Послание к брату Серапиону (о смерти Ария)

Athanasius wishes his brother and co-servant Serapion to rejoice in the Lord. 1) I read what you wrote with your reverence, where you urge me to inform you about what concerns me, about current events, and about the most wicked heresy of the Arians, for which I suffered all this, and also about the end of Arius’s life. Of these three requirements, I fulfilled two willingly and sent what I wrote to the monks for your piety, because from this you can learn what concerns me and the heresy. For a long time I did not dare to write about the latter, that is, about death, fearing that someone would think that I was mocking the death of this man. But since, in your discussion about heresy, the question focused on whether Arius ended his life by entering into communion with the Church, and the story of death seems to resolve this question, then, of necessity, I took upon myself the trouble of talking about this, reasoning that making this known means the same thing as finally forcing those who are eager to argue to remain silent. For, as I think, having learned about the miracle that happened at death, even those who previously proposed questions will not dare to doubt that the Arian heresy is hated by God. 2) I was not in Constantinople when Arius ended his life, but Presbyter Macarius was there, and I heard what was told to them. Arius, at the insistence of Eusebius' followers, was called by Tsar Constantine, and when he appeared, the Tsar asked him: does he contain the faith of the Universal Church? Arius swore that he believed correctly, and submitted a written confession of faith, without saying in it why he was expelled from the Church by Bishop Alexander, and together hiding behind the sayings of Scripture. Therefore, when he confirmed with an oath that he did not hold on to those thoughts for which Alexander cast him out, then the Tsar released him, saying: “If your faith is right, then you did well that you swore. If your faith is wicked, and you have sworn, then God will judge your case according to your oath.” When, therefore, he left the Tsar, Eusebius’ followers wanted to bring him into the church with their usual violence. But the Bishop of Constantinople, Alexander of blessed memory, opposed this, saying that the inventor of heresy should not be accepted into communion. Finally, Eusebius’s followers began to speak threateningly: “Just as we did without your permission that the Tsar called him to himself, so in the morning, although there will be no your consent to this, Arius will be present with us at the divine service in this church.” The day when they said this was the Sabbath. 3) Bishop Alexander, having heard this and being very saddened, enters the church, raises his hands to God, bursts into tears and, throwing himself on his face in the sanctuary, prostrate on the floor, prays. Macarius was with him, prayed together and listened to the words he spoke. The bishop’s prayer consisted of these two petitions: “If Arius will be with us at the divine service in the morning, then let me, Thy servant, be allowed, and together with the wicked, do not destroy the pious. And if you spare Your Church (I know that you will spare it), then look at the words of Eusebius’s followers and do not betray Your heritage to destruction and desecration, take Arius away from us, so that when he enters the Church, it does not seem that heresy enters with him, and wickedness is no longer recognized as piety.” So the bishop prayed and with great concern left the church. And something wonderful and extraordinary happened. When Eusebius' followers made threats, then the bishop prayed, but Arius firmly relied on Eusebius's accomplices. And having talked a lot, he goes to an unclean place to satisfy his need, and suddenly, according to the scripture, “he fell on his face in the midst of gray hairs” (Acts. 1:18), immediately falling, gives up the ghost, and is suddenly deprived of both: communion with the Church and life. 4) This was the end of the Aryans, and Eusebius’s accomplices with great shame buried their accomplice. And Alexander, of blessed memory, while rejoicing the Church, performed the divine service in a pious and Orthodox manner, praying with all the brethren and solemnly glorifying God; not because he rejoiced in death (let this not be! For all “men are destined to die alone” (Heb. 9:27), but because it turned out to exceed the judgments of men. The Lord Himself, paying tribute to the threats of Eusebius’ followers and the prayer of Alexandra, condemned the Arian heresy, showing that it was unworthy of church communion, and making it clear to everyone that no matter how the Tsar and all the people interceded for it, it condemned by the Church itself. Therefore, it has now been proven that this anti-Christ gathering of those raging with Arianism is not God-loving, but evil. And many of those who had previously been deceived changed their minds, because it was not anyone else, but the Lord himself, whom they blasphemed, who condemned the heresy that rose up against Him and also showed that even now King Constantius began to oppress the bishops for her, yet she cannot have communion with the Church and is alienated by heaven. Therefore, let your question be considered resolved (because the condition was so made), and let no one be attached to heresy, but on the contrary, let those who were deceived also repent. For who will accept such faith as the Lord has condemned? And if He Himself made her unworthy of fellowship, then isn’t he terribly dishonest and not an obvious anti-Christ fighter who accepts her? 5) And this is enough to shame lovers of argument. Therefore, to those who then proposed the question, read both this and what was written briefly to the monks against heresy, so that as a result the wickedness and deceit of those infected with Arianism will be even more condemned. However, don’t give this list to anyone and don’t copy it for yourself, I also noticed this to the monks. But if there is something missing in what was written, as a sincere person, fill it in and immediately send it back to me. For from the epistle that I wrote to the brethren, you can see what happened to me when I wrote this, and also learn that the writings of a weak-minded person, especially about the highest and most important dogmas, are unsafe to disseminate for the reason that, due to weakness or due to the obscurity of the language, what is not expressed enough can cause harm to the readers. Many do not look at the faith and the purpose of the writer, but either out of envy, or out of a desire to argue about what opinion they had previously formed in their minds, in the way they want, and accept the words, reinterpreting what is written at their whim. But may the Lord grant that the truth and sound faith in our Lord Jesus Christ will prevail in everyone, especially those to whom you will read this! Amen. You might be interested in: