History of the Arians

1) They, for what they built all this, brought it to completion in a short time. As soon as they conceived it, they soon accepted the Arians into communion; they did not respect so many decisions made against them, but again they put up royal power in their defense. They were not ashamed to write: “since Athanasius suffered, the envy stopped; Finally, let us accept the Arians into fellowship, adding to the intimidation of those listening: “This is what the King commanded.” And then, they were not ashamed to add about the Arians: “these people are rightly wise,” and they were not afraid of what is written: “Woe to those who say... bitter is sweet... to those who put light in darkness” (Isa. 5:20); because they are ready to suffer everything for heresy. And doesn’t this clearly show everyone that it was not because of the church court, but as a result of the royal threat, for our pious faith in Christ that we suffered then, and now you are persecuting us? They also plotted against other bishops, inventing the same pretexts for their condemnation. Some of them went into prison, having earned praise for confessing Christ, while others are still in exile, all the more courageously rebelling against their heresy and saying: nothing will separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:35). 2) But from this you can also recognize heresy, and even more so condemn it. Whoever is their friend and is wicked with them, even if he was guilty of other offenses and was subject to thousands of reproaches, even if there were the clearest denunciations and evidence against him, enjoys their good opinion and soon becomes a friend of the king, earns approval for his wickedness, and having accumulated a lot of money, he now takes the courage to do what he wants before the judges. But whoever denounces their wickedness and sincerely stands for Christ, even if he was pure in everything, and he himself was not aware of anything wrong with himself, and others did not accuse him, on the pretexts they invented, he is immediately kidnapped, and by the court of the king he becomes an exile, either as guilty of whatever they want to blame, or like Naboth, as having insulted the king. The defender of heresy is immediately found out and appears in the Church of the expelled; and those who do not accept it are already threatened with an inventory of their property, insults, and all disasters. And what is strangest of all, whom the people want and recognize as blameless, the king takes away and expels, and whom the people do not want and do not know, he sends from afar with soldiers and with his messages. And then there will be a great need to hate someone they love, who announced them and became a father in godliness, to love someone they don’t want, and to entrust their children to someone they don’t know what kind of life he is, what kind of behavior he is, and who he is; or suffer punishment if they do not obey the king. 3) This is what they do now, and for a long time the wicked have done this to the Orthodox, letting everyone see their wickedness and wickedness everywhere. Let us assume that Athanasius is guilty; what did the other bishops do? What are the pretexts against them? Or what kind of dead Arseny was found there? And do they have some kind of presbyter Macarius? Some cup broken? Any Meletian bred active? But just as it is clear from the affairs of these bishops that what was shown against Athanasius is a lie, so the actions taken against Athanasius explain that everything was invented against the bishops. Some great beast (I mean this heresy) came to earth; Not only with words, as with teeth, he harms the simple-minded, but he also hired worldly power for malicious intent. And the strange thing is that, as I have already said, none of them are accused, and if they are accused, they are not convicted, or, apparently, they are required to go to trial, but are acquitted to the detriment of those who accuse them. And rather, the accuser suffers from malice than the defendant suffers any shame. Therefore, all of them are full of filth, and their, or rather, their spies, and not their bishops, are more covered with filth. And if anyone wants to become a bishop among them, he listens not to what is said: “It is fitting... for a bishop to be blameless” (1 Tim. 3:2), but only to one thing: “Be wise against Christ, and do not worry about morals; this is enough to get you approval and royal friendship.” This is what happens to those who hold Aryan thoughts. And the zealots of the truth, even if they seem to be holy and pure, according to what was said above, are subject to responsibility when the Arians want it, for whatever fictitious pretexts they please. And this, as I have already said, can be seen from what was done by the Arians. 4) There was a certain Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch, a confessor and a pious man in the faith. since he was much zealous for the truth, hated the Arian heresy and did not accept those who held it, he was slandered before King Constantine; a pretext was invented that Eustathius had insulted the Tsar's mother. And immediately he becomes an exile, and with him a great number of elders and deacons are expelled. Finally, those whom this Bishop did not accept into the clergy for wickedness, those, after his expulsion, were not only brought into the Church, but also very many of them were installed as bishops, in order to have them as his accomplices in wickedness. From among them, Leontius the eunuch, now Bishop of Antioch, and before him, Stephen, George of Laodicea, Theodosius, who was Bishop of Tripoli, Eudoxius of Germanicia and Eustathius, now Bishop of Sebaste. 5) Did you stop there? No. Eutropius, who was the Bishop of Adrianople, a good man and perfect in everything, since he repeatedly denounced Eusebius, and whoever had to go through Adrianople, gave advice to everyone not to listen to Eusebius’ wicked words, suffers the same as Eustathius, is expelled from the city and from the Church, because the Queen was much stronger against him 2. Euphration in Balanei, Cymatius in Paltos and another Cymatius in Antarada, Asklipius in Gaza, Cyrus in Syrian Beria, Diodorus in Asia, Domnion in Sirmium, Hellanicus in Tripolis, as soon as they learned about them that they hated heresy, some on some pretext, and others without pretext, they were dismissed by royal letters and expelled from the cities, instead of them in their Churches installed others whose wickedness they knew! 6) Perhaps there is no need to talk about Marcellus, Bishop of Galatia; because everyone knows how Eusebius’s accomplices, who had previously been accused of impiety by him, themselves accused him and brought the elder to exile. Having arrived in Rome, he was justified, and at their request he gave a written confession of his faith, which was accepted by the Council of Sardicia; and Eusebius’s accomplices were not justified, and were not ashamed of the conviction of wickedness proven by their writings, but with even greater insolence they began to attack everyone; because from the royal wives they received approval for themselves before the Tsar and were terrible for everyone. 7) I think everyone knows about Paul, the Bishop of Constantinople. For to the extent that a city is famous, everything that happens in it is not hidden. So, a pretext for accusation was invented against him. His accuser Macedonius, who has now become Bishop in his place, was in communion with him during the accusation in my presence and served as a presbyter under Paul himself. However, since Eusebius enviously wanted to seize the bishopric of this city for himself (so he moved from Beritus to Nicomedia), the pretext for accusing Pavlov remained in its force, the malice was not left neglected, the slanderers stood their ground. Paul, for the first time, was exiled by Constantine to Pontus; the second time, Constantius, bound with iron bonds, was imprisoned in Singara of Mesopotamia, and from there transferred to Emesa; and the fourth time to Cappadocian Kukuza near the Taurus deserts. There, as those who were with him said, he was strangled by the Arians and ended his life. Having done this, these people, who did not keep the truth in anything, were not ashamed, after Pavlova’s death, to invent a lie again, as if Paul had died of illness, although all the inhabitants of that place knew about it. And Philagry, the then governor of those places, interprets all their actions as they please; he is surprised, however, and, moreover, upset, perhaps, that it was not he, but another who committed such an evil act; He told many others, also my acquaintances, and Bishop Serapion, how Paul, locked by them in some cramped and dark place, was left there to die of hunger, and how, then, after six days, those who came found him still breathing, finally entered and strangled him. And thus he ended this life. The executor of the deed in inflicting such death, as they said, was Philip, who was the eparch. But God's judgment did not leave him unpunished; Less than a year had passed since Philip was deprived of his superiors with great dishonor, and having become a private person, he suffered ridicule from whomever he would not have wanted. And he is very sad, like Cain, “groaning and shaking” (Gen. 4, 14), waiting from day to day for his killer, he himself died far from his fatherland and from his own people, and as he did not want, becoming as if deprived of his mind. Moreover, they do not spare the dead, if they invented pretexts for accusation against someone during their lifetime. For through this they tried to show themselves as terrible to everyone; and they imprison the living, and they have no mercy on the dead. But even in this case, they alone, in spite of all people, hate those who have departed, plot against their family, these are in the true sense inhuman and haters of good, more enraged in disposition than their enemies themselves, in their wickedness, not for the sake of truth, but on fictitious pretexts, trying to plot intrigues both for me and for others. 8) Seeing this, the three brothers Constantine, Constantius and Constance, after the death of their father, returned everyone to their fatherland and to the Church, writing about the others to the Church of each, and about Athanasius, expressing what again shows the violence used in the case, and exposes the murderous intention of Eusebius’s accomplices 3. This was written by Caesar; What other witness to their conspiracy could be more reliable than this? For what he knew, he wrote. 9) Eusebius’s accomplices, seeing that their heresy is weakening, write to Athanasius in Rome, and write to Kings Constantine and Constance. As soon as those sent by Athanasius denounced what they had written, they were ashamed before the Kings. Bishop Julius of Rome wrote that there should be a Council, where we wish that at it they would prove what they are accused of, and boldly justify themselves of what they themselves are accused of. For the elders they sent also asked for this, seeing themselves convicted. In this state of affairs, these people, suspicious in everything, noticing that they will not prevail in the church court, come to Constantius alone, and already, as a defender of heresy, they plaintively ask him, saying: “Spare the heresy; you see, everyone is retreating from us, and only a few of us remain; begin the persecution, because these few are leaving us and we have no followers. Those whom we forced by force after the expulsion of the bishops, those bishops, returning, again convinced them to philosophize in spite of us. Therefore, write a decree against all of them, and send Philagria to Egypt for the second time as eparch; he is capable of carrying out persecution, he has already proven this by experience, and besides, he is an apostate. Send Gregory as bishop to Alexandria, and he can support our heresy.” 10) Therefore, Constantius writes then, he begins to persecute everyone, sends Philagrius as eparch and with him some eunuch Arsacius, and sends Gregory with military force. And something similar happened to what happened before. Having gathered many boot-herds, shepherds and other profane and dissolute young people, with swords and clubs they suddenly invaded the church, the so-called Kirina, and killed some, trampled others, others, having inflicted wounds on them, were thrown into prison and sent to prison; having seized many women, they publicly dragged them to the court, and cursed at them, dragging them by the hair; Some were despoiled of their property, others were deprived of their bread, for nothing else, but solely so that they would join the Arians and accept Gregory sent by the Tsar. 11) Athanasius, before this happened, barely heard how he sailed to Rome, knowing the irritability of the heretics, and together in order for the Council to be held, as it should be. Julius writes and sends presbyters Elpidius and Philoxenus, setting a date for the Council, so that either the heretics come, or they already know that they will be suspected of everything. But Eusebius’s accomplices, as soon as they heard that there would be an ecclesiastical trial, at which neither the committee was present, nor the soldiers stood at the door, and the affairs of the cathedral were not carried out according to the royal order (and by this they always got the upper hand over the bishops, without this they hardly even dare to speak), they became so afraid that they kept the presbyters for the term and invented an unseemly pretext, saying: “We cannot now go because of the war with the Persians.” But there was no truth in this; fear of conscience prevented him from going. For what do bishops have to do with war? Or how, because of the Persians, they could not go to Rome, a city that is far from the Persians and beyond the sea, while they go around the eastern countries and those close to the Persians like lions, looking for whether someone would resist them, so that, by slandering him, they would bring him to prison. 12) And without a doubt, having dismissed the elders from themselves with this unsatisfactory pretext, they reasoned among themselves: “since we are not able to prevail in church court, then we will show our usual insolence.” Therefore, they write to Philagry and convince him to soon survey Egypt together with Gregory: and now bishops are scourged and imprisoned without pity. Sarapammon Bishop - confessor is sent to prison; Potammol the Bishop, a confessor who lost even an eye during persecution, was given many blows on the neck and did not stop tormenting him until they recognized him as already dead; so he was abandoned, and barely a few hours later, after many efforts and panting, he began to breathe, because God was pleased to grant him life. But after some time he died from the severity of these blows and in Christ can boast of twice martyrdom. How many other monks suffered scourging, while Gregory sat with Balakiy, the so-called douk? How many bishops were tortured? How many maidens bore the blows? 13) Then, after all this, pitiful Gregory invites everyone to enter into communication with him. But if you want to have communication with them, then they were not worthy of wounds; if you tormented them as worthless people, then why do you invite them as saints? But he had no other goal than to fulfill the will of those who sent him and support the heresy. That is why this crazy man became a murderer, an executioner, an offender, an insidious, vile and completely a fighter against Christ. He persecuted the Bishop's aunt to such an extent that he did not allow her to be buried. This would have happened and she would have been abandoned unburied if those who raised her had not carried her out as if they were their own dead body. So in this he showed his wicked character. Since widows and other immovable people were collecting alms, he ordered that what was given be taken away and the vessels in which they kept oil and wine broken, so as not only to wickedly take it from them, but to dishonor the Lord by the very act and soon hear from Him: having dishonored these, you have dishonored Me. 14) He did many other things that are even difficult to express in words, and which others, having heard about, will consider it incredible. He acted this way because he was not appointed according to church rule, and was appointed Bishop not according to apostolic tradition, but was sent from the Court with military force and pomp, as if he were being entrusted with worldly power. Therefore, he wished more to be a friend of city rulers than of bishops and monastics. And if when Father Anthony wrote to him from the mountain, then, since piety is unpleasant to a sinner, he abhorred the letters of this Saint. And if a king, or a military leader, or some kind of judge wrote, he was just as cheerful as those about whom, as if mourning them, the Scripture says in Proverbs: “Oh, forsaking the right paths! Oh, you who rejoice over the wicked and rejoice over the corruption of evil! (Prov. 2, 13, 14). And, without a doubt, he honored those who brought these letters with monetary rewards. And when Anthony wrote to him one day, he ordered the duk Balakia to spit on him and throw the message. But God's judgment did not leave this unpunished; Not much time passed before the named Duk mounted his horse, setting off on his journey; the horse turned around and bit him on the horse's leg; Duk fell and died three days later. 15) And so they did to everyone. Meanwhile, up to fifty bishops gathered in Rome. Eusebius’s accomplices, as suspicious and afraid to come, they did not accept into communication, and did not respect what they wrote, but they accepted me and loved communication with me. But while this was happening, it came to the attention of King Constance about the Council that had taken place in Rome, and about what had been done against the Churches in Alexandria and throughout the East. Then he writes to his brother Constantius; and both already wanted the Council to be convened and the affairs to be sorted out, and the offended no longer tolerated insults, while the offenders could no longer dare to do such things. Therefore, bishops from the East and West, numbering more or less 170, converge in the city of Sardica. The western bishops were alone with Father Hosea, and the eastern bishops brought with them as mentors and intercessors Musonianus Comitas and Hesychius Kastrisius, for whose sake they came willingly, hoping to make everything theirs again. For in this way they always showed themselves to be terrible to whomever they wanted, and plotted against whomever they pleased. When they arrived, they saw that one Church court was being carried out without a committee and soldiers, they saw accusers and denouncers against them from every Church and from every city, they saw that the venerable Bishops Arius and Asterius, although they came with them, but evaded them, joined us and told us about their wickedness and how suspicious they were in their deeds and how much they were afraid of legal proceedings, so that we would not expose them as slanderers, and The accusers they presented did not show that they themselves inspired all this in them and arranged it, noting all this, although they came with care to the idea that they would not meet us otherwise than in fear, but as soon as they saw our readiness, they were confined in the palace (for they lived there) and began to reason among themselves: “We walked with a different goal, and we see something else; We came with the comites, but the trial is carried out without the comites; without a doubt we will be condemned, you all know these instructions; Afanasyev’s defenders have Mareotian records, according to which he will be acquitted, and we will be put to shame. Therefore, what should we do? Why hesitate? Let’s come up with some excuses and leave, so that we won’t be condemned if we stay; It is better to flee and suffer shame than to suffer shame when they accuse us of being slanderers. If we run away, we will still be able to at least somewhat defend the heresy. Although they will condemn us for fleeing, our patron is the King; he will not allow the people to expel us from the Churches.” 16) They reasoned like this; Hosea and all the other bishops often made them aware of the zeal of Athanasius’s defenders, and as much as they were ready for justification, they even promised to expose them as slanderers. The bishops said: “If you are afraid of judgment, why did you come? Either you shouldn’t have come, or having come, you shouldn’t run away.” Hearing this and becoming even more afraid, they resorted to a new pretext, more absurd than the one invented in Antioch, as if the Tsar had written to them about the celebrations on the occasion of the victory over the Persians, and decided to flee. And this pretext was presented without shame through Eustathius, a presbyter of the Sardician Church. However, their escape did not take place at will. For the holy Council, at which the great Hosea was chairman, soon wrote to them clearly: “Either come to justify yourself in the accusations brought against you and in the slander you have made, or know that the Council condemns you as found guilty. We declare Athanasius and his defenders free and clean from all guilt.” But they were more driven by fear of conscience than they were able to heed this message; Seeing in front of them those offended by them, they did not give an answer to those making this proposal, but rather fled. 17) Their flight was so shameful and disgraceful. The Holy Council, convened from 35 or more dioceses, recognizing the evil behavior of the Arians, allowed Athanasius and others with him to be justified, for which they were accused and for which they suffered; and when they were justified, as we said above, the Council accepted them and recognized them as worthy of all surprise, and therefore loved communication with them, wrote them down everywhere, sent writings to everyone’s district and especially to Alexandria, Egypt and Libya, that Athanasius and the others with him were pure and not subject to any reproach, and their opponents were slanderers, evil people and not Christians at all. Therefore, Athanasius and the others with him were released in peace, and Stephen, Minophantus, Acacius, George of Laodicea, Ursatius, Valens, Theodore and Narcissus were deposed. Gregory, sent by the Tsar to Alexandria, was excommunicated from the Church; because he was not a bishop at all and should not be called a Christian. Therefore, those orders made by Gregory were also declared invalid, ordering that they should not be named at all in the Church, due to the extraordinary lawlessness. So Athanasius and the others with him were released in peace. The conciliar messages, due to their length, are written at the end 4. And the Council dispersed. 18) The deposed, who should now have calmed down after such a shameful flight, committed deeds in comparison with which their previous actions turn out to be small. For when the inhabitants of Adrianople did not want to enter into communication with them, because they fled from the Council and were found guilty; Then they reported this to King Constantius, and made sure that in the factory there, ten lay people were beheaded, with the assistance of the Arians again, and in this, Philagria, who was a comite there. The tombstones of the dead are located in front of the city, just as we saw when passing by. Then, as if they had done a good deed, because they fled, so as not to expose them as slanderers, everything they wanted, and the Tsar confirmed with his order. Therefore, they also succeeded in the fact that two presbyters and three deacons were exiled from Alexandria to captivity in Armenia; Aria and Asteria, one of whom was the Bishop of Petra in Palestine, and the other the Bishop of Arabia, because they separated from them, were not only sent into captivity in upper Libya, but also subjected to insults. 19) With the Bishop of Adrianople, Lucius, because they saw that he was treating the Arians very boldly and exposing their wickedness, they did again the same as before, they placed iron shackles on his neck and hands, and then they sent him into captivity, where Lucius died, as they know. They removed Bishop Diodorus from their place, Olympius of Aeneas and Theodulus of Trajanopolis, who were both Bishops in Thrace, good and Orthodox men, because they saw that they hated heresy, first the Eusebius accomplices slandered, as King Constantius wrote about, and the second time they confirmed this too. Constantius wrote not only to expel these Bishops from cities and churches, but also to put them to death if they were found anywhere. Surprising as it may be, this is not at all alien to their modus operandi. Having learned similar things from Eusebius’s accomplices and, as it were, becoming the heirs of their wickedness and behavior, as their fathers did in Thrace, so they wanted to show themselves terrible in Alexandria, and at their urging it was written to watch the piers and entrances to the cities, so that the bishops would not somehow return to the Church, as a result of conciliar permission. At their request, it was written to the Alexandrian judges about Athanasius and about some presbyters by name that if the Bishop, or any of those presbyters, is found entering the city or within its borders, then the judge has the right to behead the person found. Thus, the new Jewish heresy is not only denied from the Lord, but is also taught murder. 20) And at the same time they did not calm down; but just as the father of their heresy “walks about like a lion... seeking to devour someone” (1 Peter 5:8), so they, having seized the national cemetery into their power and walking through it, if they found that anyone was reproaching them for fleeing and expressing hatred of the Arian heresy, all of them were flogged, tied up, and sent out of their fatherland into captivity. And through this they made themselves so terrible that many turned into hypocrites, and many agreed it would be better to flee into the desert than to live with them. Such was their frantic audacity after their escape. For they are doing something extraordinary, befitting only their heresies, which has never been heard of before, and which, perhaps, will never happen even among corrupt pagans, not only among Christians. The Holy Council of Bishops sent Vincent from Capua, where the metropolis of Campania, and Euphrates from Agrippinia, where the metropolis of upper Gaul are, as ambassadors to the Tsar, so that, since he expelled the Bishops, he himself would allow, according to the council, their return to their Churches. The most pious Constance also wrote to his brother, and supported the side of the Bishops. These same admirable and courageous people, as soon as they saw the ambassadors in Antioch, constitute a general council, and Stefan alone takes upon himself the execution, as being capable of such deeds. On the very days of Holy Easter, they hire a dissolute woman and, stripping her naked, bring her at night to Bishop Euphrates. This woman, thinking at first that she had been called by a young man, went willingly. When, left by them, she saw a sleepy man who knew nothing about what had happened, and then looked at the elder’s face and guessed that it was the Bishop, she immediately raised a cry and began to complain that she had been brought in by force. But they asked her to remain silent and lie against the Bishop. So the day came; the matter was revealed, and the whole city flocked; The courtiers began to move, marveling at the rumor that had spread and asking not to remain silent about the matter. Therefore, a trial was carried out; the owner of the obscene house denounced those who came for the woman; They denounced Stephen because they were his clerics. Therefore, Stephen renounces, and the eunuch Leontius is put in his place, just so that the Arian heresy is not left without a defender. 21) King Constantius, somewhat touched by this, came to his senses, and from the act with the Euphrates, concluding that there were similar plans against others, he ordered the immediate release of the presbyters and deacons exiled from Alexandria to Armenia; and he writes directly to Alexandria, so as not to persecute the clergy and laity of Athanasius any longer. Then, when Gregory died ten months later, with great honor he invites Athanasius, not once, not twice, but three times, writing to him in a friendly manner, urging him not to fear anything and to go on his way, sending a presbyter and a deacon, so that he would return with greater confidence. The king thought that, fearing what had happened before, I did not care about returning. He also writes to his brother Constance, so that he too convinces me to return. He assured that he was waiting for Athanasius for a whole year, and in no way allowed any innovation or installation, preserving the Church for Bishop Athanasius. 22) When the King wrote like this and convinced through many, because he forced the Comites Polemius, Datian, Bardion, Thalassa, Taurus and Florence, who were more trustworthy, to write; then, having betrayed everything to God, and having inspired Constantius to do this, Athanasius came to him with those who were with him. The Tsar received him sincerely and allowed him to return to his fatherland and to the Church, writing to the local judges so that (as he had previously ordered the entrances to be guarded) he would have unrestricted access. Then, when the Bishop began to complain about what he had suffered and what was written against him, he added a request so that, after his departure, his enemies would not begin to slander him again, and said: “Call them if you wish; let them stand before me, and I will reprove them”; then the Tsar did not do this, but everything that had previously been written against Athanasius for slander, he orders to be destroyed and blotted out, confirming that he will not tolerate slander in the future and that his intention in this is firm and unfailing. And he didn’t just say this, but he sealed the words with oaths, calling on God as a witness. Having convinced Athanasius with many other words and advising him to remain confident in this, he writes the following to the bishops and judges 5: 23) The winner of Constantius Augustus to the Egyptian exarch Nestorius. It is known that before this there was our order 6 to find some writings that are contrary to the honor of the most venerable Bishop Athanasius, and they are in charge of your truthfulness. Therefore, it is desirable for us, from your sobriety that we have tested, that you send all letters relating to the name mentioned above and that were in your charge, in accordance with this order of ours, to our committee. 24) And what he wrote after the death of blessed Constance, then, according to translation from the Latin original, is as follows: The winner of Constantius Augustus to Athanasius. My constant desire was that everything should be done to please my late brother Constance; this is not unknown to your understanding. What grief I was in when I learned that he had been killed by some criminal people, your prudence can again guess about this. since in this sad time others are trying to frighten you; then I deigned to send this letter to your firmness, giving you the duty, as befits a bishop, to teach the people what the Divine faith requires, and together with them to spend time in prayer in the usual way, and not to believe empty rumors, whatever they may be. We have this desire rooted in our souls, so that you, in accordance with our will, will always be a bishop in your place. May Divine Providence watch over you for many years, beloved Father 7. 25) When this happened, Athanasius and those who were with him said goodbye and set out on their way; friends, looking at each other, rejoiced; and as for the others, some, seeing him, were ashamed, others, not daring to see, hid, while others repented of what they wrote against the Bishop. All the Palestinian Bishops, with the exception of two or three, and even those who were suspicious, accepted Athanasius so much and rejoiced in communicating with him that they wrote and justified themselves, saying: “what was written by us before was not done voluntarily, but under compulsion.” And it is unnecessary to talk about the Bishops in Egypt and Libya, as well as about the people in these countries and in Alexandria; because everyone flocked, and their joy was unspeakable, not only because beyond their hopes they found their own alive, but also because they were freed from heretics, as from tormentors and from mad dogs. There was great joy when worldly people in church meetings encouraged each other to virtue. How many unmarried people who were previously ready to marry remained virgins of Christ? How many young men, looking at others, fell in love with the monastic life? How have many fathers admonished their children? And how many did the children ask, so that they would not be hindered from striving for Christ? How many wives have convinced their husbands and how many have convinced their husbands to remain, as the Apostle said, in “prayer” (1 Cor. 7:5)? How many widows, how many orphans were previously hungry and naked, and now, as a result of the great zeal of the people, not only did not feel hunger, but walked around already clothed? In general, there was such a competition in virtue that every dwelling, every house, due to the love of Philokalia and prayer to God, could be considered a church. There was a deep and wonderful peace in the Churches; Bishops everywhere wrote and received ordinary peace messages from Athanasius. 26) Both Ursacius and Valens repented, as if tormented by their conscience. They write a friendly and peaceful message to the Bishop, although they themselves have not received a letter from him. Having come to Rome, they repented, admitting that everything they did and said against Athanasius was a lie and nothing but slander. And they did not do just that, but having anathematized the Arian heresy, they expressed their repentance in writing, writing to Bishop Julius in Latin, with a translation into Hellenic, the following message, from which a copy was sent to me in Latin by Paul, Bishop of Trivere. Having written this, they also subscribed to the peace messages when the Athanasian presbyters, Peter and Irenaeus and the layman Ammonius, passed by, although Athanasius did not write anything with them to Ursatius and Valens. 27) Therefore, who was not amazed when he saw all this and such a peace of the Churches? Who has not rejoiced, looking at the unanimity of so many bishops? Who has not praised the Lord, noticing the joy of the people in church meetings? How many of the enemies have repented? How many of those who slandered have previously tried to justify themselves? How many of those who hated Athanasius before later loved him? How many of those who wrote against him changed their song style? Many of those who were in communication with the Arians, not out of choice, but out of need, came at night and made excuses; They anathematized heresy and asked for forgiveness, because, according to the conspiracies and slander that came from them, they were apparently and physically with the Arians, but in their hearts they were united with Athanasius and always remain with him. Hey, believe me, it was like that! 28) But hearing and seeing this, those who inherited the opinions and wickedness of Eusebius were in great shame, namely: the eunuch Leontius, with whom he should not have communication even as a layman, because he castrated himself in order to live freely with some Eustoli, who had previously had a connection with him, although she was still called a virgin, also George, Akaki, Theodore, Narcissus, who were also deposed Cathedral. Then, seeing the agreement and peace with Athanasius of more than 400 bishops, namely: the Bishops of great Rome, all Italy, Calabria, Apulia, Campania, Bruttia, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and all Africa, also the Bishops of Gaul, Britain, Spain and the great confessor Hosea, and also the Bishops of Pannonia, Noricum, Siskia, Dalmatia, Dardania, Dacia, Mysia, Macedonia, Thessaly, all of Achaia, Crete, Cyprus, Lycia and most of the Bishops of Palestine, Isauria, Egypt, Thebaid, all of Libya and Pentapolis, seeing all this, they were overcome with envy and fear; envy because of the communication with Athanasius of so many Bishops, and fear that those deceived by them would not approach unanimity with so many, and their weakened heresy would not be everywhere consigned to shame and disgrace. 29) And firstly, they urge Ursatius and Valens to change their thoughts and, like dogs, return to their vomit, or like pigs, plunge again into the former mire of wickedness and invent such a pretext for the repentance they brought, as if they did it out of fear of the most pious Constance. But if there was fear in this, then if the deed was done with confidence in it, there was no need to change what was done. Even if there was no fear, they lied; then aren’t they worthy of everyone’s condemnation? There was no warrior here, and courtiers or clerks were not sent (as they do now), the king was not present, and they did not write at all at anyone’s invitation; but they themselves, of their own free will, came to Rome, and in the church, where there is no external fear, only the fear of God acts, where everyone has free will, they themselves brought repentance and wrote it. And yet, the next time they become Arians, they do not blush when they come up with such an indecent excuse again. 30) Then, having gathered together, they made a request to King Constantius, saying: “What we imagined before, they did not believe us. When you summoned Athanasius, we said that by inviting him, you were banishing our sense; because Athanasius was against him from the beginning and does not cease to anathematize him. He has already sent out his writings against us everywhere, very many in communication with him, and those who, apparently, stuck with us, have either already joined him, or are thinking of joining; and we were left alone; there is a danger that our teaching will be made public, and we and you will finally be proclaimed heretics. And if this happens, then be careful that we are not considered among the Manichaeans. Therefore, begin the persecution again and be the patron of our kind; because he also recognizes you as his king.” Such were their crafty words. And the Tsar, when he went against Maxentius, seeing the communication of the Bishops with Athanasius, as if ignited by fire, changed his mind, did not remember the oaths, but forgot what he wrote, and did not keep the word given to his brother; because both in letters to him and during the meeting with Athanasius, he assured with an oath not to act otherwise, but only as the people wished and the Bishop would please. Zeal for wickedness made everything suddenly forgotten by him. But it should not be surprising that Constantius changed after so many writings and oaths. And the once Egyptian tormentor, Pharaoh, repeatedly making promises and receiving exemption from executions for that, changed his intentions until he finally died with his like-minded people. 31) At first Constantius forced the bishops to change in each city; and when he was in Arelate and Mediolan, he began to act as the heretics advised and suggested, or better yet, they themselves began to do so and, taking advantage of their power, attacked everyone. And soon orders and writings came to the eparch to immediately take away from Athanasius the bread given to him and give it to those who philosophize in the Aryan way, and also to allow those who wish to insult anyone who gathers to worship with Athanasius. They even threatened the judges if they gathered for worship not with the Arians. Yet this was only the beginning of what was later done by the Duke Sirian. Instructions were sent to other places besides Alexandria, scribes and courtiers were sent to the cities with threats to the bishops and judges, so that the judges would hasten, and the bishops either wrote against Athanasius, having entered into communication with the Arians, or were themselves imprisoned as punishment, as well as the laity who gathered with them for worship, knew that bonds, insults, wounds and confiscation would be used against them property. This order was not neglected, because those sent had with them the clergy of the Urzatsievs and Valentovs, so that they would encourage the careless judges and report them to the Tsar. And other heresies, like their smaller sisters, were allowed to blaspheme the Lord; They plotted against Christians alone, not having the patience to hear pious broadcasts about Christ. Therefore, how many bishops, according to Scripture, “were in charge before the governors and kings” (Mark 13:9), and heard from the judges: “Either subscribe, or leave the Church, because the Tsar ordered you to be deposed”? How many in the cities were embarrassed that they too were accused as friends of the bishops? For it was also written to the citizens, moreover, with the threat of monetary penalties, if everyone does not force the bishop of his city to sign. In general, every place and every city was filled with fear and confusion; because the bishops were drawn, and the judges saw the lamentation and groaning of the people. 32) This is what the sent courtiers did. These same wonderful people, boldly relying on patronage, use their diligence, and thus, some bishops are summoned to the Tsar, against others they again build intrigues, inventing accusations against them in letters, so that some would be afraid of the presence of Constantius, while others, frightened by those sent and threats of fictitious slander, would retreat from their right and pious way of thinking. Thus, the Tsar forced a great number of bishops, either with threats or with promises, to say “we are no longer in communion with Athanasius.” Those who came to the Tsar were not previously allowed to see him, and in general, they were not previously given any peace and freedom to leave their home, except by taking a signature from them. And if they refused to sign, they were sent to prison. And the Tsar did this, noting that heresy is hated by everyone. That is why, most of all, he forced many to join the few, tried to collect a bunch of names out of envy of Bishop Athanasius, and in order to give greater importance to the Arian teaching, which he patronized, thinking that he would also be able to distort the truth, as he transformed human opinions; but I did not know or read that the Sadducees and Herodians, having joined the Pharisees, were unable to conceal the truth. On the contrary, the truth with all this becomes more brilliant every day, and they, crying: “not the imams of the King but Caesar” (John 19:15), and having Pilate’s verdict on their side, nevertheless remain deprived of everything and in all shame, expecting that they themselves will be completely naked, like “pockmarks” (Jeremiah 17:11), as soon as they see their patron dead. 33) Although it is completely indecent that some of the bishops, being frightened by this, changed their opinions; but it is much more indecent that those who do not rely on the correctness of their faith use violence and force others to believe against their will. Thus, the devil, since there is no truth in him, attacking with “slash and insult, he crushes the doors...” of those who receive him (Psalm 73:6). The Savior is so meek that, although he asks: “Whoever wants to follow Me” (Matthew 16:24), and: who wants to be My disciple, however, when he comes to everyone, he does not use violence, but, on the contrary, hits the door and says: “Open to Me, My sister, bride” (Song. 5, 2); and when they open, when they hesitate and do not want, the truth is proclaimed not with sword and arrows, but with conviction and advice. What kind of conviction is there, where is the fear of kings? And David, being King, when he had an enemy in his hands, and his soldiers attempted to kill this enemy, did not forbid them with authority, but, as Scripture says, he convinced his husbands with words and did not allow them to rise up and kill Saul (1 Sam. 26, 911). And Constantius, since he does not have a word, forces everyone with power, so that it is obvious to everyone that their wisdom is not according to God, but human, and those who reason according to the Arians really do not have a “King only Caesar”; because those who fight against Christ do everything they want through him. But, having decided to plot many intrigues with his help, they did not know that they would force many to become confessors; Such are the reverent and good bishops who have now shown glorious confession: Paulinus, Bishop of Trivere, Metropolitan of Gallia, Lucifer, Bishop of Metropolis of Sardinia, Eusebius of Vercelli in Italy, and Dionysius Bishop of Milan, also Metropolitan of Italy. For the Tsar, having called them, ordered them to sign against Athanasius and enter into communication with heretics; Then, when they were surprised at this new enterprise, they said that there is no such church rule. - he immediately objected: “I want this rule, follow it; This is what I and the Syrian bishops said, and they agree. Therefore, you either obey or you will be imprisoned.” 34) The bishops, having listened and were very surprised, raised their hands to God, with great boldness they addressed him with a speech, teaching that the kingdom was not his, but God who had given him, and begged him to fear God, so that he would not suddenly take it away; they threatened him with the day of judgment, advised him not to upset the affairs of the Church and the Roman government, not to confuse them with church decree, not to introduce the Arian heresy into the Church of God. But he did not heed them, did not allow them to continue speaking, but on the contrary, he began to threaten them even more, drew a sword on them, and ordered some of them to be taken to execution, and again, like Pharaoh, he canceled the order. Therefore, these saints, having shaken off the dust and raised their eyes to God, were not afraid of the royal threat, and for the sake of the drawn sword they did not betray the truth, but they even turned their exile into a matter of service. Walking through places and cities, although they were in chains, they preached the gospel, preaching the pious faith, anathematizing the Arian heresy and dishonoring the repentance of Ursatius and Valens. And what came out of this was contrary to the wishes of those who intended it. The further away the place of imprisonment was, the more hatred towards them grew, and the procession of those imprisoned became a sermon about their wickedness. For who, looking at how those imprisoned passed, did not marvel at them as confessors, and did not turn away from the Arians and did not abhor them, not only as wicked, but as bloodsuckers and murderers, giving them all sorts of names, but not the name of Christians? 35) Therefore, it was better for Constantius at the very beginning not to embark on this heresy at all, or, having started, not to yield to such an extent to the wicked, or, having yielded to such an extent, to stand on the same level with them in order to suffer a common condemnation with them for the insolence committed hitherto. But, as can be seen, like the maddened, having entangled themselves in the shackles of wickedness, they bring upon themselves even greater condemnation. For even at the beginning they did not spare Liberius the Roman Bishop, but extended their fury there too; they were not ashamed that this was the Apostolic See; they did not respect that Rome is the metropolis of Romagna; They didn’t remember that they themselves had previously called them Apostolic men in their letters. Having mixed everything together, they suddenly forgot about everything, and cared only about being jealous of wickedness. How soon they saw that Liberius adheres to Orthodoxy, hates the Arian heresy and tries to convince everyone to turn away and move away from heresy; These evil ones immediately reasoned: “if we win Liberia to our side, we will soon overcome everyone.” And they slander the King, and he, hoping to attract everyone to himself through Liberius, immediately writes and sends some eunuch named Eusebius, with a letter and with gifts, in order to seduce with gifts and bring fear with a letter. Therefore, the eunuch, having arrived in Rome, first convinced Liberius to sign against Athanasius and enter into communication with the Arians, saying: “This is what the King wants, and this is what he orders you to do”; then, showing the gifts, he again convinced him and took him by the hands, saying: “Obey the King and accept these gifts.” 