present were struck with admiration, and confessed,
with one consent, that Christ alone is the true God.
Whilst they were all looking on, the column descended,
and became fixed, as by machinery, on its proper found-
ation. The other columns were then erected with ease,
and the Iberians completed the structure with great ala-
crity. The church having been thus speedily built, the
Iberians, at the recommendation of the captive, sent am-
bassadors to the Emperor Constantine, bearing proposals
for fellowship and friendship, and requesting that priests
might be sent to their nation. On their arrival, the
ambassadors related the events that had transpired, by
which the whole nation had been led to worship Christ.
The emperor of the Romans was delighted with the
embassy, and after acceding to every request that was
proffered, dismissed the ambassadors. Thus did the
Iberians receive the knowledge of Christ, which they faith-
fully retain to the present day. -
CHAPTER VIII.
ILOW THE ARMENIANS AND PERSIANS EMBRACED
CHRISTIANITY.
SUBSEQUENTLY, the Christian religion became known
to the neighbouring tribes, and was very greatly disse-
CHAP. IX.] PERSECUTION IN PERSIA.—A.D. 342. 59
minated. The Armenians were the first to embrace
Christianity. It is said, that Tiridates, the sovereign of
that nation, was converted by means of a miracle which
Was Wrought in his own house; and that he issued com-
mands to all the rulers, by a herald, to adopt the same
religion.* I think that the introduction of Christianity
among the Persians was owing to the intercourse which
these people held with the Osdroenians and Armenians;
for it is likely that by associating with such divine men
they were stimulated to imitate their virtues.
CHAPTE R IX.
SAPOR, KING OF PERSIA, IS EXCITED AGAINST THE CHRIS-
TIANS. SYMEON, BISHOP OF PERSIA, AND UST HAZANES A
EUNUCH, SUFFER THE AGONY OF MARTYRDOM.
WHEN, in course of time, the Christians increased in
number, assembled as churches, and appointed priests
and deacons, the Magi, who had from time immemorial
acted as priests of the Persian religion, became deeply
incensed against them. The Jews, who, through envy,
are in some way naturally opposed to the Christian reli-
gion, were likewise offended. They therefore brought
accusations before Sapor, the reigning sovereign, against
Symeon, who was then archbishop of Seleucia and Ctesi-
phon, royal cities of Persia, and charged him with being
a friend of the Caesar of the Romans, and with com-
municating the affairs of the Persians to him. Sapor
believed these accusations, and at first imposed intole-
rably oppressive taxes upon the Christians, although he
knew that the generality of them had voluntarily embraced
poverty. He appointed cruel men to exact these taxes,
hoping that, by the want of necessaries, and the atrocity
of the tax-gatherers, they might be compelled to abjure
their religion ; for this was his aim. Afterwards, how-
ever, he commanded that the priests and ministers of
God should be slain with the sword. The churches were
* Here follows in the text a repetition, word for word, of the first two
lines of this chapter, which seems to be superfluous.
60 EC CT, ESIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK II.
demolished, their vessels were deposited in the treasury,
and Symeon was arrested as a traitor to the kingdom
and the religion of the Persians. Thus the Magi, with
the co-operation of the Jews, quickly destroyed the
houses of prayer. Symeon, on his apprehension, was
bound with chains and brought before the king. There
he evinced the excellence and firmness of his character;
for when Sapor commanded that he should be led away
to the torture, he did not fear, and would not prostrate
himself. The king, greatly exasperated, demanded why
he did not prostrate himself as he had done formerly.
Symeon replied, that formerly he was not led away
bound, in order that he might abjure the truth of God,
and therefore did not then object to pay the customary
respect to royalty; but that on the present occasion it
would not be proper for him to do so: for he stood there
in defence of godliness and of the one true faith. When
he ceased speaking, the king commanded him to worship
the sun, promising, as an inducement, to bestow gifts
upon him, and to raise him to honour; but on the other
hand, threatening, in case of non-compliance, to visit him
and the whole body of Christians with destruction.
When the king found that promises and menaces were
alike unavailing, and that Symeon firmly refused to
worship the sun, or to betray his religion, he remanded
him to prison, probably imagining that, if kept for a
time in bonds, he would change his mind.
When Symeon was being conducted to prison, Ustha-
Zanes, an aged eunuch, the foster father of Sapor, and
superintendent of the palace, who happened to be sitting
at the gates of the palace, arose to do him reverence.
Symeon reproachfully forbad him, in a loud and haughty
voice, averted his countenance, and passed by; for the
eunuch had been formerly a Christian, but had recently
yielded to authority and worshipped the sun. This
conduct so affected the eunuch, that he wept aloud, laid
aside the white garment with which he was robed, and
clothed himself, as a mourner, in black ; he then seated
himself in front of the palace, crying and groaning, and
saying, “Woe is me ! what must not await me 2 for I
CHAP. IX.] PERSECUTION UNDER SAPOR.—A.D. 343. 61
have denied God, and on this account Symeon, formerly
my familiar friend, does not think me worthy of being
spoken to, but turns away and hastens from me.” When
Sapor heard of what had occurred, he called the eunuch
to him, and inquired into the cause of his grief, and
asked him whether any calamity had befallen his family.
Usthazanes replied and said, “O king, nothing has
occurred to my family, but I would rather have suffered
any other affliction whatsoever than that which has be-
fallen me. Now I mourn because I am alive, and ought
to have been dead long ago; yet I still see the sun which,
not voluntarily, but to please thee, I professed to worship.
Therefore, on both accounts, it is just that I should die,
for I have been a betrayer of Christ, and a deceiver of
thee.” He then swore by the Maker of heaven and earth,
that he would never swerve from his convictions. Sapor,
astonished at the wonderful conversion of the eunuch,
was still more enraged against the Christians, as if they
had effected it by enchantments. Still, he compassion-
ated the old man, and strove by alternate gentleness and
severity to bring him over to his own sentiments. But
finding that his efforts were useless, and that Usthazanes
persisted in declaring that he would never have the folly
to worship the creature instead of the Creator, he became
inflamed with passion, and commanded that the eunuch's
head should be struck off with a sword. When the exe-
cutioners came forward to perform their office, Ustha-
Zanes requested them to wait a little, that he might com-
municate something to the king. He then called upon
a certain faithful eunuch to convey the following address
to Sapor: “From my youth until now I have been well
affected, O king, to your house, and have ministered
with care and diligence to your father and yourself. I
need no witnesses to corroborate my statements, these
facts are well established. For all the matters wherein
at divers times I have gladly served you, grant me this
reward ; let it not be imagined by those who are igno-
rant of the circumstances that I have incurred this
punishment by acts of unfaithfulness against the state, or
by the commission of any other crime ; but let it be
62 ECCIESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
published and proclaimed abroad by a herald that Ustha-
Zanes loses his head for no crime that he has ever com-
mitted in the palace, but for being a Christian, and for
refusing to obey the king in denying his own God.”
The eunuch delivered this message, and Sapor, accord-
ing to the request of Usthazanes, commanded a herald
to make the desired proclamation. The king imagined
that others would be easily deterred from embracing
Christianity, by reflecting that he who sacrificed his aged
foster father and esteemed household servant would
assuredly spare no other Christian. Usthazanes, how-
ever, believed that as, by his timidity in consenting to
worship the sun, he had caused many Christians to fear,
so now, by the diligent proclamation of the cause of his
sufferings, many might be edified by learning that he
died for the sake of religion, and so become imitators of
his fortitude.
CHAPTER X.
CHRISTIANS SLAIN BY SAPOR IN PERSIA.
IN this manner the honourable life of Usthazanes was
terminated, and when the intelligence was brought to
Symeon in the prison, he offered thanksgiving to God on
his account. The following day, which happened to be
the sixth day of the week, and likewise the day on
which, as immediately preceding the festival of the
resurrection, the annual memorial of the passion of the
Saviour is celebrated, the king issued orders for the
decapitation of Symeon; for he had been again con-
ducted to the palace from the prison, had reasoned most
boldly with Sapor on points of doctrine, and had ex-
pressed a determination never to worship either the king
or the sun. On the same day a hundred other prisoners
were ordered to be slain. Symeon beheld their execu-
tion, and last of all he was put to death. Amongst
these victims were bishops, presbyters, and other clergy
of different grades. As they were being led out to exe-
cution, the chief of the Magi approached them, and
asked them whether they would preserve their lives by
CHAP. XI.] MARTYRDOM OF SYMEON.—A.D. 343. 63
conforming to the religion of the king and by worship-
ping the sun. As none of them would comply with this
condition, they were conducted to the place of execu-
tion, and the executioners applied themselves to the task
of slaying these martyrs. Symeon exhorted them to
constancy, and reasoned concerning death, and the re-
surrection and piety, and showed them from the Sacred
Scriptures that a death like theirs is true life; whereas
to live, and through fear to deny God, is as truly death.
He told them, too, that even if no one were to slay
them, death would inevitably overtake them, for our
death is a natural consequence of our birth, and that,
after this short and transitory life, an account must be
rendered of our actions ; after which, we enter upon
another life, wherein virtue receives eternal rewards,
and vice is visited with endless punishment. He like-
wise told them that the most glorious of good actions is
to die for the cause of God. The martyrs gladly listened
to this discourse of Symeon's, and went forward with
alacrity to meet their death. After the execution of
three hundred martyrs, Symeon himself was slain; and
Abdechalaas and Ananias, two presbyters of his own
church, who had been his fellow-prisoners, suffered with
him.
CHAPTER XI.
PUSICIUs, SUPERINTENDANT OF THE ARTIZANS OF SAPOR.
PUSICIUs, the superintendant of the king's artizans,
was present at the execution; perceiving that Ananias
trembled as the necessary preparations for his death
were being made, he said to him,-‘‘Oh, old man, close
your eyes and be of good courage, for you will soon be-
hold the light of Christ.” No sooner had he uttered these
words, than he was arrested and conducted before the
king; and as he frankly avowed himself a Christian, and
spoke with great boldness concerning the truth of his
religion and the innocence of the martyrs, he was con-
demned to a most extraordinary and cruel death. The
executioners pierced the muscles of his neck in such a
64 EC CLE SIASTIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK II.
manner as to extract his tongue. At the same time his
daughter, who had devoted herself to a life of holy vir-
ginity, was arraigned and executed. The following
year, on the day on which the Passion of Christ was
commemorated, and when preparations were being made
for the celebration of the festival commemorative of His
Resurrection from the dead, Sapor issued a most cruel
edict throughout Persia, condemning to death all those
who should confess themselves to be Christians; and it
is said that an immense number of Christians suffered
by the sword. The Magi sought diligently in the cities
and villages for those who had concealed themselves;
and many voluntarily surrendered themselves, lest they
should appear, by their silence, to deny Christ. Of the
Christians who were thus unsparingly sacrificed, many
who were attached to the palace were slain, and amongst
these was Azadas, a eunuch, who was especially beloved
by the king. On hearing of his death, Sapor was over-
whelmed with grief, and put a stop to the indiscriminate
slaughter of the Christians; and he directed that the
teachers of religion should alone be slain.
CHAPTE R XII.
MARTYRDOM OF TARBULA, THE SISTER OF SYMEON.
ABOUT the same period, the queen was attacked with
a disease, and Tarbula, the sister of Symeon the bishop,
a holy virgin, was arrested, as likewise her sister, who
was a widow and had abjured a second marriage, and
her servant, who, like her, had devoted herself to a reli-
gious life. The cause of their arrest was the calumny
of the Jews, who reported that they had injured the
queen by their enchantments, in revenge for the death
of Symeon. As invalids easily give credit to the most
frightful representations, the queen believed the calumny,
and especially because it emanated from the Jews, for
she had great confidence in their veracity and in their
attachment for herself; she had embraced their senti-
ments, and lived in the observance of the Jewish rites.
The Magi having seized Tarbula and her companions,
CHAP. XIII.] MARTYRDOMS IN PERSIA.—A.D. 344. 65
condemned them to death; and, after having sawn them
asunder, fastened them up to posts, advising the queen
to pass through the place of execution, that the charm
might be dissolved and the disease removed. It is said
that Tarbula was extremely beautiful, and that one of
the Magi having become deeply enamoured with her,
sent some money secretly to her, and promised to save
her and her companions if she would accede to his de-
sires. But, instead of listening to his proposals, she
rebuked his licentiousness, and joyfully prepared for
death, for she preferred to die rather than to lose her
virginity.
As it was ordained by the edict of Sapor, which we
mentioned above, that the Christians should not be
slaughtered indiscriminately, but that the priests and
teachers of religion should be slain, the Magi and Arch-
magi traversed the whole country of Persia in search of
the bishops and presbyters. They sought them espe-
cially in the country of the Adiabenians, a part of the
Persian dominions in which many Christians were lo-
cated.
CHA PT E R XIII.
MARTYRDOM OF ST. ACEPSIMUS AND OF HIS COMPANIONS.
ABOUT this period they arrested Acepsimus the
bishop, and many of his clergy. After having taken
counsel together, they despoiled the clergy and then
dismissed them. James, however, who was one of the
presbyters, voluntarily followed Acepsimus, obtained
permission from the Magi to share his prison, and joy-
fully ministered to him and dressed his wounds; for the
Magi had cruelly scourged him in order to compel him
to worship the sun, and on his refusal to do so, had
remanded him to prison. Two priests, named Aithalas
and James, and two deacons, by name Azadanus and
Abdiesus, were castigated and imprisoned in the same
manner by the Magi, on account of their adherence to
the doctrines of Christ. After a long time had elapsed,
the great Arch-magi inquired of the king what was his
\ 5
66 EC CLESIA STIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK II.
pleasure concerning them: and having received permis-
sion to deal with them as he pleased, unless they would
consent to worship the sun, he made known this decision
of Sapor's to the prisoners. They replied that they
would never betray the cause of Christ nor worship the
sun, and were immediately subjected to the most excru-
ciating tortures. Acepsimus persevered in the manly
confession of his faith till death put an end to his tor-
ments. Certain Armenians, whom the Persians retained
as hostages, secretly carried away his body and buried
it. The other prisoners were severely scourged, but did
not expire beneath the blows, and as they would not
renounce their sentiments, were again consigned to pri-
son. Aithalas was one of those who experienced this
treatment; both his arms were broken when preparations
were being made for the scourging; and he afterwards
lost the use of his hands so completely that he was
obliged to depend upon others to convey the food to his
mouth. Subsequently, a multitude of presbyters, dea-
cons, monks, holy virgins, ministers of the church, and
labourers in word and doctrine, terminated their lives
by martyrdom. The following are the names of the
bishops, so far as I have been able to ascertain: Barba-
symes, Paul, Gadiabes, Sabinus, Mareas, Mocius, John,
Hormisdas, Papas, James, Romas, Maares, Agas, Bochres,
Abdas, Abdiesus, John, Abraham, Agdelas, Sapor, Isaac,
and Dausas. The latter had been made prisoner by the
Persians, and brought from a place named Zabdaeus:
he died about this time in defence of the Christian doc-
trine ; and Mareabdes Chorepiscopus, and about two
hundred and fifty of his clergy, who had also been cap-
tured by the Persians, suffered with him.
CHAPTER XIV.
CONDUCT AND MARTYRDOM OF MILLES THE BISHOP; MULTI-
TUDE OF BISHOPS SLAIN IN PERSIA BY SAPOR, BESIDEs
OBSCURE INDIVIDUALS.
ABOUT this period Milles suffered martyrdom. He
originally served the Persians in a military capacity, but
CHAP. xv.] PERSECUTION UNDER SAPOR.—A.D. 309—349. 67
afterwards abandoned that vocation in order to embrace
the apostolical mode of life. It is related that he was
ordained bishop over a Persian city, where he under-
went a variety of sufferings; and that, failing in his
efforts to convert the inhabitants to Christianity, he
uttered imprecations against the city and departed. Not
long after, some of the principal citizens incurred the
anger of the king, and an army with three hundred
elephants was sent against them; the city was utterly
demolished, and corn was sown on its site. Milles,
taking with him nothing but the holy Book of the
Gospels, repaired to Jerusalem to worship; thence he
proceeded to Egypt in order to see the monks. The
extraordinary and admirable works which he accom-
plished are attested by the Syrians, who have written
an account of his life and actions. For my own part, I
think that I have said enough of him and of the other
martyrs who suffered in Persia during the reign of
Sapor. It would be difficult to relate in detail every
circumstance respecting them, such as their names, their
country, the mode of their martyrdom, and the species
of torture to which they were subjected. I shall briefly
state that the number of men and women whose names
have been ascertained, and who were martyred at this
period, has been computed to be upwards of sixteen
thousand, while the multitude of martyrs whose names
are unknown was so great that the Persians, the Syrians,
and the inhabitants of Edessa, have failed in all their
efforts to compute the number.
CHAPTE R XV.
CONSTANTINE WRITES TO SAPOR TO STAY THE PERSECUTION
OF THE CHRISTIANS.
CONSTANTINE, the Roman emperor, was vividly af.
fected when he heard of the sufferings to which the
Christians were exposed in Persia. He desired most
anxiously to render them assistance, yet knew not in
what way to effect this object... About this time some
ambassadors from the Persian king arrived at his court,
68 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
and after granting their requests and dismissing them,
he thought it would be a favourable opportunity to
address Sapor in behalf of the Christians in Persia,
and wrote to him to that effect. “There is nothing in
their religion,” said he, “of a reprehensible nature; by
prayers alone do they offer supplication to God, for He
delighteth not in the blood of sacrifices, but taketh plea-
sure only in a pure soul devoted to virtue and to reli-
gion; so that they who believe these things are worthy
of commendation.” The emperor then assured Sapor
that God would be propitious to him if he treated the
Christians with lenity, and adduced his own example
and that of Valerian in proof thereof. He had himself,
by faith in Christ, and by the aid of Divine power, come
forth from the shores of the Western Ocean, and re-
duced to obedience the whole of the Roman world, and
had terminated many wars against foreigners and
usurpers; and yet had never had recourse to sacrifices
or divinations, but had merely offered up a holy prayer,
and carried the symbol of the cross at the head of his
army. The reign of Valerian was prosperous so long
as he refrained from persecuting the Church ; but he
afterwards commenced a persecution against the Chris-
tians, and was delivered by Divine vengeance into the
hands of the Persians, who took him prisoner, and put
him to a cruel death.
It was in this strain that Constantine wrote to Sapor,
urging him to protect the professors of religion; for the
emperor extended his watchful care over all the Chris.
tians of every region, whether Roman or foreign.
CHAPTER XVI.
EUSEBIUS AND THEOGNIS, WHO, AT THE COUNCIL OF NICE,
HAD ASSENTED TO THE WRITINGS OF ARIUS, ARE RE-
INSTATED IN THEIR OWN BISHOPRICS.
A.D. 328.—NoT long after the Council of Nice, Arius was
recalled from exile; but the prohibition to enter Alexan-
dria was unrevoked. It shall be related in the proper
place, how he strove to obtain permission to return to
CHAP. XVI.] EUSEBIUS AND THEOGNIs.—A.D.328. 69
Egypt. Not long after, Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia,
and Theognis, bishop of Nicaea, regained possession of
their bishoprics, after expelling Amphion and Chrestes,
who had been ordained in their stead. They owed their
restoration to a document which they had presented to
the bishops, containing a retractation of their sentiments,
and couched in the following terms:– “Although we
have been condemned without a trial by your piety, we
deemed it right to remain silent concerning the judg-
ment passed against us. But as it would be absurd to
remain longer silent, when silence is regarded as a proof
of the truth of calumny, we now declare to you that we
hold the same faith that you do; that, after a diligent
examination of the word ‘con-substantial,' we are wholly
intent upon preserving peace; and that we are seduced
by no heresy. Having proposed for the safety of the
Church such suggestions as occurred to us, and having
certified what we deemed requisite, we signed the con-
fession of faith. We did not certainly sign the ama-
themas, but this was not because we impugned the con-
fession of faith, but because we did not believe the
accused to be what he was represented to us, the letters
we had received from him, and the discourses he had
delivered in our presence, compelling us to entertain a
contrary opinion of him. So far from opposing any of
the decrees enacted in your holy synod, we assent to all
of them, and, by this document, attest our assent thereto:
and this is not because we are wearied of exile, but
because we wish to avert all suspicion of heresy. If you
will condescend to admit us into your presence, you will
find us in all points of the same sentiments as your-
selves, and willing to defer to your decisions. The
accused having justified himself, and having been recalled
from exile, it would be absurd were we by our silence
to confirm the reports that calumny had spread against
us. We beseech you then, by the love that you bear
to Christ, that you make our supplications known to our
most godly emperor, and that you immediately direct us
to act according to your will.” It was by these means
that Eusebius and Theognis, after their change of senti-
ment, were reinstated in their churches.
70 EC CLES IASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
CHAPTER XVII.
ON THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA,
ATHANASIUS IS ELECTED IN HIS STEAD ; DETAILS CON-
CERNING HIS YOUTH AND EDUCATION, AND HIS FRIEND
ANTONY THE GREAT.
ABOUT this period, Alexander, bishop of Alexandria,
conscious of approaching death, named Athanasius as his
successor, in accordance, I am convinced, with the
Divine will. It is said that Athanasius at first sought
to avoid the honour by flight, but that he was afterwards
constrained by Alexander to accept the bishopric. This
is testified by Apollinarius, the Syrian, in the following
terms:–“In all these matters much disturbance was ex-
cited by impiety, but its first effects were felt by the
blessed teacher to whom this man was subject as a son
would be to his father. Afterwards this holy man him-
self underwent the same experience, for when appointed
to the episcopal succession, he fled to escape the honour,
but he was discovered in his place of concealment by the
help of God, who had revealed to his blessed predecessor
that the succession was to devolve upon him. For when
Alexander was on the point of death, he called upon
Athanasius, who was then absent. One who bore the
same name, and who happened to be present, on hearing
him call this way, answered him; but Alexander spoke
not to him, but continued calling upon him who was
absent. Moreover, the blessed Alexander prophetically
exclaimed, “O Athanasius, thou thinkest to escape, but
thou wilt not escape; meaning that Athanasius would
most certainly be called to the conflict.” Such is the
account given by Apollinarius respecting Athanasius.
The Arians assert, that after the death of Alexander,
the respective followers of that bishop and of Meletius
held communion together, and that fifty-four bishops
from Thebes, and other parts of Egypt, assembled toge-
ther, and agreed by oath to elect a bishop of Alexandria
according to their common consent: but that seven of the
bishops, in violation of their oath and of the wishes of
CHAP. XVII.] ATHANASIUS ELECTED BISHOP. 71
the other bishops, secretly ordained Athanasius; and that,
on this account, many of the people and of the Egyptian
clergy seceded from communion with him. For my part,
I am convinced that it was by Divine appointment that
Athanasius succeeded to the bishopric, for he was elo-
quent and intelligent, and capable of opposing the machi-
nations of his enemies, and, in fact, well suited to the
times in which he lived. He displayed great aptitude in
the exercise of the ecclesiastical functions, and in the
instruction of the people, and was, so to speak, self-
taught in these respects. It is said that the following
incident occurred to him in his youth. It was the custom
of the Alexandrians to celebrate with great pomp an
annual festival in honour of one of their bishops, named
Peter, who had suffered martyrdom. Alexander, who
was then bishop, engaged in the celebration of this fes-
tival, and, after having offered up divine service, he re-
mained on the spot, awaiting the arrival of some guests
whom he expected to dinner. In the mean time, he
chanced to cast his eyes towards the sea, and perceived
some children playing on the shore, and amusing them-
selves by imitating the ceremonies of the church ; at
first he considered the amusement as innocent, and took
pleasure in witnessing it, but on finding that the most
secret of the mysteries were among the subjects of their
imitation, he became troubled, and communicated the
matter to the chief of the clergy. The children were
called together, and questioned as to the game at which
they were playing, and as to what they did and said,
when engaged in this amusement. At first they refused
to reply, but on being further pressed by Alexander, they
confessed that Athanasius was their bishop and leader,
and that many children who had not been initiated had
been baptized by him. Alexander carefully inquired
what the bishop of their games was in the habit of saying
or doing, and what he taught them. On finding that
the exact routine of the church had been accurately
observed, he consulted the priests around him on the
subject, and decided that it would be unnecessary to re-
baptize those who, in their simplicity, had been judged
72 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
worthy of divine grace. He therefore merely performed
for them such offices as are inseparably connected with
priestly ministration. He then took Athanasius, and
the other children, who had playfully acted as presbyters
and deacons, to their own relations, that they might be
brought up for the church, and qualified for the exercise
of those functions which they had imitated. Not long
after, he took Athanasius into his service, and employed
him as his secretary. He had been well educated, was
ſversed in grammar and rhetoric, and gave evident proofs
of learning and wisdom before his election to the
bishopric. But when, on the death of Alexander, the
succession devolved upon him, his reputation was greatly
increased, and was sustained by his own private virtues
and by the testimony of the monk, Antony the Great.
This monk repaired to him when he requested his pre-
sence, visited the cities, accompanied him to the churches,
and agreed with him in opinion concerning the Godhead.
He evinced unlimited friendship towards him, and avoided
the society of his enemies and opponents.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE ARIANS AND MELETIANS CONFER CELEBRITY ON AT HA-
NASIUS; CONCERNING EUSEBIUS, AND HIS REQUEST TO
ADMIT THE ARIANS TO COMMUNION ; CONCERNING THE
TERM CON-SUBSTANTIAL. CONTEST BETweBN EUSEBIUS,
PAMPHILUS, AND EUSTATHIUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH.
THE reputation of Athanasius was, however, increased
by the Arians and Meletians; for whatever stratagems
they resorted to, they could never succeed in entangling
him in their meshes. In the first place, Eusebius wrote
to urge him to receive the Arians into communion, and
threatened, should he refuse to do so, to ill-treat him.
But as Athanasius would not yield to his representation,
but maintained that those who had devised a heresy in
opposition to truth, and who had been condemned by the
council of Nice, ought not to be received into the
church, Eusebius contrived to interest the emperor in
CHAP. XIX.] DEPOSITION OF EUSTATHIUS.–A.D. 331. 73
favour of Arius, and so procured his recall from exile.
I shall state a little further on how all these events came
... to pass.
At this period, the bishops had another dispute among
themselves, concerning the precise meaning of the term
‘consubstantial.” Some thought that this term could not
be admitted without blasphemy; that it implied the non-
existence of the Son of God; and that it involved the
error of Montanus and Sabellius. Those, on the other
hand, who defended the term, regarded their opponents
as Greeks (or Pagans), and considered that their senti-
ments led to a plurality of gods. Eusebius, surnamed
Pamphilus, and Eustathius, bishop of Antioch, took the
lead in this dispute. They both confessed the Son of
God has an existence (hypostasis) of his own, and yet
they contended together as if they had misunderstood
each other. Eustathius accused Eusebius of altering the
doctrines ratified by the council of Nice, while the latter
declared that he approved of all the Nicaean doctrines,
and accused Eustathius of cleaving to the heresy of
Sabellius. &
CHAPTE R XIX.
SYNOD OF ANTIOCH; UNJUST DEPOSITION OF EUSTATHIUs;
EUPHRONIUS ELECTED IN HIS STEAD; CONSTANTINE THE
GREAT WRITES TO THE SYNOD AND TO EUSEBIUS PAM-
PHILUS, WHO REFUSES THE BISHOPRIC OF ANTIOCH.
A SYNOD having been convened at Antioch, Eustathius
was deprived of the bishopric of that city. It was most
generally believed that he was merely deposed on account
of his adherence to the faith of the council of Nice, and
on account of his having accused Eusebius, Paulinus,
bishop of Tyre, and Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis
(whose sentiments were adopted by the Eastern priests),
of favouring the heresy of Arius. The pretext resorted
to for his deposition, however, was, that he had defiled
the priesthood by unholy deeds. His deposition excited
so great a sedition at Antioch, that the people were on
the point of taking up arms, and the whole city was in a
74 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
state of commotion. This greatly injured him in the
opinion of the emperor, who regarded him with suspicion
as the author of the tumult. The emperor, however,
sent an officer of his palace, invested with full authority,
to calm the populace, and put an end to the disturbance,
without having recourse to violence or severity.
Those who had deposed Eustathius, imagining that
their sentiments would be universally received if they
could succeed in placing over the church of Antioch one
of their own sect, who was known to the emperor, and
held in repute for learning and eloquence, fixed their
thoughts upon Eusebius Pamphilus. They wrote to the
emperor upon this subject, and stated that Eusebius
was greatly beloved by the people. He had, in fact,
been sought by all the clergy and laity who were inimical
to Eustathius. Eusebius, however, wrote to the emperor
to refuse the dignity. The emperor approved of his
refusal; for there was an ecclesiastical law prohibiting
the removal of a bishop from one bishopric to another.
He wrote to Eusebius to express his concurrence in his
sentiments, and said that he considered him happy in
being deemed worthy to hold the bishopric not only of
one single city, but of the world. The emperor also
wrote to the people of the church of Antioch concerning
oneness of faith, and told them that they ought not to
desire the bishops of other regions, even as they ought
not to covet the possessions of others. He despatched
another epistle on the same subjects to the synod, and
commended Eusebius for having refused the bishopric;
and having been informed that Euphronius, a presbyter
of Cappadocia, and George, of Arethusa, were men of
orthodox faith, he commanded the bishops to consecrate
one or other of them, or whoever they might judge
worthy of the honour, and to ordain a bishop over the
church of Antioch. On the receipt of these letters from
ſthe emperor, Euphronius was ordained. I have heard
that Eustathius bore this unjust calumny and condemna-
tion with great calmness. He was a man, who, besides
his virtues and excellent qualities, was justly admired on
account of his extraordinary eloquence, as is evidenced
CHAP. XX.] MACARIUS SUCCEEDED BY MAXIMUs. 75
by his works, which are remarkable for classic purity of
expression, weighty sentiments, and elegance and clear-
ness of language.
CHAPTER XX.
CONCERNING MAXIMUS, WHO SUCCEEDED MACARIUS IN THE
BISEIOPERIC OF JERUSALEM.
ABOUT this time Mark, who had succeeded Silvester,
and who had held the episcopal sway during a short
period, died, and Julius was raised to the see of Rome.
Maximus succeeded Macarius in the bishopric of Jeru-
salem. It is said that Macarius had ordained him bishop
over the church of Diospolis, but that the members of
the church of Jerusalem insisted on his remaining among
them. His confession of faith and great virtue had so
excited the approbation of the people, that they were
desirous that he should, on the death of Macarius, succeed
to the bishopric. The dread of offending the people and
exciting an insurrection led to the election of another
bishop over Diospolis, and Maximus remained in Jeru-
salem, and exercised the priestly functions conjointly
with Macarius: and, after the death of this latter, he
succeeded to the government of the church. It is, how-
ever, well known to those who are accurately acquainted
with these circumstances, that Macarius concurred with
the people in their desire to retain Maximus, for it is said
that he regretted the ordination of Maximus, and thought
that he should rather have appointed him his own suc-
cessor, on account of the Orthodoxy of his faith and the
firmness of his confession, which had so endeared him
to the people. He likewise feared that, at his death,
the adherents of Eusebius and Patrophilus, who had em-
braced Arianism, would place one of their own sect
in his bishopric, for even during his administration
they had attempted to introduce some innovations, and
tranquillity was not restored until he had excommuni-
cated them.
76 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE MELETIANS AND ARIANS AGREE IN SENTIMENT ;
EUSEBIUS AND THEOGNIS RELAPSE INTO THE ERRORS OF
ARIUS,
IN the mean time, the contention which had arisen
among the Egyptians could not be quelled. The heresy
of Arius had been positively condemned by the council
of Nice, while the followers of Meletius had been admitted
into communion under the stipulations above stated.
When Alexander returned to Egypt, Meletius delivered
up to him the churches whose government he had unlaw-
fully usurped, and retired to Lycus. Not long after,
finding his end approaching, he nominated John, one of
his most intimate friends, as his successor, contrary to
the decree of the Nicaean council, and thus plunged the
churches into fresh troubles. When the Arians per-
ceived that the Meletians were introducing innovations,
they also attempted to involve the churches in trouble.
For, as frequently occurs in similar contests, some ap-
plauded the dogmas of Arius, while others contended
that those who had been ordained by Meletius ought to
govern the churches. These two bodies of sectarians
had hitherto been opposed to each other, but, on perceiv-
ing that the clergy of the Catholic church were followed
by the multitude, they, from motives of jealousy, formed
an alliance together, regarding the clergy of Alexandria
as their common enemies. Their measures of attack and
defence were so long carried on in concert, that, in
process of time, the Meletians were generally called
Arians in Egypt, although they only dissent on questions
of supreme rule and church government, while the
Arians hold the same opinions concerning God as Arius.
But although their sentiments were thus at variance,
they had recourse to dissimulation, in order to carry on
conjointly their schemes against the Catholics. From this
period, however, it seems, the Meletians began to exa-
mine the contested topics, and were led to receive the
Arian doctrines, and to hold the same opinions as Arius
CHAP. XXII.] RECALL OF ARIUS FROM EXILE.—A.D. 328. 77
concerning God. This revived the original controversy
concerning Arius, and some of the clergy and laity
seceded from communion with the others. The dispute
concerning the doctrines of Arius was renewed at Con-
stantinople and other cities, and particularly in the pro-
vinces of Bithynia and the Hellespont. In short; it is
said that Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, and Theognis,
bishop of Nicaea, bribed the notary to whom the emperor
had intrusted the custody of the documents of the Nicaean
council, effaced their signatures, and openly taught that
the Son is not to be considered consubstantial with the
Father. Eusebius was accused of these irregularities
before the emperor, and he replied with great boldness.
“If this robe,” said he, “ had been cut asunder in m
presence, I could not affirm the fragments to be all of
the same substance.” The emperor was much grieved at
these disputes, for he had believed that questions of this
nature had been finally decided by the council of Nice.
He more especially regretted that Eusebius and Theog-
nis had received certain Alexandrians into communion,
although the synod had recommended them to repent on
account of their heterodox opinions, and although he had
himself condemned them to banishment from their native
land, as being the exciters of sedition. It is asserted by
some, that it was for the above reasons that the emperor
exiled Eusebius and Theognis; but, as I have already
stated, I have derived my information from those who
are intimately acquainted with these matters.
CHAPTE R XXII.
MACHINATIONS OF THE ARIANS AND MELETIANS AGAINST
ST. ATHANASIU.S.
THE various calamities which befell St. Athanasius
were primarily occasioned by Eusebius and Theognis.
As they possessed great influence over the emperor, they
obtained the recall of Arius, with whom they were on
terms of concord and friendship, to Alexandria, and at
the same time the expulsion of Athanasius, who was
opposed to them. They accused him before Constantine
78 E C C L E SIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
of being the author of all the seditions and troubles that
agitated the church, and of excluding those who were
desirous of joining the church; and alleged that unani-
mity would be restored were he alone to be removed.
These calumnies were substantiated by many bishops
and clergy who were with John, and who sedulously
obtained access to the emperor; they pretended to great
orthodoxy, and imputed to Athanasius and the bishops
of his party all the bloodshed, imprisonments, conflagra-
tions of churches, and deeds of violence and lawlessness
which had been perpetrated. But when Athanasius
wrote to the emperor and proved the illegality of the
ordination of John's adherents, showing that they had
altered the decrees of the Nicaean Council, that their
faith was not sound, and that they persecuted and
calumniated the Orthodox, Constantine was at a loss to
know whom to believe. As he was much chagrined by
the mutual and constant accusations of both parties, and
desired most earnestly the restoration of unanimity of
sentiment among the people, he wrote to Athanasius,
desiring him to exclude no one from the church, and
threatening to visit any act of disobedience to this com-
mand with instant expulsion from Alexandria. If any
one should desire to see this letter of the emperor's, he
will here find the portion of it relating to this affair.
It is as follows: “As you are now acquainted with my
will, which is that all who desire to enter the church
should be permitted to do so, you must not forbid any
from entering. For should I hear that any who are
willing to join the church have been debarred or hin-
dered therefrom by you, I shall send and depose you by
my decree, and shall have you conveyed to some other
place.” Athanasius, however, wrote to the emperor and
convinced him that the Arians ought not to be received
into communion by the Catholic church; and Eusebius,
perceiving that his schemes could never be carried into
execution while exposed to the opposition of Athanasius,
determined to resort to any means in order to get rid of
him. But as he could not find any pretext for effecting
this design, he promised the Meletians to interest the
CHAP. XXIII.] MACHINATIONS AGAINST ATHANASIUS. 79
emperor and those in power in their favour, if they
would bring an accusation against Athanasius. Accord-
ingly, they first accused him of having obliged the
Egyptians to pay a tax on linen tunics, and the accusers
affirmed that the tax had been exacted from them.
Apis and Macarius, presbyters of the church of Athana-
sius, who then happened to be at court, endeavoured to
expose the calumny. On being summoned to answer
for the offence, Athanasius was further accused of hav-
ing conspired against the emperor, and of having sent
for this purpose a casket of gold to one Philumen. The
emperor detected the calumny, sent Athanasius back to
his bishopric, and wrote to the people of Alexandria to
testify that their bishop possessed great moderation and
orthodoxy, that he had gladly received him, and recog-
mised him to be a man of God, and that, as envy had
been the sole cause of his accusation, he had triumphed
over his accusers; and having heard that the Arian
and Meletian sectarians had excited dissensions in Egypt,
the emperor, in the same epistle, conjured the people
to look to God, to take heed unto His judgments, to live
in peace one with another, and to expel those who ex-
cited discord. Thus the emperor wrote to the people,
exhorting them all to oneness of mind, and striving to
prevent divisions in the church.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CAI,UMNY RESPECTING ST. ATHANASIUS AND THE HAND OF
ARSENIUS.
THE Meletians, on the failure of their first attempts,
devised other accusations against Athanasius. On the
one hand, they charged him with breaking a sacred vase;
and on the other, with having slain one Arsenius, and
with having cut off his arm for the purpose of using it
in sorcery. It is said that this Arsenius was one of the
clergy; but that, having committed some crime, he fled
to a place of concealment for fear of being convicted and
punished by his bishop. The enemies of Athanasius
thence devised the most odious calumny. They sought
80 ECCI, ESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
f
\
§
#
TArsenius with great diligence, and having at length dis-
covered the place of his retreat, they showed him great
kindness, assured him of their good-will towards him,
and of his own safety, and conducted him secretly to
Primes, a presbyter of a monastery, who was one of his
friends, and of the same sentiments as themselves. After
having thus carefully concealed him, they diligently
spread the report in the market-places and public assem-
blies, that he had been slain by Athanasius. They also
bribed John, a monk, to corroborate the calumny. As
this evil report was universally circulated, and had even
reached the ears of the emperor, Athanasius became
apprehensive that it would be difficult to defend his
cause before judges whose minds were prejudiced by
such false rumours, and resorted to stratagems akin to
those of his adversaries. He did every thing in his
power to prevent truth from being obscured by calumny,
but the multitude could not be convinced, on account of
the non-appearance of Arsenius. Reflecting, therefore,
that the suspicion which rested upon him could not be
removed except by proving that Arsenius, who was said
to be dead, was still alive, he sent a faithful deacon in
quest of him. The deacon went to Thebes, and ascer-
tained from some monks that the object of his search
had been concealed by Prines; on repairing thither,
however, he found that Arsenius was not there: for, on
the first intelligence of the arrival of the deacon, he had
been conveyed to Lower Egypt. The deacon arrested
Prines and conducted him to Alexandria, as also Elias,
one of his associates, who was said to have been the
person who conveyed Arsenius elsewhere. He delivered
them both to the commander of the Egyptian forces,
and they confessed that Arsenius was still alive, that he
had been secretly concealed in their house, and that he
was then in Egypt. Athanasius took care that all these
facts should be reported to Constantine. The emperor
wrote back to him, desiring him to attend to the due
performance of the priestly functions, and the mainte-
nance of order and piety among the people, and not to
be disquieted by the machinations of the Meletians, it
CHAP. XXIV.] CONVERSION OF INDIAN NATIONs. 81
being evident that envy alone was the cause of the false
accusations which were circulated against him, to the
disturbance of the peace of the churches. The emperor
added, that, for the future, he should not permit the
circulation of such reports; and that, unless the calum-
niators preserved the peace, he should certainly subject
them to the rigour of the laws, and let justice have its
course, as they had not only unjustly plotted against the
innocent, but had also infringed upon the order of the
church and religion. Such was the strain of the em-
peror's letter to Athanasius; and he further commanded
that it should be read aloud before all the people, in
order that they might all be made acquainted with
his intentions. The Meletians were alarmed at these
menaces, and became more guarded in their conduct.
The churches throughout Egypt enjoyed profound peace
under the sway of this great bishop, and were daily in-
creased in numbers by the conversion of multitudes of
Pagans and heretics.
CHAPTE R XXIV.
SOME INDIAN NATIONS ARE CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY
THROUGH THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF TWO CAPTIVES,
FRUMENTIUS AND EDIESIUS.
WE have heard that about this period some of the
most distant of the nations that we call Indian, to whom
the preaching of Bartholomew was unknown, were con-
verted to Christianity by Frumentius, a priest. Theº
wonderful circumstances attending the arrival of this
priest in India, and the cause of his ordination, are
necessary to be known to show that Christianity is not
of man, as is falsely represented by those who are pre-
judiced against the doctrines of religion. The most
celebrated philosophers among the Greeks took pleasure
in exploring unknown cities and regions. Plato, the
friend of Socrates, dwelt for a time among the Egyp-
tians, in order to acquaint himself with their manners
and customs. He likewise sailed to Sicily to examine
its craters, whence, as from fountains, spontaneously
82 E C C L E S I ASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK II.
issued streams of fire, which, by inundating the neigh-
bouring regions, rendered them so sterile that, as at
Sodom, no seed could be sown there nor trees planted.
These craters were likewise explored by Empedocles, a
man highly celebrated for philosophy among the Greeks,
and who has expounded his doctrines in heroic verse.
He was engaged in prosecuting inquiries as to the cause
and origin of these eruptions, when, either because he
thought such a mode of death preferable to any other,
or because, to say the truth, he knew not wherefore
he should seek to terminate his life in this manner, he
threw himself into the crater and perished. Democritus
of Coos relates that he visited many cities and countries
and nations, and that eighty years of his life were spent
in travelling through foreign lands. Besides these phi-
losophers, thousands of wise men among the Greeks,
ancient and modern, habituated themselves to travel.
Desirous of imitating their example, Merope, a philoso-
pher and native of Tyre in Phoenicia, travelled as far as
India. He was accompanied by two youths, named
Frumentius and Edesius; they were his relatives, and
he had the charge of their education. After accom-
plishing a journey through India, he determined upon
returning home, and embarked in a vessel which was on
the point of sailing for Egypt. It happened that, from
want of water or some other necessary, the vessel was
obliged to stop at some port, and the Indians rushed
upon it, and murdered Merope and the crew. These
Indians had just thrown off their alliance with the
Romans; they took pity, however, on the youth of the
two lads, and conducted them to their king. He ap-
pointed the younger one his cup-bearer, and, recog-
nising at once the fidelity and prudence of Frumentius,
constituted him his treasurer. These youths served the
king usefully and faithfully during a long course of
years, and when he felt his end approaching he re-
warded their services by giving them their liberty, with
permission to go where they pleased. They were anxious
to return to Tyre, where their relatives resided, but the
king's son and successor being a minor, the mother of
CHAP. XXIV.] FRUMENTIUS APPOINTED BISHOP OF INDIA. 83
the young sovereign besought them to remain and take
charge of public affairs, until her son reached the years
of manhood. They yielded to her entreaties, and directed
the affairs of the kingdom and of the Indian govern-
ment. Frumentius was impelled by some divine im-
pulse, or by the promptings of his own mind and the
assistance of God, to inquire whether there were any
Christians or Roman merchants in India. Having suc-
ceeded in finding the objects of his inquiry he sum-
moned them into his presence, treated them with great
kindness and benevolence, and commanded the erection
of houses of prayer, that there worship might be offered
and the Roman ecclesiastical routine observed,
When the king's son attained the age of manhood,
Frumentius and Edesius besought him and the queen to
permit them to resign their appointments and return to
the Roman dominions, and they obtained a reluctant
assent. Edesius went to Tyre to see his relatives, and
was soon after advanced to the dignity of presbyter.
Frumentius, however, instead of returning to Phoenicia,
repaired to Alexandria, for with him patriotism and
filial piety were subordinate to religious zeal. He con-
ferred with Athanasius, the head of the Alexandrian
church, described to him the state of religion in India,
and the necessity of appointing a bishop over the Chris-
tians located in that country. Athanasius assembled
the clergy of his diocese, and consulted with them on
the subject: they were all of opinion that Frumentius
was peculiarly qualified to hold the office of bishop of
India, as it was by him that the name of Christian was
first made manifest in that country, and that the first
seeds of the Word were sown. Frumentius therefore
returned to India, and, it is said, discharged the priestly
functions so admirably that he became an object of uni-
versal admiration, and was revered as an apostle. God
highly honoured him, enabling him to perform many
wonderful cures, and to work signs and wonders. Such
was the origin of the Indian bishopric.
84 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
CHAPTER XXV.
COUNCIL OF TYRE. ILLEGAL DEPOSITION OF
ST. ATHANASIUS.
THE malignity of the enemies of St. Athanasius in-
volved him in fresh troubles, excited the hatred of the
emperor against him, and stirred up a multitude of
calumniators. Wearied by their importunity, the em-
peror convened a council at Caesarea, in Palestine, Atha-
nasius was summoned thither; but, fearing the artifices
of Eusebius, bishop of the city, of Eusebius, bishop of
Nicomedia, and of their party, he refused to attend, and
for thirty months, in spite of all remonstrances, persisted
in his refusal. At the end of that period, however, he
was compelled to repair to Tyre, where a great number
of the bishops of the East were assembled. They re-
quired him to reply to the accusations framed by John,
and brought against him by Callinicus, a bishop, and a
certain Ischurias. These accusations were, that he had
broken a vase used in the celebration of the mysteries;
that he had thrown down the episcopal chair; that he
had often caused Ischurias, although he was a presbyter,
to be loaded with chains, and that, by falsely accusing
him before Hygenus, governor of Egypt, of casting
stones at the statues of the emperor, he had occasioned
his being thrown into prison; that he had deposed Cal-
linicus, bishop of the Catholic church at Pelusium, and
had debarred him from communion until he could re-
move certain suspicions concerning his having broken
a sacred vase; that he had committed the bishopric of Pelu-
sium to Mark, a deposed presbyter; and that he had
placed Callinicus under the custody of soldiers, and had
put him to the torture. Other calumnies were brought
against him by Euplus, Pachomius, Isaac, Achillas, and
Hermeon, bishops of John's party. They all concurred
in maintaining that he obtained the episcopal dignity by
means of the perjury of certain individuals, it having
been decreed that no one should receive ordination who
could not clear himself of any crime laid to his charge.
CHAP. XXV.] COUNCIL OF TYRE.—A.D. 335. 85
They further alleged, that having been deceived by him,
they had separated themselves from communion with
him, and that, so far from satisfying their scruples, he had
treated them with violence, and thrown them into prison.
The accusers then proceeded to renew the calumny
concerning Arsenius; and, as generally happens in plots
of this nature, many of the reputed friends of the accused
joined the ranks of his calumniators. A document was
then read, containing complaints from the people of
Alexandria, and purporting to convey a refusal to join
the ecclesiastical assemblies. Athanasius having been
urged to justify himself, presented himself repeatedly
before the tribunal; successfully repelled some of the
accusations, and requested permission to delay replying
to the others. He was exceedingly perplexed when he
reflected on the favour in which his accusers were held
by his judges, on the number of witnesses belonging to
the sects of Arius and Meletius who appeared against
him, and on the indulgence that was manifested towards
his accusers after their calumnies had been detected. As,
for instance, when he was charged with having cut off
the arm of Arsenius for purposes of sorcery, and with
having seduced a certain female by bribery. Both these
charges were proved to be false and absurd. When this
female made the deposition before the bishops, Timothy,
a presbyter of Alexandria, who stood by Athanasius, ap-
proached her according to a plan he had secretly con-
certed, and said to her, “Did I then, O woman, violate
your chastity?” She replied, “But didst thou not?”
and mentioned the place and attendant circumstances.
He likewise led Arsenius into the midst of them, showed
both his hands to the judges, and requested them to make
the accusers account for the arm which they had exhi-
bited. For it happened that Arsenius, either acting under
divine inspiration, or grieved at hearing that Athanasius
was accused of having slain him, escaped by night from
the place of his concealment, and arrived at Tyre the day
before trial. Both these accusations having been thus sum-
marily dismissed, no mention of the first was made in the
Acts of the Council; most probably, I think, because the
86 EcoLEs IASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
whole affair was considered too indecorous and absurd for
insertion. As to the second, the accusers strove to justify
themselves by saying, that a bishop named Plusian had,
at the command of Athanasius, burnt the house of Arse-
nius, fastened him to a column, and scourged him cru-
elly, and then imprisoned him in a cell. They further
stated, that Arsenius escaped from the cell through a
window, and remained for a time in concealment; that
as he did not appear, they naturally supposed him to be
dead; that the reputation he had acquired by his manly
confession of the faith had endeared him to the bishops
of John's party, and that they sought for him, and
applied on his behalf to the magistrates. Athanasius
was filled with apprehension when he reflected on these
subjects, and began to suspect that his enemies were
secretly scheming to effect his ruin. After several ses-
sions, when the synod was filled with tumult and confu-
sion, and the accusers and a multitude of persons around
the tribunal were crying aloud that Athanasius ought
to be deposed as a sorcerer and a ruffian, and as being
utterly unworthy the priesthood, the officers who had
been appointed by the emperor to maintain order in the
synod compelled the accused to quit the judgment hall
secretly; for they feared that he might be torn to pieces
by the mob. On finding that he could not remain in
Tyre without peril of his life, and that there was no hope
of obtaining justice against his numerous accusers from
judges who were inimical to him, he fled to Constan-
tinople. The synod condemned him during his absence,
deposed him from the bishopric, and prohibited his re-
siding at Alexandria, lest, they said, he should excite
seditions and disturbances. John and all his adherents
were restored to communion, as if they had been ille-
gally excommunicated, and were reinstated in the clerical
appointments of which they had been deprived. The
"bishops then gave an account of their proceedings to the
emperor, and wrote to the bishops of all regions, enjoining
them not to receive Athanasius into communion, and not
to write to him nor receive letters from him, as they had
convicted him in several instances, and had reason to
CHAP. XXVI.] ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ATHANASIUS. 87
believe, from the manner of his flight, that he was guilty
of many crimes of which they had not taken public cog-
nizance. They likewise declared in this epistle, that they
had been obliged to pass such a condemnation upon him,
because, when commanded by the emperor the pre-
ceding year to repair to the bishops of the East, who
were assembled at Caesarea, he disobeyed the injunction,
kept the bishops waiting for him, and set at nought the
commands of the emperor. They also deposed that when
the bishops had assembled at Tyre, he went to that city,
attended by a large retinue, for the purpose of exciting
seditions and disturbances in the synod; that when there,
he sometimes refused to reply to the charges preferred
against him; sometimes insulted the bishops; and at other
times would not defer to their decisions. They specified
in the same letter, that he was manifestly guilty of
having broken a vase used in the celebration of the sacred
mysteries, and that this fact was attested by Theognis,
bishop of Nicaea; by Maris, bishop of Chalcedonia; by
Theodore, bishop of Heraclea; by Valentinus and Ursa-
cius; and by Macedonius, who had been sent to the
village in Egypt where the vase was said to have been
broken, in order to ascertain the truth. Thus did the
bishops detail successively each point of accusation
against Athanasius, with the same art to which sophists
resort when they desire to heighten the effect of their
calumnies. Many of the clergy, however, who were
present at the trial, perceived the injustice of the accu-
sation. It is related that Paphnucius, the confessor, who
had taken his place among the synod, arose, and took the
hand of Maximus, the bishop of Jerusalem, to lead him
away, as if those who had made a confession of the faith,
and had been maimed and blinded for the sake of religion,
ought not to remain in an assembly of wicked men.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ERECTION OF A TEMPLE BY CONSTANTINE THE GREAT AT
GOLGOTHA, IN JERUSALEM. ITS DEDICATION.
THE temple, called the “Great Martyr,” which was
88 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
built in the place of the skull at Jerusalem, was completed
about the thirtieth year of the reign of Constantine; and
Marius, a man employed at the palace in the capacity of
a secretary, was forthwith despatched to the bishops who
were assembled at Tyre, with a letter from the emperor,
commanding them to repair quickly to Jerusalem, in
order to consecrate the temple. But before they entered
upon this duty, the emperor deemed it necessary that the
disputes which prevailed among the bishops who had
been convened at Tyre should be adjusted, and that they
should cast aside all cause of discord and trouble when
they consecrated the temple. When the bishops arrived
at Jerusalem the temple was therefore consecrated, as
likewise numerous ornaments and gifts, which were sent
by the emperor, and are still preserved in the sacred edi-
fice; their magnificence and costliness is such that they
cannot be looked upon without exciting wonder. Since
that period, the anniversary of the consecration has been
celebrated with great pomp by the church of Jerusalem;
the festival continues eight days, baptism” is adminis-
tered, and people from every region under the sun resort
to Jerusalem during this festival, and visit the sacred
places.
CHAPTER XXVII.
CONCERNING THE PRESBYTER BY WHOM CONSTANTINE WAS
PERSUADED TO RECALL ARIUS AND EUZOIUS FROM ExILE;
THE WRITTEN CONFESSION OF FAITH PROPOUNDED BY
ARIUS, AND THE RECEPTION OF THIS LATTER BY THE
SYNOD ASSEMBLED AT JERUSALEM.
THE bishops who had embraced the sentiments of
Arius found a favourable opportunity of restoring him
and Euzoius to communion, by convening a council in
the city of Jerusalem. They effected their design in the
following manner:—A certain priest, who was a great
* Literally piùmatc, i. e. initiation.
CHAP. XXVII.] MACHINATIONS OF THE ARIANs. 89
admirer of the Arian doctrines, was on terms of intimacy
with the emperor's sister. At first he concealed his sen-
timents; but as he frequently visited, and became by
degrees more familiar with Constantia, for such was the
name of the emperor's sister, he took courage to repre-
sent to her that Arius was unjustly exiled from his
country, and cast out from the church, through the jea-
lousy and personal enmity of Alexander, bishop of the
Alexandrian church. He said that his jealousy had been
excited by the esteem which the people manifested
towards Arius. Constantia believed these representa-
tions to be true, yet took no steps in opposition to the
decrees of the council of Nice. Being attacked with a .
disease which threatened to terminate in death, she
besought her brother, who went to visit her, to grant
what she was about to ask, as her dying request: this
request was, to receive the above-mentioned priest on
terms of intimacy, and to rely upon him as a man of
orthodox faith. “ For my part,” she added, “I am
drawing nigh to death, and am no longer interested in
the concerns of this life; the only apprehension I now
feel arises from dread lest you should incur the wrath of
God, and suffer any calamity, or the loss of your empire,
since you have been induced to condemn good men to
perpetual banishment.” From that period, the emperor
received the priest into favour, and after frequently per-
mitting him to converse with him on the same topics on
which he had conversed with his sister, deemed it neces-
sary to subject the case of Arius to a fresh examination:
it is probable that, in forming this decision, the emperor
was either influenced by a belief in the credibility of the
priest's calumnies, or by the desire of acceding to the
wishes of his sister. It was not long before he recalled
Arius from exile, and demanded of him a written expo-
sition of his faith concerning the Godhead. Arius avoided
making use of the new terms which he had previously
devised, and couched his sentiments in the most simple
phraseology, frequently introducing the words used in
Scripture; he declared upon oath, that he held the doc-
trines set forth in this exposition, and that there was no
90 EC CLESIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
other meaning attached to the words than that which
met the eye. It was as follows:—
“Arius and Euzoius, presbyters, to Constantine, our
most religious and best beloved emperor.
“According to your pious command, O Sovereign Lord,
we here furnish a written statement of our faith, and we
protest before God that we, and all those who are with
us, believe what is here set forth.
“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, and
in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, who proceeded from
Him before all ages, being God the Word, by whom all
things were made, whether things in heaven or things on
earth; He took upon Him flesh, suffered and rose again,
and ascended into Heaven, whence he will again come to
judge the quick and the dead. We believe in the Holy
Ghost, in the resurrection of the body, in the life to come,
in the Kingdom of Heaven, and in one Catholic Church
of God, established throughout the earth. We have re-
ceived this faith from the Holy Gospels, in which the
Lord says to His disciples, “Go forth and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' If we do not believe these
truths, and if we do not truly receive the doctrines con-
cerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, as
they are taught by the whole Catholic Church and by
the Sacred Scriptures, let God be our judge, both in this
life and in that which is to come. Wherefore we appeal
to your piety, O our best beloved emperor, and beseech
you that, as we are enrolled among the members of the
clergy, and as we hold the faith and doctrines of the
Church and of the Sacred Scriptures, you will effect a
reconciliation between us and the Church, which is our
Mother ; so that useless questions and disputes may be
cast aside, and that we and the Church may dwell toge-
ther in peace, and join together in prayer for the pros-
perity of your empire and the welfare of your family.”
Many considered this declaration of faith as an artful
compilation, and as bearing an appearance of opposition
to the Arian tenets, while, in reality, it supported them;
the terms in which it was couched being so vague that it
CHAP. XXVIII.] PROPOSED RESTORATION OF ARIUS. 91
was susceptible of divers interpretations. The emperor
imagined that Arius and Euzoius were of the same sen-
timents as the bishops of the council of Nicaea, and was
delighted at the supposed discovery. He did not, how-
ever, attempt to restore them to communion without the
sanction and co-operation of those who are, by the law of
the church, judges of doctrine. He therefore sent them
to the bishops who were then assembled at Jerusalem,
and wrote to those bishops, desiring them to examine the
declaration of faith submitted by Arius and Euzoius, and
so to influence the decision of the synod that, whether
they found that their doctrine was orthodox, and that the
jealousy of their enemies had been the sole cause of their
condemnation, or that, without having reason to blame
those who had condemned them, they had subsequently
embraced other sentiments, a favourable judgment
might, in either case, be accorded them. Those who had
long desired the restoration of Arius to communion
were pleased by the opportunity afforded by the emperor's
letter for effecting their purpose. They wrote imme-
diately to the emperor himself, to the church of Alex-
andria, and to the bishops and clergy of Egypt, of
Thebes, and of Lybia, to beseech them to receive Arius
and Euzoius into communion, since the emperor bore
witness to the orthodoxy of their faith, in one of his own
epistles, and since the judgment of the emperor had been
confirmed by the decree of the synod.
These were the subjects which were zealously discussed
by the synod of Jerusalem.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
LETTER FROM THE EMPEROR CONSTANTINE TO THE SYNOD
OF TYRE. EXILE OF ST. ATHANASIUS THROUGH THE
MACHINATIONS OF THE ARIAN FACTION.
ATHANASIUs, after having fled from Tyre, repaired to
Constantinople, and complained to the Emperor Con-
stantine of the injustice of his condemnation, and
besought him to permit the decrees of the council of Tyre
to be submitted to examination in his presence. Con-
92 . EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book II.
stantine regarded this request as reasonable, and wrote
in the following terms to the bishops assembled at
Tyre :—
“I know not what has been enacted in confusion and
disorder by your synod; but it appears that, from some
disturbance or other, decrees which are not in confor-
mity with truth have been enacted, and that your con-
stant disputations among yourselves have prevented
you from considering what is pleasing to God. But it
will be the work of Divine Providence to terminate these
disputes, and to manifest to us whether you have been
actuated by a desire to maintain the truth, and whether
you have not been misled in your judgment by motives
of private friendship or aversion. I therefore command
that you all come here to me without delay, in order that
we may receive an exact account of your transactions. I
will explain to you the cause of my writing to you in this
strain. As I was returning on horseback to that city
which bears my name, and which I regard as my country,
Athanasius, the bishop, presented himself so unexpect-
edly in the middle of the highway, with certain indi-
viduals who accompanied him, that I felt exceedingly
surprised at beholding him. God who sees all things is
my witness, that at first I did not know who he was, but
that some of my attendants, having ascertained this point,
and the subject on which he had come to proffer his com-
plaint, gave me the necessary information. I did not on
this occasion grant him an interview. He, however,
persevered in requesting an audience; and although I
refused him, and was on the point of commanding that
he should be removed from my presence, he told me with
greater boldness than he had previously manifested, that
he sought no other favour of me than that I should
summon you hither, in order that he might, in your
presence, complain of the injustice that had been evinced
towards him. As this request appears reasonable and
timely, I deemed it right to address you in this strain,
and to command all of you who were convened at the
synod of Tyre to repair to us, so that the equity of your
decrees may be judged by me, whom you cannot refuse
CHAP. xxix.] LETTER OF CONSTANTINE.—A.D. 335. 93
to acknowledge as a faithful servant of God. By my zeal
in his service peace has been established throughout the
world, and the name of God is praised among barbarians
who, till now, were in ignorance of the truth ; and it is
evident, that whoever is ignorant of the truth knows not
God. Notwithstanding, as is above stated, the barbarians
have, through my instrumentality, learnt to know and to
worship God; for they perceived that every where, and
on all occasions, His protection rested on me; and they
reverence God the more deeply, because they fear my
power. But we who have to announce the mysteries of
his clemency (for I will not say that we keep them), we,
I say, ought not to do anything that can tend to dissen-
sion or hatred, or, to speak plainly, to the destruction of
the human race. Come then to us, as I have said, with
all diligence, and be assured that I shall do every thing
in my power to preserve the inviolability of the law of
God, and to expose those enemies of the law who, under
the name of holiness, endeavour to introduce various
blasphemies.” -
This letter of the emperor so excited the fears of
some of the bishops that they set off on their journey
homewards. But Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, and his
partizans, went to the emperor, and represented that the
synod of Tyre had enacted no decrees against Athana-
sius but what were founded on justice. They brought
forward as witnesses, Theognis, Maris, Theodore, Valens,
and Ursacius, and deposed that he had broken a sacred
vase, and their calumnies were finally triumphant. The
emperor, either believing their statements to be true, or
imagining that unanimity would be restored among the
bishops if Athanasius were removed, exiled him to
Treves, a city of Gaul; and thither, therefore, he was
conducted.
CHAPTER XXIX.
ALEXANDER, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE ; HIS REFUSAL
TO ADMIT ARIUS INTO COMMUNION ; DEATH OF ARIUS.
AFTER the synod of Jerusalem Arius went to Egypt,
94 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
but as he could not obtain permission to hold commu-
nion with the church of Alexandria he returned to
Constantinople. As all those who had embraced his
sentiments, and those who were attached to Eusebius,
bishop of Nicomedia, had assembled in that city for the
purpose of holding a council, Alexander, who was then
at the head of the church of Constantinople, used every
effort to prevent a council from being convened. But
as his endeavours were frustrated he refused all com-
munion with Arius, affirming that it was neither just,
nor according to ecclesiastical canons, that the decrees of
the bishops who had been assembled at Nicaea from every
region under the sun should be reversed. When the
partizans of Eusebius perceived that their arguments
produced no effect on Alexander, they had recourse to
contumely, and threatened that, unless he would receive
Arius into communion on a stated day, he should be ex-
pelled from the church, and that another should be
elected in his place, who would be willing to hold com-
munion with Arius. They then separated, the partizans
of Eusebius to await the time they had fixed for carrying
their menaces into execution, and Alexander to pray that
Eusebius might be prevented from acting as they had
said. His chief source of sorrow arose from the fact
that the emperor had been led away by the persuasions
of his enemies. On the day before the appointed day
he prostrated himself before the altar, and continued all
the night in prayer to God that his enemies might be
prevented from carrying their schemes into execution
against him. On the evening of the same day, Arius,
being seized with pain in the stomach, was compelled to
repair to the public place set apart for emergencies of
this nature. As some time passed away without his
coming out, some persons, who were waiting for him
outside, entered, and found him dead and still sitting
upon the seat. When his death became known, all people
did not view the occurrence under the same aspect.
Some believed that he died of disease of the heart, in-
duced by extreme joy at the success which had attended
his undertakings; others imagined that this mode of
CHAP. XXX.] DEATH OF ARIUS.—A.D. 335. 95
death was inflicted on him in judgment, on account of
his impiety. Those who held his sentiments were of
opinion that his death was brought about by magical
arts. It will not be out of place to quote what Athana-
sius, bishop of Alexandria, stated on the subject. The
following is his narrative:—
f
CHAPTER XXX.
ACCOUNT GIVEN BY THE GREAT ATHANASIUS OF THE
DEATH OF AFIU.S.
“ARIUS, the author of the heresy and the associate of
Eusebius, having been summoned before the most
blessed Constantine Augustus, at the solicitation of the
partizans of Eusebius, was desired to give in writing an
exposition of his faith; he drew up this document with
great artfulness, and, like the devil, concealed his im-
pious assertions beneath the simple words of Scripture.
The most blessed Constantine said to him, “If you hold
any other doctrines than those which are here set forth,
render testimony to the truth; but if you perjure your-
self, the Lord will punish you,' and the wretched man
swore that he held no sentiments except those specified
in the document; soon after he went out and judgment
was visited upon him, for he bent forwards and burst
in the middle. With all men life terminates in death.
We must not blame a man, even if he be an enemy,
merely because he died, for it is uncertain whether we
shall live till the evening. But the end of Arius was so
singular that it seems worthy of some remark. The
partizans of Eusebius threatened to re-instate him in the
church, and Alexander, bishop of Constantinople, op-
posed their intention; Arius placed his confidence in
the power and menaces of Eusebius. It was Saturday,
and he expected the next day to be re-admitted into the
church. The dispute ran high; the partizans of Euse-
bius were loud in their menaces, while Alexander had
recourse to prayer. The Lord was the judge, and de-
clared himself against the unjust. A little before sun-
set Arius was compelled by a want of nature to enter
96 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK II.
the place appropriated for such emergencies, and here
he lost at once both restoration to communion and his
life. The most blessed Constantine was amazed when
he heard of this occurrence, and regarded it as the
punishment of perjury. It then became evident to every
one that the menaces of Eusebius were absolutely futile,
and that the expectations of Arius were vain and foolish.
It also became manifest that the Arian heresy had met
with condemnation from the Saviour as well as from the
pristine church. Is it not then astonishing that some
are still found who seek to exculpate him whom the
Lord has condemned, and to defend a heresy of which
the author was not permitted by our Lord to be re-
joined to the church? We have been duly informed
that this was the mode of the death of Arius. It is said
that for a long period subsequently no one would make
use of the seat on which he died. Those who were com-
pelled by necessities of nature to visit the public place,
always avoided with horror the precise spot on which
the impiety of Arius had been visited with judgment.
At a later epoch a certain rich and powerful man, who
had embraced the Arian tenets, bought the place of the
public, and built a house on the spot, in order that the
occurrence might fall into oblivion, and that there might
be no perpetual memorial of the death of Arius.”
CHAPTE R XXXI.
EVENTS WHICH TRANSPIRED IN ALEXANDRIA AFTER THE
DEATH OF ARIUS. LETTER OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT.
THE death of Arius did not terminate the doctrinal
dispute which he had originated. Those who adhered
to his sentiments did not cease from plotting against
those who maintained opposite opinions. The people of
|Alexander loudly complained of the exile of Athanasius,
| and offered up supplications for his return, and Antony,
the celebrated monk, wrote frequently to the emperor
to entreat him to attach no credit to the insinuations
of the Meletians, but to reject their accusations as ca-
lumnies; yet the emperor was not convinced by these
CHAP. XXXII.] DECREES OF CONSTANTINE. 97
arguments, and wrote to the Alexandrians, accusing them
of folly and of disorderly conduct. He commanded the
clergy and the holy virgins to remain quiet, and declared
that he would not change his mind nor recall Athana-
sius, whom, he said, he regarded as an exciter of sedi-
tion, justly condemned by the judgment of the church.
He replied to Antony by stating that he ought not to
overlook the decree of the synod; for even if some few
of the bishops, he said, were actuated by ill-will or the
desire to oblige others, it scarcely seems credible that so
many prudent and excellent bishops could have been
impelled by such motives; and, he added, that Athana-
sius was contumelious and arrogant, and the author of
divisions and seditions. The enemies of Athanasius
accused him the more especially of these crimes, be-
cause they knew that the emperor regarded them with
peculiar aversion. When he heard that the church was
split into two factions, of which one supported Athana-
sius, and the other John, he was transported with indig-
nation, and exiled John. This John had succeeded
Meletius, and had, with those who held the same senti-
ments as himself, been restored to communion and re-
established in the clerical functions by the Synod of
Tyre. His banishment was contrary to the wishes of
the enemies of Athanasius, nor could it be revoked by
the decrees of the Synod of Tyre, for the emperor was
inexorable against those who introduced sedition and
dissension among the Christians.
CHAPTE R XXXII.
CONSTANTINE ENACTS A LAW AGAINST ALL HERESIES, AND
PROHIBITS THE PEOPLE FROM ASSEMBLING IN ANY PLACE
BUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND THUS THE GREATER
NUMBER OF HERESIES DISAPPEAR. w
ALTHOUGH the doctrine of Arius was zealously sup-
ported by many persons in disputations, a party had not
as yet been formed to whom the name of Arians could
be applied as a distinctive appellation; for all assembled
together as a church and held communion with each
7
98 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
other, with the exception of the Novatians, those called
Phrygians, the Valentinians, and some few others who
adhered to ancient heresies. The emperor, however,
enacted a law, by which they were forbidden to assemble
in their own houses of prayer, in private houses, or in
public places, but were compelled to enter into commu-
nion with the Catholic church. By means of this law,
almost all the heresies, I believe, disappeared. During
the reign of preceding emperors, all those who followed
Christ, however they might have differed from each
other in opinion, received the same treatment from the
Greeks (Pagans), and were persecuted with equal cruelty.
These common calamities, to which they were all equally
liable, prevented them from prosecuting any close in-
quiries as to the differences of opinion which existed
among themselves; the members of each party assembled
themselves together, and, however few they might have
been in number, did not lose their corporate existence.
But after this law was passed they could not assemble
in public, because it was forbidden; nor could they hold
their assemblies in secret, for they were watched by the
bishops and clergy of their city. Hence the greater
number of these sectarians were led, by fear of conse-
quences, to join themselves to the Catholic church.
Those who adhered to their original sentiments did not,
at their death, leave any disciples to propagate their
heresy, for, owing to the restrictions to which they
were subjected, they were prevented from teaching their
doctrines.
On account either of the absurdity of the heretical
dogmas, or of the utter ignorance of those who devised
and taught them, the respective followers of each heresy
were, from the beginning, very few in number. The
Novatians alone, who had obtained good leaders, and
who entertained the same opinions respecting the Divi-
nity as the Catholic church, formed a large sect from
the beginning, and were not decreased in point of num-
bers by means of this law; the camperor, I believe, re-
laxed the rigour of the enactment in their favour, for
he only desired to strike terror into the minds of his
CHAP. xxxIII.] HERESY OF MARCELLUS.—A. D. 336. 99
subjects, and had no intention of persecuting them.
Acesius, who was then the bishop of the Novatians in
Constantinople, was much esteemed by the emperor on
account of his virtuous life; and it is probable that it
was for his sake that the church which he governed met
with protection. The Phrygians suffered the same treat-
ment as the other heretics in all the Roman provinces
except Phrygia and the neighbouring regions, for here
they had, since the time of Montanus, existed in great
numbers, and they are to the present day to be found in
that locality.
About this time the partizans of Eusebius, bishop of
Nicomedia, and of Theognis, bishop of Nicaea, began to
combat in writing the confession of faith which had been
set forth by the Nicaean Council. They did not venture
to reject openly the assertion that the Son is consub-
stantial with the Father, because this assertion was
maintained by the emperor; but they drew up another
formula of belief, and signified to the Eastern bishops
that, with certain modifications, they had received the
Nicaean confession of faith. They thus renewed disputes
and the agitation of questions which had almost sunk
into oblivion.
C II APTE R XXXIII.
MARCELLUS, BISHOP OF ANCYRA; HIS HERESY AND
DEPOSITION.
At the same period, Marcellus, bishop of Ancyra, in
Galatia, was deposed by the bishops assembled at Con-
stantinople, because he had introduced some new doc-
trines, whereby he taught that the existence of the Son
of God commenced when He was born of Mary, and that
His reign would have an end; he had, moreover, drawn
up a written document wherein these views were pro-
pounded. Basil, a man of great learning and eloquence,
was invested by the bishops with the government of the
church of Galatia. They also wrote to the churches in
the neighbouring regions, to desire them to search for
the copies of the book written by Marcellus, and to
100 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK II.
destroy them, and to lead back those who had embraced
his sentiments to the Catholic faith. They stated that
the work was too voluminous to admit of their tran-
scribing the whole in their epistle, but that they inserted
quotations of certain passages in order to prove that the
doctrines which they had condemned were there advo-
cated. Some persons, however, maintained that Mar-
cellus had merely propounded a few questions which had
been misconstrued by the adherents of Eusebius, and
represented to the emperor as formal propositions. Euse-
bius and his partizans were irritated against Marcellus,
because he had not consented to their decrees at the
Council of Tyre, nor to the regulations which had been
made in favour of Arius at Jerusalem; and had likewise
refused to attend at the consecration of the church called
the Great Martyr, in order to avoid communion with
them. In their letter to the emperor, they dwelt largely
upon this latter circumstance, alleging that it was a
personal insult to him to refuse attendance at the conse-
cration of the temple which he had constructed at Jeru-
salem. The motive by which Marcellus was induced to
write this work was, that Asterius, who was a sophist
and a native of Cappadocia, had written a treatise in
defence of the Arian doctrines, and had read it in vari-
ous cities, and to the bishops, and likewise at several
synods where he had attended. Marcellus undertook to
refute his arguments, and while thus engaged, he, either
deliberately or unintentionally, fell into the errors of
Paul of Samosata. He was afterwards, however, re-
instated in his bishopric by the Council of Sardis, after
having proved that he did not hold the doctrines which
had been imputed to him.
O HAPTER XXXIV.
I) EATH OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT : HE RECEIVES THE
RITE OF BAPTISM IN HIS LAST MOMENTS, AND IS BURIED
IN THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY APOSTLES.
THE emperor divided the empire among his sons, who
were styled Caesars. To Constantine and Constans he
CHAP. XXXIV.] IDEATH OF CONSTANTINE.
A. D. 337. 101
awarded the Western regions; and to Constantius, the
Eastern; and, as he was indisposed, and required to have
recourse to bathing, he repaired for that purpose to
Helenopolis, a city of Bithynia. His malady, however,
increased, and he went to Nicomedia, and received the
rite of holy baptism in one of the suburbs of that city.
After the ceremony he was filled with joy, and returned
thanks to God. He then confirmed the division of the
empire among his sons, according to his former allot-
ment, and bestowed certain privileges on Old and on
New Rome. He placed his testament in the hands of
the priest who constantly extolled Arius, and who had
been recommended to him as a man of virtuous life by
his sister Constantia in her last moments, and com-
manded him to deliver it to Constantius on his return,
for neither Constantius nor the other Caesars were with
their dying father. After making these arrangements,
Constantine survived but a few days; he died in the
sixty-fifth year of his age, and the thirty-first of his
reign. He was a powerful protector of the Christian re-
ligion, and was the first of the emperors who manifested
zeal in the extension of the church. He was more suc-
cessful than any other sovereign in all his undertakings;
for he formed no design, I am convinced, without God.
He was victorious in his wars against the Goths and
Sarmatians, and indeed, in all his military enterprizes;
and he changed the form of government according to his
own mind with so much ease that he created another
senate and another capital city, to which he gave his own
name. He utterly subverted the Grecian religion, which
had prevailed for ages among the princes and the people.
After the death of Constantine, his body was placed
in a golden coffin, conveyed to Constantinople, and de-
posited in the palace; and the same honours were ren-
dered to the body by those who were in the palace, as if
the emperor had been still alive. On hearing of his
father's death, Constantius, who was then in the East,
hastened to Constantinople, and interred the royal
remains with the utmost magnificence, and deposited
them in the tomb which had been constructed by order
102 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK II.
of the deceased in the Church of the Apostles. From this
period it became the custom to deposit the remains of
subsequent Christian emperors in the same place of in-
terment ; and here bishops, likewise, were buried, for the
hierarchial dignity is not only equal in honour to impe-
rial power, but, in sacred places, even takes the
ascendancy.
END OF BOOK II.
BOOK III.—CHAPTER I.
AFTER THE DEATII OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT THE AD-
HERENTS OF EUSEBIUS AND THEOGNIS RENEW THE CON-
TROVERSY CONCERNING THE FAITH ESTABLISHED AT
NICAEA.
WE have now seen what events transpired in the
churches during the reign of Constantine. On his death,
the doctrine which had been set forth at Nicaea was sub-
jected to renewed examination. Although this doctrine
was not universally approved, no one, during the life of
Constantine, had dared to reject it openly. At his death,
however, many renounced this faith, especially those
who had previously been suspected of treachery. Euse-
bius and Theognis, bishops of provinces in Bithynia, did
every thing in, their power to give predominance to the
tenets of Arius. They believed that this object would
be easily accomplished by retaining Athanasius in exile,
and by giving the government of the Egyptian churches
to a bishop of their own sect. They found an efficient
coadjutor in the priest who had obtained from Con-
stantine the recall of Arius. He was held in high esteem
by the Emperor Constantius, on account of the service
he had rendered in delivering to him the testament of
his father; he had, in fact, constant liberty of access to
the empress, and was on terms of intimacy with the
eunuchs of the court. At this period Eusebius was
appointed to superintend the concerns of the royal
household, and, being zealously attached to Arianism, he
induced the empress and many of the persons belonging
to the court to adopt the same sentiments. Hence dispu-
tations concerning doctrines again became prevalent,
both in public and in private, and mutual revilings and
virulent animosities were renewed. This state of things
was in accordance with the views of Theognis and his
partizans.
104 Eccles I As TICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
CHAPTER II.
RETURN OF THE GREAT ATHANASIUS FROM EXILE ; LETTER
OF CONSTANTINE CAESAR, SON OF CONSTANTINE THE
GREAT; MACHINATIONS OF THE ARIANS AGAINST ATHA-
NASIUS; ACACIUS; WAR BETWEEN CONSTANTIUS AND
CONSTANS.
At this period Athanasius returned from the West of
Gaul to Alexandria. It is said that Constantine intended
to have recalled him, and that in his testament he even
gave orders to that effect. But as he was prevented by
death from performing his intention, his son, who bore
his name, and who was then commanding in Western
Gaul, recalled Athanasius, and wrote a letter on the
subject to the people of Alexandria. Having met with
a copy of this letter translated from the Latin into
Greek, I shall insert it precisely as I found it. It is as
follows :-
“Constantine Caesar, to the people of the Catholic
Church of Alexandria.
“You cannot, I believe, be unacquainted with the fact
that Athanasius, the venerable interpreter of the law,
was sent for a time into Gaul, lest he should fall a sacri-
fice to the sanguinary designs of his enemies, who sought
his destruction. In order to shield him from the dangers
which menaced him, he was desired to remain in the
country which is under my sway, and means were taken,
in every city wherein he abode, to supply all his wants;
but he is endowed with such exalted and extraordinary
virtue, that, by the aid of the grace of God, he sets at
nought all the necessities of nature. Our Lord and my
father, Constantine Augustus, of most blessed memory,
intended to have reinstated this bishop in his diocese, and
thus to have restored him to your piety; but as he was
prevented by death from fulfilling his intention, it de-
volves upon me, as his heir, to carry his design into
execution. Athanasius will inform you in person of the
respect which I have manifested towards him. Nor
is it surprising that I should have acted as I have done
CHAP. III.] RESTORATION OF ATHANASIUS.—A.D. 337. 105
towards him, for I was impelled by the desire of grati-
fying your wish of seeing him again, and by the feeling
of esteem which was excited in my mind by the virtue
of so holy a man. May Divine Providence watch over
you, my beloved brethren.”
In consequence of this letter from the emperor, Atha-
nasius returned from exile, and resumed the government
of the Egyptian churches. Those who were attached to
the Arian doctrines viewed his return with consterna-
tion ; they excited fresh seditions, and had recourse to
other machinations against him. The partizans of Euse-
bius accused him before the emperor of being a seditious
person, and of having reversed the decree of exile, con-
trary to the laws of the church, and without the consent
of the bishops. I shall presently relate in the proper
place, how, by their intrigues, Athanasius was again ex-
pelled from Alexandria.
Eusebius, surnamed Pamphilus, died about this
period, and Acacius was appointed to the bishopric of
Caesarea in Palestine. He had been instructed by Euse-
bius in the interpretation of Holy Writ; he possessed
some learning and eloquence; and had written several
works. Not long after, the Emperor Constantine declared
war against his brother Constantius, and was slain by his
own generals. The Roman Empire was divided between
the surviving brothers; the East fell to the lot of Con-
stantius, and the West to Constans.
C H A P T E R III.
PAUL, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE ; HERESY OF
MACE DONIUS.
ALEXANDER died about this time, and Paul obtained the
bishopric of Constantinople. The followers of Arius and
Macedonius assert that he took possession of this office
without the concurrence of Eusebius, bishop of Nico-
media; or of Theodore, bishop of Heraclea, in Thrace; upon
whom, as being the nearest bishops, the right of confer-
ring ordination devolved. Many, however, maintain, on
the testimony of Alexander whom he succeeded, that he
f
106 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
was ordained by the bishops who were then assembled
at Constantinople. For when Alexander, who was eighty-
nine years of age, and who had held the episcopal office
for twenty-three years, was at the point of death, his
clergy asked him whom he wished to succeed him in the
government of his church. “If,” replied he, “you seek
a good man, and one who is apt to teach, you have Paul.
But if you desire one who is conversant with public
affairs, and able to confer with rulers, Macedonius is, in
these respects, more qualified than Paul.” The Mace-
donians themselves admit that this testimony was given
by Alexander; but they say that Paul was the more
skilled of the two in the transaction of business and the
art of eloquence, and that Macedonius was celebrated on
account of the purity of his life and conduct; and they
accuse Paul of having been addicted to luxury and licen-
tiousness. It appears, however, from their own acknow-
ledgment, that Paul was a man of great eloquence, and
highly renowned on account of his skill in teaching the
church. Events proved that he was not competent to
combat the casualties of life, or to hold intercourse with
those in power. He was never successful in subverting
the machinations of his enemies, like those who are adroit
in the management of such affairs. Although he was
greatly beloved by the people he suffered severely from
the artifices of those who rejected the doctrines esta-
blished by the council of Nicaea. In the first place, he
was expelled from the church of Constantinople, as if
some accusation had been established against him. He
was then sent into banishment, and finally, it is said, fell
a victim to the devices of his enemies, and was strangled.
But these latter events took place at a subsequent period.
CHAPTER IV.
A SEDITION WAS EXCITED ON THE ORDINATION OF PAUL.
THE ordination of Paul occasioned a great commotion
in the church of Constantinople. During the life of
Alexander the Arians did not venture to excite any in-
surrection, for the people were implicitly obedient to
CHAP. V.] COUNCIL OF ANTIOCH.—A. D. 341. 107
their bishop, and attached to his sway, and, moreover,
regarded the extraordinary and unexpected death of
Arius as a manifest indication of divine wrath, drawn
down upon him, so to speak, by the prayers and virtues
of Alexander. After the death of this bishop, however,
the people became divided into two parties, and disputes
and contests concerning doctrines were openly carried
on. The adherents of Arius desired the ordination of
Macedonius, while those who maintained that the Son is
consubstantial with the Father wished to have Paul as
their bishop; and this latter party prevailed. After the
ordination of Paul the emperor returned to Constan-
tinople, and manifested as much displeasure at what had
taken place as if Paul had been unworthy of the
bishopric. Through the machinations of the enemies of
Paul a synod was convened, and he was expelled from
the church. Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, was in-
stalled in the bishopric of Constantinople.
CHAPTE R. W.
COUNCIL OF ANTIOCH; DEPOSITION OF ATHANASIUS; INSTAL-
LATION OF GREGORY: TWO FORMULARIES OF FAITH.
Soon after these occurrences, the emperor went to
Antioch, a city of Syria. Here a large and beautiful
church had been founded by the late emperor Constan-
tine; and as the structure had been just completed by
his son Constantius, it was deemed a favourable oppor-
tunity by the partizans of Eusebius to convene a council.
They, therefore, with those from various regions who
held their sentiments, met together in Antioch ; their
bishops were about ninety-seven in number. Their pro-
fessed object was the consecration of the new church;
but they intended nothing else than the abolition of the
decrees of the Nicaean Council, and this was fully proved
by the sequel. The church of Antioch was then governed
by Hacillus, who had succeeded Euphronius. The death
of Constantine the Great had taken place about five years
prior to this period. When all the bishops had assem-
bled in the presence of the emperor Constantius, the
108 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
majority expressed great indignation against Athanasius
for having contemned the sacerdotal regulation which
they had enacted, and taken possession of the bishopric
of Alexandria without first obtaining the sanction of a
council. They also deposed that he was the cause of the
death of several persons who fell in a sedition excited
by his return ; and that many others had on the same
occasion been arrested, and delivered up to the judicial
tribunals. By these accusations they contrived to cast
odium on Athanasius, and it was decreed that Gregory
should be invested with the government of the church
of Alexandria. They then turned to the discussion of
doctrinal questions, and found no fault with the de-
crees of the Council of Nice. They despatched letters
to the bishops of every city, in which they declared that,
as they were bishops themselves, they had not followed
Arius. “For how,” said they, “could we have been fol-
lowers of him, when he was but a presbyter and we were
placed above him ** They affirmed that they received
the faith which had, from the beginning, been handed
down by tradition. This they further explained at the
bottom of their letter, but without alluding to the sub-
stance of the Father or the Son, or to the term con-
substantial. They resorted, in fact, to such ambiguity
of expression, that neither the Arians nor the followers
of the decrees of the Nicaean Council could call their
assertions into question, or affirm that they departed
from the doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. They pur-
posely avoided all forms of expression which were re-
jected by either party, and only made use of those which
were universally admitted: They confessed that the
Son is with the Father, that He is the only begotten
One, and that He is God, and existed before all things;
and that He took flesh upon him, and fulfilled the will
of His Father. They admitted these and similar truths,
but neither affirmed nor denied the doctrine of the Son
being co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father.
They subsequently disapproved, it appears, of this for-
mulary, and issued another, which, I think, very nearly
resembles that of the Council of Nice, unless, indeed,
CHAP. VI.] COUNCIL OF ANTIOCH.—A. D. 341. 109
some secret meaning be attached to the words which is
not apparent to me. Although they refrained, I know
not from what motive, from saying that the Son is con-
substantial with the Father, they confessed that He is
immutable, that His divinity is not susceptible of change,
that He is the perfect image of the substance, and coun-
sel, and power, and glory of the Father, and that He is
the first-born of every creature. They stated that they
had found this formulary of faith, and that it was written
by Lucinius who was martyred in Nicomedia, and who
was a man of great celebrity and remarkably conversant
with the Sacred Scriptures. I know not whether this
statement was really true, or whether they merely ad-
vanced it in order to give weight to their own docu-
ment, by connecting with it the name of an illustrious
martyr. Not only was Eusebius (who, on the expulsion
of Paul, had been transferred from the bishopric of Nico-
media to that of Constantinople) present at this council,
but likewise Acacius, the successor of Eusebius Pamphi-
lus, Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis, Theodore, bishop
of Heraclea, formerly called Perinthus, Eudoxius, bishop
of Germanicia, who succeeded Macedonius in the govern-
ment of the church of Constantinople, and Gregory, who
had been appointed bishop of the church of Alexandria.
It was universally acknowledged that all these bishops
held the same sentiments. Dianius, bishop of Caesarea
in Cappadocia, George, bishop of Laodicea in Syria, and
many other metropolitan bishops and primates of re-
nowned churches, were also present at this council.
CH APTER WI.
EUSEBIUs, SURNAMED EMESIUS; GREGORY ACCEPTS THE
BISHOPRIC OF ALEXAND RIA ; ATHANASIUS SEEKS REFUGE
IN ROME.
EUSEBIUs, surnamed Emesius, likewise attended the
council. He sprang from a noble family of Edessa, a
city of Osdroëna. According to the custom of his coun-
try, he had, from his youth upwards, been instructed in
the knowledge of sacred scripture, and was afterwards
110 E C C L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK III.
made acquainted with the learning of the Greeks by the
doctors who then frequented his native city. He sub-
sequently acquired a more intimate knowledge of
sacred literature, under the guidance of Eusebius Pam-
philus and Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis. He went
to Antioch at the time that Eustathius was deposed on
the accusation of Cyrus, and lived with Euphronius, his
successor, on terms of intimacy. . He fled to escape being
invested with the priestly dignity, went to Alexandria,
and frequented the schools of the philosophers. After
acquainting himself with their mode of discipline, he
returned to Antioch, and dwelt with Flacillus, the suc-
cessor of Euphronius. During the time that the council
was held in that city, Eusebius, bishop of Constantinople,
entreated him to accept the bishopric of Alexandria; for
it was thought that, by his great reputation for sanctity
and consummate eloquence, he would easily supplant
Athanasius in the esteem of the Egyptians. He, how-
ever, refused the bishopric, on the plea that he could
otherwise only incur the hatred of the Alexandrians,
who would have no other bishop but Athanasius. Gre-
gory was, therefore, appointed bishop of Alexandria, and
Eusebius was ordained over the church of Emessa.
A sedition was excited on the inauguration of Euse-
bius; the people accused him of being addicted to the
practice of judicial astronomy, and, being obliged to seek
safety by flight, he repaired to Laodicea, and dwelt with
George, bishop of that city, who was his particular
friend. He afterwards accompanied this bishop to An-
tioch, and obtained permission from the bishops Flacillus
and Narcissus to return to Emessa. He was much
esteemed by the Emperor Constantine, and attended him
in his military expeditions against the Persians. It is
said that God wrought miracles through his instrumen-
tality, as is testified by George of Laodicea, who has re-
lated many instances of this nature besides those which
I have recorded.
But although he was endowed with so many exalted
qualities, he could not escape the jealousy of those who
are irritated by witnessing the virtues of others. It was
CHAP. VII.] ATHANASIUS SUPERSEDED BY GREGORY. 111
insinuated that he had embraced the doctrines of Sabel-
lius. At the same time, however, he voted with the
bishops who had been convened at Antioch. It is said
that Maximus, bishop of Jerusalem, kept aloof from this
council, because he repented having unawares consented
to the deposition of Athanasius. The bishop of Rome,
and the bishops of other parts of Italy, and of the re-
moter provinces of the empire, also absented themselves
from this council. At the same period of time, the
Franks devastated Western Gaul; and the provinces of
the East, and more particularly Antioch, were visited by
a tremendous earthquake. Gregory repaired to Alexan-
dria with a large body of soldiers, in order to obtain a
safe and undisputed entrance into the city; the Arians,
also, who were anxious for the expulsion of Athanasius,
sided with him. Athanasius, fearful lest the people
should be exposed to sufferings on his account, assem-
bled them by night in the church, and when the soldiers
came to take possession of the church, prayers having
been concluded, he caused a psalm to be sung. During
the chaunting of this psalm, the soldiers remained with-
out, and quietly awaited its conclusion, and in the mean-
time Athanasius secretly made his escape, and fled to
Rome. In this manner Gregory possessed himself of the
bishopric of Alexandria. The indignation of the people
was aroused, and they burnt the church which bore the
name of Dionysius, one of the former bishops of their
city.
CHAPTER VII.
BISHOPS OF ROME AND OF CONSTANTINOPLE ; RESTORATION
OF PAUL AFTER THE DEATH OF EUSEBIUS. DEATH OF
IIERMOGENES, A GENERAL OF THE ARMY.
THUS were the schemes of those who upheld various
heresies in opposition to truth successfully carried into
execution; and thus did they depose those bishops who
strenuously maintained throughout the East the supre-
macy of the doctrines of the Nicaean Council. These
heretics had taken possession of the most important
112 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK III.
bishoprics, such as Alexandria in Egypt, Antioch in
Syria, and the capital city of the Hellespont, and they
held all the neighbouring bishops in subjection. The
bishop of Rome and all the clergy of the West were
offended at these proceedings, and religiously main-
tained the faith of the Council of Nicaea, which they had
embraced from the beginning. On the arrival of Atha-
nasius, they received him kindly, and proposed to pass
judgment on his case. Irritated at this interference,
Eusebius wrote to Julius, exhorting him to constitute him-
self a judge of the decrees that had been enacted against
Athanasius by the Council of Tyre. But before he had
been able to ascertain the sentiments of Julius, and, in-
deed, soon after the Council of Antioch, Eusebius died.
Immediately upon this event, those citizens of Con-
stantinople who maintained the doctrines of the Nicaean
Council conducted Paul to the church. At the same
time, the adherents of Theognis, bishop of Nicaea, of
Theodore, bishop of Heraclea, and others of the same
party, aided by the Arians, assembled at Constantinople,
and ordained Macedonius bishop of Constantinople. This
excited a sedition in the city, which assumed all the
appearance of a war, for the people rose up against each
other, and many fell in the encounter. The city was
filled with tumult, so that the emperor, who was then at
Antioch, on hearing of what had occurred, was filled
with indignation, and issued a decree for the expulsion
of Paul. Hermogenes, general of the cavalry, endea-
voured to put this edict of the emperor's into execution,
for, having been sent to Thrace, he had, on the journey,
to pass by Constantinople, and he thought, by means of
his army, to eject Paul from the church. But the people,
instead of yielding, met him with open resistance, and
while the soldiers, in obedience to the orders they had
received, were engaged in violent assault on the city,
the populace entered the house of Hermogenes, set fire
to it, killed him, and attaching to his body a cord,
dragged it through the city. The emperor had no
sooner received this intelligence than he took horse to
Constantinople, in order to punish the people. They,
CHAP. VIII.] ATHANASIUs FLEES TO ROME. –A.D. 341. 113
however, went to meet him with tears and supplications,
and induced him to desist from his purpose. He de-
prived them of about half of the corn which his father,
Constantine, had granted them annually from the tri-
butes of Egypt: probably from the idea that luxury
and great abundance rendered them easily disposed to
sedition. He turned all his anger against Paul, and
commanded his expulsion from the city. He mani-
fested great displeasure against Macedonius, because he
had taken part in the murder of the general and of other
individuals; and, also, because he had been ordained
without first obtaining his sanction. He, however, re-
turned to Antioch without having either confirmed or
dissolved his ordination. The Arians soon after deposed
Gregory, because he had shown little zeal in the support
of their doctrines, and had moreover incurred the
enmity of the Alexandrians on account of the calamities
which had marked the commencement of his authority,
especially the conflagration of the church. They elected
George, a native of Cappadocia, in his stead; this new
bishop was admired on account of his activity, and his
zeal in support of the Arian dogmas.
CHAPTER VIII.
ARRIVAL OF THE EASTERN ARCHBISHOPS AT ROME; LETTER
of JULIUS, BISHOP OF ROME. BY MEANS OF THE LETTERS
OF JULIUS, PAUL AND ATHANASIUS ARE RE-INSTATED IN
THEIR OWN BISHOPRICS; LETTER FROM THE ARCHIBISHOPS
OF THE EAST TO JULIUS.
ATHANASIUs, on leaving Alexandria, fled to Rome.
Paul, bishop of Constantinople, Marcellus, bishop of
Ancyra, and Asclepas, bishop of Gaza, repaired thither
at the same time. Asclepas, who was strongly opposed
to the Arians, had been accused by them of having
thrown down an altar, and Quintian had been appointed
in his stead over the church of Gaza. Lucius, also,
bishop of Adrianople, who had on some accusation been
deposed from his office, was dwelling at this period in
Rome. The Roman bishop, on learning the cause of their
114 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
condemnation, and on finding that they held the same
sentiments as himself, and adhered to the Nicaean doc-
trines, admitted them to communion; and as, by the dig-
nity of his seat, the charge of watching over the orthodox
devolved upon him, he restored them all to their own
churches. He wrote to the bishops of the East, and
rebuked them for having judged these bishops unjustly,
and for having disturbed the peace of the church by
abandoning the Nicaean doctrines. He summoned a few
among them to appear before him on an appointed day,
in order to account to him for the sentence they had
passed, and threatened to bear with them no longer
should they introduce any further innovations. Athana-
sius and Paul were reinstated in their bishoprics, and
forwarded the letter of Julius to the bishops of the East.
: The bishops were highly indignant at this letter; and
they assembled together at Antioch, and framed a reply
to Julius, replete with elegance and the graces of rhe-
toric, but couched in a tone of irony and defiance. They
confessed, in this epistle, that the church of Rome was
entitled to universal honour, because it had been founded
by the apostles, and had enjoyed the rank of a Metro-
politan Church from the first preaching of religion,
although those who first propagated a knowledge of
Christian doctrines in this city came from the East.
They added, that the second place in point of honour
ought not to be assigned to them, merely on account of
the smallness of their city and of their numerical infe-
riority, for that, with respect to zeal and firmness, they
surpassed others. They called Julius to account for
having admitted Athanasius into communion, and ex-
pressed their indignation against him for having insulted
their synod, and abrogated their decrees; and they repre-
hended his conduct, because, they said, it was opposed to
justice and to the canons of the church. After these
complaints and protestations, they proceeded to state,
that they were willing to continue on terms of amity and
communion with Julius, provided that he would sanction
the deposition of the bishops whom they had expelled,
and the ordination of those whom they had elected in
CHAP. IX.] EXILE OF PAUL.—A.D. 342. 115
their stead: but that, unless he would accede to these
terms, they should have recourse to hostility. They
added, that the bishops who had preceded them in the
government of the Eastern churches had offered no
opposition to the deposition of Novatian by the church
of Rome. They made no allusion in their letter to any
deviations they had manifested from the doctrines of the
council of Nice, but merely stated they had various rea-
sons to allege in justification of the course they had
pursued, and that they considered it unnecessary to enter
at that time upon any defence of their conduct, as they
were suspected of having violated justice in every respect.
CHAPTER IX.
EJECTION OF PAUL AND ATHANASIUS; MACEDONIUS IS IN-
VESTED WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH OF
CONSTANTINOPLE.
AFTER having written in this strain to Julius, the
bishops of the East brought accusations against those
whom they had deposed before the Emperor Constantius.
Accordingly the emperor, who was then at Antioch,
wrote to Philip, the prefect of Constantinople, command-
ing him to reinstate Macedonius in the government of
the church, and to expel Paul from the city. The
prefect, fearing lest the execution of this order should
give rise to a sedition among the people, kept the whole
matter a profound secret. He repaired to the public bath,
which is called Zeuxippus, a large and beautiful struc-
ture, and having sent for Paul, as if he wished to con-
verse with him on some affairs of general interest, showed
him, on his arrival, the edict of the emperor. Paul was
immediately and secretly conveyed through the palace,
which is contiguous to the bath, to the sea-side, and was
placed on board a vessel, and conducted to Thessalonica,
whence, it is said, his ancestors originally came. He
was strictly prohibited from approaching the Eastern
regions, but was not forbidden to visit Illyria and the
remoter provinces.
On quitting the praetorium, Philip, accompanied by
116 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK III.
Macedonius, proceeded to the church. The people, who
had in the mean time been assembling together, quickly
filled the church, and the two parties into which they
were divided, namely, the Arians and the followers of
Paul, respectively strove to take possession of the church.
When the prefect and Macedonius arrived at the gates
of the church, the soldiers endeavoured to force back the
people, but, as they were so crowded together, it was im-
possible for them to recede or make way ; the soldiers,
under the impression that they were met to resist the
imperial authority, drew their swords and killed many
persons, and several others were slain in the crowd. The
edict of the emperor was thus accomplished, and Mace-
donius reinstated in the government of the church, while
Paul, contrary to all previous expectation, was ejected
from the church.
Athanasius in the meantime had fled, and concealed
himself, dreading to be put to death, according to the
menaces of the Emperor Constantius; for the heterodox
had made the emperor believe that he was a seditious
person, and that he had, on his return to the bishopric,
occasioned the death of several persons. But the anger
of the emperor had been chiefly excited by the represen-
tation that Athanasius had sold the wheat which the
Emperor Constantine had bestowed on the poor of Alex-
andria, and had appropriated the price.
CHAPTER X.
TIIE BISHOP OF ROME WRITES TO THE BISHOPS OF THE
EAST IN FAVOUR OF ATHANASIUS, AND THEY SEND A
DEPUTATION TO ROME TO JUSTIFY THEIR PROCEEDINGS.
THIS DEPUTATION IS DISMISSED BY CONSTANS CAESAR.
THE bishop of Egypt having sent a declaration in
writing that these allegations were false, and Julius
having been apprised that Athanasius was far from
being in safety in Egypt, sent for him to his own city.
He replied at the same time to the letter of the bishops
who were convened at Antioch, and accused them of
having clandestinely introduced innovations contrary to
CHAP. X.] LETTER OF JULIUS.—A.D. 342. 117
the edicts of the Nicaean council, and of having violated
the laws of the church, by neglecting to invite him to
join their synod: for there is a sacerdotal canon which
declares, that whatever is enacted without the sanction
of the bishop of Rome is null and void. He also re-
proached them for having deviated from justice in all
their proceedings against Athanasius, both at Tyre and
Mareota, and stated that the decrees enacted at the former
city had been annulled on account of the calumny con-
cerning the hand of Arsenius, and, at the latter city, on
account of the absence of Athanasius. Last of all he
reprehended the arrogant style of their epistle.
Julius was induced by all these reasons to undertake
the defence of Athanasius and of Paul; the latter had
arrived in Italy not long previously, and had complained
bitterly of the calamities to which he had been exposed.
When Julius perceived that what he had written to
those who held the sacerdotal dignity in the East was
of no avail, he made the matter known to Constans
the emperor. Accordingly, Constans wrote to his bro-
ther Constantius, requesting him to send some of the
bishops of the East, that they might assign a reason for
the edicts of deposition which they had passed. Three
bishops were selected for this purpose, namely, Narcissus,
bishop of Irenopolis, in Cilicia; Theodore, bishop of
Heraclea, in Thrace; and Mark, bishop of Arethusa, in
Syria. On their arrival in Italy, they strove to justify
their enactments, and to persuade the emperor that the
sentence passed by the Eastern synod was just. Being
required to produce a statement of their belief, they
withheld the formulary they had drawn up at Antioch,
and presented another which was equally at variance
with the doctrines established at the council of Nicaea.
Constans perceived that they had unjustly entrapped the
two bishops, and had ejected them from communion,
not, as was stated in the sentence of deposition, on
account of immorality of life, but simply on account of
differences in doctrine ; and he accordingly dismissed
the deputation without giving any credit to their repre-
sentations.
118 E C C L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK III.
CHAPTER XI.
THE LONG FORMULARY AND THE ENACTMENTS ISSUED BY
THE COUNCIL OF SARDICA. JULIUS, BISHOP OF ROME,
AND HOSIUS, BISHOP OF SPAIN, DEPOSED BY THE BISHOPS
OF THE EAST.
THREE years afterwards the bishops of the East sent
to those of the West a formulary of faith, which, on
account of its great length and copiousness, has been
commonly termed uokpóorºos ékóeoris. In this formu-
lary no allusion is made to the substance of God, and
those are excommunicated who maintain that the Son
arose out of what had no previous existence, or that he
is of another hypostasis and not of God, or that there
was a time or an age in which he existed not. Eudoxius,
bishop of Germanicia, Martyrius, and Macedonius pre-
sented this document, but it was rejected by the Western
clergy, who declared that they felt fully satisfied with
the doctrines established at Nicaea, and were not disposed
to inquire further into contested matters.
After the Emperor Constans had requested his brother
to reinstate Athanasius in his bishopric, and had found
his application to be unavailing on account of the oppo-
sition of heretics who were hostile to this restoration;
and when, moreover, Athanasius and Paul entreated
Constans to assemble a council on account of the machi-
nations which had been set on foot against orthodox
doctrines; both the emperors were of opinion that the
bishops of the East and of the West should be convened
on a certain day at Sardica, a city of Illyria. The
bishops of the East who had previously assembled at Phi-
lippopolis, a city of Thrace, wrote to the bishops of the
West who had repaired to Sardica, that they would not
join them, unless they would eject Athanasius from their
assembly and from communion with them, he having,
they said, been legally deposed. They afterwards went
to Sardica, but declared they would not enter the church
while those who had been deposed were admitted thither.
CHAP. XI.] DISSENSION BETWEEN THE BISHOPs. 119
The bishops of the West replied, that they never had
ejected them, and that they would not do so now, par-
ticularly as Julius, bishop of Rome, after having inves-
tigated the case, had not condemned them, and as,
besides, they were present and ready to justify them-
selves a second time of the offences imputed to them.
These declarations, however, were of no avail, and
served only to increase the mutual dissatisfaction of the
two parties; and when at length the time they had ap-
pointed for the adjustment of their differences had
expired, they assembled separately, and issued edicts of
condemnation against each other. The Eastern bishops
confirmed the sentences they had enacted against Atha-
nasius, Paul, Marcellus, and Asclepas, and deposed
Julius, bishop of Rome, because he had been the first to
admit those who had been condemned into communion;
and Hosius, the confessor, was also deposed, partly for
the same reason, and partly because he was the friend of
Paulinus and Eustathius, bishops of Antioch. Maximus,
bishop of Treves, was deposed, because he had been
among the first who had received Paul into communion,
and had been the cause of his returning to Constan-
tinople, and because he had excluded from communion
the Eastern bishops who had repaired to Gaul. Besides
the above, they likewise deposed Protogenes, bishop of
Sardica and Gaudentius; the one because he favoured
Marcellus, although he had previously condemned him,
and the other because he had adopted a different line of
conduct from that of Cyriacus, his predecessor, and had
supported many individuals whom the former had deposed.
After issuing these sentences, they made known to the
bishops of every region, that they were not to hold commu-
nion with those who were deposed, and that they were not
to write to them, nor to receive letters from them. They
likewise commanded them to believe what was said con-
cerning God in the formulary which they subjoined to
their letter, and in which no mention was made of the
term “consubstantial,” but in which those were excom-
municated who said there are three Gods, or that Christ
is not God, or that the Father, the Son, and the Holy
120 ECCI, ESIASTIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK III.
Ghost form but one and the same Person, or that the
Son is unbegotten, or that there was a time or an age in
which He existed not. -
CHAPTE R XII.
DEPOSITION IN THEIR TURN OF THE EASTERN BISHOPS BY
THE BISHOPS OF THE WEST, WHO COMPILE A FORMULARY
OF FAITH.
THE adherents of Hosius, in the mean time, assembled
together, and declared that Athanasius was innocent, and
that unjust machinations had been carried on against
him by those who had been convened at Tyre. They
likewise attested the innocence of Marcellus, who deposed
that he did not hold the opinions which were attributed
to him; of Asclepas, who proved by authentic docu-
ments that he had been re-established in his diocese by
the decree of Eusebius Pamphilus and of many other
bishops; and lastly, of Lucius, whose accusers had fled.
They wrote to the people of each of their churches, com-
manding them to receive and to recognise their bishops.
They stated that Gregory had not been appointed by
them bishop of Alexandria; nor Basil, bishop of Ancyra;
nor Quintin, bishop of Gaza; and that they had not re-
ceived these men into communion, and did not even
account them Christians. They deposed Theodore, bishop
of Thrace; Narcissus, bishop of Irenopolis; Acacius,
bishop of Caesarea, in Palestine ; Menophantes, bishop
of Ephesus; Ursacius, bishop of Sigidon, in Maesia;
Valens, bishop of Mursia, in Pannonia; and George,
bishop of Laodicea, although this latter had not attended
the synod with the Eastern bishops. They ejected the
above-named individuals from the priesthood and from
communion, because they separated the Son from the sub-
stance of the Father, and had received those who had been
deposed on account of their holding the Arian heresy, and
had, moreover, promoted them to the highest offices in the
service of God: They afterwards wrote to the bishops
of every nation, commanding them to confirm these
CHAP. XIII.] COUNCIL OF SARDICA.—A.D. 347. 121
decrees, and to be of one mind on doctrinal subjects with
themselves. They likewise compiled another formulary
of faith, which was more copious than that of Nicaea,
although the same signification was carefully preserved,
and the precise terms, in many cases, retained. Hosius
and Protogenes, who held the first rank among the
Western bishops assembled at Sardica, fearing lest they
should be suspected of making any innovations upon the
doctrines of the Nicaean Council, wrote to Julius, and
testified that they were firmly attached to these doc-
trines, but that they had endeavoured to convey their
precise signification in more perspicuous language, in
order that the Arians might not take advantage of the
brevity of the original document, and affix some absurd
meaning to the words in which it was couched.
When what I have related had been transacted by
each party, the synod was dissolved, and the members
returned to their respective homes. This synod was held
during the consulate of Rufinus and Eusebius, and about
eleven years after the death of Constantine. There were
about three hundred bishops of cities in the West, and
upwards of seventy Eastern bishops, among whom was
Ischyrion, who had been appointed bishop of Mareota by
the enemies of Athanasius.
CHA PTE R XIII.
AFTER THE COUNCIL, A SEPARATION TAKES PLACE BETWEEN
THE EASTERN AND THE WESTERN CHURCHES; THE CHURCH
OF THE WEST ADHERES TO THE FAITH OF THE NICAEAN
COUNCIL, while THAT OF THE EAST IS DISTURBED BY
DOCTRINAL DISPUTES AND DISCUSSIONS.
AFTER this council, the Eastern and the Western
Churches ceased to maintain the intercourse which
usually exists among people of the same faith, and re-
frained from holding communion with each other. The
Christians of the West held no further communion with
the regions beyond Thrace; nor those of the East, with
the nations beyond Illyria. This divided state of the
churches gave rise, as might be supposed, to dissension
122 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK III.
and calumny. Although they had previously differed
on doctrinăl subjects, yet the evil had attained no great
height, for they had still held communion together.
The church throughout the West adhered to the doc-
trines of the Fathers, and kept aloof from all contentions
and disputations. Although Auxentius, bishop of Milan,
and Valens and Ursacius, bishops of Pannonia, had
endeavoured to introduce the Arian doctrines in the
West, their efforts had been frustrated by the zeal of the
bishop of Rome and of other priests, who crushed the
heresy in its commencement. As to the Eastern Church,
although it had been racked by dissension since the time of
the Council of Antioch, and although it greatly departed
from the Nicaean form of belief, yet I still believe that
the majority of those who composed it confessed the Son
to be of the substance of the Father. There were some,
however, who obstinately rejected the term “consubstan-
tial,” because they had refused to admit it at the begin-
ning, and were ashamed to defer to the opinion of others,
or to avow themselves in fault. Others were finally con-
vinced, after long disputation, of the truth of the doc-
trines concerning God, and ever afterwards continued
firmly attached to them. Others again, being aware
that contentions ought not to arise, adopted the senti-
ments of their friends or of the more powerful party, or
were swayed by the various causes which often induce
men to embrace what they ought to reject, and to dissi-
A mulate what they ought boldly to avow. Many others,
# accounting it absurd to consume their time in alter-
cations about words, quietly adopted the sentiments
inculcated by the Council of Nicaea. Paul, bishop of
Constantinople, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, a
multitude of monks, Anthony the Great, his disciples,
and a great number of Egyptians and of other nations
within the Roman territories, firmly and openly main-
tained the doctrines of the Nicaean Council throughout
the other regions of the East. As I have been led to
allude to the monks, I shall briefly mention those who
flourished during the reign of Constantius.
CHAP. XIV.] ACETICISM IN EGYPT.-A.D. 306–325. 123
CHAPTER XIV.
OF THE HOLY MEN WHO FLO URISHED ABOUT THIS TIME IN
EGYPT, NAMELY, ANTONY, THE TWO MACARIUSEs, HERA-
CLIUS, CRONIUS, PAPHNUTIUS, PUTUBASTEs, ARSISIUs,
SERAPION, PITURION, PACHOMIUS, APOLLONIUS, ANUPHUs,
HILARION AND MANY OTHERS.
I SHALL commence my recital with Egypt and the two
men named Macarius, who were the celebrated chiefs of
Scetis and of the neighbouring mountain: the one was
a native of Egypt, the other was called Politicus, which
means a citizen, and was of Alexandrian origin. They
were both so wonderfully endowed with divine know-
ledge and philosophy that the demons regarded them with
terror, and they wrought many extraordinary works and
miraculous cures. The Egyptian, it is said, restored a dead
man to life, in order to convince a heretic of the truth of
the resurrection from the dead. He lived about ninety
years, sixty of which he passed in the deserts. When in
his youth he commenced the study of philosophy, he
progressed so rapidly that the monks surnamed him
“old child,” and at the age of forty he was ordained
priest. The other Macarius became a priest at a later
period of his life; he was proficient in all the exercises of
asceticism, some of which he devised himself: his absti-
nence was so great that his skin dried up, and the hairs
of his beard ceased to grow. Pambonius, Heraclius, Cro-
nius, Paphnutius, Putubastes, Arsisius, Serapion the
Great, Piturion, who dwelt near Thebes, and Pachomius,
the founder of the monks called the Tabennesians, flou-
rished at the same place and period. The attire and
customs of this sect differed in some respects from those
of other monks. Its members were, however, devoted
to virtue, they contemned the things of the earth, excited
the soul to heavenly contemplation, and prepared it to
quit the body with joy. They were clothed in skins in
remembrance of Elias, it appears to me, because they
thought that the virtue of the prophet would be thus
retained in their memory, and that they would be
124 EC CLES IASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK III.
enabled like him to resist manfully the seductions of plea-
sure, to be influenced by similar zeal, and be incited to
the practice of sobriety, by the hope of an equal reward.
It is said that the peculiar vestments of these Egyptian
monks had reference to some secret connected with their
philosophy, and did not differ from those of others with-
out some adequate cause. They wore their tunics with-
out sleeves, in order to teach that the hands ought not
to be ready to do evil. They wore a covering on their
heads called a cowl, to show that they ought to live with
the same innocence and purity as infants who are
nourished with milk, and wear a covering of the same
form. Their girdle, and a species of scarf which they
wear across the back, shoulders, and arms, admonish
them that they ought to be always ready in the service
of God. I am aware that other reasons have been as-
signed for their peculiarity of attire, but what I have
said appears to me to be sufficient. It is said that
Pachomius at first dwelt alone in a cave, but that a holy
angel appeared to him, and commanded him to assemble
some young monks, to instruct them in the practice of
philosophy, and to inculcate the laws which were about
to be delivered to him. A tablet was then given to him,
which is still carefully preserved. Upon this tablet were
inscribed injunctions by which he was bound to permit
every one to eat, to drink, to work, and to fast, accord-
ing to his capabilities of so doing: those who ate heartily
were to be subjected to arduous labour, and the ascetic
were to have more easy tasks assigned them; he was
commanded to have many cells erected, in each of which
three monks were to dwell, who were to take their
meals at a common refectory in silence, and with a veil
thrown over the head and face, so that they might not
be able to see each other or any thing but what was on
or under the table: they were not to admit strangers to
eat with them, with the exception of travellers, to whom
they were to show hospitality; those who desired to live
with them were first to undergo a probation of three
years, during which time the most laborious and painful
tasks were to be imposed upon them. They were to
CHAP. XIV.] ASCETIC REGULATIONS OF PACHOMIUS. 125
clothe themselves in skins, and to wear woollen tiaras
adorned with purple nails, and linen tunics and girdles.
They were to sleep in their tunics and garments of skin,
reclining on long chairs closed on each side, which were
to serve as their couches. On the first and last days of
the week they were to approach the altar and partake of
the communion of the holy mysteries, and were then to
unloose their girdles, and throw off their robes of skin.
They were to pray twelve times every day, and as often
during the evening, and were to offer up the same
number of prayers during the night. At the ninth hour
they were to pray thrice, and when about to partake of
food they were to sing a psalm before each prayer. The
whole congregation was to be divided into twenty-four
classes, each of which was to be distinguished by one of
the letters of the Greek alphabet; thus, the name of Iota
was given to the most simple, and that of Zeta or of Xi
to the most erudite, and the names of the other letters
were, according to the same principle, bestowed on the
other classes. -
These were the laws by which Pachomius ruled his
own disciples. He was a man of great philanthropy and
piety; he could foresee future events, and was frequently
admitted to intercourse with the holy angels. He re-
sided at Tabennis in Thebais, and hence the name Ta-
bennesians, used to designate those who lived accord-
ing to the same rules; they subsequently attained great
renown; and in process of time became so numerous that
they numbered upwards of seven thousand men. About
thirteen of them dwelt with Pachomius in the island
Tabennis; the others were dispersed throughout Egypt
and Thebais. They all observed one and the same rule
of life, and possessed every thing in common. They
regarded the congregation established in the island Ta-
bennis as their mother, and the rulers of it as their
fathers and their princes. - -
About the same period Apollonius became celebrated
by his profession of monastic philosophy. It is said that
from the age of fifteen he devoted himself to philosophy
in the solitudes of the deserts, and that when he attained
126 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
the age of forty, he went, according to a divine command
he then received, to dwell in regions inhabited by
men. He likewise dwelt in Thebais. He was greatly be-
loved of God, and was endowed with the power of per-
forming miraculous cures and notable works. He was
exact in the observance of duty, and instructed others in
philosophy with great goodness and kindness. He inva-
riably obtained from God whatever he asked in prayer,
but he was so wise that he always proffered prudent
requests and such as the Divine Being is ever ready to
rant. &
I believe that Anuphus the divine lived about this
period. I have been informed that from the time of the
persecution, when he first avowed his attachment to
Christianity, he never uttered a falsehood, nor desired
the things of the earth. All his prayers and supplica-
tions to God were duly answered, and he was instructed
by a holy angel in every virtue. Let, however, what we
have said of the Egyptian monks suffice. The same
species of philosophy was about this time cultivated in
Palestine, whither it had been transported from Egypt,
and Hilarion the divine acquired great celebrity. He
was a native of Tanata, a village situated near the town
of Gaza, towards the south, and near a torrent which
falls into the sea, and is known by the same name as the
village. When he was studying grammar at Alexandria,
he went out into the desert to see Antony, the divine and
celebrated monk, and discoursed with him concerning
his mode of life and philosophy. A very short time after-
wards, he fixed his residence with him, but did not enjoy
the quietude he had anticipated, on account of the multi-
tudes who flocked around Antony. He, therefore, soon
returned to his own country, and finding his parents
dead, he distributed his patrimony among his brethren
and the poor, without reserving any thing for himself.
He then went to dwell in a desert situated near the sea,
and about twenty stadia from his native village. His
cell was constructed of planks, broken tiles and straw,
and was of such a height and length that no one could
stand in it without bending the head, or lie down in it
CHAP. xiv.] HISTORY OF MONKS.–A.D. 306–337. 127
without drawing back the legs: for in every thing he
strove to accustom himself to hardship and to the subju-
gation of sensuality. The practice of temperance was
never carried to a greater height than by him; he en-
dured cold and heat, hunger and thirst, and other suf-
ferings, and resisted the desires of the mind and of the
body. He was irreproachable in conduct, grave in dis-7
course, and diligent in the study of sacred writ. He was
so beloved by God that even now many diseases are
healed and demons expelled at his tomb. It is remark-
able that he was first interred in the island of Cyprus,
but that his remains are now deposited in Palestine; for
it so happened that he died during his residence in
Cyprus, and was buried by the inhabitants with great
honour and respect. But Hesychius, one of the most
renowned of his disciples, stole the body, conveyed it to
Palestine, and interred it in his own monastery. From
that period an annual festival was celebrated in honour
of his memory, for it is the custom in Palestine to bestow
this honour on those who have attained renown by their
sanctity, such as Aurelius, Antedon, Alexion, a native of
Bethagatonia, and Alaphion, a native of Asalia, who,
during the reign of Constantius, lived so religiously and
so virtuously in the practice of philosophy, that many
Pagans were led by their example to embrace Chris-
tianity.
About the same period, Julian pursued a course of
such rigid austerity at Edessa, that he might be said to
live as if he were incorporeal, for he seemed to be freed
from flesh, and to possess nothing, but skin and bones.
Ephraim, the Syrian, has written an account of his life.
God himself confirmed the high opinion which men had
formed of him, for he bestowed on him the power of ex-
pelling demons and of healing all kinds of diseases, with-
out having recourse to the remedies of the physician, but
simply by prayer.
Besides the above, many other ecclesiastical philoso-
phers flourished in the territories of Edessa and of
Amida, and in the regions around the mountain Ganga-
lion: among these were Daniel and Simeon. But I shall
128 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
now say nothing further of the Syrian monks. I shall
at some future time, if God will, describe them more fully.
It is said that Eustathius, bishop of Sebaste in Armenia,
founded a society of monks in Armenia, Paphlagonia,
and Pontus, and imposed upon them a rule of life, con-
taining directions as to what meats they were to partake
of or to avoid, what garments they were to wear, and
what customs they were to adopt. Some assert that he
was the author of the ascetic writings commonly attri-
buted to Basil of Cappadocia. It is said that his great
austerity led him into certain extravagancies which were
contrary to the laws of the church. Many persons,
however, justify him from this accusation, and throw the
blame upon some of his disciples, who condemned mar-
riage, refused to pray to God in the houses of married
persons, despised married priests, fasted on Lord's days,
held their assemblies in private houses, contemned those
who partook of animal food, clothed themselves in pecu-
liar garments, different from those of others, and intro-
duced many other strange customs and innovations.
Many women were deluded by them and left their hus-
bands, but, not being able to practise continence, they
fell into adultery. Other women, under the pretext of
religion, cut off their hair, and arrayed themselves in
men's apparel. The bishops of the neighbourhood of
Gangris, the metropolis of Paphlagonia, assembled
themselves together, and declared that all those who
imbibed these opinions should be cut off from the
Catholic Church, unless they would renounce them. It
is said that, from that time, Eustathius refrained from
his former peculiarity of attire, and habited himself like
other priests, thus proving that he had not been in-
fluenced by motives of selfish arrogance, but by the desire
of attaining to divine asceticism. He was as renowned
for the sanctity of his discourse as for the purity of his
life. To confess the truth, he was not eloquent, nor had
he ever studied the art of eloquence, yet he possessed
naturally such strong powers of persuasion that he in-
duced several men and women, who were living in forni-
cation and adultery, to enter upon a chaste course of life.
CHAP. XIV.] HISTORY OF MONKS.—A.D. 337–361. 129
It is related that a certain man and woman, who, accord-
ing to the custom of the church, had devoted themselves
to a life of virginity, were accused of holding illicit
intercourse with each other; finding that his remon-
strances produced no effect upon them, he sighed deeply
and said, that a woman who had been legally married had
on one occasion heard him discourse on the advantage of
continence, and was thereby so deeply affected that she
voluntarily abstained from legitimate intercourse with
her own husband; and that the weakness of his powers
of conviction was on the other hand attested by the fact,
that the parties above mentioned persisted in their illegal
course. Such were the men who originated the practice
of monastic discipline in the regions above mentioned.
Although the Thracians, the Illyrians, and the other
European nations possessed no congregations of monks,
yet there were many men devoted to Christian philo-
sophy among them. Of these, Martin, the descendant
of a noble family of Sabaria in Pannonia, was the most
illustrious. He was originally a noted warrior, and
the commander of armies; but accounting the service of
God to be a more honourable profession, he embraced a
life of philosophy, and retired, in the first place, to
Illyria. Here he zealously defended the orthodox doc-
trines against the attacks of the Arian bishops, and was
in consequence persecuted and driven from the country.
He then went to Milan, and dwelt alone. He was soon,
however, obliged to quit his place of retreat on account
of the machinations of Auxentius, bishop of that region,
who was opposed to the Nicene faith, and he went to an
island called Gallinaria, where he remained for some
time, subsisting solely upon roots. Gallinaria is a small
and desert island lying in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Martin
was afterwards appointed bishop of Tours.” He was so
richly endowed with miraculous gifts that he restored a
dead man to life, and performed other signs as wonder-
ful as those wrought by the apostles. We have heard
that Hilarion, a man noted for the sanctity of his life
and conversation, lived about the same time, and in the
* He became bishop of Tours, A.D. 375.
9
130 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK III.
same country: like Martin, he was obliged to flee from
his place of abode, on account of his zeal in defence of
the faith. I have now related what I have been able to
ascertain concerning the individuals who were celebrated
about this period for their piety and philosophy. There
were many others who were noted in the Church about
the same period on account of their great eloquence, and
among these the most distinguished were, Eusebius,
bishop of Emessa; Titus, bishop of Bostra; Serapion,
bishop of Thrmius; Basil, bishop of Ancyra; Eudoxius,
bishop of Germanicia; Acacius, bishop of Caesarea; and
Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem. The numerous and excel-
lent writings which they have bequeathed to posterity
demonstrate the truth of what I have asserted.
CHAPTE R XV.
DIDYMUS THE BLIND, AND AETIUS THE HERETIC.
DIDYMUs, an ecclesiastical historian and a professor of
sacred literature at Alexandria, flourished about the
same period. He was acquainted with every branch of
science, and was conversant with poetry and rhetoric,
with astronomy and geometry, with arithmetic, and
with the various theories of philosophy. He had ac-
quired all this knowledge by the efforts of his own mind,
aided by the sense of hearing, for he lost his sight in
early childhood. From his youth he manifested an
ardent desire to acquire learning, and for this purpose
he frequented the schools, where he made such rapid
progress that, by means of the sense of hearing alone, he
speedily comprehended the most difficult mathematical
theorems. It is said that he learnt the letters of the
alphabet by means of wooden tablets on which they were
sculptured, and which he felt with his fingers, and that
he made himself acquainted with syllables and words
by the force of attention and memory, and by listening
attentively to the sounds. His was a very extraordinary
case; and many persons resorted to Alexandria for the
express purpose of hearing or at least of seeing him.
. His firmness in defending the doctrines of the Nicaean
CHAP. XV.] DIDYMUS AND AETIUS.—A.D. 358–375. 131
Council was extremely displeasing to the Arians. He car-
ried conviction to the minds of his audience by persuasion
rather than by power of reasoning, and submitted his
arguments to the investigation of their judgment. He
was esteemed and beloved by the members of the Ca-
tholic Church, by the monks of Egypt, and by Antony
the Great. It is related that when Antony left the
desert and repaired to Alexandria to give his testimony
in favour of the doctrines of Athanasius, he said to
Didymus, “It is not a great misfortune, O Didymus,
to be deprived of the organs of sight which are possessed
by rats, mice, and the lowest animals; but it is a great
blessing to possess eyes like angels, whereby you can
contemplate the Divine Being and attain to true know-
ledge.” In Italy and its territories, Eusebius and Hila-
rion, whom I have already mentioned, acquired great
fame by their eloquence and their writings against the
heterodox. Lucifer, the founder of a heresy which bears
his name, also flourished at this period. Aetius was
likewise held in high estimation among the heterodox;
he was an expert logician, and proficient in the art of
disputation. He reasoned so boldly concerning the
nature of God, that many persons gave him the name of
“Atheist.” It is said that he was originally a physician
of Antioch in Syria, and that, as he frequently attended
meetings of the Church for the examination of the
Sacred Scriptures, he became acquainted with Gallus,
who was then Caesar, and who honoured religion and
cherished its professors. It seems likely that, as Aetius
obtained the esteem of Caesar by means of these disput-
ations, he devoted himself the more assiduously to these
pursuits, in order to progress in the favour of the em-
peror. It is said that he was versed in the philosophy
of Aristotle, and frequented the schools in which it was
taught at Alexandria.
Besides the individuals above specified, there were
many others in the churches who were capable of in-
structing the people, and of reasoning concerning the
doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. It would be too great
a task to attempt to name them all. Let it not be
132 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
accounted strange, if I have bestowed commendation
upon the leaders of the above mentioned heresies. I
admire their eloquence, and their powers of reasoning.
I leave their doctrines to be judged by those who are in
authority. Judgment does not devolve upon me in my
character of historian; I have only to give an account
of events as they happened. I have now related what
I have heard, concerning those individuals among the
Romans and the Greeks who were celebrated for their
learning and their eloquence.
CHAPTE R XVI.
CONCERNING THE PIETY OF ST. EPHRAIM.
EPHRAIM, the Syrian, was entitled to the highest
honours, and was the greatest ornament of the church.
He was a native of Nisibis, or of the neighbouring
territory. He devoted his life to monastic philosophy;
and although he received no instruction, he became, con-
trary to all expectation, so proficient in the learning and
language of the Syrians, that he comprehended with
ease the most abstruse theorems of philosophy. His
style of writing was so replete with splendid oratory and
sublimity of thought that he surpassed all the writers
of Greece. If the works of these writers were to be
translated into Syriac, or any other language, and
divested, as it were, of the beauties of the Greek lan-
guage, they would retain little of their original elegance
and value. The productions of Ephraim have not this
disadvantage: they were translated into Greek during
his life, and translations are even now being made, and
yet they preserve much of their original force and
power, so that his works are not less admired when read
in Greek than when read in Syriac. Basil, who was
subsequently bishop of the metropolis of Cappadocia,
was a great admirer of Ephraim, and was astonished at
his erudition. The opinion of Basil, who was the most
learned and eloquent man of his age, is a stronger testi-
mony, I think, to the merit of Ephraim, than any thing
that could be indited in his praise. It is said that he
CHAP. XVI.] EPHRAIM OF SYRLA.—A D. 337–378. 133
wrote three hundred thousand verses, and that he had
many disciples who were zealously attached to his
doctrines. The most celebrated of his disciples were
Abbas, Zenobius, Abraham, Maras, and Simeon, whom
the most learned men of Syria regard as the glory of
their country. Paulanas and Aranad are likewise gene-
rally included in their number; for they were renowned
as men of great eloquence, although reported to have
deviated from sound doctrine. .
I am not ignorant that there were some very learned
men who flourished in Osroene, as, for instance, Barda-
sanes, who originated a heresy designated by his name,
and Harmonius his son. It is related that this latter
was deeply versed in Grecian erudition, and was the
first to compose verses in his vernacular language; those
verses he delivered to the choirs, and even now the
Syrians frequently sing, not the precise verses written
by Harmonius, but others of the same metre. For as
Harmonius was not altogether free from the errors of
his father, and entertained various opinions concerning
the soul, the generation and destruction of the body,
and the doctrine of transmigration, which are taught by
the Greek philosophers, he introduced some of these
sentiments in the lyrical songs which he composed. When
Ephraim perceived that the Syrians were charmed with
the elegant diction and melodious versification of Har-
monius, he became apprehensive, lest they should imbibe
the same opinions; and therefore, although he was
ignorant of Grecian learning, he applied himself to the
study of the metres of Harmonius, and composed similar
poems in accordance with the doctrines of the Church,
and sacred hymns in praise of holy men. From that
period the Syrians sang the odes of Ephraim, according
to the method indicated by Harmonius. The execution
of this work is alone sufficient to attest the natural
endowments of Ephraim. He was as celebrated for the
good actions he performed as for the rigid course of dis-
cipline he pursued. He was particularly fond of tran-
quillity. He was so serious, and so careful to avoid
giving occasion to calumny, that he refrained from
134 EC CT, ESIA STIC A L HISTORY. [BOOK III.
looking upon woman. It is related that a female of
licentious character, who was either desirous of tempting
him, or who had been bribed for the purpose, contrived
on one occasion to meet him face to face, and fixed her
eyes intently on him; he rebuked her, and commanded
her to look down upon the ground. “Wherefore should
I obey your injunction,” replied the woman; “for I was
born not of the earth but of you? It would be more
just if you were to look down upon the earth whence
you sprang, while I look upon you as I was born of
you.” Ephraim, astonished at the language of the
woman, recorded the whole transaction in a book which
most Syrians regard as one of the best of his pro-
ductions. It is also said of him, that, although he was
naturally prone to passion, he never exhibited angry
feeling towards any one from the period of his embracing
a monastic life. It once happened that after he had,
according to custom, been fasting several days, his
attendant, in presenting some food to him, let fall the
dish on which it was placed. Ephraim, perceiving that
he was overwhelmed with shame and terror, said to him,
º “Take courage; we will go to the food as the food does
not come to us,” and he immediately seated himself
beside the fragments of the dish, and ate his supper.
What I am about to relate will suffice to show that he
was totally exempt from the love of vain-glory. He was
appointed bishop of some town, and attempts were made
to convey him away for the purpose of ordaining him.
As soon as he became aware of what was intended, he
ran to the market-place, exhibited himself in an inde-
corous manner, and ate in public. Those who had come
to carry him away to be their bishop, on seeing him in
this state, believed that he was out of his mind, and de-
parted: and he, meeting with an opportunity for effect-
ing his escape, remained in concealment until another
had been ordained in his place. What I have now said
concerning Ephraim must suffice, although his own
countrymen relate many other anecdotes of him. . Yet
his conduct on one occasion shortly before his death,
appears to me so worthy of remembrance that I shall
CHAP. XVI.] DEATH OF EPHRAIM.–A.D. 378. 135
record it here. The city of Edessa being severely visited
by famine, he quitted the solitary cell in which he dwelt,
and rebuked the rich for permitting the poor to die
around them, instead of imparting to them of their super-
fluities; and he represented to them that the wealth
which they were treasuring up so carefully would turn
to their own condemnation, and to the ruin of the soul,
which is of more value than all the riches of the earth.
The rich men, convinced by his arguments, replied,
“We are not intent upon hoarding our wealth, but we
know of no one to whom we can confide the distribution
of our goods, for all are prone to seek after lucre, and to
betray the trust placed in them.” “What think you of
me?” asked Ephraim. On their admitting that they
considered him an excellent and just man, and worthy of
confidence, he offered to undertake the distribution of
their alms. As soon as he received their money he had
about three hundred beds fitted up in the public galle-
ries, and here he tended those who were ill and suffering
from the effects of the famine, whether they were
foreigners or natives of the surrounding country. On
the cessation of the famine he returned to the cell in
which he had previously dwelt; and, after the lapse of
a few days, he expired. He attained no higher clerical
degree than that of deacon, although his attainments in
virtue rendered him equal in reputation to those who
rose to the highest sacerdotal dignity, while his holy life
and erudition made him an object of universal admira-
tion. I have now given some account of the virtue of
Ephraim. It would require a more experienced hand
than mine, to furnish a full description of his character
and that of the other illustrious men who about the
same period had devoted themselves to a life of philo-
sophy; and it is to be regretted that Ephraim did not
enter upon this undertaking. The attempt is beyond
my powers, for I possess but little knowledge of these
great men, or of their exploits. Some of them con-
cealed themselves in the deserts. Others, who lived in
populous places, strove to preserve a mean appearance,
and to seem as if they differed in no respect from the
136 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY, [BOOK III.
multitude, that their virtue might be unknown, and
that they might so avoid the praises of others. For as
they were intent upon the enjoyment of future blessed-
ness, they desired no other testimony to their virtue
than that of God, and sought not outward glory.
CHAPTER XVII.
TRANSACTIONS OF THAT PERIOD, AND PROGRESS OF CHRIS-
TIAN DOCTRINE THROUGH THE JOINT EFFORTS OF
EMPERORS AND ARCHBISHOPS.
THOSE who presided over the churches at this period
were noted for purity of life, and, as might be expected,
the people whom they governed were earnestly attached
to the service of Christ: religion daily progressed, and
the zeal, virtue, and wonderful works of the priests, and
of the ecclesiastical philosophers, attracted the attention
of the Greeks, and led them to renounce their super-
stitions. The emperors who then occupied the throne
were as zealous as was their father in protecting the
churches; and they granted honours and privileges to
the clergy, their children, and their slaves. They con-
firmed the laws enacted by their father, and enforced
new ones, prohibiting the offering of sacrifice and the
observance of other Pagan ceremonies. They com-
manded that all temples, whether in cities, or in the
country, should be closed. Some of these temples were
presented to the churches, when they required either the
ground they stood on or the materials for building. The
greatest possible care was bestowed upon the houses of
prayer; those which had been defaced by time were re-
paired, and others were erected in a style of extra-
ordinary magnificence. The church of Edessa is one
of the most beautiful and remarkable of these structures.
The Jews were strictly forbidden to purchase a slave
belonging to any other heresy than their own. If they
transgressed this law, the slave was confiscated to the
public; but if they administered to him the Jewish rite
of circumcision, the penalties were death and total con-
fiscation of property. For, as the emperors were desirous
CHAP.XVIII.] DOCTRINAL CONTROVERSIES. 137
of promoting by every means the spread of Christianity,
they deemed it necessary to prevent the Jews from
proselyting those whose ancestors were of another
religion, and who were, therefore, carefully reserved
for the service of the Church; for it was by conversion
from the Pagan multitudes that the professors of the
Christian religion increased in number.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CONCERNING THE DOCTRINES HELD BY THE SONS OF
CONSTANTINE. DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TERMS
“HOMOUSIAN " AND “HOMCEOUSIAN.” CONSTANTIUs Is LED
TO ABANDON THE TRUE FAITH.
THE emperors had, from the beginning, adopted the
same religious ceremonies as had been held by their
father; for they both followed the Nicene form of belief.
Constans maintained these opinions till his death;
Constantius, however, renounced his former sentiments
when he discovered that the term “consubstantial” was a
subject of debate and attack. Yet he always confessed
that the Son is of like substance with the Father.
Eusebius, and other holy and learned bishops of the
East, made a distinction between the term “consub-
stantial” (homousian), and the expression “of like sub-
stance,” which latter they designated by the term
“homoeousian.” They say that the term “consubstantial”
(homousian) properly belongs to corporeal beings, such
as men and other animals, trees and plants, which are of
the same substance as things like unto themselves
whereby they are generated. And that the term
“homoeousian” appertains exclusively to incorporeal
beings, such as God and the angers, of each one of whom a
conception is formed according to his own peculiar sub-
stance. The Emperor Constantius was deceived by this
distinction; and although I am certain that he retained
the same doctrines as those held by his father and
brother, yet he adopted a change of phraseology, and,
instead of using the term “homousian,” made use of the
term “homoeousian.” The teachers to whom we have
138 EC CLESIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK III.
alluded maintained that it was necessary to be thus
precise in the use of terms, and that otherwise we should
be in danger of conceiving that to be a body which is
incorporeal. Many, however, regard this distinction as
an absurdity, “for,” say they, “the things which are con-
ceived by the mind can be designated only by names
derived from things which are seen; and there is no
danger in the use of words, provided only that the
meaning be clearly understood.”
CHAPTER XIX.
FURTHER PARTICULARS CONCERNING THE TERM “CONSUB-
STANTIAL.” COUNCIL OF ARIMINUM.
IT is not surprising that the Emperor Constantius was
induced to adopt the use of the term “homoeousian,” for
it was admitted by many priests who conformed to the
doctrines established by the Nicaean Council. Many use
the two words indifferently, to convey the same mean-
ing. Hence it appears to me, that the Arians departed
greatly from truth when they affirmed that, after the
Council of Nicaea, many of the priests, among whom
were Eusebius and Theognis, refused to admit that the
Son is consubstantial with the Father, and that Con-
stantine was in consequence so indignant, that he con-
demned them to banishment. They say that it was
afterwards revealed to his sister by a vision, during
sleep or otherwise, that these bishops held orthodox
doctrines, and had been unjustly condemned; and that
the emperor thereupon recalled them, and demanded of
them, wherefore they had departed from the Nicene
doctrines to which they had formerly subscribed; and
that they urged in reply that they had not assented to
those doctrines from conviction, but from the fear that,
if the disputes then existing were prolonged, the emperor,
who was then just beginning to embrace Christianity,
and who was yet unbaptised, might be impelled to return
to Paganism, and to persecute the Church. They assert
that Constantine was pleased with this reply, and deter-
mined upon convening another council; but that, being
CHAP. xx.] RECALL OF ATHANASIUS FROM EXILE. 139
prevented by death from carrying his scheme into
execution, the task devolved upon his eldest son, Con-
stantius, to whom he represented that it would avail him
nothing to be possessed of imperial power, unless he
could establish uniformity of worship throughout his
empire; and Constantius, they say, at the instigation of
his father, convened a council at Ariminum. This story
is easily seen to be a gross fabrication, for the council
was convened during the consulate of Hypatius and
Eusebius, and twenty-two years after Constantius had,
on the death of his father, succeeded to the empire.
Now, during this interval of twenty-two years, many
councils were held, in which debates were carried on con-
cerning the terms “homousian” and “homoeousian.” No
one, it appears, ventured to deny that the Son is of like
substance with the Father, until Aetius, by starting a
contrary opinion, so offended the emperor that, in order
to arrest the course of the heresy, he commanded the
priests to assemble themselves together at Ariminum
and at Seleucia. Thus the true cause of this council
being convened, was not the command of Constantine,
but the question agitated by Aetius. And this will
become still more apparent by what we shall hereafter
relate.
CHAPTER XX.
RETURN AND RE-INSTALLATION OF ATHANASIUS. ARCH-
BISHOPS OF ANTIOCH. QUESTION PUT BY CONSTANTIUS
TO ATHANASIUS. HYMNS OF PRAISE TO GOD.
WHEN Constans was apprised of what had been en-
acted at Sardica, he wrote to his brother to request him
to restore Paul and Athanasius to their own churches.
As Constantius seemed to hesitate, he wrote again, and
threatened him with war, unless he would consent to
receive the bishops. Constantius, after conferring on
the subject with the bishops of the East, judged that it
would be foolish to excite on this account the horrors of
civil war. He, therefore, recalled Athanasius from Italy,
and sent public carriages to convey him on his return
140 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
homewards, and wrote several letters requesting his speedy
return, Athanasius, who was then residing at Aquilea,
on receiving the letters of Constantius, repaired to Rome
to take leave of Julius. This latter parted with him
with great demonstrations of friendship, and gave him a
letter addressed to the clergy and people of Alexandria,
in which he spoke of him as a wonderful man, deserving
of renown by the numerous trials he had undergone, and
congratulated the church of Alexandria on the return of
so good a priest, and exhorted them to follow his doc-
trines.
He then proceeded to Antioch in Syria, where the
emperor was then residing. Leontius presided over the
churches of that region; for, on the exile of Eustathius,
those who held heretical sentiments had seized the
government of the Church of Antioch. The first bishop
they appointed was Euphronius; to him succeeded Ha-
cillus; and afterwards, Stephen. This latter was deposed
as being unworthy of the dignity, and Leontius obtained
the bishopric. Athanasius avoided him as a heretic, and
met for worship in a private house with those who were
called Eustathians.
Constantius received him with great kindness and
benignity, and Athanasius requested to be restored to
his church. The emperor, at the instigation of the hete-
rodox, replied as follows, “I am ready to perform all that
I promised when I recalled you; but it is just that you
should in return grant me a favour, and that is, that you
yield one of the numerous churches which are under your
sway to those who are averse to holding communion
with you.” Athanasius replied, “What you have pro-
mised, O emperor, is so just and so necessary, that I can
offer no opposition to it. But, as in the city of Antioch
there are many of us who eschew communion with the
heterodox, I also entreat that one church may be con-
ceded to us, whither we may resort in safety.” As the
request of Athanasius appeared reasonable to the em-
peror, the heterodox deemed it more politic to take no
further steps; for they reflected that their peculiar opi-
nions could never gain any ground in Alexandria, on
CHAP. XXI.] RETURN OF ATHANASIUS.—A.D. 347. 141
account of Athanasius, who was able both to retain those
who held the same sentiments as himself, and to attract
and lead those of contrary opinions; and that, moreover,
if they gave up one of the churches of Antioch, the
, Eustathians, who were very numerous, would assemble
together, and probably introduce innovations without
incurring the danger of detaching any of their adherents.
Besides, the heterodox perceived that, although the
government of the churches was in their hands, all the
clergy and people did not conform to their doctrines.
When they sang hymns to God, they were, according
to custom, divided into choirs; and, at the end of the
hymns, each one declared what were his own pecu-
liar sentiments. Some offered praise to the Father
and the Son, regarding them as co-equal in glory;
others glorified the Father by the Son, to denote that
they considered the Son to be inferior to the Father.
Leontius, the bishop of the opposite faction, who then
presided over the church of Antioch, did not dare to
prohibit the singing of hymns to God which were in
accordance with the Nicene doctrines, for he feared to ex-
cite an insurrection of the people. It is related, however,
that he once raised his hand to his head, the hairs of
which were quite white, and said, “When this snow is
dissolved, there will be plenty of mud.” By this he in-
tended to signify that, after his death, the different
modes of singing hymns would give rise to great sedi-
tions, and that his successors would not show the same
consideration to the people which he had manifested.
CHAPTER XXI.
LETTER OF CONSTANTIUS TO THE EGYPTIANS IN BEHAI, F
OF ATHANASIU.S. SYNOD OF JERUSALEM.
THE emperor, on sending back Athanasius to Egypt,
wrote in his favour to the bishops and presbyters of that
country, and to the people of the church of Alexandria,
commended the integrity and virtue of his conduct, and
exhorted them to be of one mind, and to unite in prayer
and service to God under his guidance. He added, that,
142 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
if any evil-disposed persons should excite disturbances,
they should receive the punishment awarded by the laws
for such offences. He also commanded that the former
decrees he had enacted against Athanasius, and those
who were in communion with him, should be effaced
from the public registers, and that his clergy should be
admitted to the same privileges they had previously
enjoyed; and edicts to this effect were despatched to the
governors of Egypt and Libya.
Immediately on his arrival in Egypt, Athanasius dis-
placed those priests who were attached to Arianism, and
placed the government of the church in the hands of
those who held his sentiments, and whom he specially
exhorted to cleave to the Nicene doctrines. It was said
at that time, that when he was travelling through other
countries, he effected the same change in churches which
were not under his administration when he found the
Arians in power. He was certainly accused of having
performed the ceremony of ordination in cities where he
had no right to do so. But after he was recalled from
exile in spite of the machinations of his enemies, and
was honoured with the friendship of the Emperor Con-
stantius, he was regarded with greater consideration
than before. Many bishops, who had previously been at
enmity with him, received him into communion, parti-
cularly those of Palestine. When he visited these latter,
they received him kindly: they held a synod at Jeru-
salem, and Maximus and the others wrote the following
letter in his favour. *
CHAPTER XXII.
EPISTLE WRITTEN BY THE SYNOD OF JERUSALEM IN FAVOUR
OF ATHANASIUS.
“The holy synod assembled at Jerusalem, to the
priests, deacons, and people of Egypt, Libya, and
Alexandria, our most beloved and cherished breth-
ren; greeting in the Lord.
“WE can never, O beloved, return adequate thanks
CHAP. XXIII.] LETTERS IN FAVOUR OF ATHANASIUs. 143
to God, the Creator of all things, for the wonderful
works he has now accomplished, particularly for the
blessings he has conferred on your churches by the
restoration of Athanasius, your lord and pastor, and our
fellow minister. Who could have hoped to have seen
this effected? God heard your prayers; He had com-
passion on His church; He hearkened to your groans
and tears, and granted your supplications. You were
scattered abroad like sheep without a pastor. The true
Shepherd, who from Heaven watches over his own flock,
restored to you him whom you desired. Behold, we do
all things for the peace of the church, and are influenced
by love like yours; therefore we received and embraced
your pastor, and despatch by him this letter of congra-
tulation to you on his return, whereby you may know
that we are knit together with you in love for him. It
is right that you should pray for the pious emperors,
who, having perceived your anxiety for his return, and
recognised his innocence, restored him to you with great
honour. Receive him then joyfully, and offer on his
behalf due praises to God; and let us ever rejoice in
Him, and glorify Him in Christ Jesus our Lord, by
whom be glory to the Father throughout all ages, Amen.”
CHAPTER XXIII.
VALENS AND URSACIUS, WHO BELONGED TO THE ARIAN FAC-
TION, CONFESS TO THE BISHOP OF ROME THAT ATHANASIUS
HAD BEEN UNJUSTLY DEPOSED.
SUCH was the letter written by the synod convened
in Palestine. Some time after Athanasius had the satis-
faction of seeing the injustice of the sentence enacted
against him by the Council of Tyre publicly recog-
nised. Valens and Ursacius, who had been sent with
Theognis and his followers to obtain information in
Mareota, as we before mentioned, concerning the cha-
lice which Ischyrion had accused Athanasius of having
broken, wrote the following retractation to Julius, bishop
of Rome.
144 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK III.
“ Ursacius and Valens, to Julius the most blessed Lord
and Pope.
“As, in our former letters to you, we lodged divers
insinuations against Athanasius, the bishop, and omitted
to comply with the injunctions contained in yours, we
now confess to your reverence, in the presence of all the
presbyters, our brethren, that all that you have heard
concerning the aforesaid Athanasius is utterly false. For
this reason, we joyfully enter into communion with him,
particularly as you, with your natural benévolence, have
granted forgiveness to us for our past error. Moreover,
we declare unto you that if the bishops of the East, or
even Athanasius himself, should at any time summon us
to judgment, we will in no wise appear before them
without your consent and sanction. We now and ever
shall anathematize, as we formerly did in the memorial
which we presented at Milan, the heretic Arius and his
followers, who say that there was a time in which the
Son existed not, and that Christ is from that which had
no existence, and who deny that Christ was God and the
Son of God before all ages. We again protest, in our
own handwriting, that we shall ever condemn the afore-
said Arian heresy and its originators. I, Ursacius, sign
this confession with my own signature, as does likewise
Valens.”
This was the confession which they sent to Julius. It
is also necessary to append to it their letter to Athana-
sius: it is as follows.
CHAPTER XXIV.
LETTER OF CONCILIATION FROM VALENS AND URSACIUS TO
THE GREAT ATHANASIUS. RESTORATION OF THE OTHER
EASTERN BISHOPS. EJECTION OF MACEDONIUS AND ACCES-
SION OF PAUL.
“The bishops Ursacius and Valens, to Athanasius our
beloved brother in the Lord.
“WE take the opportunity of the departure of Museus,
our brother and fellow presbyter, to write by him to you,
O beloved brother, and hope that our letter will find
CHAP. XXIV.] RETURN OF ATHANASIUS.—A.D. 347. 145
you in good health. You will afford us great encou-
ragement if you will write us a reply to this letter.
Know that we are at peace, and in ecclesiastical commu-
nion with you.”
When Athanasius had returned from the West to
Egypt, Paul, Marcellus, Asclepas, and Lucius, who had
been recalled by the emperor from exile, were reinstated
in their churches. Immediately on the return of Paul
to Constantinople, Macedonius retired from public life,
and held private assemblies. There was a great tumult
at Ancyra on the deposition of Basil and the reinstalla-
tion of Marcellus. The other bishops were reinstated in
their churches without difficulty.
END OF BOOK III.
10
146 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
BOOK IV. CHAPTER I.
DEATH OF CONSTANS CAESAR. OCCURRENCES WEHICH TOOK
- PLACE IN ROME.
Four years after the Council of Sardica, Constans was
killed in Gaul. Magnentius, who had plotted his death,
took possession of his dominions. In the meantime,
Vetranio was proclaimed emperor at Sirmio, by the
Illyrian troops. Nepotian, the son of the late emperor's
sister, aided by a body of gladiators, likewise claimed the
imperial power, and ancient Rome suffered severely
from, these usurpations. Nepotian, however, was put to
death by the soldiers of Magnentius. Constantius find-
ing himself the sole master of the empire, and invested
with the title of emperor, prepared to depose the tyrants.
In the meantime, Athanasius, having arrived in Alex-
andria, called together the Egyptian bishops, and had the
enactments confirmed which had been passed at Sardica,
and in Palestine, in his favour.
CHAPTER II.
CONSTANTIUS AGAIN EJECTS ATHANASIUS, AND BANISIIES
THE HOMOUSIANS. DEATH OF PAUL, BISHOP OF CON-
STANTINOPLE. MACEDONIUS, HIS USURPATION AND EVIL
DEEDS.
THE emperor, deceived by the calumnies of the hetero-
dox, changed his mind, and, in opposition to the decrees
of the Council of Sardica, exiled the bishops whom he
had previously restored. Marcellus was again deposed,
and Basil re-acquired possession of the bishopric of
Ancyra. Lucius was thrown into prison, and died
there. Paul was condemned to perpetual banishment,
and was conveyed to Cucusum, in Armenia, where he
died. I have never, however, been able to ascertain
CHAP. III.] PERSECUTION BY MACEDONIUS.—A.D. 350. 147
whether or not, he died a natural death. It is still re-
ported, that he was strangled by the adherents of
Macedonius. As soon as he was sent into exile, Mace-
donius seized the government of his church; and, being
aided by several orders of monks whom he had incorpo-
rated at Constantinople, and by many of the neighbour.
ing bishops, he commenced, it is said, a persecution
against those who held the sentiments of Paul. He
ejected them in the first place from the church, and then
compelled them to enter into communion with himself.
Many perished from wounds received in the struggle;
some were deprived of their possessions, some of the
rights of citizenship, and others were branded on the
forehead with an iron instrument. The emperor was
displeased when he heard of these transactions, and
imputed the blame of them to Macedonius and his
adherents.
CHAPTER III.
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY MARTYRIUS AND MARCIAN.
THE persecution increased in violence, and led to
deeds of blood. Martyrius and Marcian were among
those who were slain. They had been the servants of
Paul, and were delivered up by Macedonius to the
governor, as having been guilty of the murder of Her-
mogenes, and of exciting the former sedition against him.
Martyrius was a sub-deacon, and Marcian a singer, and
a reader of Holy Scripture. Their tomb is situated
opposite to the walls of Constantinople, and within the
precincts of a house of prayer, which was commenced by
John and completed by Sisinius, two bishops of the
church of Constantinople. These men, who were so
highly honoured of God, judged rightly that they would
not be deprived of the honours attending martyrdom;
for the place where their tomb was erected had been
anciently used as a receptacle for the heads of criminals
who had been executed, and had been in consequence
deserted, on account of the spectral apparitions which
were said to be frequent on the spot; but the spectres
148 EC CLESIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
were dispersed at their tomb, and many other notable
miracles were wrought there. These are the particulars
which I have heard concerning Martyrius and Marcian.
If what I have related appears to be scarcely credible,
it is easy to apply for further information to those who
are more accurately acquainted with the circumstances;
and indeed, far more wonderful things are recorded
concerning them than those which I have detailed.
CHAPTER IV.
MILITARY ENTERPRIZES OF CONSTANTIUS IN ILLYRIA, AND
DETAILS CONCERNING WIETRANIO AND MAGNENTIUS. GAL-
LUS RECEIVES THE TITLE OF CAESAR, AND IS SENT TO
THE EAST. -
ON the expulsion of Athanasius, which took place
about this period, George persecuted all those through-
out Egypt who refused to conform to his sentiments.
The emperor marched into Illyria, and entered Sirmium,
whither Vetranio had repaired by appointment. The
soldiers who had proclaimed him emperor suddenly
changed their mind, and saluted Constantius as sole
sovereign, and as Augustus. Vetranio, perceiving that
he was betrayed, threw himself as a suppliant at the
feet of Constantius. Constantius stripped him of the
purple and the emblems of the imperial dignity, obliged
him to return to private life, liberally provided for his
wants out of the public treasury, and told him that at
his advanced age he ought to live in quietude, without
striving to burden himself with the cares of govern-
ment. After terminating these arrangements in favour
of Vetranio, Constantius sent a large army into Ital
against Magnentius. He then conferred the title of
Caesar on his cousin Gallus, and sent him into Syria, to
defend the provinces of the East.
CHAP. VI.] APPEARANCE OF A CROSS IN THE HEAVENS. 149
CHAPTER W.
CYRIL SUCCEEDS MAXIMUS IN THE SACERDOTAL OFFICE;
AND THE SIGN OF THE CROSS, SURPASSING THE SUN IN
SPLEND OUR, AGAIN APPEARS IN THE HEAVENS, AND Is
VISIBLE DURING SEVERAL DAYS.
AT the time that Cyril succeeded Maximus in the
government of the church of Jerusalem, the sign of the
cross appeared in the heavens; its radiance was not
feeble and divergent like that of comets, but splendid
and concentrated. Its length was about fifteen stadia
from Calvary to the Mount of Olives, and its breadth
was in proportion to its length. So extraordinary a
phenomenon excited universal terror. Men, women,
and children left their houses, the market-place, or their
respective employments, and ran to the church, where
they sang hymns to Christ together, and voluntarily
confessed their belief in God. The intelligence was
quickly transmitted throughout our dominions, and was
conveyed, so to speak, throughout the earth by those
who had witnessed the wonderful spectacle at Jerusalem.
The emperor was made acquainted with the occurrence,
partly by the numerous reports concerning it which
were then current, and partly by a letter from Cyril the
bishop. It was said that this prodigy was the fulfilment
of an ancient prophecy contained in the Holy Scrip-
tures. It was the means of the conversion of many
Greeks and Jews to Christianity.
CHAPTER VI.
PHOTINUS, BISHOP OF SIRMIUM, HIS HERESY, AND THE
COUNCIL CONVENED AT SIRMIUIM IN OPPOSITION THERETO.
THREE FORMIUILARIES OF FAITH.
ABOUT this time, Photinus, bishop of Sirmium, laid
before the emperor, who was then staying at that city,
a heresy which he had originated some time previously.
His natural ease of utterance and powers of persuasion :
enabled him to lead many into his own way of thinking.
He acknowledged that there was one God Almighty, by
150 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
whose word all things were created, but would not
admit that the generation and existence of the Son was
before all ages; on the contrary, he alleged that Christ
derived his existence from Mary. As soon as this opinion
was divulged, it excited the indignation of the Eastern
and of the Western bishops, and was rejected as contrary
to the faith; and it was equally opposed by those who
maintained the doctrines of the Nicene Council, and by
those who favoured the tenets of Arius. The emperor
also regarded the heresy with aversion, and convened a .
council at Sirmium, where he was then residing. Of
the Eastern bishops, George, bishop of Alexandria, Basil,
bishop of Ancyra, and Mark, bishop of Arethusa, were
present at this council; and among the Western bishops
were Valens bishop of Mursa, and Hosius the confessor.
This latter, who had attended the Council of Nicaea, had
not long previously been condemned to banishment
through the machinations of the Arians; he was sum-
moned to the Council of Sirmium by the command of
the emperor, extorted by the Arians, who believed that
their party would be strengthened, if they could gain
over, either by force or persuasion, a man held in uni-
versal admiration and esteem, as was Hosius. The
period at which the council was convened at Sirmium,
was the year after the expiration of the consulate of
Sergius and Nigrinian; and during this year there were
no consuls either in the East or the West, owing to the
insurrections excited by the tyrants. Photinus was
deposed by this council, because he was accused of
countenancing the errors of Sabellius and Paul of
Samosata. The council then proceeded to draw up
three formularies of faith, of which one was written in
Greek, and the others in Latin. But they did not agree
with each other, nor with any other of the former ex-
positions of doctrine, either in word or import. It is
not said in the Greek formulary, that the Son is con-
substantial, or of like substance with the Father; but it
is there declared, that those who maintain that the Son
had no commencement, or that He proceeded from an
expansion of the substance of the Father, or that He is
CHAP. VI.] COUNCIL OF SIRMIUM.—A.D. 351. 151
united to the Father without being subject to Him, are
excommunicated. In One of the Roman formularies,
it is forbidden to say, of the substance of the Godhead,
that the Son is either consubstantial, or of like sub-
stance with the Father, as such statements do not occur
in the Holy Scriptures, and are beyond the reach of the
understanding and knowledge of men. It is said, that
the Father must be recognised as superior to the Son in
honour, in dignity, in divinity, and in the relationship in
which He stands as Father; and that it must be con-
fessed that the Son, like all created beings, is subject to
the Father, that the Father had no commencement, and
that the generation of the Son is unknown to all save
the Father. It is related, that when this formulary
was completed, the bishops became aware of the errors
it contained, and endeavoured to withdraw it from the
public, and to correct it; and that the emperor
threatened to punish those who should retain or conceal
any of the copies that had been made of it. But having
been once published, no efforts were adequate to sup-
press it altogether.
The third formulary is of the same import as the
others. It prohibits the use of the term “substance,”
and assigns the following reason for the prohibition.
“The term ‘substance' having been used with too much
simplicity by the Fathers, and having been a cause of
offence to many of the unlearned multitude, we have
deemed it right totally to reject the use of it: and we
would enjoin the omission of all mention of the term in
allusion to the Godhead, for it is no where said in the
Holy Scriptures, that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
are of the same substance. But we say, in conformity
with the Holy Scriptures, that the Son is like unto the
Father.”
Such was the decision arrived at in the presence of
the emperor concerning the faith. Hosius at first re-
fused to assent to it. Compulsion, however, was resorted
to ; and, being extremely old, he sunk, so to speak,
beneath the blows that were inflicted on him, and yielded
his consent and signature.
152 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
The bishops strove to entice Photinus, by the promise
of re-establishment in his bishopric, to reject his former
sentiments and sign their formulary; but, far from
yielding to them, he challenged them to hold a disputa-
tion with him. On the day appointed for this purpose,
the bishops, therefore, assembled with the judges who
had been appointed by the emperor to preside at their
meetings, and who, in point of eloquence and dignity,
held the first rank in the palace. Basil, bishop of An-
cyra, was selected to commence the disputation against
Photinus. The conflict lasted a long time, on account of
the numerous questions started and the answers given by
each party, and which were immediately taken down in
writing; but finally the victory declared itself in favour
of Basil. Photinus was banished, but remained firm in
his original sentiments. He wrote many works in Greek
and Latin, in which he endeavoured to show that all
opinions except his own were erroneous. I have now
concluded all that I had to say concerning Photinus and
the heresy to which his name was affixed.
CHAPTER VII.
DEATH OF THE TYRANTS MAGNENTIUS AND SII,VANU.S. SEDI-
TION OF THE JEWS IN PALESTINE. GALLUS CAESAR IS SLAIN.
IN the meantime Magnentius made himself master of
ancient Rome, and put numbers of the senators and of
the people to death. Hearing that the troops of Con-
stantius were approaching, he retired into Gaul, and
here the two parties had frequent encounters, in which
sometimes the one and sometimes the other was victo-
rious. At length, however, Magnentius was defeated,
and fled to Mursa, which is the fortress of Gaul, and
here he strove to revive the courage of his soldiers,
who were much dispirited by their defeat. But al-
though they received Magnentius with the honours
usually paid to emperors, and rendered him the custo-
mary demonstrations of respect, they proclaimed Con-
stantius emperor. Magnentius, concluding, from this
circumstance, that he was not destined by God to hold
CHAP. VIII.] DEATH OF GALLUS CAESAR.—A.D. 354. 153
the reins of empire, endeavoured to retreat from the
fortress to some distant place. But he was pursued by
the troops of Constantius, and being overtaken at a spot
called Mount Seleucus, he escaped alone from the en-
counter, and fled to Lugduna. On his arrival there he
slew his own mother and his brother whom he had
named Caesar, and lastly he killed himself. Not long
after, Decentius, another of his brothers, put an end to
his own existence. Still the public tumults were not
quelled; for not long after, Silvanus assumed the supreme
authority in Gaul; but he was put to death by the
generals of Constantius.
The Jews of Diocaesarea also took up arms and in-
vaded Palestine and the neighbouring territories, with
the design of shaking off the Roman yoke. On hearing
of their insurrection, Gallus Caesar, who was then at
Antioch, sent troops against them, defeated them, and
destroyed Diocaesarea. Gallus, intoxicated with success,
aspired to the supreme power, and he slew Magnus the
treasurer, and Domitian, the prefect of the East, because
they apprised the emperor of his designs. The anger of
Constantius was excited; and he summoned him to his
presence. Gallus did not dare to refuse obedience, and
set out on his journey. When, however, he reached the
island Havonius, he was killed by the emperor's order;
this event occurred in the third year of his consulate,
and in the seventh year of the reign of Constantius.
CHAPTER VIII.
ARRIVAL OF CONSTANTIUS AT ROME. A. COUNCIL, HELD IN
ITALY. ACCOUNT OF WEHAT HAPPENIED TO AT HANASIUS THE
GREAT THROUGH THE MACHINATIONS OF THE ARIANS.
ON the death of the tyrants, Constantius anticipated
the restoration of peace and cessation of tumults, and
quitted Sirmium in order to return to ancient Rome, and
to enjoy the honour of a triumph after his victory over
the tyrants. He likewise intended to bring the Eastern
and the Western bishops, if possible, to one mind con-
cerning doctrine, by convening a council in Italy. Julius
154 E C C L E S I A STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
died about this period, after having governed the Church
of Rome during twenty-five years; and Liberius suc-
ceeded him. Those who were opposed to the doctrines
of the Nicene Council thought this a favourable oppor-
tunity to calumniate the bishops whom they had deposed,
and to procure their ejection from the church as abettors
of false doctrine, and as disturbers of the public peace ;
and to accuse them of having sought, during the life of
Constans, to excite a misunderstanding between the em-
perors; and it was true, as we related above, that
Constans menaced his brother with war unless he would
consent to receive the orthodox bishops. Their efforts
were principally directed against Athanasius, towards
whom they entertained so great an aversion that, even
when he was protected by Constans, and enjoyed the
friendship of Constantius, they could not conceal their
enmity. Narcissus, bishop of Cilicia, Theodore, bishop
of Thrace, Eugenius, bishop of Nicaea, Patrophilus, bishop
of Scythopolis, Menophantes, bishop of Ephesus, and
other bishops, to the number of thirty, assembled them-
selves in Antioch, and wrote a letter to all the bishops
of every region, in which they stated that Athanasius
had returned to his bishopric in violation of the rules of
the church, that he had not justified himself in any
council, and that he was only supported by some of his
own faction; and they exhorted them not to hold com-
munion with him, nor to write to him, but to enter into
communion with George, who had been ordained to suc-
ceed him. Athanasius only contemned these proceed-
ings; but he was about to undergo greater trials than
any he had yet experienced. Immediately on the death
of Magnentius, and as soon as Constantius found himself
sole master of the Roman empire, he directed all his
efforts to induce the bishops of the West to admit that
the Son is of like substance with the Father. In carry-
ing out this scheme, however, he did not, in the first
place, resort to compulsion, but endeavoured by persua-
sion to obtain the concurrence of the other bishops in the
decrees of the Eastern bishops against Athanasius; for
he thought that if he could bring them to be of one mind
CHAP. IX.] COUNCIL OF MILAN.—A.D. 355. 155
on this point, it would be easy for him to regulate aright
the affairs connected with religion.
CHAPTER IX.
COUNCIL OF MILAN. BANISHMENT OF ATHANASIU.S.
THE emperor was extremely urgent to convene a
council in Milan, yet few of the Eastern bishops repaired
thither; some, it appears, excused themselves from at-
tendance under the plea of illness; others, on account of
the length and difficulties of the journey. There were,
however, upwards of three hundred of the Western
bishops at the council. The Eastern bishops insisted
that Athanasius should be condemned to banishment,
and expelled from Alexandria; and the others, either
from fear, fraud, or ignorance, assented to the measure.
Dionysius, bishop of Alba, the metropolis of Italy, Euse-
bius, bishop of Vercella in Liguria, Paulinus, bishop of
Treves, Rhodanus and Lucifer, were the only bishops
who protested against this decision; and they declared
that Athanasius ought not to be condemned on such
slight pretexts; and that the evil would not cease with
his condemnation; but that the Orthodox doctrines con-
cerning the Godhead would be forthwith attacked and
endangered. They represented that the whole measure
was a scheme concerted by the emperor and the Arians
with the view of suppressing the Nicene faith. Their
boldness was punished by an edict of immediate banish-
ment, and Hilarius was exiled with them. The result
too plainly showed for what purpose the Council of Milan
had been convened. For the councils which were held
shortly after at Ariminum and Seleucia were evidently
designed to change the doctrines established by the
Nicene Council, as we shall hereafter have occasion to
show.
Athanasius, being apprised that plots had been formed
against him at court, deemed it prudent not to repair to
the emperor himself, as he knew that his life would be
thereby endangered. He, however, selected five of the
Egyptian bishops, among whom was Serapion, bishop
156 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
of Thmius, a prelate distinguished by the wonderful
sanctity of his life and the power of his eloquence, and
sent them with three presbyters of the church to the
emperor, who was then in the West. They were directed
to attempt, if possible, to conciliate the emperor; to
reply, if requisite, to the calumnies of the hostile party;
and to take such measures as they deemed most advisable
for the welfare of Athanasius and of the church. Shortly
after they had embarked on their voyage, Athanasius
received some letters from the emperor, summoning him
to the palace. Athanasius and all the people of the
church were greatly troubled at this command, for they
considered that no safety could be enjoyed when acting
either in obedience or in disobedience to an emperor of
heterodox sentiments. It was, however, determined that
he should remain at Alexandria, and the bearer of the
letters quitted the city without having effected anything.
The following summer, another messenger from the em-
peror arrived with the governors of the provinces, and
he was charged to urge the departure of Athanasius from
the city, and to act with hostility against the clergy.
When he perceived, however, that the people of the
church were full of courage and ready to take up arms,
he also departed from the city without accomplishing his
mission. Not long after, troops, called the Roman le-
gions, which were quartered in Egypt and Libya, marched
into Alexandria. As it was reported that Athanasius
was concealed in the church known by the name
“Theona,” the commander of the troops and Hilarius,
whom the emperor had again entrusted with the trans-
action of this affair, caused the doors of the church to be
burst open, and thus effected their entrance; but they
did not find Athanasius within the walls, although they
sought for him everywhere. It is said that he escaped
this and many other perils by the special interposition of
God; for, just as he had been warned of God, and had
effected his exit, the soldiers entered the church.
CHAP. X.] PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPES OF ATHANASIUs. 157
CHAPTE R. X.
DIVERS MACHINATIONS OF THE ARIANs AGAINST ATHANASIUS,
AND HIS ESCAPE FROM VARIOUS DANGERS THROUGH DIVINE
INTERPOSITION. EVIL DEEDS PERPETEATED BY GEORGE IN
EGYPT AFTER THE EXPULSION OF ATHANASIUS.
THERE is no doubt but that Athanasius was beloved
of God, and endowed with the gift of foreseeing the
future. More wonderful facts than those which we have
related might be adduced to prove his intimate acquaint-
ance with futurity. It happened that during the life of
Constans, the Emperor Constantius was once determined
upon ill-treating this holy man; but he made his escape
and concealed himself for a long time in a subterraneous
place which had been used as a reservoir for water. No
one knew where he was concealed except a woman, who
had been entrusted with the secret, and who waited upon
him. As the heterodox, however, were anxiously intent
upon taking Athanasius alive, it appears that, by means
of gifts or promises, they at length succeeded in corrupt-
ing the woman. But Athanasius was forewarned by
God of her treachery, and effected his escape from the
place. The woman was punished for having made a
false deposition against her masters, while they, on their
part, fled the country; for it was accounted no venial
crime by the heterodox to receive or to conceal Athana-
sius, but was on the contrary regarded as an act of dis-
obedience against the express commands of the emperor,
and as a crime against the empire, and was visited as
such by the civil tribunals. Athanasius was saved on
another occasion in a similar manner. He was again
obliged to flee for his life, and he set sail on the Nile
with the design of retreating to the further districts of
Egypt, but his enemies received intelligence of his in:
tention and pursued him. Being forewarned of God
that he would be pursued, he returned back to Alexan-
dria, the tide being in his favour, whereas his enemies
had to steer against the current of the river. He reached
Alexandria in safety, and effectually concealed himself
158 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
in the midst of its dense population. His success in
avoiding these and many other perils led to his being
accused of sorcery by the Greek and the heterodox. It
is reported, that once, as he was passing through the
city, a crow was heard to caw, and that a number of
Pagans who happened to be on the spot, asked him in
derision what the crow was saying. He replied, smiling,
“It utters the sound cras, the meaning of which in the
Latin language is ‘to-morrow,' and it has hereby an-
nounced to you that the morrow will not be propitious
to you; for it indicates that you will be forbidden by the
Roman Emperor to celebrate your festival to-morrow.”
Although this prediction of Athanasius appeared to be
absurd, it was fulfilled; for the following day edicts
were transmitted to the governors from the emperor, by
which it was commanded that the Greeks (Pagans) were
not to be permitted to assemble in the temples, to per-
form their usual ceremonies, nor to celebrate their fes-
tival; and thus was abolished the most solemn feast
which the Pagans had retained. What I have said is
sufficient to show that this holy man was endowed with
the gift of prophecy.
After Athanasius had escaped, in the manner we have
described, from those who sought to arrest him, his clergy
and people remained for some time in possession of the
churches: but eventually, the governor of Egypt and
the commander of the army forcibly ejected all those who
maintained the sentiments of Athanasius, in order to
deliver up the government of the churches to George,
whose arrival was then expected. Not long after, he
reached the city, and the churches were placed under his
authority. He ruled by force rather than by priestly
moderation; and as he strove to strike terror into the
minds of the people, and carried on a cruel persecution
against the followers of Athanasius, and, moreover, im-
prisoned and maimed many men and women, he was
accounted a tyrant, and became an object of universal
hatred. The people were so deeply incensed at his con-
duct, that they rushed into the church, and would have
torn him to pieces, had he not escaped from them, and
J.
CHAP.XI.] EVIL DEEDS OF GEORGE IN EGYPT. 159
fled to the emperor. Those who held the sentiments
of Athanasius, then took possession of the churches. But
they did not long retain possession of them; for the com-
mander of the troops, when he returned to Alexandria,
restored them to the partizans of George. A secretary
of the emperor's was afterwards sent to punish the
leaders of the sedition, and he treated many of the
citizens with the utmost rigour and cruelty. When
George returned, he was more formidable, it appears, than
ever, and was regarded with greater aversion than before,
for he instigated the emperor to the perpetration of
many evil deeds; and besides, the monks of Egypt openly .
declared him to be perfidious and inflated with arro-
gance. The opinions of these monks were always adopted
by the people, and their testimony was universally re-
ceived, because they were noted for their virtue and the
philosophical tenor of their lives.
CHAPTER XI.
LIBERIUS, BISHOP OF ROME, AND THE CAUSE OF HIS BEING
EXILED BY CONSTANTIUS. FELIX, HIS SUCCESSOR.
ALTHOUGH what I have recorded did not occur at the
same period of time after the death of Constans to Atha-
nasius and the church of Alexandria, yet I deemed it
right, for the sake of greater clearness, to relate all these
events in consecutive order. The Council of Milan was
dissolved without any business having been transacted,
and the emperor condemned to banishment all those who
had opposed the designs of the enemies of Athanasius.
As Constantius wished to establish uniformity of doctrine
throughout the church, and to unite the priesthood in the
maintenance of the same sentiments, he formed a plan
to convene the bishops of every religion to a council,
to be held in the West. He was aware of the difficulty
of carrying this scheme into execution, arising from the
vast extent of land and seas which some of the bishops
would have to traverse, yet he did not altogether despair
of success. While this project was occupying his mind,
and before he prepared to make his triumphal entrance
160 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
into Rome, he sent for Liberius, the bishop of Rome, and
strove to persuade him to conformity of sentiment with
priests by whom he was attended, and amongst whom
was Eudoxius. As Liberius, however, refused compli-
ance, and protested that he would never yield on this
point, the emperor banished him to Beroea, in Thrace.
It is alleged, that another reason of the banishment of
Liberius was, that he would not withdraw from com-
munion with Athanasius, but manfully opposed the
emperor, who insisted that Athanasius had injured the
church, had occasioned the death of his elder brother,
and had sown the seeds of enmity between Constans and
himself. As the emperor revived all the decrees which
had been enacted against Athanasius by various councils,
and particularly by that of Tyre, Liberius told him that
no regard ought to be paid to edicts which were issued
from motives of hatred, of favour, or of fear. He desired
that the bishops of every region should be made to sign
the formulary of faith compiled at Nicaea, and that those
bishops who had been exiled on account of their ad-
herence to it should be recalled. He suggested that all
the bishops should, at their own expense, and without
being furnished either with money or conveyances by the
public, proceed to Alexandria, and endeavour to ascertain
the truth by inquiries, which could be more easily insti-
tuted at that city than elsewhere, as the injured and
those who had inflicted injury dwelt there. He then
exhibited the letter written by Valens and Ursacius to
Julius, his predecessor in the Roman bishopric, in which
they solicited his forgiveness, and acknowledged that the
depositions brought against Athanasius, at Mareota, were
false; and he besought the emperor not to condemn
Athanasius during his absence, nor to give credit to
enactments which were evidently obtained by the machi-
nations of his enemies. With respect to the alleged in-
juries which had been inflicted on his brothers, he
entreated the emperor not to revenge himself by the
hands of priests who had been set apart by God, not
for the execution of vengeance, but for sanctification, and
the performance of just and benevolent actions. The
CHAP. XII.] HERESY OF AETIUS.—A.D. 358. 16]
emperor, perceiving that Liberius was not disposed to
comply with his mandate, commanded that he should
be conveyed to Thrace, unless he would change his
mind within two days. “To me, O emperor,” replied
Liberius, “deliberation is of no avail; my resolution has
long been formed, and I am ready to go forth to exile.”
It is said, that when he was being conducted to banish-
ment, the emperor sent him five hundred pieces of gold;
he, however, refused to receive them, and said to the
messenger who brought them, “Go, and tell him who
sent this gold, to give it to the flatterers and hypocrites
who surround him, for their insatiable cupidity plunges
them into a state of perpetual want which can never be
relieved. Christ, who is, in all respects, like unto His
Father, supplies us with food and with all good things.”
Liberius having, for the above reasons, been deposed
from the government of the Roman church, his bishopric
was transferred to Felix, a deacon of the same church.
It is said that Felix always continued in adherence to
the Nicene faith; and that, with respect to his conduct
in religious matters, he was blameless. The only thing
alleged against him was, that, prior to his ordination, he
held communion with the heterodox. When the em-
peror entered Rome, the people loudly demanded Libe-
rius; after consulting with the bishops who were with him,
he replied, that he would recall Liberius and restore him
to the people, if he would consent to embrace the same
sentiments as those held by the priests of the court.
C HAP TER XII.
AETIUS, THE SYRIAN, AND EUDOXIUS, THE SUCCESSOR OF
LEONTIUS IN THE BISHOPRIC OF ANTIOCH. CONCERNING
THE TERM “CON-SUBSTANTIAL.”
ABOUT this time, Aetius broached his peculiar opinions
concerning the Godhead. He was then deacon of the
Church of Antioch, and had been ordained by Leontius.
He maintained, like Arius, that the Son is a created
being, that He was created out of nothing, and that He
is dissimilar from the Father. As he was extremely
11
162 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
addicted to contention, very bold in his assertions on
theological subjects, and prone to have recourse to a
very subtle mode of argumentation, he was accounted a
heretic even by those who held the same sentiments as
himself. When he had been, for this reason, excommu-
nicated by the heterodox, he feigned a refusal to hold
communion with them, because they had unjustly ad-
mitted Arius into communion after he had perjured
himself by declaring to the Emperor Constantine that he
maintained the doctrines of the Council of Nicaea. Such
is the account given of Aetius.
While the emperor was in the West, intelligence ar-
rived of the death of Leontius, bishop of Antioch ;
Eudoxius requested permission of the emperor to return
to Syria, that he might superintend the affairs of that
church. On permission being granted, he repaired with
all speed to Antioch, and installed himself as bishop of
that city without the sanction of George, bishop of Lao-
dicea, of Mark, bishop of Arethusa, of the other Syrian
bishops, or of any other bishops to whom the right of
conferring ordination pertained. It was reported that
he acted with the concurrence of the emperor, and of
the eunuchs belonging to the palace, who, like Eudoxius,
favoured the doctrines of Aetius, and believed that the
Son is dissimilar from the Father. When Eudoxius
found himself in possession of the church of Antioch, he
ventured to uphold this heresy openly. He assembled
in Antioch all those who held the same opinions as him-
self, among whom were Acacius, bishop of Caesarea in
Palestine, and Uranius, bishop of Tyre, and rejected the
terms “ of like substance” and “con-substantial” under
the pretext that they had been denounced by the Western
bishops. Hosius had certainly, with the view of arrest-
ing the contention excited by Valens, Ursacius, and
Germanius, consented, though by compulsion, with some
other bishops at Sirmium, to refrain from the use of the
terms “con-substantial” and “ of like substance,” because
such terms do not occur in the Holy Scriptures, and are
beyond the understanding of men. Eudoxius wrote
to the bishops as if they all upheld what Hosius had
CHAP. XIII.] INNOVATIONS OF EUDOXIUS.—A.D. 358. 163
admitted, and congratulated Valens, and Ursacius and
Germanius, for having been instrumental in the introduc-
tion of orthodox doctrines into the West.
CHAPTER XIII.
INNOVATIONS OF EUIDOXIUS CENSURED IN A LETTER WEITTEN
BY GEORGE, BISHOP OF LAODICEA. DEPUTATION FROM THE
COUNCIL OF ANCYRA TO CONSTANTIUS.
AFTER Eudoxius had introduced these new doctrines,
many members of the church of Antioch, who were op-
posed to them, were excommunicated. George, bishop
of Laodicea, gave them a letter to take to the bishops
who had been invited from the neighbouring towns to
Ancyra in Galatia by Basil, for the purpose of conse-
crating a church which he had erected. This letter was
as follows.
“George, to his most honoured lords Macedonius,
Basil, Cecropius, and Eugenius, sends greeting
in the Lord.
“Nearly the whole city has suffered from the ship-
wreck of Aetius. The disciples of this wicked man
whom you contemned have been encouraged by Eu-
doxius, and promoted by him to clerical appointments,
and Aetius himself has been raised to the highest honour.
Go, then, to the assistance of this great city, lest by its
shipwreck the whole world should be submerged. As-
semble yourselves together, and solicit the signatures of
other bishops, that Aetius may be ejected from the
church of Antioch, and that his disciples who have been
ordained by Eudoxius may be cut off from the priest-
hood. If Eudoxius persist in affirming that the Son is
dissimilar from the Father, and in preferring those who
uphold this dogma to those who reject it, the city of
Antioch is lost to you.” Such was the strain of George's
letter.
The bishops who were assembled at Ancyra clearly
perceived by the enactments of Eudoxius at Antioch,
that he contemplated the introduction of innovations in
164 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
doctrine; they apprised the emperor of this fact, and
besought him that the doctrine established at Sardica, at
Sirmium, and at other councils, might be protected and
confirmed, and especially the dogma that the Son is of
like substance with the Father. In order to proffer this
request to the emperor, they sent to him a deputation
composed of the following bishops: Basil, bishop of An-
cyra; Eustathius, bishop of Sebaste; Eleusius, bishop of
Cyzica; and Leontius, who, from being an attendant on
the emperor, had been promoted to the priesthood. On
their arrival at the palace, they found that Asphalius, a
priest of Antioch, and a zealot of the Aetian heresy, was
on the point of taking his departure, after having termi-
nated the business for which he undertook the journey
and obtained a letter from the emperor. On receiving,
however, the intelligence concerning the heresy conveyed
by the deputation from Ancyra, Constantius retracted
his decision respecting Eudoxius, withdrew the letter he
had confided to Asphalius, and wrote the following one.
CHAPTE R XIV.
LETTER OF THE EMPEROR CONSTANTIUS AGAINST EUDOXIUS
AND HIS PARTIZANS.
“Constantius Augustus the Conqueror, to the holy
Church in Antioch.
“EUDoxIUs went to you without our permission, and
we by no means regard such persons with favour. If the
have recourse to deceit in transactions like this, they give
evidence that they mock at God. What can be expected
of people who, actuated by insatiable cupidity, go boldly
from city to city, hither and thither, with the view of
enriching themselves? It is reported that there are
among these people certain sophists and impostors, whose
very names are scarcely to be tolerated, and whose deeds
are evil and impious. You all know to what set of
people I allude; for you are all acquainted with the doc-
trines of Aetius and the heresy which he originated. He
and his followers have devoted themselves exclusively to
CHAP. XIV.] LETTER OF CONSTANTIUS.—A.D. 358. 165
the task of corrupting the people, and have had the
audacity to publish that we approved of their ordination.
Such is the report they circulate; but it is not true, and,
indeed, far removed from the truth. Recall to your
recollection the words of which we made use when we
first made a declaration of our belief, for we confessed
that our Saviour is the Son of God, and of like substance
with the Father. But these people, who have the auda-
city to set forth whatever enters their imagination con-
cerning the Godhead, are not far removed from atheism;
and they strive moreover to propagate their opinions
among others. I am convinced that their iniquitous
proceedings will fall back upon their own heads. In the
meantime, it is sufficient to eject them from communion
and from the synod; for I will not now allude to the
chastisements which must hereafter overtake them, unless
they will desist from their audacious and furious deeds.
How great is the evil they perpetrate, when they collect
together the leaders of heresies and the most wicked
persons and invest them with sacred orders, thereby
debasing the priesthood, as if they were empowered to lead
and direct the whole church' Who can bear with people
who fill the cities with impiety, who sow corruption in
the most distant regions, and who delight in nothing but
in injuring the righteous? Now is the time for those
who have imbibed the truth to come forward, for the
artifices of these evil men have been so accurately de-
tected, that it is impossible for them to remain concealed.
It is the duty of good men to retain the faith of the
Fathers, and, so to speak, to augment it, without busy-
ing themselves with other matters. I earnestly exhort
those who have escaped though but recently from the
precipice of this heresy, to assent to the decrees of the
other bishops.”
Thus we see that the heresy usually denominated
Anomian, was very likely to have become predominant
at this period.
166 EC CLES IASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
CHAPTER XV.
THE EMPEROR CONSTANTIUS REPAIRS TO SIRMIUM, RECALLS
LIBERIUS, AND RESTORES HIM TO THE CHURCH OF ROME.
FELIX IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIM IN THE GOVERNMENT OF
THAT CHURCH.
NOT long after these events, the emperor returned to
Sirmium from Rome, received a deputation from the
Western bishops, and recalled Liberius from Beroea.
Constantius urged him, in the presence of the deputies
of the Eastern bishops, and of the other priests who
were at the court, to confess that the Son is not of the
same substance as the Father. He was instigated to
this measure by Basil, Eustathius, and Eusebius, who
possessed great influence over him. They had formed a
compilation, in one document, of the decrees enacted at
the Council of Sirmium against Paul of Samosata, and
Photinus; to which they subjoined a formulary of faith
drawn up at Antioch at the consecration of the church,
as if certain persons had, under the pretext of the term
“con-substantial,” attempted to establish a heresy of
their own. Liberius, Athanasius, Alexander, Severianus,
and Crescentus, bishops of Africa, were induced to assent
to this document, as were likewise Ursacius, Germanius,
bishop of Sirmium, Valens, bishop of Mursa, and all the
other Eastern bishops who were present. They likewise
approved of a confession of faith drawn up by Liberius,
in which he declared that those who affirm that the Son
is not like unto the Father in substance and in all other
respects, are excommunicated. For when Eudoxius and
his partizans at Antioch, who favoured the heresy of
Aetius, received the letter of Hosius, they circulated a
report that Liberius had renounced the term “con-sub-
stantial,” and had admitted that the Son is dissimilar
from the Father. After these enactments had been made
by the Western bishops, the emperor permitted Liberius
to return to Rome. The bishops who were then con-
vened at Sirmium wrote to Felix who governed the
Roman church, and to the other bishops, desiring them
CHAP. XVI.] RESTORATION OF LIBERIUs.—A.D. 358. 167
to receive Liberius; they directed that Felix and Libe-
rius should share the apostolical throne and be associated
together, without dissension, in the discharge of the
ministerial functions, and that whatever illegalities might
have occurred in the ordination of the one, or the
banishment of the other, might be buried in oblivion.
The people of Rome regarded Liberius as a good man,
and esteemed him highly on account of the courage he
had evinced, in opposing the emperor, so that they had
even excited seditions on his account, and had gone so
far as to shed blood. . Felix survived but a short time;
and Liberius found himself in sole possession of the
church. This event was, no doubt, ordained by God,
that the seat of Peter might not be dishonoured by the
occupancy of two bishops; for such an arrangement,
being contrary to ecclesiastical law, would certainly have
been a source of discord. .
CHAPTER XVI.
THE EMPEROR PURPOSED, ON ACCOUNT OF THE HERESY OF
AETIUS, TO CONVENE A COUNCIL AT NICOMEDIA: BUT As
AN EARTHQUAKE TOOK PLACE IN THAT CITY, THE COUNCIL
WAS FIRST CONVENED AT NICAEA, AND AFTERWARDS AT
ARIMINUM AND SELEUCIA. ACCOUNT OF ARSACIUS, THE
CONFESSOR.
SUCH were the events which transpired at Sirmium.
It seemed at this period as if, from the fear of displeasing
the emperor, the Eastern and Western Churches had
united in the profession of the same doctrine. The em-
peror had determined upon convening a council at Nicaea
to take into consideration the innovations introduced at
Antioch, and the heresy of Aetius. As Basil, however,
and his party were averse to the council being held in
this city, because doctrinal questions had previously been
agitated there, it was determined to hold the council at
Nicomedia in Bithynia; and edicts were issued, summon-
ing the most learned and eloquent bishops of every
nation to repair thither punctually on an appointed day.
The greater number of these bishops had commenced
168. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
their journey, when it was reported that Nicomedia had
been visited by an earthquake, and that the whole city
was destroyed. This report prevented the bishops from
continuing their journey; for, as is usual in such cases,
far more was rumoured than what had actually occurred.
It was reported that Nicaea, Perinthus, and the neigh-
bouring cities, even Constantinople, had been involved
in the same catastrophe. The orthodox bishops were
immoderately grieved at this occurrence, for the enemies
of religion took occasion, on the destruction of a magni-
ficent church, to represent to the emperor that a multi-
tude of bishops, men, women, and children, fled to the
church in the hope of there finding safety; and that they
all perished. This report was not true. The earthquake
occurred at the second hour of the day, at which hour
there was no assembly in the church. The only bishops
who were killed, were Ceropius, bishop of Nicomedia,
and a bishop from the Bosphorus, and they were at a
distance from the church when the fatal accident hap-
pened. The earthquake occupied but an instant of time,
so that the people had not the power, even if they had had
the wish, to seek safety by flight: at the first shock they
were either preserved or they perished on the spot where
they were standing.
... It is said that this calamity was predicted by Arsacius.
He was a Persian, and was originally employed in tend-
ing the emperor's lions; but during the reign of Licinius
{ he made a noble confession of Christianity, and left his
former employment. He then went to Nicomedia, and
led the life of a monastic philosopher within its walls.
Here a vision from Heaven appeared to him, and he was
commanded to quit the city immediately, that he might
be saved from the calamity about to happen. He ran with
the utmost earnestness to the church, and besought the
clergy to offer supplications to God that His anger might
be turned away. But finding that, far from being believed
by them, he was regarded with ridicule, he returned to his
tower, and prostrated himself on the ground in prayer.
Just at this moment the earthquake occurred, and many
perished. Those who were spared fled into the country
CHAP. XVI.] EARTHQUAKE AT NICOMEDIA.—A.D. 358. 169
and the desert. And as in this great and opulent city
there were fires on the hearth of every house, in the
baths, and in the furnaces of mechanics, it so happened
that combustible materials, coming in contact with these
fires, excited a general conflagration. The flames spread
in all directions, until the city became, so to speak, one
mass of fire. It being impossible to obtain access to the
houses, those who had been saved from the earthquake,
fled to the citadel. Arsacius was found dead in the
tower, and prostrated on the ground, in the same pos-
ture in which he had begun to pray. It was said that he
had supplicated God to permit him to die, because he
preferred death to beholding the destruction of a city in
which he had first known Christ, and practised monas-
tical philosophy. As I have been led to speak of this
good man, it is well to mention that he was endowed by
God with the power of exorcising demons. A man pos-
sessed with a demon once ran through the market place
with a naked sword in his hand. The people fled from
him, and the whole city was in confusion. Arsacius went
out to meet him, and called upon the name of Christ,
and at that name the demon was expelled, and the man
restored to sanity. Besides the above, Arsacius per-
formed many other actions beyond the power of man.
There was a dragon or some other species of reptile
which had entrenched itself in a cavity of the roadside,
and which destroyed those who passed by with its breath.
Arsacius went to the spot and engaged in prayer, and
the serpent voluntarily crept forth from its hole, dashed
its head against the ground and killed itself. All these
details I have obtained from persons who heard them
stated by those who had seen Arsacius.
As the bishops were deterred from continuing their
journey by the intelligence of the calamity which had
occurred at Nicomedia, some awaited the further com-
mands of the emperor, and others declared their opinions
concerning the faith in letters which they wrote on the
subject. The emperor hesitated as to what measures
ought to be adopted, and wrote to consult Basil as to
whether a council ought to be convened. In his reply,
170 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
it appears, Basil commended his piety, and tried to con-
sole him for the destruction of Nicomedia by examples
drawn from the Holy Scriptures; he exhorted him, for
the sake of religion, not to relinquish his design of con-
vening a council, and not to dismiss the priests who had
already set forth upon the journey, until some business
had been transacted. He also suggested that the council
might be held at Nicæa instead of Nicomedia, so that the
disputed points might be finally decided on the very spot
where they had been first called into question. Basil, in
writing to this effect, believed that the emperor would
be pleased with this proposition, as he had himselforigin-
ally suggested the propriety of holding the council at
Nicaea. On receiving this epistle from Basil, the emperor
commanded that, at the commencement of summer, the
bishops should assembletogether in Nicaea, with the excep-
tion of those who were labouring under bodily infirmity;
and these latter were to depute priests and deacons to
make known their sentiments, so that they might consult
together on contested points of doctrine, and arrive at
the same decision. He ordained that ten delegates should
be selected from the Western Churches, and as many
from the Eastern, to take cognizance of the enactments
that might be issued, and to decide whether they were in
accordance with the Holy Scriptures, and also to exercise
a general superintendence over the transactions of the
council. After further consultation, the emperor en-
acted that the bishops should remain in their churches,
or wherever they might be residing, until it had been de-
cided where the council was to be held, and until they
received notice to repair thither. He then wrote to
Basil, and directed him to inquire of the Eastern bishops
where they would advise the council to be held, so that a
public announcement might be made at the commence-
ment of Spring ; for the emperor was of opinion that it
was not advisable to convene the council at Nicaea, on
account of the earthquake which had recently occurred
in the province. Basil wrote to the bishops of every
province, urging them to deliberate together, and to
decide quickly upon the locality in which it would be
CHAP. XVI.] COUNCILS OF ARIMINUM AND SELEUCIA. 171
most expedient to hold the council, and he prefixed a
copy of the emperor's letter to his epistle. As is fre-
quently the case in similar circumstances, the bishops
were divided in opinion on the subject, and Basil repaired to
the emperor, who was then at Sirmium. He foundseveral
bishops at that city, who had gone thither on their own
private affairs; and among them were Mark, bishop of
Arethusa, and George, bishop of Alexandria. When, at
length, it was decided that the council should be held in
Seleucia, a city of Isauria, by the adherents of Valens,
and by the bishops who were at Sirmium, those who
favoured the Anomian heresy took occasion to have a
formulary of the faith signed by the bishops of the
Court, which had been prepared for the purpose, and in
which there was no mention of the term “substance.” But
while preparations were being zealously made for con-
vening the council, Eudoxius and Acacius, Ursacius and Wa-
lens, reflected that, while many of the bishops were attached
to the Nicene faith, and others favoured the formulary
drawn up at the consecration of the church of Antioch,
yet that both parties retained the use of the term “sub-
stance,” and maintained that the Son was, in every respect,
like unto the Father; and being aware that, if both par-
ties assembled together in one place, they would condemn
the doctrines of Aetius, as being contrary to their re-
spective creeds; they so contrived matters, that the bishops
of the West were convened at Ariminum, and those of
the East at Seleucia. As it is easier to convince a few
than a great many individuals, they conceived that they
might possibly lead both parties to favour their senti-
ments by dealing with them separately, or that they
might, at any rate, succeed with one; so that their heresy
might not incur universal condemnation. Eusebius, a
eunuch and attendant of the emperor's, was on terms of
friendship with Eudoxius, and upheld the same doctrines;
and it was by his influence, aided by those who were
attached to him, that this measure was carried into exe-
cution.
172 . ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
CHAPTER XVII.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF ARIMINUM.
THE emperor was persuaded that it would not be desira-
ble for the public, on account of the expense, nor advanta-
geoustothebishops, on account of the length of the journey,
to convene them all to the same place for the purpose of
holding a council. He therefore wrote to the bishops who
were then at Ariminum, as well as to those who were then
at Seleucia, and directed them to enter upon an investi-
gation of contested points concerning the faith, and then
to turn their attention to the complaints of Cyril, bishop
of Jerusalem, and of other bishops who had remon-
strated against the injustice of decrees of deposition
and banishment which had been issued against them,
and to examine the legality of various sentences which
had been enacted against other bishops. There were,
in fact, several accusations pending against different
bishops. George was accused by the Egyptians of ra-
pine and violence. Finally, the emperor commanded
that ten deputies should be sent to him from each
council, to inform him of their respective proceedings.
In accordance with this edict, the bishops assembled at
the appointed cities. The synod at Ariminum first com-
menced proceedings; it consisted of above four hundred
members. Those who regarded Athanasius with the
greatest enmity, were of opinion that there was nothing
further to be decreed against him. When they had
entered upon the investigation of doctrinal questions,
Valens and Ursacius, supported by Germanius, Auxen-
tius, Caius and Demophilus, advanced into the middle of
the assembly, and demanded that all the formularies of
faith which had been previously compiled should be sup-
pressed, and that the formulary which they had but a
short time previously set forth in the Latin language at
Sirmium should be alone retained. In this formulary, it
was taught, according to Scripture, that the Son is like
unto the Father; but no mention was made of the sub-
stance of God. They declared that this formulary had
CHAP. XVII.] COUNCIL OF ARIMINUM.–A.D. 359. 173
been approved by the emperor, and that it was incum-
bent upon the council to adopt it, instead of consulting
too scrupulously the individual opinions of every member
of the council, because too close an investigation of mere
words could only lead to dispute and contention. They
added, that it was better to establish orthodox doctrines
concerning the Godhead, than, by aiming at too great a
refinement of terms, to introduce the use of neological
expressions. By these representations, they designed to
denounce the use of the term “consubstantial,” because
they said it was not found in the Holy Scriptures, and
was obscure to the multitude; and, instead of this term,
they wished to substitute the expression that “the Son
is like unto the Father in all things,” which is borne out
by the Sacred Scriptures. After they had read their
formulary containing the above representations, many of
the bishops told them that no new formulary of the faith
ought to be set forth, that those which had been pre-
viously compiled were quite sufficient for all purposes,
and that they were met together for the express purpose
of preventing all innovations. These bishops then urged
those who had compiled and read the formulary to de-
clare publicly their condemnation of the Arian doctrine,
as the cause of all the troubles which had agitated the
churches of every region. Ursacius and Valens, Ger-
manius and Auxentius, Demophilus and Gaius, having
protested against this proposition, the council commanded
that the formularies compiled by other parties should be
read, and likewise that set forth at Nicaea: so that those
formularies which favoured divers heresies might be con-
demned, and those which were in accordance with the
Nicene doctrines might be approved, in order that there
might be no further ground for dispute, and no future
necessity for councils, but that a final and efficient
decision might be formed. They remarked that it was
absurd to compose so many formularies, as if the
had but just commenced to become acquainted with the
faith, and as if they wished to slight the ancient tradi-
tions of the church, by which the churches had been
governed by themselves, and by their predecessors, many
174 E C C L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
of whom had witnessed a good confession, and had re-
ceived the crown of martyrdom. Such were the argu-
ments adduced by these bishops, to prove that no innova-
tions ought to be attempted. As Valens and Ursacius
and their partizans refused to be convinced by these ar-
guments, but persisted in advocating the adoption of
their own formulary, they were deposed, and it was de-
cided that their formulary should be rejected. It was
remarked that the declaration at the commencement of
this formulary, of its having been compiled at Sirmium,
in the presence of Constantius, “the eternal Augustus,”
and during the consulate of Eusebius and Hypatius, was
an absurdity. Athanasius made the same remark, in a
letter addressed to one of his friends, and said that it was
ridiculous to term Constantius the eternal emperor, and
yet to shrink from acknowledging the Son of God to be
eternal; he also ridiculed the date affixed to the formu-
lary, as though condemnation were meant to be thrown
on the faith of former ages, as well as on those who had
before that period been initiated in the faith.
After these events had transpired at Ariminum, Valens
and Ursacius, irritated at their deposition, repaired with
all haste to the emperor.
CHA PTE R XVIII.
LETTER FROM THE COUNCIL CONVENED AT ARIMINUM TO
THE EMPEROR CONSTANTIUS.
THE synod selected twenty bishops, and sent them on
an embassy to the emperor, with the following letter,
which has been translated from Latin into Greek: —
“We believe that it is by the will of God, as well as by
your pious arrangements, that we have been led from all
the cities of the West, to assemble at Ariminum, for the
purpose of declaring the faith of the Catholic church, and
of detecting those who have set forth heresies in opposi-
tion to it. After a close and lengthened investigation, we
have come to the conclusion that it is best to preserve the
faith which has been handed down from antiquity, and
which was preached by the prophets, the evangelists, the
CHAP. xvii.I.] LETTER OF THE COUNCIL OF ARIMINUM. 175
apostles, and by Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour and
Protector of your empire. It would have been absurd,
as well as illegal, to have introduced any change in the
doctrines which were so rightly and sojustly propounded
by the bishops at Nicaea, with the concurrence of Con-
stantine your father, of glorious memory. These doc-
trines have been preached to all men, and tend to the
utter subversion of the Arian, and, indeed, of all other
heresies. There is great danger in adding to, or in
taking away from, these doctrines ; nor can the slightest
alteration be made in any one of them, without giving an
opportunity to the adversaries to do what they list.
Ursacius and Valens, after having been long suspected of
having imbibed the Arian doctrine, were cut off from
communion with us. In the hope of being restored to
communion, they confessed their error, and obtained for-
giveness, as their own writings testify. The occasion on
which the edict of forgiveness was conceded, was at the
Council of Milan, in the presence of the deputies of the
Roman Church.
“The formulary of the faith set forth at Nicaea, having
been compiled with the greatest possible care and accu-
racy, in the presence of Constantine, who maintained it
throughout his life, and at his baptism, and when he de-
parted to enjoy the rest and peace of heaven, we judge
that it would be absurd to attempt any alteration in it.
We hold that it is necessary to retain the doctrines which
were professed by so many holy confessors and martyrs,
and which they maintained, in accordance with the ancient
decrees of the Church. God has transmitted the know-
ledge of their faith to the time in which you live, through
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom you reign, and rule the
world. These wretched men, who can only be regarded
as objects of compassion, have had the audacity to pub-
lish certain impious doctrines, which are in opposition to
the truth. After we had received your letters, in which
you charged us to enter upon the investigation of doc-
trinal questions, the aforesaid disturbers of the church,
aided by Germanius, Auxentius, and Caius, laid a new
formulary before us, replete with pernicious doctrine.
176 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
When they perceived that this document would inevitably
be rejected, they desired to effect some alterations in it.
They have but too often been successful in proposing
these alterations; but, to preserve the church from fur-
ther trouble arising from this source, we decided that it
was requisite to preserve the inviolability of the ancient
canons, and to eject the aforesaid persons from commu-
nion with us. We have, for this reason, sent our deputies
to you, and have furnished them with letters, declaratory
of the sentiments of the council. These deputies have
been especially charged by us to maintain the truths
which were set forth of old by the Christians of antiquity,
and to prove to your Holiness the falsity of the assertion
of Valens and Ursacius, that a few changes would pro-
duce peace in the church. For how can peace be restored
by those who destroy peace P They would be more likely
to introduce contention and disturbance into Rome and
the other cities, rather than peace. We therefore entreat
your Clemency to listen to our deputies, and to regard
them favourably, and not to allow the dead to be dis-
honoured by the introduction of alterations and novelties.
We pray you to preserve the tradition which we re-
ceived from our ancestors, who were all wise and pru-
dent, and who, we have reason to believe, were led by the
Spirit of God. For these innovations not only lead
believers to infidelity, but also delude unbelievers. We
likewise entreat you to command that the bishops who
are now absent from their churches, and of whom some
are labouring under the infirmities of old age, and
others under the privations of poverty, may be fur-
nished with the means of returning to their own homes,
in order that the churches may not be longer deprived
of their ministry.
“Again, we beseech you that nothing be taken away
from, or added to, the faith; let it remain unchanged,
even as it has continued from the reign of your father to
the present time; so that we may not, in future, be com-
pelled to leave our churches, and undertake long jour-
neys, but that bishops and people may dwell together in
peace, and be able to devote themselves to prayer and
CHAP. XIX.] COUNCIL OF ARIMINUM.—A.D. 359. 177
supplication for your own personal welfare, and for the
continual peace of your empire.
“Our deputies will show you the signatures of the
bishops; and some of them will offer instruction to your
Holiness out of the Sacred Scriptures.”
CHAPTE R. XIX.
CONCERNING THE DEPUTIES OF THE COUNCIL AND THE
EMPEROR'S LETTER ; MACHINATIONS OF URSACIUS AND
VALENS; EXILE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS. CONCERNING THE
SYNOD AT NICAE A.
WE have now transcribed the letter of the Council of
Ariminum. Ursacius and Valens, anticipating the ar-
rival of the deputies of the council, read their formulary
of faith to the emperor, and calumniated the members of
the council. The emperor was displeased at the rejection
of this formulary, as it had been accepted in his presence
at Sirmium, and he therefore treated Ursacius and Valens
with honour; while, on the other hand, he manifested
great contempt towards the deputies, and even delayed
granting them an audience. At length, however, he
wrote to the synod, and informed them that an expedi-
tion which he was compelled to undertake against the
barbarians, prevented him from conferring with the
deputies; and that he had, therefore, commanded them
to remain at Adrianople until his return, in order that,
when other business had been dismissed, his mind might
be at liberty to attend to the representations of the de-
puties: “for it is right,” he said, “to bring to the inves-
tigation of divine subjects, a mind unfettered by other
cares.” Such was the strain of his letter.
The bishops replied, that they could never depart from
the decision they had formed, as they had before declared
in writing, and had charged their deputies to declare;
and they besought him to regard them with favour, to
give audience to their deputies, and to read their letter.
They told him that it must appear grievous to him that
so many churches should be deprived of their bishops;
and that, if agreeable to him, they would return to their
12
178 EC CLE SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
churches before the winter. After writing this letter,
which was full of supplications and entreaties, the
bishops waited for a time for a reply; but, as no answer
was granted them, they afterwards returned to their own
cities.
What I have above stated clearly proves, that the
bishops who were convened at Ariminum confirmed the
decrees which had of old been set forth at Nicaea. Let
us now consider how it was that they eventually assented
to the formulary of faith compiled by Valens and Ursa-
cius. Various accounts have been given me of this
transaction. Some say that the emperor was offended
at the bishops having departed from Ariminum without
his permission, and allowed Valens and his partizans to
govern the churches of the West according to their own
will, to set forth their own formulary, to eject those
who refused to sign it from the churches, and to ordain
others in their place; they say that, taking advantage
of this power, Valens compelled some of the bishops to
sign the formulary, and that he drove Liberius and many
others, who refused compliance, from their churches.
It is further asserted, that Valens and his adherents acted
in the same manner in Italy, and persecuted the bishops
of the East in the same manner. As these persecutors
were passing through Thrace, they stopped, it is said,
at Nicaea, a city of that province; they there convened a
council and read the formulary of Ariminum which they
had translated into the Greek language, and by repre-
senting that it had been approved by a general council,
they obtained its adoption at Nicaea; they then deno-
minated it the Nicaean formulary of faith, in order, by
the resemblance of names, to deceive the simple, and
cause it to be mistaken for the ancient formulary set
forth by the Nicaean Council. Such is the account given
by some parties. Others say that the bishops, who
were convened at the Council of Ariminum, were wea-
ried by their detention in that city, as the emperor
neither honoured them with a reply to their letter, nor
granted them permission to return to their own churches;
and that, at this juncture, those who had espoused the
CHAP. XIX.] MACHINATIONS OF URSACIUs.—A.D. 359. 179
opposite heresy, represented to them that it was not
right that divisions should exist between the priests
of the whole world for the sake of one word, and that
it was only requisite to admit that the Son is like
unto the Father in order to put an end to all disputes;
for that the bishops of the East would never rest until
the term “substance” was rejected. By these repre-
sentations, it is said, the members of the council were
at length persuaded to assent to the formulary which
Ursacius had so sedulously pressed upon them. Ursa-
cius and his partizans, being apprehensive lest the de-
puties sent by the council to the emperor should declare
what firmness was in the first place evinced by the
Western bishops, and should expose the true cause of
the rejection of the term “con-substantial,” detained
these deputies at Nicaea in Thrace throughout the
winter, under the pretext that no public conveyances
could be then obtained, and that the roads were in a
bad state for travelling; and they then induced them,
it is said, to translate the formulary they had accepted
from Latin into Greek, and to send it to the Eastern
bishops. By this means, they anticipated that the for-
mulary would produce the impression they intended
without the fraud being detected; for there was no one
to testify that the members of the Council of Ariminum
had not voluntarily rejected the term “substance” from
deference to the Eastern bishops, who were averse to the
use of that word. But this was evidently a false account;
for all the members of the council, with the exception of
a few, maintained strenuously that the Son is like unto
the Father in substance, and the only differences of opi-
nion existing between them were, that some said that the
Son is of the same substance as the Father, while others
asserted that He is of like substance with the Father.
We have now given both the accounts which have been
handed down of this transaction.
180 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
CHAPTE R. XX.
EVENTS WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE EASTERN CHURCHES :
MARATHONIUS, ELEUSIUS OF CYZICUS, AND MACEDONIUS EX-
PEL THOSE WHO MAINTAIN THE TERM “CON-SUBSTANTIAL.”
CONCERNING THE CHURCH OF THE NOVATIANS; THE NOVA-
TIANS ENTER INTO COMMUNION WITH THE ORTHODOX.
WHILE the events I have above related were taking
place in Italy, the East was, even before the Council of
Seleucia, the theatre of great disturbances. The adhe-
rents of Acacius and Patrophilus, having ejected Maximus,
gave the government of the Church of Jerusalem to
Cyril. Macedonius was, by his severity, the cause of
great troubles in Constantinople and the neighbouring
cities: he was abetted by Eleusius and Marathonius.
This latter was originally a deacon in his own church,
and was a zealous superintendant of the poor and of the
monastical dwellings inhabited by each sex, and Mace-
donius raised him to the bishopric of Nicomedia. Eleu-
sius, who was formerly attached to the military service
of the palace, had been ordained bishop of Cyzicus. It is
said that Eleusius and Marathonius were both good men,
but that they were zealous in persecuting those who
maintained that the Son is of the same substance as the
Father, although they never manifested so much cruelty
as Macedonius, who not only expelled those who refused
to hold communion with him, but imprisoned some, and
dragged others before the tribunals. In many cases he
had recourse to compulsion, and extorted compliance to
his will. He seized women and children who had not
been initiated (i.e. baptized) and initiated them, and
destroyed many churches in different places, under the
pretext that the emperor had commanded the demolition
of all houses of prayer in which the Son was recognized
to be of the same substance as the Father.
Under this pretext, the church of the Novatians at
Constantinople, situated in that part of the city called
Pelargus, was destroyed. It is related that these heretics
performed a courageous action with the aid of the
CHAP. XXI.] RE-ERECTION OF A NOVATIAN CHURCH. 181
members of the Catholic church, with whom they made
common cause. When those who were employed to
destroy the church were about to commence the work of
demolition, the Novatians assembled themselves together,
and conveyed the materials to a suburb of the city called
Sycea. They quickly achieved this task, for men, women,
and children engaged in it, and gave their labour as an
offering to God. By the exercise of this zeal, the church
was soon re-erected, and received the name of Anastasia.
After the death of Constantius, Julian, his successor,
granted to the Novatians the ground which they had
previously possessed, and permitted them to rebuild their
church. The people joyfully took advantage of this per-
mission, and transported the identical materials of the
former edifice from Sycea. But this happened at a later
period of time than that which we are now reviewing.
At this period a union was nearly effected between the
Novatian and Catholic churches, for as they held the same
opinions concerning the Godhead, and were subjected to
a common persecution, the members of both churches
assembled and prayed together. The Catholics then
possessed no houses of prayer, for the Arians had wrested
them from them. It appears too that from the frequent
intercourse between the members of each church, they
began to reflect that no solid reason could be adduced
for their separation. A reconciliation would certainly
have been effected, had not the desire of the multitude
been frustrated by the envy of a few individuals, who
asserted that there was an ancient law prohibiting the
union of the churches.
CHA PTE R XXI.
PROCEEDINGS OF MACEDONIUS IN MANTINIA. REMOVAL OF
THE REMAINS OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. JULIAN BE-
COMES CAESAR. *
ABOUT the same time Eleusius demolished the church
of the Novatians in Cyzicus. The inhabitants of other
parts of Paphlagonia, and particularly of Mantinia, were
subjected to similar persecutions. Macedonius, having
182 E C C L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
been apprised that the majority of these people were
followers of Novatian, and that the ecclesiastical power
was not of itself sufficiently strong to expel them, per-
suaded the emperor to send four cohorts against them.
For he imagined that men who are unaccustomed to the
use of military weapons, would, on the first appearance
of armed soldiers, be seized with terror, and conform to
his sentiments. But it happened otherwise, for the
people of Mantinia armed themselves with whatever
weapons came first to hand, and marched against the
military. A sanguinary conflict ensued, and many of
the Paphlagonians fell, but all the soldiers were slain.
Many of the friends of Macedonius blamed him for
having occasioned so much bloodshed, and the emperor
was displeased, and regarded him with less favour than
before. Inimical feelings were engendered still more
strongly by another occurrence. Macedonius contem-
plated the removal of the remains of the Emperor Con-
stantine, as the sepulchre in which they had been depo-
sited was falling into ruin. The people were divided in
opinion on this subject: some concurred in the design
and others opposed it, deeming it impious to open the
sepulchre. Those who maintained the Nicene doctrines
were of the latter sentiment, and insisted that no indig-
nity should be offered to the body of Constantine, as that
emperor had held the same doctrines as themselves.
They were beside, I can readily imagine, eager to oppose
the projects of Macedonius. However, without further
delay, Macedonius caused the coffin to be conveyed to
the same church in which the tomb of Acacius, the
martyr, is placed. The people, divided into two fac-
tions, the one approving, the other condemning the
deed, rushed upon each other in the church, and so much
carnage ensued that the sacred edifice was filled with
blood and slaughtered bodies. The emperor, who was
then in the West, was deeply incensed on hearing of this
occurrence; and he blamed Macedonius as the cause of
the indignity offered to his father, and of the slaughter
of the people.
The emperor was then preparing to return to the

CHAP. XXII.] COUNCIL OF SELEUCLA.—A.D. 359. 183
East; he conferred the title of Caesar on his cousin
Julian, and sent him to Gaul.
CHAPTER XXII.
COUNCIL OF SELEUCIA.
ABOUT the same period the Eastern bishops assembled,
to the number of about one hundred and sixty, in Seleu-
cia, a city of Isauria. This was during the consulate of
Eusebius and Hypatius. Leonas, who held one of the
most important offices at the palace, repaired to this
council at the command of Constantius, as likewise
Laurentius, the military governor of the province, to
discharge the duties devolving upon them. At the first
session of this council, several of the bishops were absent,
and among others, Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis;
Macedonius, bishop of Constantinople; and Basil, bishop
of Ancyra. They resorted to divers pretexts in justifi-
cation of their non-attendance. Patrophilus alleged in
excuse, a complaint in the eyes, and Macedonius pleaded
indisposition; but it was suspected they had absented
themselves, from the fear that various accusations would
be brought against them. As the other bishops refused
to enter upon the investigation of disputed points during
their absence, Leonas commanded them to proceed at
once to the examination of the questions that had been
agitated. Then some were of opinion that it was neces-
sary to commence with the discussion of doctrinal topics,
while others maintained that inquiries ought to be first
instituted into the conduct of those among them against
whom accusations had been laid, as had been the case
with Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem; Eustathius, bishop of
Sebaste; and others. The ambiguity of the emperor's
letters, which sometimes prescribed one course, and some-
times another, gave rise to this dispute. The conten-
tion arising from this source became so fierce, that all
union was destroyed between them, and they became
divided into two parties. However, the advice of those
who wished to commence with the examination of doc-
184 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
trine, prevailed. When they proceeded to the investiga-
tion of terms, some desired to reject the use of the term
“substance,” and appealed to the authority of the formu-
lary of faith which had not long previously been com-
piled by Mark at Sirmium, and had been received by the
bishops who were at the court, among whom was Basil,
bishop of Ancyra. Many others were anxious for the
adoption of the formulary of faith drawn up at the con-
secration of the church of Antioch. To the first of
these parties belonged Eudoxius, Acacius, Patrophilus;
George, bishop of Alexandria; Uranius, bishop of Tyre;
and thirty-two other bishops. The latter party was
supported by George, bishop of Laodicea in Syria; by
Eleusius, bishop of Cyzicus; by Sophronius, bishop of
Pompeiopolis in Paphlagonia; and by the majority of
the prelates. It was suspected, and with reason, that
Acacius and his partizans absented themselves on ac-
count of the difference between their sentiments and
those of the aforesaid bishops, and also because they de-
sired to evade the investigation of certain accusations
which had been brought against them: for, although
they had previously acknowledged in writing, to Mace-
donius, bishop of Constantinople, that the Son is in all
respects like unto the Father, and of the same substance,
yet they had had the hardihood to retract this admission.
After prolonged disputations and contention, Silvanus,
bishop of Tarsus, declared in a loud and peremptory
tone, that no other formulary of faith ought to be re-
ceived but that which had been set forth at Antioch. As
this proposition was repugnant to the followers of Aca-
cius, they withdrew, and the other bishops read the for-
mulary of Antioch. The following day these bishops
assembled in the church, closed the doors, and privately
confirmed this formulary. Acacius condemned this pro-
ceeding, and laid the formulary which he advocated
before Leonas and Laurentius. Three days afterwards,
the same bishops re-assembled, and were joined by Mace-
donius and Basil, who had been previously absent.
Acacius and his partizans declared that they would take
no part in the proceedings of the council until those who
CHAP. xxII.] COUNCIL OF SELEUCIA.—A.D. 359. 185
had been deposed and accused had quitted the assembly.
His demand was complied with; for the bishops of the
opposite party were determined that he should have no
pretext for dissolving the council, which was evidently
his object, in order to prevent the examination of the
heresy of Aetius, and of the accusations which had been
brought against himself and his partizans. When all the
members were assembled, Leonas stated that he held a
document which had been handed to him by the partizans
of Acacius: it was their formulary of faith, with intro-
ductory remarks. None of the other bishops knew
anything about it; for Leonas, who was of the same
sentiments as Acacius, had kept the whole matter a
secret. When this document was read, the whole assem-
bly was filled with tumult: for some of the statements it
contained were to the effect that, though the emperor
had prohibited the introduction of any term into the for-
mularies of faith which was not found in the Sacred
Scriptures, yet that bishops who had been deposed, hav-
ing been brought from various provinces to the assembly,
with others who had been illegally ordained, the council
had been thrown into confusion, and that some of the
members had been insulted, and others prevented from
speaking. It was added, that Acacius and his partizans
did not reject the formulary which had been compiled at
Antioch, although those who had assembled in that city
had drawn it up for the express purpose of meeting the
difficulty which had just then arisen; but that, as the
terms “consubstantial” and “ of similar substance” had
grieved some individuals, and that, as it had been recently
asserted that the Son is dissimilar from the Father, it
was necessary, on this account, to reject the terms
“consubstantial” and “ of similar substance,” which do
not occur in Scripture, to condemn the term “dissimilar,”
and to confess clearly that the Son is like unto the
Father; for He is, as St. Paul somewhere says, “the
image of the invisible God.” These prefatory observa-
tions were followed by a formulary, which was neither
conformable with that of Nicaea, nor with that of Antioch,
and which was so artfully worded that the followers of
186 EC CLESIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
Arius and of Aetius could receive it without deviating
from their respective creeds. In this formulary, the
words used by the bishops of the Council of Nicaea, in
condemnation of the Arian doctrine, were omitted, and
the declarations of the Council of Antioch, concerning
the immutability of the divinity of the Son, and concern-
ing His being the perfect image of the substance, the
counsel and the power of the Father, were passed over in
silence, and belief was simply expressed in the Father,
in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost: and after bestowing
some vulgar epithets on a few individuals who had never
entered into any doctrinal contention on one side or the
other, all those who entertained any other opinions than
those set forth in this formulary were declared to be
excommunicated. Such were the contents of the docu-
ment presented by Leonas, and which had been signed by
Acacius, and by those who had adopted his sentiments.
After it had been read, Sophronius, a bishop of Paph-
lagonia, exclaimed, “If we daily receive the opinions
of individuals as canons of the faith, we shall only fail in
arriving at truth.” Acacius having retorted that it was
not forbidden to compile new formularies, as that of
Nicaea had been frequently and greatly altered, Eleusius
replied as follows:– “But the council has not met for
the purpose of learning what is already known, or of
accepting any other formulary than that which was set
forth by the bishops who assembled at Antioch; and,
moreover, we will adhere to this formulary unto death.”
The dispute having taken this turn, they entered upon
another subject, and asked the partizans of Acacius, in
what they considered the Son to be like unto the Father.
They replied that the Son is similar in will, but not in
substance; and the others thereupon insisted that He is
similar in substance, and convicted Acacius, by a work
which he had formerly written, that he had once been of
their opinion. Acacius replied, that he ought not to be
judged from his own writings; and the dispute had conti-
nued for sometime, when Eleusius, bishop of Cyzicus, spoke
as follows:– “It matters little to the council whether Mark
or Basil have transgressed in any way, or whether they
CHAP. XXII.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL. 187
or the adherents of Acacius have any accusation to bring
against each other; neither does the trouble devolve upon
the council of examining whether their formulary be
commendable or otherwise: it is enough to maintain the
formulary which has been already confirmed at Antioch
by ninety-seven priests; and if any one desire to intro-
duce any doctrine which is not contained therein, he
ought to be ejected from the church.” Those who were
of his sentiments applauded his speech; and the assembly
arose and separated. The following day, the partizans
of Acacius and of George refused to attend the council;
and Leonas, who had now openly declared himself to be
of their sentiments, likewise refused, in spite of all en-
treaties, to repair thither. Those who were deputed to
request his attendance found the partizans of Acacius in
his house; and he declined their invitation, under the
plea that too much discord prevailed in the council, and
that he had only been commanded by the emperor to
attend the council in case of unanimity among the mem-
bers. Much time was consumed in this way; and the
partizans of Acacius were frequently solicited by the
other bishops to attend the assemblies; but they some-
times demanded a special conference in the house of Leo-
nas, and sometimes alleged that they had been commis-
sioned by the emperor to judge those who had been
accused; for they would not receive the creed adopted
by the other bishops, nor justify themselves of the crimes
of which they had been accused; neither would they ex-
amine the case of Cyril, whom they had deposed; and
there was no one to compel them to do so. The council,
however, eventually deposed George, bishop of Alexan-
dria; Acacius, bishop of Caesarea; Uranius, bishop of
Tyre; Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis; Eudoxius,
bishop of Antioch; and several other prelates. Many
persons were likewise put out of communion until the
could vindicate themselves of the crimes imputed to them.
The bishops of every church were informed, in writing,
of the transactions of the council. Adrian, a presbyter
of Antioch, was ordained bishop over that church, in
room of Eudoxius; but the partizans of Acacius arrested
188 EC C L E SIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
him, and delivered him over to Leonas and Laurentius.
They committed him into the custody of the soldiers,
but afterwards sent him into exile. e
We have now given a brief account of the termination
of the council of Seleucia. Those who desire more de-
tailed information must seek it in the acts of the coun-
cil, which have been transcribed by notaries.
CHAPTER XXIII.
ACACIUS AND AETIUS; AND HOW THE DEPUTIES OF THE
TWO COUNCILS OF ABIMINUM AND OF SELEUCIA WERE LED
BY- THE EMPEROR TO ACCEPT THE SAME DOCTRINES.
IMMEDIATELY after the above transactions, the ad-
herents of Acacius repaired to the emperor; but the other
bishops returned to their respective homes. The ten
bishops who had been unanimously chosen as deputies to
the emperor met, on their arrival at the court, the ten
deputies of the council of Ariminum, and likewise the
partizans of Acacius. These latter had gained over to
their cause the chief men attached to the palace, and,
through their influence, had secured the favour of the em-
peror. It was reported that some of these proselytes had
espoused the sentiments of Acacius at some previous pe-
riod; that some were bribed by means of the wealth
belonging to the churches; and that others were seduced
by the subtilty of the arguments presented to them, and
yielded to the power which the Acacians had obtained
over their minds. Acacius was, in fact, no common
character: by nature he was gifted with great powers of
intellect and eloquence, and he exhibited no want of skill
or of address in the accomplishment of his schemes. He
was the bishop of a great and illustrious church, and
could boast of having been the disciple, as well as the
successor of Eusebius Pamphilus, in whose literary fame
he participated. Endowed with all these advantages, he
succeeded with ease in whatever he undertook.
As there were, at this period, ten deputies from each
council at Constantinople, besides many other bishops,
CIIAP. XXIII.] FORMULARY OF ARIMINUM.–A.D. 359. 189
who, from various motives, had repaired to the city,
Honoratus, whom the emperor, before his departure from
the East, had constituted chief governor of Constantino-
ple, received directions to examine, in conjunction with
some senators, the reports circulated concerning Aetius
and his heresy. Constantius, with some of the rulers,
eventually undertook the investigation of this case; and
as it was proved that Aetius had introduced dogmas es-
sentially opposed to the faith, the indignation of the
emperor and of the other judges was strongly excited.
It is said that the partizans of Acacius at first feigned
ignorance of this heresy, for the purpose of inducing the
emperor and those around him to take cognizance of it;
for they imagined that the eloquence of Aetius would be
irresistible; that he would infallibly succeed in convincing
his auditory; and that his heresy would be triumphant.
When, however, the result proved the futility of their
expectations, they demanded that the formulary of faith
accepted by the Council of Ariminum should receive the
sanction of the deputies from the Council of Seleucia.
As these latter protested that they would never renounce
the use of the term “substance,” the Acacians declared
to them, upon oath, that they did not hold the Son to
be, in substance, dissimilar from the Father; but that, on
the contrary, they were ready to denounce this opinion
as heresy. They added, that they esteemed the formu-
lary compiled by the Western bishops at Ariminum the
more highly, because the word “substance” had been
unexpectedly expunged from it; because, they said, if
this formulary were to be received, there would be no
further mention, either of the word “substance,” or
of the term “consubstantial,” to which many of the
Western priests were, from their reverence for the Ni-
caean Council, peculiarly attached.
It was for these reasons that the emperor approved of
the formulary; and when he recalled to mind the great
number of bishops who had been convened at Ariminum,
and reflected that there is no error in saying either that
“the Son is like unto the Father,” or “of the same sub-
stance as the Father;” and when he further considered
190 E C C L E SIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK IV.
that no difference in signification would ensue, if, for
terms which do not occur in Scripture, other equivalent
and uncontrovertible expressions were to be substituted
(such, for instance, as the word “similar”), he deter-
mined upon giving his sanction to the formulary. Such
being his own sentiments, he commanded the bishops to
accept the formulary. The next day preparations were
made for the pompous ceremony of proclaiming him
consul, which, according to the Roman custom, took
place in the beginning of the month of January, and the
whole of that day and part of the ensuing night the
emperor spent with the bishops, and at length succeeded
in persuading the deputies of the Council of Seleucia to
receive the formulary of the Council of Ariminum.
CHAPTER XXIV.
FORMULARY OF THE COUNCIL OF ARIMINUM, APPROVED BY
THE ACACIANS. LIST OF THE DEPOSED ARCHBISHOPS, AND
THE CAUSES OF THEIR CONIDEMINATION.
THE partizans of Acacius remained some time at
Constantinople, and invited thither several bishops of
Bithynia, among whom were Maris, bishop of Chalcedon,
and Ulfilas, bishop of the Goths. These prelates having
assembled together, in number about fifty, they con-
firmed the formulary read at the Council of Ariminum,
adding this provision, that the terms “substance” and
“hypostasis” should never again be used in reference to
God. They also declared that all other formularies
set forth in times past, as likewise those that might
be compiled at any future period, should be con-
demned. They then deposed Aetius from his office of
deacon, because he had written works full of contention,
and of a species of vain knowledge opposed to the eccle-
siastical vocation; because—he had used in writing-and-
in disputation several impious expressions; and because
he had been the cause of troubles and seditions in the
church. It was alleged by many that they did not de-
pose him willingly, but merely because they wished to
remove all suspicion from the mind of the emperor that
CHAP. XXIV.] DEPOSITION OF SEVERAL BISHOPs. 191
they favoured his doctrines. Those who held these sen-
timents took advantage of the resentment with which,
for reasons above mentioned, the emperor regarded
Macedonius, and they accordingly deposed him, and
likewise Eleusius, bishop of Cyzicus; Basil, bishop of
Ancyra; Heortasius, bishop of Sardis; and Dracontius,
bishop of Pergamus. Although they differed in opinion
from these prelates, yet they did not assign dissimilarity
of religious sentiment as the cause of their deposition,
but merely stated, in general terms, that they had dis-
turbed the peace and violated the laws of the church. They
specified, in particular, that when the presbyter Diogenes
was travelling from Alexandria to Ancyra, Basil seized
his papers, and struck him; they also deposed that Basil
had unjustly delivered over many of the clergy from
Antioch, from the banks of the Euphrates, and from
Cilicia, Galatia, and Asia, to the rulers of the provinces,
to be exiled and subjected to cruel punishments; so that
many had been loaded with chains, and compelled to
bribe the soldiers who held them in custody not to ill-
use them. They added that, on one occasion, when the
emperor had commanded Aetius and some of his fol-
lowers to be conducted before Cecropius, that they might
answer to him for various accusations laid to their
charge, Basil recommended the person who was en-
trusted with the execution of this edict to act according
to the dictates of his own judgment. They said that he
wrote directions to Hermogenes, the prefect and governor
of Syria, stating who were to be banished, and whither
they were to be sent; and that, when the exiles were
recalled by the emperor, he would not consent to
their return, but opposed himself to the wishes of the
rulers and of the priests. They further deposed that
Basil had excited the clergy of Sirmium against Germa-
nius; and that, although he stated in writing that he had
admitted Germanius, Valens, and Ursacius into commu-
nion, he had placed them as criminals before the tribunal
of the African bishops; and that, when taxed with thisdeed,
he had denied it, and perjured himself; and that, when
he was afterwards convicted, he strove to screen himself


192 ECCLESIASTICAL IIISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
by sophistical reasoning. They added, that he had
been the cause of contention and of seditions in Illyria,
Italy, Africa, and in the Roman church; that he had
thrown a servant into prison to compel her to bear false
witness against her mistress; that he had baptised a man of
loose life, who lived in illicit intercourse with a woman, and
had promoted him to be a deacon; that he had neglected
to excommunicate a man who had occasioned the death of
several persons; and that he and some of the clergy had
bound themselves by oath before the holy altar, not to
bring accusations against each other. This, they said,
was an artifice adopted by the clergy to shield themselves
from the condemnation they deserved. In short, such
were the reasons they specified for the deposition of
Basil. Eustathius, they said, was deposed because, when
a presbyter, he had been condemned, and put away from
the communion of prayers by Eulalius, his own father,
who was bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; and, also, be-
cause he had been excommunicated by a council held at
Neocaesarea, a city of Pontus, and deposed by Eusebius,
bishop of Constantinople, for unfaithfulness in the dis-
charge of certain duties that had devolved upon him.
He had also been deprived of his bishopric by the
Council of Gangres on account of his having believed,
taught, and acted contrary to sound doctrine. He had
been convicted of perjury by the Council of Antioch.
He had likewise endeavoured to reverse the decrees of
the bishops convened at Melitina; and, although he was
guilty of many crimes, had the assurance to aspire to be
judge over the others, and to stigmatize them as heretics.
They deposed Eleusius because he had raised one Herac.
lius, a native of Tyre, to be a deacon; this man had
been a priest of Hercules at Tyre, had been accused of
sorcery, and had retired to Cyzicus and feigned conver-
sion to Christianity; and moreover, Eleusius, after having
been apprised of these circumstances, had not excommu-
nicated him. He had also rashly ordained certain indi-
viduals who had been condemned by Maris, bishop of
Chalcedonia, who was present at this council. Heorta-
sius was deposed because he had been ordained bishop
CHAP. XXIV.] DEPOSITION OF WARIOUS BISHOPs. 193
of Sardis without the sanction of the bishops of Lydia.
They deposed Dracontius, bishop of Pergamus, because
he had previously held another bishopric in Galatia, and
because, they stated, he had on both occasions been un-
lawfully ordained. After these transactions, a second
assembly of the Council was held, and Silvanus, bishop
of Tarsus, Sophronius, bishop of Pompeiopolis in Paph-
lagonia, Elpidus, bishop of Satalis, and Neonas, bishop
of Seleucia in Isauria, were deposed. The reason they
assigned for the deposition of Silvanus was, that he had
constituted himself the leader of a party, and had de-
ceived many in Seleucia and Constantinople : he had,
besides, bestowed the bishopric of Castabalis on Theo-
philus, who had been previously ordained bishop of
Eleutheropolis by the bishops of Palestine, and who had
promised upon oath that he would never accept any
other bishopric without their permission. Sophronius
was deposed on account of his avarice, and on account
of his having sold some of the offerings presented to the
church, for his own profit; besides, after he had received
three commands to appear before the council, he could,
at last, be scarcely induced to make his appearance, and
then, instead of replying to the accusations brought
against him, he appealed to other judges. Neonas was
deposed for having resorted to violence in his endeavours
to procure the ordination in his own church of Annian,
who had been appointed bishop of Antioch, and for
having ordained as bishops certain individuals who had
previously been decemviri, and who were utterly igno-
rant of the Holy Scriptures and of ecclesiastical canons,
and who, after their ordination, preferred the enjoyment
of their property to that of the priestly dignity, and
declared in writing that they would rather take charge
of their own possessions, than devote themselves exclu-
sively to episcopal duties. Elpidus was deposed be-
cause he had participated in the mal-practices of Basil,
and had occasioned great disorders, and because he had,
contrary to the decrees of the Council of Melitina,
restored to his former rank in the presbytery a man
named Eusebius, who had been deposed for having

13
194 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
created Nectaria a deaconess, after she had been excom-
municated on account of perjury; and to confer this
honour upon her was clearly contrary to the laws of the
Church.
CHAPTER XXV.
CAUSES OF THE DEPOSITION OF CYRIL, BISHOP OF JERU-
SALEM. MUTUAL DISSENSIONS AMONG TELE BISEIOPS.
MELETIUS IS ORDAINED BY THE ARIANS, AND SUPPLANTS
EUSTATHIU S IN THE BISEIOPRIC OF SEBASTE.
BESIDEs the prelates above mentioned, Cyril, bishop
of Jerusalem, was deposed, because he had admitted
Eustathius and Elpidus into communion after they had
opposed the decrees enacted by the bishops at Melitina,
among whom was Cyril himself; and because he had
also received Basil, and George, bishop of Laodicea, into
communion after their deposition in Palestine. When
Cyril was first installed in the bishopric of Jerusalem, he
had a dispute with Acacius, bishop of Caesarea, concern-
ing his right to the title of a Metropolitan, which he
claimed on the ground of his bishopric being an aposto-
lical see. This dispute excited feelings of enmity be-
tween the two bishops, and they mutually accused each
other of unsoundness of doctrine concerning the God-
head. In fact, they had both been suspected, the one,
that is, Acacius, of favouring the heresy of Arius, and
the other, of siding with those who maintain that the
Son is in substance like unto the Father. Acacius being
thus inimically disposed towards Cyril, and finding him-
self supported by the bishops of Palestine, who were of
the same sentiments as himself, contrived to depose
Cyril under the following pretext. Jerusalem and the
neighbouring country was at one time visited with a
famine, and the poor appealed in great multitudes to
Cyril, as their bishop, for food. As he had no money to
purchase the requisite provisions, he sold for this purpose
the veil and sacred ornaments of the church. It is said
that a man having recognized an offering which he had
presented at the altar, as forming part of the costume of
CHAP. XXVI.] DEPOSITION OF CYRIL.—A.D. 359. 195
an actress, made it his business to inquire whence it was
procured, and ascertained that a merchant had sold it to
the actress, and that the bishop had sold it to the mer-
chant. It was under this pretext, I understand, that
Acacius deposed Cyril. It is said that the Acacians then
expelled all the bishops who had been deposed from
Constantinople. Ten bishops of their own party, who
had refused to subscribe to these edicts of deposition,
were separated from the others, and were interdicted
from performing the functions of the ministry or ruling
their churches until they consented to give their signa-
tures. It was enacted that unless they complied within
six months, and yielded their assent to all the decrees
of the council, they should be deposed, and that
the bishops of every province should be summoned
to elect other bishops in their stead. Letters were then
sent to all the bishops and clergy, detailing the trans-
actions of the council, and exhorting them to observe
and obey its decrees. Soon afterwards a fresh election
of bishops took place, in the room of those who had been
deposed. Eudoxius took possession of the bishopric of
Macedonius; Athanasius was placed over the church of
Basil; and Eunomius, who was subsequently the leader
of a faction, and the originator of a heresy which bears
his name, was appointed to the bishopric of Sebaste, in-
stead of Meletius.
CHAPTER XXVI.
DEATH OF MACEDONIUS, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
EUDOXIUS AND ACACIUS STRENUOUSLY SEEK THE ABOLI-
TION OF THE FORMULARIES OF FAITH SET FORTH AT
NICAEA AND AT ARIMINUM ; TROUBLES WHICH THENCE
AROSE IN THE CHURCH.
MACEDONIUs, on his expulsion from the church of
Constantinople, retired to one of the suburbs of the city,
where he died. Eudoxius took possession of his church
in the tenth year of the consulate of Constantius, and
the third of Julian, surnamed Caesar. It is related that,
at the consecration of the great church, called “Sophia,”
196 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
when he arose to teach the people, he commenced his
discourse with the following proposition: “The Father
is impious, the Son is pious;” and that, as these words
excited a great commotion among the people, he added,
“Be calm; the Father is impious, because He worships
no one ; the Son is pious, because He worships the
Father.” This explanation excited laughter among the
audience.
Eudoxius and Acacius exerted themselves to the ut-
most in endeavouring to cause the edicts of the Nicene
Council to fall into disuse and oblivion. They sent the
formulary read at Ariminum, with various alterations
and additions of their own, to every province of the
empire, and procured from the emperor an edict for the
banishment of all who should refuse to subscribe to it.
But this undertaking, which appeared to them so easy of
execution, was the source of the greatest calamities, ex-
cited commotions throughout the empire, and entailed
upon the church in every region a persecution more
grievous than those which it had suffered under the Pagan
emperors. For, if this persecution did not occasion such
tortures and punishments to the body as preceding ones,
it appeared more grievous to all who reflected aright, on
account of its disgraceful nature; for both the perse-
cutors and the persecuted belonged to the Church: and
men of the same religion treated their fellows with a
degree of cruelty which the ecclesiastical laws prohibit
to be manifested towards enemies and strangers.
CHAPTE R XXVII.
MACEDONIUS, AFTER HIS REJECTION FROM HIS BISHOPRIC,
BLASPHEMES AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST ; PROPAGATION
OF HIS HERESY THROUGH THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF
MARATHONIUS AND OTHERS.
WHEN the spirit of innovation becomes regarded with
popular favour, it is scarcely possible to arrest its pro-
gress: inflated as it always is with arrogance, it con-
temns the institutions of the Fathers, and enacts laws of
its own. It even despises the theological doctrines of
CHAP. XXVII.] MACEDONIAN HERESY.—A.D. 360. 197
antiquity, and seeks out zealously a new form of religion
of its own devising. After Macedonius had been deposed
from the church of Constantinople, he renounced the
tenets of Acacius and Eudoxius. He began to teach
that the Son is God, and that He is in all respects and
in substance like unto the Father. But he affirmed that
the Holy Ghost is inferior in dignity, and designated
Him a minister and a servant, and applied to Him what-
ever could, without error, be said of the holy angels.
This doctrine was embraced by Eleusius, Eustathius,
and by all the other bishops who had been deposed at
Constantinople by the partizans of the opposite heresy.
Their example was quickly followed by the people of
Constantinople, Thrace, Bithynia, the Hellespont, and
of the neighbouring provinces. For their manners and
mode of life were calculated to produce a great impress-
ion on the multitude. They assumed great gravity of
demeanor and austerity of life, while their style of conver-
sation was pleasing and persuasive. It is said that all
these qualifications were united in Marathonius. He
originally held a public appointment in the army under
the command of the prefects; after amassing some money
in this employment, he undertook the superintendence
of the hospitals for the relief of the sick and the destitute.
Afterwards, at the suggestion of Eustathius, bishop of
Sebaste, he embraced an ascetic mode of life, and founded
a monastical institution in Constantinople which exists
to the present day. He brought so much zeal and
wealth to the support of the aforesaid heresy, that the
Macedonians were by many termed Marathonians, and
it seems to me, not without reason; for it appears that
without the efforts of Marathonius, the heresy would
soon have become extinct. In fact, after the deposi-
tion of Macedonius, the Macedonians possessed neither
churches nor bishops until the reign of Arcadius. The
Arians, who excommunicated and rigorously persecuted
all who held different sentiments from themselves, de-
prived them of all these privileges.
. It would be no easy task to enumerate the names of
the priests who were at this period ejected from their
198 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
cities; for I believe that no province of the empire was
exempted from these depositions.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE ARIANS, UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THE HOLY
MELETIUS UPHELD THEIR SENTIMENTS, TRANSLATE HIM
FROM SEBASTE TO ANTIOCH. ON HIS PREACHING THE
ORTHODOX DOCTRINES, HE IS DEPOSED, AND EIIS
BISHOPRIC TRANSFERRED TO EUZOIUS.
AT the period that Eudoxius obtained the government of
the church of Constantinople, there were many aspirants
to the bishopric of Antioch; and, as is frequently the
case under such circumstances, discord and contention
divided the clergy and the people of that church. Each
party was anxious to commit the government of the
church to a bishop of its own persuasion; for intermin-
able disputes concerning doctrine were rampant among
them, and they could not agree as to the mode of singing
psalms; and, as has been before stated, psalms were sung
by each individual, in conformity with his own peculiar
creed. Such being the state of the church of Antioch,
the partizans of Eudoxius thought that it would be well
to entrust the bishopric of that city to Meletius, then
bishop of Sebaste, he being possessed of great and per-
suasive eloquence, of eminent virtue, and above all, as
they imagined, being firmly attached to their tenets.
They believed that his fame would attract the inhabitants
of Antioch and of the neighbouring cities to conform to
their heresy; particularly the sectarians called Eustathians,
who had invariably adhered to the Nicene doctrines. But
their expectations were utterly frustrated. It is said that,
on his first arrival in Antioch, an immense multitude,
composed of Arians, and of those who were in commu-
nion with Paulinus, flocked around him. Some were
drawn by curiosity, desiring to know whether his merits
were equivalent to the great reputation he enjoyed; others
were anxious to hear what he had to say, and to ascer-
tain the nature of his opinions; for a report had been
spread abroad, which was afterwards proved to be true,
CHAP. XXVIII.] MELETIUS BISHOP OF ANTIOCH. 199
that he maintained the doctrines of the Council of Nicaea.
In his first discourses, he confined himself to instruct-
ing the people in what we call ethics; afterwards, however,
he openly declared that the Son is of the same substance
as the Father. It is said that, at these words, the arch-
deacon of the church stretched out his hand, and covered
the mouth of the preacher, but that he continued to ex-
plain his sentiments more clearly by means of his fingers
than he could by language. . He extended three fingers
towards the people, closed them, and then allowed only
one finger to remain extended, and thus expressed by
signs what he was prevented from uttering. As the
archdeacon freed his mouth, in order to seize his hand,
he unfolded his doctrine with still greater perspicuity than
before, and exhorted his auditors to adhere to the tenets
of the Council of Nicaea, assuring them that they would
deviate from the truth if they followed any other doc-
trines. As he persisted in the enunciation of the same
sentiments, either by word of mouth, or by means of
signs when the archdeacon closed his mouth, the followers
of Eustathius testified their joy by loud acclamations,
while the Arians gave evident proofs of dissatisfaction.
Eudoxius and his partizans were transported with indig-
nation at this discourse, and contrived by their machina-
tions to expel Meletius from Antioch. Soon afterwards,
however, they recalled him; for they fancied that he had
renounced his former sentiments, and had espoused theirs.
As, however, it soon became apparent that his devotion
to the Nicene doctrines was firm and unalterable, he was
ejected from the church, and banished by order of the
emperor, and his bishopric was conferred on Euzoius,
who had formerly been banished with Arius. The fol-
lowers of Meletius separated themselves from the Arians,
and held their assemblies apart; for those who had, from
the beginning, maintained that the Son is consubstantial
with the Father, refused to admit them into communion,
because Meletius had been ordained by Arian bishops,
and becausehis followers had been baptized by Arian priests.
For these reasons, although united by the reception of one
creed, they did not hold communion together.
200 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IV.
The emperor, having been informed that an insurrec-
tion was about to arise in Persia, repaired to Antioch.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE PARTIZANS OF ACACIUS EXCITE FRESH COMMOTIONS,
STRIVE TO ABOLISH THE TERM “CONSUBSTANTIAL,” AND
FAVOUR THE EIERESY OF ARIUS.
THE partizans of Acacius were not able to remain in
tranquillity; and they therefore assembled in Antioch,
and condemned the decrees which they had themselves
enacted. They erased the term “similar” from the for-
mulary which had been read at Ariminum and at Con-
stantinople, and affirmed that, in all respects, in substance
and in will, the Son is dissimilar from the Father, and
that he proceeded from what had no previous existence,
even as Arius had taught from the commencement. The
were joined by the partizans of Aetius, who had been the
first after Arius to venture upon the profession of these
opinions, and who had hence obtained the name of
atheists: the disciples of Arius were sometimes called
Anomians and Exucontians. When those who main-
tained the Nicene doctrines demanded of the Acacians
how they could say that the Son is dissimilar from the
Father, and that He proceeded out of nothing, when it
was affirmed in their own formulary that he is “God of
God,” they replied that the apostle Paul had declared
that “All things are of God,” and that the Son is in-
cluded in the term “all things;” and that it was in this
sense, and in accordance with the sacred Scriptures, that
the expressions in their formulary were to be understood.
Such were the equivocations and sophistry to which they
had recourse. At length, finding that they could ad-
vance no efficient argument to justify themselves in the
opinion of those who pressed them on this point, they
withdrew from the assembly, after the formulary of Con-
stantinople had been read a second time, and returned to
their own cities.
CHAP. xxx..] TYRANNY OF GEORGE.-A.D. 361. 201
CHAPTER XXX.
GEORGE BISHOP OF ANTIOCH, AND THE BISHOP OF JERU-
SALEM. AFTER THE DEPOSITION OF CYRIL, THREE
PISHOPS SUCCESSIVELY SUCCEED TO HIS BISHOPEIC :
RESTORATION OF CYFIL TO THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM.
DURING this period, Athanasius was obliged to remain
in concealment, and George returned to Alexandria, and
commenced a cruel persecution against the Pagans, and
against the Christians who differed from him in opinion.
He compelled both parties to offer worship in the mode
he indicated, and where opposition was made he enforced
obedience by compulsion. He was hated by the rulers
on account of his assumption and arrogance; and the
multitude detested him on account of his tyranny and
power. The Pagans regarded him with even greater
aversion than the Christians, because he prohibited them
from offering sacrifices, and from celebrating their an-
cient festivals, and because he had, on One occasion, in-
troduced the governor of Egypt and armed soldiery into
the city, and despoiled their temples. This was, in fact,
as we shall hereafter see, the cause of his death.
On the deposition of Cyril, Herennius obtained the
bishopric of Jerusalem; he was succeeded by Heraclius,
and to Heraclius succeeded Hilarius; but on the acces-
sion of the Emperor Theodosius, Cyril was again installed
in his bishopric. *
END OF BOOK IV.
202 ECCI, ESIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK V.
BOOK W. —CHAPTER I.
APOSTASY OF JULIAN, DEATH of THE EMPEROR constanTrus.
WE have now described the transactions which took
place in the Eastern churches. About the period we
have been passing under review, Julian attacked and
conquered the barbarians who dwelt on the banks of the
Nile; many fell in battle; and the others he took prison-
ers. As this victory added greatly to his fame, and as his
moderation and gentleness had endeared him to the troops,
they proclaimed him emperor. Far from seeking to ob-
tain the consent of Constantius to this nomination, he
displaced the officers by whom he had been elected, and
industriously circulated letters wherein Constantius had
solicited the barbarians to enter the Roman territories,
and aid him against Magnentius. He then suddenly
changed his religion; and, although he had previously pro-
fessed Christianity, he declared himself high priest, fre-
quented the Pagan temples, offered sacrifices, and invited
his subjects to adopt his own form of worship. . As an in-
vasion by the Persians was expected, and as Constantius
had on this account repaired to Syria, Julian conceived
that he might easily render himself master of Illyria; he
therefore set out on his journey to this province, under
pretence that he intended to present an apology to Con-
stantius for having, without his sanction, received the
symbols of imperial power. It is said, that when he ar-
rived on the borders of Illyria, he found the vines loaded
with green grapes, although the time of the vintage was
past, and the Pleiades had sunk to the West; and that
there fell upon him and his followers a kind of dew, of
which each drop bore the sign of the cross. He and
those with him regarded the grapes as a favourable
omen, and attributed the phenomenon of the dew to
chance. Others thought that the green grapes signified
that Julian would die prematurely after a very short
CHAP. I.] ACCESSION OF JULIAN.—A.D. 361. 203
reign, and that the crosses formed by the drops of dew
indicated that the Christian religion is from heaven, and
that all persons, whoever they may be, ought to receive
the sign of the cross. I am, for my own part, convinced
that those who regarded these two phenomena as unfa-
vourable Omens for Julian, were not mistaken; and
events proved the accuracy of their opinion.
When Constantius heard that Julian was marchin
against him at the head of an army, he abandoned his in-
tended expedition against the Persians, and departed for
Constantinople; but he died on the journey, when he had
arrived as far as Mopsucrenes, which lies near Taurus,
between Cilicia and Cappadocia. He died in the forty-
fifth year.of his age, after reigning thirteen years conjointly
with Constantine his father, and twenty-five years after
the death of that emperor.
Immediately on the decease of Constantius, Julian,
who had already made himself master of Thrace, entered
Constantinople, and was proclaimed emperor. Pagans
assert that diviners and demons had predicted the death
of Constantius, and his consequent elevation before his
departure for Gaul, and had advised him to undertake
the expedition. This might have been regarded as a
true prediction, had not the life of Julian been termi-
nated so shortly afterwards, and when he had only en-
joyed the imperial power as in a dream. But it appears
to me absurd to believe that, after he had heard the
death of Constantius predicted and had been warned that
it would be his own fate to fall in battle by the hands of
the Persians, he should have marched voluntarily to
meet his own death—particularly as no advantage could
accrue to him, and as his name would only be handed
down to posterity as that of an inexperienced emperor,
utterly unacquainted with the art of war—and who, had
he lived, would probably have suffered the greater part
of the Roman territories to fall under the Persian yoke.
This observation, however, is only inserted lest I should
be blamed for omitting it. I leave every one to form his
own opinion on the subject. -
204 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK v.
CHAPTE R II.
EDUCATION AND LIFE OF JULIAN, AND HIS ACCESSION TO
THE EMPIRE.
IMMEDIATELY after the death of Constantius, the dread
of a persecution arose in the church, and Christians suf-
fered more anguish from the anticipation of this calamity
than they would have experienced from its actual occur-
rence. This state of feeling proceeded from the long
peace they had enjoyed, from the remembrance of the
cruelties which had been exercised by the tyrants upon
their fathers, and from their knowledge of the hatred
with which Julian regarded their doctrines. It is said
that he renounced the faith of Christ with the utmost
profanity, and had recourse to sacrifices and sanguinary
expiations to efface his baptism, and wipe away from
himself the sacrament of the church. From that period
he employed himself in auguries, and in the celebration
of the Pagan rites, both publicly and privately. It is
related, that one day, as he was inspecting the entrails of
a victim, he beheld among them a cross encompassed
with a crown. This appearance terrified those who
were assisting in the ceremony; for they judged that it
indicated the triumph of religion, and the eternal dura-
tion of the doctrines of Christianity; they considered
that the crown is in itself the symbol of victory, and that,
as it encircled the cross, and returned as it were into
itself without beginning or end, it typified eternity.
The chief augur, however, tried to re-assure the emperor,
by insisting that no unfavourable omens were indicated
by the appearance of the entrails; but that, on the con-
trary, it might be thence inferred that the Christian
sect would be confined within very narrow limits, beyond
which all extension would be impossible. I have also
heard, that one day Julian descended into a noted and
terrific cavern, either for the purpose of participating in
some ceremony, or of consulting an Oracle, and that, by
means of machinery, or of enchantment, such frightful
spectres appeared before him, that, losing all reflection
CHAP. II.] BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF JULIAN. 205
and presence of mind, he thoughtlessly made the sign
of the cross, according to the custom of Christians in
time of danger. Immediately the spectres disappeared,
and the ceremony was arrested. The officiating priest
was at first surprised at the disappearance of thespectres,
but when apprised of the cause, he declared that it was
a profanation, and after exhorting the emperor not to
fear, or to have recourse to anything connected with the
Christian religion, he re-commenced the ceremony.
The extravagant attachment which Julian evinced
towards the Pagan rites was extremely displeasing to
the Christians, moreespecially on account offiis having been
himself formerly a Christian. He was born of pious parents,
had been baptised in infancy according to the custom of
the church, and had been brought up in the knowledge
of the Holy Scriptures under the guidance of priests and
bishops. He and Gallus were the sons of Constantius,
the brother of Constantine the emperor, and of Dalma-
tius. Dalmatius had a son of the same name, who was
declared Caesar, and was slain by the soldiery after the
death of Constantius. His fate would have been shared
by Gallus and Julian, who were then orphans, had not
Gallus been spared on account of a disease under which
he was labouring, and which appeared to be hopeless;
and Julian, on account of his extreme youth, for he was
but eight years of age. After this wonderful preserva-
tion, a residence was assigned to the two brothers in a
palace called Macella, situated in Cappadocia, near Mount
Argeus, and not far from Caesarea; it was a magnificent
edifice, and adorned with gardens, baths, and fountains.
Here they were educated in a manner corresponding to
the dignity of their birth; they were taught the sciences
and bodily exercises befitting their age, and had masters
to instruct them in sacred and in profane literature.
Such was their progress, that they were enrolled among
the clergy, and permitted to read the ecclesiastical books
to the people. Their habits and mode of life indicated
no dereliction from piety. They respected the clergy
and other good and zealous persons, they repaired regu-
larly to church, and rendered due homage to the tombs
206 EC CLESIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK V.
of the martyrs. It is said that they undertook to deposit
the tomb of St. Mammas the martyr in a large edifice,
and to perform all the labour themselves, and that while
they were, in emulation of the martyr, labouring to sur-
pass him in piety, an event occurred which was so as-
tonishing that it would indeed be utterly incredible,
were it not for the testimony of many who are still
among us, and who were eye-witnesses of the transaction.
The part of the edifice upon which Gallus laboured ad-
vanced rapidly, as might have been expected, towards
completion; but the portion upon which Julian laboured
fell into ruin; in one part the stones were detached from
the foundations, and in another the foundations them-
selves were forced from the earth, as if ejected by some
secret power. This was universally regarded as a pro-
digy. The people, however, drew no conclusion from it
till subsequent events had manifested its import. There
were a few who, from that moment, doubted the reality
of Julian's religion, and suspected that he only made an
outward profession of religion for fear of displeasing the
emperor, and that he concealed his own sentiments be-
cause it was not safe to divulge them. It is asserted
that he was first led to renounce the religion of his
fathers by his intimacy and intercourse with diviners;
for when the resentment of Constantius against the two
brothers was abated, Gallus went to Asia, and took up
his residence in Ephesus, where the greater part of his
property was situated, and Julian repaired to Constan-
tinople, and frequented the schools, where his natural
abilities and great acquirements did not remain concealed.
He appeared in public in the garb of a private indi-
vidual, and was sociable and easy of access: but because
he was related to the emperor, and was capable of hold-
ing the reins of empire, and because many expected him to
succeed to the imperial dignity, and publicly expressed
their wishes to this effect, he was commanded to leave
this populous city, and retire to Nicomedia. Here he
became acquainted with Maximus, an Ephesian philoso-
pher, who instructed him in philosophy, and inspired
him with hatred towards the Christian religion; and
CHAP. II.] DEATH OF GALLUS.—A.D. 354. 207
moreover, assured him that he would one day attain to
empire, whither his own hopes and the wishes of the peo-
ple already tended. Julian was gratified and cheered,
in the midst of his adverse circumstances, by this an-
nouncement, and contracted an intimate friendship with
Maximus. As these occurrences reached the ears of
Constantius, Julian became apprehensive of receiving ill-
treatment, and accordingly shaved himself, and adopted
externally the monkish mode of life, while he secretly
abandoned himself toPagan superstitions. When he arrived
at the age of manhood, his infatuation for Paganism in-
creased; and admiring the art (if there be such an art) of
predicting the future, he endeavoured to make himself ac-
Quainted with it, and in his researches had recourse to
experiments from which Christians are prohibited.
From this period, he manifested great regard towards
those who held Pagan sentiments; and after his arrival
in Egypt he addicted himself with incredible ardour to
superstitious observances.
When Gallus, his brother, who had been surnamed
Caesar, was put to death on account of certain innova-
tions which he designed to introduce into the empire,
Julian incurred the suspicion of Constantius, who
imagined that he was aiming at the possession of imperial
power, and therefore put him under the custody of
guards. Eusebia, the wife of Constantius, obtained for
him permission to retire to Athens, and he accordingly
repaired thither, and under pretence of receiving instruc-
tion from the philosophers, he consulted diviners con-
cerning his future prospects. Constantius recalled him
shortly afterwards, proclaimed him Caesar, promised
him his sister Constantia in marriage, and sent him to
Gaul, where the barbarians, whose aid had been implored
by Constantius against Magnentius, finding that their
services were not required, had fixed their residence.
As Julian was very young, generals, in whom the chief
responsibility was vested, were sent with him; but as
these generals abandoned themselves to indolence and
inaction, Julian assumed the entire conduct of the expe-
dition, used every means to animate the courage of his
208 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK V.
soldiers, and encouraged them more especially by pro-
mising a reward to all who should slay a barbarian.
After he had thus secured the affections of the soldiery,
he wrote to Constantius, acquainting him with the mis-
conduct of the generals; and when, at his request, other
generals were sent to take their place, he attacked the
barbarians, and obtained the victory. They sent to beg
for peace, and showed the letter in which Constantius
had requested them to enter the Roman dominions; but
instead of dismissing the ambassador, Julian detained
him, and, seizing a favourable opportunity for giving
battle, he gained another victory.
Some have imagined that Constantius sent Julian on
this expedition for the express purpose of exposing him
to danger; but this does not appear probable to me.
For, as it rested with Constantius alone to nominate him
Caesar, why did he confer that title upon him, if he in-
tended to take his life? or, why did he promise him his
sister in marriage, or receive his complaints against the
inefficiency of his generals, and send others to displace
them? No doubt he was actuated by feelings of regard
towards Julian, and by the desire that he should be
successful in his expedition. It seems to me that he
conferred on him the title of Caesar from motives of
attachment; but that, after Julian had, without his sanc-
tion, been proclaimed emperor, he was not averse to
exposing him to the perils of the war against the barba-
rians who had possessed themselves of the banks of the
Rhine; and this, I think, resulted from the dread that
Julian would seek revenge for the ill-treatment he and
his brother Gallus had experienced during their youth,
as well as from the apprehension that he would aspire
to participation in the government of the empire. But
many various opinions are entertained on this subject.
CHAP. III.] PAGANISM RESTORED BY JULIAN, 209
CHAP TER III.
JULIAN, ON HIS ACCESSION TO THE THRONE, SOUGHT TO SUP-
PRESS CHIRISTIANITY, AND TO PROMOTE PAGANISM.
WHEN Julian found himself sole possessor of the
empire, he commanded that all the Pagan temples should
be re-opened throughout the East, that those which had
been neglected should be repaired, that those which had
fallen into ruins should be rebuilt, and that the altars
should be restored. He assigned money for this pur-
pose; he restored the customs of antiquity, and the prac-
tice of offering sacrifice. He himself offered libations
and sacrifices in the temples, bestowed honours on those
who were zealous in the performance of these ceremonies,
re-established the priests and ministers of idols in the
enjoyment of their former privileges, and exempted them
from the payment of public taxes; he revived the pen-
sions formerly granted to those who guarded the temples,
and commanded them to abstain from certain meats, and
from whatever the Pagans represented as inimical to
purity. He also commanded that the admeasurements
of the Nile and the symbols should be conveyed accord-
ing to ancient usage to the temple of Serapis, instead of
being deposited, according to the regulations established
by Constantine, in the church. He wrote frequently to
the inhabitants of those cities in which the observance of
Pagan rites was retained, and urged them to proffer any
request that they might desire. Towards the Christians,
on the contrary, he openly manifested his aversion,
refusing to honour them with his presence, to give
audience to their deputies, or to listen to their com-
plaints. When the inhabitants of Nisibis sent to im-
plore his aid against the Persians, who were on the point
of invading the Roman territories, he refused to assist
them because they would neither re-open their temples
nor resort to the priests; he would not receive their
embassy, and threatened that he would never visit their
city until they returned to Paganism. He likewise
accused the inhabitants of Constantius in Palestine of
14
210 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK V.
attachment to Christianity, and rendered their city tri-
butary to that of Gaza. Constantius was formerly called
Majuma, and was used as a harbour for the vessels of
Gaza; but, on hearing that the majority of its inhabitants
were Christians, Constantine conferred on it the name
of his own son, and a separate form of government; for
he considered that it ought not to be dependant on Gaza,
a city addicted to Pagan rites. On the accession of
Julian, the citizens of Gaza went to law against those of
Constantius. The emperor decided in favour of Gaza,
and commanded that Constantius should be an ap-
pendage to that city, although it was situated at a dis-
tance of twenty stadia. It has since been denominated
the maritime region of Gaza. The two cities have now
merged into one, under the same magistrates, chiefs, and
public regulations. With respect to ecclesiastical con-
cerns, however, they may still be regarded as two cities.
They have each their own bishop and their own clergy;
they celebrate festivals in honour of their respective
martyrs, and in memory of the priests who successively
ruled them; and the boundaries by which the jurisdic-
tion of the bishops are divided are still preserved. It
happened within our own remembrance that an attempt
was made by the bishop of Gaza, on the death of the
bishop of Majuma, to unite the clergy of that town with
those under his own jurisdiction, and the plea he ad-
vanced was, that two bishops were not required to rule
over one city. The inhabitants of Majuma opposed this
scheme, and the council of the province took cognizance
of the dispute, and ordained another bishop. The coun-
cil proceeded upon the assumption that it would be
unjust to set aside the ecclesiastical privileges of a city
which had been deprived of its civil rights by the edict
of a Pagan emperor, merely on account of its adherence
to the laws of the church. But these events occurred
at a later period than that now under review.
CHAP. IV.] PERSECUTION By JULIAN.—A.D. 361. 211
( H_A PTE R IV.
JULIAN PERSECUTES THE INHABITANTS OF CAESAREA, BOLI)
FIDELITY OF MARIS, BISHOP OF CHALCEDON.
ABOUT the same time, the emperor erased Caesarea,
the large and wealthy metropolis of Cappadocia, situated
near Mount Argeus, from the catalogue of cities, and
even deprived it of the name of Caesarea, which had been
conferred upon it during the reign of Claudius Caesar,
its former name having been Mazaca. He had long re-
garded the inhabitants of this city with extreme aver-
sion, because they were zealously attached to Christianity,
and had formerly destroyed the temple of Apollo and
that of Jupiter, the tutelar deity of the city. The temple
dedicated to Fortune, the only one remaining in the city,
was destroyed after his accession; and on hearing of the
deed, his anger against the Christians exceeded all
bounds. He also blamed the Pagans, who were few in
number, but who ought, he said, to have hastened to the
temple, and to have risked every thing in its defence.
He caused all property belonging to the churches of the
city and suburbs of Caesarea to be rigorously sought
and carried away: about three hundred pounds of gold,
obtained from this source, were conveyed to the public
treasury. He also commanded that all the clergy should
be enrolled among the troops under the governor of the
province, which is accounted the most arduous and least
honourable service among the Romans. He ordered the
Christian populace to be numbered, women and children
inclusive, and imposed taxes upon them as onerous as
those to which villages are subjected. He further
threatened that, unless their temples were speedily re-
erected, his wrath would not be appeased, but would be
visited on the city, until none of the Galileans remained
in existence, for this was the name which, in derision,
he gave to the Christians. There is no doubt but that
his menaces would have been fully executed, had not
death intervened. It was not from any feeling of com-
passion towards the Christians that he treated them at
212 E C C L E S I A STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK V.
first with greater humanity than had been evinced by
former persecutors, but because he had discovered that
the Pagans had derived no advantage from their cruelty,
while Christianity had been honoured by the fortitude
of those who died in defence of the faith. It was simply
from envy of their glory that, instead of employing fire
and the sword against them like former persecutors, and
instead of casting them into the sea, or burying them
alive, in order to compel them to renounce their senti-
ments, he had recourse to argument and persuasion, and
sought by these means to seduce them to Paganism; and
he expected to gain his ends more easily by abandoming
all violent measures, and by the manifestation of unex-
pected benevolence. It is said that, on one occasion,
when he was sacrificing in the temple of Fortune at
Constantinople, Maris, bishop of Chalcedon, presented
himself before him, and publicly rebuked him as an
irreligious man, an atheist, and an apostate. Julian had
nothing in return to reproach him with except his blind-
ness, for his sight was impaired by old age, and he was
led by a child. According to his usual custom of utter-
ing blasphemies against Christ, Julian afterwards added,
in derision, “The Galilean, thy God, will not cure thee.”
Maris replied, “I thank God for my blindness, since it
prevents me from beholding one who has apostatized
from religion.” Julian passed on without giving a reply;
for he considered that Paganism would be advanced by
the exhibition of greater lenity and mildness towards
Christians than could in ordinary circumstances be
expected.
CHA PTE R. W.
JULIAN RESTORES LIBERTY TO THE CHRISTIANS, IN ORDER
TO EXCITE FURTHER TROUBLES IN THE CHURCH. HIS
E WIL TREATMENT OF CHRISTIANS.
IT was from these motives that Julian recalled from
exile all Christians who, during the reign of Constantius,
had been banished on account of their religious senti-
ments, and restored to them their property that had
CHAP. v.] ENMITY OF JULIAN AGAINST CHRISTIANITY. 213
been confiscated. He charged the people not to commit
any act of injustice against the Christians, not to insult
them, and not to constrain them to offer sacrifice. He
commanded that, if they should, of their own accord,
desire to draw near the altars, they were first to appease
the wrath of the demons whom the Pagans regard as
capable of averting evil, and to purify themselves by
the customary course of expiations. He deprived the
clergy of the immunities, honours, and revenues which
Constantine had conferred; repealed the laws which had
been enacted in their favour, and re-enforced their civil
liabilities. He even compelled the virgins and widows,
who, on account of their poverty, were reckoned among
the clergy, to refund the provision which had been as-
signed them from public sources. For, when Constantine
adjusted the temporal concerns of the church, he devoted
a portion of the taxes raised upon every city to the sup-
port of the clergy; and, to ensure the stability of this
arrangement, he enacted a law which has continued in
force from the death of Julian to the present day. These
exactions were very cruel and rigorous, as appears by
the receipts given by the receivers of the money to those
from whom it had been extorted, and which were de-
signed to show that the property received in accordance
with the law of Constantine had been refunded. No-
thing, however, could diminish the enmity of the em-
peror against religion. In his hatred against the faith,
he seized every opportunity to ruin the church. He
deprived it of its property, ornaments, and sacred ves-
sels, and condemned those who had demolished temples
during the reign of Constantine and Constantius, to re-
build them, or to defray the expenses of their re-erection.
Many of the bishops, clergy, and other Christians, were
cruelly tortured and cast into prison on this account.
It may be concluded from what has been said, that if
Julian shed less blood than preceding persecutors, and
that if he devised fewer punishments for the torture of
the body, yet that he was equally averse to the church,
and equally intent upon injuring it. He certainly re-
called the priests who had been banished by Constantius,
214 E C C L E S IASTIC A. L H IS TO R.Y. [BOOK V.
but he was actuated by the desire of introducing division
into the church, and of increasing the existing disputes.
He also contemplated the condemnation of Constantius,
whose memory he thought to render odious to all his
subjects by favouring the Pagans who were of the same
sentiments as himself, and by showing compassion to
those Christians who had been unjustly persecuted
during the preceding reign. He expelled the eunuchs
from the court, because the late emperor had been well-
affected towards them. He condemned Eusebius, the
governor of the palace, to death, from a suspicion he
entertained that it was at his suggestion that Gallus his
brother had been slain. He recalled Aetius from the
region whither Constantius had banished him on account
of suspicions which had been excited against him by the
friendship formerly existing between him and Gallus;
and to him Julian sent letters full of benignity, and
furnished him with public conveyances to expedite his
return. For a similar reason he condemned Eleusius,
bishop of Cyzicus, under heavy penalties, to rebuild,
within two months, and at his own expense, a church
belonging to the Novatians which he had destroyed.
Many other things might be mentioned which he did
himself, or which, from hatred to his predecessor, he
permitted to be done.
O HAPT E R VI.
ATIHANASIUS, AFTER HAVING BEEN SEVEN YEARS CONCEALED
IN THE HOUSE OF A HOLY VIRGIN, RE-APPEARS IN PUBLIC,
AND ENTERS THE CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA.
AT this period, Athanasius, who had long remained in
concealment, having heard of the death of Constantius,
appeared by night in the church at Alexandria. His
unexpected appearance excited the greatest astonish-
ment. He had escaped falling into the hands of the
governor of Egypt, who, at the command of the em-
peror, and at the request of the friends of George, had
formed plans to arrest him, and had concealed himself
in the house of a holy virgin, in Alexandria. It is said
CHAP. VII.] RETURN OF ATHANASIUs To HIs CHURCH. 215
that she was endowed with such extraordinary beauty,
that those who beheld her regarded her as a phenomenon
of nature, and that men of gravity and reflection kept
aloof from her, for fear of giving rise to slander, or of
exciting disadvantageous reports. She possessed in
the flower of youth such modesty and such wisdom as
would have conferred beauty on an individual who
had not received that gift from nature. For it is
not true, as some assert, that, “as is the body, so is the
soul.” On the contrary, the body is the index of the
mind, and by it our thoughts and affections are re-
flected and indicated. This is a truth admitted by all
who have accurately investigated the subject. It is
related that Athanasius sought refuge in the house of
this holy virgin by the revelation of God, who designed
to save him in this manner. When I reflect on the
result which ensued, I cannot doubt but that all the
events were directed by Providence. The friends and
relatives of Athanasius would thus have been preserved
from danger had search been made for him among them,
and had they been compelled to swear that he was not
concealed with them. There was nothing to excite
suspicion of a bishop being concealed in the house of so
lovely a virgin. However, she had the courage to re-
ceive him, and sufficient prudence to preserve his life.
She alone ministered to him and supplied him with
what nature requires. She washed his feet, brought
him food, provided him with the books he wanted, and
acted so prudently that during the whole time of his
residence with her, none of the inhabitants of Alexandria
suspected the place of his retreat.
O H.A. PTER VII.
VIOLENT DEATH OF GEORGE, THE RESULT OF CERTAIN
OCCURRENCES IN THE TEMPLE OF MITHRA. LETTER OF
JULIAN ON THE SUBJECT.
AFTER Athanasius had escaped all danger, and thus
presented himself suddenly in the church, no one knew
whence he came. The people of Alexandria, however,
216 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [Book v.
rejoiced at his return, and restored his churches to him.
The Arians, being thus expelled from the churches, were
compelled to hold their assemblies in private houses,
under the guidance of Lucius, who had succeeded George
as their bishop. George had been slain a short time
previously: for when the magistrates had announced to
the public the decease of Constantius, and the accession
of Julian, the Pagans of Alexandria rose up in sedition.
They attacked George with such violence that it was ex-
pected he would have been torn to pieces; but they
merely, for the time being, committed him to prison.
The following day, however, they repaired early in the
morning to the prison, killed him, flung the corpse upon
a camel, and after exposing it to every insult during the
day, burnt it at nightfall. I am not ignorant that the
Arians assert that George received this cruel treatment
from the followers of Athanasius; but it seems to me
more probable that the perpetrators of these deeds were
the Pagans; for they had more cause than any other body
of men to hate him, on account of his having destroyed
their temples and their gods, and having, moreover, pro-
hibited them from sacrificing, or performing the other
rites of their religion according to the custom of their
fathers. Besides, the extraordinary influence he had ac-
quired over the emperor rendered him an object of popu-
lar odium; for the people, who generally look with
suspicion on those in power, regarded him with uncon-
trollable aversion. A calamity had also taken place at a
spot called Mithra. It was originally a desert, and
Constantius had bestowed it on the church of Alexandria.
George having given orders to clear the ground, in order
to erect a house of prayer, an adytum was discovered
during the process of digging. In it were idols, and in-
struments formerly used in Pagan ceremonies, which
were of a very strange and ludicrous appearance. The
Christians caused them to be publicly exhibited, in order
to humiliate the Pagans; but this affront was more than
the Pagans could bear, and they rushed to attack the
Christians, after arming themselves with swords, stones,
and whatever weapon came first to hand. They slew
CHAP. VIII.] MURDER OF GEORGE.-A.D. 361. 217
many of the Christians, and, in derision of their religion,
crucified others. This led to the abandonment of the
work that had been commenced by the Christians, and to
the murder of George by the Pagans, as soon as they had
heard of the accession of Julian. This fact is admitted
by Julian himself, which would not have been the case
had it not been fully established; for he would rather
have thrown the blame of the murder on the Christians
than on the Pagans. He expressed great indignation, in
a letter which he wrote on the subject to the inhabitants
of Alexandria, and threatened to take vengeance on
them: but he forgave them out of consideration to
Serapis, their tutelary divinity, to Alexander their
founder, and to Julian his uncle, formerly governor of
Egypt and of the Alexandrians. This latter was so
bigoted to Paganism, and so prejudiced against Christi-
anity, that contrary to the wishes of the emperors, he
persecuted the Christians unto death.
CHAPTE R VIII.
CONCERNING THEODORE, THE KEEPER OF THE SACRED
VASES OF ANTIOCH. HOW JULIAN, THE UNCLE OF THE
EMPEROR, HAVING VIOLATED THE SACRED WASES, FALLs
A PREY TO WORMS AND CORRUPTION.
JULIAN, the uncle of the emperor, having determined
upon removing the treasures and most precious orna-
ments of the church of Antioch to the imperial treasury,
closed the places of prayer; for all the clergy had fled.
One presbyter, by name Theodore, alone remained in the
city; and it was to him that the charge of these orna-
ments and treasures had been confided. Julian, the
governor of Egypt, commanded him to be slain after he
had subjected him to the most cruel tortures, in the vain
endeavour to make him reply to his questions, and re-
frain from the confession of his faith. Julian then pro-
ceeded to the sacrilege of the sacred vases, which he
flung upon the ground and sat upon, at the same time
uttering incredible blasphemies against Christ; but his
impious course was suddenly arrested; for certain parts
of his body were turned into corruption, and generated
218 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L H IS TO R. Y. [BOOK V.
enormous quantities of worms. The physicians con-
fessed that the disease was beyond the reach of their art,
but from fear and reverence towards the emperor, they
tried all the resources of medicine. They procured the
most costly and the fattest birds, and applied them to the
corrupted part, in hope that the worms might be thereby
attracted to the surface; but this was of no effect; for,
in proportion as some of the worms were thus drawn out,
others were generated in the flesh, by which he was
ceaselessly devoured until they put an end to his life.
Many believed that this disease was an infliction of divine
wrath, visited upon him in consequence of his impiety;
and this supposition appears the more probable from the
fact, that the treasurer of the emperor, and other of the
chief officers of the court who had persecuted the church,
died in an extraordinary and dreadful manner, as if
divine wrath had been visited upon them.
CHAPTE R. IX.
MARTYRDOM OF THE SAINTS, EUSEBIUS, NESTABIS, AND
ZENO, IN THE CITY OF GAZA.
As I have advanced thus far in my history, and have
given an account of the death of George and of Theodore,
I deem it right to relate some particulars concerning the
death of the three brethren, Eusebius, Nestabis, and
Zeno. The inhabitants of Gaza, being inflamed with
rage against them, dragged them from their house, in
which they had concealed themselves, and cast them into
prison, after having beaten them with unexampled
cruelty. They then assembled in the theatre, and cried
out loudly against them, declaring that they had com-
mitted sacrilege in their temple, and had used the power
with which they were formerly invested to the injury
and destruction of Paganism. By these declamations
the general excitement was increased to such a pitch that
they ran to the prison, and with unparalleled fury drew
forth their victims, and dashed them on the ground;
and in this position, sometimes with the face, and some-
times with the back upon the ground, the victims were
CHAP. IX.] MARTYRDOMS AT GAZA.—A.D. 361. 219
dragged through the streets of the city, and were after-
wards stoned and beaten. I have been told that even
women quitted their work to add to their sufferings by
personal inflictions, and that the cooks left their employ-
ment to pour boiling water on them, and to wound them
with their culinary utensils. When the martyrs had
been literally torn to pieces, and their brains scattered
on the ground, their bodies were dragged out of the city,
and flung on the spot generally used as a receptacle for
the bodies of beasts; then a large fire was lighted, and
their bones mixed with those of asses and camels, so that
it might be difficult to distinguish them: but they were
not long concealed, for a Christian woman, who was an
inhabitant though not a native of the city, collected the
bones at night, by the inspiration of God, and conveyed
them in a vessel to Zeno, their cousin, even as God had
commanded her in a dream; for she was previously un-
acquainted with Zeno, and he had narrowly escaped being
arrested: but he had effected his escape while the people
were occupied in the murder of his cousins, and had fled
to Anthedona, a maritime city, about twenty stadia from
Gaza, wholly addicted to superstition and idolatry. When
the inhabitants of this city discovered that he was a
Christian, they beat him violently, and drove him away.
He then fled to Gaza, and concealed himself; and here
the woman found him, and gave him the remains. He
kept them carefully in his house until the reign of Theo-
dore, when he was ordained bishop; and he erected a
church beyond the walls of the city, and deposited the
bones on the altar, near those of Nestor, the Confessor.
Nestor had been on terms of intimacy with his cousins,
and was seized with them by the people of Gaza,
scourged, and imprisoned. But those who dragged him
through the city were affected by his personal beauty,
and struck with compassion, they cast him, before he
was quite dead, out of the city. Some persons found
him, and carried him to the house of Zeno, where he ex-
pired during the dressing of his wounds. When the in-
habitants of Gaza began to reflect on the enormity of their
crime, they trembled lest the emperor shonld take ven-
220 EC C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK V.
geance on them. It was reported that the emperor was
filled with indignation, and had determined upon be-
heading them: but this report was false, aud had no
foundation but the fears and self-accusations of the cri-
minals. Julian, far from evincing as much anger
against them as he had manifested against the Alexan-
drians on the murder of George, did not even write to
rebuke their conduct. On the contrary, he deposed the
governor of the province, and represented that clemency
alone prevented his being put to death. The crime im-
puted to him was, that of having arrested some of the in-
habitants of Gaza who had been guilty of sedition and
murder, and of having imprisoned them until judgment
could be passed upon them in accordance with the laws.
“For what right had he,” asked the emperor, “to arrest
the citizens merely for retaliating on a few Galileans the
injuries that had been inflicted by them and by their gods.”
Thus, it is said, the affair was passed over.
CHAPTER X.
CONCERNING ST. HILARION AND THE VIRGINS OF HELIO-
POLIS. MARTYRDOM OF MARK, BISHOP OF ARETHUSA.
AT the same period the inhabitants of Gaza sought for
the monk Hilarion; but, aware of their sanguinary designs,
he fled to Sicily. Here he employed himself in collect-
ing wood in the deserts and on the mountains, which he
carried on his shoulders for sale in the cities, and by
these means obtained sufficient food for the support of
the body. But as he was at length recognised by a man
of quality whom he had dispossessed of a demon, he re-
tired to Dalmatia, where, by the power of God, he per-
formed numerous miracles, and through prayer repressed
an inundation of the sea, and restored the waves to their
proper bounds. No sooner, however, had these miracles
excited the reverence of the people, than he quitted the
country, in order that he might live unknown, and free
from the praises and applauses of men. He sailed for
the island of Cyprus, but touched at Paphos, and at the
entreaty of the bishop of Cyprus, fixed his residence at a
CHAP. X.] MARTYRDOM OF SOME HOLY VIRGINs. 221
place in that island called Charburis. Here he only
escaped martyrdom by flight; for he fled in compliance
with the divine precept which commands us not to ex-
pose ourselves to persecution; but that, if we fall into
the hands of persecutors, to overcome by our own forti-
tude the violence of our oppressors.
The inhabitants of Gaza and of Alexandria were not
the only citizens who exercised such atrocities against
the Christians as those I have described. The inhabit-
ants of Heliopolis, near Mount Libanus, and of Arethusa
in Syria, perpetrated deeds of still greater cruelty. The
former were guilty of an act of barbarity which could
scarcely be credited, had it not been corroborated by the
testimony of those who witnessed it. They stripped the
holy virgins who had never been looked upon by the
multitude, of their garments, and exposed them in a state
of nudity, as public objects of insult and derision. After
numerous other inflictions, they shaved them, ripped
them open, and placed inside them the food usually given
to pigs; and the animals thus devoured these human
entrails in conjunction with their ordinary food. I am
convinced that the citizens perpetrated this barbarity
against the holy virgins from motives of revenge, on ac-
count of the abolition of the ancient custom of yielding up
virgins to prostitution, when on the eve of marriage to
those to whom they had been betrothed. This custom
was prohibited by a law enacted by Constantine, after
he had destroyed the temple of Venus at Heliopolis, and
erected a church upon its ruins.
Mark, bishop of Arethusa, an aged and virtuous pre-
late, was put to a very cruel death by the inhabitants of
that city, who had long entertained inimical feelings
against him, because he had, during the reign of Con-
stantine, resorted to violence rather than to persuasion
in his attempts to lead them from Paganism to Chris-
tianity, and had demolished a costly and magnificent
temple. On the accession of Julian, an edict was issued,
commanding the bishop either to rebuild the temple, or
to defray the expenses of its re-erection. Perceiving
that the people had risen up against him, and reflecting
222 E C C L E S I A STIC A. L H IS TO R.Y. [BOOK V.
that he had no means to pay for the re-erection of the
temple, and that such an act was not lawful for a Chris-
tian, and still less for a bishop, he fled from the city.
On hearing, however, that many were suffering on his
account, that some were dragged before the tribunals and
others tortured, he returned, and offered to suffer what-
ever the multitude might choose to inflict upon him.
The people, instead of admiring this noble deed, con-
ceived that he was actuated by contempt towards them,
and rushed upon him, dragged him through the streets,
and covered him with blows. People of each sex and of
all ages joined with alacrity and fury in this atrocious
proceeding. Some pierced his ears; the young men
who frequented the schools made game of him, throwing
him from one to the other ; and they lacerated him
cruelly with their knives. When his whole body was
covered with wounds, they anointed him with honey,
and placing him in a basket of rushes, raised him up on
an eminence. It is said that while he was in this posi-
sion, and suffering from the attacks of bees and wasps,
he told the inhabitants of Arethusa that he was raised
up above them, and could look down upon them below
him, and that this reminded him of the difference that
would exist between them in the life to come. It is
also related that the prefect, who, although a Pagan,
was held in such estimation that his memory is still
honoured in that country, admired the fortitude of Mark,
and boldly uttered reproaches against the emperor for
allowing himself to be vanquished by an old man, ex-
posed to innumerable tortures, and he added, that such
proceedings reflected ridicule on the emperor, while the
names of the persecuted were at the same time rendered
illustrious. Thus did Mark endure all the torments in-
flicted upon him by the inhabitants of Gaza with such
unshaken fortitude, that even the Pagans were struck
with admiration.
CHAP. XI.] OTHER MARTYRDOMs.—A.D. 361. 223
CHAPTE R XI.
MARTYRDOM OF MACEDONIUS, OF THEODULIS, OF TATIAN, OF
BUSIRIS, OF BASIL, AND OF EUPSYCHUS.
ABOUT the same period, Macedonius, Theodulis, and
Tatian, who were Phrygians by birth, courageously
endured martyrdom. A temple of Meros, a city of
Phrygia, having been re-opened by the governor of the
province, after it had been closed many years, these
martyrs entered therein by night and destroyed the
idolatrous images. As other individuals were arrested,
and were on the point of being punished for the deed,
they delivered themselves up, and avowed themselves
the actors in the transaction. They might have escaped
all further punishment by offering sacrifices to idols; but
the governor could not persuade them to accept ac-
quittal on these terms. His persuasions being ineffectual,
he subjected them to a variety of tortures, and finally
extended them on a gridiron, beneath which a fire had
been lighted. While they were being consumed, they
said to the governor, “Amachus (for that was his name),
give orders that our bodies may be turned on the fire,
if you do not desire to be served with meat cooked only
on one side.” Thus did they die courageously, in the
midst of torments.
It is said that Busiris also obtained renown at Ancyra,
a city of Galatia, by his noble confession of the faith.
He belonged to the sect denominated Eucrates, and it
was reported to the governor of the province that he
had ridiculed the Pagans. The governor, in consequence,
commanded that he should be put to the torture. Busiris
raised his hands to his head so as to leave his sides ex-
posed, and told the governor that it would be useless for
the executioners to take the trouble of attaching him to
the instrument of torture, as he was ready to receive on
his sides as many blows as might be adjudged him.
The governor was surprised at this proposition; but his
astonishment was increased by what followed, for Busiris
remained firm and immoveable with his hands on his
224 E C C L E SIA STI C A L H IS TO R.Y. [BOOK V.
head, while his sides were being torn with nails, accord-
ing to the governor's direction. Immediately afterwards
Busiris was consigned to prison, but was released not
long subsequently, on the announcement of the death
of Julian. He lived till the reign of Theodosius, re-
nounced his former heresy, and joined the Catholic
church. -
It is said that about this period, Basil, presbyter of
the church of Ancyra, and Eupsychus a native of
Caesarea in Cappadocia, who had but just taken to him-
self a wife, terminated their lives by martyrdom. I
believe that Eupsychus was condemned in consequence
of the demolition of the temple of Fortune, which, as I
have already stated, excited the anger of the emperor
against all the inhabitants of Caesarea. Indeed all the
actors in this transaction were condemned, some to death,
and others to banishment.
Basil had long manifested great zeal in defence of the
faith, and had opposed the Arians during the reign of
Constantius; hence the partizans of Eudoxius had pro-
hibited him from holding public assemblies. On the
accession of Julian, however, he travelled hither and
thither, publicly and openly exhorting the Christians to
cleave to their own doctrines, and to refrain from defiling
themselves with Pagan sacrifices and libations: he urged
them to account as nothing the honours which the em-
peror might bestow upon them, such honours being but
of short duration, and leading to eternal infamy. His
zeal had already rendered him an object of suspicion and
of hatred to the Pagans, when one day he chanced to
pass by and see them offering sacrifice; he sighed deeply,
and uttered a prayer to the effect, that no Christian
might be suffered to fall into similar delusion. He
was seized on the spot, and conveyed to the governor of
the province; many tortures were inflicted on him, and
in the manly endurance of this anguish, he received the
crown of martyrdom.
Although these cruelties were perpetrated contrary
to the will of the emperor, yet they serve to prove that
his reign was signalized by many martyrdoms. For the
CHAP. XII.] COUNCIL OF ALEXANDRIA.—A.D. 361. 225
sake of clearness, I have related all these occurrences
in consecutive order, although the martyrdoms really
occurred at different periods.
CHAPTER XII.
CONCERNING LUCIFER AND EUSEBIUS, BISHOPS OF THE WEST.
EUSEBIUS WITH ATHANASIUS THE GREAT AND OTHER
BISHOPS HOLD A COUNCIL AT ALEXANDRIA, AND CONFIRM
THE FAITH ESTABLISHED AT NICAEA.
AFTER the return of Athanasius from banishment,
Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, and Eusebius,
bishop of Vercelli, a city of Liguria in Italy, returned
from Thebais. They had been condemned by Constan-
tius to perpetual exile in that country. They conferred
together concerning the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs;
and it was unanimously agreed that Eusebius should
repair to Alexandria, and there, in concert with Athana-
sius, hold a council for the purpose of confirming the
Nicene doctrines. Lucifer sent a deacon with Eusebius
to take his place in the council, and went himself to
Antioch, where the church was torn by factions. A
schism had been excited by the Arians, then under the
guidance of Euzoius, and by the followers of Meletius,
who, as I have above stated, were at variance even with
those who held the same opinions as themselves. As
Meletius had not then returned from exile, Lucifer
ordained Paulinus bishop.
In the meantime, the bishops of many cities had as-
sembled in Alexandria with Athanasius and Eusebius,
and had confirmed the Nicene doctrines. They con-
fessed that the Holy Ghost is of the same substance as
the Father and the Son, and they made use of the term
“Trinity.” They declared that the human nature as:
sumed by God the Word, is to be regarded as consisting
of a perfect soul as well as of a perfect body, even as was
taught by the ancient Christian philosophers. As the
church had been agitated by questions concerning the
terms “substance,” and “hypostasis,” they decreed, and,
as I think, wisely, that these terms should not henceforth
15
226 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK V.
be lightly used in reference to God, except in refutation
of the Sabellian heresy; in discourses of this nature the
use of such words was to be permitted, lest from the
apparent paucity of terms, there might seem any diffi-
culty in conveying distinctness of idea. These were the
decrees passed by the bishops convened at Alexandria.
Athanasius read in the council the document he had
written in his own justification, detailing the reasons of
his flight.
CHAPTER XIII.
CONCERNING PAULINUS AND MELETIUS, ARCHBISHOPS OF
ANTIOCH. DISPUTE BETWEEN EUSEBIUS AND LUCIFER;
EU SEBIUS AND HILAIRIUS DEFEND THE NICENE FAITH.
ON the termination of the council, Eusebius repaired
to Antioch, and found dissension prevailing among the
people. Those who were attached to Meletius would
not join Paulinus, but held their assemblies apart.
Eusebius was much grieved at the state of affairs; for the
ordination ought not to have taken place without the
unanimous consent of the people, yet from respect
towards Lucifer, he did not openly express his dissatis-
faction. He refused to hold communion with either
party, but promised to redress their respective grievances
by means of a council. While he was thus striving to
restore concord and unanimity, Meletius returned from
exile, and finding that those who held his sentiments
had seceded from the other party, he held meetings with
them beyond the walls of the city. Paulinus in the
meantime assembled his own party within the city, for
his mildness, his virtuous life, and his advanced age, had
so far won the respect of Euzoius, the Arian bishop,
that, instead of being expelled from the city, a church
had been assigned him for his own use. Eusebius, on
finding all his endeavours for the restoration of concord
frustrated, quitted Antioch. Lucifer fancied himself
injured by him because he had refused to approve the
ordination of Paulinus, and in displeasure, seceded from
communion with him. As if purely from the desire of
CHAP. XIV.] RELIGIOUS DISPUTE.—A.D. 361. 227
contention, Lucifer then began to cast aspersions on the
enactments of the Council of Alexandria; and in this way
he seems to have originated the heresy which has been
distinguished by his name. Those who espoused his
cause, seceded from the church; but although he was
deeply chagrined at the aspect affairs had taken, yet,
because he had deputed a deacon to accompany Eusebius
in lieu of himself, he yielded to the decrees of the coun-
cil of Alexandria, and conformed to the doctrines of the
Catholic Church. About this period, he repaired to
Sardinia. In the mean time Eusebius traversed the
Eastern provinces, restored those who had declined from
the faith, and taught them what it was necessary to
believe. After passing through Illyria, he went to Italy,
and there he met with Hilarius, bishop of Poictiers in
Aquitania. Hilarius had returned from exile before
Eusebius, and had taught the Italians and the Gauls
what doctrines they were to receive, and what to reject:
he expressed himself with great eloquence in the Latin
tongue, and wrote many admirable works, it is said, in
refutation of the Arian dogmas. Thus did Hilarius and
Eusebius maintain the doctrines of the Nicaean council
in the regions of the West.
CHAPTER XIV.
DISSENSION BETWEEN TIIE PARTIZANS OF MACE DONIUS AND
THOSE OF ACACIUS.
At this period, the adherents of Macedonius, among
whom were Eleusius, Eustathius, and Sophronius, who
now began to be called Macedonians, as constituting a
distinct sect, adopted the bold measure, on the death of
Constantius, of calling together those of their own senti-
ments who had been convened at Seleucia, and of hold-
ing several councils. They condemned the partizans of
Acacius, and the faith which had been established at
Ariminum, and confirmed the doctrines which had been
set forth at Antioch, and afterwards approved at Seleu-
cia. When interrogated as to the cause of their dispute
228 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK V.
with the partizans of Acacius, with whom, as being of the
same sentiments as themselves, they had formerly held
communion, they replied, by the mouth of Sophronius,
a bishop of Paphlagonia, that while the Christians in the
West maintained the use of the term “consubstantial,” the
followers of Aetius in the East, upheld the dogma of dis-
similarity as to substance; that the former party con-
founded the persons of the Father and of the Son, by
their use of the term “consubstantial,” and that the latter
party represented too great a difference as existing
between the hypostases of the Father and of the Son;
but that they themselves preserved the mean between
the two extremes, and avoided both errors, by religiously
maintaining that, in hypostasis, the Son is like unto
the Father. It was by such representations as these
that the Macedonians vindicated themselves from
blame.
CHAPTER XV.
ATHANASIUS IS AGAIN BANISHED; CONCERNING ELEUSIUS,
BISHOP OF CYZICUS, AND TITUS BISHOP OF BOSTRA.
ANCESTOR'S OF THE AUTHOR.
THE emperor, on being informed that Athanasius held
meetings in the church of Alexandria, taught the people
boldly, and converted many Pagans to Christianity,
commanded him, under the severest penalties, to depart
from Alexandria. The pretext made use of for en-
forcing this edict, was that Athanasius, after having been
banished by Constantius, had re-assumed his episcopal
administration without the sanction of the reigning em-
peror: for Julian declared that he had never contem-
plated restoring the bishops who had been exiled by Con-
stantius to their ecclesiastical functions, when he re-
called them to their native land. On the announcement
of the command enjoining his immediate departure,
Athanasius said to the Christian multitudes who stood
weeping around him, “Be of good courage; it is but a
cloud which will speedily be dispersed.” He then com-
mitted the care of the church to the most zealous of his
friends, and quitted Alexandria.
CHAP. XV.] EDICTS IN FAVOUR OF PAGANISM. 229
About thesame period, the inhabitants of Cyzicus sentan
embassy to the emperor, to lay before him some of their
private affairs, and particularly to entreat the restora-
tion of the Pagan temples. He applauded their zeal,
and promised to grant all their requests. He expelled
Eleusius, the bishop of their city, because he had de-
stroyed some temples, provided for the support of widows,
erected edifices as dwelling-places for holy virgins, and
induced many Pagans to abandon their ancient supersti-
tion. The emperor prohibited some foreign Christians,
who had accompanied him, from entering the city of
Cyzicus, from the apprehension, it appears, that they
would, in conjunction with the Christians within the
city, excite a sedition on account of religion. There
were, in fact, great numbers of artizans engaged in the
woollen manufacture, and in the coinage of money; they
were divided into two bands, and had received permission
from preceding emperors to dwell, with their wives and
possessions, in Cyzicus, provided that they annually
handed over to the public treasury a supply of clothes
for the soldiery, and of newly-coined money. Although
Julian was anxious to advance, by every means, the
Pagan religion, yet he deemed it the height of im-
prudence to employ force or intimidation against those
who refused to sacrifice. Besides, there were so many
Christians in every city, that it would have been no easy
task for the rulers even to number them. He did not
even forbid them to assemble together for worship; as he
was aware that, when freedom of the will is called into
question, constraint is utterly useless. He expelled the
clergy and bishops from all the cities, in order to put an
end to these assemblies, imagining that, when there
would be no longer teaching or administration of the
sacraments, religion itself would, in course of time, fall
into oblivion. The pretext which he advanced for these
proceedings was, that the clergy were the leaders of sedi-
tion among the people. Under this plea, he expelled
Eleusius and his friends from Cyzicus, although there
was not even a symptom of sedition in that city. He also
publicly called upon the citizens of Bostra to expel Titus
230 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [Book V.
their bishop. It appears that the emperor had threatened
to impeach Titus and the other clergy as the authors of
any sedition that might arise among the people, and that
Titus had thereupon written to him, stating that, although
the Christians were more in number than the Pagans,
yet that, in accordance with his exhortations, they were
disposed to remain quiet, and were not likely to rise up
in sedition. Julian, with the view of exciting the enmity
of the inhabitants of Bostra against Titus, represented,
in a letter which he addressed to them, that their bishop
had advanced a calumny against them, by stating that it
was in accordance with his exhortations, rather than with
their own inclination, that they refrained from sedition;
and Julian exhorted them to expel him from their city, as
a public enemy. It appears that the Christians were
subjected to similar injustice in other places; sometimes
by the command of the emperor, and sometimes by the
wrath and impetuosity of the populace. The blame of
these transactions may be justly imputed to the emperor;
for, out of his hatred to the Christian religion, he only
visited the perpetrators of such deeds with verbal re-
bukes, while, by his actions, he urged them on in the
same course. Hence, although not absolutely persecuted
by the emperor, the Christians were obliged to flee from
city to city. My grandfather and many of my ancestors
were compelled to flee in this manner. My grandfather
was of Pagan parentage; and, with his own family and
that of Alaphion, had been the first to embrace Christi-
anity in Bethelia, a populous town near Gaza, in which
there are temples highly reverenced by the people of the
country, on account of their extreme antiquity. The
most celebrated of these temples is the Pantheon, built
on an artificial eminence commanding a view of the
whole town. It is conjectured that the original name
given to this temple was in the Syriac language, and
that this name was afterwards rendered into Greek, and
expressed by a word which signifies that the temple is
the residence of all the gods. It is said that the above-
mentioned families were converted through the instru-
mentality of the monk Hilarion. Alaphion, it appears,
CHAP. XVI.] EFFORTS TO RESTORE PAGANISM. 231
was possessed of a devil; and neither the Pagans nor the
Jews could, by any of their enchantments, deliver him
from this affliction; but Hilarion, by simply calling upon
the name of Christ, expelled the demon, and Alaphion,
with his whole family, immediately embraced the faith.
My grandfather was endowed with great natural ability,
which he applied with success to the explanation of the
Sacred Scriptures; he had made some attainments in
general knowledge, and was not ignorant of arithmetic.
He was much beloved by the Christians of Ascalon, of
Gaza, and of the surrounding country; and was regarded
as necessary to religion, on account of his gift in ex-
pounding Scripture. No one can speak in adequate
terms of the virtues of the other family. The first
churches and monasteries erected in that country were
founded by members of this family, and supported by
their liberality and humanity. Some good men belong-
ing to this family have flourished even in our own days;
and, in my youth, I saw some of them, but they were
then very aged. I shall have occasion to say more con-
cerning them in the course of my history.
CHAPTER XVI.
EFFORTS OF JULIAN TO ESTABLISH PAGANISM, AND ABOLISH
CHRISTIANITY. HIS EPISTLE TO SOME OF THE PAGAN
HIGH PRIEST.S.
THE emperor was deeply grieved at finding that all
his efforts to secure the predominance of Paganism were
utterly ineffectual: for, although the gates of the tem-
ples were kept open, although sacrifices were offered, and
the observance of ancient festivals restored in all the
cities, yet he was far from being satisfied; for he could
plainly foresee that, on the withdrawal of his influence,
a change in the whole aspect of affairs would speedily
take place. He was particularly chagrined on discover-
ing that the wives, children, and servants of many of the
Pagan priests had been converted to Christianity. On
reflecting that one main support of the Christian religion
was the virtuous course of life of its professors, he deter-
232 E CC L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK V.
mined to introduce into the Pagan temples the order and
discipline of Christianity, to institute various orders and
degrees of ministry, to appoint readers, and teachers to
give instruction in Pagan doctrines, and to command that
prayers should be offered on certain days at stated
hours. He, moreover, resolved to found monas-
teries for the accommodation of men and women who
desired to live in philosophical retirement, as like-
wise hospitals for the relief of strangers and of the
poor, and for other philanthropical purposes. He wished
to introduce among the Pagans the Christian system of
penance for voluntary and involuntary transgressions:
but the point of ecclesiastical discipline which he chiefly
admired, and desired to establish among the Pagans,
was the custom of the bishops to give letters of recom-
mendation to those who travelled to foreign lands,
wherein they commended them to the hospitality and
kindness of other bishops, in all places, and under all
contingencies. In this way did Julian strive to engraft
the customs of Christianity upon Paganism. But if
what I have stated appears to be incredible, I need not
go far in search of proofs to corroborate my assertions;
for I can produce a letter, written by the emperor him-
self on the subject. He writes as follows:–
“To Arsacius, High Priest of Galatia.
“Paganism has not yet reached the degree of pros-
perity that might be desired, owing to the conduct of its
votaries. The worship of the gods, however, is con-
ducted on the grandest and most magnificent scale, so far
exceeding our very hopes and expectations, that no one
could have dared to look for so surprising a change as
that which we have witnessed within a very short space
of time. But are we to rest satisfied with what has been
already effected? Ought we not rather to consider that
the progress of Christianity has been principally owing to
the humanity evinced by Christians towards strangers,
to the reverence they have manifested towards the dead,
and to the delusive gravity which they have assumed in
their conduct and deportment. It is requisite that each
of us should be diligent in the discharge of duty: I do
CHAP. XVI.] LETTER OF JULIAN.—A.D. 361. 233
not refer to you alone, as that would not suffice, but to
all the priests of Galatia. You must either put them to
shame, or try the power of persuasion, or else deprive
them of their sacerdotal offices, if they do not, with their
wives, their children, and their servants, join in the ser-
vice of the gods, or if they permit their wives or their
sons to disregard the gods, and to prefer impiety to
piety. Exhort them not to frequent theatres, not to
drink at taverns, and not to engage in any trade, or
practise any nefarious art. Honour those who yield to
your remonstrances, and expel those who disregard them.
Establish hospitals in every city, so that strangers from
neighbouring and foreign countries may reap the benefit
of our philanthropy, according to their respective need.
I have provided means to meet the necessary expen-
diture, and have issued directions throughout the whole
of Galatia, that you should be furnished annually with
thirty thousand bushels of corn, and sixty thousand
measures of wine, of which the fifth part is to be devoted
to the support of the poor who attend upon the priests;
and the rest is to be distributed among strangers and
our own poor. For, while there are no persons in need
among the Jews, and while even the impious Galileans
provide, not only for those of their own party who
are in want, but also for those who hold with us, it would
indeed be disgraceful if we were to allow our own people
to suffer from poverty. Teach the Pagans to co-operate
in this work of benevolence, and let the first-fruits of the
towns be offered to the gods. Habituate them to the
exercise of this liberality, by showing them how such
conduct is sanctioned by the practice of remote antiquity;
for Homer represents Eumaeus as saying,
- ‘It never was our guise,
To slight the poor, or aught humane despise;
For Jove unfolds our hospitable door,
'Tis Jove that sends the stranger and the poor.”
“Let us not permit others to excel us in piety; let us
not dishonour ourselves, nor the service of the gods by
our negligence. If I hear that you act according to my
directions, I shall rejoice exceedingly. Do not often
234 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK v.
visit the governors at their own houses, but write to
them frequently. When they enter the city, let no
priest go to meet them; and let not the priest accom-
pany them further than the vestibule when they repair
to the temple of the gods: neither let any soldiers march
before them on such occasions; but let those follow them
who will. As soon as they have entered within the
gates of the temple, they are but private individuals;
for there it is your duty, as you well know, to preside,
according to the divine decree. Those who humbly con-
form to this law manifest that they possess true religion;
whereas those who contemn it are proud and vain-
glorious. I am ready to render assistance to the inhabit-
ants of Pessena, provided that they will propitiate the
mother of the gods; but, if they neglect this duty, they
will incur my utmost displeasure.
* It is not right for me to show compassion
Towards those with whom the immortal gods are at enmity.’
“Convince them, therefore, that if they desire my assist-
ance, they must offer up supplications to the mother of
the gods.”
CHAPTE R XVII.
JULIAN RESORTS TO ARTIFICE, RATHER THAN TO OPEN
VIOLENCE, AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS. THE SIGN OF THE
CROSS CEASES TO BE USED AS A STANDARD; THE SOL-
DIERY INVITED TO OFFER. SACRIFICE.
WHEN Julian acted and wrote in the manner aforesaid,
he expected that he would, by these means, easily induce
his subjects to change their religious opinions. Although
he earnestly desired to abolish the Christian religion,
yet he refrained from employing violent measures, lest
he should be accounted tyrannical. He used every
means, however, that could possibly be devised to lead
his subjects back to Paganism; and he was more especi-
ally urgent with the soldiery, whom he sometimes
addressed individually, and sometimes through the
medium of their officers. To habituate them, in all
CHAP. XVII.] MACHINATIONS OF JULIAN.—A.D. 362. 235
things, to the worship of the gods, he restored the
ancient form of the standard of the Roman armies,
which, as we have already stated, Constantine had, at the
command of God, converted into the sign of the cross.
Julian also caused to be painted, in juxta-position with his
own figure, on the public pictures, a representation either
of Jupiter coming out of heaven and presenting to
him the symbols of imperial power, a crown or a purple
robe, or else of Mars, or of Mercury, with their eyes in-
tently fixed upon him, as if to express their admiration
of his eloquence and military skill. He placed the pic-
tures of the gods in juxta-position with his own, in order
that the people might be led to worship them under the
pretext of rendering due honour to him; and might thus,
under the cloak of ancient usages, be induced to offer
religious homage. He considered that, if they would
yield obedience on this point, they would be the more
ready to obey him on every other occasion; but that, if
they ventured to refuse obedience, he would have reason
to punish them, as infringers of the Roman customs and
offenders against the emperor and the state. There
were but very few (and the law had its course against
them) who, seeing through his designs, refused to render
the customary homage to his pictures: but the multi-
tude, through ignorance or simplicity, conformed as
usual to the ancient regulation, and thoughtlessly paid
homage to his image. The emperor derived but little
advantage from this artifice; yet he did not cease from
his efforts to effect a change in religion. The next
machination to which he had recourse was less subtle
and more violent than the former one; and the fortitude
of many soldiers attached to the court was thereby
tested. When the stated day came round for giving
money to the troops, which day generally fell upon the
anniversary of some festival among the Romans, such as
that of the birth of the emperor, or the foundation of
some royal city, Julian reflected that soldiers are natu-
rally thoughtless and simple, and disposed to be covetous
of money, and therefore concluded that it would be a
favourable opportunity to seduce them to the worship of
236 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK V.
the gods. Accordingly, as each soldier approached to
receive the money, he was commanded to offer sacrifice,
fire and incense, having previously been placed for this
purpose near the emperor, according to an ancient
Roman custom. Some of the soldiers had the courage
to refuse to offer sacrifice and receive the gold; others
were so habituated to the observance of the ancient cus-
tom, that they conformed to it without imagining that
they were committing sin. Others, again, deluded by
the lustre of the gold, complied with the Pagan rite, and
suffered themselves to fall into the temptation from
which they ought to have fled. It is related that as
some of those who had ignorantly fallen into sin were
seated at table, and drinking to each other, one among
them happened to mention the name of Christ. Another
of the guests immediately exclaimed, “It is extraordi-
nary that you should call upon Christ, when, but a short
time ago, you denied him for the sake of the emperor's
gift, by throwing incense into the fire.” On hearing
this observation, they all became suddenly conscious of
the sin they had committed; they rose from table, and
rushed into the public streets, where they screamed and
wept, and called upon all men to witness that they were
Christians, and that they had offered incense unawares,
and with the hand alone, and not with the assent of the
judgment. They then presented themselves before the
emperor, threw back his gold, and besought him to put
them to death, protesting that they would never re-
nounce their sentiments, whatever torments might, in
consequence of the sin committed by their hand, be in-
flicted on the other parts of their body for the sake of
Christ. Whatever displeasure the emperor might have
felt against them, he refrained from slaying them, lest
they should enjoy the honour of martyrdom: he there-
fore merely deprived them of their military commission,
and dismissed them from the court.
CHAP. XVIII.] PERSECUTION OF JULIAN.—A.D. 362. 237
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHRISTIANS PROHIBITED BY THE EMPEROR FROM STUDYING
POLITE LITERATURE. RESISTANCE OF BASIL THE GREAT,
GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN, AND APOLLINARIUs, TO THIS
DECREE.
JULIAN entertained the same sentiments as those
above described towards all Christians, as he manifested
whenever an opportunity was afforded. Those who
refused to sacrifice to the gods, although perfectly
blameless in other respects, were deprived of the rights
of citizenship, and of the privilege of joining assemblies
and of holding public offices. He forbad the children
of Christians from frequenting the public schools, and
from being instructed in the writings of the Greek poets
and orators. He entertained great resentment against
Apollinarius, the Syrian, a man of extraordinary erudi-
tion; against Basil and Gregory, natives of Cappadocia,
the most celebrated orators of the time; and against
other learned and eloquent men, of whom some were
attached to the Nicene doctrines, and others to the
dogmas of Arius. His sole motive for excluding the
children of Christian parents from instruction in the
learning of the Greeks, was because he considered such
studies conducive to the acquisition of argumentative
and persuasive power. Apollinarius, therefore, employed
his great learning and ingenuity, in which he even sur-
passed Homer, in the production of a work in heroic
verse, on the antiquities of the Hebrews from the crea-
tion to the reign of Saul. He divided this work into
twenty-four parts, to each of which he appended the
name of one of the letters of the Greek alphabet. He
also wrote comedies in imitation of Menander, tra-
gedies resembling those of Euripides, and odes on the
model of Pindar. In short, he produced within a very
brief space of time a numerous set of works, which, in
point of excellence of composition and beauty of diction,
may vie with the most celebrated writings of Greece.
Were it not for the extreme partiality with which the
238 EC CLESIA STIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK V.
productions of antiquity are regarded, I doubt not but
that the writings of Apollinarius would be held in as
much estimation as those of the ancients. The compre-
hensiveness of his intellect is more especially to be ad-
mired; for he excelled in every branch of literature,
whereas ancient writers were proficient only in one. He
wrote a very remarkable work, entitled “The Truth,”
against the emperor and the Pagan philosophers, in
which he clearly proved, without any appeal to the
authority of Scripture, that they were far from having
attained right opinions of God. The emperor, for the
purpose of casting ridicule on works of this nature, wrote
to the bishops in the following words; “I have read, I
have understood, and I have condemned.” To this they
sent the following reply; “You have read, but you have
not understood; for, had you understood, you would not
have condemned.” Some have attributed this reply to
Basil, bishop of Cappadocia, and, perhaps, not without
reason; but, whether dictated by him or by another, it
fully displays the magnanimity and learning of the
writer.
CHAPTER XIX.
WORK WRITTEN BY JULIAN, ENTITLED “ AVERSION TO
BEARDS.” DAPHNE, A SUBURB OF ANTIOCH. TRANSLATION
OF THE REMAINS OF BABYLAS, THE PRIESTLY MARTYR.
JULIAN, having determined upon undertaking a war
against Persia, repaired to Antioch in Syria. The people
loudly complained, that, although provisions were very
abundant, the price affixed to them was very high.
Accordingly the emperor, from liberality, as I believe,
towards the people, reduced the price of provisions to so
low a scale that the vendors fled the city. A scarcity
in consequence ensued, for which the people blamed the
emperor; and their resentment found vent in ridiculing
the length of his beard, and the bulls which he had had
stamped upon his coins; and they satirically remarked
that he upset the world in the same way that his priests,
when offering sacrifice, threw down the victims. At
CHAP. xix.] TREATISE WRITTEN BY JULIAN.—A.D. 362. 239
first his displeasure was excited, and he threatened to
punish them, and prepared to depart for Tarsus. After-
wards, however, he suppressed his feelings of indigna-
tion, and repaid their ridicule by words alone ; he com-
posed a very elegant work under the title of “Aversion
to Beards,” which he sent to them. He treated the
Christians of this city precisely in the same manner as
at other places, and endeavoured, as far as possible, to
promote the extension of Paganism.
I shall here recount some of the details connected with
the tomb of Babylas, the martyr, and certain occurrences
which took place about this period in the temple of
Apollo at Daphne. Daphne is a suburb of Antioch, and
is planted with cypresses and other trees, beneath which
all kinds of flowers flourish in their season. The branches
of these trees are so thick and interlaced that they may be
said to form a roof rather than merely to afford shade,
and therays of the sun can never pierce through them to the
soil beneath. The purity and the softness of the air, and
the great quantity of limpid streams which water the
earth, render this spot one of the most delightful places
in the world. The Greeks pretend that Daphne, the
daughter of the river Ladon, was here changed into a
tree which bears her name, while she was fleeing from
Arcadia to evade the pursuit of Apollo, by whom she was be-
loved. The passion of Apollo was not diminished, they say,
by this transformation; he embraced the tree, and made
a crown of its leaves. He afterwards often fixed his
residence on this spot, as being dearer to him than any
other place. Men of grave temperament, however, con-
sidered it disgraceful to approach this suburb; for the air
and aspect of the place seemed to excite voluptuous
feelings; the fable, too, connected with the locality,
appeared to add fresh fuel to the ardour of the pas-
sions of youth. The example of the gods had so debasing
an influence that the young people of this place seemed
incapable of being continent themselves, or of enduring
the presence of those who were continent. Any one who
dwelt at Daphne without a mistress was regarded as
callous and ungracious, and was shunned accordingly.
240 B C C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK v.
The Pagans likewise manifested great reverence for this
place on account of a statue of Apollo which stood here,
as also a magnificent temple, supposed to have been
built by Seleucus, the father of Antiochus, who gave his
name to the city of Antioch. Those who attach credit
to fables of this kind, believe that a stream flows from
the fountain Castalia, which confers the power of pre-
dicting the future, and which is similar in its effects to
the fountain of Delphi. It is related that Adrian here
received intimation of his future greatness when he was
but a private individual; and that he dipped a leaf of
the laurel in the water, and found written thereon an
account of his destiny. When he became emperor, it is
said, he commanded the fountain to be closed, in order
that no one might be enabled to pry into the knowledge of
the future. But I leave this subject to those who are
more accurately acquainted with mythology than I am.
When Gallus, the brother of Julian, had been declared
Caesar by Constantius, and had fixed his residence at
Antioch, his zeal for the Christian religion and his vene-
ration for the memory of the martyrs prompted him to
the removal of the abominations which had arisen in
Daphne. He considered that the readiest method of
effecting this object would be to erect a house of prayer
opposite to the temple, and to transfer thither the tomb
of Babylas, the martyr, who had, with great reputation
to himself, presided over the church of Antioch. It is
said that from the time of this translation, the demon
ceased to utter oracles. This silence was at first at-
tributed to the neglect into which his service was allowed
to fall, and to the omission of the usual sacrifices; but
results proved that it was occasioned solely by the pre-
sence of the holy martyr. The silence continued un-
broken even after the accession of Julian, although liba-
tions, incense, and victims were offered in abundance to
the demon. The emperor himself entered the temple
for the purpose of consulting the oracle, and offering up
ifts and sacrifices with entreaties to grant a reply.
The demon did not openly admit that the hinderance was
occasioned by the tomb of Babylas, the martyr, but he
CHAP. XX.] REMAINS OF BABYLAS REMOVED. 241
stated that the place was filled with dead bodies, and
that this prevented the oracle from speaking. Although
many interments had taken place at Daphne, the em-
peror perceived that it was the presence of Babylas, the
martyr, alone which had silenced the oracle; and he com-
manded his tomb to be removed. The Christians, there-
fore, assembled together and conveyed the relics to the
city, which was about forty stadia distant, and deposited
them in the place where they are still preserved, and to
which the name of the martyr has been given. It is said
that old men and maidens, young men and children, took
part in the task of translating the remains; and that
they sang psalms as they went along the road, apparently
for the purpose of lightening their labour, but, in truth,
because they were transported by zeal for their religion,
which the emperor opposed. The best singers sang first,
and the multitude replied in chorus, and the following
was the burden of their song: “Confounded are all they
who worship graven images, who boast themselves in
idols.”
C HAPTE R XX.
IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING THE
TRANSLATION OF THESE RELICS, MANY OF THE CHRISTIANS
ARE ILL-TREATED. THEODORE THE CONFESSOR. TEMPLE
OF APOLLO AT DAPFINE DESTROYED BY FIRE FROM
|EIEAVEN.
THE transaction above related excited the indignation
of the emperor as much as if an insult had been offered
him, and he determined upon punishing the Christians;
but Sallust, a praetorian prefect, although a Pagan, tried
to dissuade him from this measure. The emperor,
however, could not be appeased; and Sallust was com-
pelled to execute his mandate, and arrest and imprison
many Christians. One of the first whom he arrested
was a young man named Theodore, who was imme-
diately stretched upon the rack: but although his flesh
was lacerated by the application of the iron nails, he
addressed no supplication to Sallust, nor did he implore
242 E C C L E SIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK v.
a diminution of his torments; on the contrary, he
seemed as insensible to pain as if he had been merely a
spectator of the sufferings of another; and he sang the
same psalm which he had joined in singing the day
before, to show that he did not repent of the act for
which he had been condemned. The prefect, struck
with admiration at his fortitude, went to the emperor,
and told him, that unless he would desist from the
measure he had undertaken, he and his party would be
exposed to ridicule, while the Christians would acquire
glory and reputation. This representation produced its
effect, and the Christians who had been arrested were
set at liberty. It is said that Theodore was afterwards
asked, whether he had been sensible of any pain while
on the rack; and that he replied, that he had not
been entirely free from suffering, but had felt himself
greatly refreshed and his torments assuaged by the
attentions of a young man who had stood by him, and
who had wiped off the perspiration, and supplied him
with water. I am convinced that no man, whatever
magnanimity he may possess, is capable, without the
special assistance of Divine Power, of manifesting such
entire indifference about the body.
The body of the martyr Babylas was, for the reasons
aforesaid, removed to Daphne, and was subsequently
conveyed elsewhere. Soon after it had been taken away,
fire suddenly fell upon the temple of Apollo at Daphne,
the roof and the statue of the god were burnt, and the
naked walls, with the columns on which the portico and
the back part of the edifice had rested, alone escaped the
conflagration. The Christians believed that the prayers
of the martyr had drawn down fire from heaven upon
the demon; but the Pagans suspected the Christians of
having set fire to the place. This suspicion gained
ground ; and the priest of Apollo was brought before
the tribunal of justice to render up the names of
those who had perpetrated the deed: but though bound,
and subjected to the most cruel tortures, he did not
name any one. Hence the Christians were more fully
convinced than before, that it was not by the deed of
CHAP. xxI.] REMOVAL OF A STATUE OF CHRIST. 243
man, but by the wrath of God, that fire was poured
down from heaven upon the temple. Such were the
occurrences which then took place. The emperor, as I
conjecture, on hearing that the calamity at Daphne had
been occasioned by the martyr Babylas, and on being
further informed that the honoured remains of martyrs
were preserved in several houses of prayer near the
temple of Apollo Didymus, which is situated close to
the city of Miletus, wrote to the governor of Caria, com-
manding him to destroy with fire all such edifices as
were furnished with a roof and an altar, and to throw
down, from their very foundations, the houses of prayer
which were incomplete in these respects.
CHAPTER XXI.
OF THE STATUE OF CHRIST IN THE CITY OF PANEADES.
FOUNTAIN OF EMMA US IN WHICH CHRIST WASHED HIS
FEET. CONCERNING THE TREE WHICH WORSHIPPED CHRIST
IN EGYPT.
AMONG so many remarkable events which occurred
during the reign of Julian, I must not omit to mention
one which affords a manifest proof of the power of
Christ, and of the Divine wrath against the emperor.
Having heard that at Caesarea Philippi, otherwise called
Paneades, a city of Phoenicia, there was a celebrated
statue of Christ, which had been erected by a woman
whom the Lord had cured of a flow of blood, Julian
commanded it to be taken down, and a statue of him-
self erected in its place ; but fire from heaven was
poured down upon it, the head and breast were broken,
and it was transfixed to the ground with the face down-
wards: it is still to be seen on the spot where it fell,
blackened by the effects of the thunder. The statue of
Christ was dragged round the city and mutilated by the
Pagans; but the Christians recovered the fragments,
and deposited the statue in the church in which it is
still preserved. Eusebius relates, that at the base of
this statue grew a herb which was unknown to the
physicians and empirics, but was efficacious in the cure
244 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK V.
of all disorders. It does not appear a matter of astonish-
ment to me, that, after God has vouchsafed to dwell
with men, He should condescend to bestow benefits
upon them. It appears that innumerable other miracles
were wrought, of which accounts have been handed down
to the people of the country, and with which they only
are acquainted : one instance may be cited in proof.
There is a city, now called Nicopolis, in Palestine, which
was formerly only a village, and which was mentioned by
the holy evangelists under the name of Emmaus. The
name of Nicopolis was given to this place by the Romans,
in consequence of the conquest of Jerusalem and the
victory over the Jews. Just beyond the city, where
three roads meet, is the spot where Christ, after his
resurrection, said farewell to Cleophas and his compa-
nions, as if he were going to another village; and here
is the fountain in which the Saviour washed his feet,
and which has ever since possessed the property of
removing every species of disease from man and other
animals. At Ermopolis in Thebais is a tree called
Persea, of which the branches, the leaves, and the least
portion of the bark, are said to heal disease when
touched by the sick: for it is related by the Egyptians,
that when Joseph fled with Christ and Mary the holy
Mother from the wrath of Herod, they went to Ermo-
polis; and as they were entering the city, this tree bent
down and worshipped Christ. Irelate precisely what Ihave
heard from many sources concerning this tree. I think
that this phenomenon was a sign of the presence of God
in the city; or, perhaps, as seems most probable, it may
have arisen from the fear of the demon, who had been
worshipped in this large and beautiful tree by the
people of the country: for at the presence of Christ, the
idols of Egypt were shaken, even as Isaiah the prophet
had foretold. On the expulsion of the demon, the tree
was permitted to remain as a monument of what had
occurred, and was endued with the property of healing
those who believed. The inhabitants of Egypt and of
Palestine testify to the truth of these events, which took
place among themselves. .

CHAP. xxii.] ATTEMPT TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE. 245
CHAPTER XXII.
FROM AVERSION TO THE CHRISTIANS, JULIAN GRANTS PER-
MISSION TO THE JEWS TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE AT
JERUSALEM ; THEIR ATTEMPT IS FRUSTRATED BY FIRE
FROM HEAVEN, AND BY THE APPEARANCE OF THE SIGN OF
THE CROSS ON THEIR GARMENTS. -
THOUGH the emperor hated and oppressed the Chris-
tians, he manifested benevolence and humanity towards
the Jews. He wrote to the Jewish patriarchs and leaders,
as well as to the people, requesting them to pray for
him, and for the prosperity of the empire. In taking
this step he was not actuated, I am convinced, by any
respect for their religion: for he was aware that it is, so
to speak, the mother of the Christian religion, and he
knew that both religions rest upon the authority of the
patriarchs and the prophets; but he thought to grieve
the Christians by favouring the Jews, who are their
most inveterate enemies. He also calculated upon per-
suading the Jews to embrace Paganism: for they were
only acquainted with the mere letter of Scripture, and
could not, like the Christians and a few of the wisest
among their own nation, discern the hidden meaning.
Events proved that this was his real motive: for he sent for
some of their Čhiefs, and exhorted them to return to the
observance of the laws of Moses and the customs of their
fathers? On their replying, that they were permitted to
offer up sacrifices only at the temple of Jerusalem, he
commanded them to rebuild the temple, and gave them
money for that purpose. The Jews entered upon the
undertaking, without reflecting that, according to the
prediction of the holy prophets, it could not be accom-
plished. They sought for the most skilful artizans, col-
lected materials, cleared the ground, and entered so
earnestly upon the task, that even the women carried
heaps of earth, and sold their ornaments towards defray-
ing the expense. The emperor, the other Pagans, and
all the Jews, regarded every other undertaking as
secondary in importance to this. Although the Pagans
were not well-disposed towards the Jews, yet they
246 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK v.
assisted them in this enterprise, because they reckoned
upon its ultimate success, and hoped by this means to
falsify the prophecies of Christ. Besides this motive,
the Jews themselves were impelled by the consideration,
that the time had arrived for rebuilding their temple.
When they had removed the ruins of the former building,
and had cleared the ground for the purpose of laying the
foundations of the new edifice, an earthquake occurred,
and stones were thrown up from the earth, by which those
who were engaged in the work were wounded, as like-
wise those who were merely looking on. The houses and
public porticoes near the site of the temple were thrown
down; many people lost their lives, and others were
horribly mutilated. On the cessation of the earthquake,
the workmen returned to their task, partly because such
was the edict of the emperor, and partly because they
were themselves interested in the undertaking. Men
often, in endeavouring to gratify their own passions,
seek what is injurious to them, reject what would be
truly advantageous, and are deluded by the idea that
nothing is really useful except what is agreeable to
them. When once led astray by this error, they are no
longer able to act in a manner conducive to their
own interests, or to take warning by the calamities
which are visited upon them. The Jews, I believe, were
just in this state: for, instead of regarding this unex-
pected earthquake as a manifest indication that God was
opposed to the re-erection of their temple, they proceeded
to re-commence the work. But all parties relate, that they
had scarcely returned to the undertaking, when fire
burst from the foundations of the temple, and consumed
several of the workmen. This fact is fearlessly stated, and
believed by all; the only discrepancy in the narrative is,
that some maintain that fire burst from the interior of the
temple, as the workmen were striving to force an entrance;
while others say that the fire proceeded direct from the
bowels of the earth. In whichever way the phenomenon
might have occurred, it is equally wonderful. A more
tangible and still more extraordinary prodigy ensued:
suddenly the sign of the cross appeared on the garments
CHAP. xxi.I.] FAILURE IN REBUILDING THE TEMPLE. 247
of the persons engaged in the undertaking. These crosses
were disposed like stars, and appeared the work of art.
Many were hence led to confess that Christ is God, and
that the rebuilding of the temple was not pleasing to
Him; others presented themselves in the church, were
baptized, and besought Christ, with tears and supplica-
tions, to pardon their transgression. If any one does
not feel disposed to believe my narrative, let him go and
be convinced by those who heard the facts I have related
from the eye-witnesses of them, for they are still alive.
Let him inquire, also, of the Jews and Pagans who left
the work in an incomplete state, or who, to speak more
accurately, were not able to commence it.
END OF BOOK W.
248 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
BOOK WI. CHAPTER I.
EXPEDITION OF JULIAN AGAINST THE PERSIANS, AND HIS
MISERABLE END. LETTER WRITTEN BY LIBANUS, DE-
SCRIBING HIS DEATH.
I HAVE narrated, in the preceding book, the oc-
currences which took place in the Church, during the
reign of Julian. This emperor, having determined to
carry on the war with Persia, made a rapid transit across
the Euphrates, in the beginning of spring, and passing by
Edessa from hatred to the inhabitants, who had long
professed Christianity, he went on to Carias, where there
was a temple of Jupiter, in which he offered up sacrifice
and prayer. He then selected twenty thousand armed
men from among his troops, and sent them towards the
Tigris, in order that they might guard those regions,
and also be ready to join him, in case he should require
their assistance. He then wrote to Arsacius, king of
Armenia, one of the Roman allies, to bespeak his aid in
the war. In this letter, Julian manifested the most un-
bounded arrogance: he boasted of the high qualities
which had, he said, rendered him worthy of the empire,
and acceptable to the gods; he reviled Constantius, his
predecessor, as an effeminate and impious emperor, and
directed his aspersions against Christianity. He told
Arsacius that unless he acted according to his directions,
the God in whom he trusted would not be able to defend
him from his vengeance. When he considered that all
his arrangements had been duly made, he led his army
through Assyria. He took a great many towns and
fortresses, either through treachery or by force, and
thoughtlessly proceeded onwards, without reflecting that
he would have to return by the same route. He pillaged
every place he approached, and destroyed and burnt the
granaries and storehouses. As he was journeying up
the Euphrates, he arrived at Ctesiphon, a very large
CHAP. I.] EXPEDITION OF JULIAN INTO PERSIA. 249
city, whither the Persian monarchs have now transferred
their residence from Babylon. The Tigris flows near
the spot. As he was prevented from reaching the city,
by a part of the land which separated it from the river,
he judged that he must either pursue his journey by
water, or quit his ships, and go to Ctesiphon by land;
and he interrogated the prisoners on the subject. Hav-
ing ascertained from them, that there was a canal which
had been blocked up by the course of time, he caused it
to be cleared out, and having thus effected a communica-
tion between the Tigris and the Euphrates, he proceeded
towards the city, his ships floating along by the side of
his army. But the Persians appeared on the banks, with
a formidable display of troops, of elephants, and of
horses; and Julian became conscious that his army was
enclosed between two great rivers, and was in danger of
perishing, either by remaining in its present position, or
by retreating through the country which he had so
utterly devastated that no provisions were attainable.
To divert the minds of the soldiers, he proposed horse-
races, and promised rewards to all who would enter the
lists. In the mean time, he commanded the officers to
throw the provisions and baggage from the ships; so that
the soldiers, being driven to extremity by the want of
necessaries, might engage in the conflict with greater
courage and ardour. After supper, he sent for the
tribunes and chiefs, and commanded the embarkation of
the troops. They passed along the Tigris during the
night; but their departure was perceived by some of the
Persians, who prepared to oppose them. They found a
few Persians asleep on the opposite bank, but they were
readily overcome. At day-break, the two armies en-
gaged in battle; and, after much bloodshed on both
sides, the Romans returned by the river, and encamped
near Ctesiphon. The emperor, being no longer desirous
of proceeding further, burnt his vessels, as he considered
that they required too many soldiers to guard them; and
he then commenced his retreat along the Tigris, which
was to his left. The prisoners, who acted as guides to
the Romans, led them to a fertile country, where they
250 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTOR.Y. [BOOK WI.
found abundance of provisions. Soon after, an old man
who had resolved to die for the liberty of Persia, allowed
himself to be taken prisoner, and was brought before the
emperor. On being questioned as to the route, he
offered to guide the army, by the nearest road, to the
Roman frontiers; he observed that, for the space of
three or four days’ journey, this road would offer many
difficulties and impediments, and that it would be neces-
sary to carry provisions during that time, as the sur-
rounding country was sterile. The emperor was deceived
by the discourse of this wise old man, and gave orders to
follow the route he indicated. After the lapse of three
days, however, it was found that the whole armament
had been led astray into a barren and inhospitable
region. The old man was put to the torture. But he
had exposed himself to death for the sake of his country,
and was therefore prepared to endure any sufferings that
could be inflicted on him.
The Roman troops were now worn out by the length
of the journey and the scarcity of provisions, and the
Persians chose this moment to attack them. In the heat
of the conflict which ensued, a violent wind arose, and
the sky and the sun were totally concealed by the clouds,
while the air was at the same time filled with dust.
During the darkness which was thus produced, a horse-
man riding at full gallop directed his lance against the
emperor and wounded him mortally; he then rode from
the field, and no one knew whither he went. Some con-
jectured that he was a Persian; others, that he was a
Saracen; others assert that he who struck the blow was
a Roman soldier, who was indignant at the imprudence
and temerity which the emperor had manifested in ex-
posing his army to such extreme peril. Libanius the
sophist, a native of Syria, the most intimate friend of
Julian, expressed himself in the following terms con-
cerning the person who had committed the deed —
“You desire to know by whom the emperor was slain.
I know not his name. We have a proof, however, that
the murderer was not one of the enemies: for no one
came forward to claim the reward, although the king of
CHAP. II.] DEATH OF JULIAN.—A.D. 363. 251
Persia caused proclamation to be made, by a herald, of
the honours to be awarded to him who had performed
the deed. We are surely beholden to the enemy for not
arrogating to themselves the glory of the action, but for
leaving it to us to seek the slayer among ourselves.
Those who sought his death were those who lived in
habitual transgression of the laws, and who had formerly
conspired against him; and who therefore perpetrated
the deed as soon as they could find an opportunity. They
were impelled by the desire of obtaining a greater degree
of freedom from all control than they could enjoy under
his government; and they were, perhaps, mainly stimu-
lated by their indignation at the attachment of the em-
peror to the service of the gods, to which they were
averse.”
CHAPTER II.
VISIONS OF THE EMPEROR'S DEATH SEEN BY WARIOUS INDI-
VIIDUALS. CALAMITIES WHICH JULIAN ENTAILED UPON
THE ROMANS.
IN the document above quoted, Libanius clearly
states that the emperor fell by the hand of a Christian;
and this, probably, was the truth. It is not unlikely
that some of the soldiers who then served in the Roman
army might have conceived the idea of acting like the
ancient slayers of tyrants, who exposed themselves to
death in the cause of liberty, and fought in defence of
their country, their families, and their friends, and whose
names are held in universal admiration. Still less is he
deserving of blame, who, for the sake of God and of reli-
gion, performed so bold a deed. But I know nothing
further concerning the death of Julian besides what I
have narrated. All men, however, concur in receiving
the account which has been handed down to us, and
which evidences his death to have been the result of
divine wrath. It appears that one of his friends had a
vision, which I shall now proceed to describe. He had,
it is related, travelled into Persia, with the intention of
252 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VI.
joining the emperor. While on the road, he found him-
self so far from any habitation that he was obliged, on
one night, to sleep in a church. He saw, during that
night, either in a dream or a vision, all the apostles and
prophets assembled together, and complaining of the
injuries which the emperor had inflicted on the church,
and consulting concerning the best measures to be adopted.
After much deliberation, two individuals arose in the
midst of the assembly, desired the others to be of
good cheer, and departed, as if to deprive Julian of the
imperial power. He who saw this vision did not attempt
to pursue his journey, but awaited, in horrible suspense,
the conclusion of the revelation. He laid himself down
to sleep again, in the same place, and again he saw the
same assembly: the two individuals who had appeared to
depart the preceding night to effect their purpose
against Julian, returned and announced his death to the
others.
On the same day, a vision was sent to Didymus, an
ecclesiastical philosopher, who dwelt at Alexandria; and
who, being deeply grieved at the apostasy of Julian and
his persecution of the churches, fasted and offered up
supplications to God continually on this account. From
the effects of extreme vigilance and want of food, he fell
asleep in his chair. Then being, as it were, in an ecstasy,
he beheld white horses traversing the air, and heard a
voice saying to those who were riding thereon—“Go,
and tell Didymus that Julian has just been slain; and let
him arise and eat, and communicate this intelligence to
Athanasius the bishop.” I have been credibly informed
that the friend of Julian and the philosopher beheld
those things. Results proved that neither of them were
far from having witnessed the truth. But if these in-
stances do not suffice to prove that the death of Julian
was the effect of divine wrath on account of his persecu-
tion of the church, let the prediction of one of the ecclesi-
astics be recalled to mind. When Julian was preparing
to enter upon the war against the Persians, he boasted
that, on the termination of the war, he would treat the
Christians with so much severity, that the Son of the Car-
CHAP. II.] DEATH OF JULIAN.—A.D. 363. 253
penter would be unable to aid them: the ecclesiastic
above-mentioned thereupon rejoined, that the Son of the
Carpenter was then preparing him a coffin. Julian him-
self was well aware whence the mortal stroke proceeded,
and what was the cause of its infliction: for, when he was
wounded, he took some of the blood that flowed from the
wound, and threw it up into the air, as if he had seen
Jesus Christ, and intended to throw it at him, in order
to reproach him with his death. Others say, that he was
angry with the sun, because it had favoured the Persians,
and had not rescued him, although, according to the doc-
trine of the astronomers, it had presided at his birth; and
that it was to express his indignation against this lumi-
nary that he took blood in his hand, and flung it up-
wards in the air. I know not whether, on the approach
of death, and while his soul was in the act of being sepa-
rated from the body, he might have become invested with
superhuman powers, and so have beheld Christ. Few
allusions have been made to this subject, and yet I dare
not reject this hypothesis as absolutely false; for God
often suffers still more improbable and astonishing events
to take place, in order to prove that the Christian religion
rests not on the wisdom or the power of man. It is,
however, very obvious that, throughout the reign of this
emperor, God gave manifest tokens of his displeasure,
and permitted many calamities to befall several of the
provinces of the Roman empire. He visited the earth
with such fearful earthquakes, that the buildings were
shaken, and no more safety could be found within the
houses than in the open air. From what I have heard, I
conjecture that it was during the reign of this emperor,
or, at least, when he occupied the second place in the
government, that a great calamity occurred near Alex-
andria in Egypt—namely, an inundation of the sea, of
such violence that the land was completely overflowed;
and afterwards, on the retreat of the waters, boats were
found lodged on the roofs of the houses. The anniver-
sary of this inundation, which is regarded as the effect of
an earthquake, is still commemorated at Alexandria by a
yearly festival; a general illumination is made through-
254 E C C L E S I A ST I C A L H IS TO R. Y. [BOOK VI.
out the city; the rites of religion are celebrated in the
most solemn and pompous manner; and the Alexandrians
return thanks to God for their deliverance. An exces-
sive drought also occurred during this reign; the plants
perished, and the air was corrupted; and, for want of
proper sustenance, men were obliged to have recourse to
the food usually eaten by other animals. To the famine
succeeded a pestilence, by which many lives were lost.
Such was the state of the empire during the administra-
tion of Julian.
CHA PTE R III.
ACCESSION OF THE EMPEROR JOVIAN.
AFTER the decease of Julian, the government of the
empire was, by the unanimous consent of the troops,
tendered to Jovian. He, at first, refused the symbols
of imperial power, alleging that he was a Christian; but
when the soldiers discovered the cause of his refusal,
they loudly proclaimed that they were themselves
Christians. The critical condition in which affairs had
been left by Julian, and the sufferings of the army from
famine in an enemy's country, compelled Jovian to con-
clude a peace with the Persians, and to cede to them
some territories which had been formerly tributary to
the Romans. Having learned from experience that the
impiety of his predecessor had excited the wrath of God,
and given rise to public calamities, he wrote without
delay to the governors of the provinces, directing that
the people should assemble together in the churches,
that they should serve God with reverence, and that they
should receive the Christian faith as the only true
religion. He restored to the churches and the clergy,
to the widows and the virgins, the same privileges that
had been granted by Constantius and his sons, and after-
wards withdrawn by Julian. He commanded Secundus,
who was then a praetorian prefect, to constitute it a
capital crime to marry, or to carry off any of the holy
virgins, or even to regard them with unchaste desires.
He enacted this law on account of the wickedness which
CHAP. IV.] ACCESSION OF JOVIAN.—A.D. 363. 255
had prevailed during the reign of Julian; for many men
had taken wives from among the holy virgins; and,
either by force or guile, had completely corrupted them:
and thence had proceeded those breaches of morality
which always occur when religion is contemned and
licentiousness tolerated.
CHAPTER IV.
TROUBLES AGAIN ARISE IN THE CHURCHES; COUNCIL OF
ANTIOCH, IN WEHICH THE NICENE FAITH IS CONFIRMED;
LETTER OF THE COUNCIL TO JOVIAN.
THE rulers of the churches now resumed the agitation
of doctrinal questions. They had remained quiet during
the reign of Julian, when Christianity itself was en-
dangered, and had unanimously offered up their suppli-
cations for the favour and protection of God. It is thus
that men, when attacked by foreign enemies, remain at
peace among themselves; but, when external troubles are
removed, then internal dissensions creep in : this, how-
ever, is not a proper place for the citation of the numerous
examples which history affords of this fact.
At this period, Basil bishop of Ancyra, Silvanus
bishop of Tarsus, Sophronius bishop of Pompeiopolis, and
others of their party who regarded the heresy of the
Anomians with the utmost aversion, and received the
term “similar as to substance,” instead of the term
“con-substantial,” wrote to the emperor; and, after ex-
pressing their thankfulness to God for his accession to
the empire, besought him to confirm the decrees issued
at Ariminum and Seleucia, and to annul what had been
established merely by the zeal and power of certain indi-
viduals. They also entreated that, if discussion should
still prevail in the churches, the bishops from every
region might be convened in some place indicated by the
emperor, and not be permitted to assemble elsewhere,
and issue decrees at variance with each other, as had
been done during the reign of Constantius. They added,
that they had not gone to visit him at his camp, because
they were fearful of being burdensome to him; but that,
256 EC CLES IASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
if he desired to see them, they would gladly repair to
him, and defray all expenses attendant on the journey
themselves.
At this juncture, a council was convened at Antioch
in Syria; the form of belief established by the council of
Nicaea was confirmed; and it was decided that the Son is
incontrovertibly of the same substance as the Father.
Meletius, who was then bishop of Antioch, Eusebius
bishop of Samosata, Pelagius bishop of Laodicea in
Syria, Acacius bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, Irenius
bishop of Gaza, and Athanasius bishop of Ancyra, took
part in this council. On the termination of the council,
they acquainted the emperor with the transactions that
had taken place, by despatching the following letter—
“To the most religious and beloved Lord Jovian
Augustus the Conqueror, from the bishops assembled
from divers regions, at Antioch.
“We know, O emperor, well-beloved of God, that
your piety is fully intent upon maintaining peace and
concord in the church ; neither are we ignorant that
you have embraced the true and orthodox faith, which is
the source of all unity. Lest, therefore, we should be
reckoned among those who assail these doctrines of truth,
we declare and testify, that we receive and maintain the
form of belief which was anciently set forth by the holy
council of Nicaea. Now, although the term ‘con-
substantial’ appears strange to some persons, yet it was
safely interpreted by the Fathers, and signifies that the
Son was begotten of the substance of the Father, and that
He is of like substance with the Father. This term does
not convey the idea of unbroken generation; neither does
it coincide with the use which the Greeks make of the
word ‘substance,’ but is calculated to withstand the
impious allegation of Arius, that the Son proceeded from
what had had no previous existence. The Anomians
have still the impudence and rashness to maintain this
same audacious dogma; and they thereby most grievously
disturb the peace and unanimity of the churches.
“We subjoin to this letter a copy of the formulary of
CHAP. V.] MACHINATIONS AGAINST ATHANASIUs. 257
faith adopted by the bishops assembled at Nicaea, which
we also receive and cherish.”
Such were the decisions formed by the bishops con-
vened at Antioch; and they appended to their letter a
copy of the Nicene formulary of faith.
CHAPTE R. V.
THE GREAT ATHANASIUS OBTAINS THE FAVOUR OF THE
EMPEROR, AND IS RE-APPOINTED OVER THE CHURCHES
OF EGYPT. VISION OF THE GREAT ANTONY.
AT this period, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria,
and some of his friends, deemed it requisite, as the em-
peror was a Christian, to repair to his court. Accord-
ingly Athanasius went to Antioch, and laid such matters
before the emperor as he considered expedient. Others,
however, say that the emperor sent for him, in order to
consult him concerning the affairs relative to religion
and the true faith. When the business of the church
had been transacted, Athanasius began to think of
returning. Euzoius, bishop of the Arian heresy in
Antioch, endeavoured to instal Probatius, a eunuch
who held the same sentiments as himself, in the bishopric
of Alexandria. The whole party of Euzoius conspired
with him to effect this design; and Lucius, a citizen of
Alexandria, who had been ordained priest by George,
endeavoured to prejudice the emperor against Athana-
sius, by representing that he had been accused of divers
crimes, and had been condemned to perpetual banish-
ment by preceding emperors, as the author of the dis-
sensions and troubles of the church. Lucius likewise
besought Jovian to appoint another bishop over the
church of Alexandria. The emperor saw through the
artifice, attached no credit to the calumny, and dismissed
Lucius with suitable admonitions: he also commanded
Probatius, and the other eunuchs belonging to his palace,
whom he regarded as the originators of this contention,
to act more advisedly for the future. From that period,
Jovian manifested the greatest friendship towards Atha-
nasius, and sent him back to Egypt, with directions to
258 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK WI.
govern the churches and people of that country as he
might think fit. It is also said that he passed com-
mendations on the virtue of the bishop, on the purity
of his life, his intellectual endowments, and his great
eloquence. Thus, after having been exposed to great
opposition, was the Nicene faith fully re-established; but
further opposition awaited it within a very short period.
For the whole of the prediction of Antony the Monk
was not fulfilled by the occurrences which befell the
church during the reign of Constantius: part thereof
was not accomplished till the reign of Valens. It is
said that, before the Arians took possession of the
churches during the reign of Constantius, Antony had a
dream, in which he saw mules encompassing the altar,
and trampling it beneath their feet. On awakening, he
predicted that the church would be troubled by the
introduction of false and impure doctrines, and by the
rebellion of the heterodox. The truth of this prediction
was evidenced by the events which occurred before and
after the period now under review.
CHAPTER WI.
DEATH OF JOVIAN, ACCESSION OF WALENTINIAN, AND ASSO-
CIATION OF HIS BROTHER WALENS IN THE GOVERNMENT.
AFTER Jovian had reigned about eight months, he
died suddenly at Dadastanis, a town of Bithynia, while
on his road to Constantinople. Some say that his death
was occasioned by eating too plentiful a supper: others
attribute it to the dampness of the chamber in which he
slept; for it was of very recent construction, and quan-
tities of coals had been burnt in it during the winter
for the purpose of drying the walls. On the arrival of
the troops at Nicæa in Bithynia, they proclaimed Valen-
tinian emperor. He was a good man, and capable of
holding the reins of the empire. He had not long re-
turned from banishment : for it is said that Julian,
immediately on his accession to the empire, erased the
name of Valentinian from the Jovian legions, as they
were called, and condemned him to perpetual banish-
CHAP. VI.] ACCESSION OF VALENTINIAN.—A.D. 364. 259
ment, under the pretext that he failed in his duty of
leading out the soldiers under his command against the
enemy. The true reason of his condemnation, however,
was the following. When Julian was in Gaul, he went
one day to a temple to offer incense. Valentinian ac-
companied him, according to an ancient Roman law,
which still prevails, and which enacted that the Jovians
and the Herculeans (that is to say, the legions of soldiers
who have received this appellation in honour of Jupiter
and of Hercules) should always attend the emperor as
his body guard. When they were about to enter the
temple, the priest, in accordance with the Pagan custom,
sprinkled water upon them with the branch of a tree.
A drop fell upon the robe of Valentinian, who was a
Christian: his indignation arose, and he rebuked the
priest with great rudeness; it is even said that he tore off,
in the presence of the emperor, the portion of the garment
on which the water had fallen, and flung it from him.
From that moment Julian entertained inimical feelings
against him, and soon after banished him to Melitine
in Armenia, under the plea of misconduct in military
affairs: for he would not have religion regarded as the
cause of the decree, lest Valentinian should be accounted
a martyr or a confessor. Julian treated other Christians,
as we have already stated, in the same manner; for he
perceived that persecution only added to the lustre of
their reputation, and tended to the consolidation of their
religion. As soon as Jovian succeeded to the throne,
Valentinian was recalled from banishment : but the
death of the emperor in the meantime took place; and
Valentinian, by the unanimous consent of the troops
and the chiefs, was appointed his successor. When he
was invested with the symbols of imperial power, the
soldiers cried out that it was necessary to elect some
one to share the burden of government. To this pro-
position Valentinian made the following reply: “It
depended on you alone, O soldiers, to proclaim me
emperor; but now that you have elected me, it depends
not upon you, but upon me, to perform what you de-
mand: remain quiet, as subjects ought to do, and leave

260 EC CLESIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK WI.
me to act as an emperor.” Not long after this refusal
to comply with the demand of the soldiery, he repaired
to Constantinople, and proclaimed his brother emperor:
he gave him the East as his share of the government;
and reserved to himself the regions along the Western
Ocean, from Illyria to the furthest coasts of Lybia.
Both the brothers were Christians, but they differed in
opinion and disposition. Valens, having been baptized
by Eudoxius when he officiated as bishop, was zealously
attached to the doctrines of Arius, and would readily
have compelled all mankind by force to yield to them:
Valentinian, on the other hand, maintained the faith of
the Council of Nicaea, and favoured those who upheld
the same sentiments, without molesting those who enter-
tained other opinions.
C HAPTER VII.
TROUBLES AGAIN ARISE IN THE CHURCHES, AND THE COUNCIL
OF LAMPSACUS IS HELD. MELETIUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH,
AND OTHER ORTHODOX BISHOPS, ARE EJECTED FROM THEIR
CHURCHES BY THE ARIANS.
WHEN Valentinian was journeying from Constanti-
nople to Rome, he had to pass through Thrace; and the
bishops of the Hellespont and of Bithynia, with others,
who maintained that the Son is consubstantial with the
Father, despatched Hypatian, bishop of Heraclea in
Perinthus, to meet him, and to request permission to
assemble themselves together for deliberation on ques-
tions of doctrine. Whei, Hypatian had delivered the
message with which he was entrusted, Valentinian made
the following reply: “I am but one of the laity, and
have therefore no right to interfere in these transac-
tions: let the bishops, to whom such matters appertain,
assemble where they please.” On receiving this answer,
through Hypatian, their deputy, the bishops assembled
at Lampsacus. After having conferred together for the
space of two months, they annulled all that had been
decreed at Constantinople through the machinations of
the partizans of Eudoxius and Acacius. They likewise
CHAP. VII.] COUNCIL OF LAMPSACUs.—A.D. 365. 261
declared null and void the formulary of faith which had
been circulated under the false assertion that it was the
compilation of the Western bishops, and to which the
signatures of many bishops had been obtained by the
promise that the dogma of dissimilarity as to substance
should be condemned—a promise which had never been
performed. They decreed that the doctrine of the Son
being in substance like unto the Father should have the
ascendancy: for they said that it was necessary to resort
to the use of the term “like,” as indicative of the
hypostases of the Godhead. They agreed that the form
of belief which had been adopted at Seleucia, and set
forth at the dedication of the church of Antioch, should
be maintained by all the churches. They directed that
all the bishops who had been deposed by those who hold
that the Son is dissimilar from the Father should forth-
with be reinstated in their churches, as having been
unjustly ejected. They declared, that if any wished to
bring accusations against them, they would be permitted
to do so, but under the penalty of incurring the same
punishment as that due to the alleged crime should the
accusation prove to be false. The bishops of the pro-
vince and of the neighbouring countries were to preside
as judges, and to assemble in the church, with the wit-
nesses who were to make the depositions. . ---
After making these arrangements, the bishops sum-
moned the partizans of Eudoxius, and exhorted them to
repentance; but as they would give no heed to these
remonstrances, the decrees enacted by the council were
sent to all the churches. Judging that Eudoxius would
endeavour to persuade the emperor to side with him,
and would calumniate them, they determined to be
beforehand with him, and to send an account of their
proceedings to the court. Their deputies met the Em-
peror Valens as he was returning to Heraclea from
Thrace, where he had been travelling in company with
his brother, who had gone on to Old Rome. Eudoxius,
however, had previously gained over the emperor and
his courtiers to his own sentiments; so that when the
deputies of the Council of Lampsacus presented them-
262 EC CLESIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
selves before Valens, he merely exhorted them not to be
at variance with Eudoxius. The deputies replied by
reminding him of the artifices to which Eudoxius had
resorted at Constantinople, and of his machinations to
annul the decrees of the Council of Seleucia; and these
representations kindled the wrath of Valens to such a
pitch, that he condemned the deputies to banishment,
and made over the churches to the partizans of Eudoxius.
He then passed over into Syria, for he feared lest the
Persians should break the truce which they had con-
cluded with Jovian for thirty years. On finding, how-
ever, that the Persians were not disposed to insurrection,
he fixed his residence at Antioch. He sent Meletius into
banishment; but spared Paul, because he admired the
sanctity of his life. Those who were not in communion
with Euzoius were either ejected from the churches, or
fined and punished in some other manner.
CHAPTER VIII.
REVOLT AND EXTRAORDINARY DEATEI OF PROCOPIUS. ELEU-
SIUS, BISHOP OF CYZICUS, AND EUNOMIUS, THE HERETIC.
IT is probable that a severe persecution might have
ensued at this juncture, had not Procopius commenced
a civil war. As he possessed the chief authority at Con-
stantinople, he soon collected a large army and marched
against Valens. The latter quitted Syria, and met Pro-
copius near Nacolia, a city of Phrygia, and captured him
alive through the treachery of Agilonius and Gomoarius,
two of his generals. Valens put them all to a cruel death,
and although he had sworn to show favour to the two
generals, he caused them to be sawn asunder. He com-
manded Procopius to be fastened by the legs to two
trees which had been bent together by the application of
a great force ; so that on the sudden removal of the
force, when the trees were left to resume their natural
position, the victim was torn in twain.
On the termination of this war, Valens retired to
Nicaea; and, finding himself in possession of profound
tranquillity, he again began to molest those who differed
CHAP. IX.] THE ORTHODOx PERSECUTED BY VALENs. 263
from him in opinion concerning the Divine nature. His
anger was unbounded against the bishops of the Council
of Lampsacus, because they had condemned the Arian
bishops and the formulary of faith set forth at Ari-
minum. While under the influence of these resentful
feelings, he summoned Eleusius from Syria; and having
called together a synod of bishops who held his own
sentiments, he endeavoured to compel him to assent to
their doctrines. Eleusius, at first, manfully refused
compliance. But afterwards, from the dread of being
ejected from his church and deprived of his property,
as was threatened by the emperor, he yielded to the
mandate. He soon repented of his weakness, and, on
his return to Cyzicus, he made a public confession of his
fault in the church, and urged the people to choose an-
other bishop, for, he said, that he could not discharge
the duties of the priesthood after having denied his own
faith. The citizens esteemed and honoured Eleusius too
highly to proceed to the election of another bishop.
Eudoxius, bishop of the Arians in Constantinople, how-
ever, ordained Eunomius as bishop of Cyzicus; for he
expected that by his great powers of eloquence Euno-
mius would easily draw the people of Cyzicus over to his
own sentiments. On his arrival at that city, he expelled
Eleusius; for he was furnished with an imperial edict to
that effect, and took possession of the church himself.
The followers of Eleusius built a house of prayer with-
out the walls of the city, and here they held their assem-
blies. I shall soon again have occasion to revert to
Eunomius and the heresy which bears his name.
CHAPTER IX.
SUFFERINGS OF THOSE WHO MAINTAINED THE NICENE FAITH.
AGELIUS, BISHOP OF THE NOVATIANS.
THE Christians who adhered to the Nicene doctrines,
and the followers of the Novatian heresy, were treated
with equal severity in the city of Constantinople. They
were all ultimately expelled from the city; and the
churches of the Novatians were closed by order of the
264 E C C L E SH ASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
emperor. The other party had no churches to be closed,
having been deprived of them all during the reign of
Constantius. At this period, Agelius, who from the time
of Constantius had governed the church of the Nova-
tians at Constantinople, was condemned to banishment.
It is said that he was noted for his accurate and implicit
observance of the ecclesiastical laws. With respect to
his mode of life, he had attained to the highest degree
of philosophy, namely, freedom from worldly possess-
ions: this was evidenced by his daily conduct; he had
but one coat, and always walked barefooted. Not long
after his banishment he was recalled and restored to his
church through the influence of Marcion, a man of ex-
traordinary virtue and eloquence, who had formerly
been enrolled among the troops of the palace, but was at
this period a presbyter of the Novatians, and the teacher
of grammar to Anastasia and Carosa, the daughters of
the emperor. There are still baths at Constantinople
which bear the names of these princesses. It was for
the sake of Marcion alone that the privilege abovemen-
tioned was conceded to the Novatians.
CHAPTER X.
CONCERNING VALENTINIAN THE YOUNGER, AND GRATIAN.
PERSECUTION EXCITED BY VALENS. THE HOMOOUSIANS, BE-
ING PERSECUTED BY THE ARIANS AND MACEDONIANS, SEND
AN EMBASSY TO ROME.
ABOUT this period, a son was born to Valentinian in
the West, to whom the emperor gave his own name.
Not long after, he proclaimed his son Gratian emperor;
this prince was born before his father succeeded to the
throne.
In the meantime, although hailstones of extraordinary
magnitude fell in various places, and although many
cities, particularly Nicaea in Bithynia, were shaken by
earthquakes, yet Valens the emperor, and Eudoxius the
bishop, paused not in their career, but continued to per-
secute all Christians who differed from them in opinion.
They succeeded to the utmost of their expectations in
CHAP. x.] PERSECUTION UNDER VALENS AND EUDOXIUS. 265
their machinations against those who adhered to the
Nicene doctrines, for throughout many of the more dis-
tant provinces, and particularly in Thrace, Bithynia,
and the Hellespont, these Christians were, during the
greater part of the reign of Valens, deprived of their
churches and of their priests. Valens and Eudoxius
then directed their resentment against the Macedonians,
who were more in number than the Christians above-
mentioned in that reign, and persecuted them without
mercy. The Macedonians, in apprehension of further
sufferings, sent deputies to various cities, and finally
agreed to have recourse to Valentinian and to Liberius,
bishop of Rome, rather than conform to the doctrines
of Eudoxius and Valens. In prosecution of this design,
they selected three of their own number, namely, Eusta-
thius bishop of Sebaste, Silvanus bishop of Tarsus, and
Theophilus bishop of Castabalis, and sent them to the
Emperor Valentinian ; they likewise entrusted them
with a letter, addressed to Liberius, bishop of Rome, and
to the other bishops of the West, in which they entreated
them, as prelates who had undeviatingly adhered to the
faith of the apostles, and who were peculiarly called
upon to watch over the purity of religion, to receive
their deputies favourably, and to confer with them con-
cerning the re-establishment of order in the church.
When the deputies arrived in Italy, they found that the
emperor was in Gaul, engaged in a war against the bar-
barians. As they considered that it would be perilous
to visit the seat of war in Gaul, they delivered their letter
to Liberius. After having conferred with him concern-
ing the objects of their embassy, they condemned Arius
and those who held and taught his doctrines; they re-
nounced all heresies opposed to the faith established at
Nicaea; and received the term “con-substantial,” as being
a word that conveys the same signification as the express-
ion “like in substance.” When they had presented a
confession of faith analogous to the above to Liberius,
he received them into communion with himself, and
wrote to the bishops of the East, commending the Ortho-
doxy of their faith, and detailing what had passed in the
266 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VI.
conference he had held with them. The confession of
faith made by Eustathius and his companions was as
follows.
CHAPTER XI.
THE CONFESSION OF EUSTATHIUS, SILVANUS, AND THEO-
PHILUS, THE DEPUTIES OF THE MACEDONIANS, TO LIBERIUS,
BISEIOP OF ROME.
“To Liberius, our Lord and Brother, and Fellow Minis-
ter–Eustathius, Silvanus, and Theophilus, send greet-
ing in the Lord.
“THE desire of suppressing the absurd dogmas which
heretics are perpetually broaching, to the scandal of the
Catholic Churches, has impelled us to assent to the decrees
enacted at Lampsacus, at Smyrna, and at councils in
other places, by the Orthodox bishops. Having been
sent on an embassy to your Holiness, as likewise to all
the other bishops of Italy and of the West, we hereby
attest and declare that we adhere to the Catholic faith
which was established at the holy Council of Nicaea, by
the blessed Constantine and three hundred and eighteen
inspired fathers. This form of belief has ever since
remained inviolate; and it most justly admits the term
‘con-substantial,’ in testimony against the errors of
Arius. We attest, by these our signatures, that we have
always held this faith, that we still hold it, and that we
shall adhere to it to the last. We condemn Arius, his
impious dogmas, and his disciples. We also condemn the
heresies of Patropassius, of Sabellius, of Marcion, of
Marcellus, of Paul of Samosata, and all who maintain
such doctrines, as well as the doctrines themselves. We
amathematize all heresies opposed to the holy faith
established by the saintly fathers at Nicaea. We anathe-
matize Arius, and condemn all such decrees as were en-
acted at Ariminum in opposition to the faith established
by the holy Council of Nicaea. We were formerly deluded
by the guile and perjury of certain parties, and sub-
CHAP. XII.] COUNCILS OF SICILY AND TYANE. 267
scribed to these decrees when they were transmitted to
Constantinople, from Nicaea, a city of Thrace.”
At the conclusion of this document, they subjoined a
copy of the entire formulary of Nicaea, and having re-
ceived from Liberius a written account of all that they
had transacted, they embarked on board a ship then
sailing from Sicily.
CHAPTER XII.
COUNCILS OF SICILY AND OF TYANE. BENEWED PERSECU-
TION OF THE ORTHODOX. EXILE AND RETURN OF
ATHANASIUS.
A councIL was convened in Sicily; and, after the
same doctrines had been confirmed as those set forth in
the confession of the deputies, the assembly was dis-
solved. At the same time, a council was held at Tyane;
and Eusebius bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Atha-
nasius bishop of Ancyra, Pelagius bishop of Laodicea,
Zeno bishop of Tyre, Paul bishop of Emesa, Otreius
bishop of Melitine, and Gregory bishop of Nazianzen, were
present, with many other prelates who, during the reign
of Jovian, had assembled at Antioch, and determined to
maintain the doctrine of the Son being con-substantial
with the Father. The letter of Liberius and that
addressed to the Western bishops were read at this coun-
cil. These letters afforded high satisfaction to the
members of the council; and they wrote to all the
churches, desiring them to peruse the decrees of the
Western bishops and the documents written by Liberius
and the bishops of Italy, of Africa, of Gaul, and of Sicily,
which had been entrusted to the deputies of the Council
of Lampsacus. They urged them to reflect on the great
number of prelates by whom these documents had been
drawn up, and who were far more in number than the
members of the Council of Ariminum, and exhorted them
to be of one mind, and to enter into communion with
them, to signify the same by writing, and fianlly, to
assemble together at Tarsus in Cilicia, before the end of
268 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK vſ.
the Spring. . On the approach of the appointed day,
when these bishops were accordingly on the point of
repairing to Tarsus, about thirty-four of the Asiatic
bishops assembled in Caria, commended the design of
establishing uniformity of belief in the church, but
objected to the term “con-substantial,” and insisted
that the formularies of faith set forth by the councils of
Antioch and Seleucia, and maintained by Lucian the
martyr and by many of their predecessors, in the midst
of great tribulations, ought to obtain the ascendancy over
all others. The emperor, at the instigation of Eudoxius,
prevented the council from being convened in Cilicia,
and even prohibited it under severe penalties. He also
wrote to the governors of the provinces, commanding
them to eject all bishops from their churches who had
been banished by Constantine and recalled by Julian.
Those who were at the head of the government of Egypt
were anxious to deprive Athanasius of his bishopric,
and expel him from the city; for, according to the edict
of the emperor, pecuniary and other punishments were to
be visited upon all magistrates and officers who neglected
the execution of the mandate. The Christians of the
city, however, assembled, and besought the governor not
to banish Athanasius without further consideration of
the terms of the mandate, which merely specified all
bishops who had been banished by Constantine and re-
called by Julian; and it was manifest that Athanasius
was not of this number, inasmuch as he had been recalled
by Constantius, and banished by Julian at the very time
that all the other bishops had been recalled, and had
been finally recalled by Jovian. The governor was by
no means convinced by these arguments; but, perceiving
that Athanasius could only be conveyed away by force,
as the people assembled in crowds, and as commotion and
perturbation prevailed throughout the city, he began to
apprehend an insurrection, and therefore wrote to the
emperor, without making any attempt against the bishop.
Some days afterwards, when the popular excitement had
abated, Athanasius secretly quitted the city at dusk,
and concealed himself. The very same night, the
CHAP. XII.] ESCAPE OF ATHANASIUs.—A.D. 370. 269
governor of Egypt and the military chiefs took possess-
ion of the church in which Athanasius generally dwelt,
and sought him in every part of the edifice, and even on
the roof, but in vain; for they had calculated upon seiz-
ing the moment when the popular commotion had par-
tially subsided, and when the whole city was wrapt in
sleep, to execute the mandate of the emperor, and to
transport Athanasius quietly from the city. The dis-
appearance of Athanasius excited universal astonish-
ment: some attributed his escape to a special revelation
from above; others to the advice of some of his followers;
but more than human prudence seems to have been
requisite to foresee and to avoid such imminent danger.
Some say, that as soon as the people gave indications of
being disposed to sedition, he concealed himself among
the tombs of his ancestors, being apprehensive lest he
should be regarded as the cause of any disturbances that
might ensue: and that he afterwards retreated to some
other place of concealment. The Emperor Valens soon
after granted permission for him to return to his church.
It is very doubtful whether, in making this concession,
Valens acted according to his own inclination. I rather
imagine that, on reflecting on the esteem in which
Athanasius was universally held, he feared to excite the
displeasure of the Emperor Valentinian, who was well
known to be attached to the Nicene doctrines, if he pro-
ceeded to violent measures against the prelate; or,
perhaps, he might have been apprehensive lest the
people, who were much attached to their bishop, should
be impelled to a line of conduct prejudicial to the
interests of the empire. I also believe that the Arian
bishops did not, on this occasion, plead very vehemently
against Athanasius; for they considered that, if he were
ejected from his church, he would probably repair to the
emperor, and might possibly succeed in persuading
Valens to adopt his own sentiments, and in arousing the
anger of Valentinian against themselves. They were
greatly troubled by the evidences of the virtue and
courage of Athanasius, which had been afforded by the
events which transpired during the reign of Constantius.
270 E C C L E SIASTIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
He had, in fact, so skilfully evaded the plots of his
enemies, that they had been constrained to consent to
his re-installation in the government of the churches
of Egypt; and yet he could be scarcely induced to
return from Italy, although letters had been despatched
by Constantius to that effect. I am convinced that it
was solely from these reasons that Athanasius was not
expelled from his church like the other bishops, who
were subjected to as cruel a persecution as was ever
inflicted by Pagans. Those who would not change their
doctrinal tenets were banished; their houses of prayer
were taken from them, and placed in the possession of
those who held opposite sentiments. Egypt alone was,
during the life of Athanasius, exempted from this perse-
cution.
CHAPTER XIII.
DEMOPHILUS ELECTED BISEIOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE BY THE
ARIANS, AND EVAGRIUS BY THE ORTHODOX, ACCOUNT OF
THE PERSECUTION WEHICH ENSUED,
ABOUT this time the Emperor Valens went to Antioch;
and during his absence Eudoxius died, after having
governed the church of Constantinople during the space
of eleven years. Demophilus was immediately ordained
as his successor by the Arian bishops. The followers of
the Nicene doctrines, believing that the course of events
was in their power, elected Evagrius as their bishop.
He had been ordained by Eustathius, who had formerly
governed the church of Antioch in Syria, and who, hav-
ing been recalled from banishment by Jovian, lived in a
private manner at Constantinople, and devoted himself
to the instruction of those who held his sentiments, ex-
horting them to perseverance. The Arians were deeply
incensed at this ordination, and commenced a violent
persecution against those by whom it had been effected.
The Emperor Valens, who was then at Nicomedia, on
being apprised of the occurrences that had taken place in
Constantinople since the death of Eudoxius, was fearful
lest an insurrection should arise in the city, and there-
CHAP. XIV.] SLAUGHTER OF EIGHTY PRIESTS. 271
fore sent thither as many troops as he thought requisite
to preserve tranquillity. Eustathius was arrested by his
command and banished to Bizia, a city of Thrace, and
Evagrius was exiled to some other region.
CHAPTER XIV.
EIGHTY ORTHODOX PRIESTS PUT TO DEATH BY WALENS.
THE prosperity of the Arians greatly added to their
arrogance, and they persecuted unmercifully all Chris-
tians whose religious sentiments were opposed to their
own. These Christians being exposed to personal in-
juries, accusations and imprisonment, and finding them-
selves moreover gradually impoverished by the fines and
extortions of the Arians, were at length compelled to
appeal for redress to the emperor. They deputed to him
for this purpose an embassy consisting of eighty eccle-
siastics, under the direction of Urbanus, Theodore, and
Menedemes. When they arrived at Nicomedia, they pre-
sented a memorial of their grievances to the emperor.
Although transported with rage, the emperor did not
openly manifest any displeasure, but secretly commanded
the prefect to slay the whole deputation. But the pre-
fect, being apprehensive that a popular insurrection
would be excited if he were to put so many good and
religious men to death without any of the forms of jus-
tice, pretended that they were to be sent into exile, and
under this pretext compelled them to embark on board
a ship, to which they assented with the most perfect
resignation. When they had sailed to about the centre
of the bay, which was called Astacenes, the sailors, ac-
cording to the orders they had received, set fire to the
vessel, and leaped into the boat. A wind arising, the
ship was blown along to Dacibiza, a port of Bithynia; but
no sooner had it neared the shore, than it was utterly
consumed with all the men on board.
272 E C C L E S I ASTIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
CHAPTER XV.
DISPUTES BETWEEN EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF CAESAREA, AND
BASIL THE GREAT, CONCERNING THE CHURCH OF CAESAREA.
WHEN Valens quitted Nicomedia, he went on to An-
tioch; and in passing through Cappadocia he did all in
his power, according to custom, to injure the orthodox,
and to deliver up the churches to the Arians. He
thought to accomplish his designs the more easily on
account of a dispute which was then pending between
Basil and Eusebius who governed the church of Caesarea.
. This dissension had been the cause of Basil's departing
from Pontus, where he lived in retirement with some
monks. The people and some of the most powerful and
of the wisest men in the city began to regard Eusebius
with suspicion, particularly as they considered him the
cause of the withdrawal of one who was equally cele-
brated for his eloquence and his piety; and they accord-
ingly began to meditate a secession from communion
with Eusebius. In the meantime, Basil, fearing to be a
source of further trouble to the church, which was
already rent by the dissensions of heretics, remained in
retirement at Pontus. The emperor, and the Arian
bishops who were always attached to his suite, regarded
the absence of Basil and the hatred of the people towards
Eusebius, as circumstances that would tend greatly to
the success of their designs. But their expectations
were utterly frustrated. On the first intelligence of the
intention of the emperor to pass through Cappadocia,
Basil quitted Pontus and returned to Caesarea, where
he effected a reconciliation with Eusebius, and by his
eloquence greatly promoted the interests of the church.
The projects of Valens were thus defeated, and he re-
turned with his bishops without having accomplished
any of his designs.
CHAP. XVI.] BASIL, BISHOP OF CAPPADOCIA. 273
CHAPTE R XVI.
BASIL SUCCEEDS EUSEBIUS IN THE BISHOPRIC OF CAPPADOCIA,
AND SPEAKS WITH GREAT FREEDOM IN THE PRESENCE OF
VALENS.
SoME time after the emperor again visited Cappadocia,
and found that Eusebius was dead, and that the bishopric
had been transferred to Basil. He thought of expelling
him from this office, but was compelled to abandon his
intention. It is said that the night after he had formed
his plans, his wife was disturbed by a frightful dream,
and that his only son Galates was about the same time
cut off by a rapid disease. The death of this prince was
universally attributed to the wrath of God on account of
the machinations that had been carried on against Basil.
Valens himself was of this opinion, and after the death
of his son, offered no further molestation to the bishop.
When the prince was sinking under the disease, and at
the point of death, the emperor sent for Basil, and re-
quested him to pray to God for his son's recovery. For
as soon as Valens had arrived at Caesarea, the prefect
had sent for Basil, and commanded him to embrace the
religious sentiments of the emperor, menacing him with
death in case of non-compliance. Basil replied, that it
would be great gain to him to be delivered from the
bondage of the body, and that he should consider himself
under obligation to whoever would free him from that
bondage. The prefect gave him the rest of that day
and the approaching night for deliberation, and advised
him not to rush imprudently into obvious and imminent
danger. “I do not require to deliberate,” replied Basil.
“My determination will be the same to-morrow as it
is to-day. Never will I worship the creature, or recog-
mise the creature as God; neither will I conform to your
religion, nor to that of the emperor. Although your
power may be great, and although you have the honour
of ruling no inconsiderable a portion of the empire, yet
I ought not on these accounts to seek to please men, and
at the same time deviate from that divine faith which
18
274 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
neither exile, proscription, nor death, have ever impelled
me to abjure. Inflictions of this nature have never
excited in my mind one pang of sorrow. I possess
nothing but a cloak and a few books. I dwell on the
earth as a traveller. As to bodily tortures, the weakness
of my constitution is such, that I should triumph over
them on the first application of the rack.” The prefect
admired the courage evinced in this bold reply, and
communicated the circumstance to the emperor. On the
festival of the Epiphany, the emperor repaired to the
church, with the rulers and his guards, presented gifts
at the altar, and held a conference with Basil, whose
wisdom and gravity of deportment strongly excited his
admiration. Not long after, however, the calumny of
his enemies prevailed, and Basil was condemned to
banishment. On the night previous to the execution of
the edict, the son of the emperor fell ill with a dan-
gerous and malignant fever. The father prostrated
himself on the earth, and wept over the calamity; and
not knowing what other measures to take towards effect-
ing the recovery of his son, he despatched some of his
attendants to Basil, whom he feared to summon himself,
on account of the injustice he had manifested towards
him. Immediately on the arrival of Basil, the prince
began to rally; so that many maintain that his recovery
would have been complete, had not some heretics been
summoned to pray with Basil for his restoration. It is
said that the prefect, likewise, fell ill; but that on his
repentance, and on prayer being offered to God, he was
restored to health. The instances above adduced are
quite inadequate to convey an idea of the wonderful
endowments of Basil: his austerity of life and astonish-
ing powers of eloquence attracted great celebrity.
CHAPTER XVII.
FRIENDSHIP OF BASIL AND OF GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN;
"THEY MAINTAIN THE NICENE DOCTRINES.
GREGORY, who, it is said, was equally noted for the
same attainments as Basil, flourished about the same
CHAP. XVIII.] PERSECUTION AT ANTIOCH.—A.D. 370. 275
period. They had both studied in their youth at Athens,
under Himerius and Proaresius, the most celebrated
sophists of the age: and afterwards at Antioch, under
Libanius, the Syrian. But as they subsequently con-
ceived a contempt for sophistry and the study of the
law, they determined to devote themselves to the prac-
tice and study of Christian philosophy according to the
canons of the church. After having spent some time in
the pursuit of Pagan science, they entered upon the
study of the commentaries which Origen and the
authors who lived before and after his time have
written in explanation of the Sacred Scriptures. They
rendered great assistance to those who, like themselves,
maintained the Nicene doctrines, and manfully opposed the
dogmas of the Arians, proving that these heretics did not
rightly understand the data upon which they proceeded,
nor even the Commentaries of Origen, upon which they
mainly depended. These two holy men divided the
perils of their undertaking, either by mutual agreement,
or, as I have been informed, by lot. The cities in the
neighbourhood of Pontus fell to the lot of Basil; and
here he founded numerous monasteries, and confirmed
the people in the belief of the doctrines which he main-
tained. After the death of his father, Gregory obtained
the bishopric of the small city of Nazianzen; and he was
hence obliged to remain for some time at Constantinople
and other places. Not long after, he was called by the
people to the dignity of the metropolitan see: for there
was then neither bishop nor church in Constantinople,
and the doctrines of the Council of Nicaea were almost
extinct.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS AT ANTIOCH, ON THE ORONTES.
TEIE PEOPLE ASSEMBLE NEAR THE CHURCH OF THE
APOSTLE THOMAS AT EDESSA.
THE emperor went to Antioch, and ejected from the
churches of that city and of the neighbouring towns all
those who adhered to the Nicene doctrines: moreover,
he persecuted them with extreme cruelty, putting many
276 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VI.
of them to death in various ways, and causing others to
be drowned in the River Orontes. Having heard that
there was a magnificent church at Edessa, named after
the Apostle Thomas, he went to see it. On approaching
the edifice, he saw the members of the Catholic Church
assembled for worship without the walls of the city; for
they had been deprived of their churches. It is said
that the emperor was so indignant with the prefect
for permitting these assemblies, that he struck him.
Modestus (for this was the name of the prefect),
although he was himself a heretic, secretly warned the
people of Edessa not to meet for prayer on the same spot
the next day; for he had received orders from the em-
peror to punish all who resorted thither: but the people,
totally disregarding the threat, assembled, with more
than their customary zeal, at the usual place of meeting.
Modestus, on being apprised of their proceedings, was
undecided as to what measures ought to be adopted,
and repaired to the place where they had assembled.
A woman, leading a child by the hand, forced her way
through the ranks of the army, as if bent upon some
affair of importance. Modestus remarked her conduct,
ordered her to be stopped, and summoned her into his
presence, to inquire the cause of her anxiety. She
replied, that she was hastening to the spot where the
members of the Catholic Church were assembled. “IGnow
you not,” replied Modestus, “that the prefect is on his
way thither, for the purpose of condemning to death all
who are found on the spot?” “I have heard so,” replied
she, “and this is the very reason of my haste; for I am
fearful of arriving too late, and thus losing the honour
of martyrdom.” The governor having asked her why
she took her child with her, she replied, “In order that
he may share in the sufferings of the others, and partici-
pate in the same reward.” Modestus, struck with
astonishment at the courage of this woman, went to the
emperor, and, acquainting him with what had occurred,
persuaded him to renounce a design which was neither
beneficial nor creditable. Thus was the Christian faith
confessed by the whole city of Edessa. .
CHAP. XIX.] DEATH OF ATHANASIUS.—A.D. 371. 277
CHAPTER XIX.
DEATH OF THE GREAT ATHANASIUS; HIS BISHOPRIC TRANS-
FERRED TO LUCIUS THE ARIAN. PETER, THE SUCCESSOR
OF ATHANASIUS, SEEKS REFUGE IN ROME.
ATHANASIUS, bishop of Alexandria, died about this
period, after having governed the church during the
space of forty-six years. The Arians having received
early intelligence of his death, Euzoius, bishop of the
Arians at Antioch, and Magnus, the chief treasurer, lost
no time in seizing and imprisoning Peter, whom Atha-
nasius had appointed to succeed him in the bishopric;
and they forthwith transferred the government of the
church to Lucius. Thence resulted a cruel persecution
in Egypt: for as soon as Lucius presented himself in
Alexandria, and attempted to take possession of the
churches, he met with opposition from the people; and
the clergy and holy virgins were accused as the
originators of the sedition. Some made their escape, as
if the city had fallen into the hands of an enemy; others
were seized and imprisoned. Some of the prisoners were
afterwards dragged from the dungeons to be torn with
iron nails, while others were burnt by means of flaming
torches. It seemed wonderful how they could possibly
survive the tortures to which they were subjected.
Banishment, or even death itself, would have been pre-
ferable to such sufferings. Peter, the bishop, made his
escape from prison; and, embarking on board a ship,
proceeded to Rome, the bishop of which church held
the same sentiments as himself. Thus the Arians,
although not many in number, remained in possession
of the churches. At the same time, an edict was issued
by the emperor, enacting that as many of the followers
of the Nicene doctrines should be ejected from Alexan-
dria and the rest of Egypt, as might be directed by
Lucius. Euzoius, having thus accomplished all his
designs, returned to Antioch. &
278 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VI.
CHAPTER XX.
PERSECUTION OF THE EGYPTIAN MONKS, AND OF THE DISCI-
PLES OF ST. ANTONY. MIRACLES WROUGHT BY THEM.
LUCIUs went with the governor of Egypt and a band
of soldiers against the monks in the desert; for he
imagined that, if he could overcome their opposition
by interrupting the tranquillity which they loved, he
would meet with fewer obstacles in drawing over to his
party the Christians who inhabited the cities. The monas-
teries of this country were governed by several indi-
viduals of eminent sanctity, who were strenuously
opposed to the heresy of Arius. The people, who were
neither able nor willing to enter upon the investigation
of doctrinal questions, received their opinions from them,
and thought with them; for they were persuaded that
men whose virtue was manifested by their deeds were in
possession of truth. We have heard that the leaders of
these Egyptian ascetics were two men of the name of
Macarius, of whom mention has been already made,
Pambonius and Heraclides, and other disciples of
Antony. On reflecting that the Arians could never
succeed in establishing an ascendancy over the Catholic
Church, unless the monks could be drawn over to their
party, Lucius determined to have recourse to force to
compel the monks to side with him, all gentler measures
having been attended with signal failure; but here
again his schemes were frustrated; for the monks were
prepared to fall by the sword rather than to swerve from
the Nicene doctrines. It is related that, at the very time
that the soldiers were about to attack them, a man whose
limbs were withered, and who was unable to stand, was
carried to them; and that, when they had anointed him
with oil, and commanded him (in the name of Christ
whom Lucius persecuted) to arise and go to his
house, he was immediately restored to health and
strength. This miraculous cure manifested the necessity
of adopting the sentiments of those whose prayers were
heard and answered by God, in opposition to the dogmas
CHAP. XX.] A DEMON EXORCISED BY MACARIUS. 279
of Lucius: but the persecutors of the monks were not
led to repentance by this miracle; on the contrary, they
arrested these holy men, and conveyed them by night
to an island of Egypt, lying in the midst of swamps
and marshes. The inhabitants of this island had never
heard of the Christian faith, and were devoted to the
service of demons: the island contained many temples of
great antiquity used for idolatrous purposes. It is said
that, when the monks landed on the island, the daughter
of the priest, who was possessed of a devil, went to meet
them. The girl ran screaming towards them; and the
people of the island, astonished at her strange conduct,
followed in crowds. When she drew near the ship in
which were the holy priests, she flung herself upon the
ground, and exclaimed in a loud voice, “Wherefore are
you come to us, O servants of the great God 2 for we
have long dwelt in this island without giving trouble to
any one. Unknown to men, we have concealed our-
selves here, and shut up ourselves within these marshes.
If, however, it please you, accept our possessions, and
fix your abode here; we will quit the island.” Macarius
and his companions exorcised the demon, and the girl
was restored, Her father and all her house, with the
inhabitants of the island, immediately embraced Christi-
anity, and demolished their temple for the purpose of
erecting a church. On these occurrences being re-
ported at Alexandria, Lucius was overcome by immode-
rate grief; and fearing lest he should incur the hatred of
his own partizans, and be accused of warring against
God, and not against man, he sent secret orders for
Macarius and his companions to be re-conveyed to their
own dwellings in the wilderness. Thus did Lucius
occasion troubles and commotions in Egypt. About the
same period, Didymus the philosopher and several other
illustrious men acquired great renown. Struck by their
virtue, and by that of the monks, the people followed
their doctrines, and opposed those of the partizans of
Lucius. The Arians, though not so strong in point of
numbers as the other party, grievously persecuted the
church of Egypt.
280 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK WI.
CHAPTER XXI.
LIST OF THE PLACES IN WEHICH THE NICENE DOCTRINES
WERE PREACHED. FAITH MANIFESTED BY THE SCYTHIANS.
ARIANISM met with similar opposition at the same
period in Osröene and Cappadocia. Basil bishop of
Caesarea, and Gregory bishop of Nazianzen, were held in
high admiration and esteem throughout these regions.
Syria and the neighbouring provinces, and more espe-
cially the city of Antioch, were plunged in confusion
and disorder; for the Arians were very numerous in
these parts, and had possession of the churches. The
members of the Catholic Church were not, however, few
in number. They were called Eustathians and Paul-
inists, and were under the guidance of Paulinus and
Meletius, as has been before stated. It was through
their instrumentality that the church of Antioch was
preserved from the encroachments of the Arians, and
enabled to resist the power of Valens, and of those who
acted under his directions. Indeed, it appears that all
the churches which were governed by men who were
firmly attached to the faith did not deviate from the
form of doctrine they had originally embraced. It is
said that this was the cause of the firmness with which
the Scythians adhered to their religion. There are in
this country a great number of cities, of towns, and of
fortresses. The metropolis is called Tomis; it is a large
and opulent city, and lies to the left of the Euxine.
According to an ancient custom which still prevails, all
the churches of the whole country are under the sway of
one bishop. Vetranio ruled over these churches at the
period that the emperor visited Tomis. , Valens repaired
to the church, and strove, according to his usual custom,
to gain over the bishop to the heresy of Arius; but this
latter manfully opposed his arguments; and, after a
courageous defence of the Nicene doctrines, quitted the
emperor, and proceeded to another church, whither he
was followed by the people. All the citizens had
crowded to see the emperor; for they expected that
CHAP. XXII.] DISPUTE CONCERNING THE HOLY GHOST. 281
something extraordinary would result from his interview
with the bishop. Valens was extremely offended at
being left alone in the church with his attendants; and,
in resentment, condemned Vetranio to banishment. Not
long after, however, he recalled him, because, I believe,
he apprehended an insurrection; for the Scythians
openly deplored the absence of their bishop. He well
knew that the Scythians were a courageous nation, and
that their country possessed many natural advantages,
which rendered it necessary to the Roman empire; for it
served as a barrier to ward off the invasions of the bar-
barians. Thus were the designs of the emperor frus-
trated by Vetranio. The Scythians themselves testify to
the virtues of this bishop, and to his eminent sanctity of
life. The resentment of the emperor at the defeat of his
schemes was visited upon all the clergy except those of
the Western churches; for Valentinian, who reigned over
the Western regions, was attached to the Nicene doc-
trines, and was imbued with so much reverence for
religion, that he never imposed any commands upon the
priests, nor ever attempted to introduce any alteration
in ecclesiastical regulations. Whatever might have been
his capabilities for guiding the reins of empire (as,
indeed, was evidenced by his deeds) he considered that
ecclesiastical matters were beyond the range of his
jurisdiction.
CHAPTER XXII.
D.E.BATE CONCERNING THE NATURE OF THE HOLY GHOST.
IT IS DECIDED THAT IHE IS TO BE CONSIDERED CON-
SUBSTANTIAL WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON.
A QUESTION was renewed at this juncture which had
previously excited much inquiry, namely—whether the
Holy Ghost is or is not to be considered consubstantial
with the Father and the Son. Lengthened debates en-
sued on this subject, similar to those which had been
held concerning the nature of God the Word. Those
who asserted that the Son is dissimilar from the Father,
282 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VI.
and those who insisted that He is similar in substance
to the Father, came to one common opinion concerning
the Holy Ghost; for both parties maintained that the
Holy Ghost differs in substance from the other two
Persons of the Trinity, and that He is but the Minister,
and the third Person of the Trinity in point of dignity
and order. Those, on the contrary, who believed that
the Son is consubstantial with the Father, believed also
that the Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the
Son. This doctrine was zealously maintained in Syria
by Apollinarius, bishop of Laodicea; in Egypt, by
Athanasius, the bishop; and, in Cappadocia and in
Pontus, by Basil and Gregory. The bishop of Rome, on
hearing that this question was agitated with great acri-
mony, and that the contention seemed daily to increase,
wrote to the churches of the East, and urged them to
receive the doctrine upheld by the Western clergy,
namely—that the three Persons of the Trinity are of the
same substance, and of equal dignity. The question
having been thus decided by the Roman churches, peace
was restored, and an end was put to the debate.
CHAPTER XXIII.
DEATH OF LIBERIUS, BISHOP OF ROME. HE IS SUCCEEDED
BY DAMASIS AND URSINU.S. ORTHODOX DOCTRINES PRE-
VAIL THROUGHOUT THE WEST, EXCEPT AT MILAN.
SYNOD HELD AT ROME, BY WHICH AUXENTIUS IS
DEPOSED.
ABOUT this period Liberius died, and Damasis suc-
ceeded to the bishopric of Rome. A deacon named
Ursinus, having obtained some votes in his favour,
caused himself to be clandestinely ordained by some
bishops of little note, and endeavoured to create a divi-
sion among the people, so as to form separate assemblies.
He succeeded in effecting this division, and some of the
people followed him, while the rest adhered to Damasis.
This gave rise to many disputes, and to much contention,
which at length proceeded to murder and bloodshed.
The prefect of Rome was obliged to interfere, and to
CHAP. xxLII.] EPISTLE FROM THE SYNOD OF ROME. 283
punish many of the clergy and people; and he put an end
to the usurpation of Ursinus. With respect to doc-
trine, however, no dissension arose either at Rome or in
any other of the Western churches. The people unani-
mously adhered to the form of belief established at
Nicaea, and regarded the Three Persons of the Trinity
as equal in dignity and in power. Auxentius alone dif-
fered from the others in opinion; he was then bishop of
Milan, and, in conjunction with a few partizans, was in-
tent upon the introduction of innovations, and the main-
tenance of the Arian dogma of the dissimilarity of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost, in opposition to the una-
nimous decision of the Western priests. The bishops of
Gaul and of Venice having reported that similar attempts
to disturb the peace of the church were being made by
others, the bishops of several provinces assembled not
long after at Rome, and decreed that Auxentius and
those who held his sentiments should be excluded from
communion. They confirmed the faith established by
the Council of Nicaea, and annulled all the decrees that
had been issued at Ariminum contrary to that faith,
under the plea that these decrees had not received the
assent of the bishop of Rome, nor of other bishops, and
that they were disapproved by many who had been pre-
sent at the synod, and had assisted in their enactment.
That such was the decision really formed by the synod
is testified by the epistle addressed by Damasis, the
Roman bishop, and the rest of the assembly, to the
bishops of Illyria. It is as follows:—
“Damasis, Valerius, and the other Bishops of the
Holy Assembly at Rome, to the dearly beloved
Brethren the Bishops of Illyria, greeting in the
Lord.
“We believe that you uphold and teach to the people
our holy faith, which is founded on the doctrines of the
Apostles. This faith differs in no respect from that
inculcated by the Fathers; neither is it permitted to the
priests of God, who are, by the right of their office, the
instructors of the wise, to entertain any other senti-
284 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VI.
ment. We have, however, been informed by some of
our brethren of Gaul and of Venice, that certain indivi-
duals are bent upon the introduction of heresy. All
bishops should diligently guard against this evil, lest
some of their flock should be led by inexperience, and
others by simplicity, to deviate from our own authorised
interpretations. Those who devise strange doctrines
ought not to be followed, but the opinions of our fathers
ought to be retained, whatever may be the diversity of
judgment around us. Hence Auxentius, bishop of
Milan, has been condemned, and with justice. It is,
therefore, right that all the teachers of the Roman
Empire should be of one mind, and not pollute the faith
by divers conflicting doctrines. For, when the evil of
heresy first began to develop itself, even as the blas-
phemy of the Arians is now exhibited, our fathers, to the
number of three hundred and eighteen, assembled toge-
ther at Nicaea, erected a wall of defence against the
weapons of the devil, and prepared an antidote to the
poison of corrupt doctrine. This antidote consists in the
belief, that the Father and the Son have one Godhead,
One virtue, and one substance (Xpmplo). It is also requi-
site to believe that the Holy Ghost is of the same hypos-
tasis as the Father and the Son. We have decreed that
those who hold any other doctrines, are to be excluded
from communion with us. Some have attempted to
reverse this useful regulation and adorable decision ;
but the persons by whom this attempt was made at the
Council of Ariminum have since, in some measure,
atoned for their presumption by confessing that they
were deceived by certain specious arguments, which did
not appear to them to be contrary to the principles laid
down by our fathers at Nicaea. The number of indivi-
duals congregated at the Council of Ariminum proves
nothing in prejudice of orthodox doctrines, for the
council was held without the sanction of the bishops of
Rome, who ought to have been in the first place con-
sulted, and without the assent either of Vincent, who
during a very long series of years enjoyed the episcopal
dignity, or of many other bishops who held the same
CHAP. XXIV.] DEATH OF AUXENTIUs.—A.D. 375. 285
sentiments as those last mentioned. Besides, as has been
before stated, those persons who were deceived and in-
duced to deviate from Orthodox doctrines, testified their
disapprobation of their own proceedings as soon as they
made use of their own judgment. Is it not, therefore,
manifest to you that the one true faith is that which was
established at Nicaea upon the authority of the apostles,
and which must ever be retained inviolate, and that all
bishops, whether of the East or of the West, who profess.
the Catholic religion, ought to consider it an honour to
be in communion with us. We believe that it will not
be long before those who maintain other sentiments will
be excluded from communion, and deprived of the name
and dignity of bishop; so that the people who are now
oppressed by the yoke of those pernicious and deceitful
principles, may have liberty to breathe. For it is not
in the power of these bishops to undeceive the people,
inasmuch as they are themselves deceived. Be then of
one mind with all the priests of God; we believe that
you adhere firmly to the faith, but that we may be more
fully assured on this point, convince us of the same by
your letters.”
CHAPTE R XXIV.
CONCERNING ST. AMBROSE AND HIS EILEVATION TO AN ARC FI-
BISHOPRIC. TELE NOVATIANS OF PHRYGIA AND THE PASS-
OVER.
THE clergy of the West having thus anticipated the
designs of those who sought to introduce innovations
among them, carefully continued to preserve the invio-
lability of the faith which had from the beginning been
handed down to them. With the solitary exception of
Auxentius and his partizans, there were no individuals
among them who entertained heterodox opinions. Aux-
entius, however, did not live long after this period. At
his death, a sedition arose among the people of Milan
concerning the appointment of a successor, and the city
seemed in danger of a general insurrection. Those who
had aspired to the bishopric, and been defeated in their
286 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VI.
expectations, were loud in their menaces, as is usual on
such occasions. Ambrosius, who was then the governor
of the province, being fearful lest further tumult should
arise, went to the church and exhorted the people to
cease from contention, to re-establish peace and concord,
and to respect the laws. Before he had ceased speaking,
all his auditors suppressed the angry feelings by which
they had been mutually agitated against each other, and
declared that he who was exhorting them to concord
should be their bishop, and receive the rite of baptism,
for he had never been baptised. After Ambrosius
had repeatedly refused the proffered dignity, and even
quitted the place that it might not be forced upon him,
the people still persisted in their choice, and declared
that the disputes would never be appeased unless he
would accede to their wishes; and at length intelligence
of these transactions was conveyed to court. It is said
that the Emperor Valentinian prayed and returned
thanks to God, that the very man whom he had ap-
pointed governor, had been chosen to fill a priestly
office. When he was informed of the earnest desires of
the people and the refusal of Ambrosius, he inferred that
events had been so ordered by God for the purpose of
restoring peace to the church of Milan, and commanded
that Ambrosius should be ordained as quickly as pos-
sible. He was baptized and ordained at the same time,
and forthwith proceeded to bring the church under his
sway to unanimity of opinion concerning the Divine
nature; for, while under the guidance of Auxentius, it
had been long rent by dissensions on this subject. We
shall hereafter have occasion to speak of the conduct of
Ambrosius after his ordination, and of the admirable and
holy manner in which he discharged the functions of the
priesthood.
About this period, the Novatians of Phrygia, con-
trary to their ancient custom, began to celebrate the
festival of the passover (to II&oxa), on the same day as
the Jews. Novatius, the originator of their heresy, re-
fused to receive those who repented of their sins into
communion, and it was, in this respect alone, that he
CHAP. xxv.] HERESY OF APOLLINARIUs.—A.D. 375. 287
innovated upon established doctrines. But he and those
who succeeded him celebrated the feast of the passover
after the vernal equinox, according to the custom of the
Roman church. Some Novatian bishops, however, as-
sembled about this time at Pazi, a town of Phrygia, near
the source of the river Sangarus, and agreeing not to
follow, in this point of discipline, the practice of those
who differed in doctrine from them, established a new
regulation for their own observance; they determined
upon keeping the feast of unleavened bread, and upon
celebrating the passover on the same days as the Jews.
Agelius, the bishop of the Novatians at Constantinople,
and the bishops of the Novatians at Nicaea, Nicomedia,
and Cotua, a noted town of Phrygia, did not take part
in this synod, although they acted as chiefs and presi-
dents, so to speak, in all the meetings and transactions of
their sect. Dissension was introduced, which led to the
formation of two distinct parties in this sect, as I shall
presently require to show.
CHAPTER XXV.
CONCERNING APOLLINARIUS : FATHER AND SON OF THAT
NAME. VITALIUS, THE PRESBYTER. RELAPSE INTO
FIERESY.
ABOUT this period, Apollinarius openly devised a
heresy, to which his name has since been given. He
induced many persons to secede from the church, and
formed separate assemblies. Vitalius, a presbyter of
Antioch, and one of the clergy of Meletius, concurred
with him in the promulgation of his peculiar opinions.
In other respects, Vitalius was blameless in life and con-
duct, and was zealous in watching over those committed
to his pastoral superintendence; hence he was greatly
revered by the people. He seceded from communion
with Meletius and joined Apollinarius, and presided over
those at Antioch who had embraced the same opinions;
by the sanctity of his life he attracted a great number of
followers, who are still called Vitalians by the citizens
of Antioch. It is said he was led to secede from the
288 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VI.
church from resentment at the contempt that was mani-
fested towards him by Flavian, then one of his fellow
presbyters, but who was afterwards raised to the bishopric
of Antioch. Flavian having prevented him from holding
his customary interview with the bishop, he fancied him-
self despised, and entered into communion with Apolli-
narius, with whom he contracted a strict friendship.
From that period, the members of this sect have held
separate assemblies in various cities under the guidance
of their own bishops, and have established laws amd re-
gulations contrary to those of the Catholic Church.
They sang the psalms composed by Apollinarius; for,
besides his great attainments in other branches of litera-
ture, he was a poet, and by the beauty of his verses he
induced many to adopt his sentiments. He composed
verses to be sung by men at convivial meetings and at
their daily labour, and by women while engaged at
the loom. But whether his songs were adapted for
holidays, festivals, or other occasions, they were all alike
to the praise and glory of God. Damasis, bishop of
Rome, and Peter, bishop of Alexandria, were the first
to receive information of the rise and progress of this
heresy, and they condemned it at a council held at Rome,
as contrary to the doctrines of the Catholic Church. It
is said that it was as much from weakness of mind as
from any other cause that Apollinarius deviated from
the authorized form of doctrine. For it appears that
when Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, was on his road
back to Egypt from the place whither he had been
banished by Constantine, he had to pass through Lao-
dicea, and that while in that city he formed an intimacy
with Apollinarius, which terminated in the strictest
friendship. As, however, the heterodox considered it
disgraceful to hold communion with Athanasius, George,
the bishop of the Arians in that city, ejected Apolli-
narius in a very insulting manner, from the church,
under the plea that he had received Athanasius contrary
to the canons and holy laws. The bishop did not rest
here, but reproached him with crimes which he had com-
mitted and repented of at a remote period. For, when
CHAP. XXV.] HERESY OF APOLLINARIUS.—A.D. 375. 289
Theodotus, the predecessor of George, governed the
church of Laodicea, Epiphanius, the sophist, recited a
hymn which he had composed in honour of Bacchus.
Apollinarius, who was then a youth, and the pupil of
Epiphanius, went to hear the recitation, accompanied by
his father, whose name also was Apollinarius, and who
was a noted grammarian. After the exordium, Epipha-
nius, according to the custom always observed at the
public recitation of hymns, directed the uninitiated and
the profane to quit the assembly. But neither Apolli-
narius the younger nor the elder, nor, indeed, any of the
Christians who were present, left the spot. When
Theodotus heard that they had been present during the
recitation, he was exceedingly displeased; he, however,
pardoned the laymen who had committed this error, after
they had received a moderate reproof. With respect to
Apollinarius, father and son, he convicted them both
publicly of their crime, and ejected them from the
church; for they had belonged to the order of clergy,
the father being a presbyter, and the son a reader of the
Holy Scriptures. After some time had elapsed, and
when the father and son had evinced by tears and fasting
a degree of repentance adequate to their transgression,
Theodotus restored them to their offices in the church.
When George succeeded to the bishopric, he excommu-
nicated Apollinarius on account of his having, as before
stated, received Athanasius into communion. It is said
that Apollinarius besought him repeatedly to restore him
to communion, but that as he was inexorable, Apolli-
narius determined from resentment to introduce trouble
and dissension in the church by broaching the aforesaid
heresy; and that he thought by means of his eloquence
to revenge himself on his enemy by proving that George
had deposed one who was more deeply acquainted with
the Sacred Scriptures than himself. Thus do the pri-
vate animosities of the clergy tend to the injury of the
church, and the introduction of many heresies in reli-
gion | Had George, like Theodotus, received Apollina-
rius on his repentance into communion, I believe that
we should never have heard of the heresy that bears his
19
290 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK WI.
name. Men are prone, when loaded with opprobrium
and contempt, to resort to extreme and contentious
measures ; whereas, when treated with justice, they
moderate their natural impetuosity, and remain within
bounds.
CHAPTER XXVI.
EUNOMIUS AND AETIUS, THEIR LIFE AND DOCTRINES. OPI-
NIONS FIRST BROACHED BY THEM CONCERNING THE RITE
OF BAPTISM.
ABOUT this time, Eunomius, who had succeeded Eleu-
sius in the bishopric of Cyzicus, and who presided over
the Arians, devised another heresy, which some have
called by his name, but which is sometimes denominated
the Anomian heresy. Some assert that Eunomius was
the first who ventured to maintain that baptism ought
to be performed by immersion, and to corrupt, in this
manner, the apostolical tradition which has been care-
fully handed down to the present day. He introduced,
it is said, a mode of discipline contrary to that of the
church, and endeavoured to disguise the innovation
under the cloak of a grave and severe deportment. He
was very eloquent, and delighted in disputations and
conferences. The generality of those who entertain his
sentiments have the same predilections. They do not
applaud a virtuous course of life and conduct, or charity
towards the needy, unless exhibited by persons of their
own sect, so much as skill in disputation, and the power
of triumphing in debates over the arguments of an op-
ponent. Persons possessed of these accomplishments are
accounted religious and virtuous. Others assert, I be-
lieve, with greater appearance of probability, that Theo-
phranes, a native of Cappadocia, and Eutychus, both
zealous propagators of this heresy, seceded from commu-
nion with Eunomius during the succeeding reign, and
introduced heretical doctrines concerning the rite of
baptism: they taught that baptism ought not to be ad-
ministered in the name of the Trinity, but in the name
of the death of Christ. It appears that Eunomius
CHAP. XXVI.] HERESY OF EUNOMIUS.—A.D. 375. 291
broached no new opinion on the subject, but remained
from the beginning firmly attached to the sentiments of
Arius. After his elevation to the bishopric of Cyzicus,
he was accused by his own clergy of introducing inno-
vations upon the established forms of doctrine. Eu-
doxius, bishop of the Arians at Constantinople, obliged
him to undergo a public trial, and give an account of
his doctrines to the people: finding, however, no fault
in him, Eudoxius exhorted him to return to Cyzicus.
Eunomius, however, replied, that he could not remain
with people who regarded him with suspicion; and, it is
said, seized this opportunity to secede from communion;
although it seems that in taking this step he was really
actuated by the resentment he felt at the refusal which
Aetius, his teacher, had met with, of being received into
communion. Eunomius, it is added, dwelt with Aetius,
and never deviated from his original sentiments. Such
are the conflicting accounts of various individuals: some
narrate the circumstances in one way, and some in
another. But whether it was Eunomius, or any other
person, who first introduced heretical opinions concern-
ing baptism, it seems to me that such innovators, who-
ever they may have been, were alone in danger, accord-
ing to their own representation, of quitting this life
without having received the rite of holy baptism: for if,
after having received baptism according to the ancient
mode of the church, they found it impossible to re-
confer it on themselves, it must be admitted that they
introduced a practice to which they had not themselves
submitted, and thus undertook to administer to others
what had never been administered to themselves. Thus,
after having laid down certain principles, according to
their own fancy, without any data, they proceeded to
bestow upon others what they had not themselves re-
ceived. The absurdity of this assumption is manifest
from their own confession; for they admit that those
who have not received the rite of baptism have not the
power of administering it. Now, according to their
opinion, those who have not received the rite of baptism
in conformity with their mode of administration, are
292 E C C L E SIA-STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
unbaptized ; and they confirm this opinion by their
practice, inasmuch as they re-baptize all those who join
their sect, although previously baptized by the Catholic
Church. These varying dogmas are the sources of
innumerable troubles; and many are deterred from em-
bracing Christianity by the diversity of opinion which
prevails in matters of doctrine.
The dispute daily became stronger, and the heresy
reached a greater height; for its advocates were not
deficient in zeal or eloquence: indeed, it appears that the
greater part of the Catholic Church would have been sub-
verted by this heresy, had not Basil and Gregory of
Cappadocia strenuously opposed its further progress.
With the view of repressing the heresies' that had arisen,
the emperor Theodosius, not long after, banished the
founders of heretical sects from the populous parts of
the empire, to the most desert and thinly-populated
regions. But, lest those who read my history should be
ignorant of the precise nature of the two heresies to
which I have more especially alluded, I think it neces-
sary to state that Aetius, the Syrian, was the originator
of the heresy usually attributed to Eunomius; and that,
like Arius, he maintained that the Son is dissimilar from
the Father, that He is a created Being, and was created
out of what had no previous existence. Those who first
adopted these erroneous views were called Aetians; but
afterwards, during the reign of Constantius, when, as we
have stated, some parties maintained that the Son is
consubstantial with the Father, and others, that he is like
in substance to the Father, and when the Council of
Ariminum had decreed that the Son is only to be consi-
dered like unto the Father, Aetius was condemned to
banishment, as guilty of impiety and blasphemy against
God. For some time subsequently, his heresy seemed to
have been suppressed; for neither he nor Eunomius ven-
tured on undertaking its defence: but when Eunomius was
raised to the bishopric of Cyzicus, he found it impossible
to disguise his sentiments, and openly preached the doc-
trine of Aetius. Hence, as it often happensthat the names
of the original founders of heretical sects pass into oblivion,
CHAP. xxvii.] LETTER FROM GREGORY NAZIANZEN. 293
the followers of Eunomius were designated by his own
name, although he merely renewed the heresy of Aetius,
and promulgated it with greater boldness than Aetius
himself.
CHAPTER XXVII.
ACCOUNT GIVEN, BY GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN, OF APOL-
LINARIUS AND EUNOMIUS, IN A LETTER TO NECTARIUS.
THE HERESY OF EUNOMIUS IS OPPOSED BY THE MONES
OF THAT PERIOD.
IT is obvious that Eunomius and Aetius held the same
opinions. In several passages of his writings, Eunomius
boasts that Aetius was his instructor. Gregory, bishop
of Nazianzen, speaks in the following terms of Apolli-
narius, in a letter addressed to Nectarius, bishop of Con-
stantinople:– “Eunomius, who is a constant source of
trouble among us, is not content with being a burden to
us himself, but would consider himself to blame if he did
not strive to drag every one with him to the destruction
whither he is hastening. Such conduct, however, may
be tolerated in some degree. The most grievous calam-
ity against which the Church has now to struggle arises
from the audacity of the Apollinarians. I know not how
your Holiness could have agreed that they should be as
free to hold meetings as we are ourselves. You have
been fully instructed, by the grace of God, in the myste-
ries of our religion, and you are well able to undertake
the defence of orthodox doctrine against the attacks of
heretics; yet it may not be amiss to inform your Excel-
lency that a book, written by Apollinarius, has fallen into
my hands, replete with more evil assertions than were
ever advanced by any other heretic. He declares that
the body which the Son of God assumed, when he came
among us for our redemption, was not one which was
prepared for Him; but that this carnal nature existed in
the Son from the beginning. He substantiates this evil
hypothesis by a misapplication of the following words of
Scripture: – “No one hath ascended up into Heaven
except the Son of Man, who came down from Heaven.’
294 EC C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
He alleges, from this text, that Christ was the Son of
Man before He descended from Heaven; and that
when He did descend, He brought with Him His own
body, which was eternal. This heretic also refers to the
following passage — ‘The second man is from Heaven.’
He, moreover, maintains that this man who came
down from Heaven was destitute of mind (vows), but
that the divinity of the only-begotten Son supplied the
want of intellect, and constituted the third part of the
human compound. The body and soul (Nºvkº) formed
two parts, as in other men; and the Word of God held
the place of the third part that was wanting: but this is
not the most dangerous of his errors. The most grievous
point of the heresy is, that he asserts that the only-
begotten Son of God, the Judge of all men, the giver of
life, and the destroyer of death, is Himself subject to
death; that He suffered in His divine nature, which died
with the body; and that it was, by the Father, raised
again from the dead.” It would take too long to recount
all the other extravagant doctrines propounded by these
heretics. What I have said may, I think, suffice to
show the nature of the sentiments maintained by Apol-
linarius and Eunomius. If any one desire more detailed
information, I can only refer him to the works on the
subject written by these heretics and by their opponents.
I do not profess to understand or to expound these
matters. That these heretical doctrines did not finally
become predominant is mainly to be attributed to the
zeal of the monks of this period; for all the monks of
Syria, Cappadocia, and the neighbouring provinces, were
sincerely attached to the Nicene faith. The eastern
regions, however, from Cilicia to Phoenicia, were nearly
subverted by the heresy of Apollinarius. The heresy of
Eunomius was spread from Cilicia and the mountains of
Taurus as far as the Hellespont and Constantinople.
These two heretics found it easy to attract to their
respective parties the persons among whom they dwelt,
and those of the neighbourhood: but the same fate
awaited them that had been experienced by the Arians;
for they incurred the full weight of the popular odium
CHAP. xxvii.I.] EGYPTIAN ASCETICs of THIS PERIOD. 295
and aversion, when it was observed that their sentiments
were regarded with suspicion by the monks, whose doc-
trines were invariably received and followed by the
people, on account of the virtue exhibited in their
actions. In the same way, the Egyptians were led by
the monks to oppose the Arians.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
OF THE HOLY MEN WEIO FLOURISHED AT THIS PERIOD IN
EGYPT.
As this period was distinguished by many holy men,
who devoted themselves to a life of philosophy, it seems
requisite to give some account of them. There was
not, it appears, a more celebrated man in Egypt than
John; he had received from God the power of discern-
ing the future and the most hidden things as clearly as
the ancient prophets; and he had, moreover, the gift of
curing the most desperate and inveterate diseases.
Or was another eminent man of this period; he had
lived in solitude from his earliest youth, occupying
himself continually in singing the praises of God. He
subsisted on herbs and roots; and his drink was water,
when he could find it. In his old age he went, by the
command of God, to Thebais, where he presided over
several monasteries, and performed many wonderful
works. By means of prayer alone, he expelled devils
and healed divers diseases. He knew nothing of letters;
but whatever might once engage his attention was never
afterwards forgotten. -
Ammon, the leader of the monks called Tabennesi-
otians, dwelt in the same regions, and was followed by
about three thousand disciples. Benus and Theonas
likewise presided over monasteries, and possessed the
gift of foreseeing and of foretelling the future. It is said
that, though Theonas was versed in all the learning of
the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, he pre-
served a profound silence for the space of thirty years.
Benus was never seen to manifest any signs of anger,
296 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VI.
and never heard to swear, or to utter a false, a vain, a
rash, or a useless word.
Coprus, Helles, and Elias, also flourished at this period.
It is said that Coprus had received from God the power
of healing sickness and divers diseases, and of expelling
demons. Helles had, from his youth upwards, pursued
a life of monastic asceticism, and he wrought many won-
derful works. He could carry fire in his bosom without
burning his clothes. He excited the other monks to the
practice of virtue, by representing that purity of life leads
to the acquisition of the power of working miracles.
Elias, who dwelt near the city of Antinóus, was at this
period about a hundred and ten years of age, of which,
he said, he had passed seventy years alone in the desert.
Notwithstanding his advanced age, he was unremitting
in the practice of fasting and asceticism.
Apelles flourished at the same period, and performed
numerous miracles in the Egyptian monasteries, near the
city of Acoris. He worked as a smith at the forge; and
one night, when he was engaged at this employment,
the devil undertook to tempt him to incontinence, by
appearing before him in the form of a woman; Apelles,
however, seized the iron which was heating in the fur-
nace, and burnt the face of the devil, who screamed
wildly, and ran away.
Isidore, Serapion, and Dioscorus, who presided over
monasteries at this period, were among the most cele-
brated men of the aera. Isidore caused his monastery
to be closed, so that no one could obtain egress or in-
gress, and supplied the wants of those within the
walls. Serapion lived in the neighbourhood of Arsinöe,
and had about a thousand monks under his guidance.
They lived on the produce of their labour, and provided
for the poor. During harvest time, they busied them-
selves in reaping; they set aside sufficient corn for their
own use, and furnished grain gratuitously for the other
monks. Dioscorus had not more than a hundred disci-
ples; he was a presbyter, and applied himself with great
diligence to the duties of his ministry; he scrupulously
examined those who presented themselves as candidates
CHAP. XXIX.] MONKS OF THEBAIs.—A.D. 375. 297
for participation in the holy mysteries, and excluded
those who had not a conscience void of offence. The
presbyter Eulogius was still more scrupulous in the dis-
pensation of the mysteries. It is said that, when he was
officiating in the priestly office, he could discern what was
in the minds of those around him; so that he could
clearly detect sin, and the secret thoughts of each one of
his audience. He excluded from the altar all who had
perpetrated crime, or formed evil resolutions, and pub-
licly convicted them of sin; but, on their purifying
themselves by repentance, he again received them into
COPYRIOOl]ITIOIl.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CONCERNING THE MONES OF THE BAIS.
APOLLOs flourished about the same period in Thebais.
He early devoted himself to a life of philosophy; and,
after having passed forty years in the desert, he shut
himself up, by the command of God, in a cave formed at
the foot of a mountain, near a very populous district.
By his extraordinary miracles, he soon acquired so wide a
reputation, that many monks placed themselves under
his guidance and submitted to his instructions. Timo-
thy, bishop of Alexandria, who has written an account of
his conduct, and of that of the other monks whom I have
mentioned, gives a long description of his mode of life
and of his miracles.
About two thousand monks dwelt in the neighbour-
hood of Alexandria; some in a district called the Her-
mitage, and others more towards Mareota and Lybia.
Dorotheus, a native of Thebes, was among the most
celebrated of these monks. He spent the day in collect-
ing stones upon the sea-shore, which he used in erecting
cells for those who were unable to build them. During
the night, he employed himself in weaving baskets of
palm leaves; and these he sold, to obtain the means of
subsistence. He ate six ounces of bread with a few
vegetables daily, and drank nothing but water. Hav-
ing accustomed himself to this extreme abstinence from
298 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VI.
his youth, he continued to observe it in old age. He
was never seen to recline on a mat or a bed, nor even to
place his limbs in an easy attitude for sleep. Sometimes,
from natural lassitude, his eyes would involuntarily
close when he was at his daily labour or his meals; and
the food would, on those occasions, drop from his mouth.
One day, being utterly overcome by lassitude, he fell
down on the mat: he was displeased at finding himself
in this position, and said, in an under tone of voice,
“When angels are persuaded to sleep, then will men of
real vigilance and zeal be induced to do likewise.” Per-
haps he might have said this to himself, or perhaps to
the demon who disturbed him in his exercises of devo-
tion. He was once asked why he destroyed his body?
“Because it destroys me,” was his reply.
Piammon and John presided over two celebrated
'gyptian monasteries near Diolchis. They were presby-
ters, and eminent for the zeal wherewith they discharged
the functions of their office. It is said that one day,
when Piammon was officiating, he beheld an angel stand-
ing near the altar, and writing down the names of the
monks who were present, while he erased the names of
those who were absent. John had received from God
such power over disease, that he healed the sick and
restored the paralytic.
An old man named Benjamin lived, about this period,
in the desert near Scetis. God had bestowed upon him
the power of removing diseases by the touch of his hand,
or by means of a little oil consecrated by prayer. He
was attacked by a dropsy, and his body was swollen to
such a size that it became necessary, in order to carry
him from his cell, to enlarge the door. As his malady
would not admit of his lying in a recumbent posture, he
remained, during eight months, seated on some large
skins, and continued to heal the sick, without regretting
that his own recovery was not effected. He comforted
those who came to visit him, and requested them to pray
for his soul; adding, that he cared little for his body, for it
had been of no service to him when in health, and could
not, now that it was diseased, be of any injury to him.
CHAP. XXIX.] MONKS OF SCETIS.—A.D. 375. 299
About the same time, the celebrated Mark, Macarius
the younger, Apollonius, and Moses, an Egyptian, dwelt
at Scetis. It is said that Mark was, from his youth
upwards, distinguished by extreme mildness of disposi-
tion and prudence; he committed the Sacred Scriptures
to memory, and manifested such eminent piety that
Macarius, the priest of the cells, declared that he had
never given to him what priests present to the initiated
at the holy altar, but that he had beheld the hand of an
angel administering it to him.
Macarius had received from God the power of dis-
pelling demons. A murder, which he had unintention-
ally committed, was the original cause of his embracing
a life of philosophy. He was a shepherd, and one day
led his flock to graze on the banks of Lake Mareotis,
when, in sport, he slew one of his companions. Fearful
of being delivered up to justice, he fled to the desert.
Here he concealed himself during three years, and after-
wards erected a small dwelling on the spot, in which he
dwelt twenty-five years. He was accustomed to say,
that he owed much to the calamity that had befallen him
in early life, and even called the unintentional murder he
had committed a salutary deed, inasmuch as it had been
the cause of his embracing an ascetic and blessed mode
of life.
Apollonius, after passing his life in the pursuits of
commerce, retired in his old age to Scetis. On reflecting
that he was too old to learn a trade, or to acquire the art
of writing, he purchased, with his own money, a supply
of medical drugs, and of food suited for the sick, some of
which he carried at stated hours to the door of every
lmonastery, for the relief of those who were suffering
from disease. Such was the mode of life in which he
exercised himself; and, when he felt death approaching,
he delivered his drugs to one whom he exhorted to go
and do as he had done.
Moses was originally a slave, but was driven from his
master's house on account of his perversity. He joined
some robbers, and became leader of the band. After
having perpetrated several murders and other crimes,
300 E C C L E S I ASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
he embraced a life of asceticism, and attained the highest
point of philosophical perfection. As the healthful and
vigorous habit of body which had been induced by his
former avocations acted as a stimulus to his imagination,
and excited a desire for pleasure, he resorted to every
possible means of macerating his body; thus, he sub-
sisted wholly upon bread, subjected himself to severe
labour, and prayed fifty times daily. During six years,
he spent all his nights in prayer: he prayed standing,
without bending his knees or closing his eyes in sleep.
He sometimes went, during the night, to the cells of the
monks, and secretly filled their pitchers with water,
although he had sometimes to go ten, sometimes twenty,
and sometimes thirty stadia in quest of the water. Not-
withstanding all his efforts to macerate his body, it was
long before he could subdue his natural vigour of consti-
tution. Four robbers once broke into the dwelling
where he lived alone; he bound them, threw them across
his shoulders, and bore them to the church, that the
monks who were then assembled might deal with them
as they thought fit; for he did not consider himself
authorised to punish any one. So sudden a conversion
from vice to virtue was never before witnessed, nor such
rapid attainments in monastical philosophy. Hence, God
rendered him an object of dread to the demons, and he
was ordained presbyter over the monks at Scetis. After
a life spent in this manner, he died at the age of seventy-
five, leaving behind him numerous eminent disciples.
Paul, Pachomius, Stephen, and Moses, of whom the
two latter were Lybians, and Pior who was an Egyptian,
flourished during this reign. Paul dwelt at Ferma, a
mountain of Scetis, and presided over five hundred dis-
ciples. He did not labour with his hands, neither did
he receive alms of any one, except such food as was
necessary for his subsistence. He did nothing but pray,
and daily offered up to God three hundred prayers. He
placed three hundred pebbles in his bosom, for fear of
omitting any of these prayers; and, at the conclusion of
each, he took away one of the pebbles. When there
were no pebbles remaining, he knew that he had gone
through the whole course of his prescribed prayers.
CHAP. XXIX.] ASCETICS OF EGYPT.—A.D. 375. 301
Pachomius also flourished during this period at Scetis.
He dwelt in the desert, from youth to extreme old age,
without ever being seduced by the appetites of the body,
the passions of the soul, or the wiles of the devil, to de-
sire any of those things from which the philosopher
ought to abstain.
Stephen dwelt at Mareota, near Marmarica. During
sixty years, he rigorously practised all the virtues of as-
ceticism, became noted as a monk, and was admitted into
the intimacy of Antony the Great. He was very mild
and prudent, and his usual style of conversation was
edifying and agreeable, and well calculated to comfort
the afflicted, to assuage their sorrows, and to fill them
with joy. The same principles supported him under
affliction; he was troubled with an incurable ulcer, and
surgeons were employed to operate upon the diseased
limb : during the operation, Stephen employed himself
in weaving palm leaves, and exhorted those who were
around him not to concern themselves about his suffer-
ings: he told them that God does nothing but for our
good, and that his affliction would tend to his real
welfare, inasmuch as it would atone for his sins, it being
better to be judged in this life than in the life to come.
Moses was celebrated for his meekness, his goodness,
and his power of healing diseases and infirmities by
rayer. Pior determined, from his youth, to devote
himself to a life of holy asceticism; and, with this view,
quitted his father's house, after having made a vow that
he would never again look upon any one of his relations.
After fifty years had expired, one of his sisters heard
that he was still alive, and she was so transported with joy
at this unexpected intelligence, that she could not rest
till she had seen him. The bishop of the place where she
resided was so affected by her groans and tears, that he
wrote to the leaders of the monks of Scetis, desiring them
to send Pior to him. The superiors accordingly directed
him to repair to the city of his birth, and he could not but
obey them, for disobedience was regarded as criminal by
the monks of Egypt, as well as by other Christians. He
went with another monk to the door of his father's
302 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VI.
house, and caused himself to be announced. When he
heard the door being opened, he closed his eyes, and call-
ing his sister by name, he said to her, “I am Pior, your
brother: look at me as much as you please.” His sister
was delighted beyond measure at again beholding him,
and returned thanks to God. He prayed at the door
where he stood, and then returned to the place whence
he came; he dug a well, and found that the water was
bitter, but persevered in the use of it till his death.
The height to which he had carried his self-denial was
not known till after his death; for several attempted
to establish themselves in the place where he had
dwelt, but found it impossible to remain there, or to en-
dure the inconveniences to which he had been exposed.
I am convinced that, had it not been for the principles
of asceticism which he had espoused, he could easily have
rectified the bitterness of the water; for he caused water
to flow in a spot where none had existed previously. It
is said that some monks, under the guidance of Moses,
undertook to dig a well, but failing in their expectation
of finding water, they were about to abandon the task,
when, about mid-day, Pior joined them; he first em-
braced them, and then rebuked their want of faith; he
then descended into the pit they had excavated; and,
after engaging in prayer, struck the ground thrice with
a rod. A spring of water soon after rose to the surface,
and filled the whole excavation. After prayer, Pior de-
parted, and though the monks urged him to break his
fast with them, he refused, alleging that he had not been
sent to them for that purpose, but merely in order to
perform the act he had effected.
CHAPTE R XXX.
MONRS OF SCETIS.
At this period, many of the disciples of Antony the
Great still flourished in the solitude of Scetis. Origen,
who was then far advanced in life, Didymus, Cronius, who
was about one hundred and ten years of age, Arsisius
CHAP. XXX.] . MONKS OF SCETIs.—A.D. 375. 303
the Great, Putubastes, Arsio, and Serapion, had all been
contemporary, with Antony the Great. They had
grown old in the exercises of asceticism, and were at this
period presiding over the monasteries. There were
Some holy men among them who were not so far
advanced in age, but who were celebrated for their great
and excellent qualities; among these were Ammon,
Eusebius, and Dioscorus: they were brothers; but, on
account of their height of stature, were called the
“Great Brothers.” It is said that Ammon attained the
height of philosophy, and overcame the love of ease and
pleasure; he was very studious, and had read the works
of Origen, of Didymus, and of other ecclesiastical
writers. From his youth to the day of his death, he
never tasted anything, with the exception of bread, that
had been prepared by means of fire. He was once
chosen to be ordained bishop, and after urging every ar-
gument that could be devised in rejection of the honour,
but in vain, he cut off one of his ears, and said to those
who were besieging him with their importunities,
“Henceforward I am excluded from ordination; for the
ecclesiastical canons require that the person of a priest
should be perfect.” Those who had been sent for him
accordingly departed; but, on ascertaining that the
Church does not observe the Jewish law, in requiring a
priest to be perfect in all his members, but merely
requires him to be irreprehensible in point of morals,
they returned to Ammon, and endeavoured to take him
by force. He protested to them that, if they attempted
any violence against him, he would cut out his tongue;
and, terrified at this menace, they immediately took
their departure. Ammon was ever after surnamed
Parstides. Some time afterwards, during the ensuing .
reign, the wise Evagrius formed an intimacy with him.
Evagrius was a very learned man, powerful in thought
and in word, and skilful in discerning the first appear-
ances of virtue and of vice, and in urging others to im-
itate the one, and to eschew the other. His eloquence
is fully attested by the works he has left behind him.
With respect to his moral character, it appears that he
304 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
was totally free from all pride or superciliousness, so
that he was not elated when just commendations were
awarded him, nor displeased when unjust reproaches
were brought against him. He was a native of Iberia,
near the Euxine; he had studied philosophy and the
Sacred Scriptures under Gregory bishop of Nazianzen,
and had filled the office of archdeacon in the church of
Gregory at Constantinople. He was handsome in person,
and careful in his mode of attire; and hence, an acquaint-
anceship he had formed with a certain lady excited the
jealousy of her husband, who determined upon slaying
him. While the assassins were waiting for an opportu-
nity to take his life, God vouchsafed to show him a
vision, which was the means of saving him. It ap-
peared to him that he had been arrested in the act of
committing some crime, and that he was chained hand
and foot: as he was being led before the magistrates, to
receive the sentence of condemnation, a man who held
in his hand the book of the Holy Gospels, addressed him,
and swore to rescue him, provided he would promise to
quit the city. Evagrius touched the book, and gave the
required promise: immediately his chains appeared to
fall off, and he awoke. Having received this timely in-
timation of danger, he was enabled to evade it. He re-
Solved upon devoting himself to a life of asceticism, and
proceeded from Constantinople to Jerusalem. Some time
after, he went to visit the ascetics of Scetis, with whom
he eventually fixed his abode.
CHAPTER XXXI.
CONCERNING THE MONASTERIES OF NITRIA. MONASTERIES
CALLED CELLS.
NITRIA, inhabited by a great number of persons de-
voted to a life of philosophy, derives its name from its
vicinity to a village in which nitre is found. It contains
about fifty monasteries, built tolerably near to each
other, some of which are inhabited by monks who live
together in society, and others by monks who have
CHAP. XXXI.] ASCETICS OF THIS PERIOD.—A.D. 375. 305
adopted a solitary mode of existence. More in the in-
terior of the desert, about seventy stadia from this
locality, is a region called the Cells, throughout which
numerous little dwellings are dispersed hither and
thither, but at such a distance that those who dwell in
them can neither see nor hear each other. They assem-
ble together on the first and last days of each week; and
if any monk happen to be absent, it is immediately con-
cluded that he is ill, or has been attacked by some dis-
ease, and all the other monks visit him alternately, and
carry to him such remedies as are suited to his case.
Except on these occasions, they seldom converse together,
unless, indeed, there be one among them capable of com-
municating further knowledge concerning God and the
salvation of the soul. Those who dwell in the cells are
those who have attained the summit of philosophy, and
who are therefore able to regulate their own conduct, to
live alone, and to seek nothing but quietude. This
is what I had briefly to state concerning Scetis and its
ascetic inhabitants. I should be justly reproached with
prolixity, were I to enter into further details concerning
their mode of life, their labours, their customs, their ex-
ercises, their abstinence, and other regulations which
they adapted to their respective circumstances and
3,062.S.
ºrinocorum. was also celebrated at this period, on ac-
count of the holy men who were born, and who
flourished there. I have heard that the most eminent
among them were Melas, the bishop of the country;
Denis, who presided over a monastery situated to the
north of the city; and Solon, the brother and successor
of Melas. When the decree for the ejection of all bishops
opposed to Arianism was issued, the officers appointed to
execute the mandate found Melas engaged in trimming
the lights of the church, and clad in an old cloak soiled
with oil, fastened by a girdle. When they asked him for
the bishop, he replied that he was within, and that he
would conduct them to him. As they were fatigued with
their journey, he led them to the episcopal dwelling,
made them sit down to table, and placed before them
306 EC C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
such things as he had. After the repast, he supplied
them with water to wash their hands, and then told them
who he was. , Amazed at his conduct, they confessed the
mission on which they had arrived; but, from respect to
him, gave him full liberty, to go wherever he would.
He, however, replied that he would not shrink from the
sufferings to which the other bishops who maintained
the same sentiments as himself were exposed, and that
he was ready to go into exile. He had been accustomed,
from his youth upwards, to the practice of all the virtues
of asceticism.
Solon quitted the pursuits of commerce to embrace a
monastic life, a measure which tended greatly to his wel-
fare; for, under the instruction of his brother and other
ascetics, he progressed rapidly in piety towards God,
and in charity towards his neighbour. The Church of
Rinocorurus having been thus, from the beginning, under
the guidance of such exemplary bishops, never afterwards
swerved from their precepts, and can still boast of many
eminent men. The clergy of this church dwell in one
house, sit at the same table, and have everything in
COIſlū) OIl.
CHAPTER XXXII.
MONIKS OF PALESTINE.
MANY monastical institutions flourished in Palestine.
In narrating the events of the reign of Constantius, I had
occasion to mention several of the illustrious individuals
who dwelt in these monasteries. Many of their asso-
ciates attained the summit of philosophical perfection,
and added lustre to the reputation of the monasteries to
which they belonged, and among them Hesycas, a com-
panion of Hilarion, and Epiphanius, afterwards bishop of
Salamis in Cyprus, deserve to be particularly noticed.
Hesycas devoted himself to a life of philosophy in the
same locality where his master had formerly resided;
and Epiphanius fixed his abode near the village of
Besauduc, which was his birth-place, in the government of
CHAP. XXXII.] MONKS OF PALESTINE.—A.D. 375. 307
Eleutheropolis. Having been instructed from his youth
by the most celebrated ascetics of Egypt, with whom he
resided many years, Epiphanius became celebrated both
in Egypt and Palestine by his attainments in monastic
philosophy, and was chosen by the inhabitants of Cyprus
to fill the metropolitan see of their island. This impor-
tant office tended to increase the reputation which his
virtues had acquired; and the admiration of strangers and
of the inhabitants of the country was soon attracted by
the exemplary manner in which he discharged the
episcopal duties. Before he went to Cyprus, he resided
for some time, during the reign of Valens, in Palestine.
At the same period, Salamanes, Phuscon, Malchius
and Crispus, four brethren who were distinguished by
their high attainments in ascetic philosophy, dwelt in
seclusion, near Bethlehem, a town of Gaza; they were of
noble origin, and had been instructed in philosophy
by Hilarion. It is related that the brothers were once
journeying homewards, when Malchius was suddenly
snatched away and became invisible; soon afterwards,
however, he re-appeared and continued the journey with
his brothers. He did not long survive this occurrence,
but died in the flower of his youth. In point of philoso-
phy, virtue and piety, he was equal to men of the most
advanced age.
Ammonius lived at a distance of ten stadia from those
last mentioned; he dwelt near Capharcobra, the place of
his birth, a town of Gaza. He was very exact in the
discharge of duty, and sincerely devoted to the practice
of asceticism. Ithink that Silvanus, a native of Palestine
to whom, on account of his virtue, an angel was once
seen to minister, dwelt about the same time in Egypt.
At one period, he fixed his residence on Mount Sinai, and
afterwards founded at Geraris, near the great torrent, a
very extensive establishment for holy men, over which
the excellent Zachariah subsequently presided.
308 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK WI.
C H A P T E R XXXIII.
MONKS OF SYRIA
PASSING thence to Syria and Persia, we shall find that
the monks of these countries emulated those of Egypt in
zeal and austerity. Battheus, Eusebius, Barges, Halas,
Abbo, Lazarus who attained the episcopal dignity, Ab-
daleus, Zeno and Heliodorus flourished in Nisibis, near
the mountain called Sigoro. When they first entered
upon the ascetic mode of life, they were denominated
shepherds, because they had no houses, ate neither bread
nor meat, and drank no wine, but dwelt constantly on
the mountains, and passed their time in praising God by
prayers and hymns, according to the canons of the
church. At the usual hours of meals, they each took a
sickle, and cut some grass on the mountains; and this
served for their repast. Such was their course of life.
Eusebius voluntarily shut himself up in a cell, near Carras.
Protogenes dwelt in the same locality, and subsequently
succeeded to the bishopric of the celebrated Vitus, whom
God caused repeatedly to appear in a vision before Con-
stantine, after charging the emperor to follow faithfully
the injunctions of the man who should be shown him.
Aones dwelt at Phadana, near the spot where Jacob the
grandson of Abraham, on his journey from Palestine,
met the damsel whom he afterwards married, and where
he rolled away the stone, that her flock might drink of
the water of the well. It is said that Aones was the first
who introduced the ascetic mode of life in Syria, just as
ascetic philosophy was first introduced by Antony in
Egypt. -
CH A P T E R XXXIV.
MONKS OF EDESSA, MONKS OF GALATIA AND CAPPADOCIA.
GADDANAS and Azizius dwelt with Aones and emulated
his virtues. Ephraim the Syrian who was an historian,
and has been noticed in our recital of events under the
reign of Constantius, acquired great renown by his devotion
CHAP. XXXIV.] voTARIES OF ASCETIC PHILOSOPHY. 309
to ascetic philosophy in the neighbourhood of Edessa; and
the same may be said of Julian. Barses and Eulogius were
both, at a later period than that to which we are referring,
ordained bishops, but not over any particular church; for
the title was merely an honorary one, conferred on them
on account of their purity of life; and they were ordained
in their own monasteries. Lazarus, to whom we have
already alluded, was ordained bishop in the same manner.
Such were the most celebrated philosophers of asceticism
who flourished in Syria, Persia, and the neighbouring
countries, so far at least, as I have been able to ascertain.
Their invariable course of life, so to speak, consisted in
diligent attention to the state of the soul, which by means
of fasting, prayer and offering up praise to God, they
kept in constant preparation to quit the things of this
world. They devoted the greater part of their time to
these holy exercises, and they despised worldly posses-
sions, temporal affairs, and the ease and adornment of the
body. Some of the monks carried their self-denial to an
extraordinary height; Battheus for instance, by long
abstinence from food, had worms generated between his
teeth. Halas, again, did not taste bread till he was seventy
years of age, and Heliodorus passed many nights without
yielding to sleep, and only partook of food one day in
SeVē1].
Although Coelesyria and upper Syria, with the ex-
ception of the city of Antioch, did not receive the
Christian Religion till a comparatively later period, they
produced several individuals who devoted themselves to
ecclesiastical philosophy, and whose conduct appeared
the more heroic from their having to encounter the
enmity and malice of their fellow-countrymen. For they
did not repel the injuries with which they were assailed,
by having recourse to violence or to the law, the only
opposition which they tendered was the patience with
which they submitted to these sufferings. Such was the
course pursued by Valentian, who according to some
accounts was born at Edessa, but, according to others, at
Arethusa. Another individual of the same name, distin-
guished himself by similar conduct, as likewise Theodore
310 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
of Tittis in Apamea, Marosas, a native of Nechilis, Bassus,
Bassones, and Paul. This latter was a native of the village
of Telmison. He founded several monasticinstitutions; the
most extensive and most celebrated was at a place called
Jugates. Here, after a long and honourable life, he died
and was interred. Some of the ascetic philosophers have
survived to our own days; indeed most of those to whom
allusion has been made, enjoyed a very long term of exis-
tence, and I am convinced that God added to the length
of their days, for the express purpose of furthering the
interests of religion. They were instrumental in convert-
ing nearly the whole Syrian nation, and many of the
Persians and Saracens from Paganism. They also in-
duced many individuals to follow their example, and
embrace the monastic mode of life. -
It appears reasonable to suppose that there were many
monks in Galatia, Cappadocia, and the neighbouring
provinces, for Christianity was embraced at an early
period by the inhabitants of these regions. The monks
of these countries, however, dwelt together in cities and
villages, for they did not habituate themselves, like other
monks, to live in deserts: the severity of the winters would
probably render such a course almost impracticable in
these regions. Leontius and Prassides were, I understand,
the most celebrated of these monks; the former was
bishop of Ancyra, and the latter, a man of very advanced
age, performed the episcopal functions in several villages.
Prassides also presided over a hospital of great celebrity,
founded by Basil, bishop of Caesarea, whose name it still
retains.
C H A P T E R XXXV.
THE WOODEN TRIPOD ON WEHICH WIERE INDICATED THE
FIRST LETTERS COMPOSING THE NAME OF HIM WIHO WAS
TO SUCCEED TO THE THRONE. DESTRUCTION OF THE
PAGAN PHILOSOPHERS.
SUCH is the information which I have been enabled to
collect concerning the ecclesiastical philosophers. As to
the Pagan philosophers, they were nearly all exterminated
CHAP. xxxv.] ATTEMPT TO PREDICT FUTURE EVENTs. 311
about the period to which we have been referring. Some
among them who were reputed to excel in philosophy,
and who viewed with extreme displeasure the progress
of the Christian religion, were desirous of ascertaining
who would be the successor of Valens on the throne of
the Roman Empire, and resorted to magical arts for the
purpose of attaining this insight into futurity. After
various incantations, they constructed a tripod of laurel
wood, and uttered certain magical words over it, so that
the letters of the alphabet might appear upon the tripod,
and indicate the name of the future emperor. Theodore,
who held a distinguished appointment at Court, and who
was a Pagan, was the individual whom they most de-
sired to see on the imperial throne ; and the first letters
of his name, so far as the letter d, appeared on the tripod,
and deceived the philosophers. They hence expected
that Theodore, would be the future emperor; but their
hopes were utterly frustrated, for their proceedings were
detected by Valens, and he was as deeply incensed as if
a conspiracy had been formed against himself. He ordered
all the parties concerned in the construction of the tripod
to be arrested; commanded them to be burned alive, and
caused Theodore himself to be beheaded. The in-
dignation of the emperor was, in fact, so unbounded,
that the most famous philosophers of the time were slain
in consequence of what had occurred; and even those who
were not philosophers, but who wore garments similar to
those of the philosophers, were sacrificed to his resent-
ment; hence these garments were disused, lest they should
lead to the imputation of magic and sorcery. I believe
that all sensible persons will not blame the cruelty and
impetuosity of the emperor more than the rashness of
the philosophers in entering upon so unphilosophical an
undertaking. The emperor, absurdly supposing that he
could put his successor to death, spared neither those who
had performed the incantations, nor those who bore the
name that had been indicated, for he sacrificed even those
whose names commenced with nearly the same letters as
those that had appeared on the tripod. The philosophers,
on the other hand, acted as if the deposition and restora-
312 ECCI, E S I ASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK WI.
tion of emperors had depended solely on them; for if
the imperial succession was to be considered dependent on
the arrangement of the stars, what was requisite but to
await the accession of the future emperor, whoever he
might be? or if the succession was regarded as dependent
on the will of God, what right had man to interfere with
His decrees? Can man penetrate the secret counsels of
God? or can man, whatever may be his wisdom, make a
better choice than God? If it were merely from rash
curiosity to discern the things of futurity, that these
philosophers were induced to violate the laws of the Roman
Empire, that had subsisted ever since the legislation of
the Pagan sacrifices, their motives and conduct differed
widely from those of Socrates; for when unjustly con-
demned to drink poison, he refused to save himself by
violating the laws of his country, nor would he escape
from prison, although it was in his power to do so.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SARMATIANS ; DEATH OF THE
EMPEROR VALENTINIAN IN GAUL ; VALENTINIAN THE
YOUNGER ; PERSECUTION OF THE PRIESTS; ORATION OF
THE PHILOSOPHER THEMISTIUS.
SUCH subjects as the above, however, are best left to
the examination and decision of individual judgment.
The Sarmatians having invaded the Western Provinces
of the Empire, Valentinian levied an army to oppose
them. As soon, however, as they heard of the number
and strength of the troops raised against them, they sent
an embassy to solicit peace. When the ambassadors were
ushered into the presence of Valentinian, he asked them
whether all the Sarmatians were similar to them. On
their replying that the principal men of the nation had
been selected to form the embassy, the Emperor ex-
claimed, in great fury, that he regarded it as an especial
misfortune that the territories under his sway should be
exposed to the incursions of a barbarous nation like the
Sarmatians, who had even presumed to take up arms
against the Romans ! He spoke in this strain for some
CHAP. XXXVII.] DEATH OF VALENTINIAN.—A.D. 375. 313
time in a very high pitch of voice; and his rage was so
violent, and so unbounded, that at length he burst simul-
taneously a blood-vessel and an artery. He lost, in con-
sequence, a great quantity of blood, and expired soon
after in a fortress of Gaul. He was about fifty-four years
of age, and had during thirteen years guided the reins of
Government with great wisdom and skill. Six days after
his death, his youngest son, who bore the same name as
himself, was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers; and
soon afterwards Valens and Gratian formally assented to
this election, although they were at first irritated at the
soldiers having adopted such a measure without their
Sanction.
During this period, Valens had fixed his residence at
Antiochin Syria, and carried on a most cruel and unmerci-
ful persecution againstallwho differed from him in opinion
concerning the Divine nature. The philosopher Themistius
pronounced an oration in his presence, in which he took
occasion to show that the diversity of opinion existing
concerning ecclesiastical doctrines ought not to be regarded
with surprise, inasmuch as still greater diversity of
opinion, leading to perpetual disputes and contentions,
was prevalent among the Pagans; and he furtherinsisted
that God might be well pleased to permit this diversity
of opinion concerning his own nature, because the in-
scrutability of this subject, and the deficiency of all
accurate knowledge concerning it, tend to afford exalted
ideas of the Divine nature.
CHAPTE R XXXVII.
CONCERNING THE BARBARIANS BEYOND THE DANUBE, AND
THEIR CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY; ULPHILAS AND
ATHANARICUS ; CAUSE OF ARIANISM BEING EMBRACED
BY THE GOTHS.
THE oration of Themistius had some effect in mitigat-
ing the resentment of the emperor, and the persecution
became in consequence less cruel and violent than before.
The priests, however, were not restored to favour, and
they would have felt the full weight of the emperor's
314 EC C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
indignation, had not the state of public affairs diverted
his attention from the concerns of the church. For the
Goths who inhabited the regions beyond the Danube, and
held several barbarian nations under their sway, having
been vanquished and driven from their country by the
Huns, marched towards the Roman territories. The
Huns, it is said, were unknown to the Thracians of the
Danube, and the Goths before this period; for though they
dwelt in a neighbouring region, a lake of vast extent
formed a boundary between them, and the inhabitants on
each side of the lake respectively imagined that their own
country was situated at the extremity of the earth, and
that there was nothing beyond them but sea and water.
It so happened, however, that an ox, tormented by insects,
plunged into the lake and was pursued by the herdsman,
who perceiving for the first time that the opposite bank
was inhabited, made known the circumstance to his
countrymen. Some, however, relate that a stag pursued
by hunters, showed them the way to cross the lake, by
fording it at a place where the water was not deep. On
arriving at the opposite bank, the hunters were struck
with the beauty of the country, the abundance of its pro-
duce, and the serenity of the air, and they reported what
they had seen to their king. The Huns then made an
attempt to attack the Goths with a few soldiers, but they
afterwards raised a powerful army, conquered the Goths,
and took possession of their whole country. The van-
quished nation, being pursued by their enemies, fled
towards the Roman territories; they crossed the river,
and despatched an embassy to the emperor, assuring him
of their co-operation in any warfare in which he might
engage, provided that he would assign a portion of landfor
them to inhabit. Ulphilas, the bishop of the nation, was
the chief of the embassy. The object of his embassy was
fully accomplished, and the Goths were permitted to take
up their abode in Thrace. Soon after, contentions broke
out among them, which led to their division into two
parties, one of which was headed by Athanaric, and the
other by Phritigernes. They took up arms against each
other, and Phritigernes was vanquished, and implored
CHAP. XXXVII.] ARIANISM EMBRACED BY THE GOTHS. 315
assistance of the Romans. The emperor having com-
manded the troops in Thrace to assist him, a second
battle was fought, and Athanaric and his party were put to
flight. In acknowledgment of the timely succour afforded
by Valens, and in proof of his fidelity to the Romans,
Phritigernes embraced the religion of the emperor, and
persuaded the barbarians over whom he ruled to follow
his example. It does not, however, appear to me that
this is the only reason that can be advanced to account
for the Goths having retained even to the present day,
the tenets of Arianism. Ulphilas, their bishop, originally
held no opinions at variance with those of the Catholic
church; for though he took part, as I am convinced from
thoughtlessness, at the Council of Constantinople, in
conjunction with Eudoxius and Acacius, yet he did not
swerve from the doctrines of the Nicene Council. He
afterwards, it appears, returned to Constantinople, and
entered into disputations on doctrinal topics with the
chiefs of the Arian faction; and they promised to lay his
requests before the emperor, and forward the object of
his embassy, if he would conform to their opinions.
Compelled by the urgency of the occasion, or, possibly, in-
duced by a conviction of the truth of their sentiments
concerning the Divine nature, Ulphilas entered into com-
munion with the Arians, and separated himself and his
whole nation from all connection with the Catholic
church. For as he had instructed the Goths in the ele-
ments of religion, and the practice of morality and gentle-
ness, they placed the most implicit confidence in his
directions, and were firmly convinced that he could
neither do nor say any thing that was evil. He had, in
fact, given many signal proofs of the greatness of his vir-
tue. He had exposed himself to innumerable perils in
defence of the faith, during the period that the aforesaid
barbarians were abandoned to Paganism. He taught
them the use of letters, and translated the sacred scrip-
tures into their own language. It was on this account
that the nations on the banks of the Danube followed the
tenets of Arius. At the same period, there were many
of the subjects of Phritigernes who testified to Christ,
316 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY... [BOOK WI.
and were martyred. Athanaric also resented the change
in religion that had been effected by Ulphilas; and irritated
because his subjects had abandoned the superstition of
their fathers, he imposed cruel punishments on many in-
dividuals; some he put to death after they had been
dragged before tribunals and had nobly confessed the
faith, and others were slain without being permitted to
utter a single word in their own defence. It is said that
the officers appointed by Athanaric to execute his cruel
mandates, caused a statue to be constructed, which they
placed on a chariot, and had it conveyed to the tents
of those who were suspected of having embraced Christi-
anity, and who were therefore commanded to worship
the statue and offer sacrifice: if they refused to do so,
they were burnt alive in their tents. But I have heard
that an outrage of still greater atrocity was perpetrated
at this period. Men, women and children, who were
compelled to offer sacrifice, fled from their tents and
sought refuge in a church, whither also they carried the
infants at the breast; the Pagans set fire to the church
and consumed it, with all who were therein.
The Goths were not long in making peace among
themselves; and they then began to ravage Thrace and
to pillage the cities and villages. Valens was soon con-
vinced of the utter failure of his experiment; for he had
calculated that the Goths would always be useful to the
empire and formidable to its enemies, and had therefore
neglected the reinforcement of the Roman legions. He
had taken gold from the cities and villages under his
dominion, instead of the usual compliment of men for the
military service. On his expectation being thus frus-
trated, he quitted Antioch and hastened to Constantino-
ple. Hence the persecution which he had been carrying
on against Christians differing in opinion from himself,
was arrested. Euzoius, bishop of the Arians died, and
was succeeded by Theodore.
CHAP. xxxvii.I.] MAVIA, QUEEN OF THE SARACENs. 317
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CONCERNING MAVIA, QUEEN OF THE SARACENS. WAR AND
SUBSEQUENT PEACE BETWEEN THE SARACENS AND ROME.-
DETAILS CONCERNING THE ISHMAELITES AND THE SARA-
CENs, AND THEIR CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY.
ABOUT this period the king of the Saracens died, and the
peace which had previously existed between that nation
and the Romans was dissolved. Mavia, the widow of the
late monarch, finding herself at the head of the government,
led her troops into Phoenicia and Palestine, as far as the
regions of Egypt lying to the left of those who sail towards
the source of the Nile, and which are generally denomi-
nated Arabia. This war was by no means a contemptible
one, although conducted by a woman. The Romans, it
is said, considered it so arduous and so perilous, that the
general of the Phoenician troops applied for assistance
to the general of the Cavalry and Infantry of the East.
This latter ridiculed the summons, and undertook to give
battle alone. He accordingly attacked Mavia, who com-
manded her own troops in person; and he met with so.
signal a defeat, that it was with difficulty he saved his
life. This rescue was solely effected by the intervention
of the general of the troops of Palestine and Phoenicia.
Perceiving the extremity of the danger, this general
deemed it unnecessary to obey the orders he had received
to keep aloof from the combat; he therefore rushed upon
the barbarians, and then, while retreating, discharged
volleys of arrows upon them, in order to enable the
Romans to make good their escape. This occurrence is
still held in remembrance among the people of the coun-
try, and is celebrated in songs by the Saracens.
As the war was still pursued with vigour, the Romans
found it necessary to send an embassy to Mavia to solicit
peace. It is said that she refused to comply with the
request of the embassy, unless consent were given for the
ordination of a certain man named Moses, who dwelt in
solitude in a neighbouring desert, as bishop over her
3.18 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
subjects. This Moses was a man of virtuous life, and capa-
ble of performing the most wonderful miracles. On these
conditions being announced to the emperor, the chiefs
of the army were commanded to seize Moses, and conduct
him to Lucius. The monk exclaimed, in the presence of
the rulers and the assembled people, “I am not worthy
of the honor of bearing the name of bishop; but if,
notwithstanding my unworthiness, God destines me to
this office, I take Him to witness who created the heavens
and the earth, that I will not be ordained by the imposi-
tion of the hands of Lucius, which are defiled with the
blood of the saints.” Lucius immediately rejoined, “If
you are unacquainted with the nature of my creed, you
do wrong in judging me before you are in possession of
all the circumstances of the case. If you have been pre-
judiced by the calumnies that have been circulated against
me, at least allow me to declare to you what are my
sentiments; and do you be the judge of them.” “Your
creed is already well known to me,” replied Moses; “and
its nature is testified by bishops, priests, and deacons, of
whom some have been sent into exile, and others con-
demned to the mines. It is clear that your sentiments
are opposed to the faith of Christ, and to all orthodox
doctrines concerning the Godhead.” Having again pro-
tested, upon oath, that he would not receive ordination at
the hands of Lucius, the Roman rulers conducted him
to the bishops who were then in exile. After receiving
ordination from them, he went to exercise the functions
of his office among the Saracens. He concluded a peace
with the Romans, and converted many of the Saracens
to the faith.
It appears that the Saracens were descended from
Ishmael, the son of Abraham, and were, in consequence,
originally denominated Ishmaelites. As their mother
Hagar was a slave, they afterwards, to conceal the op-
probium of their origin, assumed the name of Saracens,
as if they were descended from Sara, the wife of Abraham.
Such being their origin, they practise circumcision like
the Jews, refrain from the use of pork, and observe many
other Jewish rites and customs. If, indeed, they deviate
CHAP. xxxviii.] CONVERSION OF A SARACENIC TRIBE. 319
in any respect from the observances of that nation, it
must be ascribed to the lapse of time, and to their inter-
course with neighbouring nations. Moses, who lived
many centuries after Abraham, only legislated for those
whom he led out of Egypt. The inhabitants of the
neighbouring countries being strongly addicted to super-
stition, probably soon corrupted the laws imposed upon
them by their forefather Ishmael. These laws, though not
set down in writing, were the only ones known to the
ancient Hebrews before the promulgation of the written
laws of Moses. These people certainly served the same
gods as the neighbouring nations, recognised them by the
same appellations, and rendered them the same species of
homage; and this clearly evidences their departure from
the laws of their forefathers. It appears probable that, in
the lapse of time, their ancient customs fell into oblivion,
and that they gradually learnt to follow the practices of
other nations. Some of their tribe afterwards happening
to come in contact with the Jews, gathered from them
the facts of their true origin, and returned to the ob-
servance of the Hebrew customs and laws. Indeed, there
are some among them even at the present day, who
regulate their lives according to the Jewish precepts.
Some of the Saracens were converted to Christianity not
long before the accession of Valens. Their conversion
appears to have been the result of their intercourse with
the priests who dwelt among them, and with the monks
who dwelt in the neighbouring deserts, and who were
distinguished by their purity of life, and by their
miraculous gifts. It is said that a whole tribe, and
Zocomus, their chief, were converted to Christianity and
baptised about this period, under the following circum-
stances:— Zocomus was childless, and went to a certain
monk of great celebrity to complain to him of thiscalamity;
for among the Saracens, and I believe other barbarian
nations, it was accounted of great importance to have
children. The monk desired Zocomus to be of good
cheer, engaged in prayer on his behalf, and sent him away
with the promise that if he would believe in Christ, he
would have a son. When this promise was accomplished
320 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK VI.
by God, and when a son was born to him, Zocomus was
baptised, and all his subjects with him. From that period
this tribe was peculiarly fortunate, and became strong in
point of number, and formidable to the Persians as well
as to the other Saracens. Such are the details that I
have been enabled to collect concerning the conversion of
the Saracens and their first bishops.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
PETER, HAVING RETURNED FROM ROME, SUPERSEDES LUCIUS
IN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCHES OF EGYPT.
EXPEDITION OF WALENS AGAINST THE SCYTHIANS.
THOSE in every city who maintained the Nicene doc-
trine, now began to take courage, and more particularly
the inhabitants of Alexandria. Peter had returned
thither with a letter from Damascus, confirmatory of the
tenets of Nicaea, and of his own ordination, and he was
installed in the government of the churches in the place
of Lucius, who retired to Constantinople. The Emperor
Valens was so distracted by other affairs, that he had no
leisure to attend to these transactions. He had no sooner
arrived at Constantinople than he incurred the suspicion
and hatred of the people. The barbarians were pillaging
Thrace, and were even advancing to the very gates of
Constantinople, and yet the emperor made no effort to
repress their incursions. Hence he became an object of
popular indignation, and was even regarded as the cause
of the inroads of the enemy. At length, when he was
present at the sports of the Hippodrome, the people
openly and loudly accused him of neglecting the affairs
of the state, and demanded arms that they might fight in
their own defence. Valens, offended at these reproaches,
immediately undertook an expedition against the bar.
barians; but he threatened to punish the insolence of the
people on his return, and also to take vengeance on them
for having formerly supported the tyrant Procopius.
CHAP. XL.] DEATH OF VALENS.—A.D. 378. 321
CHAPTER XL.
SAINT ISAAC, THE MONK, PREDICTS THE DEATH OF VALENS.
VALENS IS DEFEATED. HIS DEATH.
WHEN, Valens was on the point of departing from
Constantinople, Isaac, a monk of great virtue, who feared
no danger in the cause of God, presented himself before
him, and addressed him in the following words:–“ Give
back, O emperor, to the orthodox, and to those who
maintain the Nicene doctrines, the churches of which you
have deprived them, and the victory will be yours.” The
emperor was offended at this act of boldness, and com-
manded that Isaac should be arrested and kept in chains
until his return, when he meant to bring him to justice
for his temerity. Isaac, however, replied, “You will not
return unless you restore the Churches.” And so, in
fact, it came to pass. Valens marched at the head of his
troops in pursuit of the Goths, through Thrace, as far as
Adrianople; here he found the barbarians encamped in
a very advantageous position, and yet he had the rashness
to attack them before he had ranged his own legions in
proper order. His cavalry was dispersed, his infantry
compelled to retreat, and he himself escaped with difficulty
with a few of his attendants, and sought refuge and con-
cealment in a small house or tower. The barbarians were
in full pursuit, and went beyond the tower, not suspecting
that he had selected it for his place of concealment. As
the last detachment of the barbarians was passing by the
tower, the attendants of the emperor let fly a volley of
arrows, which immediately led to the conjecture that
Valens was concealed within the building : the bar-
barians loudly shouted this intelligence to their com-
panions who were in advance of them, and thus the news
was conveyed till it reached the detachments which were
foremost in the pursuit. They returned, and encompassed
the tower. They collected vast quantities of wood from
the country around, which they piled up against the
tower, and finally set fire to the mass. A wind which
then happened to arise, favoured the progress of the con-
flagration; and in a short period, the tower, with all that
21
322 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK WI.
it contained, including the emperor and his attendants,
was utterly destroyed. Valens was fifty years of age;
he had reigned thirteen years conjointly with his brother,
and three by himself.
END OF BOOK WI.
BOOK WII. CHAPTER I.
MAVIA ASSISTS THE ROMANS AGAINST THE BARBARIANS.
GRATIAN LEAVES TO EVERY ONE FULL LIBERTY OF
OPINION.
SUCH was the fate of Valens. The barbarians, flushed
with victory, overran Thrace, and advanced to the gates
of Constantinople. In this emergency, a few Saracens,
sent by Mavia, were of great service. Dominica, the
widow of Valens, furnished money out of the public
treasury, and some of the people, after hastily arming
themselves, attacked the barbarians and drove them from
the city.
Gratian, who at this period reigned conjointly with
his brother over the whole Roman empire, disapproved
of the late persecution that had been carried on to check
the diversity in religious creeds, and recalled all those
who had been banished on account of their religion. He
also enacted a law by which it was decreed that every
individual should be freely permitted the exercise of his
own religion, and should be allowed to hold assemblies,
with the exception of the Manichaeans and the followers
of Photinus and Eunomius.
CHAPTE R II.
THEODOSIUS IS ASSOCIATED WITH GRATIAN IN THE GOVERN-
MENT OF THE EMPIRE. ARIANISM PREVAILS THROUGHOUT
TEIE EASTERN CHURCHES EXCEPT THAT OF JERUSADEM.
COUNCIL OF ANTIOCH.
ON reflecting that while it was indispensably requisite
to check the incursions of the barbarians of the Danube
in Thrace and Illyria, his presence was equally necessary
in Gaul to repel the inroads of the Alemanni, Gratian
associated Theodosius with himself at Sirmich, in the
government of the empire. Theodosius belonged to an
324 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
illustrious family of the Pyrenees in Spain, and had ac-
quired so much renown in war, that before he was raised
to the imperial power, he was universally considered
capable of guiding the reins of the empire.
At this period all the churches of the East, with the
exception of that of Jerusalem, were in the hands of the
Arians. The Macedonians differed but little in opinion
from those who maintained the doctrines of Nicaea, and
held intercourse and communion with them in all the
cities; and this had been more especially the case with
the Macedonians of Constantinople, ever since their re-
conciliation with Liberius. But after the enactment of
Gratian's law, by which every sect was permitted the
full exercise of its own form of religion, the Macedonians
re-took possession of the churches from which they had
been ejected by Valens. They assembled together at
Antioch in Caria, and protested that the Son is not to be
declared “consubstantial” with the Father, but only like
unto Him in substance. From that period, many of the
Macedonians seceded from the others, and held separate
assemblies, while others, condemning this schismatic
spirit, united themselves still more closely with the fol-
lowers of the Nicene doctrines.
Many of the bishops who had been banished by Valens,
and who were recalled about this period in consequence
of the law of Gratian, manifested no ambition to be re-
stored to the highest offices in the church: on the con-
trary, they urged the Arian bishops to retain the posts
they occupied, and not to rend the church by their love
of contention and of personal promotion, or disturb the
unity which had been established by God and the apos-
tles. Eulalius bishop of Amasia in Pontus, was one of
those who pursued this course of conduct. It is said
that when he returned from exile, he found that his
church had passed into the hands of an Arian bishop,
and that scarcely fifty inhabitants of the city had sub-
mitted to the control of this new bishop. Eulalius,
desiring the restoration of concord above all other con-
siderations, offered to take part with the Arian bishop
in the government of the church, and expressly agreed
CHAP. III.] RETURN OF MELETIUS FROM EXILE. 325
to allow him the precedence. But as the Arian would
not comply with this proposition, it was not long before
he found himself deserted by the few who had followed
him, and who went over to the other party.
CHAPTER III.
CONCERNING ST. MELETIUS AND PAULINUS, BISHOPS OF AN-
TIOCH. THEIR OATH RESPECTING THE BISHOPEIC.
IN consequence of this law, Meletius returned about
this period to Antioch in Syria; and his presence gave
rise to great contentions. Paulinus, whom Valens from
veneration for his piety had not ventured to banish, was
still alive. The partizans of Meletius, therefore, pro-
posed his association with Paulinus in the government of
the church. This was opposed by the followers of Pau-
linus, who condemned the ordination of Meletius, because
it had been conferred by Arian bishops. The other
party, however, possessing the advantage in point of
strength, placed Meletius over a church in the suburbs
of the city. The mutual animosity of the two parties
increased, and sedition would doubtless have been the
consequence, had not means been devised for the resto-
ration of concord. Flavian and five of the clergy who
were in expectation of eventually being elected to the
episcopal dignity, promised that they would not accept
this office during the life of Paulinus and Meletius, and
that in the event of the decease of either of these great
men, the other should succeed to the bishopric. On their
ratifying this promise with oaths, unanimity was re-
stored among the people, and no further dissension
remained except among a small party of Luciferians, who
contended that Meletius had been ordained by heretics.
On the termination of this contest, Meletius proceeded
to Constantinople... where some bishops had assembled
together to deliberate on the necessity of translating
Gregory from the bishopric of Nazianzen to that of this
city.
326 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VII.
CHAPTER IV.
REIGN OF THEODOSIUS THE GREAT ; HE IS BAPTISED BY
ASCHOLIUS, BISHOP OF THESSALONICA.
As Gaul was about this period infested by the incur-
sions of the Alemanni, Gratian returned to his Western
dominions, which he had reserved for himself and his
brother, when he bestowed the government of Illyria
and of the Eastern provinces upon Theodosius. He
succeeded in repelling these barbarians; and Theodosius
was equally successful against the tribes from the banks
of the Danube; he defeated them, compelled them to sue
for peace, and, after accepting hostages from them, pro-
ceeded to Thessalonica. He fell ill while in this city,
and after receiving instructions in the rudiments of
religion from Ascholius the bishop, he was baptised, and
was soon after restored to health. The parents of Theo-
dosius were Christians, and were attached to the Nicene
doctrines; hence he took pleasure in the ministrations of
Ascholius, who maintained the same doctrines, and was
endowed with every priestly virtue and qualification.
He also rejoiced at finding that the Arian heresy had not
been received in Illyria. He enquired concerning the
religious sentiments which were prevalent in the other
provinces, and ascertained that, as far as Macedonia, one
form of belief was universally predominant, which was,
that the same homage ought to be rendered to God the
Word, and to the Holy Ghost, as to God the Father; but
that towards the East, and particularly at Constanti-
nople, the people were divided into many different sects.
Reflecting that it would be better to propound his own
religious views to his subjects, than to enforce the recep-
tion of any creed by mere compulsion, Theodosius
enacted a law at Thessalonica, which he caused to be
published at Constantinople, that it might be thence
transmitted to the remotest cities of his dominions. He
made known by this law his intention of leading all his
subjects to the reception of that faith which Peter, the
chief of the Apostles, had from the beginning preached
CHAP. V.] CHURCH OF ANASTASIA AT constanTINOPLE. 327
to the Romans, and which was professed by Damasus
bishop of Rome, and by Peter bishop of Alexandria.
He enacted that the title of “Catholic Church” should
be exclusively confined to those who rendered equal
homage to the Three Persons of the Trinity, and that
those individuals who entertained opposite opinions
should be treated as heretics, regarded with contempt,
and delivered over to punishment.
CHA PTE R. W.
GREGORY, THE THEOLOGIAN, RECEIVES FROM THEODOSIUS
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCHES. EXIPULSION OF
DEMOPHILUS, AND OF ALL WHO DENY THAT THE SON IS
“CON-SUBSTANTIAL.” WITH THE FATHER.
SOON after the enactment of this law, Theodosius went
to Constantinople. The Arians, under the guidance of
Theophilus, still retained possession of the churches.
Gregory of Nazianzen presided over those who main-
tain the “con-substantiality” of the Holy Trinity, and
assembled them together in a dwelling which had been
altered into the form of a house of prayer, and which
subsequently became one of the most remarkable in the
city by the magnificence of its decorations, and the spe-
cial revelations which were there vouchsafed of the grace
of God. For the power of God was there manifested by
dreams, by visions, and by miraculous cures of divers
diseases; these miracles were usually attributed to the
instrumentality of Mary the Holy Virgin, the Mother of
God. The name of Anastasia was given to this church,
because, as I believe, the Nicene doctrines which were,
so to speak, buried beneath the errors of heterodoxy at
Constantinople, were here brought to light and main-
tained by Gregory. Others ascribe the origin of this
appellation to a miracle, and relate that one day, when
the people were met together for worship in this edifice,
a pregnant woman fell from the highest gallery, and was
found dead on the spot, but that at the prayer of the
whole congregation, she was restored to life, and she and
328 E CC LESIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
the infant were saved. On account of this wonderful
occurrence, the place, as Solne assert, obtained its name.
The emperor sent to command Demophilus to conform
to the doctrines of Nicaea, and to lead the people to
embrace the same sentiments, or else to deliver up the
government of the churches. Demophilus assembled the
people, acquainted them with the imperial edict, and in-
formed them that it was his intention to hold an assembly
the next day without the walls of the city, in accordance,
he said, with the Divine law, which commands us when
we are persecuted in one city to flee unto another. From
that day he always assembled without the city with
Lucius, who was formerly the bishop of the Arians at
Alexandria, and who, after having been expelled, as above
related, from that city, had fixed his residence at Con-
stantinople. When Demophilus and his followers had
quitted the church, the emperor entered therein, and
engaged in prayer; and from that period those who main-
tained the consubstantiality of the Holy Trinity, held
possession of the houses of prayer. These events oc-
curred in the fifth year of the consulate of Gratian, and
in the first of that of Theodosius, and after the churches
had been during forty years in the hands of the Arians.
C H A PTE R VI.
INTRIGUES OF THE ARIANS. ELOQUENCE OF EUNOMIUS.
BOLDNESS OF ST. AMPHILOCHIUS,
THE Arians, who were still very strong in point of
numbers, and who, through the protection formerly
granted by Constantius and Valens, were still permitted
to hold their assemblies, and discourse publicly concerning
God and the Divine nature, now determined upon making
an attempt to gain over the emperor to their party,
through the intervention of individuals of their sect who
held appointments at court ; and they entertained hopes
of succeeding in this project as well as they had succeeded
in the case of Constantius. These machinations excited
great terror among the members of the Catholic Church,
but the chief cause of their apprehension was the
CHAP. VI.] THE EMPEROR REBUKED BY A BISHOP. 329
eloquence of Eunomius. It appears that during the
reign of Valens, Eunomius had some dispute with the
clergy of Cyzicus, and had in consequence seceded from
the-Arians, and retired to Bithynia, near Constantinople;
here multitudes resorted to him, some with the design of
testing his principles, and others merely from the desire
of listening to his discourses. His reputation reached the
ears of the emperor, who would gladly have held a con-
ference with him; but the Empress Flacilla studiously
prevented any interview from taking place between them,
for she was strenuously attached to the Nicene doctrines,
and feared lest Eunomius might by his powers of dis-
putation, induce a change in the sentiments of the
emperor.
In the meantime, while these intrigues were being
carried on by each party, it is said that the bishops then
residing in Constantinople went to the emperor to render
him the customary salutations. An old bishop who
presided over a city of little note, and who was simple
and unworldly, yet well instructed in Divine subjects,
formed one of this party. He went through precisely
the same forms as the others in reverentially saluting the
emperor. But instead of rendering equal honor to the
prince who was seated beside his father, the old priest ap-
proached him, patted him familiarly, and called him his
dear child. The emperor was deeply incensed at this
indignity being offered to his son, and commanded that
the old man should be thrust from his presence. While
being led away, however, the old bishop turned round,
and exclaimed, “Reflect, O emperor, on the wrath of
the Heavenly Father against those who do not honor His
Son as Himself, and who have the audacity to assert that
the Son is inferior to the Father.” The emperor felt the
force of this observation, re-called the priest, apologized
to him for what had occurred, and confessed that he had
spoken the truth. The emperor was henceforward less
disposed to hold intercourse with heretics; and he enacted
a law by which he prohibited, under the severest penalties,
all public disputes, assemblies, or disputations concerning
the Divine substance and nature.
330 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
CHAPTER VII.
CONCERNING THE SECOND HOLY GENERAL COUNCIL, AND THE
PLACE AND THE CAUSE OF ITS CONVENTION. ABDICATION
OF GREGORY, THE THEOLOGIAN.
A.D. 381.—The emperor soon after convened a council
of orthodox bishops for the purpose of confirming the
decrees of Nicaea, and of electing a bishop to the vacant
see of Constantinople. He likewise summoned the
Macedonians, to this assembly; for as their doctrines
differed but little from those of the Catholic Church, he
judged that it would be easy to effect a re-union with
them. About a hundred and fifty bishops who maintained
the consubstantiality of the Holy Trinity were present at
this council, as likewise thirty-six of the Macedonian
bishops, chiefly from the cities of the Hellespont, of whom
the principal were Eleusius, bishop of Cyzicus, and Marcian,
bishop of Lampsacus. The other party was under the
guidance of Timothy, who had succeeded his brother
Peter as bishop of Alexandria; of Meletius, bishop of
Antioch, who had repaired to Constantinople a short time
previously, on account of the election of Gregory, and of
Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, who had, at this period,
renounced the tenets of the Macedonians. Ascholius,
bishop of Thessalonica, Diodorus, bishop of Tarsus, and
Acacius, bishop of Berea, were also present at the Council.
These latter unanimously maintained the decrees of Nicaea,
and urged Eleusius and his partizans to conform to these
sentiments; reminding them at the same time, of the
embassy they had formerly deputed to Liberius, and of
the confession they had had conveyed to him through the
medium of Eustathius, Silvanus, and Theophilus. The
Macedonians, however, declared openly that they would
never admit the Son to be of the same substance as
the Father, whatever confession they might formerly
have made to Liberius, and immediately withdrew. They
then wrote to those of their own sect in every city,
exhorting them not to conform to the doctrines of Nicaea.
The bishops who remained at Constantinople now
CHAP. VII.] COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE.—A.D. 381. 331
turned their attention to the election of a prelate to the
see of that city. It is said that the emperor, from pro-
found admiration of the sanctity and eloquence of Gre-
gory, judged that he was worthy of this high dignity,
and that, from reverence of his virtue, the greater num-
ber of the bishops were of the same opinion. Gregory at
first consented to accept the bishopric of the city; but
afterwards, on ascertaining that some of the bishops,
particularly those of Egypt, objected to the election, he
withdrew his consent. For my own part, I confess that
in reviewing these circumstances, I know not how to ex-
press adequate admiration of this great man. His elo-
quence did not inspire him with pride, nor did vain
glory lead him to desire to retain an office upon which
he had entered at a very perilous juncture. He sur-
rendered his appointment to the bishops when it was re-
quired of him, as readily as if it had been merely a deposit
committed to his charge, and never complained of the
labours to which he had been exposed, or of the dangers
he had incurred in the suppression of heresies. Had he
retained possession of the bishopric of Constantinople, it
would have been no detriment to the interests of any in-
dividual, as another bishop had been appointed in his stead
at Nazianzen. But the Council, in strict obedience to the
laws of the fathers and the canons of the church with-
drew from him, with his own acquiescence, the deposit
which had been confided to him, without making an ex-
ception in favour of so eminent a man. The emperor
and the priests therefore proceeded to the election of
another bishop, which they regarded as the most important
affair then requiring attention, and the emperor was ur-
gent that diligent investigations might be instituted, so
that the most able and exemplary individual might be
entrusted with the archbishopric of the great and royal
city. The Council, however, was divided in sentiment;
for each of the members desired to see one of his own
friends ordained over the church.
332 E C C L E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
ELECTION OF NECTARIUS TO THE BISHOPRIC OF CONSTAN-
TINOPLE: HIS BIRTH-PLACE AND EDUCATION.
A CERTAIN man of Tarsus in Cilicia, of the order of
senator, was at this period residing at Constantinople.
Being about to return to his own country, he called
upon Diodorus, bishop of Tarsus to enquire whether he
had any letters to send by him. Diodorus was fully in-
tent upon the election of a bishop, which was the subject
then engrossing universal attention. He had no sooner
seen Nectarius, than struck by the dignity of his ap-
pearance and the suavity of his manners, he judged him
to be worthy of the bishopric, and secretly desired that
he might be elected to it. He conducted him, as if upon
some other business, to the bishop of Antioch, and re-
quested him to use his influence to procure his election.
The bishop of Antioch derided this request, for the
names of the most eminent men had already been pro-
posed for consideration. He, however, called Nectarius
to him, and desired him to remain for a short time with
him. Some time after, the emperor commanded the
bishops to draw up a list of the names of those whom
they desired to ordain to the bishopric, reserving to
himself the right of nominating any one of those whose
names were thus submitted to him. All the bishops
complied with this mandate; and among the others, the
bishop of Antioch wrote down the names of those whom
he proposed as candidates for the bishopric, and, at the
end of his list, from consideration for Diodorus, he inserted
the name of Nectarius. The emperor read the list,
stopped at the name of Nectarius, on which he placed his
finger, and seemed for some time lost in reflection; then
he again read the list, and finally nominated Nectarius.
This nomination excited great astonishment, and all the
people were anxious to ascertain whence Nectarius came,
and who and what he was. When they heard that he
had not been baptised, their amazement was increased at
the decision of the emperor. I believe that Diodorus
CHAP. IX.] ELECTION OF NECTARIUS.—A.D. 381. 333
himself was not aware that Nectarius had not been
baptised; for had he been acquainted with this fact, it is
probable that he would not have ventured to seek his elec-
tion to the bishopric. It appears reasonable to suppose,
that on perceiving that Nectarius was of advanced age,
he took it for granted that he had been baptised long
previously. But these events did not take place without
the interposition of God. For when the emperor was in-
formed that Nectarius had not been baptised, he did not
alter his decision, although strongly opposed by the
bishops. When at last consent had been given to theim-
perial mandate, Nectarius was baptised, and while yet
clad in his white robes was proclaimed bishop of Con-
stantinople by the unanimous voice of the synod. . Man
have conjectured that the emperor was led to make this
election by a Divine revelation. I shall not pause to en-
quire whether this conjecture be true or false; but I feel
convinced when I reflect on the extraordinary circum-
stances attending this ordination, that all the events were
brought about by the interposition of Divine Providence,
and that it was by the will of God that so mild and vir-
tuous and exemplary a man was elevated to the priest-
hood. Such are the details which I have been able to as-
certain concerning the ordination of Nectarius.
CHAPTER IX.
DECREES OF THE SECOND GENERAL COUNCIL. MAXIMUS,
THE CYNICAL PHILOSOPHER.
AFTER these transactions, Nectarius and the other
priests assembled together, and decreed that the faith es:
tablished by the Council of Nicæa should remain invio-
late, and that all heresies should be condemned; that the
churches should be governed according to the ancient
canons; that each bishop should remain in his own church,
and not go elsewhere under any light pretext, or perform
ordinations in which he had no right to interfere, as had
frequently been the case in the Catholic church during
the times of persecution. They likewise decreed that the
affairs of each church should be subjected to the investi-
334 E C C L E S I A STIC A. L H IS TO R. Y. [BOOK VII.
gation and control of a Council of the province, and
that the bishop of Constantinople should rank next in
point of precedence to the bishop of Rome, as occupying
the bishopric of New Rome; for Constantinople was not
only favoured with this appellation, but was also in the
enjoyment of many privileges—such as a senate of its
own, and the division of the citizens into ranks and
orders; it was also governed by its own magistrates, and
possessed contracts, laws, and immunities, similar to
those of Rome in Italy.
The council also decreed that Maximus was not a
bishop, and that those individuals whom he had ordained
were not of the order of the clergy; and that all that had
been done by him, or in his name, was null and void.
Maximus was a native of Alexandria, and by profession, a
cynical philosopher; he was zealously attached to the
Nicene doctrines, and had been secretly ordained bishop
of Constantinople by bishops from Egypt.
Such were the decrees of the council. They were con-
firmed by the emperor, who enacted that the faith esta-
blished at Nicaea should be preserved inviolate, and that
the churches should be placed in the hands of those who
acknowledged one God in three Persons of equal honour,
and of equal power, namely—the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost. To designate them still more precisely,
the emperor declared that he referred to those who held
communion with Nectarius, at Constantinople, with
Timothy, bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, with Diodorus,
bishop of Tarsus, with Pelagius, bishop of Laodicea in
the East, and with Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium in
Asia: to those in Pontus and Bithynia who held com-
munion with Helladius, bishop of Caesarea in Cappado-
cia, with Gregory, bishop of Nyssa; and with Otreius,
bishop of Melitine; and to the inhabitants of Thrace and
Scythia, who held communion with Terence, bishop of
Tomis, and with Martyrius, bishop of Marcianopolis.
The emperor was personally acquainted with all these
bishops, and had ascertained that they governed their re-
spective churches wisely and piously. After these trans-
actions, the council was dissolved, and each of the bishops
returned homewards.
CHAP. X.] NECTARIUS AND MARTYRIUS OF CILICIA. 335
CIH APTE R. X.
CONCERNING MARTYRIUS OF CILICIA. TRANSLATION OF THE
REMAINS OF ST. PAUL, THE CONFESSOR, AND OF MELE-
TIUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH.
NECTARTUs made himself acquainted with the routine
of sacerdotal ceremonies under the instruction of Cyria-
cus bishop of Adana, whom he had requested Diodorus
bishop of Tarsus to leave with him for a short period.
Nectarius also retained several other Cilicians with him,
amongst whom was Martyrius his physician, who had been
a witness of the regularities of his youth. Nectarius was
desirous of ordaining him deacon, but Martyrius refused
the honour, under the plea of his own unworthiness, and
called upon Nectarius himself to witness as to the course
of his past life. To this Nectarius replied as follows:–
“Although I am now a priest, do you not know that my
past career was a more guilty one than yours, inasmuch
as you were but an instrument in my numerous trans-
gressions?” “But you, O blessed one,” replied Mar-
tyrius, “were cleansed by baptism, and were then
accounted worthy of the priesthood. Both these ordi-
nances are appointed by the divine law for purification
from sin; and it seems to me that you now differ in no
respect from a new-born infant: but I received long ago
the holy rite of baptism, and lived subsequently as if I
had not received it.” It was under this plea, that he ex-
cused himself from receiving ordination; and it appeared
to me to be so valid and commendable, that I have given
the whole transaction a place in my history.
The emperor Theodosius, on being informed of various
events connected with Paul, formerly bishop of Constan-
tinople, caused his remains to be removed to the church
erected by Macedonius his enemy. This church is a
spacious and magnificent edifice, and is still distin-
guished by the name of Paul. Hence, many persons who
are ignorant of the facts of the case, particularly women
and the mass of the people, imagine that Paul the Apostle is
interred therein. The remains of Meletius were at the
336 EC C L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
same time conveyed to Antioch; and deposited near the
tomb of Babylas the Martyr. It is said that by the
command of the emperor, the relics were received with
honour in every city through which they had to be con-
veyed during the journey to Antioch, and that psalms
were sung on the occasion, a practice which was quite
contrary to the usual Roman customs.
CHAPTER XI.
ORDINATION OF FLAVIAN AS BISHOP OF ANTIOCH, AND SUB-
SEQUENT OCCURRENCES.
AFTER the pompous interment of the remains of
Meletius, Flavian was ordained in his stead, and that too
in direct violation of the oath he had taken; for Paulinus
was still alive. This gave rise to fresh troubles in the
church of Antioch. Many persons refused to hold com-
munion with Flavian, and assembled together apart with
Paulinus. Even priests differed among themselves on
this subject. The bishops of Egypt, of Arabia, and of
Cyprus, were indignant at the injustice that had been
manifested towards Paulinus. On the other hand, the
bishops of Syria, of Palestine, of Phoenicia, and of the
greater part of Armenia, Cappadocia, Galatia, and Pon-
tus, sided with Flavian. The bishop of Rome, and all
the Western priests, regarded the conduct of Flavian
with the utmost displeasure. They addressed the cus-
tomary epistles, called synodical, to Paulinus, as bishop
of Antioch, and took no notice of Flavian. They also
withdrew from communion with Diodorus, bishop of
Tarsus, and Acacius, bishop of Berea, because they had
ordained Flavian. To take further cognizance of the
affair, the Western bishops and the emperor Gratian
wrote to the bishops of the East, and summoned them
to attend a council in the West.
CHAP. XII.] ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH UNIFORMITY. 337
CHA PTE R XII.
PROJECT OF THEODOSIUS TO UNITE ALL THE DIFFERENT
FORMS OF RELIGION INTO ONE. A.G.ELIUS AND SISINIUS.
THE NOVATIANS. THOSE WHO REJECT THE TERM
“CONSUBSTANTIAL” ARE EJECTED FROM THE CHURCHES.
ALTHOUGH all the houses of prayer were at this period
in the possession of the Catholic Church, yet the Arians
continued to be a constant source of trouble and conten-
tion. The emperor Theodosius, therefore, soon after the
council above mentioned, again summoned together the
leaders of the different sects, in order that they might
either bring others to their own state of conviction on
disputed topics, or be convinced themselves: for he
imagined that all would be brought to oneness of opinion,
if a free discussion were entered upon concerning ambi-
guous points of doctrine. The council, therefore, was
convened. This occurred in the year of the second con-
sulate of Merobandes, and the first of Saturnius, and at
the same period that Arcadius was associated with his
father in the government of the empire. Theodosius
sent for Nectarius, consulted with him concerning the
synod, and commanded him to introduce the discussion
of all questions which had given rise to heresies, so that
one faith might be established throughout the Church of
Christ. When Nectarius returned home, feeling anxious
about the affair confided to him, he made known the man-
date of the emperor to Agelius, the bishop of the Nova-
tians, who held the same religious sentiments as himself.
Agelius was a man of virtuous and exemplary life, but
was unaccustomed to discussions and disputations; he
therefore recommended the services of one of his readers,
by name Sisinius, who afterwards succeeded him as
bishop. Sisinius possessed great powers of intellect and
of eloquence; he was deeply versed in the knowledge of
Scripture, and was well acquainted with profane and
with ecclesiastical literature. He proposed that all dis-
putation with the heterodox, as being a fruitful source
of contention and animosity, should be avoided, but
22
338 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L H IS TO R. Y. [BOOK VII.
recommended that enquiries should rather be instituted
as to whether the heretics admitted the testimony of the
teachers and expositors of Scripture who lived before the
church was rent by division. “If they reject the testi-
mony of these great men,” said he, “they will be con-
demned by their own followers; but, if they admit their
authority as being adequate to resolve ambiguous points
of doctrine, we will produce their works.” For Sisinius
was well aware that, as the ancients recognized the Son
to be eternal like the Father, they had never presumed
to assert that he had had a beginning. This suggestion re-
ceived the approbation of Nectarius, and afterwards of
the emperor; and investigations were set on foot as to
the opinions entertained by heretics concerning the
ancient interpreters of Scripture. As it was found that
the heretics professed to hold these early writers in great
admiration, the emperor asked them whether they would
defer to their authority on controverted topics, and test
their own doctrines by the sentiments propounded in
their works. This proposition excited great contention
among the leaders of the various heretical sects; but it
was withdrawn by the emperor, when he perceived that
the heretics were divided in opinion concerning the doc-
trines and books of the ancients, and that each sect was
mainly intent on the defence of its own peculiar dogmas.
He blamed their proceedings, and commanded each party
to draw up a written exposition of its own creed. On
the day appointed for the presentation of these docu-
ments, Nectarius and Agelius appeared at the palace, as
representatives of those who maintain the consubstanti-
ality of the Holy Trinity; Demophilus the Arian
bishop came forward as the deputy of the Arians; Euno-
mius represented the Eunomians; and Eleusius, bishop
of Cyzicus, appeared for the sectarians denominated
Macedonians. The emperor, after receiving their for-
mularies, expressed himself in favour of that one alone in
which the consubstantiality of the Trinity was recog-
nized, and destroyed the others. The interests of the
Novatians were not affected by this transaction; for they
held the same doctrines as the Catholic Church concern-
CHAP. XIII.] ARIAN HERESY ESPOUSED BY JUSTINA. 339
ing the Divine nature. The members of the other sects
were indignant with the bishops for having entered into
unwise disputations in the presence of the emperor.
Many renounced their former opinions, and embraced
the authorised form of religion. The emperor enacted a
law, prohibiting heretics from holding assemblies, from
giving public instructions in religion, and from confer-
ring ordination. Some of the heterodox were expelled
from the cities and villages, while others were disgraced,
and deprived of the privileges enjoyed by other subjects
of the empire. , Great as were the punishments adjudged
by the laws against heretics, they were not always carried
into execution; for the emperor had no desire to perse-
cute his subjects; he only desired to enforce uniformity of
religion through the medium of intimidation. Those
who voluntarily renounced heretical opinions received
great commendation from him. -
CHA PTER XIII.
TYRANNY OF MAXIMUS. CONCERNING THE EMPRESS JUSTINA
AND ST. AMIBROSIU.S. DEATH OF THE EMPEROR GRATIAN.
As the Emperor Gratian was at this period occupied
with a war against the Germans, Maximus quitted Bri-
tain with the design of usurping the imperial power.
Valentinian was then residing in Italy, but, as he was a
minor, the affairs of state were transacted by Probus, a
praetorian prefect, who had formerly been consul.
Justina, the mother of the emperor, having espoused
the Arian heresy, persecuted Ambrose, bishop of Milan,
and disquieted the churches by her efforts to introduce
alterations in the Nicene doctrines, and to obtain
the predominance of the form of belief set forth at
Ariminum. She was incensed against Ambrose because
he strenuously opposed her attempts at innovation; and
she represented to her son that he had insulted her.
Valentinian believed this calumny, and determining to
avenge the supposed wrongs of his mother, he sent a
party of soldiers against the church. On their reaching
340 E C C L E SIASTICAL HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
the edifice, they forced their way into the interior,
arrested Ambrose, and were about to lead him into
exile, when the people assembled in crowds, and evinced
a resolution to die rather than submit to the banishment
of their bishop. Justina was still further incensed at
this occurrence; and with a view of enforcing her pro-
ject by law, she sent for Benevolus, one of the legal
secretaries, and commanded him to draw up, as quickly
as possible, an edict confirmatory of the decrees of
Ariminum. Benevolus, being firmly attached to the
Catholic Church, refused to write the document, and the
empress tried to bribe him by promises of honours and
promotion. He still, however, refused compliance, and,
tearing off his belt, he threw it at the feet of Justina,
and declared that he would neither retain his present
office, nor accept of promotion, as the reward of impiety.
As he remained firm in his refusal, others were entrusted
with the compilation of the document. By this law, all
were prohibited from holding assemblies except those
who conformed to the doctrines set forth at Ariminum,
and ratified at Constantinople; and it was enacted, that
death should be the punishment of those who should
violate this decree. &
While Justina was planning the means of carrying
this cruel law into execution, intelligence was brought
of the murder of Gratian, through the treachery of
Andragathos, the general of Maximus. Andragathos
obtained possession of the chariot of the empress, and
sent word to the emperor, that his consort was travelling
towards his camp. Gratian, who was but recently
married, and was exceedingly attached to the empress,
hastened across the river, and, in his anxiety to meet
her, fell into the hands of Andragathos, and was put to
death. He was in the twenty-fourth year of his age,
and had reigned fifteen years. This calamity diverted
the thoughts of Justina from her angry altercation with
Ambrose.
Maximus in the meantime raised a large army of
Britons, Gauls, Celts, and other nations, and marched
into Italy. The pretext which he advanced for this
CHAP. XIV.] USURPATION OF MAXIMUS.—A.D. 383. 341
measure was, that he desired to prevent the introduction
of innovations in the ancient form of religion and of
ecclesiastical discipline; but he was, in reality, actuated
by the desire of dispelling any suspicion that might
have been excited as to his aspiring to tyranny ; he
wished it to appear that it was not by force, but by the
sanction of the laws and the consent of the people, that
he had been invested with the imperial power. Valen-
tinian, who was compelled by the exigencies of the times
to recognise him as emperor, soon after fled with his
mother Justina and Probus, the praetorian prefect, to
Thessalonica.
CHAPTER XIV.
BIRTH OF HONORIUS. THEODOSIUS LEAVES ARCADIUS AT
CONSTANTINOPLE, AND PROCEEDS TO ITALY, SUCCESSION
OF THE NOVATIAN AND OTHER PATRIARCHS. AUDACITY
OF THE ARIANS. TRIUMPH OF THEODOSIUS.
WHILE Theodosius was making preparations for a war
against Maximus, his son Honorius was born. On the
completion of these warlike preparations, he left his son
Arcadius to govern at Constantinople, and proceeded to
Thessalonica, where he saw Valentinian. He refused
either to dismiss or to give audience to the embassy sent
by Maximus, but continued his journey at the head of
his troops towards Italy.
About this period, Agelius, bishop of the Novatians at
Constantinople, feeling his end approaching, nominated
Sisinius, one of the presbyters of his church, as his suc-
cessor. The people, however, murmured that the pre-
ference had not rather been given to Marcian, who was
noted on account of his piety, and Agelius therefore
ordained him, and addressed the people who were assem-
bled in the church in the following words: “After me,
you shall have Marcian for your bishop, and after him,
Sisinius.” Agelius died soon after he had uttered these
words: he had governed his church forty years with the
greatest approbation of his own party; and some assert
that during the times of Pagan persecution, he had openly
confessed the name of Christ. º
342 ECCLESIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
Not long after, Timothy and Cyril died; Theophilus
succeeded to the bishopric of Alexandria, and John to
that of Jerusalem. Demophilus, bishop of the Arians at
Constantinople, likewise died, and was succeeded by
Marinus; but he was superseded by Dorotheus, who
soon after arrived from Antioch in Syria, and who was
considered by his sect to be better qualified for the office
than Marinus.
Theodosius having in the meantime entered Italy,
various conflicting reports were spread as to the success
of his arms. It was rumoured among the Arians that
the greater part of his army had been cut to pieces in
battle, and that he himself had been captured by the
tyrant; and assuming this report to be true, these sec-
tarians ran to the house of Nectarius and set it on fire,
from indignation at the power which the bishop had ob-
tained over the churches. The emperor, however, was
completely successful in this war, for the soldiers of
Maximus, impelled by fear or treachery, slew the tyrant.
Andragathos, the murderer of Gratian, no sooner heard
of the death of Maximus, than he leaped into the river
with his armour, and perished. The war having been
thus terminated, and the death of Gratian avenged,
Theodosius, accompanied by Valentinian, entered Rome
in triumph, and restored order in the churches in Italy,
for the Empress Justina was dead.
CHAPTER XV.
FLAVIAN AND EVAGRIUS, BISHOPS OF ANTIOCH. DEMOLITION
OF IDOLATROUS TEMPLES.
PAULINUs, bishop of Antioch, died about this period,
and those who had assembled with him, persisted in their
aversion to Flavian, although his religious sentiments
were precisely the same as their own, because he had
violated the oath he had formerly made to Meletius.
They, therefore, elected Evagrius as their bishop. Eva-
grius did not long survive this appointment, and although
Flavian prevented the election of another bishop, those
CHAP. xv.] CONTEST BETWEEN PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS. 343
who had seceded from communion with him, still con-
tinued to hold their assemblies apart.
About this period, the bishop of Alexandria to whom
the Temple of Bacchus had, at his own request, been
granted by the emperor, converted the edifice into a
Christian church. The statues were removed, the most
secret recesses of the temple explored, and in order to
cast contumely on the Pagan mysteries, the most absurd
and indecorous objects appertaining thereto, that had been
concealed within the temple, were exposed to the public
gaze. The Pagans, amazed at so unexpected an exhi-
bition, could not sufferit in silence, but conspired together
to attack the Christians. They slew many of the Chris-
tians, wounded others, and seized the temple of Serapis,
a large and beautiful structure seated on an eminence.
This they converted into a temporary citadel, and here
they conveyed their prisoners, put them to the torture,
and compelled them to offer sacrifice. Those who refused
compliance were crucified, had their legs broken, or were
put to death in some cruel manner. When the sedition
had lasted some time, and had attained a fearful height,
the rulers, with Romanus the general of the Egyptian
troops, and Evagrius, the Alexandrian prefect, hastened
to the spot, and urged the people to obey the laws, to
lay down their arms, and to give up the temple of Se-
rapis. As their efforts, however, to reduce the people to
submission were utterly in vain, they made known what
had transpired to the emperor. Those who had shut
themselves up in the temple of Serapis were averse to
yield from fear of the punishment that they knew would
await their audacious proceedings, and they were further
instigated to revolt by the inflammatory discourses of a
man named Olympius, attired in the garments of a phi-
losopher, who told them that they ought to die rather
than neglect the gods of their fathers. Perceiving that
they were greatly intimidated by the destruction of the
idolatrous statues, he assured them that such a circum-
stance did not warrant their renouncing their religion;
for that the statues were composed of corruptible mate-
rials, subject to decay; whereas, the powers which had
344 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VII.
dwelt within them, had flown to heaven. By such re-
presentations as these, he retained the multitude with
him in the temple of Serapis.
When the emperor was informed of these occurrences,
he declared that the Christians who had been slain
were blessed, inasmuch as they had been admitted to
the honour of martyrdom, and had suffered in defence of
the faith. He offered free pardon to those who had
slain them, hoping that by this act of clemency they
would be the more readily induced to embrace Chris-
tianity; and he commanded the demolition of the temples
which had been the cause of the sedition. It is said
that, when this edict was read in public, the Christians
uttered loud shouts of joy, because the emperor laid the
odium of what had occurred upon the Pagans. The
people who were guarding the temple of Serapis were so
terrified at hearing these shouts, that they took to flight,
and the Christians immediately obtained possession of
the spot which they have retained ever since. I have
been informed that, on the night preceding this occur-
rence, Olympius heard the voice of one singing Halle-
lujah in the temple of Serapis. The doors were shut,
and as he could see no one, but could only hear the
voice of the singer, he at once understood what the sign
signified ; and unknown to any one he quitted the
temple and embarked for Italy. It is said that when
the temple was being demolished, some stones were
found on which were hieroglyphic characters in the form
of a cross, which, on being submitted to the inspection
of the learned, were interpreted as signifying the life to
come. These characters led to the conversion of several
of the Pagans, as did likewise other inscriptions found
in the same place, and which contained predictions of
the destruction of the temple. It was thus that the
temple of Serapis was converted into a church; it re-
ceived the name of the emperor Arcadius.
There were still Pagans in many cities, who contended
zealously in behalf of their temples; as, for instance,
the inhabitants of Petraea and of Areopolis, in Arabia;
of Raphi and Gaza, in Palestine; of Hieropolis, in
CHAP. XVI.] DEATH OF MARCELLUS.–A.D. 388. 345
Phoenicia; and of Apamea, on the river Axius, in Syria.
I have been informed that the inhabitants of the last-
named city often armed the men of Galilee, and the
peasants of Lebanon, in defence of their temples; and
that they even carried their audacity to such a height,
as to slay a bishop, named Marcellus. This bishop had
commanded the demolition of all the temples in the
city and neighbouring villages, under the supposition
that more efficient means of deterring the people from
the observance of their ancient superstitions could not
be devised. Having heard that there was a very spacious
temple at Aulone, a district of Apamea, he repaired
thither with a body of soldiers and gladiators. He sta-
tioned himself at a distance from the scene of conflict;
beyond the reach of the arrows; for he was afflicted with
the gout, and was unable either to fight, or to effect an
escape in case of defeat. Whilst the soldiers and gla-
diators were engaged in the assault against the temple,
some Pagans, discovering that he was alone, hastened to
the place where he was awaiting the issue of the combat,
seized him, and burnt him alive. The perpetrators of
this deed were not then known, but in course of time,
they were detected, and the sons of Marcellus deter-
mined upon avenging his death. The Council of the
province, however, prohibited them from executing this
design, and declared that it was not just that the rela-
tives or friends of Marcellus should seek to avenge his
death; when they should rather return thanks to God,
for having accounted him worthy to die in such a cause.
CHAPTER XVI.
IN WHAT MANNER, AND FROM WHAT CAUSE, THE FUNCTIONS
OF THE PRESBYTER, APPOINTED TO PRESIDE OVER THE
IMPOSITION OF PENANCE, WERE ABOLISHED. DISSERTATION
ON THE MODE OF IMPOSING PENANCE.
NECTARIUS, about this period, abolished the office of
the presbyter whose duty it was to preside over the impo-
sition of penance; and this is the first instance of the
suppression of this office in the church. This example
346 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VII.
was followed by the bishops of every region. Various
accounts have been given of the nature, the origin, and
the cause of the abolition of this office. I shall state
my own views on the subject. Impeccability is a divine
attribute, and belongs not to human nature; therefore
God has decreed that pardon should be extended to the
penitent, even after many transgressions. As in suppli-
cating for pardon, it is requisite to confess the sin, it
seems probable that the priests, from the beginning, con-
sidered it irksome to make this confession in public,
before the whole assembly of the people. They therefore
appointed a presbyter, of the utmost sanctity, and the
most undoubted prudence, to act on these occasions; the
penitents went to him, and confessed their transgressions;
and it was his office to indicate the kind of penance adap-
ted to each sin, and then, when satisfaction had been
made, to pronounce absolution. As the custom of doing
penance never gained ground among the Novatians, regu-
lations of this nature were, of course, unnecessary among
them; but the custom prevailed among all other religious
sects, and exists even to the present day. It is observed
with great rigour by the Western churches, particularly
at Rome, where there is a place appropriated to the recep-
tion of penitents, where they stand and mourn until the
completion of the solemn services, from which they are
excluded; then they cast themselves, with groans and
lamentations, prostrate on the ground. The bishop con-
ducts the ceremony, sheds tears, and prostrates himself
in like manner; and all the people burst into tears, and
groan aloud. Afterwards, the bishop rises from the
ground, and raises up the others; he offers up prayer on
behalf of the penitents, and then dismisses them. Each
of the penitents subjects himself in private to voluntary
suffering, either by fastings, by abstaining from the bath
or from divers kinds of meats, or by other prescribed
means, until a certain period appointed by the bishop.
When this time arrives, he is made free from the conse-
quences of his sin, and is permitted to resume his place
in the assemblies of the church. The Roman priests
have carefully observed this custom from the beginning
CHAP XVI.] T)ISSERTATION ON PENANCE. 347
to the present time. At Constantinople, a presbyter was
always appointed to preside over the penitents, until a
lady of illustrious birth made a deposition to the effect
that when she resorted as a penitent to the presbyter,
to fast, and offer supplications to God, and tarried, for
that purpose, in the church, a rape had been committed
on her person by the deacon. Great displeasure was
manifested by the people when this occurrence was made
known to them, on account of the discredit that would
result to the church; and the priests, in particular, were
thereby greatly scandalized. Nectarius, after much hesi-
tation as to what means ought to be adopted, deposed the
deacon; and, at the advice of certain persons, who urged
the necessity of leaving each individual to examine him-
self before participating in the sacred mysteries, he abo-
lished the office of the presbyter presiding over penance.
From that period, therefore, the performance of penance
fell into disuse; and it seems to me, that extreme laxity
of principle was thus substituted for the severity and
rigour of antiquity. Under the ancient system, I think,
offences were of rarer occurrence; for people were de-
terred from their commission, by the dread of confessing
them, and of exposing them to the scrutiny of a severe
judge. I believe it was from similar considerations,
that the Emperor Theodosius, who was always zealous
in promoting the glory of the church, issued a law, enact-
ing that women should not be admitted into the ministry,
unless they had had children, and were upwards of sixty
years of age, according to the precept of the apostle
Paul. By this law it was also decreed, that women who
had shaved their heads should be ejected from the
churches; and that the bishop by whom such women
were admitted, should be deposed.
348 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VII.
CHAPTER XVII.
IBANISHMENT OF EUNOMIUS BY THEODOSIUS THE GREAT.
HERESIES OF HIS SUCCESSOR THEOPHRONIUS, OF EUTY CHUS,
AND OF DOROTHEUS. DIVISIONS AMONG TEIE ARIANS.
SUCH subjects as the above, however, are best left to
the decision of individual judgment.
The emperor, about this period, condemned Eunomius
to banishment. This heretic had fixed his residence in
the suburbs of Constantinople, and held frequent assem-
blies in private houses, where he read his own writings.
He induced many to embrace his sentiments, so that the
sectarians who were named after him, became very nume-
rous. He died not long after his banishment, and was
interred at Dacora, his birth-place, a village of Cappa-
docia, situated near mount Argeus, in the territory of
Caesarea. Theophronius, who was also a native of
Cappadocia, and who had been his disciple, continued to
promulgate his doctrines. Having given some attention
to the writings of Aristotle, he composed an appendix
to them, which he entitled “Exercises for the Mind.”
But he afterwards engaged, I have understood, in many
unprofitable disputations, and soon ceased to confine him-
self to the doctrines of his master. Under the assump-
tion of being deeply versed in the terms of Scripture, he
attempted to prove, that though God is acquainted with
the present, the past, and the future, His knowledge on
these subjects is not the same in degree, and is subject
to some kind of mutation. As this hypothesis appeared
positively absurd to the Eunomians, they excommuni-
cated him from their church; and he constituted himself
the leader of a new sect, called, after his own name,
Theophronians. Not long after, Eutychus, one of the
Eunomians, originated another sect at Constantinople,
to which his own name was given. For the question
having been proposed, as to whether the Son of God is
or is not acquainted with the day and hour of the last
judgment, the words of the Evangelist were quoted, in
which it is stated, that the day and hour are known only
CHAP. XVII.] HERESY OF EUTYCHUs.—A.D. 388. 349
to the Father. Eutychus, however, contended that this
knowledge belongs also to the Son, inasmuch as he has
received all things from the Father. The Eunomian
bishops, having condemned this opinion, he seceded from
communion with them, and went to join Eunomius, in
his place of banishment. A deacon and some other
individuals who had been despatched from Constanti-
nople to accuse Eutychus, and, if necessary to oppose
him, arrived first at the place of destination. When
Eunomius was made acquainted with the object of their
journey, he expressed himself in favour of the sentiments
propounded by Eutychus; and on his arrival, prayed with
him, although it was not customary to pray with any one
who travels unprovided with letters written in secret cha-
racters, attesting his being in communion. Eunomius died
soon after this contention; and the Eunomian bishop, at
Constantinople, refused to receive Eutychus into com-
munion, from envy and jealousy at the part he had
enacted in the late controversy; more especially as he
held no rank among the clergy. Eutychus, therefore,
formed those who had espoused his sentiments into a
separate sect. Many assert that he and Theophronius
were the first who propounded the peculiar views enter-
tained by the Eunomians concerning the rite of baptism.
The above is a brief account of such details, as I have
been able to ascertain, concerning the disputes of the
Eunomians. I should be prolix were I to enter into
further particulars; and, indeed, the subject would be
by no means an easy one to me.
The following question was, in the mean time, agitated
among the Arians of Constantinople:— Prior to the
existence of the Son (whom they regard as having pro-
ceeded out of nothing), is God to be termed the Father ?
Dorotheus, who had been summoned from Antioch to
rule over them in the place of Marinus, was of opinion
that God could not have been called the Father prior to
the existence of the Son, because the name of Father has
a necessary connection with that of Son. Marinus, on
the other hand, maintained that the Father was the
Father even when the Son existed not; and he advanced
350 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VII.
this opinion either from conviction, or else from the desire
of contention, and from jealousy at the preference that
had been shown to Dorotheus. The Arians were thus
divided into two parties; Dorotheus and his followers
retained possession of the houses of prayer, while Mari-
nus and those who seceded with him erected new edifices
in which to hold their assemblies. The names of Psathy-
rians and of Goths were given to the partizans of Marinus;
Psathyrians, because Theoctistes, a certain vendor of
cakes (\raffvpotóAms) was a zealous advocate of their
opinions; and Goths, because their sentiments were ap-
proved by Selinus, bishop of that nation. All these bar-
barians followed the instructions of Selinus, who had for-
merly been the secretary of Ulphilas, and had succeeded
him as bishop. He was capable of preaching, not only
in the vernacular, but also in the Greek language.
Soon after, a contest for precedency arose between
Marinus and Agasius, whom Marinus himself had or-
dained over the Arians at Ephesus; and, in the quarrel
which ensued, the Goths took the part of Agasius. It is
said, that many of the Arian clergy of that city were so
much irritated at the ambition displayed by these two
bishops, that they seceded from them, and joined the
Catholic Church. Such was the origin of the division of
the Arians into two factions—a division which still sub-
sists; so that, in every city, they have separate places of
meeting. The Arians of Constantinople, however, after
a separation of thirty-five years, were reconciled to each
other by Plinthas, formerly a consul, general of the
cavalry and infantry; a man possessed of great influence
at court. To prevent the revival of the former dissen-
sion among them, the question which had been the cause
of the division was forbidden to be mooted.
CHAPTER XVIII.
ANOTHER HERESY ORIGINATED BY THE NOVATIANS. DIGRES-
SION CONCERNING THE FESTIVAL OF EASTER.
A DIVISION arose during the same reign among the
Novatians, concerning the celebration of the festival of
CHAP. XVIII.] DISPUTE CONCERNING THE PASCHAL FEAST. 351
Easter; and from this dispute originated another, called
the Sabbatian. Sabbatius who, with Theoctistes and
Macarius, had been ordained presbyter by Marcian,
adopted the opinion of the priests, who had been con-
verted at Pazacoma during the reign of Valens, and
maintained that the feast of the Passover (Easter) ought
to be celebrated by Christians in the same manner, and
on the same day, as by the Jews. He seceded from
communion for the purpose of exercising greater aus-
terity, for he professed to adopt a very austere mode of
life. He also declared, that one motive of his secession
was, that many persons who participated in the mysteries
appeared to him to be unworthy of the honour. When,
however, his design of introducing innovations was de-
tected, Marcian expressed his regret at having ordained
him; and, it is said, was often heard to exclaim, that
he would rather have laid his hands upon thorns than
upon the head of Sabbatius. Perceiving that the people
of his diocese were being rent into two factions, Marcian
summoned all the bishops of his own persuasion to
Sangara, a town of Bithynia, near the sea-shore, not far
from the city of Helenopolis. When Sabbatius appeared
before them, they enquired into the grievances which had
been the cause of his secession; and as he merely com-
plained of the diversity of customs prevailing in regard
to the observance of the Paschal feast, they inferred
that he advanced this complaint as a pretext to disguise
his real motives; and suspecting that he was mainly
actuated by the ambition of obtaining a bishopric, they
made him declare upon oath that he would never accept
the episcopal office. When he had taken the required
oath, all the members of the assembly declared them-
selves of opinion that the difference prevailing in the
mode of celebrating the Paschal feast, Ought by no means
to be made an occasion of schism, or cessation from
communion; and they decided that each individual
should be at liberty to observe the feast according to his
own judgment. They enacted a degree on the subject,
which they styled the “Indifferent (döudºpopos) Decree.”
Such were the transactions of the assembly at Sangara.
352 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VII.
From that period, Sabbatius adhered to the usages of
the Jews; and as the Christians did not observe the
paschal feast on the same day as the Jews, he was a
day in advance of them. He fasted according to custom,
and celebrated the feast with the usual ceremonies by
himself. He passed the Saturday from the evening to
the appointed time, in watching and in offering up the
prescribed prayers, and on the following day, he assembled
with the multitude, and partook of the mysteries. This
mode of observing the feast was at first unnoticed by
the people, but as, in process of time, it began to attract
observation, and to become more generally known, he
found a great many imitators, particularly in Phrygia
and Galatia. Eventually, he openly seceded from com-
munion, and became the bishop of those who had espoused
his sentiments, as we shall have occasion to show in the
proper place.
I am, for my own part, astonished that Sabbatius and
his followers attempted to introduce this innovation;
the ancient Hebrews, as is related by Eusebius, on the
testimony of Philo, Josephus, Aristobulus, and several
others, celebrated the Passover after the vernal equinox,
when the sun is in the first sign of the Zodiac, called by
the Greeks, the Ram; and when the moon is in the
opposite quarter of the heavens, and in the fourteenth
day of her age. Even the Novatians themselves, who
have studied the subject with some accuracy, declare that
the founder of their sect and his first disciples did not
follow this custom, which was introduced, for the first
time, by those who assembled at Pazacoma; and that at
Rome, the members of this sect still observe the same
practice as the Romans, who have never deviated from
their original usage in this particular; the custom having
been handed down to them by the holy apostles Peter
and Paul. Further, the Samaritans, who are scrupulous
observers of the laws of Moses, never celebrate this
festival till the first-fruits have reached maturity; it is
hence called the Feast of First-Fruits, and cannot, there-
fore, necessarily have been observed till after the vernal
equinox. Hence arises my astonishment, that those who
CHAP. XVIII.] VARIOUS MODES OF OBSERVING EASTER. 353
profess to adopt the Jewish custom in the celebration of
this feast, do not conform to the ancient practice of the
Jews. With the exception of the people above mentioned,
and the Quartodecimani of Asia, all other sects, I
believe, celebrate the Passover in the same manner as
the Romans and the Egyptians. The Quartodecimani
are so called, because they observe this festival, like the
Jews, on the fourteenth day of the moon. The Novatians
observe the day of the Resurrection. They follow the
custom of the Jews and the Quartodecimani, except when
the fourteenth day of the moon falls upon the first day
of the Sabbath; in which case, they celebrate the feast
so many days after the Jews as there are intervening
days between the fourteenth day of the moon and the
following Lord's day. The Montanists, who are called
Pepuzites and Phrygians, celebrate the Passover accord-
ing to a mode of their own devising. They blame those
who regulate the time of observing the feast according to
the course of the moon, and affirm that it is right to
attend exclusively to the revolutions of the sun. They
reckon each month to consist of thirty days, and account
the day after the vernal equinox as the first day of the
year; which, according to the Roman method of compu-
tation, would be called the ninth day before the calends
of April. It was on this day, they say, that the two
great luminaries appointed for the indication of times
and of years were created. This they prove by the fact
that every eight years, the sun and the moon meet
together in the same point of the heavens. The moon's
cycle of eight years is accomplished in ninety-nine months,
and in two thousand, nine hundred and twenty-two days;
and during that time there are eight revolutions made by
the sun, each comprising three hundred and sixty-five
days, and the fourth part of a day. For they compute
the day of the creation of the sun mentioned in Sacred
Writ, to have been the fourteenth day of the moon,
occurring after the ninth day before the calends of the
month of April, and answering to the eighth day prior
to the ides of the same month. They always celebrate
the Passover on this day, when it falls on the day of the
23
354 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VII.
resurrection; otherwise, they celebrate it on the following
Lord's day; for it is written, according to their assertion,
that the feast may be held on any day between the four-
teenth and the twenty-first.
CHAPTE R XIX.
DISSERTATION ON THE WARIOUS CUSTOMS, PREVALENT AMONG
DIFFERENT CEHURCHES AND NATIONS.
WE have now described the various usages that pre-
vailed in the celebration of the Passover. It appears to
me that Victor, bishop of Rome, and Polycarp, bishop of
Smyrna, came to a very wise decision on the controversy
that had arisen among them. For as the bishops of
the West considered it right to adhere to the tradition
handed down to them by Peter and by Paul; and as,
on the other hand, the Asiatic bishops persisted in fol-
lowing the rules laid down by John the Evangelist, they
unanimously agreed to continue in the observance of the
festival according to their respective customs, without ab-
staining from communion with each other. They very justly
reflected, that it would be absurd to render a mere point
of discipline a ground of schism between those who were
bound to each other by the profession of the same faith.
Different customs prevail in many churches, where the
same doctrines are received. There are, for instance,
many cities in Syria, which possess but one bishop between
them; whereas, in other nations, a bishop is appointed
even over a village, as I have myself observed in Arabia,
and in Cyprus; and among the Novatians and Montanists,
of Phrygia. Again, there are but seven deacons at Rome,
answering precisely to the number ordained by the
apostles, of whom Stephen was the first martyr; whereas,
in other churches, the number of deacons is unlimited.
At Rome, hallelujah is sung once annually, namely, on the
first day of the festival of the Passover; so that it is a com-
mon thing among the Romans to swear by the fact of
hearing or singing this hymn. In this city, the people are
not taught by the bishop, nor by any one in the church.
At Alexandria, the bishop alone teaches the people; and
CHAP. XIX.] DIVERSITY IN ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE. 355
it is said that this custom has prevailed there ever since
the days of Arius, who, though but a presbyter, broached
a new doctrine. Another custom also prevails at Alexan-
dria, which I have never witnessed nor heard of elsewhere;
and this is, that when the Gospel is read, the bishop does
not rise from his seat. The archdeacon alone reads the
Gospel in this city, whereas in some places it is read by
the deacons, and in others only by the presbyters; while
in many churches, it is read on stated days by the bishops;
as, for instance, at Constantinople, on the first day of the
festival of the resurrection. In some churches, the interval,
called Quadragesima, which occurs before this festival, and
is devoted by the people to fasting, is made to consist of
six weeks; and this is the case in Illyria, and the Western
regions, in Lybia, throughout Egypt, and in Palestine:
whereas it is made to comprise seven weeks at Constan-
tinople, and in the neighbouring provinces, as far as
Phoenicia. In some churches, the people fast three
alternate weeks, during the space of six or seven weeks:
whereas in others, they fast continuously, during the
three weeks immediately preceding the festival. Some
people, as the Montanists, only fast two weeks. Assem-
blies are not held in all churches on the same day, or
upon the same occasions. The people of Constantinople,
and of several other cities, assemble together on the
Sabbath, as well as on the next day; which custom is
never observed at Rome, or at Alexandria. There are
several cities and villages in Egypt where, contrary to
the usages established elsewhere, the people meet to-
gether on Sabbath evenings; and although they have
dined previously, partake of the mysteries. The same
prayers and psalms are not recited, nor the same pas-
sages read on the same occasions, in all churches. Thus
the book entitled “The Apocalypse of Peter,” which
was considered spurious by the ancients, is still read in
some of the churches of Palestine, on the day of prepa-
ration, when the people observe a fast in memory of the
passion of the Saviour. So the work entitled “The
Apocalypse of the Apostle Paul,” though rejected by the
ancients, is still esteemed by most of the monks. Some
356 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VII.
persons affirm, that the book was found during this reign,
by divine revelation, in a marble box, buried beneath
the soil, in the house of Paul, at Tarsus, in Cilicia. I
have been informed that this report is false by a presbyter
of Tarsus, a man of very advanced age, as is indicated
by his grey hairs. He says that the rumour was
probably devised by heretics. What I have said upon
this subject must now suffice. Many other customs are
still to be observed in cities and villages: and those who
have been brought up in their observance would, from
respect to the great men who instituted and perpetuated
these customs, consider it wrong to abolish them. Similar
motives must be attributed to those who observe different
practices in the celebration of the feast, which has led
us into this long digression.
CHAPTE R XX.
EXTENSION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. DEMOLITION OF
TEMPLES. INUNDATION OF THE NILE.
THE dissensions among heretics contributed greatly to
the extension of the church; which was daily increased
by the accession of malcontents from the heretics, and
of converts from the Pagan multitudes. The emperor
having observed that the practice of idolatry had been
greatly promoted by the facility of constant ingress and
egress to and from the temple, directed the entrances of
all temples to be closed; and eventually he commanded
the total demolition of these edifices. When the Pagans
found themselves deprived of their own houses of prayer,
they began to frequent our churches; for they did not
dare to offer sacrifices in secret, there being a law pro-
hibiting the practice, under the penalty of death and of
confiscation of property.
It is said that the river of Egypt did not overflow its
banks this year at the proper season, and that the Egyp-
tians angrily ascribed this circumstance to the laws that
had been enacted, prohibiting sacrifices from being offered
to it. The governor of the province, apprehensive lest the
general discontent should terminate in sedition, sent a
CHAP. XXI.] THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 357
message to the emperor on the subject. But the emperor,
far from attaching more importance to the temporary
fertility produced by the Nile, than to the fidelity he
owed to God and the interests of religion, replied as
follows: “Let the river cease to flow, if enchantments
are requisite to ensure the regularity of its course; or
if it delights in sacrifices, or if blood must be mingled
with the waters that derive their source from the paradise
of God.” Soon afterwards, the Nile overflowed its banks
with such violence, that the highest eminences were
submerged. The fears of drought and scarcity that had
prevailed throughout Egypt, were now converted into
dread lest the city of Alexandria and part of Lybia
should be destroyed by the inundation. The Pagans of
Alexandria, irritated at this unexpected occurrence,
exclaimed in derision at the public theatres, that the
river, like an old man or fool, could not moderate its
proceedings. Many of the Egyptians were hence induced
to abandon the superstitions of their forefathers, and
embrace Christianity.
C H A PTE R. X. XI.
DISCOVERY OF THE HEAD OF THE PRECURSOR OF OUR LORD.
ABOUT this period, the head of John the Baptist, which
Herodias had asked of Herod the tetrarch, was removed
to Constantinople. It is said that it was discovered by
some monks of the Macedonian persuasion, who origin-
ally dwelt at Constantinople, and afterwards fixed their
abode in Cilicia. Mardonius, the first eunuch of the
palace, made known this discovery at Court, during the
preceding reign; and Valens commanded that the relic
should be removed to Constantinople. The officers
appointed to convey it thither, placed it in a public
chariot, and proceeded with it as far as Pantichium, a
district in the territory of Chalcedonia. Here the mules
of the chariot suddenly stopped; and neither the appli-
cation of the lash, nor any of the other means that were
devised, could induce them to advance further. So
extraordinary an event was considered by all, and even
358 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
by the emperor himself, to be of God; and the holy head
was therefore deposited at Cosila, a village in the neigh-
bourhood, which belonged to Mardonius. Soon after, the
Emperor Theodosius, impelled by an impulse from God, or
from the prophet, repaired to the village. He determined
upon removing the remains of the Baptist, and it is said
met with no opposition, except from a holy virgin,
who had been entrusted with the care of the relic. He
laid aside all authority and force, and after many en-
treaties, extorted a reluctant consent from her to remove
the head; for she bore in mind what had occurred at the
period when Valens commanded its removal. The
emperor placed it, with the box in which it was encased,
in his purple robe, and conveyed it to a place called
Hebdoma, in the suburbs of Constantinople, where he
erected a spacious and magnificent church. The woman
who had been appointed to the charge of the relic, could
not be persuaded by the emperor to renounce her religious
sentiments, although he had recourse to entreaty and
promises; for she was, it appears, a Macedonian. A
presbyter of the same sect, named Vincent, who also
took charge of the remains of the prophet, and performed
the sacerdotal functions, followed the religious opinions of
the emperor, and entered into communion with the
Catholic Church. He had taken an oath, as the Mace-
donians affirm, never to swerve from the doctrines of his
religion; but he afterwards openly declared, that if the
Baptist would follow the emperor, he also would enter
into communion with him. He was a Persian, and had
left his country in company with a relative named
Abdus, during the reign of Constantius, in order to
avoid the persecution which the Christians were then
suffering in Persia. On his arrival in the Roman terri-
tories he was placed in the ranks of the clergy, and
appointed a presbyter. Abdus married, and rendered
great services to the church. He left a son named
Auxentius, who was noted for his piety, his benevolence,
the sanctity of his life, and the greatness of his attain-
ments in Grecian and ecclesiastical literature. He was
modest and retiring in deportment, although admitted to
CHAP. XXII.] DEATH OF VALENTINIAN THE YOUNGER. 359
familiarity with the emperor and the courtiers, and
possessed of a very illustrious appointment. His memory
is still revered by the monks and ascetics, who were well
acquainted with him. The woman who had been en-
trusted with the relic, remained during the rest of her
life at Cosila. She was greatly distinguished by her
piety and wisdom, and instructed many holy virgins,
and I have been assured that even at the present day,
their virtue reflects honour on their instructress.
CHAPTE R XXII.
DEATH OF WALENTINIAN. TYRANNY OF EUGENIUS. PRO-
PHECY OF JOHN, A MONK OF THEBAIS.
WHILE Theodosius was thus occupied in the wise and
eaceful government of his subjects, and in the service
of God, intelligence was brought that Valentinian had
been strangled. Some say that he was put to death by
the eunuchs at the solicitation of Arbogastes, a military
chief, and of certain courtiers, who were displeased be-
cause the young prince had begun to walk in the footsteps
of his father, and had adopted a system of government
of which they disapproved. Others assert, however,
that Valentinian committed the fatal deed with his own
hands, because he found himself impeded from the gra-
tification of the impetuous passions of his age by the
authority of those around him, who did not permit
him to act according to the dictates of his own will. It
is said that he was handsome in person, and of a good
disposition, and that had he lived to the age of manhood,
he would have shown himself worthy of holding the
reins of empire, and would have surpassed his father in
magnanimity and justice. But though endowed with
these promising qualities, he died in the manner above
related.
A certain man, named Eugenius, who was by no means
sincere in his profession of Christianity, aspired to sove-
reignty, and seized the symbols of imperial power. It
is thought that his ambition was excited by the predic-
tions of individuals who professed to foresee the future
360 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VII.
by the examination of the entrails of animals and the
course of the stars. Men of the highest rank among the
Romans were addicted to these superstitions. Flavian,
then a praetorian prefect, a learned and an able man, was
noted for being conversant with every means of fore-
telling the future. He persuaded Eugenius to take up
arms by assuring him that he was destined to the throne,
that his warlike undertakings would be crowned with
victory, and that the Christian religion would be abol-
ished. Deceived by these flattering representations,
Eugenius raised an army and took possession of the
Julian Alps, an elevated and precipitous range of moun-
tains, among which was a very narrow passage leading
into Italy. Theodosius was perplexed as to whether he
ought to wait the issue of the war, or whether it would
be better in the first place to attack Eugenius; and in
this dilemma he determined to consult John, a monk of
Thebais, who, as I have before stated, was celebrated
for his knowledge of the future. He, therefore, sent
Eutropius, a eunuch of tried fidelity, to Egypt, with
orders to bring John, if possible, to court; but, in case
of his refusal, to question him on the results of the war.
The monk could not be persuaded to go to the emperor,
but he sent word by Eutropius that the war would ter-
minate in favour of Theodosius, and that the tyrant
would be slain; but that, after the victory, Theodosius
himself would die in Italy. The truth of both these
predictions was confirmed by events.
C HAPTE R XXIII.
EXACTION OF TRIBUTE IN ANTIOCH. DEMIOLITION OF THE
STATUES OF THE EMPEROR. EMBASSY HEADED BY FLA-
VIAN THE ARCHIBISHOP.
THE continuance of the war having compelled the
rulers to impose fresh taxes on the people, a sedition
was excited at Antioch in Syria; the statues of the em-
peror and of the empress were thrown down and dragged
through the city, and as is usual on such occasions, the
enraged multitude uttered every insulting epithet that
CHAP. XXIV.] EMBASSY HEADED BY FLAVIAN. 361
passion could suggest. The emperor, determining to
avenge this insult by the death of the principal conspi-
rators, the whole city was filled with terror at the
announcement of his intended vengeance. The rage of
the citizens had subsided, and had given place to repent-
ance; and, as if already subjected to the threatened
punishment, they abandoned themselves to grief and
lamentation, and sang psalms of supplication to God to
turn away the anger of the emperor. They deputed
Flavian their bishop on an embassy to Theodosius, but
on his arrival, finding that the resentment of the em-
peror at what had occurred was unabated, he had
recourse to the following artifice. He caused some
young men to sing the psalms of supplication and con-
trition at the table of the emperor, which the inhabitants
of Antioch had composed in reference to their condition.
It is said that the compassion of the emperor was ex-
cited; his wrath was subdued, and as his heart yearned
over the city, he shed tears on the cup which he held in
his hand. It is reported, that on the night before the
sedition occurred, a spectre was seen in the form of a
woman of prodigious height and terrible aspect, pacing
through the city with a whip in her hand similar to that
which is used in goading on the beasts brought forward
at the public theatres. It might have been inferred that
the sedition was excited by the agency of some evil and
malicious demon. There is no doubt but that much
bloodshed would have ensued, had not the wrath of the
emperor been stayed by his respect for the entreaties of
a bishop.
CHAPTE R XXIV.
VICTORY OF THEODOSIUS OVER EUGENIUS.
WHEN he had completed his preparations for war,
Theodosius declared his younger son Honorius emperor,
and leaving him to reign at Constantinople conjointly
with Arcadius, who had previously been appointed
emperor, he departed for the West at the head of his
troops. His army consisted not only of Roman soldiers,
362 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VII.
but of bands of barbarians from the banks of the Danube.
It is said that on his arrival at Constantinople, he went
to the church which he had erected at Hebdoma in
honour of John the Baptist, and in his name prayed that
success might attend the Roman arms, and besought the
Baptist himself to aid him. After offering up these
prayers he proceeded towards Italy, and crossed the
Alps. On descending from the heights of these moun-
tains, he perceived a plain before him, covered with
infantry and cavalry, and became at the same time aware
that some of the enemy's troops were lying in ambush
behind him, among the recesses of the mountains. The
advance guard of his army attacked the infantry sta-
tioned in the plain, and a desperate and very doubtful
conflict ensued. At this juncture, the troops in ambus-
cade appeared on the point of attacking the army behind,
and seeing that all chances of escape would thus be cut
off, and that his position was one of imminent peril, and
beyond the intervention of human aid, the emperor pros-
trated himself on the ground, and besought with tears
the assistance of God. His request was instantly granted,
for the officers of the troops stationed in ambush sent to
offer him their services as his allies, provided that he
would assign them honourable posts in his army. As he
had neither paper nor ink within reach, he took up some
tablets, and wrote on them the high appointments he
would confer upon them, provided that they would fulfil
their promise to him. Under these conditions, they
ranged themselves under the imperial standard. Even
after this reinforcement, the issue of the combat still
remained uncertain, when a wind of unheard-of vio-
lence suddenly arose, and blew right in the face of the
enemy. Their darts were blown back upon themselves,
and their bucklers were wrenched from them and rolled
in the dust. Standing thus exposed in a defenceless
condition to the weapons of the Romans, many of them
perished, while the few who attempted to effect an escape
were soon captured. Eugenius threw himself at the feet
of the emperor, and implored him to spare his life; but
while in the act of offering up these entreaties, a soldier
CHAP. XXV.] INTREPIDITY OF AMBROSE.-A.D. 393. 363
struck off his head. Arbogastes fled after the battle,
and fell by his own hands. It is said that while the
battle was being fought, a demoniac presented himself
in the temple of Hebdoma where the emperor had
engaged in prayer, and insulted John the Baptist, taunting
him with having had his head cut off, and shouted
the following words: “You conquer me, and lay snares
for my army.” The persons who happened to be on the
spot, and who were waiting impatiently to learn the
issue of the war, wrote an account of this extraordinary
circumstance on the day that it occurred, and after-
wards ascertained that it was the same day as that on
which the battle had been fought. Such is the history
of these transactions.
CHAPTER XXV.
INTREPID BEARING OF ST. AMBROSE IN THE PRESENCE OF
THE EMPEROR. MASSACRE AT THESSALONIC A.
AFTER the death of Eugenius, the emperor went to
Milan, and repaired towards the church to pray within
its walls. When he drew near the gates of the edifice,
he was met by Ambrose, the bishop of the city, who
took hold of him by his purple robe, and said to him, in
the presence of the multitude, “Stand back! a man de-
filed by sin, and with hands imbrued in blood unjustly
shed, is not worthy, without repentance, to enter within
these sacred precincts, or partake of the holy mysteries.”
The emperor, struck with admiration at the boldness of
the bishop, began to reflect on his own conduct, and,
with much contrition, retraced his steps. The crime
alluded to had been committed under the following cir-
cumstances. A charioteer had made a declaration of
obscene passion to Buthericus, a military chief of Illyria,
and had in consequence been committed to prison.
Some time after, some magnificent races were to be held
at the hippodrome, and the populace of Thessalonica
demanded the release of the prisoner, considering him
necessary to the celebration of the games. As their
request was not attended to, they rose up in sedition
364 E C C L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
and slew Buthericus. On hearing of this deed, the
wrath of the emperor was excited to a fearful height,
and he commanded that a certain number of the citizens
should be put to death. The whole city was deluged
with blood unjustly shed, for strangers, who had but
just arrived there on their journey to other lands, were
sacrificed with the others. There were many cases of
suffering well worthy of commiseration, of which the
following is an instance. A merchant offered himself to
be slain as a substitute for his two sons who had both
been selected as victims, and promised the soldiers to
give them all the gold he possessed, on condition of their
effecting the exchange. They could not but compas-
sionate his misfortune, and consented to take him as a
substitute for one of his sons, but declared that they did
not dare to let off both the young men, as that would
render the appointed number of the slainincomplete. The
father gazed on his sons and wept bitterly, and loving
them both equally, he could not make choice between
them; he was still standing irresolute, and utterly unable
to decide, when they were both slain before his eyes. I
have also been informed, that a faithful slave voluntarily
offered to die instead of his master, who was being led
to the place of execution. It appears that it was for
these and other acts of cruelty that Ambrose rebuked
the emperor, forbad him to enter the church, and excom-
municated him. Theodosius publicly confessed his sin
in the church, and during the time set apart for penance,
refrained from wearing his imperial ornaments, as being
inconsistent with a season of mourning. He also enacted a
law prohibiting the officers entrusted with the execution
of the imperial mandates, from inflicting the punishment
of death till thirty days after the mandate had been
issued, in order that the wrath of the emperor might
have time to be appeased, and that room might be made
for the exercise of mercy and repentance.
Ambrose, no doubt, performed many other actions
worthy of his priestly office, which are known only to
the inhabitants of the country. Among the illustrious
deeds that are attributed to him, I have been made
CHAP. XXV.] BOLD ACTIONS OF AMBROSE. 365
acquainted with the following. It was the custom for
the emperor to take a seat in assemblies of the church
within the palisades of the altar, so that he sat apart
from the rest of the people. Ambrose, considering that
this custom had originated either from subserviency or
from want of discipline, caused the emperor to be seated
without the trellis work of the altar, so that he sat in
front of the people, and behind the priests. The Emperor
Theodosius approved of this wise alteration, as did like-
wise his successors; and we are told that it has been ever
since scrupulously observed.
I think it necessary to mention another magnanimous
action performed by this bishop. A Pagan of distinction
insulted Gratian, affirming that he was unworthy of his
father; and he was in consequence condemned to death.
As he was being led out to execution, Ambrose went to
the palace to implore a pardon. Gratian was then en-
gaged in witnessing a private exhibition of horseracing,
for it was frequently the practice of the emperors to
engage in these diversions at times that the public were
excluded: the officers at the gates of the palace would
not therefore interrupt him by informing him that Am-
brose solicited an interview. On finding this to be the
case, the bishop went to the circus, and entering with
the persons who took charge of the animals, he made his
way up to the emperor, and would not leave him till he
had obtained a pardon for the man who had been con-
demned to death. Ambrose was very diligent in the
observance of the canons of the church, and in maintain-
ing discipline among his clergy. I have selected the
above two incidents from among the record of his
numerous magnanimous deeds, in order to show with
what intrepidity he addressed those in power when the
service of God was in question.
366 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK VII.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ST. DONATUS, BISHOP OF EUROEA, AND THEOTIMUs, ARCH-
BISHOP OF SCYTHIA.
THERE were at this period many other bishops in
various parts of the empire highly celebrated for their
sanctity and high qualifications, of whom Donatus,
bishop of Euroea in Epirus, deserves to be particularly
instanced. The inhabitants of the country relate many
extraordinary miracles which he performed, of which the
most remarkable seems to have been the destruction of a
dragon of enormous size. It had stationed itself on the
high road, at a place called Chamaigephyra, and de-
voured sheep, goats, oxen, horses, and men. Donatus
attacked it unarmed, without sword, lance or javelin : it
raised its head, and was about to dart upon him, when
Donatus made the sign of the cross with his finger in the
air, and spat upon the dragon. The saliva entered its
mouth, and it immediately expired. As it lay extended
on the earth, it did not appear inferior in size to the
noted serpent of India. I have been informed, that the
people of the country yoked eight pair of oxen to trans-
port the body to a neighbouring field, where they burnt
it, that it might not during the process of decomposition
corrupt the air, and generate disease. The tomb of this
bishop is deposited in a magnificent house of prayer
which bears his name. It is situated near a stream of
water which God caused to rise from the ground in
answer to his prayer, in an arid spot where no water
had previously existed. For it is said that one day,
when on a journey, he had to pass through this locality,
and perceiving that his companions were suffering from
thirst, he moved the soil with his hand and engaged
in prayer; before his prayer was concluded, a spring of
water arose from the ground which has never since been
dried up. The inhabitants of Isoria, a village in the territory
of Euroea, bear testimony to the truth of this narration.
The church of Tomis, and indeed all the churches of
Scythia, were at this period under the government of
CHAP. xxvii.] MIRACLES OF THEOTIMUS.—A.D. 393. 367
Theotimus. He had been brought up in the practice of
philosophical asceticism, and his virtues had so won the
admiration of the Huns who dwelt on the banks of the
Danube, that they called him the god of the Romans.
It is said that one day, when travelling towards their
country, he perceived at a distance some of these bar-
barous tribes advancing towards Tomis: his attendants
burst forth into lamentations, and gave themselves up
for lost; but he merely descended from horseback and
prayed. The consequence was that the barbarians passed
by without seeing him, his attendants, or the horses.
As these tribes frequently devastated Scythia by their
predatory incursions, he tried to subdue the ferocity of
their disposition by presenting them with food and gifts.
One of the barbarians hence concluded that he was a
man of wealth, and, determining to take him prisoner,
leaned upon his shield, as was his custom when parley-
ing with his enemies, and raised up his right hand in order
to throw a rope which he firmly grasped over the bishop,
for he intended to drag him away to his own country;
but his arm, while extended in this position, became fixed
and perfectly immoveable, until his companions had
implored Theotimus to intercede with God for the re-
moval of the invisible bonds.
It is said that Theotimus always retained the long
hair which he wore when he first devoted himself to the
practice of philosophy. He was very temperate, had no
stated hours for his repasts, but ate and drank when
compelled to do so by the calls of hunger and of thirst.
I consider it to be the part of a philosopher to yield
to the demands of these appetites from necessity, and
not from the love of sensual gratification.
CHA PTER XXVII.
PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF ST. EPIPHANIUS,
BISEIOP OF CYPRUS.
EPIPHANIUs was at this period at the head of the
metropolitan church of Cyprus. He was celebrated, not
only for his virtues and miraculous deeds during life,
368 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VII.
but also for the honour that was rendered to him by
God after his death; for it is said that demons were
expelled and diseases healed at his tomb. Many won-
derful actions are attributed to him, of which the follow-
ing is one of the most remarkable that has come to our
knowledge. He was extremely liberal towards those
who had suffered from shipwreck or any other calamity;
and after expending the whole of his own patrimony in
the relief of such cases, he applied the treasures of the
church to the same purpose. These treasures had been
greatly increased by the donations of pious men of vari-
ous provinces, who had been induced by their admiration
of Eusebius to entrust him with the distribution of their
alms during their lives, or to bequeath their property to
him for this purpose at their death. It is said that on
one occasion the treasurer, who was a godly man, dis-
covered that the revenues of the church had been nearly
drained; and so little remained in the treasury, that he
considered it his duty to rebuke the bishop for his
extensive liberality. Epiphanius, however, having not-
withstanding these remonstrances, given away the small
sum that had remained, a stranger went to the treasurer
and placed in his hands a bag filled with gold. As it is
very seldom that such liberality is practised in secret,
the whole transaction was regarded as the work of
God.
I shall now relate another miracle that is attributed
to Epiphanius. I have heard that a similar action has
been related of Gregory, formerly bishop of Neocaesarea;
and I see no reason to doubt the veracity of the account:
but it does not disprove the authenticity of the miracle
attributed to Epiphanius. Peter, the apostle, was not
the only man who raised another from the dead; John,
the evangelist, wrought a similar miracle at Ephesus,
as did likewise the daughters of Philip at Hierapolis.
Similar actions have been performed in different ages by
the men of God. The miracle which I wish to instance
is the following. Two beggars, having ascertained when
Epiphanius would pass that way, agreed to extract a
larger donation than usual from him by having recourse
CHAP. XXVIII.] ACACIUS, BISHOP OF BERMEA. 369
to stratagem; as soon as the bishop was seen approach-
ing, one of the beggars flung himself on the ground
and simulated death; the other uttered loud lament-
ations, deploring the loss of his companion, and his
own inability to procure him the rite of sepulture.
Epiphanius prayed to God that the deceased might rest
in peace: he gave the survivor sufficient money for the
interment, and said to him, “Take measures, my son,
for the burial of your companion, and weep no more; he
cannot now arise from the dead; the calamity was in-
evitable, therefore you ought to bear it with resignation.”
Saying these words, the bishop departed from the spot.
As soon as there was no one in sight, the beggar, who
had addressed Epiphanius, touched the other with his
foot, as he lay extended on the ground, and said to him,
“You have well performed your part; arise now, for
through your labour we have a good provision for to-
day.” He, however, returned no answer to this address,
and as he appeared incapable of speech or motion, the
other beggar ran after Epiphanius, wept, and tore his
hair, confessed the deception that had been practised,
and besought him to restore the dead man to life. Epi-
phanius merely exhorted him to submit with patience to
the catastrophe, and sent him away. God did not raise
the dead beggar to life, because, I feel persuaded, it was
His design to show that those who practise deception
on His servants, are accounted as guilty of the fraud as if
it had been perpetrated against Him who sees all, and
who hears all.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
VIRTUES OF ACACIUS, BISHOP OF BEROEA, OF ZENO,
AND OF AJAX.
ACACIUS, who was at this period bishop of Beroea in
Syria, rendered himself very conspicuous by his virtues.
Many wonderful actions are ascribed to him. He was
from his youth brought up to the profession of ascetic
monasticism, and was rigid in observing all the regula-
370 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VII.
tions of this mode of life. When he was raised to the
bishopric, he kept his house open at all hours of the day,
so that the citizens and strangers were always free to
enter, even when he was at meals or at repose. This
course of conduct is, in my opinion, very admirable; it
might have emanated from his perfect confidence in his
own rectitude; or possibly he might have been led to
seek the presence of others, in order to be always on his
guard against those infirmities to which all men are
liable, and perhaps from fear lest he should be un-
awares tempted to any action inconsistent with his pro-
fession.
Zeno and Ajax, two celebrated brothers, flourished
about the same period. They devoted themselves to a
life of monasticism, but did not fix their abode in the
desert, but at Gaza, a maritime city in the territory of
Majuma. They both defended the truth of their religion
with invincible intrepidity, and confessed themselves to
be Christians so repeatedly in the presence of the Pagans,
that they were subjected to the most cruel treatment.
It is said that Ajax married a very lovely woman, and
after he had known her thrice, had three sons; and that
subsequently he held no further intercourse with her,
but persevered in the exercises of asceticism. He brought
up two of his sons to the monastic profession, and the
third, he permitted to marry. He governed the church
of Botelion with great wisdom and piety.
Zeno, who had from his youth renounced the world
and marriage, persevered in stedfast adherence to the
service of God. It is said, and I myself am witness of
the truth of the assertion, that when he was bishop of
Majuma, he was never absent, morning or evening, or
any other period, from the public worship of God, unless
attacked by some malady, and yet he was at this period
nearly a hundred years of age. After his elevation to
the episcopal dignity, he did not relax in any of the
exercises of monasticism, but by pursuing his trade of
weaving linen, continued to earn the means of supplying
his own wants and of providing for the poor. He never
deviated from this course of conduct till the close of his
CHAP. XXIX.j RELICS OF THE PROTO-PROPHETs. 371
life, although he attained, as I before said, a very
advanced age, and although he presided over the richest
and greatest church of the province.
I have advanced the examples of these bishops to
show the high attainments possessed by those who ruled
over the church at this period. It would be difficult to
enumerate all the bishops who were distinguished in this
manner; the majority of them were endowed with ex-
traordinary virtues, and God bore testimony to this fact
by granting their prayers and by working miracles on
their behalf.
CHAPTER XXIX.
DISCOVERY OF THE REMAINS OF THE PROPHETS HABARRUFC
AND MICAH. DEATH OF THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS THE
GREAT.
WHILE the church was under the sway of these emi-
nent men, the clergy and people were excited to the
imitation of their virtues. Nor was the church of this
era distinguished only by these illustrious examples of
piety, for the relics of the proto-prophets Habakkuk and
Micah were brought to light about the same period. God
made known the place where these relics were deposited in
a dream to Zebennus, bishop of Eleutheropolis. The relics
of Habakkuk were found at Cela, a city formerly called
Ceila. The tomb of Micah was discovered at a distance
of ten stadia from Cela, at a place called Beratsatia;
this tomb was ignorantly styled by the people of the
country, “the tomb of the faithful,” or, in their lan-
guage, Nephsameemana. Such were the events which
occurred during the reign of Theodosius to the honour
and glory of the Christian religion.
After conquering Eugenius, Theodosius remained for
some time at Milan, and here he was attacked with a
serious malady. He recalled to mind the prediction of the
monk John, and conjectured that his sickness was unto
death. He sent in haste for his son Honorius from
Constantinople, and after his arrival found himself a
37.2 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VII.
little better, so that he was able to be present at the
sports of the Hippodrome. After dinner, however, he
grew worse, and sent to desire his son to preside at the
games. He died on the following night; this event
happened during the consulate of the brothers Olubrius
and Probinus.
END OF BOOK VII.
BOOK WIII. CHAPTER I.
SUCCESSORS OF THEODOSIUS THE GREAT. RUFINUS, THE
PRAETORIAN PREFECT, IS SLAIN. PRIMATES OF THE PRIN-
CIPAL CITIES. DISPUTES AMONG THE HERETICS. ACCOUNT
OF SISINIUS, BISHOP OF THE NOVATIANS.
SUCH was the death of Theodosius, who had contributed
so efficiently to the aggrandisement of the church. He
expired in the sixtieth year of his age, and the sixteenth
of his reign. He left his two sons as his successors;
Arcadius the elder reigned in the East, and Honorius
in the West: they both held the same religious sentiments
as their father.
Damasus was dead; and at this period, Siricius had
succeeded him as bishop of Rome: Nectarius presided
over the Church of Constantinople, Theophilus over
the Church of Alexandria, Flavian over the Church of
Antioch, and John Over that of Jerusalem. Armenia
and the Eastern provinces were at this time over-run
by the Huns. Rufinus, Prefect of the East, was sus-
pected of having clandestinely invited them to devastate
the Roman territories, in furtherance of his own ambitious
designs; for he was said to aspire to tyranny. This
suspicion led to his being soon after slain; for on the
return of the troops from the conquest of Eugenius, the
Emperor Arcadius, according to custom, went forth from
Constantinople to meet them; and the soldiers took this
opportunity to massacre Rufinus. These circumstances
tended greatly to the extension of religion. The em-
perors attributed to the piety of their father the ease
with which the tyrant had been vanquished, and the
insidious and ambitious schemes of Rufinus arrested;
and they confirmed all the laws which had been enacted
by their predecessors in favour of religion, and bestowed
upon the church fresh tokens of their own zeal and
devotion. Their subjects profited by their example; so
that even the Pagans were converted without difficulty
374 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
to Christianity, and the heretics united themselves to the
Catholic Church. -
Owing to the disputes which had arisen among the
Arians and Eunomians, and to which I have already
alluded, these sectarians daily diminished in number.
Many of them, on reflecting on the diversity of sentiments
which prevailed among those of their own persuasion,
judged that the truth of God could not be present with
them, and went over to those who held the same faith as
the Emperors.
The interests of the Macedonians of Constantinople
were materially affected by their possessing no bishop;
for ever since they had been deprived of their churches
by Eudoxius, under the reign of Constantius, they had
been governed only by presbyters. The Novatians, on
the other hand, although they had been agitated by the
controversy concerning the Passover, which had been
renewed by Sabbatius, had been allowed to remain in
Quiet possession of most of their churches, and had not
been molested by any of the laws enacted against other
heretics, because they maintained that the Three Persons
of the Trinity are of the same substance. The virtue of
their bishops also tended greatly to the maintenance of
union and concord among them. After the death of
Agelius, they were governed by Marcian, a bishop of
eminent piety; and on his decease, the bishopric devolved
upon Sisinius, a very eloquent man, well versed in the
doctrines of philosophy and of scripture; and so expert
in disputation, that even Eunomius, who made a practice
of discussing controverted topics, often refused to hold
disputes with him. His course of life was exemplary, and
above the reach of calumny, yet he indulged in luxury,
and even in superfluities; so that those who knew him
not, were incredulous as to whether he could remain
temperate in the midst of so much abundance. He
possessed so much kindness of disposition and suavity
of manner, that he was highly esteemed by the bishops
of the Catholic Church, by the rulers, and by the learned.
His jests were replete with good nature, and he could
bear ridicule without manifesting the least resentment;
CHAP. II.] REPARTEES OF SISINIUS.—A. D. 395. 375
he was very prompt and witty in his rejoinders. Being
once asked wherefore, as he was a bishop, he bathed twice
daily, he replied, “Because I do not bathe thrice.” On
another occasion, being ridiculed by a member of the
Catholic Church because he dressed in white, he asked
where it was commanded that he should dress in black;
and as the other hesitated for a reply, he continued,
“you can give no argument in support of your position;
but I refer you to Solomon, the wisest of men, who says,
‘Let your garments be always white: moreover Christ
is described in the Gospel as having appeared in white;
and Moses and Elias manifested themselves to the
Apostles in robes of white.” It appears to me that the
following reply was also very ingenious. Leontius,
bishop of Ancyra, in Galatia, repaired to Constantinople,
after he had deprived the Novatians in his province of
their churches. Sisinius went to him to request that the
churches might be restored; but far from yielding com-
pliance, he reviled the Novatians, and said that they were
not worthy of holding assemblies, because, by abolishing
the observance of penance, they intercepted the mercy
of God. To this Sisinius replied: “No one does penance
as I do.” Leontius asked him in what way he did penance.
“In coming to see you,” retorted Sisinius. Many other
witty speeches are attributed to him, and he is even said
to have written several works with some elegance. But
his discourses obtained greater applause than his writings,
for the intonation of his voice, the expression of his
countenance, and all his attitudes, produced extraordinary
effects upon his audience. This brief description may
serve to convey some idea of the disposition and mode of
life of this great man.
CHAPTER II.
CONDUCT AND WISDOM OF THE GREAT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM;
HIS PROMOTION TO THE BISHOPRIC OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
NECTARIUs died about this period, and lengthened
debates were held on the ordination of a successor. Great
division of opinion prevailed on this subject. There was,
376 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VIII.
however, at Antioch on the Orontes, a certain presbyter,
named John; a man of noble birth, and of exemplary
life, and possessed of such wonderful powers of eloquence
and persuasion, that he was declared, by Libanius the
Syrian, to surpass all the orators of the age. When this
Sophist was on his death-bed, he was asked by his friends,
who should take his place. “It would have been John,”
replied he, “had not the Christians taken him from us.”
Many of those who heard the discourses of John in the
church, were thereby excited to the love of virtue, and
to the reception of his own religious sentiments. But it
was chiefly by the bright example of his private virtues,
that John inspired his auditors with emulation. He
produced conviction the more readily, because he did not
resort to rhetorical artifices, but expounded the Sacred
Scriptures with truth and sincerity. Arguments which
are corroborated by actions always commend themselves
as worthy of belief; but when a preacher's deeds will
not bear investigation, his words, even when he is anxious
to declare the truth, are regarded as contradictory. John
taught, both by precept and example; for while on the
One hand his course of life was virtuous and austere, on
the other hand he possessed considerable eloquence and
persuasiveness of diction. His natural abilities were
excellent, and he improved them by studying under the
best masters. He learnt rhetoric from Libanius, and
philosophy from Andragathius. It was expected that he
would have embraced the legal profession, but he devoted
himself to the study of the Sacred Scriptures, and to a
life of ecclesiastical philosophy, under the guidance of
Carterius and Diodorus, two celebrated presidents of
monastic assemblies. Diodorus was afterwards bishop of
Tarsus, and I have been informed, wrote several works
in which he explained the words of Scripture according
to their literal meaning, without having recourse to
allegory. John did not receive the instructions of these
men by himself, but persuaded Theodore and Maximus,
who had studied with him under Libanius, to accompany
him. Maximus afterwards became bishop of Seleucia, in
Isauria; and Theodore, bishop of Mopsuestia, in Cilicia.
CHAP. II.] ELOQUENCE OF JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. 377
Theodore was a learned man, well conversant with Sacred
and profane literature. After studying the ecclesiastical
laws, and frequenting the society of holy men, he was
filled with admiration of the ascetic mode of life, and
devoted himself to it. Afterwards, however, he changed
his purpose, and resumed his former course of life, and
to justify his conduct, cited many examples from ancient
history, with which he was well acquainted. On hearing
of the steps he had taken, John addressed a most divine
epistle to him, which contained thoughts and expressions
apparently transcending all productions of the human
mind. Upon receiving this letter, Theodore gave up his
possessions, renounced his intention of marrying, and,
in accordance with the remonstrances of John, returned
to the profession of monasticism. This seems to me a
remarkable instance of the power of John's eloquence;
for he readily forced conviction on the mind of one who
was himself habituated to persuade and convince others.
By the same eloquence, John attracted the admiration of
the people, while he strenuously expatiated against sin,
and testified the same indignation against all acts of
injustice as if they had been perpetrated against himself.
This boldness pleased the people, but grieved the wealthy
and the powerful, who were guilty of most of the vices
which he denounced.
Being, then, held in such high estimation by those who
knew him personally, and by those who were acquainted
with him through the reports of others, John was
adjudged worthy, in word and in deed, by all the subjects
of the Roman empire, to preside over the Church of
Constantinople. The clergy and people were unanimous
in electing him; their choice was approved by the Em-
peror; messengers were despatched for John; and, to
confer greater solemnity on his ordination, a Council was
convened. When the edict of the Emperor reached
Asterius, the general of the East, he sent to desire John
to repair to him, as if he had need of him. On his
arrival, he made him get into his chariot, and conveyed
him to Pagras, where he delivered him to the officers
whom the Emperor had sent in quest of him. Asterius
378 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
acted very prudently in sending for John before the
citizens of Antioch knew what was about to transpire;
for they would probably have excited a sedition, and have
inflicted injury On others, or subjected themselves to acts
of violence, rather than have suffered John to be taken
from them.
When John had arrived at Constantinople, and when
the priests were assembled together, Theophilus opposed
his ordination, and proposed as a candidate, in his stead,
a presbyter of his church, named Isidore, who took charge
of strangers and of the poor at Alexandria. I have been
informed by persons who were acquainted with Isidore,
that from his youth upwards, he led a life of virtue and
asceticism, near Scetis. Others say, that he had gained
the friendship of Theophilus by assisting him in a very
perilous undertaking. For it is reported that during
the war against Maximus, Theophilus entrusted Isidore
with gifts and letters respectively addressed to the
emperor and to Maximus, and sent him to Rome, desiring
him to remain there until the termination of the war,
when he was to deliver the gifts, with the letters, to
whoever might prove the victor. Isidore acted according
to his instructions, but the artifice was detected; and,
fearful of being arrested, he fled to Alexandria. Theo-
philus from that period evinced much attachment towards
him, and with a view of recompensing his services, strove
to raise him to the bishopric of Constantinople. But
whether there was really any truth in this report, or
whether Theophilus was solely influenced by a sense of
the merit of Isidore, in proposing him for election, it is
certain that he eventually yielded to the wishes of the
other bishops, and nominated John. He was induced to
accede to the ordination of John from fear of the menaces
of Eutropius, who held a situation in the palace, and who
threatened, unless he would vote with the other bishops,
to call him to account at the Synod for his conduct;
for many accusations had been preferred against him.
CHAP. III.] RESTORATION OF UNITY.—A. D. 398. 379
*
C HAPTER III.
PROMOTION OF JOHN TO THE BISHOPRIC. HE RE-ESTABLISHES
DISCIPLINE IN THE CEIUIR CHES. DEPUTATION TO ROME.
As soon as John was raised to the episcopal dignity, he
devoted his attention to the reformation of the lives of
his clergy, and to the regulation of their pursuits and
conduct. He even ejected some of the clergy from the
church. He was naturally disposed to reprehend the
misconduct of others, and to feel excessive indignation
against those who acted unjustly; and these characteristics
gained strength after his elevation to the bishopric; for
when power was placed in his hands, he became more
zealous than ever in testifying his anger and resentment
against sin. He did not confine his efforts to the reforma-
tion of his own church, but sought to rectify abuses
throughout the world. He strove to put an end to the
dissension which had arisen concerning Paulinus, between
the Western and Egyptian bishops, and the bishops of the
East; and requested the assistance of Theophilus in
effecting the reconciliation of Flavian with the bishop of
Rome. Theophilus agreed to co-operate with him in the
restoration of concord; and Acacius, bishop of Beroea,
and Isidore, whom Theophilus had proposed as a candidate
for ordination instead of John, were sent on an embassy
to Rome. They soon effected the object of their jour-
ney, and returned to Egypt. Acacius repaired to Syria,
bearing conciliatory letters concerning Flavian, from the
bishops of Egypt and of the West. By these means,
unity was restored among the churches after a long
period of mutual animosity and division. The people at
Antioch, who were called Eustathians, continued, indeed,
for some time to hold separate assemblies, although they
possessed no bishop. Evagrius, the successor of Paulinus,
did not, as we have stated, long survive him, and unani-
mity was the more easily re-established from there being
no one to keep up the division. The laity, as is customary
with the populace, gradually went over to those who
assembled together under the guidance of Flavian: and
thus, in course of time, unity was restored among them.
380 ECCLESFASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book viii.
CHAPTER IV.
ENTERPRISE OF GAïNAS, THE GOTH. Evi LS which HE
PERIE’ETRATED.
A BARBARIAN, named Gainas, who had taken refuge
among the Romans, and who had risen from the lowest
ranks of the army to military command, formed a design
to usurp the throne of the Roman empire. With this
view, he invited his countrymen, the Goths, to invade the
Roman territories; and promoted several of them, who
were his particular friends, to the highest posts of the
army. Tribigildes, a relative of his, who commanded a
large body of troops in Phrygia, commenced an insur-
rection; and all persons of judgment rightly inferred,
that he was acting in concert with Gainas. Under the
pretext of resenting the devastation of many of the
Phrygian cities, which had been committed to his super-
intendence, Gainas hastened into that province; but on
his arrival, he threw aside the mask he had assumed, and
openly pillaged some cities, and prepared to take posses-
sion of others. He then proceeded to Bithynia, and
threatened to attack Chalcedonia. The cities of the East,
of Asia, and of the countries bordering on the Euxine,
being thus menaced with imminent danger, the emperor
and his counsellors judged that it would not be safe at
so critical a juncture to give battle to the insurgents
without having previously made due preparations, and
sent to Gainas to offer him whatever he might demand.
He requested that two consuls, named Saturninus and
Aurelian, whom he suspected of being inimical to him,
should be delivered up to him; and when they were in
his power, he pardoned them. He afterwards held a con-
ference with the emperor near Chalcedonia, in the house
of prayer in which the tomb of St. Euphemius the martyr
is deposited; and after he and the emperor had mutually
bound themselves by vows of friendship to each other,
he threw down his arms, and repaired to Constantinople,
where, by an imperial edict, he was appointed general of
the infantry and cavalry. Prosperity so far beyond his
deserts was more than he could bear with moderation;
CHAP. IV.] ENTERPRISE OF GAINAs.—A.D. 400. 381
and as, contrary to all expectation, he had succeeded so
wonderfully in his former enterprise, he determined to
undermine the peace of the Catholic Church. He was a
Christian, and, like the rest of the Goths, had espoused
the Arian heresy. Urged either by the solicitations of
his party, or by the suggestions of his own ambition, he
applied to the emperor to place one of the churches of
the city in the hands of the Arians. He represented
that it was neither just nor proper that, while he was at
the head of the Roman troops, he should be compelled to
retire without the walls of the city when he wished to
engage in prayer. John did not remain inactive when
made acquainted with these proceedings. He assembled
all the bishops who were then residing in the city, and
went with them to the palace. He spoke at great length
in the presence of the emperor and of Gainas, reproached
the latter with being a stranger and a fugitive, and
reminded him that his life had been saved by the father
of the emperor, to whom he had sworn fidelity, as
likewise to his children, to the Romans, and to the laws
which he was striving to violate. Then, addressing him-
self to the emperor, John exhorted him to maintain the
laws which had been established against heretics, and told
him that it would be better to be deprived of the empire,
than to betray the house of God into the hands of the
impious. Thus did John boldly contend in defence of the
church that was under his care. Gainas, however,
regardless of his oaths, attacked the city. His enterprise
was pre-announced by the appearance of a comet directly
over the city: this comet was of extraordinary magnitude,
larger, indeed, than any that had previously been seen.
Gainas intended to seize first upon the stores of the silver-
Smiths, and to appropriate their enormous wealth: The
silversmiths, however, received timely notice of his
designs, and concealed the precious commodities, which
were usually kept exposed to the view of the public.
Gainas then sent some of the barbarians by night to set
fire to the palace; but fear fell upon them, and they
returned without executing the mandate. For when they
drew near the edifice, they fancied that they saw before

382 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VIII.
them a multitude of armed men of immense stature, and
they returned to inform Gainas that fresh troops had just
arrived. Gainas disbelieved their report, for he was confi-
dent that no troops had entered the city. As, however,
other individuals whom he despatched to the palace for the
same purpose, on the following night, returned with the
same report, he went out himself to be an eye-witness of
the extraordinary spectacle. Imagining that the army
before him consisted of soldiers who had been withdrawn
from other cities, and that these troops protected the city
and palace by day, and concealed themselves by night,
Gainas feigned to be possessed of a demon; and under the
pretext of offering up prayer, went to the church which the
father of the emperor had erected in honour of John the
Baptist, at Hebdoma. Some of the Goths remained in
Constantinople, and others accompanied Gainas, having
first clandestinely provided themseves with weapons of
war, which they placed in their chariots. The soldiers
who guarded the gates of the city, stopped the chariots,
and forbad them to carry away arms. The Goths, there-
upon, slew the guards, and the city was immediately filled
with as much confusion and uproar, as if it had suddenly
fallen under the power of an enemy. A timely thought,
however, occurred to the emperor at this perilous junc-
ture, which was, to declare Gainas a public enemy, and
to command that all the Goths within the city should be
slain. No sooner was this mandate issued, than the
soldiers rushed upon the Goths, and slew the greater
number of them; they then set fire to the church which
belonged to that people, and in which those who had
escaped the sword had taken refuge; as the doors were
closed, the barbarians could not effect an exit, and they
all perished. On hearing of this calamity, Gainas passed
through Thrace, and proceeded towards the Cherson-
nesus, intending to cross the Hellespont, and to subdue
some of the Eastern provinces. His expectations proved
as futile, however, on this occasion as before; and the
Romans were again aided by the intervention of Divine
power on their behalf. The emperor sent naval and
military forces against the insurgents, under the command
CHAP. v.] PUBLIC DISCOURSES OF JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. 383
of Fravitas, who, although a barbarian by birth, was a
good man, and an able general. The Goths, having no
ships, imprudently attempted to cross the Hellespont on
rafts, which, when the wind arose, were dashed to pieces
against the Roman vessels. The greater part of the
barbarians and their horses were drowned; but many
were slain by the military. Gainas, however, with a few
of his followers, escaped; but not long after, when making
their way through Thrace, they fell in with another
detachment of the Roman army, and Gainas, with all his
barbarians, perished. Such was the termination of the
life and daring schemes of Gainas.
Fravitas had rendered himself very conspicuous in this
war, and was therefore appointed consul. During his
consulate, and that of Vincent, a son was born to the
emperor. The young prince was named after his grand-
father, and, at the commencement of the next consulate,
was proclaimed Augustus.
CHAPTER V.
PUBLIC DISCOURSES OF JOHN. CONCERNING THE MACEDO-
NIAN WOMAN, AND THE CONVERSION OF BREAD INTO
STONE.
JoHN governed the church of Constantinople with
exemplary prudence, and induced many of the Pagans
and of the heretics to unite themselves with him. Crowds
of people daily resorted to him; some for the purpose of
being edified by listening to his discourses, and others
with the intention of tempting him. He, however,
pleased and attracted all classes, and led them to embrace
the same religious sentiments as himself. As the people
pressed around him, and, so far from feeling any weari-
ness, crowded to hear him in such numbers as even to
molest each other, he placed himself in the midst of them
at the desk (8mpio) of the Readers, and having taken a
seat, taught the multitude. It seems to me, that this is
a suitable place in my history for the insertion of the
account of a miracle which was performed during the
life of John. A certain man, of the sect of the Macedo-
384 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VIII.
nians, who was married and lived with his wife, chanced
to hear John discoursing concerning the Divine nature;
he was convinced by the argument he heard advanced,
and strove to persuade his wife to embrace the same
sentiments. Her previous habits of mind, and the con-
versation of other women, deterred her from complying
with his wishes; and, when he found that all his efforts
to convince her were futile, he told her that, unless she
would be of one mind with him on divine subjects, she
should not continue to live with him. The woman,
therefore, promised to do as she was required; but, at
the same time, she made known the matter to one of
her servant maids, in whose fidelity she confided, and
used her as an instrument in deceiving her husband. At
the time of the celebration of the mysteries (the
initiated will understand what I mean), this woman kept
what was given to her, and held down her head as if en-
gaged in prayer. Her servant, who was standing behind
her, placed in her hand a bit of bread which she had
brought with her; but, as soon as she had placed it
between her teeth, it was converted into stone. Aston-
ished at what had occurred, and fearful lest any further
calamity should befall her, she ran to the bishop, and
informed him of what had happened. She showed him
the stone, which bore the marks of her teeth; it was
composed of some unknown substance, and was of a very
strange and peculiar colour. She implored forgiveness
with tears, and continued ever after to hold the same
religious tenets as her husband. If any person should
consider this narrative incredible, he can inspect the
stone, in question; for it is still preserved in the treasury
of the church of Constantinople.
CHAPTER WI.
PROCEEDINGS OF JOHN IN ASIA AND PHRY GIA. HERACLIDES
BISHOP OF EPHESUs, AND GERONTIUS BISHOP OF NICO-
MEDIA.
John, having been informed that many of the bishops
of Asia and of the neighbouring churches were unworthy
CHAP. VI.] DEPOSITION OF SEVERAL BISHOPs. 385
of their office, and that they sold the priesthood for
money, or bestowed that dignity as a matter of private
favour, repaired to Ephesus, and deposed thirteen bishops
of Lycia, Phrygia, and Asia, and elected others in their
stead. The bishop of Ephesus was dead, and he there-
fore ordained Heraclides over that church. Heraclides
was a native of Cyprus, and was one of the deacons
under John : he had formerly joined the monks at Scetis,
and had been the disciple of Evagrius. John also
deposed Gerontius, bishop of Nicomedia. This latter was
a deacon under Ambrosius, of the church of Milan: he
declared, either with an intention to deceive others, or
because he had been himself deceived by some illusion
of the devil, that he had seized a quadruped resembling
an ass (ovoorke?\ts) by night, had cut off its head, and
flung it into a grinding-house. Ambrose regarded this
mode of discourse as utterly unworthy of a servant of
God, and commanded Gerontius to remain in seclusion
until he had expiated his fault by repentance. Geron-
-tius, however, was a very skilful physician; he was
eloquent and persuasive, and knew well how to gain
friends; he therefore ridiculed the command of Ambrose,
and repaired to Constantinople. In a short time, he
obtained the friendship of the most powerful men at
court; and, not long after, was elevated to the bishopric
of Nicomedia. He was ordained by Helladius, bishop of
Caesarea in Cappadocia, who performed this office the
more readily for him because he had been instrumental,
through his interest at court, in obtaining a high appoint-
ment in the army for his son. When Ambrose heard of
this ordination, he wrote to Nectarius, bishop of Con-
stantinople, desiring him to eject Gerontius from the
priesthood, and not to permit the discipline of the church
to be violated by such gross abuses. However desirous
Nectarius might have been to obey this injunction, he
could never succeed in carrying it into effect, owing to
the determined resistance of the people of Nicomedia.
John deposed Gerontius, and ordained Pansophius, who
had formerly been preceptor to the wife of the emperor,
and who, though a man of decided piety and of a mild
25
386 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VIII.
and gentle disposition, was not liked by the Nicomedians.
They arose in sedition, and declaimed publicly and
privately on the charity and beneficence of Gerontius,
and on the benefits which all classes, rich and poor, had
enjoyed from his skill in medicine; and, as is usual when
we applaud those we love, they ascribed many other vir-
tues to him. They went about the streets of Nicomedia
and Constantinople as if some earthquake, or pestilence,
or other visitation of Divine wrath had occurred, and
sang psalms, and offered supplications that they might
have Gerontius for their bishop. They were at length
compelled to yield to necessity, and parted most reluc-
tantly with Gerontius, receiving in his stead a bishop
whom they regarded with fear and aversion. The bishops
who had been deposed and all their followers declaimed
against John, and alleged that he had violated the laws of
the church, and set aside ordinations which had been
legally conferred; and, in the excess of their resentment,
they condemned deeds which were worthy of commenda-
tion. Among other matters, they reproached him with-
the proceedings that had been taken against Eutropius.
CHAPTER VII.
CONCERNING EUTROPIUS, CHIEF OF THE EUNUCHS, AND THE
LAW ENACTED BY HIM. MURMIURS AGAINST JOHN.
EUTROPIUs was originally the chief of the eunuchs,
and was the first and only person of that rank who
attained the consular and patrician dignity. When he
was raised to power, he thought not of the future,
nor of the instability of human affairs, but caused those
who sought an asylum in churches to be thrust out. He
treated Pentadia, the wife of Timasus, in this manner.
Timasus was a general in the army, possessed of con-
siderable influence; but Eutropius procured an edict for
his banishment to Pasis in Egypt, under the pretext that
he aspired to tyranny. I have been informed that
Timasus fell a victim to thirst or the cruelty of his
enemies, and was found dead among the sands of the
desert. Eutropius issued a law enacting that no one
CHAP. VIII.] HYMNS IN VINDICATION OF ARIANISM. 387
should seek refuge in churches, and that the asylums
should be violated if any one should attempt to avail
himself of them. He was, however, the first to trans-
gress this law; for not long after its enactment, he
offended the empress, and immediately left the palace
and fled to the church. While he was lying beneath the
altar, John pronounced a discourse in which he repre-
hended the pride of power, and directed the attention of
the people to the instability of human greatness. The
enemies of John hence took occasion to cast reproach on
him, because he had rebuked instead of compassionating
one who was suffering under the calamities of adverse
fortune. Eutropius soon after paid the penalty of his
impiety, and was beheaded; and the law which he had
enacted was effaced from the public inscriptions. The
wrath of God having been thus promptly visited on the
injustice that had been perpetrated, prosperity was
restored to the church, and the people of Constantinople
were hence more sedulous than before in attendance at
the singing of the morning and the evening hymns.
CHAPTER VIII.
HYMNS AGAINST ARIANISM INTRODUCED BY JOHN. EFFECTS
OF HIS PUBLIC MINISTRATIONS.
THE Arians, having been deprived of their churches in
Constantinople during the reign of Theodosius, held
their assemblies without the walls of the city. They
assembled by night in the public porticoes, and sung in
parts certain hymns which they had composed in vindi-
cation of their own tenets; and, at the break of day,
marched in procession, singing these hymns, to the
places in which they held their assemblies. They pro-
ceeded in this manner on all solemn festivals, and on the
first and last days of the week. The sentiments
propounded in these hymns were such as were likely to
engender disputes; as, for instance, the following:—
“Where are those who say that the Three Persons
constitute one Power?” Other similar acrimonious
388 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
observations were interspersed throughout their com-
positions. John was fearful lest any of his own people
should be led astray by witnessing these exhibitions,
and therefore commanded them to sing hymns in the
same manner. The Orthodox, being more numerous
and more wealthy than the Arians, soon surpassed them
in the pomp and splendour of their processions; for they
had silver crosses and lighted torches borne before them.
The eunuch of the empress was appointed to regulate
these processions, to pay the cost of whatever might be
required, and to prepare hymns adapted to be sung on
these occasions. Hence the Arians, impelled either by
jealousy or revenge, attacked the members of the Catholic
Church. Much bloodshed ensued on both sides. Briso
(for this was the name of the eunuch) was wounded on
the forehead by a stone that was cast at him. The
resentment of the emperor was kindled, and he put a
stop to the Arian assemblies. Having commenced the
custom of singing hymns, in the manner and from the
cause above stated, the members of the Catholic Church
did not discontinue the practice, but have retained it to
the present day. The institution of these processions,
and the faithfulness of his ministrations in the church,
endeared John to the people; but he was hated by the
clergy and the powerful on account of his boldness and
candour; for he never failed to rebuke the clergy, when
he detected them in acts of injustice, nor to exhort the
powerful to return to the practice of virtue, when they
abused their wealth, committed impiety, or yielded to
voluptuousness.
CHAPTE R IX.
SERAPION THE ARCHI)EACON, AND ST. OLYMPIA. COMPLAINTS
OF THE CLERGY AGNINST JOHN.
THE enmity of the clergy against John was greatly
increased by Serapion, his archdeacon, a man naturally
prone to anger, and always ready to insult his opponents.
The feelings of hostility were further fostered by the
CHAP. IX.] ENMITY OF THE CLERGY AGAINST JOHN. 389
counsel which Olympia received from John. Olympia
was a widow of illustrious birth, zealously attached to the
exercises of monastic philosophy; and, notwithstanding
her youth, Nectarius had ordained her deaconess. John,
perceiving that she bestowed her goods liberally on
whoever asked her for them, and that she despised every
thing but the service of God, said to her: “I applaud
your intentions; but would have you know that those
who aspire to the perfection of virtue ought to distribute
their wealth with prudence. You, however, have been
bestowing wealth on the wealthy, which is as useless as
if you had cast it in the sea. Know you not that you
have, for the sake of God, devoted all your possessions to
the relief of the poor. You ought, therefore, to regard
your wealth as belonging to your Master, and to remem-
ber that you will have to account for its distribution. If
you will be persuaded by me, you will in future regulate
your donations according to the wants of those who
solicit relief. You will thus be enabled to extend the
sphere of your benevolence, and your zeal and charity
will be accepted by God.”
John had several disputes with many of the monks,
particularly with Isaac. He commended those who, in
conformity with the rules of their profession, remained
in quietude in their monasteries; he protected them from
all injustice, and supplied all their wants. But the
monks who made their appearance in cities were severely
censured by him, and declared to be the disgrace of
monasticism. He hence incurred the hatred of the clergy,
and of many of the monks, who represented him as a
hard, passionate, morose, and arrogant man. They
therefore attempted to bring his life into public disrepute,
by stating confidently, as if it were the truth, that he
would eat with no one, and that he refused every invita-
tion that was offered him. I know of no pretext that
could have given rise to this assertion, except that, as I
have been assured by a man of undoubted veracity, John
had, by vigorous asceticism, rendered himself liable to
pain in the head and stomach, and was thus prevented
from being present at some of the most solemn festivals.
390 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
Hence, however, originated the greatest accusation that
was ever devised against him.
CHAPTER X.
SEVERLAN, BISHOP OF GABALES, AND ANTIOCHUS, BISHOP
OF PTOLEMAIS. DISPUTE BETWEEN SERAPION AND SEVE-
RIAN. RECONCILIATION EFFECTED BY THE EMPRESS.
O
JOHN likewise incurred the enmity of the empress,
through the machinations of Severian bishop of Gabales
in Syria. Severian and Antiochus bishop of Ptolemais
in Syria, were both learned men, and well qualified to
teach the people. Antiochus had so fine a voice and
delivery that, by some persons, he was surnamed
Chrysostom; Severian, on the other hand, had a harsh
and provincial accent; but, in point of general know-
ledge and acquaintance with Scripture, he was considered
superior to Antiochus. It appears that Antiochus was
the first to visit Constantinople; he gained great
applause by his eloquence, amassed some property, and
then returned to his own city. Severian followed his
example, and went to Constantinople: he formed an in-
timacy with John, secured the admiration of the public
by his ministrations in the church, and even attracted
the notice of the emperor and empress. When John
went to Asia, he commended the church to his care; for
he was so far deceived by the adulation of Severian, as to
imagine him his friend. Severian, however, thought
only of gratifying his auditors, and of pleasing the people
by his eloquence. When John was apprised that this
was the course he was pursuing, he was highly incensed
against him; and his resentment was further kindled, it
is said, by the representations of Serapion. After the
return of John from Asia, Serapion happened to see
Severian passing; but, instead of rising to salute him,
he kept his seat, in order to show his utter contempt for
the man. Severian was offended by this manifestation
of disrespect, and exclaimed, “If Serapion die a Christian,
then Christ was not incarnate.” Serapion reported these
words; and John, in consequence, expelled Severian from
CHAP. XI.] DISPUTE CONCERNING THE NATURE OF GOD. 391
the city as a blasphemer; for witnesses were brought
forward to attest that the above words had been really
uttered by him. Some of the friends of Serapion even
Went so far as to suppress part of the speech of Severian,
and to affirm that he had declared that Christ was not
incarnate. ... John also rebuked Severian, by asking
whether, if Serapion should not die among the clergy,
it would follow that Christ had not been incarnate.
As soon as the wife of the emperor was informed of what
had occurred by the friends of Severian, she immediately
sent for him from Chalcedonia. John, notwithstanding
all her remonstrances, positively refused to hold any
intercourse with him, until the empress placed her son
Theodosius on his knees in the Church of the Apostles;
and then John yielded a reluctant consent to receive
Severian into favour. Such are the accounts which I
have received of these transactions.
C H APTER XI.
QUESTION AGITATED IN EGYPT, AS TO WHETHER GOD HAS A
CORPOREAL FORM. THEOPHILUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA.
BOOKS OF ORIGEN.
A QUESTION was at this period agitated in Egypt, which
had been propounded a short time previously, namely,
whether it is right to believe that God possesses a cor-
poreal nature. Owing to a too liberal and simple mode
of interpreting Scripture, most of the monks of that part
of the world supposed that God possesses eyes, a face and
hands, and other members of the bodily organizātion.
This position, however, was denied by those who searched
into the hidden meaning of the words of Scripture; and
they maintained that those who denied the incorporeality
of God were guilty of blasphemy. This latter opinion
was espoused by Theophilus, and preached by him in the
church; and in the epistle which, according to custom,
he wrote respecting the celebration of the passover,
he took occasion to state, that God is to be regarded
as incorporeal, and as bearing no resemblance to the
human form. When it was signified to the Egyptian
392 EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VIII.
monks that Theophilus had broached these sentiments,
they went to Alexandria, assembled the people together,
excited a tumult, and determined upon slaying the bishop
as an impious man. Theophilus, however, presented him-
self to the insurgents, and said to them, “When I look
upon you, it is as if I beheld the face of God.” This
address mollified their resentment, and they replied:
“Wherefore, then, if you really hold orthodox doctrines,
do you not denounce the books of Origen, which set forth
doctrine of an opposite tendency?” “Such has long
been my intention,” replied he, “and I shall do as you
advise; for I blame as much as you do all those who
follow the doctrines of Origen.” By these means he
deluded the monks, and quelled the sedition.
CHAPTER XII.
ENMITY OF THEOPHILUS AGAINST FOUR BROTHERS, CALLED
“THE GREAT.”
THE controversy would most likely have been termi-
nated had it not been renewed by Theophilus himself,
from inimical feelings against Ammon, Dioscorus,
Eusebius, and Euthymius, who were called “the great.”
They were brothers, and as we have before stated, ren-
dered themselves very conspicuous among the ascetics
at Scetis. They were at one period beloved by Theophilus
above all the other monks of Egypt; he sought their
society, and frequently dwelt with them. He even con-
ferred on Dioscorus the bishopric of Hermopolis. But
from the time of his attempt to ordain Isidore as successor
to Nectarius, in the bishopric of Constantinople, he had
regarded them with hatred. Some say, that a woman,
belonging to the Manichean sect, having been converted
to the faith of the Catholic Church, Theophilus rebuked
the arch-presbyter (towards whom he had other reasons
for entertaining resentful feelings), because he had ad-
mitted her to participate in the sacred mysteries before
she had abjured her former heresy. Peter, for this
was the name of the arch-presbyter, maintained that he
had received the woman into communion according to
CHAP. XII.] ENMITY OF THEOPHILUs AGAINST ISIDORE, 393
the laws of the church, and at the consent of Theophilus;
and referred to Isidore, as a witness to the truth of what
he deposed. Isidore happened to be then at Rome;
but on his return, he testified that the assertions of Peter
were true. Theophilus resented this avowal, and ejected
both him and Peter from the church. Such is the account
given by some persons of the transaction. I have, how-
ever, heard it alleged by a man of undoubted veracity,
who was very intimate with the monks above-mentioned,
that the enmity of Theophilus towards Isidore originated
from two causes. One of these causes was identical with
that specified by Peter the presbyter, namely, that he
had refused to attest the existence of a testament in
which the inheritance was entailed on the sister of Theo-
philus: the other cause alleged by this individual was,
that Isidore refused to give up certain monies that had
been confided to him for the relief of the poor, and which
Theophilus wished to appropriate to the erection of
churches; and told his bishop, that it would be far better
to apply the money to the relief of the bodies of the
sick, which are the temples of God, than to the building
of edifices. But from whatever cause the enmity of
Theophilus might have originated, Isidore, immediately
after his excommunication, joined his former companions,
the monks at Scetis. Ammon, with a few others, then
repaired to Theophilus, and entreated him to restore
Isidore to communion. Theophilus readily promised to
do as they requested; but as time passed away, and his
promise still remained unfulfilled, they again repaired to
him, renewed their entreaties, and pressed him to be
faithful to his engagement. Instead of complying, Theo-
philus thrust one of the monks into prison, for the purpose
of intimidating the others. Ammon and all the monks
then went to the prison, into which they were readily
admitted by the gaoler, who imagined that they had come
to bring provisions to the prisoner; but having once
obtained admission, they refused to leave the prison.
When Theophilus heard of their voluntary confinement,
he sent to desire them to come to him. They replied,
that he ought to take them out of prison himself, for it
394 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
was not just, after having been subjected to public
indignity, that they should be privately released from
confinement. At length, however, they yielded, and
went to him. Theophilus apologised for what had
occurred, and dismissed them as if he had no further
intention of molesting them; but he retained in secret
the utmost resentment against them, and studied the most
efficient means of injuring them. He was in doubt,
however, as to how he could ill-treat them, as they had
no possessions, and despised every thing but wisdom,
until it occurred to him, to disturb the peace of their
retirement. From his former intercourse with them he
had gathered that they blamed those who believe that
God has a human form, and that they adhered to the
opinions of Origen; he therefore seized this pretext to
set all the other monks, who maintained contrary doc-
trines, at variance with them. A furious dispute ensued
among the monks; for instead of resorting to argument,
and striving to convince each other of the truth, they
mutually insulted each other, and gave the name of
Origenists to those who maintained the incorporeality of
the Deity, while those who held the opposite opinion
were called Anthropomorphists.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE MONKS REPAIR TO JOHN. IIOSTILITY OF THEOPHIL US
AGAINST JOHN.
DIOSCORUs, Ammon, and the other monks, having
discovered the machinations of Theophilus, retired to
Jerusalem, and thence proceeded to Scythopolis, because
this latter region abounded in palm trees, and the
wood of these trees was wrought into various articles
by the monks. Dioscorus and Ammon were accompanied
hither by about eighty other monks. In the meantime,
Theophilus sent messengers to Constantinople, to prefer
complaints against them, and to oppose any petitions
that they might lay before the emperor. On being
informed of this fact, Ammon and the monks embarked
for Constantinople, and took Isidore with them; and they
CHAP. XIV.] PERVERSITY OF THEOPHILUs.—A.D. 402. 395
r
requested that their cause might be tried in the presence
of the emperor and of the bishop, for they imagined
that the well-known boldness of John would be of assist-
ance to them at this juncture. John, although he
received them with kindness, and treated them with
honour, and did not forbid them to pray in the church,
refused to admit them to participation in the mysteries
until their cause had been decided. He wrote to Theo-
philus, desiring him to receive them backinto communion,
as their sentiments concerning the Divine nature were
Orthodox: requesting him, if he regarded their orthodoxy
as doubtful, to send some One to act as their accuser.
Theophilus returned no reply to this epistle. Some time
subsequently, Ammon and his companions presented
themselves before the wife of the emperor, and complained
of the machinations of Theophilus against them. As she
was well acquainted with the facts of the case, she
stopped her chariot, inclined her head forwards, and said
to them, “Pray for the emperor, for me, for our children,
and for the empire. For my part, I shall shortly cause
a council to be convened, to which Theophilus shall be
summoned.” A false report having been spread abroad
in Alexandria, that John had received Dioscorus and his
companions into communion, and had afforded them every
aid and encouragement in his power, Theophilus began
to reflect upon what measures it would be possible to
adopt in order to eject John from the church.
CHAPTER XIV.
PERVERSITY OF THEOPHILUS. ARRIVAL OF ST. EPIPHANIUS
AT CONSTANTINOPLE; HE EXCITES THE PEOPLE OF THAT
CITY AGAINST JOHN.
THEOPHILUs kept his designs against John as secret as
possible; and wrote to the bishops of every city, con-
demning the books of Origen. It also occurred to him
that it would be advantageous to enlist Epiphanius,
bishop of Salamis, in Cyprus, on his side, because the
eminent virtues of this prelate had secured him universal
admiration; and he therefore formed a friendship with
396 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VIII.
him, although he had formerly blamed him for asserting
that God possessed a human form. As if repentant of
having ever entertained any other sentiment, Theophilus
wrote to Epiphanius to acquaint him, that he now held
the same opinions as himself, and to condemn the works
of Origen, whence he had drawn his former hypothesis.
Epiphanius had long regarded the writings of Origen
with peculiar aversion, and was therefore easily led to
attach credit to the epistle of Theophilus. He soon after
assembled the bishops of Cyprus together, and prohibited
the perusal of the books of Origen. He also wrote to the
other bishops, and among others, to the bishop of Con-
stantinople, exhorting them to issue similar prohibitions.
Theophilus, perceiving that there could be no danger in
following the example of Epiphanius, whose exalted
virtues were universally appreciated and reverenced,
assembled the bishops of his province, and enacted a
similar decree. John, on the other hand, paid little at-
tention to the letters of Epiphanius and Theophilus.
Those among the powerful and the clergy who were
opposed to him, perceived that the designs of Theophilus
tended to his ejection from the bishopric, and therefore
endeavoured to procure the convention of a council in
Constantinople, in order to carry this measure into exe-
cution. Theophilus exerted himself to the utmost in
convening this council; he commanded the bishops of
Egypt to repair by sea to Constantinople; he wrote to
request Epiphanius and the other Eastern bishops to
proceed to that city with as little delay as possible, and
he himself set off on the journey thither by land. Epi-
phanius was the first to sail from Cyprus; he landed at
Hebdoma, a suburb of Constantinople, and after having
prayed in the church erected at that place, he proceeded
to enter the city. In order to do him honour, John
went out with all his clergy to meet him. Epiphanius,
however, evinced clearly by his conduct that he believed
the disadvantageous report that had been spread against
John, for he would not remain in his house, and avoided
all intercourse with him. He also privately assembled
all the bishops who were in Constantinople, and showed
CHAP.XIV.] DISPUTE CONCERNING THE WORKS OF ORIGEN. 397
them the decrees that he had issued against the works of
Origen. Some of the bishops approved of these decrees,
while others objected to them. Theotimus, bishop of
Scythia, strongly opposed the proceedings of Epiphanius,
and told him that it was not right to cast insult on the
memory of one who had long been numbered with the
dead, nor to call into question the conclusion to which the
ancients had arrived on the subject. While discoursing
in this strain, he drew forth a work of Origen's which
he had brought with him; and after reading aloud a pas-
sage conducive to the edification of the church, he re-
marked that those who condemned such sentiments were
guilty of manifest absurdity, and that while they were
ridiculing the words of the author, they were evidently
in danger of being tempted to ridicule the subjects them-
selves upon which he wrote. John manifested great
respect towards Epiphanius, and invited him to join in
the meetings of his church, and to dwell with him. But
Epiphanius declared that he would neither reside with
John, nor pray with him, unless he would denounce the
works of Origen and expel Dioscorus and his companions
from the city. Not considering it just to act in the
manner proposed until judgment had been passed on the
case, John tried to postpone the adoption of further
measures to some future time. In the meantime his
enemies met together, and arranged that on the day
when the people would be assembled in the Church of
the Apostles, Epiphanius should publicly pronounce
condemnation on the works of Origen, and on Dioscorus
and his companions as the partizans of this writer; and
also denounce the bishop of the city as the abettor of
Dioscorus. By this means, it was hoped, that the affec-
tions of the people would be alienated from their bishop.
The following day, when Epiphanius was about entering
the church, in order to carry his design into execution,
he was stopped by Serapion, at the command of John,
who had received intimation of the plot. Serapion
proved to Epiphanius that while the project he had
devised was unjust in itself, it could be of no personal
advantage to him, for that, if it should excite a popular
398 ECCLESIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VIII.
insurrection, he would be regarded as responsible for the
outrages that might follow. By these arguments Epi-
phanius was induced to relinquish his designs.
CHAPTER XV.
THE SON OF THE EMPRESS AND THE HOLY EPIPEIANIUS,
CONFERENCE BETWEEN THE “GREAT BROTHERS" AND
EPIPHANIUS, AND THE RETURN OF THIS LATTER TO
CYPRUS. IEPIPHANIUS AND JOHN.
ABOUT this time, the son of the empress was attacked
by a dangerous illness, and the mother, apprehensive of
consequences, sent to implore Epiphanius to pray for
him. Epiphanius returned for answer, that her son
would recover provided that she would avoid all inter-
course with the heretic Dioscorus and his companions.
To this message the empress replied as follows: “If it
be the will of God to take my son, His will be done.
The Lord who gave me my child, can take him back
again. You have not power to raise the dead, otherwise
your archdeacon would not have died.” She alluded to
Chrispio, the archdeacon, who had died a short time
previously; he was brother to Fusconius and Salaman,
monks whom I had occasion to mention when detailing
the history of events under the reign of Valens.
Ammon and his companions went to Epiphanius,
at the permission of the empress. Epiphanius inquired
who they were, and Ammon replied, “We are, O
father, the Great Brothers: allow us to ask whether you
have read any of our works or those of our disciples.”
On Epiphanius replying that he had not seen them, he
continued, “How is it then that you condemn us as
heretics, when you have no proof as to what sentiments
we may hold.” Epiphanius said that he had formed his
judgment by the reports he had heard on the subject;
and Ammon replied, “We have pursued a very dif-
ferent line of conduct from yours. We have conversed
with your disciples, and read your works, and among
others, that entitled “The Anchor.’ When we have
met with persons who have ridiculed your opinions, and
CHAP. xvi.] RESENTMENT OF THE EMPRESSAGAINST JOHN. 399
asserted that your writings are replete with heresy, we
have defended you as our father. Ought you then to
condemn upon mere report, and without any substantial
proofs, those who have so zealously defended your senti-
ments, and spoken well of you?” Epiphanius was affected
by this discourse, and dismissed them. Soon after, he
embarked for Cyprus, either because he recognised the
futility of his journey to Constantinople, or because, as
there is reason to believe, God had revealed to him his
approaching death; for he died while on his voyage back
to Cyprus. It is reported that he said to the bishops
who had accompanied him to the place of embarkation,
“I leave you the city, the palace, and the stage, for I
shall shortly depart.” I have been informed by several
persons that John predicted that Epiphanius would die at
sea, and that this latter predicted the deposition of John.
For it appears that when the dispute between them was
at its height, Epiphanius said to John, “I hope you will
not die a bishop,” and that John replied, “I hope you will
never return to your bishopric.”
CHAPTER XVF.
DISPUTE BETWEEN THE EMPRESS AND JOHN. ARRIVAL OF
THEOPHILUS FROM EGYPT. CYRINUS, BISHOP OF CHALCE-
DONIA.
AFTER the departure of Epiphanius, John, when
preaching in the church as usual, chanced to inveigh
against the vices to which females are more peculiarly
prone. The people imagined that his strictures were
expressly directed against the wife of the emperor. The
enemies of the bishop did not fail to report his discourse
in this sense to the empress; and she, conceiving herself
to have been insulted, complained to the emperor, and
urged the necessity for the presence of Theophilus, and
the immediate convocation of a council. Severian, bishop
of Gabales, who still entertained great resentment against
John, strenuously supported these measures. I am not
in possession of sufficient data to determine whether
there was any truth in the current report that John
400 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
delivered the discourse above mentioned with express
allusion to the empress, because he suspected her of
having excited Epiphanius against him. Theophilus
arrived soon after at Chalcedonia in Bithynia, and was
followed thither by many bishops. Some of the bishops
joined him in compliance with his own invitation, and
others, in obedience to the commands of the emperor.
The bishops whom John had deposed in Asia, repaired
to Chalcedonia with the utmost alacrity, as likewise all
those who cherished any feeling of hostility against him.
On the arrival of the ships which Theophilus expected
from Egypt, the enemies of John met to deliberate on
the means of carrying on their designs against him; and
at this assembly Cyrinus, bishop of Chalcedonia, who
was an Egyptian and a relative of Theophilus, and who
had besides some private motives of resentment against
John, burst forth into bitter invectives against him.
His injustice, however, was speedily followed by judg-
ment, for Maruthas, a native of Mesopotamia who had
accompanied the bishops, happened to tread on his foot,
and Cyrinus suffered so severely from this accident,
that he was unable to repair with the other bishops to
Constantinople, although his aid was necessary to the
execution of the designs that had been formed against
John. The wound assumed so alarming an appearance,
that the surgeons were obliged to perform several ope-
rations on the leg; and at length mortification took
place, and spread over the whole body, and even extended
to the other foot. He expired soon afterwards in great
agony.
CHAPTER XVII.
COUNCIL HELD BY THEOPHILUS AND THE ENEMIES OF JOHN.
JOHN IS SUMMONED TO ATTEND, BUT ON HIS REFUSAL IS
DEPOSED BY TEHEOPHILUS.
WHEN Theophilus entered Constantinople, none of the
clergy went out to meet him; for his enmity against
John had become publicly known. Some sailors from
Alexandria, however, who chanced to be on shore,
CHAP. XVII.] DEATH OF AMMON. --A. D. 403. 401
received him with great acclamations of joy. Passing
by the church, he proceeded direct to the palace, where
a lodging had been prepared for his accommodation. He
soon perceived that many people of the city were strongly
prejudiced against John, and ready to bring accusations
against him; and taking his measures accordingly, he
repaired to a place called “The Oak,” in the suburbs of
Chalcedonia. This place now bears the name of Rufinus,
for he was a consul, and erected here a magnificent palace,
and a church in honour of the apostles Peter and Paul,
and appointed a congregation of monks to perform the
clerical duties in the church. When Theophilus and
the other bishops met for deliberation in this place, he
judged it expedient to make no further allusion to the
works of Origen, and tried to extort some expression of
contrition from the monks of Scetis, by assuring them
that the past should be buried in oblivion. His partizans
zealously seconded his efforts, and told them that they
must ask Theophilus to pardon their conduct; and as all
the members of the assembly concurred in this request,
the monks were troubled, and believing that it was
necessary to do what they were desired by so many
bishops, they used the words which it was their custom
to use even when injured, and declared that they asked
forgiveness. Theophilus willingly received them into
favour, and restored them to communion; and all further
investigation of their conduct was abandoned. I feel
convinced that this matter would not have been so quickly
settled, had Dioscorus, Ammon, and the other monks,
been present. But Dioscorus had died some time pre-
viously, and had been interred in the church dedicated
to St. Mocius the martyr. Ammon, also, had been taken
ill at the very time that preparations were being made
for the convocation of the council; and although he
insisted upon repairing to “The Oak,” yet his malady was
thereby greatly increased: he died soon after his journey,
and was buried with great pomp. Theophilus, it is said,
shed tears on hearing of his death, and declared, that
although he had been the cause of much perplexity, there
was not a monk to be found of more exalted character
26
402 ECCI, E SIA STICAL HISTORY. [BOOK VIII.
than Ammon. It must, however, be admitted, that the
death of this monk tended much to promote the success
of the designs of Theophilus.
The members of the council summoned all the clergy
of Constantinople to appear before them, and threatened
to depose those who did not obey the summons. They
cited John to appear, and answer to the accusations laid
to his charge; as likewise Serapion, Tigris a presbyter,
and Paul a reader. John acquainted them, through the
medium of Demetrius, bishop of Pessina and of some
of the other clergy, who were his friends, that he did
not desire to screen his conduct from investigation, and
that he was ready, if the names of his accusers, and the
subject of the accusations, were made known to him, to
justify his proceedings before a larger council than that
which was then assembled; but he added, that he was
not so imprudent as to subject himself to the judgment
of his enemies. The bishops testified so much indignation
at the non-compliance of John, that some of the clergy
whom he had sent to the council were intimidated and
did not return to him. Demetrius, and those who pre-
ferred his interests to all other considerations, quitted
the council, and returned to him. The same day, a
courier and a secretary were despatched by the emperor
to command John to repair to the bishops, and to urge
the bishops to decide his cause without further delay.
After John had been cited four times, and had appealed
to a general council, no other accusation could be sub-
stantiated against him, except his refusal to obey the
summons of the council; and upon this ground, he was
deposed.
CHAPTER XVIII.
SEDITION OF THE PEOPLE AGAINST THEOPHILUS AND THE
MEMBERS OF HIS COUNCIL. RE-INSTALLATION OF JOHN IN
THE BISHOPRIC.
THE people of Constantinople were made acquainted with
the decree of the council towards the evening, and they
immediately rose up in sedition. At the break of day they
CHAP. XVIII.] SEDITION AT constANTINOPLE. 403
ran to the church, and shouted that a larger council ought
to be convened to take cognizance of the matter; and they
prevented the officers, who had been sent by the emperor
to convey John into banishment, from carrying the edict
into execution. John, apprehensive lest another accusa-
tion should be preferred against him under the pretext
that he had disobeyed the mandate of the emperor, or
excited an insurrection among the people, secretly made
his escape from the church at noon, three days after his
deposition. When the people became aware that he had
gone into exile, the sedition assumed a more formidable
aspect than before, and many insulting speeches were
uttered against the emperor and the council, and parti-
cularly against Theophilus and Severian, who were
regarded as the originators of the plot. Severian happened
to be teaching in the church at the very time that these
Occurrences were taking place; and he took occasion to
commend the sentence that had been enacted against
John, and stated that, even supposing him guiltless of
other crimes, John deserved to be deposed on account
of his pride; because, while God willingly forgives all
other sins, He resists the proud. This discourse excited
the anger of the people to such a pitch, that their
impetuosity could no longer be repressed. They ran to
the churches, to the market-places, and even to the palace
of the emperor, and with loud vociferations demanded
the restoration of their bishop. The empress was, at
length, overcome by their vehemence and importunity;
and she persuaded the emperor to yield to the wishes of
the people. She sent a eunuch, named Brison, in whom
she placed the utmost confidence, to bring back John
without delay from Prenetes, a small city of Bithynia,
whither he had been banished; and protested that she
had taken no part in the machinations that had been
carried on against him, but had, on the contrary, always
respected him as a priest, and as the administrator of
baptism to her children.
When John, on his journey homeward, reached the
suburbs belonging to the empress, he stopped near Ana-
ples, and refused to re-enter the city until the injustice
404 EC CLESIA STIC A. L H IS TO R. Y. [BOOK VIII.
of his deposition had been recognised by a larger synod
of bishops: but as this refusal tended to augment the
popular excitement, and led to many public declamations
against the emperor and the empress, he allowed himself
to be persuaded to enter the city. The people went
forth to meet him, bearing lighted torches, and singing
psalms in honour of his return. They conducted him
to the church, and although he at first objected to enter
the edifice until the sentence enacted against him had
been revoked, yet they compelled him to take the episco-
pal seat, and to bestow the benediction of peace, as usual,
upon the people. He then delivered an extemporaneous
discourse, in which, by a pleasing figure of speech, he
declared that Theophilus had meditated an injury against
his church, even as the king of Egypt had contemplated
the violation of Sarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham,
which is recorded in the books of the Hebrews: he then
proceeded to commend the zeal of the people, and to
extol the emperor and the empress; and his praises of
these august personages so excited the admiration of
his auditors, that the discourse was interrupted by their
acclamations.
CHAPTE R XIX.
PERVERSITY OF THEOPHILUS. ENMITY BETWEEN THE
EGYPTIANS AND THE CITIZENS OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
DEPARTURE OF THEOPHILUS. NILAMMON THE ASCETIC.
ALTHOUGH Theophilus would fain have brought an
accusation against John, under the plea that he had un-
lawfully reinstated himself in his bishopric, yet he was
deterred from doing so by the fear of offending the
emperor, who had been compelled to recall John, as
the means of suppressing the popular insurrection.
Theophilus, however, received an accusation against
Heraclides, during the absence of the accused, in the
hope of thereby authorising the sentence of condemnation
which had been issued against John. But the friends of
Heraclides interposed, and declared that it was unjust,
and contrary to ecclesiastical law, to condemn one who
CHAP. XIX.] NILAMMON THE ASCETIC.
A. D. 403. 405
was absent. Theophilus and his partizans maintained
the opposite side of the question: the people of Alexan-
dria and of Egypt sided with them, and were opposed by
the citizens of Constantinople. The strife between the
two parties became so vehement that bloodshed ensued;
many were wounded, and others slain in the contest.
Severian, and all the bishops at Constantinople who did
not support the cause of John, became apprehensive for
their personal safety, and quitted the city in haste.
Theophilus, also, fled the city at the commencement of
the winter; and, in company with Isaac the monk, sailed
for Alexandria. A wind arose which drove the vessel
to Gera, a small city about fifty stadia from Pelusium.
The bishop of this city died, and the inhabitants, I have
been informed, elected Nilammon to preside over their
church; he was a good man, and had attained the sum-
mit of monastic philosophy. He dwelt without the city,
in a cell, of which the door was built up with stones. He
refused to accept the dignity of the priesthood; and
Theophilus, therefore, visited him in person, to ex-
hort him to receive ordination at his hands. Nilammon
repeatedly refused the honour; but, as Theophilus would
take no refusal, he said to him, “To-morrow, my father,
you shall act as you please; to-day it is requisite that I
should arrange my affairs.” Theophilus repaired, on the
following day, to the cell of the monk, and commanded
the door to be opened; but Nilammon exclaimed, “Let
us first engage in prayer.” Theophilus complied, and
began to pray. Nilammon likewise prayed within his
cell, and in the act of prayer he expired. Theophilus,
and those who were with him without the cell, knew
nothing at the time of what had occurred; but, when the
greater part of the day had passed away, and the name of
Nilammon had been loudly reiterated without his return-
ing any answer, the stones were removed from the door,
and the monk was found dead. He was interred with
great solemnity, a tomb was erected to his honour, and a
house of prayer built on the spot; and the day of his
death is still commemorated. Thus died Nilammon, if it
can be called death, to quit this life for another, rather
406 E C C L E SIASTIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VIII.
than accept a bishopric of which, with extraordinary
modesty, he considered himself unworthy.
After his return to Constantinople, John appeared to
be more than ever beloved by the people. Sixty bishops
assembled together in that city, and annulled all the
decrees of the Council of the Oak. They confirmed
John in the possession of the bishopric, and enacted that
he should officiate as a priest, confer ordination, and
perform all the duties of the church usually devolving on
the bishop. At this time, Serapion was appointed bishop
of Heraclea in Thrace.
CHAPTER XX.
THE STATUE OF THE EMPRESS. PUBLIC TEACHING OF
JOHN. CONVOCATION OF ANOTHER SYNOD AGAINST JOHN.
HIS DEPOSITION.
NOT long after these occurrences, the silver statue of
the empress, which is still to be seen to the south of the
church, opposite the Grand Council Chamber, was placed
upon a column of porphyry; and the event was celebrated
by loud acclamations, dancing, games, and other mani-
festations of public rejoicing usually observed on the
erection of the statues of the emperors. In a public
discourse to the people, John declared that these proceed-
ings reflected dishonour on the church. This remark
recalled former grievances to the recollection of the
empress, and irritated her so exceedingly, that she
determined to procure the convocation of another council.
Instead of striving to conciliate her, John added fuel to
her indignation, by openly declaiming against her in the
church; and it was at this period that he pronounced
the memorable discourse commencing with the words,
“Herodias is again enraged; again she dances; again
she demands the head of John in a basin.”
Several bishops arrived soon after at Constantinople;
and amongst them were Leontius, bishop of Ancyra
and Acacius, bishop of Berea. The festival of our Lord's
Nativity was then at hand; and the emperor, instead of
repairing to the church as usual, sent to acquaint John
CHAP. XXI.] MACHINATIONS AGAINST JOHN. 407
that he could not hold communion with him until he had
cleared himself of the crimes whereof he was accused.
John replied that he was ready to prove his innocence;
and this so intimidated his accusers, that they did not
dare to appear against him, or proffer the accusations.
The judges decided that, having been once deposed, he
ought not to be admitted to a second trial. Without
taking cognizance of any other ground of accusation,
they therefore called him to account for having taken
possession of the bishopric of Constantinople after having
been deposed by one council, and before he had been re-
instated by another. In his defence, he appealed to the
decision of the bishops who had, subsequently to the Coun-
cil of the Oak, held communion with him. The judges
waved this argument, under the plea that those who
had held communion with John were inferior, in point of
number, to those who had deposed him, and that a canon
was in force by which he stood condemned. Under this
pretext, they therefore deposed him, although the law in
question had been enacted by heretics: for the Arians,
after having taken advantage of various calumnies to
expel Athanasius from the church of Alexandria, enacted
this law from the apprehension that their machinations
against him, and the cause and manner of his deposition,
might at some future time be subjected to investigation.
CHAPTER XXI.
CALAMITIES SUFFERED BY THE PEOPLE AFTER THE EXPUL– .
SION OF JOHN. MACHINATIONS AGAINST HIS LIFE.
AFTER his deposition, John held no more assemblies
in the church, but quietly remained in the episcopal
dwelling-house. At the termination of the season of
Quadrigesima, on the holy night on which the people
were gathered together to commemorate the resurrection
of Christ, the celebration of the mysteries was suddenly
interrupted by the unexpected entrance of some soldiers,
and the enemies of John. The baptistry was filled with
tumult and disorder; the women wept and lamented,
408 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
and the children screamed; the priests and the deacons
were beaten, and were forcibly ejected from the church,
in the priestly garments in which they had been offici-
ating. They were charged with the commission of such
disorderly acts as can be readily conceived by those who
have been admitted to the mysteries, but which I con-
sider it requisite to pass over in silence, lest my work
should fall into the hands of the uninitiated.
The next day the church was, in consequence of this
outrage, abandoned; and the people assembled at some
public baths of vast extent, called the baths of Constan-
tius, to celebrate the Passover, under the guidance of
bishops and presbyters who espoused the cause of John.
They were, however, driven hence, and then assembled
on a spot without the walls of the city, which the
emperor Constantine had caused to be cleared and en-
closed with woods, for the purpose of celebrating there
the games of the hippodrome. From that period, the
people held separate assemblies, sometimes in that
locality, and sometimes in another; and they hence
obtained the name of Johnites. About this time, a man
who was either possessed of a devil, or who feigned to
have one, was seized with a poignard on his person,
which he had concealed, with the intention of assassin-
ating John; he was dragged by the people before the
magistrate, but John sent some bishops to free him from
custody before he had been questioned by torture. Some
time afterwards, a slave of Elpidus the presbyter, who
was an avowed enemy of the deacon, was seen running
as swiftly as possible towards the episcopal residence.
A passer-by endeavoured to stop him, in order to ascertain
the cause of so much haste; but, instead of answering
him, the slave plunged his poignard into him. Another
person, who happened to be standing by, and who cried
out at seeing the other wounded, was also wounded in a
similar way by the slave, as was likewise a third by-
stander. All the people in the neighbourhood, on seeing
what had occurred, shouted that the slave ought to be
arrested; and, as he tried to escape, they pursued him.
A man, who just then came out from the baths, strove to
CHAP. XXII.] BANISHMENT OF John.—A.D. 404. 409
stop him, and was so grievously wounded that he fell
down dead on the spot. At length, the people contrived
to encircle the slave; they seized him, and conveyed him
to the palace of the emperor, declaring that he had in-
tended to have assassinated John, and that the crime
ought to be visited with punishment. The magistrate
allayed the fury of the people by putting the delinquent
into custody, and by assuring them that justice should
have its course against him.
CHAPTE R XXII.
UNLAWEUL EXPULSION OF JOHN FROM HIS BISHOPRIC. CON-
FLAGRATION OF THE CHURCH BY FIRE FROM HEAVEN.
EXILE OF JOHN TO CUCUSUM.
FROM this period the most zealous of the people alter-
nately guarded the house of John by night and by day.
The bishops who had condemned him complained of this
conduct as a manifest violation of the laws of the church,
declared that they could answer for the justice of the
sentence that had been enacted against him, and asserted
that tranquillity would never be restored among the
people until he had been expelled the city. A messenger
having conveyed to him a mandate from the emperor
enjoining his immediate departure, John obeyed, and
escaped from the city, unnoticed by those who had been
appointed to guard him. He made no other remark
than that in being sent into banishment without a legal
trial, or any of the forms of the law, he was treated more
severely than murderers, sorcerers, and adulterers. He
was conveyed in a bark to Bithynia, and thence continued
his journey. Some of his enemies were apprehensive
lest the people, on hearing of his departure, should pur-
sue him, and bring him back by force; and therefore
commanded the gates of the church to be closed. When
the people who were in the public places of the city
heard of what had occurred, great confusion ensued; for
some ran to thc sea-shore, and others fled hither and
thither, and awaited in great terror the calamities con-
sequent on sedition, and the vengeance of the emperor.
410 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [Book VIII.
Those who were within the church pressed towards the
doors, and by thus obstructing the entrance, rendered it
impossible to force open the doors. While they were
endeavouring to effect an exit, and while efforts were
being made by another party without the edifice to break
open the doors by means of stones, the church was sud-
denly discovered to be on fire; the flames extended to
the grand council-chamber, which is situated towards
the South. The two parties mutually accused each other
of incendiarism; the enemies of John asserted that his
partizans had been guilty of the deed from revenge, on
account of the sentence that had been passed against
him by the council: these latter, on the other hand,
maintained that they had been calumniated, and that the
crime was perpetrated by their enemies, with the intention
of burning them in the church. In the meantime, while
the conflagration was spreading on all sides, the officers
who held John in custody conveyed him to Cucusum, a
city of Armenia, which the emperor had appointed as the
place of his detention. Other officers were commissioned
to arrest all bishops and priests who had favoured the
cause of John, and to imprison them in Chalcedonia.
Those citizens who were suspected of attachment to John
were sought out and cast into prison, and compelled to
proonunce anathema against him.
CHAPTER XXIII.
ARSACIUS APPOINTED TO SUPPLANT JOHN IN THE BISHOPRIC.
PERSEC UTION OF THE FOLLOWERS OF JOHN.
ARSACIUs, brother of Nectarius the predecessor of John,
was, not long afterwards, ordained over the church of
Constantinople. He was of a very mild disposition, and
possessed of great piety; but the reputation he had ac-
quired as a presbyter was diminished by the conduct of
some of the clergy to whom he delegated his power, and
who did what they pleased in his name, for their evil
deeds were imputed to him. Nothing, however, operated
so much to his disadvantage as the persecution that was
carried on against the followers of John. They refused
CHAP. XXIII.] PERSECUTION OF JOHN's ADHERENTs. 411
to hold communion, or even to join in prayer with him,
because the enemies of John were associated with him;
and as they persisted, as we have before stated, in meet-
ing together in the further parts of the city, he com-
plained to the emperor of their conduct. The tribune
was commanded to attack them with a body of soldiers,
and by means of clubs and stones he soon dispersed
them. The most distinguished among them in point of
rank, and those who were most zealous in their adherence
to John, were cast into prison. The soldiers, as is usual
on such occasions, went beyond their orders, and stripped
the women of their ornaments, their golden girdles, their
earrings, and their jewels. Although the whole city was
thus filled with trouble and lamentation, the affection of
the people for John still remained the same, and they
refrained from appearing in public. Many of them
absented themselves from the market-place and public
baths, while others, not considering themselves safe in
their own houses, fled the city.
Among the zealous men and excellent women who
adopted this latter measure was Nicarete, a lady of
Bithynia. She belonged to a very illustrious family,
and was celebrated on account of her perpetual virginity,
and her virtuous life. She excelled all women that we
have ever seen in modesty and circumspection, and
throughout her life she invariably preferred the service
of God to all earthly considerations. She bore with in-
vincible fortitude the calamities which befell her; she saw
herself unjustly despoiled of the greater part of her
ample patrimony without manifesting any indignation,
and managed the little that remained to her with so
much economy, that although she was advanced in age,
she contrived to supply all the wants of her household,
and to contribute largely to the relief of the poor. To
great charity she added so much ingenuity, that she was
able to compound medicines for the poor who were suf-
fering from sickness, and she frequently succeeded in
curing patients who had derived no benefit from the
skill of the physicians. To sum all in a few words, we
have never known a religious woman endowed with so
412 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
much modesty, gravity, and virtue: but her great quali-
fications were concealed by her humility. She would
not accept of the office of deaconess, nor of instructress
of the virgins consecrated to the service of the church,
because she accounted herself unworthy, although the
honour was pressed upon her by John.
After the popular insurrection had been quelled, the
prefect of the city appeared in public, as if to enquire
into the cause of the conflagration, and to bring the
perpetrators of the deed to punishment; but being a
Pagan, he exulted in the destruction of the church, and
ridiculed the calamity.
C H A P T E R XXIV.
EUTROPIUS THE READER, AND THE BLESSED OLYMPIADE, AND
THE PRESBYTER TIGRIS, ARE PERSECUTED ON ACCOUNT
OF THEIR ATTACHMENT TO JOHN.
EUTROPIUs, a reader, was required to name the per-
sons who had set fire to the church; but although he was
scourged severely, although his sides and cheeks were
torn with iron nails, and although lighted torches were
applied to the most sensitive parts of his body, no con-
fession could be extorted from him, notwithstanding
his youth and delicacy of constitution. After having
been subjected to these tortures, he was cast into a
dungeon, where he soon afterwards expired.
A dream of Sisinius concerning Eutropius seems
worthy of insertion in this history. Sisinius, the bishop
of the Novatians, saw in his sleep a man tall of stature
and handsome in person standing near the altar of the
church which the Novatians erected to the honour of
Stephen, the proto-martyr; the man complained of the
rarity of goodness among men, and said that he had
been searching throughout the city, and had found but
one who was good, and that one was Eutropius. Asto-
nished at what he had seen, Sisinius made known the
dream to the most faithful of the presbyters of his
church, and commanded him to seek Eutropius, wher-
ever he might be. The presbyter rightly conjectured
CHAP. XXIV.] PERSECUTION OF A DEACONEss. 413
that this Eutropius could be no other than he who had
been so barbarously tortured by the prefect, and went
from prison to prison in quest of him. At length he
found him, and made known to him the dream of the
bishop, and besought him with tears to pray for him.
Such are the details we possess concerning Eutropius.
Great fortitude was evinced in the midst of these
calamities by Olympiade, the deaconess. Being dragged
before the tribunal, and interrogated by the prefect as to
her motives in setting fire to the church, she replied,
“My past life ought to avert all suspicion from me, for
I have devoted my large property to the reconstruction
and embellishment of the temples of God.” The prefect
alleged that he was well acquainted with her past course
of life. “Then,” continued she, “you ought to appear
as our accuser instead of sitting as our judge.” As the
accusation against her was wholly unsubstantiated by
proofs, and as the prefect found that he had no ground
on which he could justly blame her, he adopted another
tone, and as if desirous of advising her, represented to
her and the other ladies, that it was absurd in them to
secede from communion with their bishop, and thereby
to entail trouble upon themselves. They all deferred to
the advice of the prefect with the exception of Olym-
piade, who said to him, “It is not just that, after having
been publicly calumniated, without having had anything
proved against me, I should be obliged to clear myself
of charges totally unconnected with the accusation in
Question. Let me rather take counsel concerning the
original accusation that has been preferred against me.
For even if you resort to unlawful compulsion, I will not
hold communion with those from whom I ought to
secede, nor consent to any thing that is contrary to the
principles of piety.” The prefect, finding that he could
not prevail upon her to hold communion with Arsacius,
dismissed her that she might consult the advocates. On
another occasion, however, he again sent for her and
condemned her to pay a heavy fine, for he imagined that
by this means she would be compelled to change her
mind. But she totally disregarded the loss of her pro-
414 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
perty, and quitted Constantinople for Cyzicus. Tigris, a
presbyter, was about the same period stripped of his
clothes, scourged on the back, bound hand and foot, and
stretched on the rack. He was a foreigner, and a
eunuch, but not by birth. He was originally a slave in
the house of a man of rank, and on account of his faith-
ful services had obtained his freedom. He was after-
wards ordained as presbyter, and was distinguished by
his moderation and meekness of disposition, and by his
charity towards strangers and the poor. Such were the
events which took place in Constantinople.
Siricius died after having governed the church of
Rome fifteen years. Anastasius held the same bishopric
three years, and then died, and was succeeded by Inno-
cent. Flavian, who refused to consent to the deposition
of John, was also dead, and Porphyry, being appointed
to succeed him in the bishopric of Antioch, signed the
condemnation of John. Many seceded on this account
from communion with him, and hence a cruel persecution
was commenced against them in Syria. Those who were
in power at court procured a law in favour of Arsacius,
Porphyry, and Theophilus bishop of Alexandria, by
which it was enacted that the orthodox were to assemble
together in churches only, and that if they seceded from
communion with the above mentioned bishops, they
were to be exiled.
CHAPTER XXV.
TROUBLES IN THE CHURCH FOLLOWED BY DISTURBANCES IN
THE STATE. STILICFIO THE GENERAL OF HONORIUS.
ABOUT this period the dissensions by which the church
was agitated were followed, as is frequently the case, by
commotions in the state. The Huns crossed the Danube
and devastated Thrace. A band of robbers from Isauria
ravaged cities and villages as far as Caria and Phoenicia.
Stilicho, the most powerful general of his time, com-
manded the troops of Honorius, and had under his sway
the flower of the Roman and of the barbarian soldiery;
conceiving feelings of enmity against the rulers who held
CHAP. XXVI.] EPISTLEs writTEN By INNOCENT. 415
office under Arcadius, he determined to sow the seeds of
dissension between the two empires. He caused Alaric,
the leader of the Goths, to be appointed by Honorius to
the command of the Roman troops, and sent him into
Illyria, whither also he despatched Jovian, the praetorian
prefect, and promised to join them there with military
forces, in order to add that province to the dominions of
Honorius. Alaric marched at the head of his troops
from the barbarous regions bordering on Dalmatia and
Pannonia to Epirus; and after passing some time in
waiting the arrival of Stilicho, returned to Italy. Stilicho
was prevented from fulfilling his agreement of joining
Alaric, by some letters which were transmitted to him
from Honorius.
CHAPTE R XXVI.
TWO EPISTLES FROM INNOCENT THE POPE OF ROME, OF
WHICH ONE WAS ADDRESSED TO JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, AND
THE OTHER TO THE CLERGY OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
INNOCENT, bishop of Rome, was extremely indignant
when apprised of the measures that had been adopted
against John, and condemned the whole proceedings.
He then turned his attention to the convocation of an
OEcumenical Council, and wrote to John and to the
clergy of Constantinople. Subjoined are the two letters,
precisely as I found them, translated from the Latin into
Greek.
“Innocent, to the beloved brother John.
“Although one conscious of his own innocence ought
to expect every blessing and to look for the mercy of
God, yet it seems well to us to write to you by Cyriacus,
the deacon, and to exhort you to patience, lest the con-
tumely cast upon you should have more power in sub-
duing your courage than the testimony of a good con-
science in encouraging you to hope. It is not requisite
to remind you, who are the teacher and pastor of so
great a people, that God often tries the best of men and
puts their patience to the severest tests; and that they
416 Eccl. ESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
are firmly supported under the most adverse occurrences
that can befall them, by the approving voice of con-
science. He who does not triumph over calamity by
patience, is necessarily regarded with suspicion, for
either his trust is not firm in God, or his own con-
science condemns him. A good man may be sorely tried,
but he cannot be overcome, for he is preserved and
guarded by the truths of Holy Scripture. The Holy
Bible, which we expound to the people, affords abundant
examples of the afflictions to which the saints have been
invariably subjected, and shows that they did not receive
their crowns till they had passed with patience through
the severest trials. Take courage, then, O honoured
brother, from the testimony of your conscience, for virtue
affords support in calamity. When you have been
purified by affliction you will enter into the haven of
peace, in the presence of Christ our Lord.”
“Innocent, the bishop, to the Presbyters, Deacons,
and all the Clergy, and to the people of Constan-
tinople under the episcopal guidance of John;
peace be unto you, beloved brethren.
“From the letters that you forwarded to me through
Germanus the presbyter, and Cassius the deacon, I have
been made acquainted with the scenes of evil that have
been enacted before your eyes, and have learnt how
great has been the trial of faith among you. In such
circumstances there is no remedy but patience. Our
God will shortly put an end to such sufferings, and
they will eventually tend to your profit. But I read
with much pleasure several remarks at the commence-
ment of your letter on the necessity of patience in afflic-
tion, and find that you have there anticipated the
consolation which we ought to have conveyed to you
in our letter. Our Lord gives to his servants the
power of procuring consolation for themselves in tri-
bulation, by the reflection that like afflictions were
endured by the saints. And even we ourselves derive
comfort from your letters, for we are not insensible to
your sufferings, but suffer with you. Who, indeed, can
CHAP. XXVI.] EPISTLE OF INNOCENT IN FAvour OF JOHN. 417
endure to witness the disorders introduced by those who
were bound to preserve peace and concord? But far
from maintaining peace, they expel guiltless bishops
from their own churches. John, our brother and fellow-
minister and your bishop, has been the first to suffer
this unjust treatment, without being allowed to speak in
his own defence; no accusation was brought against
him, nor was anything permitted to be advanced in his
justification. What proceedings could be more contrary
to reason than to give, without the formality of inves-
tigation or the shadow of justice, successors to living
priests? Those who by such iniquitous measures have
been appointed to their bishoprics, cannot surely be held
in estimation in the church. Our fathers never acted
in any way that could authorise so audacious a step, but
on the contrary, prohibited it by enacting that no one
should ever be ordained during the lifetime of a bishop
as his successor. It is not possible that by so illegal an
ordination a bishop can be excluded from his office, or
that the dignity can be transferred to the person un-
justly appointed to supplant him.
“With respect to the observance of canons, we declare
that those established at Nicaea are alone entitled to the
obedience of the Catholic Church. If any individuals
should attempt to introduce other canons, at variance
with those of Nicaea, and the compilation of heretics,
such canons ought to be rejected by the Catholic Church:
for it is not lawful to add the inventions of heretics to
the catholic canons. Attempts are always being made
by adversaries to subvert the objects aimed at by the
fathers of Nicaea. We say, then, that the canons we
have censured, are not only to be disregarded, but to be
condemned with the dogmas of heretics and schismatics,
even as they have been already condemned at the Coun-
cil of Sardica by the bishops who were our predecessors.
For it would be better, O honoured brethren, to con-
demn laudable enactments, than to establish any decrees
that are contrary to the canons.
“What measures ought we to adopt under these adverse
circumstances? It is necessary, as we have before said,
27
4.18 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK VIII.
to convene a council. There are no other means of
arresting the fury of the tempest. Until a council can
be assembled, it will be well to await the manifestation
of the will of the Great God and of our Lord Christ.
We shall thus behold the cessation of all the woes which
have been excited by the malice of the devil, and which
have served as trials for our faith. If we remain firm
in the faith, there is nothing that we ought not to expect
from our Lord. We are constantly watching for the
opportunity of convening an OEcumenical Council,
whereby, in accordance with the will of God, an end
may be put to trouble and dissension. Let us, then,
wait till this can be accomplished; and being supported
by patience, let us trust in the goodness of God for the
restoration of order. r
“We had previously been made acquainted with all
that you have related concerning your trials, by our
fellow bishops, Demetrius, Cyriacus, Eleusius, and Pal-
ladius, who visited Rome at different periods; and while
they were with us, we carefully enquired into all the
details of the case.”
CHA PTER XXVII.
IDEATH OF THE EMPRESS EU DOXIA. DEATH OF ARSACIUS.
HISTORY OF ATTICUS, THE PATRIARCH.
FROM these two letters of Innocent, the opinion which
he entertained of John may readily be inferred.
About the same period some hailstones of extraor-
dinary magnitude fell at Constantinople and in the
suburbs of the city. Four days afterwards, the wife of
the emperor died. . These occurrences were by many
regarded as indications of Divine wrath on account of
the persecution that had been carried on against John.
For Cyrinus, bishop of Chalcedonia, one of his principal
calumniators, had not long previously terminated his
life in the midst of great bodily agony arising from the
accident that had occurred to his foot, and the conse-
quent necessary amputation of the leg. Arsacius, too,
died after he had presided but a very short period over
CHAP. XXVII.] ELEVATION OF ATTICUs. – A.D. 405. 419
the church of Constantinople. Many candidates were
proposed as successors to his bishopric; and four months
after his decease, Atticus, a presbyter of the clergy of
Constantinople, and one of the enemies of John, was
ordained over the church. He was a native of Sebaste
in Armenia. He had been instructed from his youth in
the principle of monastic philosophy by some monks of
the Macedonian sect. These monks, who then enjoyed
a very high reputation at Sebaste, had been the disciples
of Eustathius, to whom allusion has been already made
as an exemplary bishop and a president of monastic
establishments. When Atticus attained the age of man-
hood, he embraced the tenets of the Catholic Church.
He possessed more natural gifts than literary attain-
ments, evinced considerable aptitude for the management
of affairs, and was as skilful in carrying on intrigues as
in evading the machinations of others. He was of a very
engaging disposition, and was generally beloved. The
discourses which he delivered in the church did not rise
above mediocrity, and although not totally devoid of
erudition, were not accounted by his auditors of suffi-
cient value to be preserved in writing. When he had
leisure and opportunity, he studied the writings of an-
cient authors; but he made little display of acquaintance
with their works in conversation or disputation, and was
not, therefore, considered a learned man. It is said that
he manifested much zeal in behalf of those who enter-
tained the same sentiments as himself, and that he
rendered himself formidable to his opponents. But
while he inspired them with dread, he never failed to
treat them with lenity. Such is the information which
we have gathered concerning this bishop.
John acquired great celebrity even in the place of his
exile. He possessed ample pecuniary resources, and
being besides liberally supplied with money by Olym-
piade the deaconess, and others, he purchased the liberty
of many captives in Isauria, and restored them to their
families. He also administered to the necessities of
many who were in want; and by his kind words com-
forted those who did not stand in need of money. He
420 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK VIII.
was hence exceedingly beloved, not only in Armenia
where he dwelt, but by all the people of the neighbour-
ing countries, and the inhabitants of Antioch and of the
other parts of Syria, and of Cilicia, frequently sought his
Society. -
CHAPTE R XXVIII.
EFFORTS OF INNOCENT, BISHOP OF ROME, TO CONVENE A
COUNCIL AND PROCURE THE RECALL OF JOHN. DEATH OF
JOHN CEIRY SOSTOM.
INNOCENT, bishop of Rome, was very anxious, as ap-
pears by his letters, to procure the recall of John. He
sent five bishops and two presbyters with the bishops
who had not returned from the East, to the emperors
Honorius and Arcadius to request the convocation of a
council, and solicit them to name the time and place.
The enemies of John at Constantinople brought the
embassy into disrepute by their calumnies, and caused
the ambassadors to be ignominiously dismissed under
the pretext that indignity had been offered to the em-
peror of the East. John was at the same time condemned
by an imperial edict to a remoter place of banishment,
and soldiers were sent to conduct him to Pityuntum, the
spot appointed by the emperor. It is said that during
this journey, Basilicus, the martyr, appeared to him at
Comana in Armenia, and apprised him of the time of
his death. Being attacked with pain in the head, and
being unable to bear the heat of the sun, he could not
prosecute his journey, but closed his life in this town.
END OF BOOK WIII.
BOOK IX. —CHAPTER I.
DEATH OF ARCADIUS. ACCESSION OF THEODOSIUS THE
YOUNGER. PIETY, VIRTUE, VIRGINITY, AND GOOD WORKS
OF THE PRINCESS PULCHERIA.
SUCH are the details that have been transmitted con-
cerning John. Not long after his death, and three years
after the elevation of Atticus to the bishopric of Con-
stantinople, and during the consulate of Bassus and
Philip, Arcadius died. He left Theodosius his son, who
was still an infant, as his successor to the empire. He
also left three daughters of tender age, named Pulcheria,
Arcadia, and Marina.
It appears to me that it was the design of God to
show by the events of this period that piety alone suf-
fices for the safety and prosperity of princes; and that
without piety, armies, a powerful empire and political
resources, are of no avail. He who alone regulates the
affairs of the universe, foresaw that the young emperor
would be distinguished by his piety, and therefore caused
his education to be conducted by his sister Pulcheria.
This princess was but fifteen years of age, but was
endowed with astonishing wisdom and prudence. She
devoted her virginity to God, and instructed her sisters
to do likewise. To avoid all cause of scandal and
opportunity for intrigue, she permitted no man to enter
her palace. In confirmation of her resolution, she took
God, the priests, and all the subjects of the Roman
empire as witnesses of her self-dedication, and presented
a table, elaborately adorned with gold and precious
stones, to the church of Constantinople, in token of the
life of virginity to which she and her sisters had devoted
themselves; and a suitable inscription was carved on the
table. She superintended with extraordinary wisdom
the transactions of the Roman government; concerted
her measures well, and allowed no delay to take place in
422 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IX.
their execution. She was able to write and to converse
with perfect accuracy in the Greek and Latin languages.
She caused all affairs to be transacted in the name of
her brother, and devoted great attention to furnishing
him with such information as was suitable to his years.
She employed masters to instruct him in horsemanship
and the use of arms, and in literature and science. But
he was taught how to maintain a deportment befitting an
emperor by his sister; she showed him how to gather
up his robes, and how to take a seat; and taught him to
refrain from ill-timed laughter, to assume a mild or a
formidable aspect as the occasion might require, and to
enquire with urbanity into the cases of those who came
before him with petitions. But she chiefly strove to imbue
his mind with piety and with the love of prayer; she
taught him to frequent the church regularly, and to be
zealous in contributing to the embellishment of houses of
prayer; and she inspired him with reverence for priests and
other good men, and for those who, in accordance with the
law of Christianity, had devoted themselvestophilosophical
asceticism. Many troubles which would have been excited
in the church at this period by the influence of erroneous
opinions, were averted by her zeal and vigilance. It is
mainly owing to her prudence, as we shall have occasion
to show in the after part of this history, that we are at
the present time preserved from new heresies. It would
take a long time to describe the magnificent houses of
prayer which she erected, the hospitals for the relief of
the poor and of strangers which she founded, and the
monastical establishments which she endowed. If any
one should doubt my statements, and desire to enquire
into their truth, he will discover that I have been guilty
neither of falsehood nor of partiality, if he will examine
the registers kept by the treasurers of the princess. If
these proofs suffice not to convince him of the truth, let
him believe the testimony vouchsafed by God himself;
for he heard and answered her prayers, and on many
occasions bestowed on her the knowledge of future events.
Such indications of Divine love are not conferred upon
men unless they have merited them by their good works.
CHAP. II.] PRESERVATION OF THE RELICs of MARTYRs. 423
But I must pass over in silence the manifestations of
Divine favour that were granted to the sister of the
emperor, lest I should be condemned as a mere panegyrist.
One incident relating to her is, however, so connected
with my history, that I shall now proceed to detail it,
although it did not occur till a period subsequent to that
which we are now reviewing.
C HAPTE R II.
DISCOVERY OF THE REMAINS OF FORTY HOLY MARTYRS.
A WOMAN, by name Eusebia, who was a deaconess of
the Macedonian sect, had a house and garden without
the walls of Constantinople, in which she kept the holy
remains of forty soldiers, who had suffered martyrdom
under Licinius, at Sebaste, in Armenia. When she felt
death approaching, she bequeathed the aforesaid property
to some orthodox monks, and bound them by oath to
place the relics of the martyrs in her coffin, above her
head, without apprising any one of the circumstance.
The monks fulfilled their promise; but in order to render
due honour to the martyrs, and at the same time to keep
the affair a secret, they formed a subterranean house of
prayer beneath the spot where they had interred Eusebia;
above this chapel they erected a small edifice, with the
flooring so contrived as to furnish a secret means of access
to the relics of the martyrs, which were preserved beneath.
Soon after, Caesar, a man of high rank, who had formerly
been consul and prefect, lost his wife, and caused her to
be interred near the tomb of Eusebia; for the two ladies
had been knit together by the most tender friendship,
and had been of one mind on all doctrinal and religious
subjects. Caesar was hence induced to purchase the whole
of the adjacent spot of ground; for he desired to erect a
sepulchre for himself close to that of his wife. After
having disposed of the property, the monks went else-
where, without divulging the concealment of the holy
relics. Caesar ordered the building to be demolished, and
the ground to be cleared, in order to erect a magnificent
temple in honour of Thrysus the martyr on the spot.
424 E CCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IX.
It appears probable that God permitted the demolition of
this building, in order that the discovery of the relics
of the martyrs, after so long a period of concealment,
might be regarded as a marvellous and auspicious event,
and as a proof of the Divine favour towards the dis-
coverer. The discoverer was, in fact, no other than
Pulcheria, the sister of the emperor. Thrysus, the
martyr, appeared to her three times, and revealed to her
that the relics of the martyrs were concealed beneath the
earth, and commanded that they should be deposited near
his tomb, in order that the same honour might be rendered
to them that was rendered to him. The forty martyrs
themselves also appeared to her, arrayed in shining
robes, and made the same communication to her. But
the occurrence seemed too marvellous to be credible;
for the aged of the clergy of that region, after having
prosecuted numerous enquiries, had always failed in
gathering any information concerning the relics of the
martyrs. At length, when all further researches had
been abandoned as futile, a certain presbyter, who had
formerly been a servant in the household of Caesar, was
reminded by God, that the locality in question had once
been inhabited by monks: he therefore went to the
clergy of the Macedonian sect to enquire concerning
them. All the monks were dead, with the exception of
one, who seemed to have been preserved in life for the
express purpose of pointing out the spot where the relics
of the holy martyrs were concealed. Polychronius
questioned him closely on the subject, and finding that,
on account of the promise made to Eusebia, his answers
were reserved and unintelligible, he made known to him
the revelation that had been vouchsafed to Pulcheria, and
her consequent anxiety for further information. The
monk then confessed that he remembered that in his
youth, when he was first entering on the course of
monastic discipline under the instructions of the superiors
of the monastery, the relics of the martyrs had been
deposited near the tomb of Eusebia; but that the sub-
sequent lapse of time, and the changes which had been
carried on in that locality, deprived him of the power of
CHAP. II.] RELICS OF FORTY MARTYRS.—A.D. 408. 425
recalling to his recollection whether the relics had been
deposited beneath the church, or in any other spot. “I
remember,” replied Polychronius, “that I was present at
the interment of the wife of Caesar, and as well as I can
judge from the relative situation of the high road, I infer
that she must have been buried beneath the pulpit, where
the desk of the readers now stands.” “Then,” exclaimed
the monk, “it must be near the remains of Caesar's wife
that the tomb of Eusebia must be sought; for the two
ladies lived on terms of the closest friendship and
intimacy, and mutually agreed to be interred beside each
other.” When it was intimated to the princess that the
holy relics were deposited under ground, she commanded
the work of disinterment to be forthwith commenced.
On removing the earth near the pulpit of the church, the
coffin of Caesar's wife was discovered according to the
conjecture of Polychronius. At a short distance they
found a pavement of bricks placed transversely, and a
marble tomb of equal dimensions, in which was the coffin
of Eusebia; and close by was an elegant oratory con-
structed of white and purple marble. The upper part
of the tomb was in the form of an altar, and at the
summit, where the relics were deposited, a small orifice
was visible. A man attached to the palace, who hap-
pened to be standing by, thrust a cane which he held in
his hand into the orifice, and on withdrawing the cane,
the most delightful fragrance was diffused around, which
inspired the workmen and bystanders with fresh confi-
dence. When the coffin was opened, the remains of
Eusebia were found, and near her head was discovered
the coffer, firmly bound on each side with bars of iron
and lead. A small aperture at the top of the coffer
clearly revealed the fact of the relics being concealed
within. As soon as the discovery was announced, the
princess and the bishop ran to the church of the martyr,
and sent for Smiths to unfasten the iron bars and open
the coffer. A great many perfumes were found within,
and among the perfumes were two silver caskets, con-
taining the holy relics. The princess returned thanks
to God for the discovery of the relics, and for having
426 E C C L E S I ASTICAL HISTO R. Y. [BOOK IX.
accounted her worthy of being the discoverer. She then
caused the relics to be deposited in a most splendid vase,
and placed with the utmost pomp and ceremony beside
the remains of St. Thrysus. I myself was present at this
gorgeous spectacle; and others who were present can
also bear testimony to the grandeur of the festival, for
it occurred at no great distance of time, but during
the period that Proclus governed the church of Con-
stantinople.
CHA PTER III.
THE VIRTUES AND PIETY OF PULCHERIA, AND OF HER
SISTERS.
IT is said that God, on many occasions, revealed future
events to Pulcheria, and conferred on her, and on her
sisters, many special indications of favour. They all
pursue the same mode of life; they are sedulous in their
attendance in the house of prayer, and evince great
charity towards strangers and the poor. These sisters
generally take their meals and walks together, and pass
their days and their nights together in singing the
praises of God. Like other exemplary women, they
employ themselves in weaving, and in similar occupa-
tions. Although of royal birth, and educated in palaces,
they avoid idleness, as unworthy of the life of virginity
to which they have devoted themselves. The favour of
God has been, for their sakes, manifested towards their
family, and the state; and the emperor, in proportion as
he has grown in years, has increased in power, while all
seditions and wars undertaken against him have spon-
taneously come to nought.
CHAPTER IV.
TRUCE WITH PERSIA. HONORIUS AND STILICHO. TRANS-
ACTIONS IN ROME AND DALMATIA.
ALTHOUGH the Persians had prepared to take up arms,
they were induced to conclude a truce with the Romans
for a hundred years.
CHAP. Iv.] DEATH OF STILICHO.—A.D. 408. 427
Stilicho, the general of the troops of Honorius, was
suspected of having conspired to raise his son Eucherius
to the throne of the Eastern empire, and was, in conse-
quence, slain by the army at Ravenna. He had, at a
former period, conceived bitter feelings of enmity against
the chiefs of the troops of Arcadius, and was hence im-
pelled to sow the seeds of division between the two
empires. He caused Alaric, the leader of the Goths, to
be invested with the command of the troops of Honorius,
and advised him to seize Illyria; and, at the same time,
he appointed Jovian prefect of that province, and sent
him thither; promising to join him shortly with some
Roman legions, and to take possession of Illyria in the
name of Honorius. Alaric quitted the barbarous region
bordering on Dalmatia and Pannonia where he had been
dwelling, and marched at the head of his soldiery to
Epirus: after remaining for some time in that country,
he retreated to Italy, without having accomplished any-
thing. After the death of Arcadius, Honorius projected
a journey to Constantinople, for the purpose of appoint-
ing ministers in whose fidelity confidence might be
placed, and who might be trusted to watch over the
security, and maintain the power, of his nephew: but,
when Honorius was on the very point of setting out on
this journey, Stilicho dissuaded him from his design,
by proving to him that his presence was requisite in
Italy, to repress the schemes of Constantine, who sought
to possess himself of the sovereign power at Arles.
Stilicho then took one of the Roman standards, obtained
some letters from the emperor, with which he set out, at
the head of four legions, to carry on war in the East:
but, a report having been spread that he had conspired
against the emperor, and had formed a scheme, in con-
junction with those in power, to raise his son to the
throne, the troops rose up in sedition, and slew the prae-
torian prefect of Italy and of Gaul, the military
commanders, and the chief officers of the court. Stilicho
himself was slain by the soldiers at Ravenna. He had
attained almost absolute power; and all men, so to speak,
whether Romans or Barbarians, were under his control.
428 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IX.
Thus perished Stilicho, on a suspicion of having con-
spired against the emperors. Eucherius, his son, was
slain with him.
CHAPTE R. W.
NUMEROUS NATIONS TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST THE ROMANs;
OF WHOM SOME ARE, THROUGH THE PROVIDENCE OF
GOD, DISPERSED; AND OTHERS BROUGHT TO TERMS OF
AMITY.
IT happened about the same time that the Huns, who
were encamped in Thrace, suddenly took to flight,
although they had neither been attacked nor pursued.
Uldis, the leader of some barbarous tribes who dwell
near the Danube, crossed that river at the head of a large
army, and encamped on the frontiers of Thrace. He
took possession of a city of Moesia called the Camp of Mars,
and thence made incursions in Thrace, and insolently
refused to enter into terms of alliance with the Romans.
The prefect of the Thracian cohorts made propositions of
peace to him; but he replied by pointing to the sun, and
declaring that it would be easy to him, if he desired to
do so, to subjugate every region of the earth that is en-
lightened by that luminary. But, while Uldis was
uttering menaces of this description, and even threaten-
ing to impose a tribute on the Romans, God gave
manifest proofs of special favour towards the emperor;
for, shortly afterwards, the immediate attendants and
chief officers of Uldis were discussing the Roman form of
government, the philanthropy of the emperor, and his
promptitude in rewarding merit, when they suddenly
formed the resolution of ranging themselves under the
Roman banners. Finding himself thus abandoned,
Uldis escaped with difficulty to the opposite bank of the
river. Many of his troops were slain; and, among others,
a barbarous tribe called the Sciri: this tribe had pre-
viously been very strong, in point of numbers; but,
being pursued and overtaken when vainly endeavouring
to effect an escape, many of its members were cut to
pieces, and others were taken prisoners, and conveyed in
CHAP. VI.] ALARIC, KING OF THE GOTHS.—A.D. 409. 429
chains to Constantinople. The governors were of opinion
that, if allowed to remain together, they would probably
combine, and create a sedition: some of them were,
therefore, sold at a low price, while others were given
away as slaves, upon condition that they should never be
permitted to return to Constantinople, or to Europe, but
be conveyed across the sea. I have seen several of these
slaves employed in cultivating the earth in Bithynia,
near Mount Olympus.
CHAPTER VI.
ALARIC, KING OF THE GOTHS. SIEGE OF ROME.
THUS was the Eastern empire preserved from the evils
of war, and governed with consummate prudence, con-
trary to all expectations, for the emperor was still in ex-
treme youth. In the mean time, the Western empire fell
a prey to disorders and to the domination of tyrants.
After the death of Stilicho, Alaric, king of the Goths,
sent an embassy to Honorius to treat of peace; but as
his terms were rejected, he laid siege to Rome; and by
posting a large army of barbarians on the banks of the
Tiber, he effectually prevented the transmission of all
provisions from the port to the city. After the siege
had lasted some time, and fearful ravages had been made
in the city by famine and pestilence, many of the slaves,
and most of the foreigners within the walls, went forth to
Alaric. Those among the senators who still adhered to
Pagan superstition, proposed to offer sacrifice in the
Capitol and the other temples; and certain Etrurians,
who were summoned by the prefect of the city, promised
to launch thunder and lightning, and disperse the bar-
barians: they boasted of having performed a similar
exploit at Narni, a city of Tuscany. Events, however,
proved the futility of these propositions. All persons of
sense were aware that the calamities which this siege en-
tailed upon the Romans were indications of Divine wrath,
sent to chastise them for their luxury, their debauchery,
and their manifold acts of injustice towards each other,
430 E C C L E SIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IX.
as well as towards strangers. It is said that, when
Alaric was marching against Rome, a monk of Italy
besought him to spare the city, and not to become the
author of so many calamities. Alaric, in reply, assured
him that he did not feel disposed to commence the siege,
but found himself compelled by some hidden and irre-
sistible impulse to accomplish the enterprize. While he
was besieging the city, the inhabitants presented many
gifts to him, as inducements to abandon the undertaking,
and promised to persuade the emperor to enter into a
treaty of peace with him.
CHAPTER VII.
DEPUTATION SENT TO ALARIC BY INNOCENT, BISHOP OF
ROME. JOVIUS, PREFECT OF ITALY. EMBASSY DESPATCHED
TO THE EMPEROR.
ALTHOUGH ambassadors were despatched to treat of
peace, the enemies of Alaric at the court of the emperor
sedulously guarded against the conclusion of any treaty
with him. But as an embassy was sent to him by Innocent,
bishop of Rome, and as an imperial edict reached him about
the same time, summoning him to appear before the em-
peror, Alaric repaired to the city of Ariminum, which is
two hundred and ten stadia distant from Ravenna. He
encamped beyond the walls of the city, and Jovius, the
praetorian prefect of Italy, held a conference with him,
and conveyed his demands to the emperor, one of
which was, that he might be appointed to the generalship
of the cavalry and infantry. The emperor gave full
power to Jovius to grant Alaric as much money and
corn as he might desire, but firmly refused to confer the
military dignity to which he aspired. Jovius waited in
the camp of Alaric the return of the messenger who had
been despatched to the emperor, and had the imprudence
to cause the imperial reply to be read aloud in the pre-
sence of all the barbarians. On finding that the appoint-
ment he had demanded was denied him, Alaric ordered
the trumpets to be sounded, and marched towards Rome.
Jovius, apprehensive of being suspected of siding with
CHAP. VIII.] USURPATION OF ATTALUs.—A.D. 409. 431
Alaric, committed a still greater act of imprudence by
taking an oath on the safety of the emperor, and com-
pelling the principal officers to swear that they would
never consent to any terms of peace with Alaric. The
barbarian chief, however, soon after changed his mind,
and sent word he did not desire any post of rank or
dignity, but was willing to act as an ally of the Romans,
provided that they would grant him a certain quantity
of corn, and some territory of secondary importance to
them, in which he might establish himself.
CHAPTER VIII.
REBELLION OF ATTALUS; AND HOW HE EVENTUALLY CRAVES
FORGIVENESS AT THE FEET OF HONORIUS.
AFTER having sent some bishops as ambassadors on
two different occasions to treat on this subject, but with-
out effect, Alaric returned to Rome, raised the siege,
took possession of the port, and compelled the inhabitants
of Rome to recognise Attalus, then prefect of the city,
as their sovereign. The other offices of rank were then
distributed; Alaric was appointed general of the cavalry
and infantry, and Ataulphus, his brother-in-law, was
raised to the command of the force called the domestic
cavalry. Attalus assembled the Senators, and addressed
them in a long and elaborate discourse, in which he pro-
mised to restore the ancient honours of the senate, and
also to bring Egypt and the other Eastern provinces
under the sway of Italy. Such was the vanity of a man
who was not destined to bear the name of sovereign during
the space of a single year. He was deceived by the
representations of some diviners, who assured him that he
would be able to conquer Africa without striking a
single blow: under the influence of this false impression
he neglected the advice of Alaric, who urged him to
send a moderate supply of troops to Carthage to slay the
officers of Honorius, in case of their attempting any
resistance. He also refused to follow the counsels of
John whom he had raised to military command, and
who advised him to entrust Constans, on his proposed
432 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L. HISTORY. [BOOK IX.
departure for Africa, with an edict drawn up in the
name of Honorius, by which Heraclean might be dis-
possessed of the command of the troops in Africa. Had
this artifice been adopted, it would probably have proved
successful; for the designs of Attalus were unknown in
Africa. But as soon as Constans had set sail for Car-
thage, Attalus, who laboured under the delusive idea
that Africa would, according to the assurances of the
diviners, soon acknowledge his authority, marched at
the head of his army towards Ravenna. When it was
announced that Attalus had reached Ariminum with an
army, composed partly of Roman and partly of barba-
rian troops, Honorius wrote to him to acknowledge him
as emperor, and deputed the highest officers of his court
to wait upon him, and offer him a share in the govern-
ment. Attalus, however, refused to share the imperial
power with another, and sent word that Honorius might
choose an island or spot of ground in any region for his
residence, and that he might retain in this retirement
the outward honours of sovereignty. The affairs of
Honorius were reduced to so critical a condition, that
ships were kept in readiness to convey him to the Eastern
court that he might implore aid of his nephew, when an
army of four thousand men arrived unexpectedly during
the night at Ravenna from the East. Honorius caused
the walls of the city to be guarded by this reinforcement,
for he distrusted the troops of Italy, and believed them
to be inclined to treachery.
In the meantime, Heraclean had put Constans to
death, and had ranged troops along the shores and ports
of Africa to put a stop to all traffic with Rome. The
Romans were in consequence exposed to the horrors of
famine, and in this extremity they sent to request assist-
ance of Attalus. Being at a loss what measures to adopt,
he returned to Rome to consult the senate. The famine
was so grievous that chesnuts were used to supply the
place of corn, and many persons were suspected of
having partaken of human flesh. Alaric advised that
five hundred barbarians should be sent into Africa
against Heraclean; but the senators and Attalus objected
CHAP. IX.] DEPOSITION OF ATTALUs.—A.D. 409. 433
to entrust an expedition of this nature to them. It then
became evident to Alaric that God disapproved of At-
talus; and finding that it would be futile to make any
further attempts to maintain his power, he entered into
negociations with Honorius to deprive him of his
sovereignty. All the parties concerned assembled toge-
ther without the walls of the city, and Attalus threw
aside the symbols of imperial power. His officers stripped
themselves of their girdles, and they all joined together
in imploring forgiveness of Honorius for the past. He
granted them permission to retain their rank and
honours. Attalus retired with his son to Alaric, for he
thought his life would not be in safety if he continued to
dwell among the Romans.
CHAPTER IX.
PRESUMPTUOUS EXPECTATIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE
PAGANS AND ARIANS CONCERNING ATTALUS. ALARIC, BY
A STRATAGEM, OBTAINS POSSESSION OF ROME.
THE failure which had attended the designs of Attalus
was a source of deep displeasure to the Pagans and the
Christians of the Arian denomination. The Pagans had
inferred from the known predilections and early educa-
tion of Attalus, that he would openly maintain their
superstitions, and restore their ancient temples, their
festivals, and their altars. The Arians imagined that as
soon as he found himself firmly established in the pos-
session of power, Attalus would reinstate them in the
supremacy over the churches which they had enjoyed
during the reigns of Constantius and of Valens; for he
had been baptised by Sigesarius, bishop of the Goths, to
the great satisfaction of Alaric and the Arian party.
Soon after, Alaric stationed himself among the Alps,
at a distance of about sixty stadia from Ravenna, and
held a conference with the emperor concerning the con-
clusion of a peace. Saros, a barbarian by birth, ima-
gining that any treaty formed between the Romans and
the Goths would militate against his own private in-
terests, rushed upon Alaric with an army only three
28
434 E C C L E SIA STIC A. L HISTORY. [BOOK IX.
hundred strong, but composed of chosen and valiant
men. Many of the Goths fell in this encounter, and
impelled by rage and terror, Alaric retraced his steps,
and returned to Rome, and the city was betrayed into
his hands. He permitted his followers to seize the wealth
of the citizens, and to plunder the houses; but from
respect towards the Apostle Peter, he prohibited the
desecration of the large and beautiful church erected
around his tomb. This prohibition was the only cause
which prevented the entire demolition of Rome; for
many had taken refuge within the church, and being
permitted to escape with their lives, they undertook to
rebuild their city.
CHAPTER X.
VIRTUE OF A ROMAN LADY.
IT is obvious that the capture of so great a city as
Rome must have been attended with many remarkable
circumstances; I shall therefore now proceed to the nar-
ration of such events as seem worthy of a place in eccle-
siastical history. I shall recount a pious action performed
by a barbarian, and record the fortitude and chastity of
a Roman lady. The barbarian and the lady were both
Christians, but belonged to different sects, the former
being an Arian, and the latter a zealous follower of the
Nicene doctrines. The lady was very beautiful, and the
barbarian above mentioned, who was a young man and
a soldier in the army of Alaric, was dazzled by her ex-
treme loveliness, and attempted to offer her violence.
As she, however, exerted all her strength, and resisted
his designs, he drew his sword and threatened to slay
her: but he was restrained by the passion which he
entertained towards her, and merely inflicted a slight
wound on her neck. The blood flowed in abundance, and
the lady meekly waited to receive her death-blow, for
she preferred death to the violation of her chastity and
duty towards her husband. The barbarian redoubled
his efforts, but finding that they availed nothing, he was
at length struck with wonder and admiration at her
CHAP. XI.] DEFEAT OF TYRANTS IN THE WEST. 435
chastity; he conducted her to the church of Peter the
Apostle, and gave six pieces of gold to the officers who
were guarding the church, commanding them to take
care of her, and to restore her in safety to her husband.
CHA PTE R XI.
MANY INSTANCES OF REBELLION AND USURPATION OCCUR
IN THE WEST. THE FAVOUR OF GOD MANIFESTED TOWARDS
HONORIUS BY THE DEFEAT AND DEATH OF THE TYRANTS.
DURING this period, many persons rebelled against
Honorius, and seized the imperial authority in the West;
but some of these tyrants were permitted to destroy each
other, while others most unexpectedly fell under the
power of the Roman arms, and in every case it was evi-
denced that the Divine favour rested in an especial
manner upon Honorius. The soldiers in Britain were
the first to rise up in sedition, and they proclaimed
Mark as tyrant; afterwards, however, they slew Mark,
and proclaimed Gratian. Within four months subse-
quently they killed Gratian and elected Constantine in
his place, imagining that, on account of his name, he
would be able to reduce the empire under his authority;
and for no other reason than this, several other persons
of the same name were advanced to power. Constan-
tine passed over from Britain to Boulogne, a maritime
city of Gaul, and after inducing all the troops in Gaul
and Aquitaine to espouse his cause, he reduced to obe-
dience the inhabitants of the regions extending to the
mountains which divide Italy from Gaul, and which the
Romans have named the Cottian Alps. He then sent
his eldest son Constans, whom he had already nominated
Caesar, and whom he afterwards proclaimed emperor,
into Spain. Constans, after making himself master of
this province, and appointing governors over it, com-
manded that Didymus and Verinian, relatives of Hono-
rius, should be loaded with chains and brought before
him. Didymus and Werinian had long been on un-
friendly terms, but a reconciliation was effected between
them when they found themselvés menaced by the same
436 E C C L E S I A ST I C A L H IS TO R Y. | BOOK IX.
danger. They combined their forces, which consisted
chiefly of armed peasants and slaves, committed some
acts of hostility in Lusitania, attacked the troops that
had been sent against them by the tyrant, and slew a
great number of them.
CHAPTER XII.
THEODOSIOLUS AND LAGODIUS. THE VANDALS AND SUEVI.
IDEATH OF AL ANICU.S. RETREAT OF THE TYRANTS CON-
STANTINE AND CONSTANS.
THE troops of Constans were shortly afterwards
strengthened by reinforcements, and Didymus and
Werinian, with their wives, were taken prisoners, and
were eventually put to death. Their brothers Theo-
dosiolus and Lagodius fled the country, and sought
refuge elsewhere: the former escaped to Italy, and put
himself under the protection of the emperor Honorius;
the latter fled to the East, and sought safety at the court
of Theodosius. After these transactions, Constans re-
turned to his father; but, on leaving the country, he
established forts along the frontiers, which he garrisoned
with his own soldiers; for he feared to adopt the ancient
custom of entrusting the Spaniards with the defence of
their native land. This precaution was probably the
cause of the ruin of the country; for, when Constantine
was deprived of his power, the Vandals, Suevi, and
Alans seized the mountain passes, took possession of
many forts and cities in Spain and Gaul, and arrested
the chief officers of the tyrant.
In the meantime Constantine, who was still confident
of ultimate success, caused his son Constans to be pro-
claimed emperor, and determined to possess himself of
Italy. With this view, he crossed the Cottian Alps, and
entered Verona, a city of Liguria. He was on the point
of crossing the Po, when he was compelled to retrace his
steps, by the intelligence which was then conveyed to him
of the death of Alanicus. This Alanicus was the com-
mander of the troops of Honorius, and being suspected of
conspiring to place the Western empire under the domin-
CHAP. XIII.] REVOLT OF GERONTIUs,—A.D. 410. 437
ation of Constantine, he was slain when returning from
a procession, in which, according to custom, it was his
office to march in advance of the emperor. Immediately
after this occurrence, the emperor descended from horse-
back, and publicly returned thanks to God for having
delivered him from one who had openly conspired against
him. Constantine fled to Arles, and Constans his son
hastened from Spain, and sought refuge in the same
city.
On the decline of the power of Constantine, the Wan-
dals, Suevi, and Alans took forcible possession of the rich
and fertile region of the Pyrenees. They easily dis-
possessed the soldiers whom Constans had left to guard
the frontier, and effected an entrance into Spain.
CHAPTE R XIII.
CONCERNING GERONTIUS, MAXIMUS, AND THE TROOPS OF
HONORIUS. DEFEAT OF GERONTIUS; HE AND HIS WIFE
PERISH TOGETHER.
GERONTIUS, from being the most efficient of the
generals of Constantine, became his enemy; and believ-
ing that Maximus, his intimate friend, was well qualified
to hold the reins of power, he invested him with the im-
perial purple, and conveyed him to Tarracon. Gerontius
then marched against Constantine, and put Constans to
death at Vienna.
As soon as Constantine heard of the usurp-
ation of Maximus, he sent one of his generals,
named Edovicus, beyond the Rhine, to levy an army of
Franks and Alemanni; and he sent his son Constans to
guard Vienna and the neighbouring towns. Gerontius
then laid siege to Arles; but some troops of Honorius
marched to its relief, under the command of Constantius,
the father of that Valentinian who subsequently became
emperor of Rome. Gerontius retreated precipitately
with a few soldiers; for the greater number of his troops
deserted to the army of Constantius. The Spanish sol-
diery conceived an utter contempt against Gerontius, on
438 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IX.
account of his cowardly retreat, and took counsel how to
slay him. They attacked his house during the night;
but he, with one Alanus his friend, and a few slaves,
ascended to the top of the house, and did such execution
with their arrows, that no less than three hundred of the
soldiers fell. When the stock of arrows was exhausted,
the slaves made their escape from the house; and
Gerontius might easily have followed their example, had
not his affection for Nunechia, his wife, detained him by
her side. At day-break the next day, the soldiers
deprived him of all hope of saving his life, by setting fire
to the house; and he cut off the head of Alanus, in com-
pliance with his entreaties. His wife then besought him,
with groans and tears, to perform the same office for her,
rather than permit her to fall into the hands of another;
and he complied with her last request. Thus died one
who manifested a degree of courage worthy of her
religion; for she was a Christian: and her death deserves
to be held in remembrance. Gerontius then struck
himself thrice with his sword; but, not succeeding in
wounding himself mortally, he drew forth his poignard,
which he wore at his side, and plunged it into his
heart.
CHAPTE R XIV.
DEFEAT AND DEATH OF EDOVICU.S.
ALTHOUGH the city of Arles was closely besieged,
Constantine refused to surrender, because he was in ex-
pectation of the arrival of the reinforcements for which
he had despatched Edovicus. The besiegers were
seized with terror when they heard of his return; and,
after some deliberation, they hastened to cross the river
Rhone. Constantius, who commanded the infantry,
quietly awaited the approach of the enemy, while
Ulphilas, his general, remained in ambush with his
cavalry. When the troops of the enemy attacked Con-
stantius, and commenced the conflict, Ulphilas, at a given
signal, rushed upon them from behind, and soon threw
CHAP. XV.] DEATH OF SEVERALTYRANTs.—A.D. 411. 439
them into disorder. Some tried to escape, some were
slain, while others threw down their arms, and entreated
for life and pardon. Edovicus mounted a horse, and
fled to the lands of one Ecdicius, to whom he had for-
merly rendered some important service, and whom he
therefore imagined to be his friend. Ecdicius, however,
struck off his head, and presented it to the generals of
Honorius, in hope of receiving some great reward. Con-
stantius exclaimed, as he received the head, that the
public were obliged to Ecdicius for the victory of Ul-
philas. He commanded, however, that Ecdicius should
be dismissed from the army; for he disdained to retain in
his service a man capable of enacting so dishonourable
a part against his guest and his former friend. Thus
Ecdicius reaped no advantage from the murderous deed
which he had perpetrated.
CHAPT ER XV.
CONSTANTINE THROWS ASIDE THE EMBLEMS OF IMPERIAL
POWER, AND IS ORDAINED AS PRESBYTER. HIS DEATH.
DEATH OF THE OTHER TYRANTS WHO HAD CONSPIRED
AGAINST HONORIUS.
AFTER this victory, the troops of Honorius again laid
siege to Arles. When Constantine heard of the death of
Edovicus, he cast aside his purple robe and imperial
ornaments, and repaired to the church, where he caused
himself to be ordained as presbyter. The besieged sur-
rendered and opened the gates of their city, and their
lives were spared. From that period the whole province
returned to its allegiance to Honorius, and has since
been governed by the rulers of his appointment. Con-
stantine with his son Julian was sent into Italy, but he
was waylaid and killed. Not long afterwards, Jovius
and Maximus, the tyrants above mentioned, Saros, and
. others who had conspired against Honorius, were
Slal]].
440 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. [BOOK IX.
CHAPTE R XVI.
FAVOUR OF GOD MANIFESTED TOWARDS THE EMPEROR HONO-
RIUS. DEATH OF HONORIUS. HIS SUCCESSORS. PEACE
ESTABLISHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
THIS is not the proper place to enter into details con-
cerning the deaths of the tyrants; but I considered it
necessary to allude to the circumstance in order to show,
that to ensure the stability of imperial power, it is suffi-
cient for an emperor to serve God with reverence, which
was the course pursued by Honorius. Galla Placida,
who was born of the same father as himself, dwelt with
him, and likewise distinguished herself by her zeal in
the maintenance of religion and of the churches. After
Constantius, who was a brave and able general, had con-
quered the tyrant Constantine, the emperor rewarded
him by giving him his sister in marriage, and admitting
him to a share in the government. Constantius did not
long survive the promotion: he died soon after, and left
two children, Valentinian, who succeeded Honorius, and
Honoria. A profound peace reigned at this period
throughout the Eastern Empire, and, notwithstanding
the extreme youth of the emperor, the affairs of govern-
ment were, contrary to all expectation, conducted with
great wisdom. It seems as if God openly manifested his
favour towards the emperor, not only by causing all
wars and seditions to cease, but also by permitting the
discovery of the remains of many persons who had ren-
dered themselves celebrated by their piety. Among
other relics, those of Zechariah, the ancient prophet, and
of Stephen, who was ordained deacon by the apostles,
were discovered; and it seems incumbent upon me to
describe the mode in which these holy remains were un-
expectedly brought to light.
CHAP. XVII.] DISCOVERY OF THE RELICS OF ZECHARIAH. 441
CHAPTE R. XVII.
DISCOVERY OF THE REMAINS OF ZECHARIAH THE PROPHET,
AND OF STEPHEN THE PROTO-MARTYR.
I SHALL first speak of the relics of the prophet.
Caphar-Zechariah is a village in the territory of Eleu-
theropolis, a city of Palestine. The land of this district
was cultivated by Calemerus, a man who was faithful to
the proprietor of the soil, but morose, and even unjust
towards his neighbours. Although he possessed these
defects of character, the prophet appeared to him in a
dream, pointed out to him a particular garden, and said
to him, “Go, dig in that garden at the distance of two
cubits from the hedge which divides it from the road
leading to the city of Bithereman. You will there find
two coffins, a wooden one inclosed in one of lead. Beside
the coffins you will see a crystal vase full of water, and
two serpents of moderate size, but tame, and perfectly
innoxious.” Calemerus followed the directions of the
prophet, and zealously applied to the task. When he
found the holy coffins, the one inclosed within the other,
as had been described to him, the prophet appeared to
him, clad in a white robe, which makes me think that he
was a priest. At the foot of the coffin was the body of
a child, apparently of royal birth, for on its head was a
golden crown, its feet were encased in golden sandals, and
it was arrayed in a costly robe. The wise men and
priests of the time were greatly perplexed about this
child; for they could ascertain no particulars concerning
its birth or parentage, or the reason of its having been
interred in this place. It is said that Zechariah, the
superior of a monastery at Geraris, found an ancient
document written in Hebrew, which had not been re-
ceived among the canonical books. In this document
it was stated, that when Zechariah, the prophet, had been
put to death by Joahs, king of Judah, the family of the
monarch was visited by a dire calamity; for, on the
seventh day after the death of the prophet, one of the
sons of Joahs, whom he tenderly loved, suddenly and
442 EC CLESIA STIC AI, HISTORY. [BOOK IX.
unexpectedly expired. Judging that this affliction was
a special manifestation of Divine wrath, the king ordered
his son to be interred at the feet of the prophet, as a kind
of atonement for the crime. Such are the particulars
which I have ascertained on the subject.
Although so long a space of time had elapsed since
the interment of the prophet, his body was found in a
state of perfect preservation; his hair was closely shorn,
his nose was straight, his beard of a moderate length,
his head short, his eyes rather sunken, and overshadowed
by thick eye-brows.
END OF SOZOMEN'S ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
G E N E R AL IND E X.
PAGE
AcACIUs, account of, 188; his
partizans, 200; virtues of .
Acepsimus killed g
Acesis summoned to the first
synod . * ū & *
Acesius, bishop of the Novatians
Aetians, account of . º tº
Aetius, account of . 131,
Agelius . 264,
Ajax, virtues of tº º *
Alanicus, death of . © §º
Alaric, account of, 429 ; obtains
possession of Rome by strata-
FAGE
Arian heresy, origin of 29
369|Arianism prevails . 324
65 hymns against . 388
Arians and Meletians agree 76
40 machinations of, against
99 || Athanasius, 77; machinations
292 of the, 157; bishops ejected
161 by, 261 ; intrigues of 328;
337 | audacity of 342; divisions
370 among the © e . 349
436 || Ariminum, council of . 139
Arius, heresy of 30; expelled
the church, 30; disputes of,
gem {} e * } tº . 434 31; his followers condemned,
Alexander, miracle of 36; death 38; condemned, 39; recalled,
of . º g tº . 105 | 68; restored, 88; his recanta-
Alexandria, council at sº . 225 | tion suspected, 90 ; confession
Ambrose, account of, 285 ; re- of 90; refusal of, into com-
proves the emperor wº . 363 || munion, 94; death of 94;
Ammon, account of, 26; miracles account of his death 95
of . gº g * g . 28 |Armenia, monks in . 128
Amphilochius, boldness of . 329 |Armenians embrace Christianity 59
Ancyra, council of tº . 164 |Arsacius, account of, 410; death
Anomian, account of . 165 of e o e jº . 419
Antioch, persecutions in, 6; se- Arsenius, accusation of 85; treat-
dition at, 73; synod of 73; ment of tº tº & . 86
council of 107; archbishops Athanasius reappointed, 25; dis-
of, 140; council of, 255, 324; tinguishes himself, 35; elected,
taxes in © Q: . 360 | 70; secretly ordained, 71; ca-
Antiochus tº e © . 390 lumny against, 79; illegal de-
Antony, a monk, 24; habits of, position of 84; exile of, to
24; vision of * o . 258 | Treves, 93; causing seditions,
the Great . 72 97; recalled, 104; deposed,
Anuphus, account of . 126 107; at Rome, 111; ejected,
Apelles, miracles of . & . 296 115; letters in favour of 117;
Apollinarius, account of . 287, 293 innocence of 120; return of,
Apollo Didymus, oracle of . 12 139; letters concerning, 142;
’s temple destroyed by ejected, 146; banishment of,
fire º & º tº . 242 156; concealment of, 214;
Apollonius, account of e . 125 again banished, 228; exile of,
Arcadius, death of . * . 421 268; returns, 269; death of . 277
Archbishops, arrival at Rome, Attalus, rebellion of, 431; sub-
113; letters of 114; exile of, jection of & g . 432
178; deposed list of, 191; why Atticus, history of . 419
condemned jº g . 192 || Authorities used g ... 4
Archierarchy, disputes among 40 || Auxentius deposed . gº . 283
444 GENER AL
IND EX.
PAGE
Babylas's remains removed . 239
Baptism, account of . . 291
Barbarians, account of, 313; con-
version of * . 314
Bardasanes, account of . 133
Basil invested with the govern-
ment of the church of Galatia,
99; martyrdom of . . 223
resistance of 237; made
bishop of Cappadocia, 273;
account of {º
274
Bishops, another dispute among . 73
of Rome, proceedings of 117
dissensions among . 194
Britain . g * . 10
Britons march into Italy . 340
Busiris, martyrdom of . 223
Byzantium called Constantinople 49
Calvary disfigured 44
Canons appointed 41
Celibacy, respecting . 41
Celts embrace Christianity, 55;
march into Italy g . 340
Christ, statue of tº tº . 243
Christian doctrine, account of . 136
Christianity, laws in favour of
10; extension of * . 356
Christians, evil treatment of,
213; ill-treated, 241; persecu-
tion of . e te & . 275
Church, troubles in 196, 414
destroyed by fire from
heaven . te e * . 410
Churches, Eastern and Western,
separate, 121 ; troubles in . 255
Clergy, laws in favour of 16
Conference held 52
Constans . e * º . 437
Caesar, death of . . 146
Constantine, Christ appears to,
7; the cross appears to, 7;
priests of Christ expound the
scriptures to, 7; false reports
concerning, 9; churches flou-
rish under, 10; his test of fide-
lity, 11; dominions increase,
12; legalizes Christianity, 13;
forbids the combats of gladia-
tors, 14 ; revokes laws against
Christianity, 14; conquers the
Sarmatians, 15; reproves Arius
and Alexander, 32; is grieved
by the dissensions, 33; his
speech, 37; honours the bishops,
PAGE
42; builds Byzantium, 48;
builds temples, 48; abolishes
superstition, 51 ; writes to Sa-
por, 67; his exhortation, 79;
letter of 96; enacts a law to
suppress heresies, 98 ; forbids
the Arians to assemble in pri-
vate, 98; divides the empire,
100; death of, 101; burial of,
101 ; letter of, 104; his sons,
account of 137; his body re-
moved . & ſº º . 182
Constantine ordained presbyter,
439; death of . 439
Constantinople, baths at . 264
Constantius, letter to the Egyp-
tians, 141 ; banishes the Ho-
mousians, 146; in Illyria, 148;
arrives in Rome, 153; endea-
vours to reconcile the churches,
154; his letter, 164; goes to
Sirmium, 166; death of . 203
Consubstantial, dispute concern-
ing the term . 119, 138, 162
Contest between bishops 73
Coprus . e ge . 296
Council of Ariminum, proceed-
ings of 172; letter to Con-
stantius e tº & . 1 74
general, the second, 330;
decrees of g . 333
Cross, sign of, on coins and pic-
tures, 16; appears in heaven,
149; appears in garments . 247
Crosses found near Jerusalem 45
Crucifixion, law of, abolished 16
Customs in the churches, etc. . .354
Cyril succeeds Maximus, 149;
causes of his deposition, 194;
restored . tº . 201
Cyrinus . 400
Decrees of the synod wº te
Demophilus elected bishop, 270;
expulsion of . º º . 327
Didymus, account of 130; vision
Of e * & , 252
Doctrinal controversy . 38
Donatus, St. . 366
Easter, festival of . 351
Edessa, monks of . e . 308
Edovicus, defeat and death of . 438
Egypt, holy men in, 123, 296;
disputes in * º . 391
GENERAL IND EX.
445
PAGE
Egyptian monks, persecution of . 278
Eleusius, his speech, 186; account
of 229; bishop of Cyzicus . 263
Elias e g sº ū . 296
Embassy despatched . 431
Emmaus, fountain of . 244
Empress, statue of . & . 406
Ephraim, the Syrian, 127; ac-
count of & g . 132,
Epiphanius, account of 367; at
Constantinople . 396
Eudoxia, death of e - 418
Eudoxius, innovations of 163;
endeavours to abolish the Ni-
capan formularies . 196
Eugenius, tyranny of e . 359
Eunomius, the heretic, 263; ac-
count of 290; his heresy, 294;
eloquence of 329; banishment
of . e e tº g . 348
Eupsychus, martyrdom of . . 223
Euripides wº * © . 237
Eusebius, banished, 40; recalled,
69; retractation of, 69; accusa-
tion against, 73; relapses into
the same errors, 76; partizans
of, writing a confession of faith,
99; renews the controversy,
103; death of ſº . 105
surnamed Emesius . 109
martyrdom of 218;
account of 225; disputes of .
Eustathius translated to An-
tioch, 6; deposed, 73; habits
of 128; confession of, 266;
banished g g gº
Eutropius, account of, 386; death
of e ſº . 412
309
*mºsmºsºme
272
27]
PAGE
Gainas, enterprise of . 380
Galatia, monks of . .309
Gallus receives the title of Caesar,
148; slain . 153
Gaul tº tº g & . 10
Gauls embrace Christianity, 55;
march into Italy & . 340
Gentiles, calling of * . 3
George, persecution of 148; per-
secutes the Pagans, 201; death
Of & o tº ſº . 216
Gerontius, 385; account of 437;
defeat of 437; death of . 438
Golgotha, temple erected at 88
Goths embrace Christianity, 55;
embrace Arianism 315
Gratian proclaimed, 264; death
of g * tº º . 340
Greeks persecute the Christians 98
Gregory, installation of 109; ac-
cepts the bishopric of Alexan-
dria 1 IO
the theologian, 275;
receives the government of
the churches, 327; abdication
of tº º & * . 330
Habakkuk, remains of . . 371
Helena, concerning, 47; benevo-
lence of 47; visits Jerusalem 47
Heliopolis, virgins of . 22]
Helles e te * . 296
Heraclides & © . 385
Heretics, disputes among . . 374
Hilarion, account of . . 126, 220
Holy Ghost, debate concerning
the, 281 ; decision concerning 282
Homer, quotation from . 233
Homöousians persecuted . 265
Homousian and Homoeousian,
distinction between g
Honorius, birth of 341 ; account
of 440; death of, 440; suc-
cessors of . e g . 440
Hosius deposed . 119
137
Eutychius, miracles of . 28
Evagrius elected, 270; exiled . 271
— bishop of Antioch . 342
. 109
. 161
. 336
Faith, formularies of .
Felix, account of
Flavian, ordination of
and Evagrius . 342
Formularies of faith . . 150
Formulary of faith, compilation
of . ©
g g tº . 121
of the council of Ari-
. 190
83
minum . º &
Frumentius in India .
Gabalis bishop, of . 390
Iberians embrace Christianity,
55 ; build a church *
Idolatry prohibited
Indian bishoprics, origin of
Indians converted to Christianity
Innocent, epistles of 415; efforts
of, to recall John . 420
Inscription found . 45
Isaac, prediction of . 321
58
14
83
81
446
GENERAL IND EX.
PAGE
. .317
. 153
Ishmaelites, account of
Italy, a council held in
. 142
1
Jerusalem, synod at
Jewish nation, the, concerning .
Jews, restrictions concerning,
136; seditions of, 153; rebuild
the temple, 245; prevented
from building the temple by a
miracle tº º g . 246
John succeeds Meletius, 97; re-
established by the synod of
Tyre, 97; prophecy of . . 360
John Chrysostom, wisdom of,
376; promotion of 377; dis-
courses of, 383; proceedings
of 384; complaints against,
389; deposed, 401; re-instal-
led, 403; machinations against
PAGE
Macarius cured by the cross 45
Macedonius, heresy of 106; pro-
ceedings of 181; death of 195;
his blasphemy, 197; his heresy
propagated, 197; martyrdom
of, 223; his partizans' dis-
putes * º . 227
Magi, priests of Persia . 59
Magnentius, death of . 152
Marathonius expels the “Con-
substantialists” . ſº g
Marcellus deposed by the bishops,
92; heresy of 99; his book
sought after to be destroyed,
180
his life . e tº . 408
John the Baptist, discovery of
his head tº 357
Jovian, accession of, 254; letter
to, 256; death of . 258
Jovius º tº . 430
Julian, account of, 127; becomes
Caesar, 183; apostasy of 202;
life of 204; his accession,
207; endeavours to suppress
Christianity, 209; promotes
Paganism, 209; persecutes the
Caesareans, 211 ; restores li-
berty to Christians, 212; his
horrible death, 217; attempts
to establish Paganism, 231;
his letter to Arsacius, 232;
his plan of converting, 235;
prohibits the Christians from
learning, 237; works of 238;
expedition of 248 ; slain, 250 ;
his death, vision of 251 ; his
death, account of . 252
Julius deposed . 119
Justina, account of . . 339
99; innocence of . * 120
Maris, fidelity of . 212
Mark, martyrdom of • 22I
Martin, account of . º . 129
Martyrius, martyrdom of, 147;
account of . ſº tº . 335
Martyrs, names of . in Ö6
forty, remains of, dis-
covered . * tº † . 423
Mavia, account of 317; assists
the Romans . g . 323
Maxentius slain 11
Maximus, bishop of Jerusalem 75
account of 334 ; ty-
ranny of © e . 339
*-* – account of . 437
Meletius ordained, 195; trans-
lated, 198; deposed . I99
— oath of 325; account
of . tº e . 335
Melitius, concerning . 42
Menander . 237
Micah, remains of . 371
Milan, council at . & . 155
Milles, conduct and martyrdom of 67
Miracle, bread turned into a stone 384
Miracles wrought . 279
Mithra, occurrence at . 216
Monasteries called Cells . 305
Monks, origin of 21; founders of 23
Labarum converted into a cross 8 Nails discovered * * . 46
Lampsacus, council of . 260 Nectarius, letter to, 293; elec-
Liberius, bishop of Rome, 160; tion of . . . . 332
exiled, 160; returns to Rome, Nestabis, martyrdom of . 219
166; death of 282 Nicaea, bishops assemble at, 6;
Licinius persecutes the Christians synod of 33; bishops at, 34;
of the East, 6 ; killed 13| council of, ends, 44; council
Lord’s day observed . . 16 at, proposed tº e . 170
Lucifer, account of 131, 225 | Nicene faith, defence of, 227;
Lucius the Arian . 277 | doctrines preached º . 280
G E N E R AL INDEX.
447
FAGE
Nicomedia, council at, 167; earth-
quake at, 168; destroyed by
fire * &
Nilammon, the ascetic . 405
Nile, overflow of the . 357
Nitria, monasteries of º . 304
Novatians, a numerous sect, 98;
of Phrygia, 286 ; succession of,
341 ; another heresy of the
Oak of Mamre tº . 51
Olympiade, account of . 413
Opinion, liberty of . 323
Origen, books of . 392
Orthodox persecuted . 267
Pachomius, rules of . º . 125
Pagans, account of . . 433
Palestine, monks of . . 306
Paphantius performs miracles 18
Passover kept . ſº ſº . 40
emºssºs * de wº . 286
Paul, the simple & {e 26
—— ordination of 107; ejected,
115; restoration of 112 ; and
others re-instated, 145 ; death
of 146; remains of & *
Paulinus, account of, 226; death
of e & e ſº . 342
Peace established . * . 440
Penance, account of . 345
People, sedition of . 403
Persea, a curious tree . 244
Persia, truce with . © . 426
Persians, religion of 5; embrace
Christianity tº ºt e
Peter seeks refuge in Rome, 277;
. 350
169
335
59
supersedes Lucius . 320
Philo * e ge . 23
Philosophers converted, 35; ex-
terminated . e e . 310
Phoenician customs abolished 14
Photinus, heresy of, 149; de-
posed, 150; disputations of . 152
Pindar . * ſº º . 237
Plato explores Sicily * . 8]
Priests follow the tents in war . 16
Procopius, death of . . 262
Pulcheria, account of . 421
Pusicius killed . 63
Rhine gº sº g º , 10
Roman empire divided . . 105
lady, virtue of . 434
Romans, war against . 428 |
PAGE
Rome, bishops of, 1.12; synod at,
283; deputation to, 379; trans-
actions in, 427; siege of . 430
Rufinus slain * e . 373
Sapor is excited against the
Christians, 59; kills the Chris-
tians * e ſº . 62
Saracens, account of 317; origin
of, 318; conversion of . 318
Sardica, council of . • . 1] 8
Sarmatians, account of . 312
Saros, death of . 439
Scetis, monks at . 302
Scythians, faith of . 281
Seleucia, council of . . 183
Serapion, the archdeacon . 388
Severian © . 390
Sicily, council of . 267
Silvanus, death of . 153
– confession of . 266
Sisinius, 337; account of . 374
Socrates © e º . 312
Sozomen's family, account of . 230
Spyridion flourishes, 18; benevo-
lence of . 19
Statues destroyed . 360
Stilicho, account of . . 415
Suevi º te * . 436
Synod of Nicaea, account of . 178
Syria, monks of . 308
Tarbula killed tº . 65
Tatian, martyrdom of . . 223
Temples destroyed, 53; demoli-
tion of . tº © . 343, 357
Thebais, monks at . 297
Themistius, oration of . 313
Theodore, account of * . 27
account of 217, 241
Theodosiolus e tº . 436
Theodosius, account of 323;
baptism of 326; reign of 326;
project of 337; goes to Italy,
341; triumph of 342; victory
of 361; successors of . 373
Theodulis, martyrdom of . 223
Theognis banished, 40; recalled 69
Theophilus, confession of . 266
— 391; enmity of 392;
arrival of 399; holds a council 400
Theophronius, heresy of . 348
Theotimus ſº tº © . 366
Thessalonica, massacre at . 364
Thomas, the apostle . . 276
Titus, account of . 230
448
G ENERAL IND EX.
PAGE
Tours, bishop of e . 129
Tyane, council of . . 267
Tyre, council of tº e 84
Ulphilas . 314
Ursacius, con
chinations of .
Usthazanes killed
fession of 143; ma-
* . 177
60
Valens, confession of 143; letter
of, to Athanasius, 144 ; ma-
chinations of, 177; association
of, 259; persecutes, 265; kills
eighty priests, 271 ; expedition
of 320; defeat of 321; death of 321
f
IPAGE
Valentinian, accession of . 258
——— the younger . 264
— death of . 313
death of . 359
Vandals ſº e . 436
Vitalius, the presbyter . 287
West, rebellion in the . 435
Wooden tripod . 311
Zechariah, remains of, disco-
vered . * e . . . 441
Zeno, martyrdom of, 219; vir-
tues of . tº º . 370
J. Wertheimer & Co., Printers, Finsbury Circus, London.

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