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| Chapter XLI.
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Chapter XLI.
Accordingly, the emperor
orders a Synod to assemble at Ariminum, a city of Italy, and instructs
Taurus the prefect, not to let them separate, after they were once
assembled, until they should agree as to one faith, at the same time
promising him the consulship, if he carried the affair to a successful
termination. Imperial376
| 376 “magistris
officialibus”: Halm reads “magistri.” | officers,
therefore, being sent through Illyria, Italy, Africa, and the two
Gauls, four hundred and rather more Western bishops were summoned or
compelled to assemble at Ariminum; and for all of these the emperor had
ordered provisions377
| 377 “annonas et
cellaria.” | and lodgings to
be provided. But that appeared unseemly to the men of our part of the
world, that is, to the Aquitanians, the Gauls, and Britons, so that
refusing the public supplies, they preferred to live at their own
expense. Three only of those from Britain, through want of means of
their own, made use of the public bounty, after having refused
contributions offered by the rest; for they thought it more dutiful to
burden the public treasury than individuals. I have heard that
Gavidius, our bishop, was accustomed to refer to this conduct in a
censuring sort of way, but I would be inclined to judge far otherwise;
and I hold it matter of admiration that the bishops had nothing of
their own, while they did not accept assistance from others rather than
from the public treasury, so that they burdened nobody. In both points,
they thus furnished us with noble example. Nothing worthy of mention is
recorded of the others; but I return to the subject in hand. After all
the bishops had been collected together, as we have said, a separation
of parties took place. Our friends378
| 378 Of course, the
Catholics, or orthodox. | take
possession of the church, while the Arians select, as a place for
prayer, a temple which was then intentionally standing empty. But these
did not amount to more than eighty persons: the rest belonged to our
party. Well, after frequent meetings had been held, nothing was
really
accomplished, our
friends continuing in the faith, and the others not abandoning their
unfaithfulness. At length it was resolved to send ten deputies to the
emperor, that he might learn what was the faith or opinion of the
parties, and might know that there could be no peace with heretics. The
Arians do the same thing, and send a like number of deputies, who
should contend with our friends in the presence of the emperor. But on
the part of our people, young men of but little learning and little
prudence had been selected; while, on the side of the Arians, old men
were sent, skillful and abounding in talent, thoroughly imbued, too,
with their old unfaithful doctrines; and these easily got the upper
hand with the prince. But our friends had been specially charged not to
enter into any kind of communion with the Arians, and to reserve every
point, in its entirety, for discussion in a Synod.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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