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| After the Death of Constantine the Great, the Adherents of Eusebius and Theognis attack the Nicene Faith.
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Book III.
Chapter I.—After the
Death of Constantine the Great, the Adherents of Eusebius and Theognis
attack the Nicene Faith.
We have now seen what events
transpired in the churches during the reign of Constantine.1208
| 1208This section is manifestly an abridgment of Soc. ii.
2.
|
On his death the doctrine which had been set forth at Nicæa, was
subjected 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
opinion, especially those who had previously been suspected of
treachery. Of all these Eusebius and Theognis, bishops of the province
of Bithynia, did everything in their power to give predominance to the
tenets of Arius. They believed that this object would be easily
accomplished, if the return of Athanasius from exile could be
prevented, and by giving the government of the Egyptian churches to a
bishop of like opinion with them. They found an efficient coadjutor in
the presbyter who had obtained from Constantine 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; since he was trusted, he boldly seized the opportunities, until
he became an intimate of the emperor’s wife, and of the powerful
eunuchs of the women’s sleeping apartments. At this period
Eusebius1209
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 disputations concerning doctrines again became prevalent, both in
private and in public, and revilings and animosities were renewed. This
state of things was in accordance with the views of Theognis and his
partisans.
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