36) The bishop, wanting to convince with a word, admonished him: “Is it possible to do this with Athanasius? Whom was completely justified not only by the first, but also by the second Council convened from everywhere, and whom the Roman Church released in peace, can we condemn him? And who will approve of us if we show disgust in absentia to the one whom we personally loved and allowed into communication with us? There is no such church rule, we do not have such a tradition from the Fathers, which themselves were borrowed from the blessed and great Apostle Peter. But if the Tsar cares about the church peace, if he commands us to destroy what we wrote in favor of Athanasius; then let what they had drawn up against Athanasius be destroyed, and also what they had drawn up against all others be destroyed, and let, finally, a church council be held far from the palace, where the Tsar would not be present, the committee would not appear, the judge would not threaten, but only God’s fear and the Apostolic decrees would be sufficient, so that, in this way, most of all, the church faith would be preserved, as the Fathers determined at the Nicene Council, and those who philosophize according to - The Aryans were destroyed, and their heresy was condemned. And then, after the trial has been carried out regarding what Athanasius or anyone else is accused of, and what they themselves are accused of, the guilty will be thrown out, and those who are acquitted will have boldness. For it would be impermissible to include in the Council those who impiously teach about faith, and it is indecent to prefer research about a private matter to research about faith. First, it is necessary to put an end to all disagreement about faith, and then carry out an investigation about deeds. And our Lord Jesus Christ did not heal the suffering before they discovered and said what kind of faith they had in Him. We learned this from the Fathers, and this is what we should proclaim to the King. And this is useful for him, and the Church builds. Let Urzatius and Valens not listen. They repented of what they had before, and what they say now does not deserve to be believed.” 37) Thus said Bishop Liberius; The eunuch, upset not so much by the fact that Liberius did not sign, but by the fact that he found in him an opponent of heresy, and forgetting that he left before the Bishop, after great threats, with gifts, does something lawless, alien to a Christian and too daring for a eunuch. In imitation of Saul's crime, he enters the church of the Apostle Peter and dedicates gifts to him. But Liberius, having learned about this, was greatly indignant at the one who was the guardian of the place and did not prevent him; He rejected the gifts as an illegal sacrifice. And this prompted the eunuch to become even more angry. Therefore, he irritates the Tsar by saying: “We are now not concerned about Liberia’s signature; Liberia’s way of thinking about heresy is terrifying, to anathematize the Arians for one name.” In addition, he also excites other eunuchs, and Constantius has many of them, and it is better to say that they are all just eunuchs, and he has power in everything, without them nothing can be done there. Therefore, the Tsar writes to Rome, courtiers and clerks, comites and letters are again sent to the eparch, so that Liberia, either deceived by cunning, is taken away from Rome and sent to the Tsar in the camp, or expelled by force. 38) After this was written, fear and slander increased throughout the city. How many houses have been threatened? How many promises have many received, if only they would act against Liberius? How many bishops, seeing this, went into hiding? How many noble wives have retired to the villages because of the slander spread by Christ-fighters? How many ascetics are subject to intrigues? How many who lived in Rome and were already settled there were driven into exile? How many times and with what diligence were the pier and the entrance to the city gates guarded so that one of the Orthodox would not enter and have a meeting with Liberius? And Rome learned from experience the anti-Christ fighters, and it already became known to it, which it did not believe before, hearing how other churches in the cities were ruined by them. Yet this, as elsewhere against others, was set in motion by the eunuchs. And what is strange about this malice is that the Arian heresy, which denies the Son of God, finds help in eunuchs, who, both by nature and soul, are sterile in virtue and do not at all tolerate hearing about the Son. The Ethiopian eunuch, not understanding what he was reading, believed Philip, who taught about the Savior (Acts 8:27–39); but the eunuchs of Constantius do not tolerate the confessing Peter, they turn away even when the Father shows the Son, they furiously rebel against those who claim that there is a sincere Son of God, appropriating for themselves the scopal heresy that there is nothing sincere and true from the Father. That is why the law prohibits the admission of eunuchs to church conferences. However, now they too are recognized as the rulers of the ecclesiastical courts, and whatever they please is awarded by Constantius; and the so-called bishops are pretending. Oh, who will be the descriptor of all this? Who will tell this to another generation? Who will believe when they hear that eunuchs, who are hardly trusted with household services (because they are a kind of voluptuous people, only caring about preventing others from doing what nature has denied them), are now managing church affairs? And having fallen into their power, Constantius plotted against everything and expelled Liberius into captivity. 39) The Tsar wrote a lot to Rome, there were many threats, many ambassadors were sent, many intrigues were arranged; Finally, persecution came to Alexandria. Liberius was drawn to the Tsar and with great boldness before him said: “Stop persecuting Christians, do not try to introduce wickedness into the Church through us; we are ready to endure everything, just not to be called Arians; do not force us Christians to become Christ-fighters. And we advise you this: do not resist Him who has given you this power; do not repay Him with wickedness instead of gratitude; Do not be a persecutor of those who believe in Him, lest you also hear: “You are cruel against the prick” (Acts 9:5). But, what if you heard this, so that you too would believe, like St. Paul. Here we are before you, we came before they could come up with a pretext for accusation. This is why we hastened, knowing that imprisonment awaits us from you, so that we can endure this before the pretext for accusation and so that it will be clear to everyone that everyone else has suffered just like us, and the disclosed pretexts for their accusation were invented by the enemies, and everything presented against them is slander and lies.” 40) So speaking, Liberius then surprised everyone. But the Tsar, instead of answering, gave only an order and sent everyone into captivity in a separate place, as he did with the previous ones. He introduced this form of imprisonment in order to surpass the cruelty of his former tormentors and persecutors in punishments. For during the previous persecution, Maximian, by a general definition, sent many confessors together into captivity, and thereby eased the punishment, giving them consolation by allowing them to live together. But Constantius surpassed him in cruelty, and began to send to different places those who acted together in boldness and confession, and began to separate those united by faith, so that even when they were dying they would not see each other. He thought that physical separation would also dissolve spiritual discord, and those separated from each other would forget mutual like-mindedness and unanimity. But he does not know that, although each will remain alone, nevertheless, that Lord still remains with him, Whom they professed while living together, and Who will do, as He did with the Prophet Elisha, that with each there will be “multiple” than the soldiers with Constantius (2 Kings 6:16). Truly malice is blind. The more they thought to offend the confessors by separating them from each other, they did much more harm to themselves. If the confessors lived inseparably and were all in one place, then the hatred of the wicked would be known in one place. And now, having separated them, they caused the wicked heresy and their wickedness to be carried everywhere and become known everywhere. 41) What did they achieve by doing this? Who, having heard about this, would not rather consider them to be anything other than Christians? Since Liberius sent Presbyter Eutropius and Deacon Hilary to the Tsar with a letter, when Lucifer and his retinue appeared as a confessor, the presbyter was immediately sent to prison, and Deacon Hilary was first stripped, flogged, and then exiled, saying: “Why don’t you resist Liberius, but still carry letters from him?” This was done by Ursacius and Valens and the eunuchs with them. And the deacon, when they flogged him, blessed the Lord, remembering what He had said: “I breathed my lashes on the wounds” (Isa. 50:6). And the scourges laughed and mocked him, not ashamed that they were insulting the Levite. And they laughingly reasoned about what was appropriate for them, Hilary continued to bless the Lord; because it is common for Christians to endure beatings, but in order to scourge Christians, This requires the audacity of Pilate and Caiafin. So even at the beginning they attempted to corrupt the Roman Church, wanting to introduce wickedness into it too. After two years of imprisonment, Liberius lost his strength, and, fearing the death that was threatened, he signed. But this proves both their violence and in Liberia the hatred of heresy and its justice in favor of Athanasius, when he had free will. For what was done after the torture, contrary to the initial opinion, shows the will of those who were not afraid, but of those who tortured. Although they tried to do everything in favor of heresy, nevertheless, in every Church, observing the faith that they have learned, they wait for teachers, but they condemned the anti-Christ heresy, and everyone runs from it as from a serpent. 42) The wicked, having committed so many such deeds, thought that they had not done anything yet, until the great Hosea experienced their wickedness. And they planned to extend their fury to such an old man; they were not ashamed that he was the father of bishops, they did not respect the fact that he was a confessor, they did not honor the long bishopric in which he remained for more than sixty years. On the contrary, they counted everything as nothing, but meant only heresy by these people, who truly do not fear God, nor are they ashamed of people. Therefore, having approached Constantius, they turned to him again with these words: “We have done everything, imprisoned the Roman Bishop, and before him we imprisoned many other bishops, and filled every place with fear; but such actions of yours do us no good, and our work will not succeed at all while Hosea remains. since he is among his own, then everyone is with their churches; He alone can turn everyone against us with his word and faith. He presides at the Councils, his writings are heeded everywhere; He expounded his faith in Nicaea, and preached everywhere about the Arians that they were heretics. Therefore, if he remains, then the imprisonment of others was in vain: our heresy is dying. Bring persecution against him too, have no mercy, he is ancient, our heresy does not respect the gray hairs of old men.” 43) Hearing this, the King did not hesitate; but knowing this man, knowing the abilities of the old man, he writes and commands that Hosea should appear to him when he was tempting Liberius. Hosea has arrived. The king began to ask and convince him with his usual words, with which he thought to deceive others, namely, to sign against us and enter into communication with the Arians. The elder, having listened with discomfort and was offended even by the fact that they were telling him something similar, denounced and convinced the Tsar, and retired to his fatherland and to his Church. But since the heretics began to complain and again incite the Tsar, and he also had eunuchs who reminded him of this and irritated him even more, the Tsar writes with threats. Hosea endures insults, but is not moved by fear of intrigues. Being firm in his thoughts and having built the house of his faith on rock, he boldly strives against heresy, and he regards the threats in the royal letter as raindrops and a breath of wind. Constantius writes to him many times, sometimes caresses him like a father, sometimes threatens him, renames those imprisoned and says: “Will you still be the only one against heresy? Listen, subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius. For whoever is against him, without a doubt, thinks the same as us in an Arian way.” Hosea did not hesitate, but, enduring insults, he himself wrote to Constantius; we read his message, and it is attached at the end of 9. Hosea wishes Constantius the King to rejoice in the Lord. 44) I did not renounce being a confessor before, when there was persecution under your grandfather Maximian. If you are persecuting me, then I am ready and now it is better to endure, no matter what, than to shed innocent blood and betray the truth. I don’t approve of you for such letters and threats; stop writing such letters, do not adhere to Aryan thoughts, do not listen to Eastern ones, do not believe Ursatius and Valens; what they say is not in favor of Athanasius, but in favor of their heresy. Believe me, Constantius, by age I can be your grandfather; I myself was at the Sardician Council, when you and, of blessed memory, your brother Constance, gathered us all; and I myself summoned Athanasius’s enemies, who came to the church in which I was in, to say if they had anything against Athanasius, demanding from them that they be trustworthy and not expect anything other than a truthful trial in everything. And not once, but twice I did this, urging them to say, if they don’t want to do it at the whole Council, then at least in front of me alone, again promising that if Athanasius turns out to be guilty, he will be rejected by us too; If he is found innocent and accuses you of slander, you begin to reject him, I will persuade Athanasius to go with me to Spain. And Athanasius agreed to this and did not contradict; They, without relying on themselves, refused everything anyway. And also, Athanasius was in your camp when you summoned him by letter, and he asked that his enemies, who were in Antioch itself, be called all, or each separately, so that either he would be exposed, or they themselves would be exposed, and that either in his presence they would prove what they were saying, or not slander in absentia. And you did not accept what he said, and his enemies refused it. Why do you still listen to those who speak ill of him? Why do you tolerate Valens and Ursatius, although they repented and confessed in writing to their slander? For they were called, not under compulsion (as they now imagine), not under the cover of soldiers, not with the knowledge of your brother (what is happening now did not happen with him, let this not happen!), but they themselves, of their own free will, came to Rome, and in the presence of the Bishop and the elders they wrote their confession, having first written a peaceful and friendly letter to Athanasius. If now they present the coercion he made as an excuse and recognize it as a bad thing, and you do not approve of this; then you yourself stop making coercions, do not write, do not send comites, but release those imprisoned, so that when you yourself are accused of violence, the heretics do not do even more violence. Did something similar happen under Constance? Which bishop was imprisoned? Has he ever entered into the environment of church judgment? Which of the courtiers forced him to sign someone’s accusation, as Valens claims? Stop, I beg you, remember that you are a mortal man, fear the day of judgment, keep yourself clean on it. Do not intervene in essentially church affairs and do not give us orders regarding them; or better yet, accept the teaching from us. God has entrusted you with the kingdom, and entrusted us with the affairs of the Church. And just as he who admires your power contradicts the founder God: so be afraid, so that, taking church affairs into your own hands, you do not fall under responsibility for grave guilt. It is written: “Render ... unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and the things that are God’s to the Gods” (Matthew 22:21). Therefore, just as we are not allowed to rule on earth, so you, King, do not have the power to offer censer. I am writing to you this out of concern for your salvation; and what you wrote to me about, this is my opinion: not only do I disagree with the Arians, but I also anathematize their heresy; I will not subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius, whom we, the Roman Church and the whole Council justified. Seeing this, you called this man to you, and allowed him to return with honor to the fatherland and to the Church. Therefore, what was the pretext for such a change? Athanasius had the same enemies before and now, and what they are now saying (they don’t say anything in his presence), they were saying before you called Athanasius, and they also divulged it when they came to the Council; and when I demanded, as stated above, they could not provide evidence. If they had evidence, they would not have fled so shamefully. Therefore, who convinced you, after so much time, to forget your letters and words? Resist and do not listen to evil people, so that you yourself do not become guilty for mutual helpfulness. Here you please them, but in court you will answer alone. Through you they want to take revenge on their enemy and they want to make you a servant of their wickedness, so that through you they can sow hateful heresy in the Church. But it is unwise to plunge oneself into obvious danger for the pleasure of others. Stop, I beg you, and listen to me, Constantius. For it is fitting for me to write this, and for you not to neglect it. 45) This is how the Abrahamic elder, the true 10 Hosea, philosophized and wrote. But the Tsar did not give up on his intrigues, did not stop looking for a pretext to accuse him, and continued to make terrible threats in order to either seduce him by force, or, if he did not obey, imprison him. Just as the “officials... and princes” in Babylon, looking for guilt against Daniel, did not find it, except in the laws of his God (Dan. 6, 4, 5): so the current princes of wickedness could not invent any other pretext against the elder (because this true Hosea was known to everyone, his blameless life was also known), except his hatred of heresy. Therefore, they slander him, however, not as Daniel against Darius (because Darius was reluctant to listen to what was said about Daniel), but like Jezebel against Naboth, and like the Jews against Herod, saying this: “Not only does he not sign the definition against Athanasius, but he also condemns us for it, and hates heresy so much that he also writes to others: it is better for you to suffer death than to become traitors to the truth. For for her sake both our beloved Athanasius and the Roman Bishop Liberius are persecuted, and they even plot intrigues against everyone else.” Having heard this, especially having learned that in Spain there were others of the same thoughts as Hosea, the patron of impiety and heresy, King Constantius tried to persuade them to sign; and when he could not force it, he calls Hosea. And instead of imprisonment, this godless, wicked and unmerciful man keeps him in Sirmium for a whole year, not fearing God and not respecting the disposition that his father had towards Hosea, not being ashamed of his hundred years of age. All this was ignored for the sake of wickedness by this new Achaav and the other Belshazzar who appeared among us. He did so much violence to the elder, holding him back so much that he, exhausted, barely accepted Valens and Ursatius into communication, but did not sign Athanasiev’s condemnation. However, this also worried the elder; and when he was approaching death, as if in a will, he testified to the violence done to him, anathematized heresy and forbade anyone to accept it. 46) Who, seeing this or just hearing about it, will not be amazed and cry out to the Lord, saying: Will you make Israel to be consumed (Ezek. 11:13)? Who, noticing this, does not cry out at the right time, saying: “a terrible and terrible thing has happened on earth” (Jer. 5:30); and: “the heavens were terrified... and the earth trembled greatly” (Jer. 2:12). The fathers of men and teachers of the faith are taken down, and the wicked are brought into the Church! When Liberius the Bishop of Rome was imprisoned, and the great Father of Bishops, Hosea, suffered so much, so many Bishops of Spain and other countries were imprisoned: who, seeing all this, if he had at least a few feelings, did not understand that the pretexts presented against Athanasius and others were false and that everything was full of slander? That is why they endured everything patiently, seeing the malicious slander of the Arians. For what guilt is attributed to Liberius? What accusation was made against Elder Hosea? Who even lied about Peacock, about Lucifer, about Dionysius, about Eusebius? Or, what offense is indicated for other imprisoned bishops, presbyters and deacons? None; absolutely none. It was not because of crimes that conspiracies were drawn up and everyone was not imprisoned on charges; it was a rebellion of wickedness against piety, and as much as zeal for the Arian heresy, so much was the foreshadowing of the coming of the Antichrist. For Constantius prepared the way for the Antichrist. 47) After the King had done everything he wanted in the churches of Italy and other countries, after he had imprisoned some, forced others and filled everything with fear everywhere, he turned his rage, like some kind of disease, on Alexandria. This was done maliciously by the anti-Christ fighters in order to finally have the signatures of many bishops; and so that the persecuted Athanasius did not even have a bishop to whom he could complain, they first filled everything with fear everywhere, and these foolish ones kept fear as an aid to themselves in their machinations, not knowing that this revealed not the arbitrariness of the bishops, but the coercion made by them. They did not know that although the brethren would leave, friends and acquaintances would be far away, there would not be a person who would grieve and console them together, however, above all this, refuge in God is sufficient help. And Elijah, persecuted, was left alone, but God was everything and in everything for the Holy One. And the Savior showed us this same image, and one was left when the enemies plotted against Him. And if we are abandoned by people during persecution, “let us not suffer from the cold” (Gal. 6:9), but let us place our hope in Him and not betray the truth. If the truth is, apparently, oppressed at first, then later the persecutors themselves recognize it. 48) The king is prompted, and he first writes and sends threats to Dooku and the soldiers; the clerks Diogenius and Ilarius were sent, and with them the courtiers; so many horrors and cruelties were brought against the Church, as we talked about this a little higher, and as everyone knows from the testimony given by the people, which others can read, because they are placed at the end of this. And then, after what was done by Syrian, after everything that happened in Alexandria, after the insult of the virgins, the King, having approved such and equally bad deeds, again writes to the Alexandrian Senate and people, and encourages the young people so that they all come together and initiate a persecution against Athanasius, or know that otherwise they are enemies of the King. But Athanasius, before the instructions came to Alexandria, according to which Syrian attacked the church, withdrew already, knowing what was written: “Hide yourself a little, until wrath passes by” (Is. 26:20). The bearer of these letters is a certain Heraclius, a comitant of rank, preceding some spy, George, sent by the Tsar, because the one sent by him could not be a bishop (may it not be so!), as the events themselves show and how his entry began. 49–50) Heraclius published the royal letters and discovered the great shame of the writer. since, as the great Hosea wrote, the King did not find a plausible excuse for changing his dispositions; then he invented an excuse even more indecent both for himself and for his advisers. For he said: “Respecting the affection of my brother, of godly and pious memory, I allowed Athanasius to return to you for a while.” And this proves that he did not keep his promise and is unappreciative to his brother after death. Moreover, he calls his brother worthy of godly and pious memory (as indeed he is worthy); therefore, he had to keep his commandment and affection, as he wrote (if only for the blessed memory of Constance he allowed Athanasius to return), so as not to violate his duties to his brother, but to become the heir of both the kingdom and his will. Wanting to assert his rights, he rejected Vretanion, saying: “Who will inherit the inheritance after the death of his brothers?” For the sake of the hated heresy of the Christ-fighters, he does not know the rights, but violates his duties to his brothers. For the same heresy, he did not think of preserving the will of his father unviolated, but in what is pleasing to the wicked he shows the appearance that he is observing it, but in what is unpleasant for them he does not know how to maintain respect for his father. For the father, as a result of the slander of Eusebius’s accomplices, sent Bishop Athanasius to Gaul for a while in order to hide from the cruelty of those who were malicious (this was made known after the death of his father, of blessed memory, Constantine’s brother Constantius, as can be seen from his letters); however, he did not listen to these Eusebius accomplices in order to send as bishop whom they wanted, but opposed their desire, and stopped their enterprise with strong threats. 51) If Constantius wanted to preserve the will of his parent, as he writes; then why did he first send Gregory, and now send this world-eater George? Or why is he trying to bring the Arians, whom he called Porfirians, into the Church, and while patronizing them, imprisons others? If his father allowed Arius to come to him, then Arius, who broke his oath and sat down, lost his father’s favor towards him; As soon as Constantine found out about this, he condemned him as a heretic. Why did Constantius, pretending to care about church rules, plan to do everything contrary to the rules? For where is the rule to send a bishop from the court? Or where is the rule for soldiers to invade churches? Who reported such a tradition that church affairs were governed by comites and senseless eunuchs, adding to their orders the appointment of so-called bishops? He uses every lie in favor of an ungodly heresy. Contrary to the will of his father, he sent Philagria as eparch another time, and in spite of him, what happened now was done. And for his brother he is not worth it in the truth. For, after his death, he wrote to the Bishop not once, not twice, but three times, and also promised not to change his decision, even advised him to firmly hope that no one would disturb him, but that he would remain in the Church without any worries. With the committee Asterius and the scribe Palladius, he sent instructions to the then ducus Felicissimo and to the eparch Nestorius, so that they would prohibit if the eparch Philip or anyone else dared to plot against Athanasius. 52) Therefore, when Diogenes arrived and Syrian was plotting, he, we, and the people demanded the king’s messages, thinking that just as, according to what is written: “let nothing lie from the tongue of the king” (Prov. 24, 22b), so our King, having promised, will not lie and will not change. Therefore, if he allowed it for his brother, then why did he write after his death? And if in this case I wrote for the sake of his memory, then why did he later become completely unappreciative of his brother and persecute Athanasius? Why does the writer refer to the court of bishops, but he himself does what he pleases, and, moreover, not secretly, but having close proximity to evidence of malice? If this is the definition of bishops, then how does this apply to the Tsar? And if the royal threat is a threat, then what is the need for so-called bishops? Has anything like this been heard since the beginning of the century? When did the judgment of the Church receive its power from the king, or was it generally recognized as a definition? There were many councils before this, many church definitions were drawn up; but the Fathers never demanded advice from the tsar, nor did the tsar enter into essentially church affairs. The Apostle Paul had friends who belonged to the house of Caesar, and writing to the Philippians, he greeted them on behalf of these friends, but never made them accomplices in his determinations. And now there is a new spectacle, and it is the invention of the Arian heresy. The heretics and King Constantius gathered together so that he, referring to the bishops, could do whatever he wanted according to his authority, and when instigating persecution, he would not be called a persecutor, and they, relying on the power of the King, would plot against whomever they wanted; It pleases them to plot against those who do not think as wickedly as they do. And you will see that this is played out as if for a spectacle: so, the named bishops act, and Constantius disposes of them. And yet, the King makes promises, like Herod did to Herodias, but they dance and express slander with body movements in order to imprison and put to death those who pious before the Lord. 53) Who did they not harm with their slander? Who did not the Christ-fighters plot against? Whom did Constantius not imprison that they agreed upon? When did you not listen to them willingly? And what’s strange: have you ever accepted someone’s word against them, or rather approved of their every word, no matter what they said? Which Church now worships Christ with all freedom? If she is pious, she is in poverty; if he pretends, he is afraid. Constantius, as much as he could, filled everything with hypocrisy and impiety. If there is anyone anywhere who is pious and lover of Christ (there are many of them everywhere); then, like the Prophets and the great Elijah, they hide, if only they find somewhere a faithful person like Obadiah, or they retire into dens and abysses of the earth, or spend their lives walking around the deserts. These madmen also slander, just as Jezebel did against Naboth, and the Jews against the Savior. And finally, patronizing heresy, wanting to turn the truth, just as Achaab wanted to turn the vineyard into a heap of potions, Constantius does whatever they want, because he himself heard from them what he wanted. 54) Thus, according to what was said above, the Tsar imprisoned the true bishops for not accepting impiety. So now the committee Heraclius was sent against Athanasius, and he publicly proposed instructions, and announced the royal order that if they do not obey the scriptures, the distribution of grain will stop, idols will be overthrown, many of the official citizens and from the common people will certainly be sold into slavery. And after these threats, the messenger was not ashamed to say loudly in front of all the people: “The king is removing Athanasius and ordered the churches to be given to the Arians.” Everyone was amazed at this, made signs to each other and said: “If Constantius has become a heretic, then we should be ashamed of this.” Heraclius began to even more force the senators, commoners, and pagan temple keepers to sign up for this and give their word to accept whomever the Tsar would send as bishop. And Constantius perfectly defended the rules of the Church, doing this, not demanding signatures in the Church, but in the square, not from Christians, but from pagan temple keepers; for he knew that he was not sending a bishop to Christians, but some kind of lover of litigation to those who signed. 55) Therefore, the pagans, with this signature, as if buying the inviolability of their idols, also some of the workers, due to the above-mentioned threats of Heraclius, although not willingly, nevertheless signed, as if the case was about a people's ruler or another sent judge. And what could they do, being pagans, except what was pleasing to the King? since the faithful gathered in the great church (it was then Wednesday); Then the committee Heraclius takes with him the next day the Egyptian eparch Catafronios, the Catholicos Faustinus and the heretic Bifinus, and in the squares they encourage young people and worshipers of idols to attack the church and stone the faithful, assuring that there is an order for this from the Tsar himself. Most of the faithful had already left the church, because the vacation had been taken; several women remained there; then the execution of orders began, and a pitiful sight was revealed. A small number of women sat alone after prayer; suddenly naked young men with stones and sticks enter, some are stoned, the holy bodies of the virgins are struck by these atheists, the covers are torn off from them, their heads are exposed, these unfortunates drag them and trample under their feet. This is terrible, extremely terrible; but what happened after was an even more terrible and unbearable insult. Seeing the modesty of the virgins and the purity of their hearing, knowing that stones and swords are more bearable for them than swearing, those who attack them resort to this method. And the Arians instilled this in young people, because they laughed when they said and did. Holy virgins and other honest wives fled from such words as from the remorse of asps; the anti-Christ fighters helped the young people, and perhaps participated with them in shaming, because they delighted in the obscene words that came out of the mouths of the young people. 56) Then, as if for the perfect execution of the order (which they especially tried to do, which is what the committee and the Catholicos demanded), having stolen from the church the co-altar, the holy altar and the holy table, which was wooden, the church curtains and everything else that they could, they took it out, lit it in front of the church doors on a large platform and threw incense there. Oh, who, hearing this, does not shed tears and does not even block his hearing, not tolerating it when another speaks about it, considering it harmful to hear something like that! They glorified their idols and said: “Constantius has become a pagan; the Arians recognized our faith; They don’t even think about covering themselves up with paganism, just so that their heresy will be established.” And the heifer, on which they carried water to irrigate the gardens in Caesareum, they were ready to sacrifice and would actually have sacrificed if it had been a calf; female animals, as they said, were not allowed to be sacrificed. 57) The evil Arians committed similar deeds together with the pagans, thinking to insult us. But God's judgment exposed their wickedness and produced some great and wonderful sign, and in this it showed clearly to everyone that they, as evildoers, were rebelling against no one else, but against the Lord. By doing this, they also intended to offend the Lord; and this was most clearly proven by the miracle that took place. One depraved young man, entering the church, dared to sit on the holy throne, and sitting on it, this unfortunate man made some fornicating sounds with his nostrils, then, standing up, he tried to move the throne from its place and draw him to himself; but he did not know that he was incurring execution. For, as once the inhabitants of Azoth, daring to touch the ark, which it was not permissible for them to even look at, immediately died from it, previously struck by a painful disease in their seats; So this unfortunate man, barely daring to move the throne, attracted what he was attracted to himself, and as if this tree had sent execution upon him, he hit the throne with his belly and, instead of the throne, with this blow he tore out his entrails, and the throne rather tore the life out of him, rather than being moved by him. So, “his womb poured out,” as it is written about Judas (Acts 1:18), he fell, was carried out, and died in one day. Another, entering with branches in his hands and waving them and laughing like a pagan, immediately became blind, did not see, did not know where he was now, and also ready to fall, was led out by the hand by those who were there, and supported by them, he came out, barely coming to his senses a day later and this daring one did not know what he had done and what had happened to him. 58) The pagans, seeing this, fell into fear and did not dare to do anything more; The Arians were not ashamed at this, but, like the Jews, seeing the sign, these infidels did not believe, and they became even more embittered, like Pharaoh, having hopes hidden somewhere down in the king and in his eunuchs. How the pagans, or rather the wickedest of the pagans, were allowed to do what was described above, because Favstinus, called Catholicos, commanded them and encouraged them to do this, but a man of rude disposition and depraved soul; So the Arians themselves began to act like the pagans, so that, just as they modeled their heresy on the model of other heresies, they would also participate in wickedness with the indecent. Therefore, as it is said, they did other things through the pagans; and what crime they themselves committed, does not all wickedness exceed, does not the malice exceed any bloodsucker? What house was not destroyed by them? Whose home was not looted under the guise of inspection? What garden is not trampled? Which coffin is not open? As an excuse, they pretended that they were looking for Athanasius; and their real intention was to plunder everything and rob those they met. How many people had their houses sealed? How many of them had what was in their hospices distributed to the soldiers who helped the Arians? Who has not experienced their malice? Who, having met them in the square, did not rush to take cover? Who, having left his home for them, has not spent the night in the desert? Who, in his haste to preserve his property from them, has not lost most of his property? Didn't anyone unfamiliar with the sea dare to venture into it and experience its dangers rather than see their threats? Many moved from house to house, moved from street to street, from city to suburb. How many have suffered different losses? Having nothing with them, they took a loan from others, just to get rid of the malice of the heretics. 59) They showed themselves to be terrible to everyone, behaved arrogantly with everyone, putting the name of the Tsar in front of everyone and both threatening him with anger, and having as accomplices in deceit the Duke of Sebastian - a Manichaean and a depraved young man, also an eparch, a comite and a hypocrite Catholicos. Many virgins who condemned their wickedness and professed the truth were thrown out of their houses, others were insulted as they passed through the streets, young men from their circle were forced to bare their heads, and their wives were given free rein to insult whatever woman they wanted. Honest and faithful women shied away and made way for them; They, walking like the Maenads and Erinnyes, considered it a misfortune if they did not find someone to offend, and spent the day with sorrow on which they could not do evil. And in general, for everyone they were so fierce and cruel that everyone called them bloodsuckers, murderers, scoundrels, voyeurs, villains and all sorts of other names, just not Christians. 60) Imitating the Scythians, they seized the subdeacon Eutyches, a man who served the Church admirably, and beating him with ox sinews along the spine almost to death, they demanded that he be exiled to a mine, and, moreover, not just any simple one, but the one in Feno, where even a convicted murderer can barely live a few days. But what is extraordinary is that they did not allow Eutyches to calm down for a few hours after the wounds inflicted, but insisted that he be sent away immediately, saying: “if this is done, everyone will be afraid and will be at one with us.” But Eutychius did not go far; exhausted from his wounds, he could not reach the mine and died on the road. And he died with joy, having acquired the glory of martyrdom; The wicked were not ashamed at the same time, but according to Scripture, having “unmerciful ... wombs” (Proverbs 12:10), they added something more satanic to what they did. Since the people asked for Eutyches and begged for him, they sought to have four more excellent and noble men captured, including Hermias, who washed the immobile sick; and Duk, giving them many blows with the whip, threw them into prison. But the Arians, surpassing the Scythians in cruelty, when they saw that they did not die from the blows, reproached Dukas and threatened him, saying: “we will write to the eunuchs that he will not flog as we wish.” Hearing this and falling into fear, Duk was forced to beat these people another time. And they, knowing why they were beating them and by whom they were slandered, said nothing more than: “They are beating us because we stand for the truth, and do not enter into communication with heretics; hit us as much as you want; and God will judge you for it.” So the wicked wanted them to suffer and die in prison. But the people of God, taking the time, begged for them, and barely seven or more days later they were released. 61) The Arians, as if saddened, undertook to do something even more cruel and wicked, cruel, of course, for everyone, but consistent with their heresy against Christ. The Lord commanded to remember about the poor, saying: “Sell your possessions... and give alms” (Luke 12:33), and: “You are hungry... and give Me food: you are thirsty, and you drink from Me... For the first time, you have created only these... lesser ones, you have created for Me” (Matthew 25:35, 40). The Arians, being truly wise against Christ, dared to oppose His will in this too. When Douk handed over the churches to the Arians, it became impossible for the needy and widows to stay in them, and they sat in the places indicated by the clergy, to whose care the widows were entrusted. since the Arians saw that the brethren were diligently giving to them and feeding the widows; then they began to beat them on the legs and drove them away, and the servers slandered Duca. And this was done by one warrior Dynamius, and Sebastian was also pleased; because the Manichaeans have no mercy, and giving alms to a beggar is a hateful thing for them. Hence a new reason for reproaches; and for the first time now they have invented a court of justice, a man was tried for a good deed, the giver of alms was accused, the beneficiary was beaten, they wanted it better that the beggar should be hungry than that the one who wanted to give alms would give it. And this is something else these new Jews learned from the ancient Jews. For even those, seeing that the man who was blind from birth received his sight and who had been paralyzed for a long time became healthy, accused the Lord who had been beneficent, and condemned those who received the benefit as criminals. 62) Who wasn’t surprised at this? Who has not cursed heresy and its defenders? Who did not admit that the Arians are more ferocious than animals? For these bad ones did not acquire the benefit for which they did it; but on the contrary, they further increased the general hatred towards them. They thought that through malice and fear they would force others to enter into heresy and worship with them, but the opposite happened. Those who suffered from them endured everything that was done by them as a martyrdom, and did not change, did not renounce their pious faith in Christ; and those who looked at the Arians from the outside, even the pagans themselves, cursed them as antichrists, as bloodsuckers, because the human race is poor and compassionate, and the Arians have lost their human meaning. The suffering would like to see benefits from others: but the Arians, having on their side the power of judges and especially encouraged by Ducus, did not allow others to provide these benefits. 63) And what they did with the presbyters and deacons, how they were expelled in the presence of Ducus and the judges, thrown out of their households with the help of soldiers and the military leader Gorgonia, who struck blows, and how (most inhumane of all) they stole the loaves of the deceased with desecration, it is impossible to express in words; because their cruelty surpasses all description. Even if someone told this, would he think that he said anything? Or, having remembered the first thing, won’t you find that the second is more terrible than the first, and then the next one is even more terrible than the second? Their entire enterprise and wicked deeds are filled with murder and wickedness. They are so cunning in heart and varied in their means that they try to seduce either with promises of patronage or with monetary rewards, if only when there are no solid convictions, although by doing this, apparently, they will make some impression on the simple-minded. 64) Who after this will call them even just pagans, let alone Christians? Who would assume in them a human, and not rather brutal, character, for the cruelty and ferocity of their deeds? They are more evil than bloodsuckers, more impudent than other heretics, much lower than the pagans, or better yet, far removed from them. For I heard from the Fathers, and I consider their word to be faithful, that at first, when the persecution took place under Maximian, Constantius’s grandfather, the pagans hid among themselves the sought-after brothers of our Christians, and often spent money themselves and suffered imprisonment in prison, just so as not to become traitors to those who fled. How they protected themselves, those who resorted to them, and were ready to suffer for them. And now, these wonderful people, the inventors of a new heresy, distinguished by nothing other than their evil intentions, are doing exactly the opposite of that. Having themselves become the executors of punishment, they try to betray everyone, plotting intrigues against those who are hiding, but considering both the sheltering and the sheltered as an enemy. So they are bloodthirsty, and these villains were jealous of Judas’ wickedness. 65) And it is impossible to properly depict how much evil they have done, except to say one thing about them: when I write and want to list their evil deeds, the thought comes to mind: isn’t this heresy already the one mentioned in Proverbs, the fourth daughter of the leech, which, after so many untruths, after so many murders, has not yet said: “It is sufficient” (Proverbs 30: 15, 16). She still takes courage, walks. and seeks out those who were not recognized by her; and to whom she managed to offend, she tries to offend them again. For after the night invasion, after the evils she caused, after the persecution carried out by Heraclius, they still do not stop slandering the King; Secundus, this most evil pentapolitan, and Stefan, equal to him in cruelty, accepted insolence, knowing that if they did a lie, then heresy would serve as their justification, when they saw in Barka one presbyter who was disobedient to them, and he was called Secundus, who had the same name, but was not of the same faith with the heretic, they killed him, trampling him underfoot. The one who was killed was likened to a saint, saying: “Let no one avenge me before the judges; I have the Lord as my avenger, for whom I endure this from them.” But they did not take pity on the one who said this; they were ashamed even of the days, because they killed him on Lent. 66) A truly new heresy, entirely representing the devil in wickedness and deeds! This is the first time this evil has been invented. If, apparently, others ever thought about it, they hid and concealed such a way of thinking. Eusebius and Arius, like snakes, emerging from a hole, vomited the poison of this wickedness: and Arius took upon himself the audacity to spew out obvious blasphemy, and Eusebius to patronize this audacity. But he could not become a patron of heresy before, until, as stated above, he found a patron for it in the Tsar. Therefore, our Fathers formed an ecumenical Council, and having gathered in the number of more or less three hundred, they condemned the Arian heresy and determined that it was alien and new to the church faith. But her patrons, seeing themselves already disgraced and not having any solid foundations on their side, came up with a different path and set out to protect her with worldly power. At the same time, others will be especially amazed at their new and crafty enterprise and the superiority of their heresy over all others. For the inventions of other heresies to deceive simple people have the power to drive them into madness with the persuasiveness of their speeches. And the pagans, as the Apostle said, act by superiority and persuasiveness of words and plausible reasoning (1 Cor. 2:14). The Jews, having abandoned the Divine Scriptures, as the Apostle said, are already arguing about endless fables and genealogies (1 Tim. 1:4). The Manichaeans, and with them the Valentinians and others, distorting the Divine Scriptures with their hidden words, compose fables. But the Arians are distinguished by their greater insolence compared to all other heresies, and have proven that they are their smaller sisters; because, as it has been said, the Arians are more wicked than them, and in wickedness they compete with everyone, especially the Jews. For just as the Jews, when they could not expose Paul, for which they falsely accused him, immediately took him to the captain and the hegemon, so the Arians, inventing more than the Jews, use only the power of judges, and as soon as anyone contradicts them, they drag him to the hegemon or to the military leader. 67) Other heresies, when the truth itself exposes them with its evidence, fall silent, because the accusations bring them to shame: the new and hated heresy of the Arians, when it is overthrown by arguments, when it falls, disgraced by the truth itself, it tries to attract those very ones whom it cannot convince with words by violence, wounds, and prisons; and in this case, making it known that she is least of all pious. For it is characteristic of godliness, as we said, not to force, but to persuade. And the Lord himself, without forcing, but giving at will, said both to everyone: “Whoever wants to follow Me” (Matthew 16:24), and to the disciples: “Do you also want to walk?” (John 6:67). This same heresy is completely alien to godliness. What, if not contrary to the Savior, should she have done when Constance chose for herself the anti-Christ leader of wickedness, as if the Antichrist himself? For for the sake of heresy, he tried to compete in cruelty, firstly, with Saul. Saul, when the priests supplied David with food, gave the command, and they were all destroyed, numbering up to three hundred and five. Constantius, since everyone is fleeing from heresy and a sound faith in the Lord is confessed, turns the entire Council of three hundred Bishops into nothing, and imprisons the Bishops themselves, and prevents the people from learning piety and praying to God, prohibiting liturgical meetings. Saul destroyed the city of the priests Nob: likewise, this one, further increasing the evil, gave it to the church to the wicked. And just as he preferred the slanderer Doik to the true priests, and persecuted David, heeding the Zitheas: so this one prefers heretics to the pious, persecutes those running away from him, heeding his eunuchs who slander the Orthodox, without delving into the fact that if he does and writes in favor of the Arian heresy, then in all this he rebels against the Savior. 68) And Achaab did not do that to the priests of God, which Constantius dared to do against the bishops. Even after the murder of Naboth, he still lamented, and when he saw Elijah, he fell into fear; but this one was not ashamed of the great Hosea, nor was he horrified or contrite, having imprisoned so many bishops. But like the second Pharaoh, he becomes even more embittered the more he is crushed, and every day he invents worse and worse. And what is especially strange in his cunning: when bishops were imprisoned, it also happened to other people for being guilty of murder, or rebellion, or theft, to be condemned according to the nature of their guilt; and after a few months, at the request of Pilate, he freed Barabbas, but he not only does not release the servants of Christ, but also condemns them to imprisonment much more mercilessly, becoming an undying evil for them. With some he is friendly in morals, but with the Orthodox he is an enemy because of their pious faith in Christ. Didn’t he clearly show to everyone that the Jews of that time, who asked for Barabbas for themselves and crucified the Lord, were the same as Constantius’s current fighters against Christ, while Constantius himself was perhaps more cruel-hearted than Pilate? For he, seeing the injustice, at least washed his hands; and this one, imprisoning the saints, grinds his teeth all the more. 69) And is it surprising that, having turned into impiety, he was so cruel to the bishops, when he did not spare his own relatives, as is typical for man? He killed his uncle, exterminated his cousins ​​and father-in-law, whose daughter he was still married to, and did not show mercy to his suffering relatives. Always and before everyone he was a breaker of oaths; so he dared to be wicked in relation to his brother. He pretends to build a tombstone for him, and gives the barbarians Olympias, who was betrothed to him, which he kept and raised until his death as his future wife. He intends to violate his will, although he promises to be his heir, and writes something that anyone with even a few feelings would be ashamed of; and I, comparing his letters, find that he does not have such a disposition by nature, but he is controlled by the suggestions of others, without having his own mind at all. And Solomon says: “To the king who listens to the word of unrighteousness, all who are under him are lawbreakers” (Proverbs 29:12). And by his deeds he shows that he himself is unrighteous and those around him are lawbreakers. 70) Therefore, when he himself is like this and loves such people, can he ever have a just way of thinking that is consistent with reason? This is a man bound by the lawlessness of those close to him, his headphones are people whose brains are trampled under their heels. That is why he writes, and having written, he repents, and having repented, he becomes irritated, and again complains, and not knowing what to do, shows that his soul is devoid of any thought. This is Constantius. Why, others will rightly regret him rather because, free in appearance and name, he is a slave of those who drag him to please their wickedness. Of course, this is characteristic of the mad and the foolish, as Scripture said (Proverbs 7:22). Wanting to please others, he gives himself up at a future trial to condemnation and food for fire, because he does what they please, allows them to plot against bishops and dispose of churches. For now, too, he has again disturbed the churches in Alexandria, in Egypt and in all Libya, and has clearly commanded the pious bishops of the universal Church to be expelled from the churches and to hand over all these churches to those who philosophize in the Arian way. And the military commander began to carry this out. Bishops in chains, presbyters and monastics in iron shackles, beaten almost to death, have already been expelled; everything there is in confusion, Egypt and all of Libya are in poverty; the people are indignant at this lawless command, they see the Antichrist’s preparation, they see that their property is being stolen from them, and it is being given to heretics. 71) Therefore, was such lawlessness ever heard? Has such evil ever happened, even during persecution? Previously, the persecutors were pagans, but they did not bring idols into the churches. The patroness of Paul of Samosat, Zinovia, was a Jew, but she did not give churches to the Jews for synagogues. This is a new abomination; not just persecution, but something greater persecution, the foreshadowing and preparation of the Antichrist. Let us assume that at least false pretexts have been invented against Athanasius and against the other imprisoned bishops; How does this lead to a new beginning? What pretext is given for the uprising against Egypt, and all of Libya, and Pentapolis? They did not begin to plot against one or the other, where there would have been an opportunity to at least lie, but suddenly they attacked everyone; why, if they wanted to invent something, they would obviously be condemned. Anger blinded their minds in this. They began to demand that all the bishops be overthrown without any pretext, as proof that they had invented false pretexts against Athanasius and other imprisoned bishops, not for anything else, but for the sake of the nasty heresy of the Christian Arians. But this is no longer a secret, and it has become obvious to everyone, especially now; because the Tsar ordered Athanasius to be expelled from the city, and gave it to the Arians to the church. The Athanasian presbyters and deacons, appointed by Peter and Alexander, are expelled and must flee. And the genuine Arians, not justly suspected by appearance, but at the very beginning for heresy, together with Arius, were deposed by Bishop Alexander, and it was in upper Libya Secundus, in Alexandria Euzous the Canaanite, Julius, Ammon, Mark, Irenaeus, Zosimus and Sarapion, nicknamed Pelicon, and in Libya Sisinnius and with him other younger ones who shared their wickedness, The churches have now been occupied. 72) The military commander Sebastian wrote to the local commanders and military authorities to expel the true bishops and introduce in their place those who adhere to wickedness. And they sent into captivity the bishops who had grown old in the clergy, who had been bishops for many years since the time of Bishop Alexander: Ammonius, Hermas, Anagamtha and Mark were sent to the upper Oasis, and Muias, Psenosiris, Nilammon, Pliny, Mark, Athenodorus to Ammoniako, not with any other thought, but so that, passing through the desert, they would end up they are life; because they did not take pity on the sick, but also persecuted those who, due to weakness, could hardly bear it, why they were carried on stretchers, and because of their illness, what was needed for burial followed them. One of them died, and they did not allow their body to be carried. Therefore, Bishop Dracontius was imprisoned in deserted places near Clysma, and Philo in Babylon, Adelphia in the Thebaid Psynables; Hieraxes and Dioscorus the presbyters were exiled to Siena; Ammonius, Agathon, Agathodemon, Apollonius, Eulogius, Apollos, Paphnutius, Gaius and Flavius, the elderly Bishops, and also the Bishops Dioscorus, Ammonius, Heraclis and Psaiah were forced to flee. And some were sent to the quarry, others were driven, wanting to bring them to death, and many others were robbed. Even forty laymen and virgins, having first been put on fire, were then sent into captivity. The virgins were wounded with date sticks, which is why some died after five days, while others, because of the needles stuck into the body, had to be cut out, and they suffered the most severe torments of death. But for anyone with common sense it is even more terrible, no matter how typical it is for the wicked: when the tormented called on the name of Christ, the Arians gnashed their teeth at them even more. Even the bodies of those who departed were not given to their own for burial, but were hidden in order to conceal the murder; however, they did not hide it, because they saw the whole city, and everyone turned away from them, as from bloodsuckers, from villains and robbers. They also destroyed monasteries; and they tried to throw the monks into the fire; houses were robbed; the remainder of the money allocated by the bishop for the preservation of the house of free citizens was stolen and appropriated for themselves; widows were beaten on their heels; almsgiving was prohibited. 73) These are the villainous actions of the Arians. Who would not be horrified to hear what the enterprises of their godlessness are? They brought such venerable great elders and long-standing bishops to imprisonment; and in place of their young dissolute pagans, still unacknowledged, thinking suddenly to make perfect, even bigamists accused of serious crimes, because of the wealth surrounding them or their power in civil society, if they gave gold, they sent them, as it were, from the auction, calling them bishops. And for the laity there was already a terrible disaster. They turned away from these alien Arian mercenaries; and the military commander punished them for this with scourging, inventory of property, imprisonment (and did this with pleasure, like a Manichaean), so that they would not demand their bishops, but would accept those whom they disgusted, that is, people who commit such deeds as they previously ridiculed in their idols. 74) Seeing or hearing this, looking at the arrogance of the wicked and such untruth, who does not rebel, if only he loves truth? For “in the place of the wicked the righteous groan” (Proverbs 28:28). Who, after all this, when wickedness has reached such shamelessness, will still dare to call Costillius 11 a Christian, and not more so an image of the Antichrist? For what does he lack from the signs of the Antichrist? Or why will he not be recognized everywhere as the Antichrist, if this latter appears to be exactly what he is? Was it not by his order that the Arians and pagans in the great church, which was in Caesareum, made sacrifices and blasphemed Christ? Isn’t this what the vision of Daniel puts in the image of the Antichrist: he makes war with the saints, strengthens himself against them, “he will surpass all the former in his wickedness and humble three kings, and speak words against the Most High... and think of changing times and the law” (Dan. 7:24-26)? Who else, except Constantius alone, has ever undertaken such a thing? He is exactly what the Antichrist would be like. Patronizing the wicked heresy, he “speaks words against the Most High”; imprisoning bishops, he makes war on the saints, although he does not have such power for long, to his own destruction. And he exceeded those before him in malice, inventing a new method of persecution. And after the destruction of three kings, Bretanion, Magnentius and Gallus, he soon became the patron of heresy and, like a giant, dared to exalt himself in arrogance before the Most High. He planned to change the law, violating the Lord's decree given through the Apostles, changing church customs and inventing a new way of setting things up. For from another place, fifty marches away, he sent bishops with soldiers to nations that did not want them; and instead of information about themselves, they bring threats and messages to the judges to the nations. So he sent Gregory from Cappadocia to Alexandria, and sent Herminius from Cyzicus to Sirmium, and sent Cecropius from Laodicea to Nicomedia. 75) He transferred a certain Auxentius, more of a litigator than a Christian, from Cappadocia to Mediolan. And since the local Bishop Dionysius, a reverent man, was sent into prison for his pious faith in Christ; then he, who did not even know the Roman language and knew only how to wickedly, ordered him to be a bishop there. And now some George, a Cappadocian by birth, who was a tax collector in Constantinople and who appropriated everything to himself, and therefore fled, was ordered to enter Alexandria, accompanied by soldiers, with the assistance of a military commander. Then, having found some Epictetus, a daring young man from among the converts, he fell in love with him, seeing him ready for evil deeds, and through him he plotted intrigues against whomever he wanted among the bishops. And Epictetus is ready to do whatever the King wants. Taking advantage of this servant, Constantius committed an extraordinary and real resemblance to the evil of Antichrist in Rome. For, instead of the church, having prepared a chamber and instead of the people, calling three of his eunuchs, three malicious spies (no one would call them bishops), he forced in the chamber to install as bishop some Felix worthy of them. For all the people, knowing about the lawlessness of the heretics, did not allow them to enter the churches, but drove them far away from them. 76) Therefore, what is missing for him to be the Antichrist? Or what more will the Antichrist do when he comes? Will he not find that Constantius has prepared for him a convenient path to seduction? For again, instead of churches, he calls to the court to himself and presides over the court. And what’s wonderful: if he sees that there are not enough accusers, he takes on the position of accuser himself, so that those who suffer untruth, under his violence, will not have the opportunity to justify themselves. This is what he did in the case with Afanasy. Seeing the boldness of the Bishops Paulinus, Lucifer, Eusebius and Dionysius, how quickly they began to denounce Ursatius and Valens with repentance to those speaking against Athanasius and voiced that they should not believe Valens and his accomplices, as they had already repented of what they now claim, Constantius, immediately rising from his seat, said: “Now I am the accuser of Athanasius, for me believe what they say." After this, the bishops said: “How can you be an accuser when there is no accused here? If you are the accuser, then since Athanasius is not here, he cannot be judged: the Roman court is not here to believe you as a king; but this is about the Bishop. And the trial must be equal for both the accuser and the defendant. But why do you blame? You couldn’t be together with someone who was far away from you. And if you affirm what you heard from Ursatius and Valens, then justice requires you to believe what Athanasius says. If you don’t believe him, but you believe him, then it turns out that they are claiming this for you and accusing Athanasius to please you.” Having heard this and recognizing as an insult to himself what had been said frankly, he sent them into captivity, and, being angry with Athanasius, strictly ordered that they deal with him, as was done, hand over the church to the Arians and allow them to do what they want. 77) It’s terrible, it’s true, and everything terrible surpasses such a thing; however, it is completely befitting of one who has the appearance of Antichrist. For who, seeing how he rules over imaginary bishops and presides over church courts, would not have the right to say that this is the “abomination of desolation” mentioned in Daniel (Dan. 9:27)? Hiding behind Christianity, entering holy places and standing in them, he desolates the church, violating church rules and forcing his own orders to be valid. Who else will dare to say that this time for Christians is a peaceful time, and not even more persecution? And what this persecution is, which has never happened, and to which no one, perhaps, will erect the like, except the son of lawlessness, this is already shown to us by the fighters against Christ, clearly depicting it in themselves. That is why we must be sober most of all and look: this heresy already has a lot of shamelessness and, according to what is written in Proverbs, spills out “like poison from kerast” (Prov. 23, 32), teaching one to philosophize against the Savior, is this not the retreat after which the Antichrist will be revealed, of course, having his forerunner in Constantius? Otherwise, why is he so furious against the pious? Why does he struggle, as it were, for his own heresy and call the one who disobeys Aryan madness his own enemy, and accepts what the anti-Christ fighters say with pleasure, and dishonors great and many Councils? Why did he order the church to be handed over to the Arians? Is it not so that the Antichrist, having come, will find an opportunity to enter them and praise Constantius, who has prepared a place for him? The elder bishops, appointed by Alexander and the former Achilles before him, and even the predecessor of Achilles Peter, were expelled, and people were brought in who were elected, accompanied by soldiers, and were chosen as those who had promised to be wise in the same way as them. 78) Such a demand was not difficult for the Meletians; because most of them, or better yet, all of them, are ungodly in life, do not know a sound faith in Christ and, in general, what Christianity is, or what scriptures we Christians have. Some of them directly from idols, others from the Senate and from the first government places, for this miserable dismissal from service, for human patronage, having won over the old Meletians with money to their side, they entered the episcopal rank before they were announced. But if they considered themselves to be catechumens, then what kind of catechumen did the Meletians have? However, those who did not consider themselves catechumens approached along with the others, and immediately, like children, having received a name, they were called bishops. And therefore, as those who did not know Christianity, they imputed the matter to nothing and did not consider the difference between piety and ungodliness; willingly and quickly they became Arians from the Meletians; and if the Tsar commands something else, we are ready to change to this too. Ignorance of piety soon leads them to their usual imprudence, which they learned from the beginning. It means nothing to them to be carried away by every wind and excitement, just so as not to bear the responsibility of civil service and have patronage from people. Or maybe they do not change, remaining the same as they were before, as they were when they were in paganism. Such people, having a disposition inclined towards everything, thinking that the Church is the same senate, also thinking about idols and taking upon themselves the beautiful name of the Savior, like pagans, desecrated all of Egypt, making sure that their Arian heresy was called there too; because in Egypt alone there was still freedom everywhere to adhere to Orthodoxy. Therefore, the wicked tried to introduce envy into him, or better yet, not they, but the devil who inspired them, so that his preacher, the Antichrist, would come to find that the churches in Egypt already belonged to him, and the Meletians had been accepted by his teaching, and therefore would know that he had already imagined himself in them. 79) This is the lawless command issued by Constantius; among the people there was a readiness for martyrdom, and it would be better to say hatred of the most ungodly heresy. However, everywhere there was weeping and groaning for the churches, everyone cried out to the Lord: “spare, O Lord, Thy people, and do not give up Thy inheritance as a reproach” to Thy enemies (Joel 2:17), but hasten to take us out of the hands of the wicked. For they have not spared Thy servants, but are preparing the way for the Antichrist. The Meletians have never they will resist it, will not care about the truth and will not consider renouncing Christ a low thing. These are people who never approach the Word sincerely, like a chameleon, they take on every appearance, they have become mercenaries of those who need them. They do not have the truth as their goal, but prefer momentary pleasure to it, and they only say: “Let us drink and drink, for in the morning we will die” (Isa. 22, 13, 1 Cor. 15, 32). Such is their assumption and incorrect disposition, characteristic of the hypocrites of the Epicritians, and not of the Meletians. But the faithful servants of the Savior and true bishops, who sincerely believed, living not for themselves, but for the Lord, maintaining a pious faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and knowing, as was said before, that the pretexts put forward against the truth are false, and clearly invented for the sake of the Arian heresy (for from the repentance of Urzatsiev and Valentov they saw that slander had been laid against Athanasius with the intention of eradicating him and bringing him into The Churches are the wickedness of the Christ-fighters), seeing all this, as champions and preachers of the truth, they decided rather to suffer the insult, to go to prison, and they really suffered this, but did not agree to sign the Athanasian condemnation and enter into communion with the Arians. They have not forgotten what they have been taught, but most of all they know that there will be great dishonor for traitors, and the kingdom of heaven for the confessors of truth, that nothing good will happen to those who are cowardly and afraid of Constantius, and those who have endured sorrow here, like swimmers after a storm have a quiet pier, like fighters after a feat have a crown, will have in heaven great and eternal joy and gladness, the joy that Joseph had after the sorrows he suffered, that he had and the great Daniel after temptations and many slander from the courtiers, which Paul, crowned by the Savior, now has, and which is expected by the people of God everywhere. Seeing all this, they did not become weak in their will, but were strengthened by their faith, and their zeal grew more and more; Having become convinced of the slander and wickedness of the heretics, they condemn the persecutor, while they assist the persecuted with determination and unanimity, so that they themselves may receive the crown of confession. 80) Another could say a lot against this nasty and anti-Christ heresy; and in many of the actions of Constantius he could indicate the preparation of the Antichrist; but since, as the Prophet said, “from the feet even to the head” (Isa. 1, 6) there is nothing solid in heresy, it is still full of uncleanness and all kinds of wickedness, and according to one rumor one should flee from it, as from the eruptions of dogs and from snake venom, while Costillius clearly represents the image of the enemy (2 Thessal. 2, 4); so that the word does not last, it will be excellent to be content with the Divine Scripture and for each of us to obey what it commands both in the reasoning of other heresies, and especially in the reasoning of this heresy. His commandment is this: “retreat, retreat, come out from here and do not touch uncleanness, come out from among them, and go away, you who bear the vessels of the Lord” (Isa. 52:11). This is enough to teach everyone, so that even if someone is deceived by them, having come out as from Sodom, he will not turn to them anymore and will not suffer the same thing as Lot’s wife. If anyone has remained pure from the beginning from this ungodly heresy, then let him boast in Christ, saying: “We have not lifted up our hands to a strange God” (Psalm 43:21), nor have we worshiped the works of our hands, nor served any creature more than You, O God, who created all things by Your Word, your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. From Him to You, to the Father with the Word Himself in the Holy Spirit, glory and power forever and ever! Amen. 81) All the faithful of the universal Church in Alexandria, ruled by the most venerable Bishop Athanasius, through those who have signed below, show the whole world the following: We have already made a testimony about the night invasion to which we and the church of the Lord were subjected, although there was no need to testify about what the whole city knew and knows; because the bodies of the slain were found lying openly for everyone, and in the church of the Lord weapons and bows were crying out about the lawlessness committed there. since even after the testimony, the most illustrious Duke Sirian forces everyone to speak in accordance with him, as if there was no confusion and no one died, this also gives no unimportant reason for the suspicion that this was done against the will of the most philanthropic Augustus Constantius (for Sirian would not have been afraid of what was done if he had done it by order; but when we came to him and began to ask him not to force anyone and not to deny what had happened, he ordered we, despite the fact that we are Christians, are beaten with sticks, thereby proving that at night a battle was raised against the Church): then for this very reason we are now giving this testimony, when some of us are already ready to go to the most pious Augustus. By the Almighty God, regarding the salvation of the most pious Augustus, Constantius, we conjure the Egyptian eparch Maximus and the overseers to report all the piety of Augustus and the power of the most serene dioceses. We implore all shipowners to proclaim this everywhere and bring it to the ears of the most pious Augustus and to the dioceses and local judges, so that the war raised against the Church becomes known, and it is also known that, in the time of Augustus, Constantius forced Syrian and virgins and many others to accept martyrdom. For at dawn of the fifth day of the Ides of February, that is, on the fourteenth day of the month of Mehira, when we were at a vigil in the church and were making prayers, because there was supposed to be a service on Friday, suddenly around midnight the most illustrious Duke Sirian came to our church with many legions of warriors who had weapons, naked swords, arrows and other military missiles, and helmets on their heads. And indeed, while we were praying and having a reading, they broke the doors; and as soon as the doors were opened by the force of many, Sirian gave the order: and some began to shoot; others exclaimed; there was a clash of weapons; the swords sparkled in the light of the lamps. And after this, the virgins were killed; many were trampled, falling on each other, when warriors advanced on them; wounded by arrows, the men died. Some of the warriors turned to robbery, tore off the veils from the maidens, and fear, at the mere touch of some warriors, was worse than death for them. The bishop sat on his throne, exhorting everyone to pray; and Duk commanded the army, having with him the clerk Ilarius, who took a lot of part in this, as the end showed. The drawn Bishop was almost torn to pieces. Brought to great exhaustion and half-dead, we don’t know where, he disappeared from their sight, and they tried to kill him. When they saw many dead, they ordered the soldiers to hide the bodies of the deceased; the holy virgins who remained dead were buried in tombs, having acquired that praise that, in the time of the most pious Constantius, they became martyrs. The deacons were beaten and imprisoned in the church itself. But the matter did not end there. After all this was done, breaking the doors wherever he could, Sirian opened them, searched them and stole what was inside. They also entered places that not all Christians were allowed to enter. The city commander Gorgonius also knows this, because he was there. It is no small revelation of such an enemy invasion that in the church after those who entered, weapons, arrows, and swords remained, which until now had hung in the church so that it would not be possible to renounce. Sirian repeatedly sent Dynamius and a military commander from the detachment, wanting to take them; but for the time being we did not allow this, so that the matter would become known to everyone. Therefore, if there is an order to persecute us, then we are all ready to become martyrs. If there is no order from Augustus, then we ask the Egyptian Eparch Maximus and everyone participating in the government to beg the King so that nothing like this will be undertaken; We ask you to bring this request of ours to him, even if they do not think of introducing another bishop here. Even to death, we will become in our desire to have as bishop the most venerable Athanasius, whom God gave us from the beginning, according to the tradition of our Fathers. And the most pious Augustus Constantius himself sent him to us with messages and oaths; We are sure that if he finds out his piety, he will be indignant at what happened, and will not do anything contrary to the oaths given, but will again command our Bishop Athanasius to stay with us. During the election of consuls, after the consulate of the most serene Arbethion and Collian, on the seventeenth day of Mechir, that is, on the first day of the Ides of February. The beginning of this message is missing from the original. Wife of Julia Constance, mother of Julian the apostate. This message on behalf of Constantine Caesar to the inhabitants of Alexandria, see above T. 1. p. 396. These messages are already placed above T. I, pp. 332–350. See above the two epistles of Constantius: one to the bishops and elders of the universal Church, the other to all the faithful of the universal Church in Alexandria (T I, pp. 355–356). See above T. I, p. 357. This letter is read above (page 61) in several other expressions, probably according to another translation from Latin See above the letters of Ursatius and Valens, one to Bishop Julius T I. p. 359, and the other to St. Afanasy T. I, p. 360 This message, according to Athanasius, which he attached at the end, is usually read in a row in manuscripts, as here That is, in the true sense of the monk, what does the name Οσιος mean? Diminutive name for Constance. You might be interested in: