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Part VIII.
Persecution in
Egypt.
64. Who would call them even by the name of
Gentiles; much less by that of Christians? Would any one regard their
habits and feelings as human, and not rather those of wild beasts,
seeing their cruel and savage conduct? They are more worthless than
public hangmen; more audacious than all other heretics. To the Gentiles
they are much inferior, and stand far apart and separate from them1722
. I have heard from our fathers, and I
believe their report to be a faithful one, that long ago, when a persecution arose in the time1723
of Maximian, the grandfather of Constantius,
the Gentiles concealed our brethren the Christians, who were sought
after, and frequently suffered the loss of their own substance, and had
trial of imprisonment, solely that they might not betray the fugitives.
They protected those who fled to them for refuge, as they would have
done their own persons, and were determined to run all risks on their
behalf. But now these admirable persons, the inventors of a new heresy,
act altogether the contrary part; and are distinguished for nothing but
their treachery. They have appointed themselves as executioners, and
seek to betray all alike, and make those who conceal others the objects
of their plots, esteeming equally as their enemy both him that conceals
and him that is concealed. So murderous are they; so emulous in their
evil-doings of the wickedness of Judas.
65. Martyrdom of Secundus of Barka.
The crimes these men have committed cannot
adequately be described. I would only say, that as I write and wish to
enumerate all their deeds of iniquity, the thought enters my mind,
whether this heresy be not the fourth daughter of the horse-leach1724
in the Proverbs, since after so many acts of
injustice, so many murders, it hath not yet said, ‘It is
enough.’ No; it still rages, and goes about1725
| 1725 περιέρχεται, 1 Pet. v. 8. supr. §20, and
ad Adelph. §2 fin. | seeking after those whom it has not yet
discovered, while those whom it has already injured, it is eager to
injure anew. After the night attack, after the evils committed in
consequence of it, after the persecution brought about by Heraclius,
they cease not yet to accuse us falsely before the Emperor (and they
are confident that as impious persons they will obtain a hearing),
desiring that something more than banishment may be inflicted upon us,
and that hereafter those who do not consent to their impieties may be
destroyed. Accordingly, being now emboldened in an extreme degree, that
most abandoned Secundus1726
of Pentapolis, and
Stephanus1727
| 1727 Cf.
Hist. Aceph. ix., de Syn. 12, Thdt. H. E. ii.
28. | his accomplice, conscious that their
heresy was a defence of any injustice they might commit, on discovering
a Presbyter at Barka who would not comply with their desires (he was
called Secundus, being of the same name, but not of the same faith with
the heretic), they kicked him till he died1728
| 1728 In
like manner the party of Dioscorus at the Latrocinium, or Eutychian
Council of Ephesus, a.d. 449, kicked to death
Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople. | .
While he was thus suffering he imitated the Saint, and said, ‘Let
no one avenge my cause before human judges; I have the Lord for my
avenger, for whose sake I suffer these things at their hands.’
They however were not moved with pity at these words, nor did they feel
any awe of the sacred season; for it was during the time of Lent1729
that they thus kicked the man to death.
66. Persecution the weapon of
Arianism.
O new heresy, that hast put on the whole devil in
impiety and wicked deeds! For in truth it is but a lately invented
evil; and although certain heretofore appear to have adopted its
doctrines, yet they concealed them, and were not known to hold them.
But Eusebius and Arius, like serpents coming out of their holes, have
vomited forth the poison of this impiety; Arius daring to blasphemy
openly, and1730
Eusebius defending his blasphemy. He
was not however able to support the heresy, until, as I said before, he
found a patron1731
for it in the
Emperor. Our fathers called an Ecumenical Council, when three hundred
of them, more or less1732
, met together and
condemned the Arian heresy, and all declared that it was alien and
strange to the faith of the Church. Upon this its supporters,
perceiving that they were dishonoured, and had now no good ground of
argument to insist upon, devised a different method, and attempted to
vindicate it by means of external power. And herein one may especially
admire the novelty as well as wickedness of their device, and how they
go beyond all other heresies. For these support their madness by
persuasive arguments calculated to deceive the simple; the Greeks, as
the Apostle has said, make their attack with excellency and
persuasiveness of speech, and with plausible fallacies; the Jews,
leaving the divine Scriptures, now, as the Apostle again has said,
contend about ‘fables and endless genealogies1733
;’ and the Manichees and Valentinians
with them, and others, corrupting the divine Scriptures, put forth
fables in terms of their own inventions. But the Arians are bolder than
them all, and have shewn that the other heresies are but their younger
sisters1734
, whom, as I have said, they surpass in
impiety, emulating them all, and especially the Jews in their iniquity.
For as the Jews, when they were unable to prove the charges which they
pretended to allege against Paul, straightway led him to the chief
captain and the governor; so likewise these men, who surpass the Jews
in their devices, make use only of the power of the judges; and if any
one so much as speaks against them, he is dragged before the Governor
or the General.
67.
Arianism worse than other heresies, because of Persecution.
The other heresies also, when the very Truth has
refuted them on the clearest evidence, are wont to be silent, being
simply confounded by their conviction. But this modern and accursed
heresy, when it is overthrown by argument, when it is cast down and
covered with shame by the very Truth, forthwith endeavours to coerce by
violence and stripes and imprisonment those whom it has been unable to
persuade by argument, thereby acknowledging itself to be anything
rather than godly. For it is the part of true godliness not to compel1735
| 1735 The
early theory about persecution seems to have been this,—that that
was a bad cause which ‘depended’ upon it, but that, when a
‘cause’ was good, there was nothing wrong in using force in
due ‘subordination’ to argument [so Pius IX. in
Encycl. ‘Quanta cura,’ speaks of the ’officium
coercendi sancitis pœnis violatores catholicæ religionis];
that there was as little impropriety in the civil magistrate’s
inducing ‘individuals’ by force, when they were incapable
of higher motives, as by those secular blessings which follow on
Christianity. Our Lord’s kingdom was not of this world, that is,
it did not depend on this world; but, as subduing, engrossing, and
swaying this world, it at times condescended to make use of this
world’s weapons against itself. The simple question was
‘whether a cause depended on force for its existence.’ S.
Athanasius declared and the event proved, that Arianism was so
dependent. When Emperors ceased to persecute, Arianism ceased to be; it
had no life in itself. Again, all cruel persecution, or long continued,
or on a large scale, was wrong, as arguing ‘an absence’ of
moral and rational grounds in the ‘cause’ so maintained.
Again, there was an evident ‘impropriety’ in ecclesiastical
functionaries using secular weapons, as there would be in their
engaging in a secular pursuit, or forming secular connections; whereas
the soldier might as suitably, and should as dutifully, defend religion
with the sword, as the scholar with his pen. And further there was an
abhorrence of cruelty natural to us, which it was a duty to cherish and
maintain. All this being considered, there is no inconsistency in S.
Athanasius denouncing persecution, and in Theodosius decreeing that
‘the heretical teachers, who usurped the sacred titles of Bishops
or Presbyters,’ should be ‘exposed to the heavy penalties
of exile and confiscation.’ Gibbon, Hist. ch. 27. For a
list of passages from the Fathers on the subject, vid. Limborch on the
Inquisition, vol. 1. Bellarmin. de Laicis, c. 21, 22, and of
authors in favour of persecution, vid. Gerhard de Magistr.
Polit. p. 741, &c. [But vide supr., Apol. Fug. 23:
‘persecution is a device of the devil;’ see also
Socr. vii. 3.] | , but to persuade, as I said before. Thus our
Lord Himself, not as employing force, but as offering to their free
choice, has said to all, ‘If any man will follow after Me1736
;’ and to His disciples, ‘Will ye
also go away1737
?’ This heresy, however, is
altogether alien from godliness; and therefore how otherwise should it
act, than contrary to our Saviour, seeing also that it has enlisted
that enemy of Christ, Constantius, as it were Antichrist himself1738
| 1738 Cf.
De Syn. 5, note 10. | , to be its leader in impiety? He for its
sake has earnestly endeavoured to emulate Saul in savage cruelty. For
when the priests gave victuals to David, Saul commanded, and they were
all destroyed, in number three hundred and five1739
;
and this man, now that all avoid the heresy, and confess a sound faith
in the Lord, annuls a Council of full three hundred Bishops, banishes
the Bishops themselves, and hinders the people from the practice of
piety, and from their prayers to God, preventing their public
assemblies. And as Saul overthrew Nob, the city of the priests, so this
man, advancing even further in wickedness, has given up the Churches to
the impious. And as he honoured Doeg the accuser before the true
priests, and persecuted David, giving ear to the Ziphites; so this man
prefers heretics to the godly, and still persecutes them that flee from
him, giving ear to his own eunuchs, who falsely accuse the orthodox. He
does not perceive that whatever he does or writes in behalf of the
heresy of the Arians, involves an attack1740
upon the Saviour.
68. Constantius worse than Saul, Ahab, and
Pilate. His past conduct to his own relations.
Ahab himself did not act so cruelly towards the
priests of God, as this man has acted towards the Bishops. For he was
at least pricked in his conscience, when Naboth had been murdered, and
was afraid at the sight1741
of Elijah, but this
man neither reverenced the great Hosius, nor was wearied or pricked in
conscience, after banishing so many Bishops; but like another Pharaoh,
the more he is afflicted, the more he is hardened, and imagines greater
wickedness day by day. And the most extraordinary instance of his
iniquity was the following. It happened that when the Bishops were
condemned to banishment, certain other persons also received their
sentence on charges of murder or sedition or theft, each according to
the quality of his offence. These men after a few months he released,
on being requested to do so, as Pilate did Barabbas; but the servants
of Christ he not only refused to set at liberty, but even sentenced
them to more unmerciful punishment in the place of their exile, proving
himself ‘an undying evil1742
| 1742 A
quotation from Homer, Od. xii. 118. | ’ to them. To
the others through congeniality of disposition he became a friend; but
to the orthodox he was an enemy on account of their true faith in
Christ. Is it not clear to all men from hence, that the Jews of old
when they demanded Barabbas, and crucified the Lord, acted but the part
which these present enemies of Christ are acting together with
Constantius? nay, that he is even more bitter than Pilate. For Pilate,
when he perceived1743
the injustice of
the deed, washed his hands; but this man, while he banishes the saints,
gnashes his teeth against them more and more.
69. But what wonder is it if, after he has been
led into impious errors, he is so cruel towards the Bishops, since the
common feelings of humanity could not induce him to spare even his own kindred. His uncles1744
| 1744 [See
above, p. 134, note 8, and ref. there; also Gibbon, ch. xviii. vol. ii.
p. 364 sqq.] | he slew; his cousins he put out of the way;
he commiserated not the sufferings of his father-in-law, though he had
married his daughter, or of his kinsmen; but he has ever been a
transgressor of his oaths towards all. So likewise he treated his
brother in an unholy manner; and now he pretends to build his
sepulchre, although he delivered up to the barbarians his betrothed
wife Olympias, whom his brother had protected till his death, and had
brought up as his intended consort. Moreover he attempted to set aside
his wishes, although he boasts to be his heir1745
;
for so he writes, in terms which any one possessed of but a small
measure of sense would be ashamed of. But when I compare his letters, I
find that he does not possess common understanding, but that his mind
is solely regulated by the suggestions of others, and that he has no
mind of his own at all. Now Solomon says, ‘If a ruler hearken to
lies, all his servants are wicked1746
.’ This
man proves by his actions that he is such an unjust one, and that those
about him are wicked.
70. Inconstancy of Constantius.
How then, being such an one, and taking pleasure
in such associates, can he ever design anything just or reasonable,
entangled as he is in the iniquity of his followers, men who verily
bewitch him, or rather who have trampled his brains under their heels?
Wherefore he now writes letters1747
, and then
repents that he has written them, and after repenting is again stirred
up to anger, and then again laments his fate, and being undetermined
what to do, he shews a soul destitute of understanding. Being then of
such a character, one must fairly pity him, because that under the
semblance and name of freedom he is the slave of those who drag him on
to gratify their own impious pleasure. In a word, while through his
folly and inconstancy, as the Scripture saith1748
,
he is willing to comply with the desires of others, he has given
himself up to condemnation, to be consumed by fire in the future
judgment; at once consenting to do whatever they wish, and gratifying
them in their designs against the Bishops, and in their exertion of
authority over the Churches. For behold, he has now again thrown into
disorder all the Churches of Alexandria1749
and of Egypt and Libya, and has publicly given orders, that the Bishops
of the Catholic Church and faith be cast out of their churches, and
that they be all given up to the professors of the Arian doctrines1750
. The General began to carry this order into
execution; and straightway Bishops were sent off in chains, and
Presbyters and Monks bound with iron, after being almost beaten to
death with stripes. Disorder prevails in every place; all Egypt and
Libya are in danger, the people being indignant at this unjust command,
and seeing in it the preparation for the coming of Antichrist, and
beholding their property plundered by others, and given up into the
hands of the heretics.
71. This wickedness unprecedented.
When was ever such iniquity heard of? when was
such an evil deed ever perpetrated, even in times of persecution? They
were heathens who persecuted formerly; but they did not bring their
idols into the Churches. Zenobia1751
| 1751 [This
is ‘certainly false,’ see Encyclop. Brit., art.
Palmyra, p. 201, note 4.] | , was a Jewess,
and a supporter of Paul of Samosata; but she did not give up the
Churches to the Jews for Synagogues. This is a new piece of iniquity.
It is not simply persecution, but more than persecution, it is a
prelude and preparation1752
for the coming of
Antichrist. Even if it be admitted that they invented false charges
against Athanasius and the rest of the Bishops whom they banished, yet
what is this to their later practices? What charges have they to allege
against the whole of Egypt and Libya and Pentapolis1753
? For they have begun no longer to lay their
plots against individuals, in which case they might be able to frame a
lie against them; but they have set upon all in a body, so that if they
merely choose to invent accusations against them, they must be
condemned. Thus their wickedness has blinded their understanding1754
; and they have required, without any reason
assigned, that the whole body of the Bishops shall be expelled, and
thereby they shew that the charges they framed against Athanasius and
the rest of the Bishops whom they banished were false, and invented for
no other purpose than to support the accursed heresy of the Arian
enemies of Christ. This is now no longer concealed, but has become most
manifest to all men. He commanded Athanasius to be expelled out of the
city, and gave up the Churches to them. And the Presbyters and Deacons
that were with him, who had been appointed by Peter and Alexander, were
also expelled and driven into banishment; and the real Arians, who not
through any suspicions arising from circumstances, but on account of
the heresy had been expelled at first together with Arius himself by
the Bishop
Alexander,—Secundus in Libya, in Alexandria Euzoius1755
the Chananæan, Julius, Ammon, Marcus,
Irenæus, Zosimus, and Sarapion surnamed Pelycon, and in Libya
Sisinnius, and the younger men with him, associates in his impiety;
these have obtained possession of the Churches.
72. Banishment of Egyptian Bishops.
And the General Sebastian wrote to the governors
and military authorities in every place; and the true Bishops were
persecuted, and those who professed impious doctrines were brought in
in their stead. They banished Bishops who had grown old in orders, and
had been many years in the Episcopate, having been ordained by the
Bishop Alexander; Ammonius1756
, Hermes,
Anagamphus, and Marcus, they sent to the Upper Oasis; Muis, Psenosiris,
Nilammon, Plenes, Marcus, and Athenodorus to Ammoniaca, with no other
intention than that they should perish in their passage through the
deserts. They had no pity on them though they were suffering from
illness, and indeed proceeded on their journey with so much difficulty
on account of their weakness, that they were obliged to be carried in
litters, and their sickness was so dangerous that the materials for
their burial accompanied them. One of them indeed died, but they would
not even permit the body to be given up to his friends for interment.
With the same purpose they banished also the Bishop Dracontius to the
desert places about Clysma, Philo to Babylon, Adelphius to Psinabla in
the Thebais, and the Presbyters Hierax and Dioscorus to Syene. They
likewise drove into exile Ammonius, Agathus, Agathodæmon,
Apollonius, Eulogius, Apollos, Paphnutius, Gaius, and Flavius, ancient
Bishops, as also the Bishops Dioscorus, Ammonius, Heraclides, and
Psais; some of whom they gave up to work in the stone-quarries, others
they persecuted with an intention to destroy, and many others they
plundered. They banished also forty of the laity, with certain virgins
whom they had before exposed to the fire1757
;
beating them so severely with rods taken from palm-trees, that after
lingering five days some of them died, and others had recourse to
surgical treatment on account of the thorns left in their limbs, from
which they suffered torments worse than death1758
.
But what is most dreadful to the mind of any man of sound
understanding, though characteristic of these miscreants, is this: When
the virgins during the scourging called upon the Name of Christ, they
gnashed their teeth against them with increased fury. Nay more, they
would not give up the bodies of the dead to their friends for burial,
but concealed them that they might appear to be ignorant of the murder.
They did not however escape detection; the whole city perceived it, and
all men withdrew from them as executioners, as malefactors and robbers.
Moreover they overthrew monasteries, and endeavoured to cast monks into
the fire; they plundered houses, and breaking into the house of certain
free citizens where the Bishop had deposited a treasure, they plundered
and took it away. They scourged the widows on the soles of their feet,
and hindered them from receiving their alms.
73. Character of Arian nominees.
Such were the iniquities practised by the Arians;
and as to their further deeds of impiety, who could hear the account of
them without shuddering? They had caused these venerable old men and
aged Bishops to be sent into banishment; they now appointed in their
stead profligate heathen youths, whom they thought to raise at once to
the highest dignity, though they were not even Catechumens1759
| 1759 Vid.
Hallier, de Ordin. part 2. i. 1, art. 2. | . And others who were accused of bigamy1760
| 1760 διγυναίοις, not διγάμοις. On the latter, vid. Suicer, Thess. in voc.
διγαμία. Tertull. de Monogam. | , and even of worse crimes, they nominated
Bishops on account of the wealth and civil power which they possessed,
and sent them out as it were from a market, upon their giving them
gold. And now more dreadful calamities befel the people. For when they
rejected these mercenary dependents of the Arians, so alien from
themselves, they were scourged, they were proscribed, they were shut up
in prison by the General (who did all this readily, being a Manichee),
in order that they might no longer seek after their own Bishops, but be
forced to accept those whom they abominated, men who were now guilty of
the same mockeries as they had before practised among their idols.
74. The Episcopal appointments of Constantius
a mark of Antichrist.
Will not every just person break forth into
lamentations at the sight or hearing of these things, at perceiving the
arrogance and extreme injustice of these impious men? ‘The
righteous lament in the place of the impious1761
.’ After all these things, and now that
the impiety has reached such a pitch of audacity, who will any longer
venture to call this Costyllius1762
| 1762 An
irregularly formed diminutive, or a quasi diminutive from Constantius,
as Agathyllus from Agathocles, Heryllus from Heracles, &c. vid.
Matth. Gr. Gramm. §102. ed. 1820. [Curtius,
§347] | a Christian, and not rather the image of
Antichrist? For what mark of Antichrist is yet wanting? How can he in
any way fail to be regarded as that one? or how can the latter fail to
be supposed such a one as he is? Did not the Arians and the Gentiles
offer those sacrifices in the great Church in the Cæsareum1763
| 1763 Ap. Const. 14, supr. §55. | , and utter their blasphemies against Christ
as by His command? And does not the vision of Daniel thus describe1764
Antichrist; that he shall make war with the
saints, and prevail against them, and exceed all that have been before
him in evil deeds and shall humble three kings, and speak words against
the Most High, and shall think to change times and laws? Now what other
person besides Constantius has ever attempted to do these things? He is
surely such a one as Antichrist would be. He speaks words against the
Most High by supporting this impious heresy: he makes war against the
saints by banishing the Bishops; although indeed he exercises this
power but for a little while1765
| 1765 Constantius died at 45, having openly apostatized for about six
years. Julian died at 32, after a reign of a year and a half. vid.
supr. §32. vid. also Bellarmin. de Notis Eccl. 17 and
18. | to his own
destruction. Moreover he has surpassed those before him in wickedness,
having devised a new mode of persecution; and after he had overthrown
three kings, namely Vetranio, Magnentius, and Gallus, he straightway
undertook the patronage of impiety; and like a giant1766
| 1766 Vid.
de Decr. §32, note 8, Orat. ii. §32, Naz.
Orat. 43, 26. Socr. Hist. v. 10, p. 268. | he has dared in his pride to set himself up
against the Most High. He has thought to change laws, by transgressing
the ordinance of the Lord given us through His Apostles, by altering
the customs of the Church, and inventing a new kind of appointments.
For he sends from strange places, distant a fifty days’ journey1767
, Bishops attended by soldiers to people
unwilling to receive them; and instead of an introduction to the
acquaintance of their people, they bring with them threatening messages
and letters to the magistrates. Thus he sent Gregory from Cappadocia1768
to Alexandria; he transferred Germinius from
Cyzicus to Sirmium; he removed Cecropius from Laodicea to
Nicomedia.
75. Arrival of George at Alexandria, and
proceedings of Constantius in Italy.
Again he transferred from Cappadocia to Milan one
Auxentius1769
| 1769 Cf.
de Syn. §§1, 8, and Ep. Æg. 7. | , an intruder rather than a Christian,
whom he commanded to stay there, after he had banished for his piety
towards Christ Dionysius the Bishop of the place, a godly man. But this
person was as yet even ignorant of the Latin language, and unskilful in
everything except impiety. And now one George, a Cappadocian, who was
contractor of stores1770
| 1770 Cf.
supr. §56, note 8. | at Constantinople,
and having embezzled all monies that he received, was obliged to fly,
he commanded to enter Alexandria with military pomp, and supported by
the authority of the General. Next, finding one Epictetus1771
| 1771 Epictetus above, p. 226, is called ὑποκρίτης, which Montfaucon translated ‘stage-player.’ It
is a question whether more than ‘actor’ is meant by it,
alluding to the mockery of an ordination in which he seems to have
taken part. Though an Asiatic apparently by birth, he was made Bishop
of Civita Vecchia. We hear of him at the conference between Constantius
and Liberius. Theod. H. E. ii. 13. Then he assists in the
ordination of Felix. Afterwards he made a martyr of S. Ruffinian by
making him run before his carriage; and he ends his historical career
by taking a chief part among the Arians at Ariminum. vid. Tillem. t.
vi. p. 380. &c. Ughell. Ital. t. 10. p. 56. | a novice, a bold young man, he loved him1772
| 1772 The
Greek is ᾽Επικτητόν
τινα…νεώτερον…ἠγάπησεν,
ὁρῶν, κ. τ. λ. So in the account of the νεανίσκος,
῾Ο δὲ
᾽Ιησοῦς
ἐμβλέψας
αὐτῷ,
ἠγάπησεν
αὐτόν. Mark x.
21. | , perceiving that he was ready for
wickedness; and by his means he carries on his designs against those of
the Bishops whom he desires to ruin. For he is prepared to do
everything that the Emperor wishes; who accordingly availing himself of
his assistance, has committed at Rome a strange act, but one truly
resembling the malice of Antichrist. Having made preparations in the
Palace instead of the Church, and caused some three of his own eunuchs
to attend instead of the people, he then compelled three1773
| 1773 i.e.
to keep up the canonical number; and cf. the case of Novatian, in
Euseb. H. E. vi. 43. On the custom, vid. Bingh. Antiqu.
ii. 11, §4. | ill-conditioned spies1774
(for one cannot call them Bishops), to
ordain forsooth as Bishop one Felix1775
| 1775 Cf.
Tillemont, Mem. t. 6. p. 778. Bolland. Catal. Pontif. ch.
21. p. 390. [Döllinger, ‘Fables respecting the Popes;’
D.C.B. ii. 480. Felix figures in the middle ages as the orthodox rival
of the ‘Arian’ Liberius.] | , a man worthy
of them, then in the Palace. For the people perceiving the iniquitous
proceedings of the heretics would not allow them to enter the
Churches1776
| 1776 Cf.
Theod. Hist. ii. 17. | , and withdrew themselves far from
them.
76. Tyrannous banishment of Bishops by
Constantius.
Now what is yet wanting to make him Antichrist?
or what more could Antichrist do at his coming than this man has done?
Will he not find when he comes that the way has been already prepared
for him by this man easily to deceive the people? Again1777
, he claims to himself the right of deciding
causes, which he refers to the Court instead of the Church, and
presides at them in person. And strange it is to say, when he perceives
the accusers at a loss, he takes up
the accusation himself, so that the injured party may no longer be able
to defend himself on account of the violence which he displays. This he
did in the proceedings against Athanasius. For when he saw the boldness
of the Bishops Paulinus, Lucifer, Eusebius, and Dionysius, and how out
of the recantation of Ursacius and Valens1778
they confuted those who spoke against the Bishop, and advised that
Valens and his fellows should no longer be believed, since they had
already retracted what they now asserted, he immediately stood up1779
and said, ‘I am now the accuser of
Athanasius; on my account you must believe what these assert.’
And then, when they said,—‘But how can you be an accuser,
when the accused person is not present? for if you are his accuser, yet
he is not present, and therefore cannot be tried. And the cause is not
one that concerns Rome, so that you should be believed as being the
Emperor; but it is a matter that concerns a Bishop; for the trial ought
to be conducted on equal terms both to the accuser and the accused. And
besides, how can you accuse him? for you could not be present to
witness the conduct of one who lived at so great a distance from you;
and if you speak but what you have heard from these, you ought also to
give credit to what he says; but if you will not believe him, while you
do believe them, it is plain that they assert these things for your
sake, and accuse Athanasius only to gratify you?’—when he
heard this, thinking that what they had so truly spoken was an insult
to himself, he sent them into banishment; and being exasperated against
Athanasius, he wrote in a more savage strain, requiring that he should
suffer what has now befallen him, and that the Churches should be given
up to the Arians, and that they should be allowed to do whatever they
pleased.
77. Constantius the precursor of
Antichrist.
Terrible indeed, and worse than terrible are such
proceedings; yet conduct suitable to him who assumes the character of
Antichrist. Who that beheld him taking the lead of his pretended
Bishops, and presiding in Ecclesiastical causes, would not justly
exclaim that this was ‘the abomination of desolation1780
’ spoken of by Daniel? For having put
on the profession of Christianity, and entering into the holy places,
and standing therein, he lays waste the Churches, transgressing their
Canons, and enforcing the observance of his own decrees. Will any one
now venture to say that this is a peaceful time with Christians, and
not a time of persecution? A persecution indeed, such as never arose
before, and such as no one perhaps will again stir up, except
‘the son of lawlessness1781
,’ do these
enemies of Christ exhibit, who already present a picture of him in
their own persons. Wherefore it especially behoves us to be sober, lest
this heresy which has reached such a height of impudence, and has
diffused itself abroad like the ‘poison of an adder1782
,’ as it is written in the Proverbs,
and which teaches doctrines contrary to the Saviour; lest, I say, this
be that ‘falling away1783
,’ after which
He shall be revealed, of whom Constantius is surely the forerunner1784
. Else wherefore is he so mad against the
godly? wherefore does he contend for it as his own heresy, and call
every one his enemy who will not comply with the madness of Arius, and
admit gladly the allegations of the enemies of Christ, and dishonour so
many venerable Councils? why did he command that the Churches should be
given up to the Arians? was it not that, when that other comes, he may
thus find a way to enter into them, and may take to himself him who has
prepared those places for him? For the ancient Bishops who were
ordained by Alexander, and by his predecessor Achillas, and by Peter
before him, have been cast out; and those introduced whom the
companions of soldiers nominated; and they nominated only such as
promised to adopt their doctrines.
78. Alliance of Meletians with Arians.
This was an easy proposition for the Meletians to
comply with; for the greater part, or rather the whole of them, have
never had a religious education, nor are they acquainted with the
‘sound faith1785
’ in Christ,
nor do they know at all what Christianity is, or what writings we
Christians possess. For having come out, some of them from the worship
of idols, and others from the senate, or from the first civil offices,
for the sake of the miserable exemption1786
from duty and for the patronage they gained, and having bribed1787
the Meletians who preceded them, they have
been advanced to this dignity even before they had been under
instruction. And even if they pretended to have been such, yet what
kind of instruction is to be obtained among the Meletians? But indeed
without even pretending to be under instruction, they came at once, and
immediately were called Bishops, just as children receive a name. Being
then persons of this description, they thought the thing of no great
consequence, nor even supposed that piety was different from impiety. Accordingly from being Meletians
they readily and speedily became Arians; and if the Emperor should
command them to adopt any other profession, they are ready to change
again to that also. Their ignorance of true godliness quickly brings
them to submit to the prevailing folly, and that which happens to be
first taught them. For it is nothing to them to be carried about by
every wind1788
and tempest, so long as they are only
exempt from duty, and obtain the patronage of men; nor would they
scruple probably to change again1789
to what they
were before, even to become such as they were when they were heathens.
Any how, being men of such an easy temper, and considering the Church
as a civil senate, and like heathen being idolatrously minded, they put
on the honourable name1790
of the Saviour,
under which they polluted the whole of Egypt, by causing so much as the
name of the Arian heresy to be known therein. For Egypt has heretofore
been the only country, throughout which the profession of the orthodox
faith was boldly maintained1791
; and therefore
these misbelievers have striven to introduce jealousy there also, or
rather not they, but the devil who has stirred them up, in order that
when his herald Antichrist shall come, he may find that the Churches in
Egypt also are his own, and that the Meletians have already been
instructed in his principles, and may recognise himself as already
formed1792
in them.
79. Behaviour of the Meletians contrasted with
that of the Alexandrian Christians.
Such is the effect of that iniquitous order which
was issued by Constantius. On the part of the people there was
displayed a ready alacrity to submit to martyrdom, and an increased
hatred of this most impious heresy; and yet lamentations for their
Churches, and groans burst from all, while they cried unto the Lord,
‘Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage unto Thine
enemies to reproach1793
;’ but make
haste to deliver us out of the hand of the lawless1794
. For behold, ‘they have not spared Thy
servants, but are preparing the way for Antichrist.’ For the
Meletians will never resist him, nor will they care for the truth, nor
will they esteem it an evil thing to deny Christ. They are men who have
not approached the word with sincerity; like the chameleon1795
they assume every various appearance; they
are hirelings of any who will make use of them. They make not the truth
their aim, but prefer before it their present pleasure; they say only,
‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die1796
.’ Such a profession and faithless
temper is more worthy of Epicritian1797
| 1797 Histrionum genus, Montf. [The allusion is obscure. Epicrates was a
comedian of the 4th. cent. b.c.] | players than
of Meletians. But the faithful servants of our Saviour, and the true
Bishops who believe with sincerity, and live not for themselves, but
for the Lord; these faithfully believing in our Lord Jesus Christ, and
knowing, as I said before, that the charges which were alleged against
the truth were false, and plainly fabricated for the sake of the Arian
heresy (for by the recantation1798
of Ursacius and
Valens they detected the calumnies which were devised against
Athanasius, for the purpose of removing him out of the way, and of
introducing into the Churches the impieties of the enemies of Christ);
these, I say, perceiving all this, as defenders and preachers of the
truth, chose rather, and endured to be insulted and driven into
banishment, than to subscribe against him, and to hold communion with
the Arian madmen. They forgot not the lessons they had taught to
others; yea, they know well that great dishonour remains for the
traitors, but for them which confess the truth, the kingdom of heaven;
and that to the careless and such as fear Constantius will happen no
good thing; but for them that endure tribulations here, as sailors
reach a quiet haven after a storm, as wrestlers receive a crown after
the combat, so these shall obtain great and eternal joy and delight in
heaven;—such as Joseph obtained after those tribulations; such as
the great Daniel had after his temptations and the manifold
conspiracies of the courtiers against him; such as Paul now enjoys,
being crowned by the Saviour; such as the people of God everywhere
expect. They, seeing these things, were not infirm of purpose, but
waxed strong in faith1799
, and increased in
their zeal more and more. Being fully persuaded of the calumnies and
impieties of the heretics, they condemn the persecutor, and in heart
and mind run together the same course with them that are persecuted,
that they also may obtain the crown of Confession.
80. Duty of separating from heretics.
One might say much more against this detestable
and antichristian heresy, and might demonstrate by many arguments that
the practices of Constantius are a prelude to the coming of Antichrist.
But seeing that, as the Prophet1800
has said, from
the feet even to the head there is no reasonableness in it, but it is
full of all filthiness and all impiety, so that the very name of it
ought to be avoided as a dog’s vomit or the poison of serpents; and seeing that Costyllius
openly exhibits the image of the adversary1801
;
in order that our words may not be too many, it will be well to content
ourselves with the divine Scripture, and that we all obey the precept
which it has given us both in regard to other heresies, and especially
respecting this. That precept is as follows; ‘Depart ye, depart
ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the
midst of them, and be ye separate, that bear the vessels of the Lord1802
.’ This may suffice1803
| 1803 [A
somewhat characteristic phrase of Athanasius.] | to instruct us all, so that if any one has
been deceived by them, he may go out from them, as out of Sodom, and
not return again unto them, lest he suffer the fate of Lot’s
wife; and if any one has continued from the beginning pure from this
impious heresy, he may glory in Christ and say, ‘We have not
stretched out our hands to a strange god1804
;
neither have we worshipped the works of our own hands, nor served the
creature1805
more than Thee, the God that hast
created all things through Thy word, the Only-Begotten Son our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom to Thee the Father together with the same
Word in the Holy Spirit be glory and power for ever and ever.
Amen.’
81. The Second Protest1806
| 1806 Of
the two Protests referred to supr. §48, the first was omitted by
the copyists, as being already contained, as Montfaucon seems to say,
in the Apology against the Arians; yet if it be the one to which
allusion is made in the beginning of the Protest which follows, it is
not found there, nor does it appear what document of a.d. 356 could properly have a place in a set of papers
which end with a.d. 350. | .
The people of the Catholic Church in Alexandria,
which is under the government of the most Reverend Bishop Athanasius,
make this public protest by those whose names are under-written.
We have already protested against the nocturnal
assault which was committed upon ourselves and the Lord’s house;
although in truth there needed no protest in respect to proceedings
with which the whole city has been already made acquainted. For the
bodies of the slain which were discovered were exposed in public, and
the bows and arrows and other arms found in the Lord’s house
loudly proclaim the iniquity.
But whereas after our Protest already made, the
most illustrious Duke Syrianus endeavours to force all men to agree
with him, as though no tumult had been made, nor any had perished
(wherein is no small proof that these things were not done according to
the wishes of the most gracious Emperor Augustus Constantius; for he
would not have been so much afraid of the consequences of this
transaction, had he acted therein by command); and whereas also, when
we went to him, and requested him not to do violence to any, nor to
deny what had taken place, he ordered us, being Christians, to be
beaten with clubs; thereby again giving proof of the nocturnal assault
which has been directed against the Church:—
We therefore make also this present Protest,
certain of us being now about to travel to the most religious Emperor
Augustus: and we adjure Maximus the Prefect of Egypt, and the
Controllers1807
, in the name of Almighty God, and for
the sake of the salvation of the most religious Augustus Constantius,
to relate all these things to the piety of Augustus, and to the
authority of the most illustrious Prefects1808
.
We adjure also the masters of vessels, to publish these things
everywhere, and to carry them to the ears of the most religious
Augustus, and to the Prefects and the Magistrates in every place, in
order that it may be known that a war has been waged against the
Church, and that, in the times of Augustus Constantius, Syrianus has
caused virgins and many others to become martyrs.
As it dawned upon the fifth before the Ides of
February1809
, that is to say, the fourteenth of the
month Mechir, while we were keeping vigil1810
| 1810 Ap. Const. 25; Ap. Fug. 24. | in
the Lord’s house, and engaged in our prayers (for there was to be
a communion on the Preparation1811
| 1811 Friday vid. Encyc. 4, note 9. | ); suddenly about
midnight, the most illustrious Duke Syrianus attacked us and the Church
with many legions of soldiers1812
| 1812 i.e.
more than 5,000, Ap. Fug. 24. | armed with naked
swords and javelins and other warlike instruments, and wearing helmets
on their heads; and actually while we were praying, and while the
lessons were being read, they broke down the doors. And when the doors
were burst open by the violence of the multitude, he gave command, and
some of them were shooting; others shouting, their arms rattling, and
their swords flashing in the light of the lamps; and forthwith virgins
were being slain, many men trampled down, and falling over one another
as the soldiers came upon them, and several were pierced with arrows
and perished. Some of the soldiers also were betaking themselves to
plunder, and were stripping the virgins, who were more afraid of being
even touched by them than they were of death. The Bishop continued
sitting upon his throne, and exhorted all to pray. The Duke led on the
attack, having with him Hilarius the notary, whose part in the
proceedings was shewn in the sequel. The Bishop was seized, and barely
escaped being torn to pieces; and having fallen into a state of
insensibility, and appearing as one dead, he disappeared from among
them, and has gone we know not whither. They were eager to kill him.
And when they saw that many had perished, they gave orders to the
soldiers to remove out of sight the bodies of the dead. But the most
holy virgins who were left behind were buried in the tombs, having
attained the glory of martyrdom in the times of the most religious
Constantius. Deacons also were beaten with stripes even in the
Lord’s house, and were shut up there.
Nor did matters stop even here: for after all
this had happened, whosoever pleased broke open any door that he could,
and searched, and plundered what was within. They entered even into
those places which not even all Christians are allowed to enter.
Gorgonius, the commander of the city force1813
| 1813 στρατηγοῦ. There were two στρατηγοὶ
or duumvirs at the head of the police force at
Alexandria; they are mentioned in the plural in Euseb. vii. 11, where
S. Dionysius speaks of their seizing him. vid. Du Cange, Gloss.
Græc. in voc. | ,
knows this, for he was present. And no unimportant evidence of the
nature of this hostile assault is afforded by the circumstance, that
the armour and javelins and swords borne by those who entered were left
in the Lord’s house. They have been hung up in the Church until
this time, that they might not be able to deny it: and although they
sent several times Dynamius the soldier1814
| 1814 στρατηγοῦ. There were two στρατηγοὶ
or duumvirs at the head of the police force at
Alexandria; they are mentioned in the plural in Euseb. vii. 11, where
S. Dionysius speaks of their seizing him. vid. Du Cange, Gloss.
Græc. in voc. | ,
as well as the Commander1815
| 1815 τὸν τῆς
τάξεως, supr.
§61, στρατιώτου | of the city police,
desiring to take them away, we would not allow it, until the
circumstance was known to all.
Now if an order has been given that we should be
persecuted we are all ready to suffer martyrdom. But if it be not by
order of Augustus, we desire Maximus the Prefect of Egypt and all the
city magistrates to request of him that they may not again be suffered
thus to assail us. And we desire also that this our petition may be
presented to him, that they may not attempt to bring in hither any
other Bishop: for we have resisted unto death1816
,
desiring to have the most Reverend Athanasius, whom God gave us at the
beginning, according to the succession of our fathers; whom also the
most religious Augustus Constantius himself sent to us with letters and
oaths. And we believe that when his Piety is informed of what has taken
place, he will be greatly displeased, and will do nothing contrary to
his oaths, but will again give orders that our Bishop Athanasius shall
remain with us.
To the Consuls to be elected1817
| 1817 Since
the Consuls came into office on the first of January, and were
proclaimed in each city, it is strange that the Alexandrians here speak
in February as if ignorant of their names. The phrase, however, is
found elsewhere. Thus in this very year the Chron. Aceph. dates
Jan. 5 as ‘post Consulatum Arbitionis et Loliani.’ And in
Socr. Hist. ii. 29, in the instance of the year 351, when there
were no Consuls, and in 346, when there was a difference on the subject
between the Emperors who were eventually themselves Consuls, the first
months are dated in like manner from the Consuls of the foregoing
year. | after the Consulship of the most illustrious
Arbæthion and Collianus1818
, on the seventeenth
Mechir1819
| 1819 Feb.
12, Leap year; see note below, at the end of Introd. to
Letters. | , which is the day before the Ides of
February.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
