Bad Advertisement?
Are you a Christian?
Online Store:Visit Our Store
| Restoration of the Catholics on the Council of Sardica.
PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP 
Part
III.
Restoration of the Catholics
on the Council of Sardica
15. While they were proceeding in like measures
towards all, at Rome about fifty Bishops assembled1555
| 1555 Apol. Ar. 1, note 1. | , and denounced Eusebius and his fellows as
persons suspected, afraid to come, and also condemned as unworthy of
credit the written statement they had sent; but us they received, and
gladly embraced our communion. While these things were taking place, a
report of the Council held at Rome, and of the proceedings against the
Churches at Alexandria, and through all the East, came to the hearing
of the Emperor Constans1556
| 1556 Apol. Const. 4, note 8. | . He writes to his
brother Constantius, and immediately they both determine1557
that a Council shall be called, and matters
be brought to a settlement, so that those who had been injured may be
released from further suffering, and the injurious be no longer able to
perpetrate such outrages. Accordingly there assemble at the city of
Sardica both from the East and West to the number of one hundred and
seventy Bishops1558
| 1558 Vid.
supr. pp. 127, note 10, and 147. | , more or less;
those who came from the West were Bishops only, having Hosius for their
father, but those from the East brought with them instructors of youth
and advocates, Count Musonianus, and Hesychius1559
| 1559 Apol. Ar. 36, notes 8, 9. |
the Castrensian; on whose account they came with great alacrity,
thinking that everything would be again managed by their authority. For
thus by means of these persons they have always shewn themselves
formidable to any whom they wished to intimidate, and have prosecuted
their designs against whomsoever they chose. But when they arrived and
saw that the cause was to be conducted as simply an ecclesiastical one,
without the interference of the Count or of soldiers; when they saw the
accusers who came from every church and city, and the evidence which
was brought against them, when they saw the venerable Bishops Arius and
Asterius1560
, who came up in their company,
withdrawing from them and siding with us1561
,
and giving an account of their cunning, and how suspicious their
conduct was, and that they were fearing the consequences of a trial,
lest they should be convicted by us
of being false informers, and it should be discovered by those whom
they produced in the character of accusers, that they had themselves
suggested all they were to say, and were the contrivers of the plot.
Perceiving this to be the case, although they had come with great zeal,
as thinking that we should be afraid to meet them, yet now when they
saw our alacrity, they shut themselves up in the Palace1562
| 1562 The
word Palatium sometimes stands for the space or limits set apart in
cities for the Emperor, Cod. Theod. XV. i. 47. sometimes for the
buildings upon it, ibid. VII. x. 2, which were one of the four public
works mentioned in the Laws. ibid. XV. i. 35. and 36. None but great
officers of state were admitted into it. XV. i. 47. Even the judges
might not lodge in it, except there was no Prætorium, VII. x. 2.
Gothofr. in VII. x. 1 enumerates (with references) the Palatia in
Antioch, Daphne, Constantinople, Hereclea, Milan, Treves, &c. It
was a great mark then of imperial favour that the Eastern bishops were
accommodated in the Palatium at Sardica. | (for they had their abode there), and
proceeded to confer with one another in the following manner: ‘We
came hither for one result; and we see another; we arrived in company
with Counts, and the trial is proceeding without them. We are certainly
condemned. You all know the orders that have been given. Athanasius and
his fellows have the reports of the proceedings in the Mareotis1563
, by which he is cleared, and we are covered
with disgrace. Why then do we delay? why are we so slow? Let us invent
some excuse and be gone, or we shall be condemned if we remain. It is
better to suffer the shame of fleeing, than the disgrace of being
convicted as false accusers. If we flee, we shall find some means of
defending our heresy; and even if they condemn us for our flight, still
we have the Emperor as our patron, who will not suffer the people to
expel us from the Churches.’
16. Secession of the Easterns at
Sardica.
Thus then they reasoned with themselves and
Hosius and all the other Bishops repeatedly signified to them the
alacrity of Athanasius and his fellows, saying, ‘They are ready
with their defence, and pledge themselves to prove you false
accusers.’ They said also, ‘If you fear the trial, why did
you come to meet us? either you ought not to have come, or now that you
have come, not to flee.’ When they heard this, being still more
alarmed, they had recourse to an excuse even more unseemly than that
they pretended at Antioch, viz. that they betook themselves to flight
because the Emperor had written to them the news of his victory over
the Persians. And this excuse they were not ashamed to send by
Eustathius a Presbyter of the Sardican Church. But even thus their
flight did not succeed according to their wishes; for immediately the
holy Council, of which the great Hosius was president, wrote to them
plainly, saying, ‘Either come forward and answer the charges
which are brought against you, for the false accusations which you have
made against others, or know that the Council will condemn you as
guilty, and declare Athanasius and his fellows free and clear from all
blame.’ Whereupon they were rather impelled to flight by the
alarms of conscience, than to compliance with the proposals of the
letter; for when they saw those who had been injured by them, they did
not even turn their faces to listen to their words, but fled with
greater speed.
17. Proceedings of the Council of
Sardica.
Under these disgraceful and unseemly
circumstances their flight took place. And the holy Council, which had
been assembled out of more than five and thirty provinces, perceiving
the malice of the Arians, admitted Athanasius and his fellows to answer
to the charges which the others had brought against them, and to
declare the sufferings which they had undergone. And when they had thus
made their defence, as we said before, they approved and so highly
admired their conduct that they gladly embraced their communion, and
wrote letters to all quarters, to the diocese of each, and especially
to Alexandria and Egypt, and the Libyas, declaring Athanasius and his
friends to be innocent, and free from all blame, and their opponents to
be calumniators, evil-doers, and everything rather than Christians.
Accordingly they dismissed them in peace; but deposed Stephanus and
Menophantus, Acacius and George of Laodicea, Ursacius and Valens,
Theodorus and Narcissus. For against Gregory, who had been sent to
Alexandria by the Emperor, they put forth a proclamation to the effect
that he had never been made a Bishop, and that he ought not to be
called a Christian. They therefore declared the ordinations which he
professed to have conferred to be void, and commanded that they should
not be even named in the Church, on account of their novel and illegal
nature. Thus Athanasius and his friends were dismissed in peace (the
letters concerning them are inserted at the end on account of their
length1564
| 1564 Not
found there, but in Apol. contr. Ar. §§37,
foll. | ), and the Council was dissolved.
18. Arian Persecution after Sardica.
But the deposed persons, who ought now to have
remained quiet, with those who had separated after so disgraceful a
flight, were guilty of such conduct, that their former proceedings
appear trifling in comparison of these. For when the people of
Adrianople would not have communion with them, as men who had fled
from the Council, and had proved
culprits, they carried their complaints to the Emperor Constantius, and
succeeded in causing ten of the laity to be beheaded, belonging to the
Manufactory of arms1565
| 1565 De
Fabricis, vid. Gothofr. in Cod. Theod. x. 21. | there, Philagrius,
who was there again as Count, assisting their designs in this matter
also. The tombs of these persons, which we have seen in passing1566
| 1566 [Apparently on his way from Treveri (see 21, n. 3) back to
Alexandria in 346.] | by, are in front of the city. Then as if
they had been quite successful, because they had fled lest they should
be convicted of false accusation, they prevailed with the Emperor to
command whatsoever they wished to be done. Thus they caused two
Presbyters and three Deacons to be banished from Alexandria into
Armenia. As to Arius and Asterius, the one Bishop of Petræ1567
| 1567 [See
pp. 148, 128 note, and infr., Tom. ad Ant. §8. In the text
Petræ is wrongly placed in Palestine. The slip is one of many in
this tract; see Introd. above.] | in Palestine, the other Bishop in Arabia,
who had withdrawn from their party, they not only banished into upper
Libya, but also caused them to be treated with insult.
19. Tyrannical measures against the
Alexandrians.
And as to Lucius1568
| 1568 Apol. Ar. 45, Apol. Fug. 3. | ,
Bishop of Adrianople, when they saw that he used great boldness of
speech against them, and exposed their impiety, they again, as they had
done before, caused him to be bound with iron chains on the neck and
hands, and so drove him into banishment, where he died, as they know.
And Diodorus a Bishop1569
| 1569 Of
Tenedos, vid. Apol. Ar. 50, supr. §5. | they remove; but
against Olympius of Æni, and Theodulus of Trajanople1570
| 1570 Apol. Ar. 45, note 2. | , both Bishops of Thrace, good and orthodox
men, when they perceived their hatred of the heresy, they brought false
charges. This Eusebius and his fellows had done first of all, and the
Emperor Constantius wrote letters on the subject; and next these men1571
revived the accusation. The purport of the
letter was, that they should not only be expelled from their cities and
churches, but should also suffer capital punishment, wherever they were
discovered. However surprising this conduct may be, it is only in
accordance with their principles; for as being instructed by Eusebius
and his fellows in such proceedings, and as heirs of their impiety and
evil principles, they wished to shew themselves formidable at
Alexandria, as their fathers had done in Thrace. They caused an order
to be written, that the ports and gates of the cities should be
watched, lest availing themselves of the permission granted by the
Council, the banished persons should return to their churches. They
also cause orders to be sent to the magistrates at Alexandria,
respecting Athanasius and certain Presbyters, named therein, that if
either the Bishop1572
| 1572 This
accounts for Ath.’s caution, Apol. Ar. 51, and below
§21. | , or any of the
others, should be found coming to the city or its borders, the
magistrate should have power to behead those who were so discovered.
Thus this new Jewish heresy does not only deny the Lord, but has also
learnt to commit murder.
20. Plot against the Catholic Legates at
Antioch.
Yet even after this they did not rest; but as the
father of their heresy goeth about like a lion, seeking whom he may
devour, so these obtaining the use of the public posts1573
| 1573 Apol. Ar. 70, note 5. | went about, and whenever they found any that
reproached them with their flight, and that hated the Arian heresy,
they scourged them, cast them into chains, and caused them to be
banished from their country; and they rendered themselves so
formidable, as to induce many to dissemble, many to fly into the
deserts, rather than willingly even to have any dealings with them.
Such were the enormities which their madness prompted them to commit
after their flight. Moreover they perpetrate another outrageous act,
which is indeed in accordance with the character of their heresy, but
is such as we never heard of before, nor is likely soon to take place
again, even among the more dissolute of the Gentiles, much less among
Christians. The holy Council had sent as Legates the Bishops
Vincentius1574
| 1574 Ap. Const. 3, note 3. | of Capua (this is the Metropolis of
Campania), and Euphrates of Agrippina1575
(this is the Metropolis of Upper Gaul), that they might obtain the
Emperor’s consent to the decision of the Council, that the
Bishops should return to their Churches, inasmuch as he was the author
of their expulsion. The most religious Constans had also written to his
brother1576
, and supported the cause of the
Bishops. But these admirable men, who are equal to any act of audacity,
when they saw the two Legates at Antioch, consulted together and formed
a plot, which Stephanus1577
undertook by
himself to execute, as being a suitable instrument for such purposes.
Accordingly they hire a common harlot, even at the season of the most
holy Easter, and stripping her introduce her by night into the
apartment of the Bishop Euphrates. The harlot who thought that it was a
young man who had sent to invite her, at first willingly accompanied
them; but when they thrust her in,
and she saw the man asleep and unconscious of what was going on, and
when presently she distinguished his features, and beheld the face of
an old man, and the array of a Bishop, she immediately cried aloud, and
declared that violence was used towards her. They desired her to be
silent, and to lay a false charge against the Bishop; and so when it
was day, the matter was noised abroad, and all the city ran together;
and those who came from the Palace were in great commotion, wondering
at the report which had been spread abroad, and demanding that it
should not be passed by in silence. An enquiry, therefore, was made,
and her master gave information concerning those who came to fetch the
harlot, and these informed against Stephanus; for they were his Clergy.
Stephanus, therefore, is deposed1578
| 1578 [Between Easter and Midsummer 344.] | , and Leontius
the eunuch appointed in his place, only that the Arian heresy may not
want a supporter.
21. Constantius’ change of mind.
And now the Emperor Constantius, feeling some
compunctions, returned to himself; and concluding from their conduct
towards Euphrates, that their attacks upon the others were of the same
kind, he gives orders that the Presbyters and Deacons who had been
banished from Alexandria into Armenia should immediately be released.
He also writes publicly to Alexandria1579
| 1579 [Probably about August 344.] | ,
commanding that the clergy and laity who were friends of Athanasius
should suffer no further persecution. And when Gregory died about ten
months1580
| 1580 [June
26, 345. Athanasius received some at least of the letters at Aquileia,
where he spent Easter, 345 (Apol. Ar. 51, Fest. Ind.
xvii.). He then went to see Constans at Treveri, apparently in May, 346
(Apol. Const. 4, Gwatkin, Stud. 127, n.). This compels us to
assume that the first invitation to Ath. to return must have been wrung
(infr. 49, 50) from Constantius before the death of Gregory. The
statement in the text is therefore so far inexact, but the lung illness
of Gregory must have made his death a matter of daily expectation, cf.
Prolegg. ch. ii. §6 (3) fin.] | after, he sends for Athanasius with
every mark of honour, writing to him no less than three times a very
friendly letter1581
in which he
exhorted him to take courage and come. He sends also a Presbyter and a
Deacon, that he may be still further encouraged to return; for he
thought that, through alarm at what had taken place before, I1582
| 1582 [Here
for once Ath. speaks in the first person, cf. §§15, 26, 64,
69, and 51, note 2a.] | did not care to return. Moreover he writes
to his brother Constans, that he also would exhort me to return. And he
affirmed that he had been expecting Athanasius a whole year, and that
he would not permit any change to be made, or any ordination to take
place, as he was preserving the Churches for Athanasius their
Bishop.
22. Athanasius visits Constantius.
When therefore he wrote in this strain, and
encouraged him by means of many (for he caused Polemius, Datianus,
Bardion, Thalassus1583
, Taurus1584
, and Florentius, his Counts, in whom
Athanasius could best confide, to write also): Athanasius committing
the whole matter to God, who had stirred the conscience of Constantius
to do this, came with his friends to him; and he gave him a favourable
audience1585
| 1585 Apol. Ar. 54; Apol. Const. 5. | , and sent him away to go to his
country and his Churches, writing at the same time to the magistrates
in the several places, that whereas he had before commanded the ways to
be guarded, they should now grant him a free passage. Then when the
Bishop complained of the sufferings he had undergone, and of the
letters which the Emperor had written against him, and besought him
that the false accusations against him might not be revived by his
enemies after his departure, saying1586
, ‘If you
please, summon these persons; for as far as we are concerned they are
at liberty to stand forth, and we will expose their conduct;’ he
would not do this, but commanded that whatever had been before
slanderously written against him should all be destroyed and
obliterated, affirming that he would never again listen to any such
accusations, and that his purpose was fixed and unalterable. This he
did not simply say, but sealed his words with oaths, calling upon God
to be witness of them. And so encouraging him with many other words,
and desiring him to be of good courage, he sends the following letters
to the Bishops and Magistrates.
23. Constantius Augustus, the Great, the
Conqueror, to the Bishops and Clergy of the Catholic Church.
The most Reverend Athanasius has not been
deserted by the grace of God1587
| 1587 Vid.
Apol. contr. Arian. §54. | , &c.
Another Letter.
From Constantius to the people of Alexandria.
Desiring as we do your welfare in all respects1588
, &c.
Another Letter.
Constantius Augustus, the Conqueror, to
Nestorius, Prefect of Egypt.
It is well known that an order was heretofore
given by us, and that certain documents are to be found prejudicial to
the estimation of the most reverend
Bishop Athanasius; and that these exist among the Orders1589
| 1589 Or
Acta Publica, vid. supr. Ap. Ar. 56. | of your worship. Now we desire your
Sobriety, of which we have good proof, to transmit to our Court, in
compliance with this our order, all the letters respecting the
fore-mentioned person, which are found in your Order-book.
24. The following is the letter which he wrote
after the death of the blessed Constans. It was written in Latin, and
is here translated into Greek1590
| 1590 Another translation, Apol. Const. 23. | .
Constantius Augustus, the Conqueror, to
Athanasius.
It is not unknown to your Prudence, that it was
my constant prayer, that prosperity might attend my late brother
Constans in all his undertakings; and your wisdom may therefore imagine
how greatly I was afflicted when I learnt that he had been taken off by
most unhallowed hands. Now whereas there are certain persons who at the
present truly mournful time are endeavouring to alarm you, I have
therefore thought it right to address this letter to your Constancy, to
exhort you that, as becomes a Bishop, you would teach the people those
things which pertain to the divine religion, and that, as you are
accustomed to do, you would employ your time in prayers together with
them, and not give credit to vain rumours, whatever they may be. For
our fixed determination is, that you should continue, agreeably to our
desire, to perform the office of a Bishop in your own place. May Divine
Providence preserve you, most beloved parent, many years.
25. Return of Athanasius from second
exile.
Under these circumstances, when they had at
length taken their leave, and begun their journey, those who were
friendly rejoiced to see a friend; but of the other party, some were
confounded at the sight of him; others not having the confidence to
appear, hid themselves; and others repented of what they had written
against the Bishop. Thus all the Bishops of Palestine1591
, except some two or three, and those men of
suspected character, so willingly received Athanasius, and embraced
communion with him, that they wrote to excuse themselves, on the ground
that in what they had formerly written, they had acted, not according
to their own wishes, but by compulsion. Of the Bishops of Egypt and the
Libyan provinces, of the laity both of those countries and of
Alexandria, it is superfluous for me to speak. They all ran1592
together, and were possessed with
unspeakable delight, that they had not only received their friends
alive contrary to their hopes; but that they were also delivered from
the heretics who were as tyrants and as raging dogs towards them.
Accordingly great was their joy1593
, the people in
the congregations encouraging one another in virtue. How many unmarried
women, who were before ready to enter upon marriage, now remained
virgins to Christ! How many young men, seeing the examples of others,
embraced the monastic life! How many fathers persuaded their children,
and how many were urged by their children, not to be hindered from
Christian asceticism! How many wives persuaded their husbands, and how
many were persuaded by their husbands, to give themselves to prayer1594
, as the Apostle has spoken! How many widows
and how many orphans, who were before hungry and naked, now through the
great zeal of the people, were no longer hungry, and went forth
clothed! In a word, so great was their emulation in virtue, that you
would have thought every family and every house a Church, by reason of
the goodness of its inmates, and the prayers which were offered to God.
And in the Churches there was a profound and wonderful peace, while the
Bishops wrote from all quarters, and received from Athanasius the
customary letters of peace.
26. Recantation of Ursacius and
Valens.
Moreover Ursacius and Valens, as if suffering the
scourge of conscience, came to another mind, and wrote to the Bishop
himself a friendly and peaceable letter1595
| 1595 Apol. Ar. 58 [a.d.
347]. | ,
although they had received no communication from him. And going up to
Rome they repented, and confessed that all their proceedings and
assertions against him were founded in falsehood and mere calumny. And
they not only voluntarily did this, but also anathematized the Arian
heresy, and presented a written declaration of their repentance,
addressing to the Bishop Julius the following letter in Latin, which
has been translated into Greek. The copy was sent to us in Latin by
Paul1596
| 1596 Paulinus, supr. pp. 130, 227. | , Bishop of Treveri.
Translation from the Latin.
Ursacius and Valens to my Lord the most blessed
Pope Julius.
Whereas it is well known that we1597
| 1597 Vid.
Apol. contr. Ar. §58. | , &c.
Translation from the Latin.
The Bishops Ursacius and Valens to my Lord and
Brother, the Bishop Athanasius.
Having an opportunity of sending1598
, &c.
After writing
these, they also subscribed the letters of peace which were presented
to them by Peter and Irenæus, Presbyters of Athanasius, and by
Ammonius a layman, who were passing that way, although Athanasius had
sent no communication to them even by these persons.
27. Triumph of Athanasius.
Now who was not filled with admiration at
witnessing these things, and the great peace that prevailed in the
Churches? who did not rejoice to see the concord of so many Bishops?
who did not glorify the Lord, beholding the delight of the people in
their assemblies? How many enemies repented! How many excused
themselves who had formerly accused him falsely! How many who formerly
hated him, now shewed affection for him! How many of those who had
written against him, recanted their assertions? Many also who had sided
with the Arians, not through choice but by necessity, came by night and
excused themselves. They anathematized the heresy, and besought him to
pardon them, because, although through the plots and calumnies of these
men they appeared bodily on their side, yet in their hearts they held
communion with Athanasius, and were always with him. Believe me, this
is true. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
