Last Revised – 6/20/22

Anonymous Church History (CPG 6034)

[often falsely attributed to Gelasius of Cyzicus]

Translated by Robert Read and Philip Balge from the text of G. C. Hansen 1
Copyright 2017

An Account of the Holy Synod at Nicaea

About the things which the heretics argued against the holy fathers,
and the proclamation of the victorious orthodox teaching

Book 3
The efforts of pious Emperor Constantine after the great council in Nicaea

3.1.1 We have presented the events in the first and second books of our church history
sequentially. We began with the reign of victorious Emperor Constantine, who was
inspired by Christ. We covered everything from then until the end of the negotiations
at the holy council in Nicaea. We have thus given a sense of what has happened, from
the siege laid against the churches of God by God-hating tyrants to the humiliating
downfall of the same ungodly tyrants.

3.1.2 Christ, the bridegroom of the church, nobly armed his worthy servant Constantine
with the weapon of his dear cross and arose against those ungodly men.

3.1.3 So he gave him the trophy of victory against those tyrants, put them all to death under
the feet of God-loving Constantine, and through him granted profound peace from
above to the churches throughout his empire.

3.1.4 Afterwards, that hostile demon who hates good again set a scheme in motion to
oppose that peace through wicked Arius.

3.1.5 Because of him and because of the ungodly blasphemies he spoke against the Son of
God, God arranged the holy great ecumenical council in Nicaea through his servant,
the God-loving Emperor Constantine.

3.1.6 By the grace of Christ our God, we have to the best of our ability clearly presented
the business the Holy Spirit carried out at the council through the holy, orthodox high
priests there, three hundred in number.

1
Hansen, G.C. ed. Anonyme Kirchengeschichte:(Gelasius Cyzicenus, CPG 6034). GCS, N.F. 9. Berlin: DeGruyter,
2002.

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3.1.7 So I will proceed from here with an account of the emperor’s piety and how he was
constantly concerned for the churches of God.

3.2.1 His burning zeal for Christianity was so immensely strong as to lead all outsiders to
true knowledge of the living God. For he wrote to all the peoples subject to Roman
authority, and he encouraged them, first, with an exhortation to be released from the
earlier deception, then with an appeal that they turn themselves over to the teaching
of God our Savior and all return to the truth. He acted more like an apostle than an
emperor.

3.2.2 He urged the bishops in each city to build churches not only by enjoining them with
letters but also by eagerly giving money and defraying the expenses of building. His
letter explains this as follows:2

3.3.1 “Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus, to Eusebius. Up to the present day, impious
plans and tyranny are pursuing the servants of our God and Savior. I believe and am
thoroughly convinced, dear brother, that the holy buildings of all the churches have
either completely crumbled from neglect or have received less than proper care due to
fear of impending danger.

3.3.2 But now freedom has been restored, and that dragon has been driven out from
government of the state by the wise God’s providence through our service. I believe
that God has made his power obvious to everyone and that those who previously had
embraced fear, unbelief, or any other sin but have come to know him who truly is
God will come to the true and right faith and way of living.

3.3.3 Therefore if any churches are under your authority, or if you know other bishops,
priests, and deacons in authority in each place, remind them to zealously undertake
the work of building the churches. Let them repair or enlarge existing buildings, and
let them build new ones wherever necessary.

3.3.4 You should request from the governors and the prefect’s office whatever supplies you
and the others need. They have received orders to do whatever your holiness
commands with utmost zeal. May God preserve you, dear brother.”

3.3.5 The emperor sent these instructions for building churches to Eusebius Pamphili and to
the bishops in authority in each province.

3.3.6 Moreover, one can easily ascertain his written instructions to Eusebius of Palestine
for preparing copies of the holy books from the letter itself: 3

3.4.1 “Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus, to Bishop Eusebius. In the city which bears
our name, many people, gathered through God’s gracious care, have entrusted

2
The following letter is also preserved in Eusebius, Vita Const. 2.46; Socrates 1.9.46-49; Theodoret 1.15.1-2.
3
The following letter is also preserved in Eusebius, Vita Const. 4.36; Socrates 1.9.50-55; Theodoret 1.16.1-4.

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 themselves to the holy church so that everything there grows rapidly. We thought it
quite appropriate to build more churches there.

3.4.2 Therefore joyfully undertake the course of action we have chosen. It seemed proper to
us to instruct your prudence to order fifty copies of the Holy Scriptures on fine
parchment, easy to read and of portable size. They should be copied by skilled
calligraphers well-versed in their craft. You know that they must be prepared and
used for reading in the church.

3.4.3 Our clemency has sent a letter to the accountant of the diocese, instructing him to take
care to supply everything necessary for the job.

3.4.4 Diligently see to it that the manuscripts are completed as quickly as possible. With
this letter we authorize you to use two public carriages to transport them.

3.4.5 Thus the fair manuscripts may easily be brought for us to inspect them, once one of
your church’s deacons has completed this task. When he comes to us, we will make
our kindness evident to him. May God preserve you, dear brother.”

3.4.6 This is enough to indicate, rather, to clearly prove how the praiseworthy emperor
directed all his zeal toward religious matters, as we have said above.

3.4.7 To what has been said I will nevertheless add his successful efforts in connection with
the tomb of the Savior. When he learned that fanatics obsessed with the worship of
idols had heaped up dirt over the Lord’s tomb, eager to destroy any memory of his
saving work for mankind, and had built above it a temple to the licentious goddess
Aphrodite, the faithful emperor gave the command to tear down that foul structure as
soon as possible, to carry away the soil which accursed sacrifices had defiled, to
dispose of it somewhere far from the city, and then to build a large and beautiful
temple for our God and Savior.

3.4.8 This is all made quite clear in the God-loving emperor’s letter to the head of that
church (I mean the one in Jerusalem), Macarius, whom we have already mentioned as
a participant in the great council at Nicaea and who joined the others in extinguishing
the flame of Arian blasphemy:4

3.5.1 “Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus, to Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem. The

grace of our Savior, it seems to me, is so great that no words are adequate for the
present wonder. The fact that the monument of his holy tomb was able to remain
hidden beneath the earth from long ago through so many years truly surpasses every
other object of admiration. Now the grace of God our Savior has done away with the
tyranny of the common enemy of us all and Christ, the absolute monarch, has granted
freedom to the servants of that tyranny and brought knowledge of that holy place to
light.

4
The following letter is preserved in Eusebius, Vita Const. 3.30; Socrates 1.9.56-63; Theodoret 1.17.1-8.

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3.5.2 If all the wise men throughout the whole world gathered in one place and tried to
adequately express it, they could not attain to even its least part. This miracle
surpasses human reason’s entire natural capacity for faith as much as heavenly things
prove mightier than human things.

3.5.3 Therefore my one and only aim is that just as faith in the truth daily displays itself
through fresh miracles, so the minds of us all may become more earnestly devoted to
the holy law, with self-control and like-minded eagerness.

3.5.4 Because I believe that this goal of mine is generally known, I above all want to assure
you that my chief concern is to adorn with beautiful edifices that sacred place, from
which, at God’s command, I gave the order to remove the disgraceful deceit of
idolatry hanging over it like a burden. Though it was holy from of old by God’s
determination, God rendered it even more holy when he brought proof of the Savior’s
suffering to light.

3.5.5 It befits your prudence, therefore, to make arrangements and all necessary
preparations not only so that the basilica of the holy place should transcend those
everywhere else, but also that the rest of this bright building should win out over all
the most beautiful buildings in every city.

3.5.6 Know that we have appointed our friend Dracilianus (who performs the duties of the
illustrious prefects), the governor of the province, to oversee construction and
decoration of the walls. He has received orders from my piety to immediately
dispatch craftsmen, workers, and every necessity you anticipate for the building, of
which your prudence should inform him.

3.5.7 When you have inspected the work, quickly write to inform us what sort of columns
or marblework you would consider most excellent and suitable so that when we learn
from your letter how much and what sorts of materials are necessary, we may have
them conveyed from all quarters of the world to that brilliant house. For it is proper
that the most wonderful place in the world be adorned according to its dignity.

3.5.8 I wish to learn from you whether you think that the vaulted roof of that building’s
basilica should be coffered or adorned through some other style of ornate
workmanship. If it ought to be coffered, it could be embellished with gold.
Furthermore, concerning these things your holiness should inform the aforementioned
officials as soon as possible what workers, craftsmen, and expenses are needed. Be
sure to promptly report to me not only concerning the marblework and columns but
also whether you consider the coffered ceiling the more beautiful style. May God
preserve you, dear brother.”

3.6.1 The emperor’s own mother was the one who delivered this letter—she who of all the
pious is honored as mother of a noble son, who bore this great light to the world and
nourished him in piety from childhood. She herself, no less than the father of the
child, her husband Constantius, educated him in God’s laws of piety towards Christ.

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3.6.2 She undertook the journey without consideration for her old age (it was not long
before her death that she set out, for she reached the end of this life at the age of
eighty).

3.7.1 She had a burning desire in her heart to visit the holy sites and to search for the
Savior’s tomb and the precious wood of the cross of Christ, so she went to Jerusalem.

3.7.2 When she saw the place where he had suffered for universal salvation, she
immediately had that foul temple razed to the ground and that cursed soil scattered
somewhere far away. When the place which had been hidden had become visible,
they saw three buried crosses next to the Lord’s tomb.

3.7.3 They all indisputably believed that one of these was the cross of our Lord and Savior
while the others were the crosses of the thieves crucified next to him, but they did not
know which one had come close to the Lord’s holy body and caught the stream of his
precious blood.

3.7.4 But wise and truly godly Macarius, the head of that church, resolved the uncertainty
like so: He recognized the power of the saving cross by observing as the trees were
brought before a notable woman of the city who had long been afflicted with disease
and was drawing near to death.

3.7.5 While God-loving Helen and a crowd of many people were with him, he knelt in front
of the sick woman’s bed and addressed the following prayer to God, crying out in a
loud voice: “Lord God Almighty, you worked salvation for the human race through
your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ on the tree of the cross. Now in the last times
you inspired your servant, together with her son, also your servant, to seek the blessed
tree on which Christ, the Savior of all people, especially believers, was crucified in
the flesh. So show us, Lord, which of these three trees is the cross of Christ. Through
its contact with this sick and half-dead woman, brought about by us, may it become
the guide to health and resurrection for her.”

3.7.6 When he had finished praying, he brought the first tree and made it touch the sick
woman, but it did not help her at all. Then he brought the second also, but it too
proved ineffective. But when he reached for the third, the tree’s shadow immediately
approached the sick woman, and a great miracle happened. The half-dead woman
suddenly opened her eyes, then, after the Lord’s precious cross had touched her, she
jumped up, stood on her feet, and praised God. Having become so much healthier, she
walked around the whole house rejoicing and loudly proclaimed the power of the
divine cross with the whole household.

3.7.7 Thus the pious empress, the mother of the praiseworthy God-loving Emperor
Constantine, simply paid attention and was persuaded concerning the Savior’s tomb
and the precious cross of Christ. So she immediately built a house of prayer in that

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 place, as her pious son Constantine had commanded, and called it Martyrium. She
advanced further and further in the faith.

3.7.8 Therefore, having finally obtained the object of her desire, she also gave herself over
to the search for the nails with which the Lord’s body had been nailed to the tree of
the cross. When she had found them, she added some to the emperor’s helmet,
showing respect for her son’s head, to deflect the enemies’ arrows. She brought the
helmet to her son as a divine gift. She had the remaining nails forged into a bit for the
emperor’s horse, bringing about safety for the emperor and fulfilling the ancient
prophecy in which the prophet Zechariah long ago shouted, “What is upon the bit will
be holy to the Lord Almighty” [Zechariah 14:20].

3.7.9 She apportioned one part of the Savior’s cross to the imperial palace and gave the rest
to the bishop of that city, godly Macarius, whom we mentioned above, in a silver
container which she had made. She exhorted him to guard the reminders of salvation
for future generations.

3.7.10 After she along with Macarius, the head of that church, had gathered craftsmen of
every kind from everywhere, as the emperor, her son Constantine, had commanded,
she wonderfully built those spacious, magnificent temples. I consider it quite
superfluous to describe their beauty and size in this book, seeing as practically all
who love Christ, from everywhere under heaven, come together there to see the
extravagance of the buildings.

3.7.11 That praiseworthy admirable empress, the mother of the faithful emperor, did another
deed worth remembering. She gathered all those who had devoted their lives to
virginity, seated them on many couches, and herself did the work of a maidservant:
serving them, setting meals before them, giving them cups and pouring wine for
them, and carrying the ewer to the basin and pouring water on their hands.

3.7.12 Having done these and similar things, she gladly returned to her son, and not long
afterwards she departed to the immortal life, fully content, after enjoining her son at
length about pious living and crowning him with parting blessings. Even after her
death, therefore, she obtained the honor she deserved as one who had so carefully and
vigorously served the God of all.

3.7.13 She was survived by her daughter Constantia, who was the wife of wicked Licinius.

3.7.14 I have included in this historical account these few things about blessed, pious, godly
Helen of her many great virtuous deeds for God our Savior.

3.8.1 But I want to turn my attention again to the godly zeal of her son, the Christ-bearing
Emperor Constantine. His zeal for the saving cross of Christ so much surpassed that
of his father and mother that he concealed the token of the saving cross on which the
Lord Christ suffered according to the flesh, which his mother had brought to him, in a
statue of himself on the great porphyry column in the so-called market, that is, the

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 Forum of Constantine. He did this because he believed that the city which bore his
name would always be kept safe if that token should be preserved in it.

3.9.1 So the God-loving emperor clung to God with great piety and faith, and he caused
many other foreign tribes to come to peace with him. God had long ago subjected to
him many of these tribes, which had formerly been in conflict with the Romans. To
the degree that he reverently humbled himself before God, and in fact much more
than this, God made him prosper in everything.

3.9.2 At that time, many advantageous circumstances arose for the proclamation of the
apostolic message. Even though Matthew had preached to the Parthians,
Bartholomew to the Ethiopians, and Thomas to the Indians of great India, the
message about Christ was not yet well-known to the Indians far from Parthia and
certain peoples neighboring them.

3.9.3 It so happens that after the fashion of Metrodorus, a philosopher who had traveled to
nearly every people for research purposes, a certain Tyrian man named Meropius, a
philosopher of some repute, undertook the same research as Metrodorus. Meropius
brought along two boys who had been thoroughly instructed in every area of book-
learning and who were zealously eager for every subject of research. They themselves
had encouraged the philosopher Meropius to take them with him. Their names were
Frumentius and Edesius.

3.9.4 It was the custom and law of the foreigners who lived there, when we Romans did not
abide by the peace treaties enacted with them, to kill those of us found among them. It
happened then that for a short time the treaties between the two parties were dissolved
while Meropius was visiting inner India with Frumentius and Edesius.

3.9.5 Because they were constrained by a lack of provisions, especially water, they put out
to sea and came back to shore at various places throughout those inner Indians’
territory. They were unable to make progress because they were hindered by
opposing winds. Indeed, on some days they escaped notice and procured the needs of
their bodies from the land itself.

3.9.6 One day, while the boys were reading under a tree, the foreigners came and
slaughtered Meropius along with all the others except the aforementioned boys
Frumentius and Edesius, whom they knew. They took pity on them because they were
children, spared them, and brought them to their king as a gift. The king immediately
perceived that Frumentius was clever and appointed him administrator over his
household finances, and he had Edesius pour wine for him.

3.9.7 They were in this situation and were advancing day by day when the king died,
leaving his son, still an infant, as the successor of his kingdom, with the approval of
the great king of the Indians.

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3.9.8 Therefore Frumentius and his companion became stewards of the child and of his
whole kingdom, for his mother appointed them to have authority over everything
because of their sincere character and life experience. In addition to their natural
disposition, they were knowledgeable especially due to their education and their life
abroad, by which young people in particular attain the firmness typical of older
people.

3.9.9 Since they were pious, distinguishing themselves by their faith in God and surpassing
others in every kind of benevolence, they traversed land and sea in fulfillment of their
obligations for the child’s kingdom. They directed the neighboring people to bring to
them any Romans living there, for they had in mind to spread the knowledge of God
to the Indians through them.

3.9.10 The time was opportune. After they had found some Romans, they persuaded them to
make places of prayer of the Roman style and to construct church buildings in which
those who received the knowledge of God could gather, although they could not build
altars because they did not have the authority of the priesthood.

3.9.11 Frumentius in particular brought about occasion for the Indians on the other side to
receive the knowledge of God by generously approaching them with kindness,
friendliness, and exhortations.

3.9.12 When the king’s son, over whose kingdom they were acting as stewards, reached
manhood and attained full maturity, they asked him for permission to return to their
own country. But when the king and his mother, with much pleading, begged them
and clung to them, refusing to let them leave, Frumentius said that the matter
distressed them greatly. Thus they compelled the king and his mother to release them.
They agreed with great sadness, for they did not want to contradict Frumentius,
seeing as he was a gentleman.

3.9.13 They handed over to the boy and his mother all the affairs of the kingdom which had
been entrusted to them and departed India with great dignity, beginning their journey
to their homeland.

3.9.14 Edesius at that time went to Tyre, but Frumentius went to Alexandria. He thought it
necessary not to neglect the divine work which was occurring among the foreigners.
Frumentius appeared before the bishop of the church of Alexandria, Athanasius (who
at that time was at the helm of the high priesthood there), described to him everything
that had happened, and suggested that he send a bishop to them.

3.9.15 Thereupon the great Athanasius, wisely and intelligently attending to the report, said
to Frumentius, “What other man shall we find in whom the Spirit of God dwells
besides you, brother, who will be able to properly direct these actions and best guide
the churches there?” He ordained him bishop and ordered him to travel again to India,
dedicate the churches there, and take care of the people there.

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3.9.16 God gave exceptional grace to the man after his ordination so that he gave forth
apostolic splendor. When he came to the aforementioned inner India, affirming the
gospel of Christ with signs and miracles, he drew great multitudes of Indians to the
true faith of Christ. They genuinely accepted the divine Word proclaimed through
him. So the churches and ordinations greatly increased in number among those
peoples.

3.9.17 Edesius, who remained in Tyre, reported these things to us. He had become a priest of
the church there and remained there until the end of his life.

3.10.1 At the same time, the Iberians and the Lazi in Pontus also received the word of God,
but they had not yet believed in it. A woman who was held captive with them was
responsible for this great blessing. She amazed them all by pursuing a preeminent
lifestyle through self-control and other good deeds.

3.10.2 When they asked about the motivation for her strict asceticism, the holy woman
simply said, “It is because of Christ, the Son of God.” This response did not bring
anyone to reverent faith, though. They only marveled at the woman and took note of
many things as they observed her unusual lifestyle.

3.10.3 Now it was their custom to go around to all the locals and get help from all parts
whenever an infant fell ill. So it happened that a certain woman came to the captive as
she went around to everyone.

3.10.4 She said to the woman standing at the door with her child, “I myself will not be able
to help the child, but I know that Christ, whom I have mentioned to you so often, is
able both to raise the dead and to grant healing to the incurable.” The boy’s mother
pleaded with the captive. Moved with compassion for the supplicant, she wrapped the
child in her blanket, prayed to God, and gave him back to his mother in good health.

3.10.5 News of this event spread to many and reached even the queen, who was bedridden
with a very serious illness. She had been ill for some time, and by then the severe
sickness which had overtaken her was incurable. So she resolved to send servants to
ask the captive to come to her, but with fear and caution she refused to go to the
queen because she was aware of the instability which results from worldly fame.

3.10.6 Now when the queen learned that she refused to come, the queen ordered that she be
carried on her bed to the prisoner. The blessed captive was abashed at the queen’s
humility and wrapped her in her blanket in the same way. Then she knelt, prayed to
God with her customary vow to Christ, and sent the joyous queen home in good
health. She was walking on her own feet, a new and strange sight to the locals, and
professing the grace of Christ as she had learned from the captive woman. As she
went, she clearly proclaimed, “Glory be to you, O Christ, Lord of this captive. Grace
and all honor are yours as Savior of us who are found worthy to believe in you.”

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3.10.7 The queen also reported everything to her husband. This prompted him to reward the
captive with money as fitting compensation for the good deed done to his wife.

3.10.8 But the queen said to him, “This captive, O king, does not want money, nor does she
save up gold. It would be enough of a gift to her that we only believe that Christ is the
Son of God Most High. Since her whole life consists of fasting and self-control,
treasures of gold and silver are useless to her. I have put this pious woman to the test.
I tell you the truth, my king. Now if you meditate on my healing, let us repay the
woman in an unusual way by accepting her Christ for worship.” PB

3.10.9 The king, meanwhile, was more reluctant. Although his wife often urged him, he
delayed and refused her request with promises. He would say that he hoped an
opportune time would present itself for him in this matter. This happened according
to the foreknowledge of God, “who wants all men to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth” [1 Timothy 2:4].

3.10.10 For it so happened that he was separated from his companions while hunting in a
thick, dense forest. In broad daylight, night unexpectedly fell. At midday, deep
darkness suddenly spread throughout the whole forest where the king was. Since his
companions happened to be scattered here and there to hunt, the king was seized with
great fear because he could hardly imagine how to escape this assault.

3.10.11 But since all his companions were enduring the same constraint (although eager to
come to him, the darkness held each of them fast in whatever place it had overtaken
him and did not allow them to move forward towards each other’s outcries), the king
at that time remembered his wife and the captive who had healed her from an
incurable state and cried out, “O Christ, Lord of the captive, help me in my present
circumstances so that I may escape the constraint laid upon me, for I have sure proof
of your divine power in my wife.” As soon as he finished his prayer, the darkness
receded, and daylight shone brighter than before over the whole forest where they had
been stuck.

3.10.12 They came home in perfect health and quickly found that the king was ordering the
captive to come to him at once. He promised to no longer worship any other god
except Jesus Christ, whom the woman worshipped.

3.10.13 Then the captive woman went and became the king’s teacher, presenting to him the
whole rule of faith. The joyful king was not ashamed to learn the religion from a
humble woman. On the contrary, he took pride in her and had her brought to the
middle of the crowd, where the king spoke openly about her: “By the grace of Christ,
the king of all, my wife escaped death through this woman’s prayer.” He tried to
persuade his subjects, if they wished to be saved, to be of the same mind, commit
themselves to the worship of Christ, and despise idols.

3.10.14 When he learned from the holy woman that they had to build churches for the
worship of Christ, he eagerly began this task at once. Builders had already put up the

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 walls of the building, but pillars had yet to be set up in the center of the building to
separate the men and women who would gather. It was at this point that God wanted
to implant in the king and all his subjects a firm conviction concerning the gospel of
his Son Jesus Christ, which the captive woman preached. So he caused the third
pillar, set up in the middle but still crooked, not to be completely upright like the
other two. The craftsmen tried their best, but they only split and shredded their ropes
with all their cranes and quickly fled lest they get caught on the ground under the
pillar and perish. The pillar was hanging crooked in the air, and none of them could
think of any solution, as the craftsmen usually did.

3.10.15 The captive heard about this and was terrified that the people would turn back to
idols. She came to the place at sunset, knelt before God until morning, and raised up
the pillar through her prayer—not standing on its pedestal, but floating upright about
one cubit above it. God arranged that the captive would not go home until the people
arrived so that they might know her faith in the true God she preached.

3.10.16 So they came early in the morning with the king and were utterly amazed when they
saw the huge pillar floating upright. Then, with the captive clearly visible to everyone
because of what had happened, as she got up from prayer, the pillar was suddenly
lowered with the utmost precision, as if craftsmen were fitting it to its pedestal. Much
more than any pillar before or after it, this one appeared stable.

3.10.17 Thereupon, the rest of the people gathered and together professed the faith of the
king, worshipping Christ—such was the exhortation of the captive, as a holy woman.
She feared that the simple people, seduced by inherited superstition, they might
transfer to her their devotion to Christ, or rather, acquire an opinion of her which
would hinder piety.

3.10.18 Therefore, she invited them to join in her prayer as she fitted the floating pillar into
place, thereby eclipsing their opinion of her and emphasizing that the power of Christ
the Savior transcends all who piously worship him in deeds beyond human power.

3.10.19 After the completion of the church building, the captive suggested that the king and
queen send emissaries to the companion of piety, the God-loving Emperor
Constantine, to ask him to send a member of the clergy to consecrate the church.
When the ambassadors sent by the king and the Iberian people reached
Constantinople, they told Emperor Constantine about the faith in Christ which had
become stronger there and asked that he provide them with a bishop to consecrate and
direct their churches.

3.10.20 The pious, Christ-loving Emperor Constantine received them kindly. Full of joy in the
Lord, he granted their request. He charged Alexander, bishop of Constantinople, to
appoint a bishop for the Iberians, for he understood that it was God’s will to subject
foreigners to him.

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3.10.21 The trustworthy Baccurius, a reverent and distinguished man from the royal family of
the Iberians, taught us of these things. He was a Roman provincial commander who
led a campaign in the mountains of Palestine against the barbarous Saracens and
skillfully won the victory over them.

3.10.22 But let us return to the history at hand. Emperor Constantine, so zealous for
Christianity and burning with an apostolic love of Christ, was again building churches
city by city, including one near the tree called Mamre, where Abraham entertained
the angels, as the Holy Scriptures declare.

3.10.23 For when the all-excellent, God-loving Emperor Constantine learned that under that
tree there was an altar on which pagan sacrifices were offered, he wrote a letter
reproaching Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, for countenancing such
loathsome activity and gave orders to tear down the altar and build a church of the
living God near the tree.

3.10.24 Moreover, when he learned that the people of Heliopolis in Phoenicia were leading
ungodly lives and engaging in shameful conduct, he put an end to their shameful
lifestyle with holy law, built a church in the same city, arranged for the ordination of
a bishop, and gave orders that along with the bishop a holy clergy should be ordained
in the church. Thus he moderated the abuses of the inhabitants of Heliopolis. In
addition, he chose Christians who exemplified a holy lifestyle as political officials in
the city and all the surrounding area. He threatened the inhabitants with death if they
would not renounce their former shameful conduct and their worship of loathsome
idols forthwith.

3.10.25 He also demolished the temple of Aphrodite in Aphaca, removed the unspeakable
abominations, drove out the demoniac prophet in Cilicia, and gave the order to raze
the temple in which he lurked to the ground.

3.10.26 The faithful Emperor Constantine performed such good deeds all over the world. In
this church history I want to offer yet another proof of the God-loving Emperor
Constantine’s faith in the God of all. So great was his longing and zeal for Christ that,
while preparing for an invasion of Persia on behalf of the Christians there, he had a
tent of artful fine linen made to act as a church, as Moses had done in the wilderness.
He had them carry it along on the way so that in desolate areas he might have a place
of prayer where he could send up his prayers to God.

3.10.27 At that time, however, he did not execute the campaign against Persia as he had
planned because he was concerned about the peace of God’s churches. But their king
(that of the Persians, I mean), who looked after the pupils of piety under him, learned
that they were persecuted by ungodly people there and that their king (namely,
Sabor), a slave to error, himself devised all kinds of schemes against them. So he

12
 wrote to Constantine, calling him to piety and demanding that pious Christians enjoy
respect.5 The letter itself will clearly show the zeal of the Christ-loving emperor: 6

3.11.1 “Keeping the holy faith, I partake of the light of the truth. Guided by the light of the
truth, I know the holy faith. Therefore, as the facts confirm, I recognize that the holy
religion teaches knowledge of the holy God. I lay claim to this worship. With God’s
power as my ally, from the remotest ends of the ocean I have gradually awakened the
whole world, part by part, with sure hope of salvation. All the peoples who had been
enslaved under such mighty tyrants, worn out by calamities day after day and almost
extinct, now have legal recourse to the state. As if revived by an effective remedy,
they loudly exult and celebrate pompous festivals to God.

3.11.2 I worship God; my army, devoted to him, bears his emblem on their shoulders and
goes wherever the cause of justice calls. I will soon reap thanks for these actions in
brilliant memorials. With an honest and pure mind, I see clearly that God dwells in
the highest heavens.

3.11.3 I appeal to God on bended knee, avoiding all abominable bloodshed and all odious,
ill-omened odors and shunning every splendor with which abominable and unlawful
error has gladly defiled and overthrown many nations and whole tribes, handing them
over to the deepest depths.

3.11.4 For although God in his loving providence for humans has manifestly brought forth
things to supply our need, they are perverted toward the desire of the individual. He
demands from humans only a pure mind and a spotless soul, weighing their deeds of
virtue and piety.

3.11.5 He delights in works of kindness and gentleness, loves the meek, hates
troublemakers, loves faith, punishes unbelief, and condemns and strikes down every
boastful power. He exacts vengeance for the pride of the arrogant, and those who
swell up with vanity he utterly destroys.

3.11.6 He also favors righteous rule and strengthens it with his help. He carefully guards the
intelligence of kings with peaceful calm. Therefore, I greatly rejoice, brother. I
confess that God is the originator and preserver of all things. Many of my
predecessors tried to deny him, led by delusional errors. But they have all met such a
dreadful end that, for every generation after them, their misfortunes serve as sufficient
warning to those who aspire to do likewise.

3.11.7 One of these, I think, was the one whom divine vengeance, like lightning, drove away
from here and delivered to your country, where his shame became a notorious

5
The anonymous compiler seems to have created a self-contradictory account by inventing a pro-Christian Persian
king in addition to the hostile Shapur II (here called Sabor).
6
The following letter is also preserved in Theodoret 1.25.1-11.

13
 monument.7 Indeed, it seems auspicious that the penalty due to such people has
become clearly visible in our age.

3.11.8 I myself have witnessed the end of those who have lately been persecuting the people
devoted to God with unlawful decrees. Therefore I fervently thank God that in his
perfect providence he has restored peace to all humankind who keep his divine law so
that they exult and rejoice.

3.11.9 We ourselves also trust that we certainly have perfect comfort and security since God
sees fit to gather everything to himself in divine harmony through their (I mean the
people of God’s) pure and genuine worship.

3.11.10 You may well see how delighted I am to hear that this company of my fellow
servants—I mean Christians (for my whole message is about them)—abundantly
adorns even the finest parts of Persia, in accord with my wishes. Now if you do what
is proper and allow them to live happily, then may you accrue happiness, for they are
your subjects.

3.11.11 Then God, the Lord of all, will be gentle, gracious, and kind toward you. Since you
are so mighty and distinguished by piety, I commend them to you. I entrust the task of
guiding them (I mean the Christians) to the overseers of the pious worship of God
among them. Love them as befits your philanthropy. You will do an indescribable
favor for yourself and for us through faith.”

3.11.12 The all-excellent Emperor Constantine cared for those adorned with piety toward
Christ so much that he not only looked after his own subjects but also took care for
those living under other regimes, if possible. Therefore he enjoyed the care of God
from above, and as he held the reins of all the inhabitants of the Roman world, even
of the barbarians, his willing officials and subjects joyfully obeyed the bridle of his
will.

3.11.13 The barbarians also served willingly from then on, restrained by fear of war and
dreading God, who stood by Constantine. Victory memorials were set up everywhere,
and the emperor came out victorious against all enemies. But many others have
described these things in more detail, praising the glory of the God of all. Let us, then,
return our account to the continuation of the present history.

3.12.1 The faithful Emperor Constantine, striving for the peace of the churches, was
concerned for them in his soul like an apostle, as we have often said. But those who
called themselves priests, who had accepted Arius’s dishonor, could not bear to stay
calm after commencing an uncompromising war against the truth, so they devised
crafty schemes against the true faith.

3.12.2 It happened that Constantia, the sister of the God-loving Emperor Constantine, who
had been wife of ungodly Licinius and whom we mentioned before, encountered a

7
According to Hansen, Emperor Valerian is the individual referred to here.

14
 certain priest who agreed with the participants in Arius’s blasphemy, a superb
flatterer named Eutocius.

3.12.3 At first he met covertly with some of Constantia’s servants, but then he met
Constantia herself. Because he enjoyed her vast trust and concern throughout their
frequent meetings, his lecturing about Arius also made progress with her.

3.12.4 Now taking courage, he carried her away through his deceptive arguments, claiming
that envy alone had caused the disputes with Arius. He persuaded her with these and
similar deceptive arguments of his, claiming that Arius thought and taught the same
things as Alexander and the bishops throughout the world.

3.12.5 Constantia believed what he said to her especially because she heard from him that
Arius was of the same mind as Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, and that Father
Alexander opposed him without good reason because of jealousy for Arius’s success
with the masses. It therefore happened that Constantia, having taken in the deceptions
of the Arian priest, was pleased at his words, considered that priest worthy of greater
honor, and included him among her closest friends.

3.12.6 Not long afterwards, she fell victim to a severe disease, from which she would die.
When the pious emperor Constantine learned of this, he came quickly to see her. For
after her ungodly husband’s death and the departure of their mother, God-loving,
famous Helen, to a life free of pain, the praiseworthy, faithful emperor saw fit to
provide for her rather than allowing her to experience the pains of widowhood and
orphanhood. For this reason he also provided for her the necessary care before her
death while absent and while present.

3.12.7 After a lengthy conversation between the emperor and Constantia, Constantia boldly
said to him as her dear brother, “Do me one favor, praiseworthy emperor, for I am
going away to be with God.” He replied, “What favor do you ask?” Constantia said to
him, “I ask you, emperor, to have Arius released from exile and to alleviate the
misfortune that has befallen him through intrigue, lest you quickly stain your pious
reign with innocent blood.”

3.12.8 Emperor Constantine patiently listened to his sister, thinking that she was saying this
to him from sisterly concern, not as one persuaded by an Arian priest, and believing
that his sister would give him sound advice.

3.12.9 Up to this time he had forbidden Arius to enter Alexandria and Egypt, but now he
immediately gave the order to release him from exile at the urging of Constantia his
sister. Constantia also commended that Arian priest to him, urging the emperor to
listen to him and enjoy his words: “As one who has experienced his uprightness, I
recommend him to you, pious emperor.”

3.12.10 So Constantia withdrew from earthly life, and that priest gained entrance to the
imperial court (the gentle, God-loving emperor had promised this at Constantia’s

15
 request, and now he fulfilled his promise). The emperor often commanded the priest
to come see him and granted him great freedom of speech. He was certainly among
the Christ-bearing Emperor Constantine’s closest friends.

3.12.11 When Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea, still in exile, heard about this,
they took courage and wrote a document claiming they had repented. They sent it to
the foremost bishops, asking to be released from exile. As before, they affirmed with
word but not with conduct that they accepted and held to the faith of Nicaea.

3.12.12 Since the bishops who received their document of feigned repentance favored them,
they were released from exile, as they had urged, at the emperor’s command. They
received back the churches from which they had been expelled after they had driven
out those bishops who had been ordained to replace them—Amphion in the case of
Eusebius, Chrestus in the case of Theognis.

3.12.13 It would be good to include in this account a copy of their document of counterfeit
repentance. It reads as follows:8

3.13.1 “Since we have already been condemned by your piety, we must bear the verdict of
your holy authority in peace. But because by our silence we would provide a route of
attack against ourselves, we want to inform your holiness that we have agreed with
your holy council and, after examining the word ‘consubstantial,’ have completely
embraced peace. In no way do we follow heresy.

3.13.2 And to reassure the churches, after recalling what undergirded our reasoning, we
subscribed to the creed and were satisfied, thus giving full assurance to those who
needed us persuade them. But we did not sign the condemnation—not as if we
disagree with the creed (perish the thought), but because we do not believe the
accused is of such a nature. We have been convinced to our satisfaction, based on
what he has already communicated to us through both his letters and personal
conversations, that he is not of such a nature.

3.13.3 If, however, your holy council has been persuaded of the opposite, we do not want to
resist but rather are satisfied to conform to your verdict and give our confirmation
through this letter. We do this not because we find our banishment burdensome but
because we want to get rid of the suspicion of heresy.

3.13.4 For if you see fit now to receive us back personally, you will have like-minded people
in all respects who follow your verdict. For if it seemed good to your holiness that he
who was accused of heresy should be shown mercy by our most pious emperor and
be found worthy of kindness, and if you made efforts to free him from exile, how
much more is it right that we innocent men be found worthy both of freedom from
exile and of returning to your piety.

8
The following letter (CPG 2048) is also preserved in Socrates 1.14.2-7; Sozomen 2.16.3-7.

16
3.13.5 It would indeed be unusual for us to remain silent when he who seems guilty has been
released, providing clear evidence against ourselves through our silence, as we said
before. Deign, therefore, we urge you (as befits your Christ-loving piety), to remind
our God-loving emperor of this, to convey to him our requests, and to quickly resolve
for yourselves what is fitting in our case, most holy ones.”

3.13.6 This is the document in which the aforementioned Eusebius and Theognis recanted.
From their words it is clear that they subscribed to the faith prescribed in Nicaea by
the holy council there by hand only, not by intent, as we demonstrated earlier, and
they did not want to vote for the deposition of Arius and his anathematization.

3.13.7 Yet they were released from exile at the discretion of the bishops who had received
their entreaty. They took back their former parishes, as I said above, and they had
hardly seen them before they rushed with all speed to court. Reaching Constantinople,
they boldly burst into the palace, trusting in the protection of that priest whom
Constantia had commended to God-loving Constantine as his dear sister. The emperor
honored that priest with utmost care and esteem.

3.13.8 However, as I already said, the priest did not venture to reveal the Arian heresy
lurking within him because he saw that the emperor’s soul was zealous for what was
godly and for the accuracy of the true faith.

3.13.9 He nevertheless introduced Eusebius and Theognis to the emperor, warning them for
the present to conceal their disease, namely, the heresy of wicked Arius. He often
asked the emperor on their behalf to let them (Eusebius especially) speak freely,
testifying that their thoughts aligned with what had been said at the council. So the
enemy of truth was in fact speaking the truth.

3.13.10 For that flatterer was saying they really thought the poor words they had grumbled
there. But the emperor, with natural nobility, deep reverence towards those who were
consecrated, and the forgiving heart of the great king and prophet David, could not
even bear to consider the plots Eusebius had dared to devise against him in the time
of wicked Licinius. So he received them kindly and respectfully as priests of God,
considered them worthy of great honor and affection, and had them come to him quite
often.

3.13.11 Day by day they grew increasingly confident with the all-noble Emperor Constantine.
They asked the Arian priest to begin appealing on Arius’s behalf to the emperor that
he might receive an audience with him, in which he could stand up for himself and
show that he agreed with the holy fathers in Nicaea.

3.13.12 The priest complied with the requests of Eusebius and Theognis and began speaking
to the emperor on Arius’s behalf, for the most part acting as their mouthpiece. They
claimed that Arius agreed with all the resolutions of the council and was pleased with
the faith proclaimed there. But what the priest said about Arius seemed strange to the
emperor.

17
3.13.13 He carried this on for many days, sometimes alone but mostly with Eusebius of
Nicomedia present. The emperor rather often summoned him, for the faithful emperor
was not thinking of the crimes wicked Eusebius had committed against him before.

3.13.14 Eusebius therefore, by his skill in deceptive speech, both through the priest and on his
own tried to persuade the benevolent and fair emperor to have Arius summoned to see
him, with the assurance that if he should come before the pious Emperor Constantine,
he would agree “with everything which we” (so he said) “and the council agreed
with.”

3.13.15 This seemed untrustworthy to the emperor, but due to his godly goodness and his zeal
for the unity of the churches he yielded, trusting them as priests, and said to them, “If
Arius agrees with the council and has truly chosen to think its thoughts, I will receive
him personally and send him to Alexandria with honor.” Having said this, he sent for
him by letter and commanded him to come to court.

3.13.16 Having been honored by an imperial letter, Arius immediately hurried to

Constantinople. Together with him was Euzoius, whom godly Alexander, bishop of
the church of Alexandria, had deposed with him. The priest reported the presence of
Arius to the pious emperor at the prompting of the followers of Eusebius of
Nicomedia.

3.13.17 The emperor therefore received him personally along with Euzoius and inquired of
them whether they agreed with the faith which the three hundred holy fathers set forth
at Nicaea. Arius testified under oath that he had always believed and still believed
“just as the holy fathers at Nicaea, and everyone with us believes the same.” (He was
speaking of the followers of Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea.) He
acted as if he was swearing the truth, to deceive and persuade the simple, Christ-
loving emperor.

3.13.18 When Arius had said this under oath, the godly and fair emperor was moved to send
Arius to Alexandria posthaste with honor.

3.13.19 But because Athanasius warned him, Bishop Alexander did not receive Arius when
he arrived in Alexandria; he avoided him like the plague.

3.13.20 Then Eusebius and his followers themselves wrote letters on behalf of Arius and
coerced the emperor to write harshly to Alexander and Athanasius.

3.13.21 Athanasius altogether refused to receive Arius and those with him, and with the
bishop he informed the emperor in writing that it was impossible to welcome back
those who had once denied the faith, had been condemned “by such a holy council
and your godly piety,” and had been sentenced.

18
3.13.22 Taking this poorly and moved to wrath by the followers of Eusebius of Nicomedia,
the emperor threatened Athanasius, writing the following letter: 9

3.14.1 “Since you know my decision, allow all who wish to enter the church to do so
without hinderance. If I find out that you have hindered any who lay claim to the
ecclesiastical faith or have prevented such ones from entering, I will immediately
send someone to depose you by my command and banish you from the region.”

In a similar way he wrote to Bishop Alexander on behalf of Arius:

3.15.1 “Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus, to Father Bishop Alexander. Will all-
abominable malice even now bark back with profane sophisms to cause delay?
‘What, then, is the issue at hand? Do we teach other doctrine, contrary to the verdict
decided by the Holy Spirit through you, most honored brother?’

3.15.2 Arius, the famous Arius, I say, has come to me, Augustus, at the request of very many
people. He promises that he has the same thoughts concerning our catholic faith as
were determined and confirmed through you at the council in Nicaea, where I too was
present and joined in the determination as your fellow servant.

3.15.3 So he immediately came to us along with Euzoius, for they had learned the purpose of
the imperial order. I debated with them in the presence of many others about the word
of life. I myself am the one who has dedicated my mind to God with sincere faith; I
myself am your fellow servant, who has taken up all concern for our peace and
unity.”

3.15.4 And further on: “Therefore I am writing not only to remind you, but also with the
expectation that you receive those who come in supplication. If you find that they are
seeking the true and ever-living apostolic faith formulated in Nicaea (for they have
also assured us that this is their opinion), take care of them all, I urge you. For if you
should make provision for them, you could conquer hatred with unity.

3.15.5 Therefore support unity, I urge you; transmit the values of friendship to those not
parted from the faith; let me hear what I wish and desire—peace and unity between
you all. May God preserve you, most honorable father.”

3.15.6 The emperor wrote this in the hope that it would be profitable, not wanting the church
to break apart. He desired to lead everyone to harmony.

3.15.7 After godly Alexander had received the emperor’s letter, he lived a little longer, then
reached a blessed end of this life. He had been bishop of the church of God in
Alexandria for sixteen years altogether: nine years and one month before the council

9
The following letter excerpt is also preserved in Athanasius, Apologia secunda contra Arianos 59.4-6; Socrates
1.27.4; Sozomen 2.22.5.

19
 in Nicaea, three years and six months at the council, 10 three years and five months
after the council, a total of sixteen years.

3.15.8 Athanasius took over the function of the priesthood. Our next account will make clear
his skill in discretion, piety, and regulation of the church.

3.15.9 When the heretics found out that godly Athanasius was in charge of the church, they
first met up and then united against him with one goal: to eradicate (if one may speak
this way) all memory of him from the earth, just as the Jews had plotted against
Christ. They immediately tried to persuade the God-loving emperor to enact imperial
decrees against him.

3.15.10 But we must first briefly describe the man’s conduct from childhood on. When
blessed Alexander was entrusted with the management of the priesthood after blessed
Achillas, he invited the clergy to a feast after the commemoration of the holy martyr
Bishop Peter’s martyrdom. He waited until they had gathered, and from a vantage
point he saw some boys playing in accord with church rules.

3.15.11 The house faced the sea, and the holy boys were playing along its banks. Bishop
Athanasius was among them, as well as other priests and deacons of the same age.
They brought him little catechumens to baptize, and Athanasius baptized them all
according to church custom as bishop. He had in mind to offer them a word of
teaching.

3.15.12 Godly Alexander therefore, amazed at these events, had the boys brought to him.
After he found out exactly how everything had happened, with the approval of the
clergy with him, he sealed the boys who had been baptized with the seal of Christ and
applied the holy symbols of saving baptism, thus perfecting their baptism. He
summoned Athanasius’s parents and entrusted him to them with instructions to teach
him to read, to instruct him in the Lord as much as possible, and to give Athanasius
up to him, or rather to the church, should he make progress, as Hannah, it is said,
gave up Samuel.11

3.15.13 Some time later Athanasius’s parents brought him to Bishop Alexander. The bishop
immediately outfitted him in a priestly ephod,12 advancing him as a new Samuel for
the church to defend against those who are truly foreigners. 13 He had to endure many
struggles with the heretics, who organized a conspiracy—not a mere forty men as
with the holy Apostle Paul,14 but the entire multitude of heretics throughout the entire
world, especially the Ariomaniacs. So Athanasius sang with David:

10
Cf. 2.37.28 and footnotes.
11
Cf. 1 Samuel 1.
12
Cf. 1 Samuel 2:18.
13
The Greek word translated “foreigners” is often used in the LXX of Philistines.
14
Cf. Acts 23:13.

20
3.15.14 “Though an army stand against me, my heart will not fear; though war rise against
me, even then I will hope” [Psalm 27:3; LXX 26:3], namely, to be adorned with a
wreath of victory, which he hoped to receive from the Lord, who also said to him,
“Take courage” [Acts 23:11], and, “Do not fear, for I am with you, and no one will
draw near to harm you” [Acts 18:9-10].

3.15.15 We now want to omit a description of the majority of what happened to him lest we
wear out future readers by lengthening the account in this work (for the things he
endured when godless heretics persecuted him were countless). I will content myself
with his more notable deeds, which all his acquaintances praise.

3.15.16 As we said, immediately after he assumed leadership over the church, the followers
of Eusebius of Nicomedia were very hostile to Athanasius himself. At that time they
seized the emperor’s displeasure with great Athanasius as a convenient opportunity
(so they thought) for their own goal. They brashly stirred up everything against him
in an effort to dislodge him from the episcopacy, condemning him as having snuck
into the priesthood without qualification. Their only hope for the triumph of the Arian
opinion was to get Athanasius out of the way.

3.15.17 So the adherents to the wicked Arian heresy conspired against him and hired certain
adherents to the Melitian heresy—Hosion, Eudaemon, and Callinicus. Through them
they set in motion various accusations against godly Athanasius. First, they said that
Athanasius had snuck into the episcopacy and commanded the Egyptians to pay tax
on linen garments for the benefit of the church of the Alexandrians. They sewed
together a second slanderous accusation, worse than the first. They said that
Athanasius, plotting against the emperor’s interests, sent to a certain Philoumenus a
chest full of gold to oppose Emperor Constantine.

3.15.18 Third, a man named Ischyras committed an act deserving death several times over.
Although he had never entered the priesthood, he dared to perform priestly duties in
the villages of the so-called Mareotes district, assuming the title of priest for himself.
At this time the holy Bishop Athanasius also came to the Mareotes district and visited
the churches there. When he learned of the situation with Ischyras, he sent the priest
Macarius to investigate whether the reports were true. Because Ischyras was
convicted by this investigation, he hastily fled from there to Nicomedia and sought
refuge with the followers of Eusebius.

3.15.19 On account of their hatred towards Athanasius they took him in as a priest and
promised to reward him further with the honor of the episcopacy if he would agree to
level an accusation against Athanasius. He sewed together the following story:
“Athanasius’s priest Macarius, sent by Athanasius, attacked our church in the
Mareotes district. He burst into the sanctuary, overturned the holy altar, broke the
sacramental cup, and burned the holy books.”

3.15.20 The accusers reported this and similar things to the emperor through the followers of
Eusebius of Nicomedia, moving him to wrath against Athanasius: “He received the

21
 imperial letter but did not submit and did not admit Arius despite his confession of
the faith before your piety.” When the emperor heard the reports against Athanasius,
he was shocked, so he immediately ordered Bishop Athanasius to come to him in
Constantinople posthaste.

3.15.21 When he arrived, he met with the emperor, refuted the lies of the accusers, and
reassured the emperor.

3.15.22 The faithful emperor furnished him with an imperial letter and sent him to Alexandria
with tremendous honor. He took over the church entrusted to him by God. The pious
emperor’s letter to the church of Alexandria (the ending of which I will include in this
work) also proves this.

3.15.23 But let the reader of this work not reproach me for failing to include the whole letter
in this account of church history, for I could not find the entirety recorded by anyone
even though I searched all the relevant authors. More than this, they recorded many
other letters in abridged form, writing only certain prominent parts of them in the
histories they composed. So I am even more upset than all of you about it.

3.15.24 Now let us return to the matter at hand and insert the end of the letter in this history,
as promised. It says this:15

3.16.1 “The wicked could do nothing against your bishop, brothers—believe you me. They
had no other aim than to waste our time, leaving themselves no opportunity for
repentance in this life. I urge you, therefore, to help yourselves, to love each other in
your holy affection with all your strength, and to receive your bishop, Athanasius,
with infinite joy, beloved.

3.16.2 I know very well that his departure has not caused you as much grief as your
surpassing joy at his return to you.

3.16.3 Drive out those who wish to destroy our gracious unity, and love each other as you
look toward God, I urge you. For I gladly received your bishop, Athanasius, and
addressed him, confident that he is a man of God. May God preserve you, dear
brothers.”

3.16.4 The great Athanasius came to Alexandria with this letter from the emperor. All the
clergy and laity gladly received him, seeing that their shepherd had returned to his
sheep with great honor. They all glorified God and celebrated the all-excellent
Emperor Constantine with shouts of praise.

3.16.5 This brought unspeakable joy to those on our side but grief and endless shame to the
enemies and those who waged war against the Son of God.

15
The following letter excerpt is also preserved in Theodoret 1.27.

22
3.16.6 Nevertheless, the followers of Eusebius of Nicomedia, especially, cast off all
modesty, “making a show of piety, but denying its power” [2 Timothy 3:5]. Though
they ought to have plunged into the earth, they instead wrapped themselves in
excessive shamelessness and turned their impractical skill in wicked business against
another bulwark of piety.

3.16.7 Eusebius of Nicomedia was the father and most prominent leader of all these evil
plans, for he was extremely skilled in the ways of evil, just like his father the devil.
He held the reins not of the church of God but of the ungodly band of Arians.
Delaying in Constantinople and consulting rather often with the emperor through the
Arian priest, he grew increasingly forthright with him and found an inroad for his
fraud in the emperor’s simplicity. Thus he easily wove his webs against the
champions of truth.

3.16.8 Mistakenly hoping for success in his evil plan against great Athanasius, he concocted
an apparently harmless way to attack godly Eustathius, the head of the church of
Antioch. He approached the benevolent Emperor Constantine, ostensibly friendly and
joyful at what he had accomplished, seeking permission to travel to Jerusalem to see
the holy houses of God he had built there. He beguiled the David-like soul of the
emperor with these deceptive words and departed from Constantinople with great
honor, for the emperor had provided him with carriages and all other luxuries.

3.16.9 Theognis of Nicaea departed with him as his accomplice in his wicked and godless
plans, as we said before.

3.16.10 When they arrived and entered Antioch, they put on a mask of friendship, as
Theodoret says—though he omits much of what happened in his writing, composing
his history with very few details. But we have consulted the writers prior to him who
carefully recorded everything in order and sequence and have thus determined the
succession of events. For, as I have said before, we are here organizing their works
together by picking out excerpts from one or another.

3.16.11 But let us return to the present topic. When the guilty men reached Antioch, great
Eustathius, the head of the church there, received them with great spiritual joy. He
had heard of their feigned repentance as if it were genuine and rejoiced over them.
Great Eustathius welcomed them kindly due to pious devotion to Christ and saw fit to
treat them generously.

3.16.12 Afterwards, they set out from Antioch and visited the holy sites of Jerusalem. There
they saw some like-minded people, from whom they received more than a little
encouragement for the plot they had sewed up against the champion of truth.

3.16.13 They did not meet Eusebius of Caesarea Palestinae, as Theodoret apparently falsely
accuses the man by writing lies about him. All our holy fathers remember him as an
exemplar of the orthodox faith and celebrate the success of his efforts and struggles
for the holy consubstantial Trinity in the council at Nicaea.

23
3.16.14 Just as they remember godly Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, the great Eustathius,
Alexander of Alexandria, Leontius of Caesarea Cappadocia, Eupsychius of Tyana,
Protogenes of Sardica, and, above all, Hosius of Cordova, Athanasius of Alexandria,
and Alexander of Constantinople, and all the rest who contended for apostolic
doctrine in that sacred holy council, they also remember the admirable Eusebius
Pamphili, bishop of Caesarea Palestinae.

3.16.15 But the followers of Eusebius of Nicomedia did not meet with him. They rather met
with like-minded men—Patrophilus of Scythopolis, Aetius of Lydda, Theodotus of
Laodicea, and whichever other participants in the impiety of Arius they found. They
mingled with them, informed them of the mischief they had concocted against holy
Eustathius, left Jerusalem with them, and arrived at Antioch together.

3.16.16 The supposed purpose for their visit was a dignified funeral procession, but their
actual aim was war against piety towards Christ. They had hired a prostitute for an
aureus and persuaded her to testify for them for an hour. Having called a meeting
with great Eustathius and the holy bishops with him, those who had contrived the
plan against the high priest then ordered everyone else to get out and asked that the
unfortunate woman be brought into the meeting as quickly as possible.

3.16.17 The accomplices to their lawless act brought the woman to the center. She held an
infant at her breast. Pointing to it, she claimed that she had conceived and given birth
through sexual intercourse with Eustathius. She firmly and loudly persisted in this
testimony. Great Eustathius, having recognized the clear slander, ordered her to bring
to the center whatever witness she had of this charge.

3.16.18 When she admitted that she had none, those who had planned the false accusation
proposed that the prostitute take an oath, though the holy apostolic canon commands
that an accusation against a priest is not to be allowed except with two or three
witnesses.16

3.16.19 But these men, despising divine law and disregarding God’s judgment against
slanderers, like condemned judges, spun and accepted a baseless accusation against
such a great man through a prostitute. When the unfortunate woman added an oath
(which they themselves had compelled her to do), exclaiming that the infant was
Eustathius’s, they utterly disgracefully cast their vote as if against an adulterer.

3.16.20 Some of the other high priests (there were many with great Eustathius who fought for
apostolic doctrine), unaware of all the intrigues, openly opposed those lawbreakers
and kept Bishop Eustathius from accepting that unjust vote. The architects of the plot
hurried with all speed to the emperor and persuaded him that they had found the
allegations to be true in their investigation and that the vote for deposition was just.
So they caused the champion of piety and prudence to be driven out from the holy

16
Cf. 1 Timothy 5:19.

24
 walls as an adulterer and a tyrant and to be taken into exile in a city in Illyricum,
beyond Thrace.

3.16.21 Eusebius of Nicomedia, the enemy of apostolic doctrine, however, who knew how to
make a show of his slander against the preachers of the true faith, stayed with
Theognis in Constantinople. They had left in Antioch participants in their depravity,
who ordained Eulalius in place of godly Eustathius.

3.16.22 Because he lived for only a brief period after that, they next promoted a certain
Euphronius. But he too died very quickly (he lived only a year and some months after
his ordination), so they had the authority over that church given to Flacitus.

3.16.23 All these men uniformly held to the godlessness of Arius in secret, for which reason
all who laid claim to the true pious faith, whether clergy or laity, left the church
meetings and gathered with each other. Everyone called them Eustathians, for they
united after his banishment.

3.16.24 Moreover, that unfortunate woman not long thereafter fell victim to severe and
prolonged illness. She revealed the plot and laid bare the false accusation after she
had summoned not two or three but many of the priests and explained to them the
intrigues of the strange group of wicked men. She confessed that she had started that
false accusation for money, but she held that her oath was not entirely false. She
explained that the infant was fathered by a certain blacksmith named Eustathius.

3.16.25 This illustrates the audacity exhibited in Antioch at that time by wicked Eusebius and
his followers. But even then, the wicked were not ashamed, nor had they had their fill
of false accusations against champions of truth. Instead, aware that their charges
against great Eustathius had met with success, they sewed up another plot against
godly Athanasius of a sort which none of the evilest people had ever dared.

3.16.26 They again hired certain accusers from the same faction of Melitius, whom they
brought to the emperor to complain against Athanasius, that champion of virtue, that
he had undertaken many shameful impious acts. The masterminds of this plan were
Eusebius, Theognis, and Theodore of Heraclea in Thrace. They said his actions were
unacceptable and no one could bear to hear them.

3.16.27 They therefore persuaded the emperor to convene a council in Syrian Antioch, where
the enemies had the majority, and to judge Athanasius there. Obliging them as priests
(for he was entirely unaware of their intrigues), the emperor did as they asked.

3.16.28 But the champion of truth, great Athanasius, knew of the hostility of the
aforementioned wicked men, so he did not come to the council. Now gaining from
this a greater pretext for false accusation, they once for all commenced the war
against truth. In writing they accused him before the emperor of tyranny and
contempt.

25
3.16.29 This roused the gentle emperor to anger against Athanasius. So he wrote to him with
a hint of anger, urging him to travel to Tyre. He had commanded that the council be
moved there, for he suspected that Athanasius was apprehensive of Antioch because
many in the East had accepted the stain of Arius. He wrote also to the council as one
distinguished in piety must write:17

3.17.1 “Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus, to the holy council gathered in Tyre. It
would perhaps be appropriate and most fitting for the prosperity of these times if the
catholic church were free from controversy and the servants of Christ would now be
delivered from all abuse.

3.17.2 But since some are driven by a desire for unhealthy contentiousness (I would prefer
not to say anything else) and live in a way that is beneath them, they try to throw
everything into confusion. This seems to me to have exceeded every conceivable
calamity. Therefore I urge you, as the saying goes, to be united in your course without
delay, to fill the council with spiritual joy, to come to the aid of those in need, to
correct the brothers who are in danger, to bring the members who have separated
back to unity, and to set right what is being done in error, in order to restore proper
harmony, as opportunity permits, to those great provinces. A few contemptuous men
(alas, how absurd!) destroyed such harmony.

3.17.3 I believe that the agreement of all people is pleasing to the Lord God, is the noblest
wish of us all, and will bring you no small amount of honor if you should be the ones
to restore peace.

3.17.4 So do not hesitate any longer, but from now on increase your zeal and strive to find
the appropriate solution to the present circumstances, assembling, of course, with all
sincerity and faith. See to it that you obtain peace for yourselves and for everyone in
all matters.

3.17.5 I have sent to the bishops whom you wish to come and participate in your reflections.
I have sent Dionysius, who is of consular rank, both to remind those who are so
obliged to go to the council with you and to oversee your business, with an eye
toward good order especially.

3.17.6 For if anyone tries to escape our command and refuses to appear at the council (which
I doubt will happen), we will forthwith dispatch one who will banish him by an
imperial ordinance and instruct him that it is improper to ever resist the emperor’s
decisions made in service of the truth.

3.17.7 Finally, your piety will be tasked with devising the appropriate remedy for the
transgressions or erroneous occurrences by unanimous decision, not based on enmity
nor on favor, but rather according to apostolic church law, in order to free the church
from all blasphemy, ease my anxiety, and bring yourselves great happiness by

17
The following letter is also preserved in Eusebius, Vita Const. 4.42; Theodoret 1.29.1-6.

26
 restoring gracious peace to those who now stand at odds. May God preserve you, dear
brothers.”

3.17.8 He wrote this after he had ordered that a council be held in Tyre. He had listened to
the false accusers because they were priests. Although he resolutely endured the
tension on his piety, he put up with this irritation as a just judge, for he believed that
the opponents had been wronged. Moreover, he commanded that after the council had
completed its task by rightly judging each matter, the whole council would come to
Jerusalem for the dedication of the church he had built there.

3.17.9 He also wrote another letter to the council with instructions that not only Athanasius
but also Arius should appear at the council and that the actions of each should be
investigated impartially. If, as Arius claimed, he had suffered separation because of
malice despite being within the true faith, he should first condemn himself for his
attacks against the truth and then keep silent.

3.17.10 This was under the proviso that Arius accept correction not in order to seek
vengeance against his own bishop Athanasius and construct suspicion against him.
And if it be found that malice was the cause, the bishops at the council should strive
to peacefully reunite the two. But if Arius had feigned his repentance, he should
return to Alexandria and there be judged in this matter.

3.17.11 The praiseworthy emperor wrote this out of concern for the unity of everyone so that,
once every quarrel there had been removed, they might peacefully carry out the
dedication of the church in Jerusalem, consecrating it to God.

3.17.12 Impious Arius, however, refused to appear at the council in Tyre. Great Athanasius
arrived at that council in Tyre with much eagerness along with his priests Timothy
and Macarius and with many other clerics and noblemen attending him.

3.17.13 When the bishops had thus assembled in Tyre and had all gathered in one place along
with Dionysius, who was of consular rank, the most prominently distinguished men
of his entourage, and the governor of the province, that Dionysius delivered the
emperor’s letter to the council of bishops.

3.17.14 Some other bishops accused of doctrinal errors also appeared, among whom was
Asclepas of Gaza. But I first want to insert in this writing the sinister accusation
against Saint Athanasius then describe the events which transpired at the well-known
trial.

3.17.15 A certain Arsenius, who had previously been a lector under Athanasius, was accused
of certain crimes and was about to be killed by a mob. When great Athanasius (who
had investigated the case) learned of this, he saved Arsenius like so: Because he
found out that Arsenius had been falsely accused, he came at night and rescued the
man, enabling him to flee and escape being murdered.

27
3.17.16 Afterwards, the followers of Melitius found him in Egypt and arranged for him to be
granted the title of bishop. After a while, those of Melitius’s faction, at the instigation
of Eusebius of Nicomedia (he was the one devising crafty false accusations against
the pious everywhere), hid this very Arsenius and asked him to remain hidden for a
long time.

3.17.17 Then they cut off the right hand of a corpse, placed it, embalmed, in a wooden box,
and carried it around everywhere, claiming that Athanasius had murdered and
dismembered Arsenius. They denounced Athanasius as a murderer.

3.17.18 But the all-seeing eye of God did not permit Arsenius to remain hidden for long. First
it became clear that he lived in Egypt in the territory of Thebes. Then God (as
Arsenius later reported) made him consider the salvation Athanasius had obtained for
him against all expectations. He would be doing wrong and committing a grave
injustice if he should look the other way while his benefactor suffered death for his
sake rather than himself dying for him. So the Lord of everything led him to Tyre,
where the false accusers were exhibiting the infamous hand before the judges.

3.17.19 When Athanasius’s companions saw him, they took him to their quarters, and when
they had learned from him how God had intervened and what he had decided, they
urged him to stay hidden for the time being.

3.17.20 As morning drew near, great Athanasius entered the council chamber together with
his priests Timothy and Macarius as well as the people from Alexandria who had
accompanied him there.

3.17.21 The conspirators had brought in a woman who was living licentiously. She kept on
loudly claiming that she had taken a vow of virginity but that Athanasius, while
visiting her quarters, had raped her and corrupted her against her will. As she was
saying this, the accused entered, and with him the priest Timothy—an admirable
man—and the others.

3.17.22 When the judges ordered Athanasius to defend himself against the accusation,
Athanasius remained silent, as if he were not himself the accused, while Timothy said
to the woman, “Woman, have I ever met you? Have I ever entered your house?” She
cried out even more shamelessly in response to Timothy, reaching out, grabbing him,
and saying to Timothy himself, “You took away my virginity; you stripped me of
self-control; you corrupted the decency of my soul,” and whatever else women who
have no shame are wont to say due to excessive intemperance.

3.17.23 This caused more disruption to the proceedings than any wonder, for Athanasius had
been accused, but Timothy had been blamed. So those who had manufactured the
drama were put to shame, and even the conspirators among the judges blushed. They
had the woman thrown out.

28
3.17.24 Then godly Athanasius said that they should not send the woman away but should
question her and find out who had caused this matter. But the false accusers cried out
that there were other, more serious charges which could not be resolved by any skill
or cleverness. “Sight, not hearing, will judge the evidence.” Having said this, they
presented that infamous box and uncovered the embalmed hand.

3.17.25 When those in the assembly saw, each one cried out: the conspirators of the false
accusers said the atrocity was genuine; those who knew of the deception said
Arsenius was still alive in hiding and laughed.

3.17.26 A great uproar filled the assembly. When with difficulty a brief silence was achieved,
Athanasius, the accused, asked the judges whether any of them were acquainted with
Arsenius. When many said that they knew the man well, Athanasius gave the
command to bring him in.

3.17.27 So Arsenius came in and stood in the middle of the assembly. Athanasius again
asked, “Is this Arsenius, the man whom I killed and whom these men mutilated after
his slaughter by taking away his right hand?” Very many people in the council
confirmed that he was Arsenius. Then godly Athanasius removed Arsenius’s cloak
and pointed to both of his hands—the right and the left. “Let no one look for
another,” he said, “for each of us humans receives two hands from the maker of all.”

3.17.28 Though this was shown to be true by the judgment of God, who sees all, and though
the accusers and their accomplices among the judges ought to have sunk down and
prayed that the earth itself would swallow them up whole, they did the opposite. They
filled the assembly with uproar and discord, calling Athanasius a wizard and saying
that he was deceiving people’s vision with magical trickery.

3.17.29 They rebelled against him and tried to rip apart and kill the champion of piety,
moving even the earth itself, so to speak, and throwing dust into the air like those who
once cried out against the divine apostle Paul, “Get rid of him at once, for he does not
deserve to live.”18

3.17.30 But those tasked by the emperor with preserving order prevented his murder. They
spirited him away, victorious, and ensured his salvation by guiding him on board a
ship. After boarding the ship, godly Athanasius hastened to the imperial court and
thus escaped the hands of his would-be murderers.

3.17.31 These ones immediately sent to the Mareotes some like-minded bishops: Theognis of
Nicaea, Maris of Chalcedon, Theodore of Heraclea in Thrace, Narcissus of Cilicia,
Ursacius, and some other like-minded people. Their task was to draw up one-sided
charges against Athanasius there. (The Mareotes, which is in Alexandria, is named
for Lake Maria, which is nearby.)

18
Cf. Acts 22:22.

29
3.17.32 They instructed them also to send the author of the evils, Arius, as quickly as possible
to them at Aelia (that is, Jerusalem), to which they had set out from Tyre with the
bishops at the council. For the emperor had ordered the entire council from Tyre to
assemble afterwards in Jerusalem with all the bishops from everywhere, as I said
before, to consecrate the temples he had built there.

3.17.33 He had also dispatched there some of the more loyal officials, distinguished in piety
and faithfulness, with orders to lavishly furnish everyone with everything—not only
bishops, priests, and their attendants, but also everyone in need who assembled from
everywhere. An untold multitude from all parts of the East, so to speak, had flowed
together there for the dedication of the new Jerusalem. The divine altar was adorned
with imperial fabrics and golden treasures set with precious stones.

3.17.34 When impious Arius came to Aelia on the day of the dedication with much eagerness
especially upon hearing that Athanasius was staying away from that festival, those of
the same mind as him (I mean the followers of Eusebius of Nicomedia and
Patrophilus of Scythopolis) joyfully received him.

3.17.35 Those belonging to the true faith, however, opposed Arius when they saw him and
turned away from him as from something unclean. They drove him from the church
and ordered that he be expelled from the council, with the understanding that he
would stand trial at the council in Alexandria, in which, they had determined, he
would also be convicted. This, it is said, was also in line with the order of our Christ-
loving Emperor Constantine.

3.17.36 Once that corrupter had thus been removed and they had celebrated the festival in a
most peaceful and splendid manner, the all-praiseworthy and most faithful emperor
learned of the splendor and extravagance of the festal assembly and was filled with
extreme joy. He greatly extolled the Lord of good things for having granted him this
request also.

3.17.37 After the festival of dedication had so gloriously run its course, the majority of
bishops returned to their own countries, especially those who had not attended the
council in Tyre.

3.17.38 But those of the faction of Eusebius of Nicomedia, who along with him had accepted
the disgrace of Arius, came up with Eusebius himself and the other bishops to Tyre.
There they awaited the return of those like-minded to them from the Mareotes.

3.17.39 Meanwhile, Athanasius had arrived at the imperial court. He came before the pious,
God-loving Emperor Constantine and explained to him all the intrigue undertaken
against him. The kind, sympathetic Emperor Constantine was saddened in spirit at the
plots against Athanasius and disturbed at the unjust judgment against him.

3.17.40 Especially because Athanasius begged him with tears to summon the accusers and the
judges and to resume the trial before the pious emperor himself, the emperor sent

30
 letters to those in Tyre who had returned from Aelia to inform them that Athanasius
was with him and to request that they come to Constantinople as quickly as possible.
The letter reads as follows:19

3.18.1 “Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus, to the bishops again assembled in Tyre. I
on my part am unaware of the decisions your council has made with so much uproar
and storming, but it seems that disorderly confusion has somehow distorted the truth.
Clearly, on account of your mutual quarreling, which you do not want to be put to
rest, you cannot see what is pleasing to God.

3.18.2 But let God’s providence clearly reveal and scatter the awful mischief resulting from
your rivalry, or rather your wicked struggling. Let him explicitly show to us whether
you showed any concern for truth when you gathered there and whether you passed
judgment with neither partiality nor hatred.

3.18.3 For this reason, I want you to quickly come to my piety so that you may yourselves
present before me a precise account of your negotiations. You will learn from the
following why I considered it right to write this to you and through this letter called
you to myself.

3.18.4 Athanasius, the bishop of the church in Alexandria and disciple of divine law, is with
me. When I was returning from a field camp to the city which bears our name, all-
blessed Constantinople, he met me in the middle of the thoroughfare together with
some others, mourning and lamenting. He approached so suddenly as to give us cause
for alarm.

3.18.5 God, who sees all, is my witness that I could not have recognized who he was by his
appearance had not some of our companions upon our inquiry reported who he was
and what injustice he had suffered at your hands. The man appeared so humbled and
downcast to us that we felt inexpressible pity for him when we learned that he was
Athanasius, whose holy countenance suffices to draw even the pagans to worship the
God of all. Long ago certain wicked men, hostile to peace and harmony, surrounded
him with weighty false accusations.

3.18.6 As a result even I myself, taken in by their crafty deception, would have sinned
against the man had I not, moved by God’s decree, ordered him at that time to come
from Alexandria to the court of our clemency with haste.

3.18.7 So the man himself answered my reverence concerning the falsely constructed
charges against him, defending himself before us. He refuted the lying accusations
and was proved innocent in all of them, so we sent him off to his own country with
the utmost honor, and he returned in peace to the orthodox people who were guided
by him.

19
The following letter is also preserved in Athanasius, Apologia secunda contra Arianos 86; Socrates 1.34;
Sozomen 2.28.2-12.

31
3.18.8 Now he again cries out that these second accusations, worse than the former ones,
have been boldly levelled against him. He asks nothing else from us with greater
boldness than that you come to us, which he requested so that he might in your
presence lament what he has had to suffer.

3.18.9 Because we found this reasonable and proper to the circumstances, I had this letter
written to you in order that all you who attended the council in Tyre would
immediately hasten to our court and demonstrate by the facts themselves that your
judgment was spotless and incontrovertible, defending your judgments before me
(you yourselves would not deny that I am truly a genuine servant of God).

3.18.10 For through my service to God there is peace everywhere, and even the most
barbarous peoples, which until now have been ignorant of the truth, genuinely
worship the name of God. And clearly he who is ignorant of the truth does not even
know God. However, as just said, even the barbarians themselves, on account of me,
the genuine servant of God, have now come to know God and have learned to
worship him, whom they could perceive defending me and providing everywhere
through the bare facts. For this reason they certainly also know God, whom they
worship on account of their fear of us.

3.18.11 As for us, we who seem to put forward the holy mysteries of his goodwill (for I
would not say we guard them) do nothing other than that which strives toward discord
and hatred, and, to speak simply, toward the destruction of the human race.

3.18.12 So hurry to us as quickly as possible, as I said before, with the confidence that I will
attempt with my every power to ensure that the law of God especially be kept without
fault so that neither blame nor any bad repute will be able to cling to it, namely, when
the enemies of the law of God have been scattered, utterly crushed, and completely
destroyed.

3.18.13 Under the pretext of the holy name they utter all kinds of blasphemies so as to
deceive simpler minds, desiring, so far as it is possible, to defile the purity of the
catholic church, which our Savior keeps spotless, holy, and blameless, having
purchased it with his saving, precious blood, as his divine, unbreakable laws declare.”

3.18.14 This letter brought anguish to those in the council, especially the followers of
Eusebius of Nicomedia. Their representatives in the Mareotes, who had signed off on
lies as if they were true by compiling a one-sided investigative report against the great
Athanasius before this imperial letter, met with the council of admirable bishops in
Tyre.

3.18.15 But not all accepted that counterfeit report against Athanasius, full as it was of their
abominable slanders. Therefore, most of them anxiously returned to their own places
when they had learned the contents of the emperor’s letter from their reading.

32
3.18.16 But the followers of Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis and those with them,
meanwhile, tarried in Tyre, stalling for time. But they wrote to the pious emperor that
they were being kept there against their will though they were in a hurry to set out to
him. They sent him their counterfeit investigative report, which the faithful emperor
rejected as an abomination and refused to even accept it. He ordered the offenders to
come to him once and for all.

3.18.17 Meanwhile, as they (I mean the followers of Eusebius) were still delaying, he again
dispatched Athanasius to Alexandria with utmost honor, having written again to the
church of Alexandria that their bishop, Athanasius, had been falsely attacked and that
his purity shone forth conspicuously in all his dealings.

3.18.18 When Athanasius arrived at Alexandria and was being acclaimed in accord with the
emperor’s commands and the orders of the orthodox bishops gathered for the
consecration in Jerusalem, the affairs concerning Arius happened. 20 There was a large
gathering of the crowd and a confused expectation based on a wavering outcome,
especially since all saw that the things unanimously decided and determined by so
many prominent bishops were again called into question.

3.18.19 Therefore godly Athanasius, seeing that Alexandria was agitated along with all of
Egypt, did not keep silent; he made it known by letter to the pious ears of the all-
excellent, God-loving emperor.

3.18.20 When the emperor learned that Arius had again changed direction, he sent for him to
have him brought to Constantinople to give an account of the disturbances he had
again dared to set in motion. He wrote to him and those with him an indignant letter
against them. The letter reads as follows. 21

20
Hansen says that this refers to Arius’s return to Alexandria mentioned in 3.13.18.
21
The letter which should follow is not preserved in the textual tradition of the Anonymous Church History. The
chapter index at the start of Book 3 indicates that, in addition to the letter (Chapter 19), an account of Emperor
Constantine’s prayer upon the death of Arius (Chapter 20) and two letters from Emperor Constantine to Pistus,
bishop of Marcianopolis (Chapters 21 and 22), are not preserved.

33