The Word Of God

Οὐ δεῖ δὲ ζητεῖν, διὰ τί μὴ τοιοῦτος ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος οἷος καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος· ἐπεὶ μὴ τοιοῦτος ὁ Θεὸς οἷοι καὶ ἡμεῖς, ὡς προείρηται· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ πρέπει ζητεῖν πῶς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ Λόγος, ἢ πῶς ἀπαύγασμά ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἢ πῶς γεννᾷ ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τίς ὁ τρόπος τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ γεννήσεως· μαίνοιτο γὰρ ἄν τις τοιαῦτα τολμῶν, ὅτι πρᾶγμα ἄῤῥητον καὶ φύσεως ἴδιον Θεοῦ, μόνῳ τε αὐτῷ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ γινωσκόμενον, ἀξιοῖ λόγοις αὐτὸ ἑρμηνευθῆναι· ἴσον γάρ ἐστι τοὺς τοιούτους ζητεῖν, ποῦ ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ πῶς ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ποταπός ἐστιν ὁ Πατήρ. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ τὸ τοιοῦτο ἐρωτᾷν ἀσεβές ἐστι, καὶ ἀγνοούντων τὸν Θεὸν, οὕτω καὶ οὐ θέμις οὐδὲ περὶ τῆς τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεννήσεως τοιαῦτα τολμᾷν, οὐδὲ τῇ ἑαυτῶν φύσει καὶ ἀσθενείᾳ συμμετρεῖν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τὴν τούτου σοφίαν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν νοεῖν προσήκει· οὐδὲ εἰ ἀπορεῖ τις ζητῶν περὶ τούτων, ὀφείλει καὶ ἀπιστεῖν τοῖς γεγραμμένοις. Βέλτιον γὰρ ἀποροῦντας σιωπᾷν καὶ πιστεύειν, ἢ ἀπιστεῖν διὰ τὸ ἀπορεῖν· διότι ὁ μὲν ἀπορῶν δύναταί πως καὶ συγγνώμην ἔχειν, ὅτι ὅλως κἂν ζητήσας ἠρέμησεν· ὁ δὲ διὰ τὸ ἀπορεῖν ἐπινοῶν ἑαυτῷ τὰ μὴ δέοντα, καὶ τὰ μὴ ἄξια περὶ Θεοῦ φθεγγόμενος, ἀσύγγνωστον ἔχει τῆς τόλμης τὴν δίκην. Δύναται γὰρ καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἀποριῶν ἔχειν τινὰ παραμυθίαν ἐκ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, ὥστε λαμβάνειν μὲν καλῶς τὰ γεγραμμένα, νοεῖν δὲ ὡς ἐν παραδείγματι τὸν ἡμέτερον λόγον· ὅτι ὥσπερ οὗτος ἴδιος ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐστι, καὶ οὐκ ἔξωθεν ἡμῶν ἔργον, οὕτω καὶ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος ἴδιός ἐστιν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι ποίημα, οὐδὲ ὡς ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων λόγος· ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀνάγκη νοεῖν ἄνθρωπον. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ πάλιν τῶν μὲν ἀνθρώπων πολλοὶ καὶ διάφοροι λόγοι καθ' ἡμέραν παρέρχονται, διὰ τὸ τοὺς πρώτους μὴ μένειν, ἀλλ' ἀφανίζεσθαι. Γίνεται δὲ πάλιν τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ τούτων πατέρες, ἄνθρωποι ὄντες, παρερχομένας μὲν ἔχουσι τὰς ἡλικίας, τὰ δὲ νοήματα ἐπερχόμενα· καὶ πρὸς ἃ λογίζονται καὶ ἐπιλογίζονται, τοιαῦτα καὶ φθέγγονται· ὥστε καὶ πολλοὺς λόγους ἔχειν, καὶ μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς μηδένα τούτων ὅλως· πέπαυται γὰρ ὁ λαλῶν, καὶ ὁ λόγος εὐθὺς ἀνήλωται. Ὁ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος εἷς ἐστι καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς, καὶ, ὡς γέγραπται, ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα διαμένει, μὴ ἀλλοιούμενος, μηδὲ πρῶτος ἢ δεύτερος ἑτέρου, ἀλλ' ὁ αὐτὸς ὑπάρχων ἀεί. Ἔπρεπε γὰρ, ἑνὸς ὄντος τοῦ Θεοῦ, μίαν εἶναι καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα, καὶ ἕνα τὸν τούτου Λόγον, καὶ μίαν τὴν τούτου σοφίαν. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος ο Μέγας, Λόγος Δεύτερος Κατὰ Ἀρειανών Source: Migne PG 26.224a-225a

Nor must one ask why the Word of God is not like our word, since God is not such as we are, as said before, nor again is it right to seek how the Word is from God, or how He is God's radiance, or how God begets, and what is the way of His begetting. For a man must be mad to venture such things, since that which is ineffable and proper to God's nature, and known to Him alone and to the Son, he would have explained in words, just as if he sought where God is, and how God is, and what is the nature of the Father. But as to ask such things is impious, and comes from an ignorance of God, so it is not right to propose such questions concerning the generation of the Son of God, nor to measure God and His Wisdom by our nature and infirmity, nor because of this may one think apart from the truth, nor, if anyone is troubled by such questions, should he doubt what is written. For it is better in doubt to be silent and believe, than to disbelieve because of doubt, for it is possible that he who is doubtful may obtain pardon, who even though he wonders yet is silent, but when a man by doubt contrives for himself things which do not befit God and proclaims what is unworthy of Him, such daring incurs a sentence without mercy. For in such doubts Divine Scripture is able to offer a man some support, so as to take rightly what has been written, even to think on our word as an illustration, that as it is proper to us, being from us, and not a work external to us, so also God's Word is proper to Him and from Him, and is not a work, and yet it is not just like the word of man, or else we must think God a man. For behold, the words of men are many and various, passing away day by day, because those that come before do not persist but vanish. And this happens because their fathers are men, and have their time which passes away, and ideas which are successive, and what they think and think on again, such things they utter, so that they have many words, but after so many nothing at all, for he who speaks ceases, and his word is immediately used up. But the Word of God is one and the same, and, as it is written, 'The Word of God endures for ever,' 1 not changing, not being before or after another, but existing the same always. For it was fitting, since God is One, that His Image should be One also, and One is His Word, and One His Wisdom. Saint Athanasius, from the Second Discourse Against The Arians 1 Ps 118.89

Many And One

Augustinus dixit: Ego quod quaesivi ut dicere dignareris, non dixisti, quo testimonio probares subiectum Christo Spiritum Sanctum: respondeo tamen ad ea quae proposuisti. Sic non dicimus tres omnipotentes, quomodo non dicimus tres deos. Si enim de singulis interrogemur utrum Deus sit Pater, respondemus: Deus; utrum Deus sit Filius, respondemus: Deus; utrum Deus sit Spiritus Sanctus, respondemus: Deus. Cum autem de omnibus interrogati fuerimus, utrum tres sint, referimus nos ad divinam Scripturam dicentem: Audi, Israel; Dominus Deus tuus, Dominus unus est. Et in hac divina praescriptione condiscimus, eamdem ipsam Trinitatem unum esse Deum. Sic et de singulis si quaeratur, utrum Pater omnipotens sit, respondemus: Omnipotens; si Filius, hoc idem respondemus; si Spiritus Sanctus, nec ipsum negamus omnipotentem. Nec tamen dicimus tres omnipotentes, quomodo non dicimus tres deos: sed sicut simul illi tres unus Deus, sic simul illi tres unus omnipotens est, et invisibilis unus Deus Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus est. Sine causa ergo putas nos numero coarctari, cum divinitatis potentia etiam rationem numeri excedat. Si enim animae multorum hominum accepto Spiritu Sancto et quodam modo conflatae igne caritatis unam animam fecerunt, de qua dicit Apostolus: Erat enim eis anima et cor unum: tot corda, tot millia cordium, unum cor fecit caritas Spiritus Sancti; tot millia animarum unam animam dixit Spiritus Sanctus, quam ipse unam animam fecit: quanto magis nos unum Deum dicimus, semper sibi invicem et inseparabiliter et ineffabili caritate cohaerentes Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum? Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Collatio cum Maximino Arianorum Episcopo Source: Migne PL 42.715

Augustine said: What I asked you to say you have not deigned to say, that is, by what testimony you might prove that the Holy Spirit is subject to Christ. Even so, I will answer the things you have set forth. Just as we do not say that there are three omnipotents, so we do not say there are three gods. If we are questioned about each one, whether the Father is God, we say, 'He is God.' If the Son is God, we say: 'He is God.' If the Holy Spirit is God, we answer: 'He is God.' But when we are questioned about all of them, whether there are three gods, we refer to the Divine Scriptures which say: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God.' 1 And in that Divine commandment we learn that the same Trinity is the one God. So if someone asks about each of them, if the Father is omnipotent, we answer 'He is omnipotent,' if the Son is, we answer the same, if the Holy Spirit is, we do not deny Him omnipotence. But we do not say that there are three omnipotents, just as we do not say that there are three gods, but just as the three are one God, so the three are one omnipotence, and the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are the one invisible God. Without reason, then, do you think that we are snared in arithmetic, since the power of the Divinity exceeeds the sense of number. Indeed the souls of many men were in some way fused together with the reception of the Holy Spirit and made one soul with the fire of charity, concerning which the Apostle says: 'They had one soul and heart.' 2 The charity of the Holy Spirit made so many hearts, so many thousands of hearts, one heart. The Holy Spirit called so many thousands of soul one soul because he made them one soul. How much more do we call the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit one God, since they always cling to one another inseparably and with ineffable charity? Saint Augustine of Hippo, Discussion With the Arian Bishop Maximinus 1 Deut 6.4 2 Acts 4.32

Works Human And Divine

Ὅθεν τῆς σαρκὸς πασχούσης, οὐκ ἦν ἐκτὸς ταύτης ὁ Λόγος· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ ‘αὐτοῦ’ λέγεται καὶ τὸ πάθος· καὶ θεϊκῶς δὲ ποιοῦντος αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὐκ ἦν ἔξωθεν αὐτοῦ ἡ σάρξ· ἀλλ' ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ σώματι ταῦτα πάλιν ὁ Κύριος ἐποίει. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωπος γενόμενος ἔλεγεν, Εἰ οὐ ποιῶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Πατρός μου, μὴ πιστεύετέ μοι· εἰ δὲ ποιῶ, κἂν ἐμοὶ μὴ πιστεύητε, τοῖς ἔργοις πιστεύετε, ἵνα γινώσκητε ὅτι ἐν ἐμοὶ ὁ Πατὴρ, κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἀμέλει ὅτε χρεία γέγονε τὴν πενθερὰν θερὰν τοῦ Πέτρου πυρέσσουσαν ἐγεῖραι, ἀνθρωπίνως μὲν ἐξέτεινε τὴν χεῖρα, θεϊκῶς δὲ ἦν παύων τὴν νόσον. Καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ ‘ἐκ γενετῆς τυφλοῦ’ ἀνθρώπινον ἀπὸ τῆς σαρκὸς ἠφίει ‘τὸ πτύσμα,’ θεϊκῶς δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἤνοιγε διὰ τοῦ πηλοῦ· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ Λαζάρου φωνὴν μὲν, ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ἀνθρωπίνην ἠφίει· θεϊκῶς δὲ,  ὡς Θεὸς, τὸν Λάζαρον ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν. Ταῦτα δὲ οὕτως ἐγίνετο, καὶ ἐδείκνυτο, ὅτι μὴ φαντασίᾳ ἀλλὰ ἀληθῶς ἦν ἔχων σῶμα· ἔπρεπε δὲ τὸν Κύριον, ἐνδιδυσκόμενον ἀνθρωπίνην σάρκα, ταύτην μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων παθῶν αὐτῆς ὅλην ἐνδύσασθαι, ἵνα, ὥσπερ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ’ λέγομεν εἶναι τὸ σῶμα, οὕτω καὶ τὰ τοῦ σώματος πάθη ἴδια μόνον αὐτοῦ λέγηται, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἥπτετο κατὰ τὴν θεότητα αὐτοῦ. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἑτέρου ἦν τὸ σῶμα, ἐκείνου ἂν λέγοιτο καὶ τὰ πάθη· εἰ δὲ τοῦ Λόγου ἡ σὰρξ ὁ γὰρ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ἀνάγκη καὶ τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς πάθη λέγεσθαι αὐτοῦ, οὖ καὶ ἡ σάρξ ἐστιν. Οὖ δὲ λέγεται τὰ πάθη, οἷά ἐστι μάλιστα τὸ κατακριθῆναι, τὸ μαστιγωθῆναι, τὸ διψᾷν, καὶ ὁ σταυρὸς, καὶ ὁ θάνατος, καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι τοῦ σώματος ἀσθένειαι, τούτου καὶ τὸ κατόρθωμα καὶ ἡ χάρις ἐστί. Διὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν ἀκολούθως καὶ πρεπόντως οὐκ ἄλλου, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Κυρίου λέγεται τὰ τοιαῦτα πάθη· ἵνα καὶ ἡ χάρις παῤ αὐτοῦ ᾖ, καὶ μὴ ἄλλου λάτραι γινώμεθα, ἀλλὰ ἀληθῶς θεοσεβεῖς, ὅτι μηδένα τῶν γενητῶν, μηδὲ κοινόν τινα ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ φύσει καὶ ἀληθινὸν Υἱὸν, τοῦτον καὶ γενόμενον ἄνθρωπον, οὐδὲν ἦττον Κύριον αὐτὸν καὶ Θεὸν καὶ Σωτῆρα ἐπικαλούμεθα. Τοῦτο δὲ τίς οὐκ ἂν θαυμάσειεν; ἢ τίς οὐκ ἂν σύνθοιτο θεῖον ἀληθῶς εἶναι τὸ πρᾶγμα; εἰ γὰρ τὰ τῆς θεότητος τοῦ Λόγου ἔργα μὴ διὰ τοῦ σώματος ἐγίνετο, οὐκ ἂν ἐθεοποιήθη ἄνθρωπος· καὶ πάλιν, εἰ τὰ ἴδια τῆς σαρκὸς οὐκ ἐλέγετο τοῦ Λόγου, οὐκ ἂν ἠλευθερώθη παντελῶς ἀπὸ τούτων ὁ ἄνθρωπος· ἀλλ' εἰ ἄρα πρὸς ὀλίγον μὲν ἀνεπαύετο, ὡς προεῖπον, πάλιν δὲ ἔμενεν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἡ φθορὰ, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἀνθρώπων γέγονε, καὶ τοῦτο δείκνυται. Πολλοὶ γοῦν ἅγιοι γεγόνασι καὶ καθαροὶ πάσης ἁμαρτίας· Ἱερεμίας δὲ καὶ ἐκ κοιλίας ἡγιάσθη· καὶ Ἰωάννης ἔτι κυοφορούμενος ‘ἐσκίρτησεν ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει' ἐπὶ τῇ φωνῇ τῆς Θεοτόκου Μαρίας· καὶ ὅμως ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι Μωσέως, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς μὴ ἁμαρτήσαντας, ἐπὶ τῷ ὁμοιώματι τῆς παραβάσεως Ἀδάμ· καὶ οὕτως ἔμενον οὐδὲν ἧττον οἱ ἄνθρωποι θνητοὶ καὶ φθαρτοὶ, δεκτικοὶ τῶν ἰδίων τῆς φύσεως παθῶν. Νῦν δὲ τοῦ Λόγου γενομένου ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ἰδιοποιουμένου τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς, οὐκέτι ταῦτα τοῦ σώματος ἅπτεται διὰ τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ γενόμενον Λόγον· ἀλλ' ὑπ' αὐτοῦ μὲν ἀνήλωται, λοιπὸν δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὐκέτι κατὰ τὰ ἴδια πάθη μένουσιν ἁμαρτωλοὶ καὶ νεκροὶ, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Λόγου δύναμιν ἀναστάντες, ἀθάνατοι καὶ ἄφθαρτοι ἀεὶ διαμένουσιν. Ὅθεν καὶ γεννωμένης τῆς σαρκὸς ἐκ τῆς Θεοτόκου Μαρίας, αὐτὸς λέγεται γεγεννῆσθαι, ὁ τοῖς ἄλλοις γένεσιν εἰς τὸ εἶναι παρέχων· ἵνα τὴν ἡμῶν εἰς ἑαυτὸν μεταθῇ γένεσιν, καὶ μηκέτι ὡς γῇ μόνη ὄντες εἰς γῆν ἀπέλθωμεν, ἀλλ' ὡς τῷ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ Λόγῳ συναφθέντες, εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀναχθῶμεν παῤ αὐτοῦ. Οὐκοῦν οὕτω καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάθη τοῦ σώματος οὐκ ἀπεικότως εἰς ἑαυτὸν μετέθηκεν, ἵνα μηκέτι ὡς ἄνθρωποι, ἀλλ' ὡς ἴδιοι τοῦ Λόγου, τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς μετάσχωμεν. Οὐκέτι γὰρ, κατὰ τὴν  προτέραν γένεσιν, ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ ἀποθνήσκομεν· ἀλλὰ λοιπὸν τῆς γενέσεως ἡμῶν καὶ πάσης τῆς σαρκικῆς ἀσθενείας μετατεθέντων εἰς τὸν Λόγον, ἐγειρόμεθα ἀπὸ γῆς, λυθείσης τῆς δι' ἁμαρτίαν κατάρας διὰ τὸν ἐν ἡμῖν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν γενόμενον κατάραν· καὶ εἰκότως γε. Ὥσπερ γὰρ, ἐκ γῆς ὄντες πάντες, ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ ἀποθνήσκομεν, οὕτως ἄνωθεν ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος ἀναγεννηθέντες, ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ πάντες ζωοποιούμεθα, οὐκέτι ὡς γηΐνης, ἀλλὰ λοιπὸν λογωθείσης τῆς σαρκὸς διὰ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον, ὃς δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐγένετο σάρξ. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος, Κατὰ Ἀρειανῶν, Λόγος Τρίτος Source: Migne PG 26 389-396

Whence it was that the flesh suffering the Word was not apart from it, and therefore the passion is said to be His, and doing divinely His Father's works, the flesh was not apart from Him, but in the body itself the Lord did them. Thus, being made man, He said , 'If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe in me, but if I do, though you do not believe in Me, believe the works, that you may know that the Father is in Me and I in Him.' 1 And thus when there was need to raise Peter's mother in law, who was sick with a fever, humanely He stretched forth His hand, but divinely He stopped the illness. 2 And concerning that man blind from the birth, human was the spittle that He brought from the flesh, but divinely did He open the eyes by clay. 3 And with Lazarus He brought forth a human voice as man, but divinely, as God, He raised Lazarus from the dead. 4 And these things were thus done and made manifest because He had a body, not in appearance, but in truth, and it became the Lord, in putting on human flesh, to put it on complete with the affections belonging to it, so that as we say that the body was His own, so also we may say that the body's affections were proper to Him alone, even though they did not touch Him according to His Godhead, and if then the body were another's, to him too would have been the affections attributed, but if the flesh is the Word's, for, as it is said, the Word became flesh, so it is necessary that the affections also of the flesh are His whose is the flesh. And to whom affections are ascribed, such as to be condemned, to be scourged, to thirst, and the cross, and death, and the other infirmities of the body, His is the triumph and the grace. Because of this then, consistently and fittingly such affections are ascribed not to another but to the Lord, that the grace may be from Him, and that we may become, not worshippers of any other, but truly devout, because we invoke no originated thing, no common man, but the natural and true Son of God, who has become man, yet is not the less Lord and God and Saviour. Who will not marvel at this? Or who will not agree that such a thing is truly Divine? For if the works of the Word's Godhead had not taken place through the body, man would not been deified, and again, had not the things of the flesh been ascribed to the Word, man would not have been completely delivered from them, but though they had ceased for a little while, as I said before, still sin remained in him and corruption, as it was for mankind before Him, and for this reason: many, for instance, have been made holy and clean from all sin, why, Jeremiah was hallowed even from the womb, and John, while yet in the womb, leaped for joy at the voice of Mary, Bearer of God, nevertheless, 'Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression,' 5 and thus men remained mortal and corruptible as before, liable to the affections proper to their nature. But now the Word having become man and having taken up what pertains to the flesh, no longer do these things touch the body, because of the Word who has come into it, but they by Him are destroyed, and after men no longer remain sinners and dead according to their proper affections, but having risen according to the power of the Word, they are ever immortal and incorruptible. Whence also as the flesh is born of Mary, Bearer of God, He Himself is said to have been born, He who gives to others an origin of being, in order that He may take our origin into Himself, and we may no longer, as mere earth, to earth return, but as being joined into the Word from heaven, may be carried to heaven by Him. Therefore not without reason has He transferred the other affections of the body to Himself, but that we, no longer as men, but as proper to the Word, may share in eternal life. For no longer according to our former origin, in Adam, do we die, but henceforth our origin and all infirmity of flesh being transferred to the Word, we are raised from the earth, the curse from sin being removed because of Him who is in us and who for us become a curse. And certainly with reason, for as we are all from earth and die in Adam, so being regenerated from above by water and Spirit, in Christ we are all given life, no longer of the earth, but the flesh is made Word by reason of God's Word who for our sake became flesh. Saint Athanasius, from Against the Arians, Oration III 1 Jn 10.37-38  2 Mt 8.14  3 Jn 9.1-8  4 Jn 11. 43-44  5 Rom 5.14

A Rich Man's Martyrdom

Qualiter autem Adrumentinae civitatis civem Victorianum, tunc proconsulem Carthaginis, praedicem, nescio, deficientibus verbis. Quo in Africae partibus nullus ditior fuit, qui etiam apud impium regem pro rebus semper sibi comissis fidelissimus habebatur. Mandatur ei a rege familiariter, diciturque quod eum habiturus esset prae omnibus domesticum, si ejus precepto facilem commodasset assensum. Sed ille vir Dei missis ad se tale dedit cum fiducia magna responsum: Securus ego sum de Christo Deo et Domino meo. Haec regi dicatis: Subrigat ignibus, adigat bestiis, excruciet generibus omnium tormentorum. Si consensero, frustra sum in Ecclesia catholica baptizatus. Nam si haec praesens vita sola fuisset, et aliam, quae vere est, non speraremus aeternam, nec ita facerem ut ad modicum atque temporaliter gloriarer, et ingratus existerem ei qui suam fidem mihi contulit, creditori. Ad quod tyrannus excitatus, quantorum temporum, et quantis eum afflixit peoneis, humanus sermo non poterit explicare. Qui tripudians in Domino, feliciterque consummans, martyrialem coronam accepit. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae, Liber V Source: Migne PL 58 244a-b

Likewise I do not know, lacking the words, how to commend Victorianus, a citizen of the city of Hadrumetum and then proconsul of Carthage. No one in Africa was richer than him, and even the business of the wicked king Huneric was faithfully committed to him. A command was issued by the king that he should be more closely associated with him, and that he would be preferred above all his servants if he acceded with easy assent to his instruction. 1 But that man of God, giving attention to himself, gave this response of great faith: 'I am safe with Christ and my Lord. Say this to the king: stoke fires, rouse beasts, torment with every kind of torture, if I consent then I have been baptised in the Catholic Church in vain. For if there were only this present life and we did not hope for another eternal one, which truly is life, I would not thus scorn mediocre and temporal glory and live ungrateful to him who bestowed his own faith on me, and to whom I am indebted.' The tyrant was enraged by this and afflicted him with many punishments over a long time, such that human speech is not able to recount it. He who, exulting in the Lord, happily reaching his end, received the crown of martyrdom. Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province, from Book 5 1 To adopt Arianism

Hymns And Preaching

Ἐπεὶ γὰρ οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀρείου αἱρέσεως, ἀφαιρεθέντες τῶν ἐν τῇ Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἐκκλησιῶν ἐπὶ τῆς Θεοδοσίου βασιλείας, πρὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἐκκλησίαζον, νύκτωρ πρότερον ἐν ταῖς δημοσίαις στοαῖς συνελέγοντο, καὶ εἰς συστήματα μεριζόμενοι, κατὰ τὸν τῶν ἀντιφώνων τρόπον ἔψαλλον, ἀκροτελεύτια συντιθέντες πρὸς τὴν αὐτῶν δόξαν πεποιημένα. Ὑπὸ δὲ τὴν ἕω ταῦτα δημοσίᾳ ψάλλοντες, εἰς τοὺς τόπους ἀπῄεσαν, ἔνθα καὶ ἐκκλησίαζον. Ἐποίουν δὲ ὧδε ἐν ταῖς ἐπισήμοις ἑορταῖς, καὶ τῇ πρώτῃ καὶ τελευταίᾳ τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἡμέρᾳ. Τελευτῶντες δὲ, καὶ πρὸς ἔριν τὰς ᾠδὰς προσετίθεσαν, Ποῦ εἰσὶν οἱ λέγοντες τὰ τρία μίαν δύναμιν, καὶ ἕτερα τοιάδε τοῖς ὕμνοις ἀναμιγνύντες. Δείσας δὲ Ἰωάννης, μή τινες τούτοις ὑπαχθῶσι τῶν ὑπ̓ αὐτὸν ἐκκλησιαζόντων, ἐπὶ τὸν ἶσον τρόπον τῆς ψαλμῳδίας τὸν αὐτοῦ λαὸν προτρέπει. Ἐν ὀλίγῳ δὲ ἐπισημότεροι γενόμενοι, τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς ἐναντίας αἱρέσεως ὑπερέβαλλον τῷ πλήθει καὶ τῇ προόδῳ. Καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ σταυρῶν ἀργυρᾶ σημεῖα ὑπὸ κηροῖς ἡμμένοις προηγοῦντο αὐτῶν: καὶ εὐνοῦχος τῆς βασιλέως γαμετῆς ἐπὶ τοῦτο τέτακτο, τὴν περὶ ταῦτα δαπάνην καὶ τοὺς ὕμνους παρασκευάζων. Ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἢ ζηλοτυπήσαντες οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀρείου αἱρέσεως, ἢ ἀμυνόμενοι τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς καθόλου ἐκκλησίας, εἰς μάχην κατέστησαν. Καὶ κτείνονταί τινες ἑκατέρωθεν. Ὁ δὲ Βρίσων, τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν ὄνομα τῷ βασιλικῷ εὐνούχῳ, λίθῳ κατὰ τοῦ μετώπου βάλλεται. Κινηθεὶς δὲ πρὸς ὀργὴν ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἔπαυσε τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀρείου αἱρέσεως τὰς τοιαύτας συνόδους. Οἱ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς καθολικῆς, ἐξ αἰτίας τοιᾶσδε τὸν εἰρημένον τρόπον ὑμνεῖν ἀρξάμενοι, καὶ εἰσέτι νῦν οὕτω διέμειναν. Ἰωάννης δὲ ἐκ τούτων, καὶ τῶν ἐπ̓ ἐκκλησίας λόγων, πρὸς μὲν τὸν δῆμον ἐπεδίδου τὸ φίλτρον: μῖσος δὲ πρὸς τοὺς δυναμένους καὶ τοὺς κληρικοὺς ἐκ τῆς κατ̓ αὐτῶν παρρησίας. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἀδικοῦντας ὁρῶν, ἤλεγχε: τοὺς δὲ πλούτῳ, καὶ ἀσεβείᾳ, καὶ ἡδοναῖς ἀσέμνοις διεφθαρμένους, ἀνῆγε πρὸς ἀρετήν. Ἑρμείος Σωζομενός, Ἐκκλησιαστίκη Ἱστορία, Τομ Η' Κεφ Η'

Those of the Arian sect, their churches in Constantinople being taken from them in the reign of Theodosius, 1 assembled outside the walls. They gathered together during the night in the public porticoes and were divided into bands that they might sing antiphonally, songs having been composed which attempted to express their dogma, then, at dawn, singing these things, they marched to the places in which they held their assemblies. They did this for solemn festivals and on the first and last days of the week. The views expressed in these songs were were likely to cause strife, such as: 'Where are they who say that the Three Persons are One Power?' And other similar things were mixed in throughout their hymns. John was fearful lest any of his own church people should be misled by witnessing such things, and therefore he exhorted them to sing hymns in the same manner, and in a short time they surpassed the opposing heretics in number and processions; for they had silver crosses and lighted wax tapers carried before them. A eunuch of the Empress 2 was appointed to regulate these processions, to pay costs and to prepare hymns. Whence some Arians, on account of either jealousy or revenge, attacked members of the Catholic Church. Some were slain on both sides. Briso, for this was the name of the Imperial eunuch, was struck on the forehead by a stone. This provoked the anger of the Emperor 3 and he put a stop to the Arian assemblies. But the Catholics having adopted the custom of singing hymns in the manner that they did and for the reason recorded, did not discontinue the practice, but have maintained it to the present. The institution of these things in the Church endeared John to the people, but he was hated by the powerful and the clergy on account of his frankness, for perceiving unrighteousness he rebuked it, and from those who were led astray by wealth, or impiety, or vulgar pleasures, he demanded a return to virtue. Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, Book 8, Chapter 8  1 Theodosius I 2 Aelia Eudoxia 3 Arcadius

Estranged Bishops

Julius Danio, Flacillo, Narcisso, Eusebio, Mari, Macedonio, Theodoro et sociis eorum, qui Antiochia nobis scripsere, dilectis fratribus in Domino salutem. Legi litteras a presbyteris meis Elpidio et Philoxeno mihi allatas, miratusque sum, cum nos ex dilectione et veritatis conscientia scripserimus, a vobis contentiose, nec ut decebat, rescriptum esse. Superbia enim et arrogantia scribentium per epistolam sese prodebat: haec autem a Christiana fide aliena sunt. Decebat enim, quae cum dilectione scripta erant, parem cum dilectione, et non cum contentione responsionem obtinere. An non caritatis indicum est, presbyteros misesse qui cum dolentibus condolerent, et eos qui scripserant adhortarentur ut venirent, quo quam primum omnia tandem componi ac recte constitui valerent, nec diutius fratres nostri vexarentur, nec vos quidam criminarentur? Sed nescio cur sic affici vobis placuerit, ut nos induxeritis ad suspicandum, quae vos verba nos honorandi causa dicere videbamini, haec ipsa cum quadam dissimulatione et irrisione dixisse. Presbyteri namque qui missi sunt, quos cum gaudio rediisse oportabat, contra moesti rediere ob ea quae illic geri conspexerant. Ego vero, postquam litteras legi, cum multa mecum reputassem, epistolam apud me retinui, sperans vestrum saltem aliquos esse venturos, nec epistola opus fore, ne, si illa manifesta fieret, multos hic contristaret. Quandoquidem autem, nullo adventiente, necesse fuit illam proferre, fateor vobis, omnes admiratione capti, vix induci potuerunt ut crederent res hujusmodi a vobis esse scriptas: contentionis enim magis, quam charitatis epistola specimen prae se ferebat. Quod si eloquentiae quaerenda est, sed canones apostolici, ac studendum ut ne unus quidem ex pusillis qui in Ecclesia sunt scandalizentur. Expedit enim, secundum ecclesiasticam sententiam, molam asinariam suspendi a collo, et ita in mare demergi potius, quam vel unum ex pusillis scandalizare. Quod si aliquibus mutua quadam simultate exacerbatis, non enim talem omnium mentem fuisse dixerim, istiusmodi epistolam scribi placuit, decebat quidam vel omnino non offendi, vel solem non occidere super offensa; hanc certe eo progredi non oportuit, ut scripto declararetur. Sanctus Julius Papa, Epistola ad Antiochenos

Julius to Danius, Flacillus, Narcissus, Eusebius, Maris, Macedonius, Theodorus and their associates who wrote to us from Antioch, dear brothers, greetings in the Lord. Having read the words that my presbyters Elpidius and Philoxenus brought to me I wondered that while we wrote from love and care for truth from you we received an unfitting contentious reply. The pride and arrogance of the writers was revealed by the letter, things which are alien to the Christian faith. For it befits that when things are written with love that with equal love and with no contention they obtain reply. Was it not a sign of love to have sent presbyters to comfort those suffering, and to exhort  those who had written to me to come here that, above all, that which is yet settled might rightly be resolved, so that our brothers might no longer be troubled, and that you might escape further accusation? I do not know why it was pleasing to you to act so, that you led us to the suspicion that the words you used to honour us which we read, were said with a certain dissimulation and ridicule. For the presbyters sent, whom with joy should have returned, came back troubled on account of that which they had seen among you. I truly, after I read your words, pondered much to myself and kept the letter to myself, hoping that some at least would come from you, not such a letter, that if it were to be made public would be a cause of sorrow to many. Yet when no one came from you it was necessary to reveal it, and I confess to you, all were struck with astonishment, and they were scarcely able to be led to believe that something like this had been written by you, for brought before them it was more a token of contention than of love. If eloquence must be sought let attention be given to the Apostolic canons, lest any of the little ones in the church should be scandalized. For it profits more, according to the understanding of the Church, that the millstone of asses be hung from the neck and one be thrown into the sea than one of the little ones be scandalised. 1 But if such a letter was written because it pleased some who took offence at something, for I do not impute such a state of mind to all, it befits rather not to be offended at all, or not to let the sun set on one's offence; 2 certainly it is of no benefit to declare it in writing. Pope Julius I, from the Letter to the Antiochians 1 Mt 17.6 2 Ephes 4.26

Creator and Creation

Πᾶν κτίσμα διὰ λόγου καὶ σοφίας τοῦ εἴναι τετυχηκε. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς Λόγος σοφία ὑπάρχων οὐσιώδης, δημιουργός τε ὦν πἀσης τῆς τε νουμένης κτίσεως, καὶ τῆς ὑποπιπτούσης τῇ αἰσθήσει, πῶς ἂν λεχθείη κτίσμα; Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΕ' , Γαινᾳ Στατηλατῃ

Every created thing through the Word and the wisdom which He is came to be. And the Divine Word being wisdom in His substance, Creator of everything which is thought and which falls before the sense, how may He said to be a created thing? St Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 205, to the General Gainas 1 1 Gainas, The Gothic leader and Arian

Trinitarian Confusions

En habes in brevi alium esse Patrum, alium Filium, alium Spiritum sanctum: alium et alium in persona, non aliud et aliud in natura; et idcirco 'Ego,' inquit, 'et Pater unum sumus' 'Unum', ad naturam referre nos docet, 'Sumus' ad personas. Similiter et illud: 'Tres sunt,' inquit, 'qui testimonium dicunt in caelo, Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus, et hi tres unum sunt. Audiat Sabellius 'sumus', audiat 'tres', et credat esse tres personas, et non sacrilego corde blasphemet, dicendo ipsum sibi esse Patrem, ipsum sibi Filium, ipsum sibi Spiritum sanctum: tanquam modo quodam seipsum gignat, aut modo quodam a seipso ipse procedat; cum hoc etiam in naturis creatis minime invenire possit, ut aliquid seipsum gignere valeat. Audiat scilicet et Arius, 'Unum' et non differentis Filium dicat esse naturae, cum natura diversa unum dici nequeat. Filius itaque clamat, Ego et Pater unum sumus; et: 'Qui me videt, videt et Patrem. Et Apostolus de eo: 'Qui cum in forma Dei' inquit, 'esset, non rapinam arbitratus est esse se aequalem Deo; et : 'Propterea,' inquit in Evangelio, ' quaerebant Judaei Jesum interficere, quia non solum solvebat sabbatum, sed et Patrem suum dicebat Deum, aequalem se faciens Deo'. Et Arius blasphemo spiritu contradicit: Non sunt unum, non sunt aequales, quia ipse Filius de se dicit: 'Pater major me est'; et missum sese saepenumero a Patre testatur. O infelix error pestiferaque doctrina, ignorans dispensationem hominis ob salutem generis humani temporaliter factam! Rogo, secundum quid major est Pater Filio? secundum substantiam, an secundum potentiam, an secundum bonitatem, an secundum incorporalitatem, an secundum aeternitatem? Si innascibilis Dei Patris Unigenitus Deus imago est, perfectae atque absolutae in eo substantiae veritas inest, per quam efficitur esse eum imaginem veritatis. Potens est Pater, sed si infirmus est Filius, imago jam non est potentis. Bonus est Pater, sed si in diversi generis divinitate Filius est, boni imaginem mali natura non reddet. Incorporeus Pater est, sed si Filius secundum spiritum circumscriptus est corpore, jam incorporei non est forma corporeus. Aeternus est Pater, sed si Filius non est coaeternus, temporaliter Patri nomen paternitatis accessit; et jam non omnia per Verbum facta sunt, quia reperitur tempus ante Verbum anterius, quando Pater fuerit sine Filio. Sed  imaginem Dei Patris Verbum, et omnia per ipsum facta Scriptura evidenter declarat. An forte ad hoc impiae professionis suae sensum propagat, ut Spiritum sanctum bonum quidem, sed Filium meliorem, et Patrem optimum esse credat, aut Spiritum sanctum potentem, sed Filium potentiorem, et Patrem potentissimum, sensu sacrilgeo astruat; aut sanctum Spiritum justum, sed Filium justiorem, et Patrem justissimum blasphemando edoceat? Ergo non tenetur sub unius Dei professione, sed ethnicorum more plurimorum deorum cultui mancipatur, dum Deum Patrem majorem, Filiumque minorem, et Spiritum sanctum plusquam minorem praesumptione temeraria suspicatur. Deum majorem, et Deum minorem habeat error eorum Israel esse nolunt, nec obduratis auribus audiunt: ' Audi, Israel, Dominus Deus tuus Deus unus est; et illud: Dominum Deum tuum adorabis, et illi soli servies. Fulgentius Ruspensis, Ad Felicem Notarium, De Trinitate, Caput IV

Have then, in brief, that the Father is one thing and the Son another and the Holy Spirit another, differing in person but not in nature, and therefore He said, ' I and the Father we are one;' 1 'One' we teach as referring to the nature and 'we are' to the persons. Similarly it is said, ' Three there are who give witness in heaven, The Father, the Word and the Spirit, and these three are one.' 2 Let Sabellius hear 'we are', let him hear 'three', and let him think there are three persons, and let him not blaspheme with sacrilegious heart saying that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are the same thing, as if He somehow generates Himself, or proceeds from Himself, when this something capable of generating itself he cannot find in created nature. And let Arius hear 'One,' and let him not speak of the Son as having a different nature when the One is not able to have a diverse nature. For the Son cries out, 'I and the Father, we are one' and ' He who sees me sees the Father.' 3 And the Apostle says, 'He who was in the form of God did not wish to seize on equality with God' 4 and it says in the Gospel, ' Because of this the Jews sought to kill Jesus because not only did he not keep the Sabbath, but he even called God his Father, making himself equal with God.' 5 Arius with blasphemous spirit contradicts this, saying 'They are not one, they are not equal, because the Son said concerning himself, 'The Father is greater than me.' 6 and that He was sent from the Father He gives numerous testimony. O wretched error and pestilential teaching! Let me ask how is the Father greater than the Son? According to substance, or according to power, or according to goodness, or according to incorporality, or according to eternity? If the Only Begotten God of God the Father is the unborn image, the truth inheres in Him of perfect and absolute substance, for by that He is made to be a true image. Powerful is the Father, but if the Son is weak he is not now an image of power. Good is the Father, but if the Son is in another class of divinity, a flawed nature is not an image of the good. Incorporeal is the Father but if the Son according to the Spirit is circumscribed in body, the corporeal is no form of the incorporeal. Eternal is the Father, but if the Son is not coeternal, the name of Father is a temporal paternity, and now it is that not everything was made though the Word because there is a time before the Word, when the Father was without the Son, But the Word is the image of God the Father and everything through Him was made, Scripture plainly declares, 7 Or perhaps in this sense the impious profession is made: that it is thought that the Holy Spirit is good, but the Son is better and the Father the best, or that the Holy Spirit is powerful but the Son is more powerful and the Father most powerful, should one wish to add to the sacrilegious meaning. Or would it not be blasphemous to teach that the Holy Spirit is righteous but the Son more righteous, and the Father most righteous? For thus one does not hold to the profession of One God, but one gives oneself up to the religion of many gods in the manner of the pagans, when with presumptuous temerity he puts forth that God the Father is greater and the Son less, and the Holy Spirit least of all. This greater God and lesser God is the error of those who are unwilling to be of Israel, nor with obdurate ears do they hear, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God.' 8 and ' The Lord your God you shall adore, and Him alone shall you serve.' 9 Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, On The Trinity, To the Notary Felix, Chap 4. 1 Jn 10.30 2 1Jn 5 3 Jn 14.9 4 Philip 2.6 5 Jn 5.18 6 Jn 14.28 7 Jn 1.3 8 Deut 6.4 9 Deut 6.13

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Sicut ergo detestamur Arianos, qui inter Patrem et Filium aliquam volunt esse distantiam, ita etiam Macedonianos pariter detestamur, qui licet Patri et Filio tribuant aequalitatem, Spiritum tamen sanctum inferioris putant esse naturae: non considerantes eam blasphemiam se incidere, quae neque in praesenti saeculo, neque in futuro sit remittenda judicio, dicente Domino: Quicumque dixerit verbum contra Filium Hominis, remittetur ei; qui autem dixerit contra Spiritum sanctum, non remittetur ei neque in hoc saeculo, neque in futuro. Permanens itaque in hac impietate sine venia est, quia exclusit eum a se per quem poterat confiteri; nec umquam perveniet ad indulgentiae remedium, qui patrocinaturum sibi non habet advocatum. Ab ipso enim est invocatio Patris, ab ipso sunt lacrymae poenitentium, ab ipso sunt gemitus supplicantium; et nemo potest dicere Dominum Jesum, nisi in Spiritu sancto; cujus aequalem cum Patre et Filio omnipotentiam, unamque Deitatem evidentissime praedicat Apostolus, dicens: Divisiones quidem gratiarum sunt, idem autem Spiritus. Et divisiones ministrationum sunt, idem autem Dominus. Et divisiones operationum sunt, idem vero Deus, qui operatur omnia in omnibus. His, dilectissimi, aliisque documentis, quibus innumerabiliter divinorum eloquiorum conuscat auctoritas, ad venerationem Pentecostes unanimiter incitemur, exsultantes in honorem sancti Spiritus, per quem omnis Ecclesia catholica sanctificatur, omnis anima rationalis imbuitur; qui inspirator fidei, doctor scientiae, fons dilectionis, signaculum castitatis, et totius est causa virtutis. Gaudeant fidelium mentes, quod in toto mundo unus Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus sanctus, omnium linguarum confessione laudatur; quodque illa significatio, quae in specie ignis apparuit, et opere perseverat et munere. Ipse enim Spiritus veritatis facit domum gloriae suae luminis sui nitore fulgere, et in templo suo nec tenebrosum aliquid vult esse, nec tepidum. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXV

As therefore we detest the Arians, who wish there to be a difference between the Father and the Son, so also we detest the Macedonians, who, although they grant equality to the Father and the Son, yet think the Holy Spirit to be of a lower nature, not considering that they fall into that blasphemy which is not to be forgiven either in the present age or in the future judgment, for as the Lord says: 'Whoever shall have spoken a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him, but he who shall have spoken against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, not in this age, nor in the age to come.' 1 And so to persist in this impiety is unforgivable, because it severs a man from Him by Whom he could confess, nor will he ever have the remedy of pardon who has no Advocate to plead for him. For from Him is the invocation of the Father, from Him the tears of penitents, from Him the groans of suppliants, 'and no one can call Jesus the Lord save in the Holy Spirit,' 2 whose equal omnipotence with the Father and the Son and one Deity, the Apostle most clearly proclaims, saying, 'There are divisions of graces but the same Spirit. And the divisions of ministries but the same Lord. And there are divisions of operations but the same God, Who works all things in all.' 3 By these and other proofs, by which the authority of the Divine words are set ablaze, let us with one mind be incited to reverence of the Pentecost, exulting in honour of the Holy Spirit, through Whom the whole Catholic Church is sanctified, and every rational soul imbued, He who is Inspirer of the Faith, Teacher of Knowledge, Fount of Love, Seal of Chastity, and Cause of all Virtue. Let the minds of the faithful rejoice, that throughout the world One God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is praised by the confession of all tongues, and that the sign which appeared in the likeness of fire persists in His work and gift. For the Spirit of Truth Himself makes the house of His glory shine with the brightness of His light, and in His temple He will have nothing dark nor lukewarm . Pope Leo the Great, Sermon 75 1 Mt 12:32 2 1 Cor 12:3-6 3 1 Cor 12:3-6

Wine and Spirit

Τὴν τοῦ Θείου Πνεύματος ἐπιφοίτησιν δεξάμενοι οἱ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀπόστολοι, γλεύκους εἶναι μεστοὶ ἐνομέσθησαν, καὶ εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθην τὴν ἀληθῆ καὶ ἀνόθευτον πόσιν τῶν μυστηρίων ἐκόμισαν. Τοὺς τοίνυν τὴν θείαν παραχαράσσοντας παίδευσιν, καὶ νόθοις ἐξιτήλοις ἐντάλμασι τὰ οὐράνια ἐπιθολοῦντας διδάγματα, Μανιχαίους, καὶ Σίμωνας, καὶ Μοντανοὺς, καὶ Ναυάτους, Ἀρείους, καὶ Μακεδονίους, Φωτεινούς τε καὶ τοὺς τούτοις ὁμόφρονας, καπήλους εἰκότως προσαγορεύει μιγνύντας τὸν οἶον ὕδατι, τῇ ἀκραιφνεῖ τῶν Θείων λόγων σοφιᾳ τοὺς οἰκείους σχετλιασμοὺς ἐπεισάγοντας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΞΘ', Ζοιλῳ Πρεσβυτερῳ

The Apostles of the Lord receiving the coming of the The Holy Spirit  were thought to be drunk with wine,1 and yet the true and pure portion of the mysteries they brought to every nation. But those who adulterate the Divine teachings, polluting the heavenly lessons with base diluting precepts, the Manichees, the Simonians, the Montanists, the Novationists, the Arians, the Macedonians and the Photinians, and those of similar mind to them, the Prophet well names cheats, mixers of wine with water,2 for they pour in their own wretched things with the pure wisdom of the words of God . Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 169 To Zoilus the Presbyter 1 Acts 2.13 2 Isa 1.22

Stripping The Altars

Accenditur post haec adversus Dei Ecclesiam Geisericus. Mittit Proculum quemdam in provinciam Zeugitanam, qui coarctaret ad tradendum ministeria divina, vel libros cunctos, Domini sacerdotes, ut primo armis nudaret, et ita facilius inermes hostis collidus captivaret. Quibus se non posse tradere calmantibus sacerdotibus, ipsi rapaci manu cuncta depopulabantur, atque de palliis altaris, proh nefas! camisias sibi et femoralia faciebant. Qui tamen Proculus, hujus rei exsecutor, frustatim sibi comedens linguam, in brevi trupissima consumptus est morte. Tunc etiam sanctus Valerianus Abbenzae civitatis epsicopus, dum viriliter sacramenta divina ne traderet dimicasset, foras civitatem singularis jussus est pelli: et ita praeceptum est, ut nullus eum neque in domo, neque in agro dimiteret habitare: qui in strata publica multo tempore nudus jacuit sub aere. Annorum autem erat plus octoginta, quem nos tunc indigni in tali exsilio meruimus salutare. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae, Liber I Source: Migne PL 58.196b-197a

After these things the Arian king Geiseric was inflamed against the Church of God. He sent a certain Proculus into the province of Zeugitana and he sought to make the priests of the Lord hand over the things they used in the divine service, even every book, so that first by stripping them of their arms it would then be easier for the cunning enemy to capture those who had been made defenceless. Those priests who protested that were not able to give up these things suffered the loss of everything by his rapacious hand, even their altar cloths, for shame, being made into shirts and leg coverings. However Proculus the executor of these things, a little later, chewing his own tongue into pieces, was devoured by a most disgraceful death. But then the blessed Valerianus, bishop of the city of Abbenza, who had bravely fought against handed over the sacred things, was ordered to be cast out of the city, and it was further commanded that no one might allow him to dwell in a house or a field, and so for a long time he dwelt on the public way naked beneath the sky. He was more than eighty years old, and I, though unworthy, was permitted to salute him in such exile Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province, Book 1

Some Good Bishops, Many Bad Ones

Συνόδου δὲ, τοῦ βασιλέως κατεπείγοντος, ἐν Μεδιολάνῳ γενομένης, ἐκ μὲν τῆς Ἕω ὀλιγοι παρεγένοντο· τῶν ἄλλων, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἢ διὰ νόσον, ἢ μακρὰν ὁδοιπορίαν παραιτησαμένων τὴν ἄφιξιν. Τῶν δὲ πρὸς Δύσιν, πλείους ἢ τριακόσιοι συνελέγησαν. Ἀξιούντων δὲ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἕω καταδικάζειν Ἀθανασίου, ὡς ἂν παντελῶς ἀπελαθείη τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι, ἢ δέει, ἢ ἀπάτῃ, ἢ ἀγνοιᾳ τῶν ὄντων συνήνουν. Μόνοι δὲ, Διονύσιος ὁ Ἄλβας ἐπίσκοπος, Ἰταλίας δὲ ἤδε ἡ μητρόπολις, καὶ Εὐσέβιος ὁ Μαρκέλλων τῆς Λιγυρίας, Παυλῖνος ὁ Τριβέρεως, καὶ Ῥοδανὸς, και Λούκιφερ ἀνέκραγον, καὶ ἐμαρτυραντο μὴ χρῆναι ὡδι ῥᾳδίως καταδικάσαι Ἀθανασίου· μηδὲ γὰρ ἄχρι τούτου, εἰ γένοιτο, στήσεσθαι τὸ κακόν· χωρήσειν δὲ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν καὶ κατ’ αὐτῶν τῶν ὀρθως περὶ Θεοῦ δεδογμένων· ἐπι καθαιρέσει τε τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστεως ταῦτα σπουδάζεσθαι παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τῶν τὰ Ἀρείου φρονούντων. Καὶ οἱ μὲν, ὦδε παῥῥησιασάμενοι, ὑπερορίας φυγῇ κατεδικάσθησαν· σὺν τούτοις δὲ καὶ Ἳλάριος. Ἀληθῆ δὲ τοῦ ἐν Μεδιολάνῳ συλλόγου αἰτίαν εἶναι ἤν ἔλεγον, ἐπιστοῦτο ἡ ἀπόβασις. Οὐ πολλῷ γὰρ ὑστερον ἡ ἐν Ἀριμήνῳ καὶ Σελευκείᾳ σύνοδις συνελέγη, καὶ ἑκατέρα κατὰ τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ δεδογμένων νεωτερίζειν ἐπεχείρησεν, ὡς αὐτικα ἐπιδείξω.   Ἑρμείος Σωζομενός, Ἐκκλησιαστίκη Ἱστορία

A synod, by pressure from the Emperor Constantius, was held in Milan, which few of the eastern bishops attended; some, it seems, through illness, some because of the length of the journey, excused themselves. However almost three hundred of the western bishops did convene. The Easterners deemed Athanasius worthy to be condemned, that he be utterly driven from Alexandria; the others, either from fear, deceit, or ignorance, agreed with them. Only Dionysius, bishop of Alba, the metropolis of Italy, Eusebius of Vercella in Liguria, Paulinus of Treves, Rhodanus and Lucifer cried out against this. They declared that Athanasius should not to be condemned on such flimsy pretexts, for if this were to be the evil would persist and those who supported orthodox doctrines about God would be persecuted. They claimed that it was all thought up by the Emperor and the Arians from an eagerness to destroy the Nicene faith. They, for being so outspoken, were condemned by a decree of banishment, and Hilary was included among them. The true cause of the assembly at Milan was thus announced: the downfall of what was believed. For the synods at Ariminum and Seleucia held not long after were called to change the doctrines established at Nicea, as I shall soon show. Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History

Educating an Empress

Reginam te orbis Romanus suspicit: et quia jam nihil est, quo amplius crescere debeas in rebus humanis, sublimitatibus non contenta terrenis, sacra in Deum fide coelestia desideras possidere, quae verus Filius Dei, in se pie credentibus pollicetur, quae haec quasi una de sapientissimus elaboras, intelligans omnem hanc regni sublitatem nihil profuturam, si non ad coelestem gloriam consequendam verae fidei cognitione et defensione contendas. Et tamen apparet, quam grata sis in Christo Deo et Domino nostro, qui vobis hoc regnum tribuit; cum sollicita interrogatione perquiris, quomodo capitula illa solvantur, quae ab Arianis adversus Catholicos sacrae legis interpretationibus opponuntur. Habens affectum verae fidei, cupis, prout possibile est, intelligere, quod fideliter credis. Quia est tunc magis anima religosa, velut divinis epulis pascitur, cum quod credit, intelligit. Sed et cum exsecreris impias voces haereticorum, tamen religioso studio instrui adversus eos desideras, ut et rationem jam respuas: ne hoc quod exsecraris, quasi ex regni potentia, praesumptionis videatur esse, non probationis.   De Trinitate, Sive de Fide Contra Arianos, Ad Augustam Flaccillam, Faustinus Presbyter

He has taken you up to the queenship of the Roman world, and since there is now nothing by which you can grow any more in human things, not content with the heights of the earth, you should desire to possess with faith the heavenly realms in God, which the true Son of God, in his own piety to the faithful promises, by which you may ponder like one of the most wise, understanding that this regal height will not profit if it not bring to celestial glory in the true knowledge of faith and that you may strive in its defence. And though it may appear that you may have grace with Christ God and our Lord, who has given to you this kingdom, you should with careful questioning seek after how those writings may be resolved, which the Arians, by interpretation of sacred law, employ against Catholics. Having the feeling of the true faith, you should desire, in so far as it is possible, to understand what you faithfully believe. Because it is then that the religious soul, as it were, feasts at the divine banquet, when it understands what it believes. Even when you execrate the impious voices of heretics, you should desire religious instruction, that you may with reason denounce, unless when you abhor, even with the royal power, it seem to be by presumption not prudence. On the Trinity, or On the Faith Against the Arians, To the Empress Flacilla, Faustinus the Presbyter

A Dangerous Situation, A Dangerous Wife

Novimus et alium ea tempestate nomine Saturum: qui, cum lucidum esset membrum Ecclesiae Christi, et privatatem Arianorum libertate catholica frequenter argueret (fuit hic procurator domus Hunerici), convenitur, accusante Marivado quodam diacono, quem Hunericus infaustus singulariter honorabat, ut fieret Saturus Arianus. Promittuntur honores et divitiae multae si faceret, praeparantur supplica dira si nollet: hac optione proposita, ut is regalibus iussibus non obediret, primo facta discussione, et ante amissa domo vel substantia, distractis omnibus mancipiis ac fiilis, uxor eius, ipso praesente, camelario in conjugium traderetur. Quod ille plenus Deo magis ut velociter proveniret, impios provocabat. Ob quam causam uxor eius inducias visa est ab his qui exsequebantur, nesciente marito, petisse. Accedit ad maritum alia Eva consilio magistrata serpentis. Sed ille Adam non fuit, qui illecebrosa bitae arboris poma contingeret: quia non indigens, sed Saturus vocabatur, saturatus ab ubertate domus Dei, et torrente deliciarum eius potatus. Advenit mulier ad locum ubi maritus singularis orabat, conscissis vestibus, crineque soluto, secum comitantibus, filiis, unamque infantulum, quae tunc lactabatur manibus gestans; quam nescientis projiciens ad pedes mariti, etiam ipsa suis genua complectitur uluis, sibilans vociferatione draconis: Miserere mei, dulcissime, simul et tui; miserere communibus liberis, quos conspicis ipse. Non subjaceant conditioni servili, quos claros prosapia eddidit generis nostri. Non subjiciar ego indigno et turpi conjugio vivente marito, quae mihi semper inter coaevas plaudebam de Saturo meo. Cognoscit Deus quia invitus facturus es hoc, quod forte voluntarie aliquanti fecerunt. Cui ille Job sancti voce respondit: Tamquam una ex insipientibus mulieribus loqueris. Formidarem, mulier, si sola esset hujus vitae amara dulcedo. Artificio, conjux, diaboli ministras. Si diligeres maritum, nunquam ad secundam mortem attraheres proprium virum. Detrahant filios, separent uxorem, auferant substantia; mei Domini ego, securus de promissis, verba tenebo: Si quis non dimiserit uxorem, filios, agros, aut domum, meus non poterit esse discipulus. Quid ulta? Discedente muliere cum filiis refutata, confortatur Saturus ad coronam, discutitur, interdicitur ei prodeundi accessus. Totum ei tulerent, stolam tamen baptismatis auferre ei non potuerunt. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae, Liber I Source: Migne PL 58.200b-202a

We shall take note of another in this storm, one by the name of Saturus, who was a shining member of the Church of Christ and also a procurator of the house of King Hunericus. He frequently disputed against the depravity of the Arians and for the liberty of Catholics, and so it came about that by the information of a certain deacon Marivadus, whom Hunericus had singularly honoured, that it was determined to make Saturus an Arian. They promised him honours and great wealth if he would do so, and they threatened dire punishments if he refused. But this man remained disobedient to the orders of the king, and so it was first proposed, before taking his house or goods, to bring out his dependents and sons and his wife bound and led by a camel driver before him. That man, full of God, told them to do it quickly, and thus further provoked those impious, and because of this his wife was induced, without the knowledge of the husband, to seek to lead him astray. She approached her husband like another Eve schooled by the counsel of the serpent. But he was no Adam that he would touch the alluring apple of the tree; because not 'Needy' but 'Saturus' he was named, being saturated with the abundance of the house of God, and its overflow was his drink. The wife came to the place where the remarkable husband prayed and tearing her clothing and pulling her hair, with her retinue of children, including an infant who was then feeding in her arms, falling at the feet of the husband, embracing his knees and crying out, she hissed these serpentine words: 'Have mercy on me, sweet one, and on yours; have mercy on our children whom you see here. Do not subject them to a servile condition, these glories our lineage has brought forth. May I not be reduced to poverty and disgrace by my living spouse whom always I would praise among his contemporaries. God knows that you are unwilling to do what is asked, yet no small number have done what you yet refuse.' To this our Job with sacred voice replied, 'You speak like one of the foolish women. I fear only, O wife, the bitter sweetness of the life they offer. With cunning, woman, you serve the devil. If you love your husband, do not drag him to the second death. Let them drag away sons, seize my wife and carry off property; I am confident in the promises of my Lord and I hold to his words: 'If a man will not give up his wife, children, lands or house, he is not able to be my disciple.' What more? Learning that the wife and children had been rebuffed and that Saturus had laid hold upon the crown, they reduced him to nothing and prohibited anyone from helping him. Everything he had was taken away but for his baptismal garment, for that they were not able to strip from him. Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province, Book 1

Mother and Son

Per universas Africae terra provincias, uno tempore, tortores crudelissimas destinare, et nulla remansisset domus et locus ubi fuisset ejulatus et luctus, ut nulli aetati, nulli parceretur sexui, nisi illis qui eorum succumberent voluntati. Hos fustibus, illos suspendio, alios ignibus concremabant. Mulieres veri et praecipue nobiles, contra iura naturae, nudas omnino in facie publica cruciabant. Ex quibus unam nostram Dionysia cursim ac breviter nominabo. Cum viderent eam non solum audacem esse, sed etiam matronis caeteris pulchiorem, ipssam primo nisi sunt fustibus exspoliatem appetere. Quae cum pateretur, diceretque de Domino suo secura: Qualiter libet cruciare, verecunda tamen membra nolite nudare; amplius illi magis furentes, celsiori loco vestimentis exutam constituunt, spectaculum eam omnibus facientes. Quae inter ictus virgarum, dum rivuli sanguinis toto iam corpore fluitarent, libera voce dicebat: Ministri diaboli, quod ad opprobrium meum facere computatis, ipsa laus mea est; et quia erat Scripturarum divinarum scientia plena, aptatis arctata poenis, et ipsa iam martyr, alios ad martyrium confortabat. Quae suo sancto exemplo pene universam suam patriam liberavit. Quae cum suum unicum filium, admodum adhuc tenerae aetatis et delicatum, timore poenarum formidolosum conspiceret, verberans eum nutibus oculorum, et increpans auctoritate materna, ita confortavit, ut matre multo fortior redderetur. Cui inter crudelia verbera constituto ita dicebat: Memento, fili mi, quia in nomine Trinitatis in matre Ecclesia catholica baptizati sumus. Non perdamus indumentum nostrae salutis, ne veniens invitator vestem non inveniat nuptialem, et dicat ministris: Mittite in tenebras exteriores, ubi erit fletus oculorum, et stridor dentium. Illa, fili, poena timenda est quae nunquam finitur; illa desideranda vita quae semper habetur. Talibus itaque filium solidans verbis, velociter martyrem fecit. Venerabilis vero adolescens, Majoricus nomine, in certamine confessionis spiritum reddens, cursum palmiferum consummavit; amplexansque illa hostiam suam, quantis potuit vocibus Domino gratias agens, ad gaudium spei futurae, in sua domo maluit sepelire; ut quotiens super sepulcrum eius Trinitati preces effundit, alienam se a filio numquam esse confidat. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae, Liber V Source: Migne PL 58.241a-242b

At the same time through the whole province of Africa cruel tortures were commanded and no house nor open space was without cries and tears, for neither age nor sex was spared unless they succumbed of their own will to become Arian. Some were beaten with clubs, some hung, others were burnt with fire. Noble women, against the law of nature, were stripped naked and crucified in public. Of these I will quickly describe Dionysia. When they saw her not only to be bold be also as most beautiful among the other women, they struck her first with the clubs. When she had suffered and then spoke of her trust in the Lord, that she was ready to be crucified but that she was unwilling to expose her body, so she enraged them all the more and they stripped her of her garments forthwith to make her a spectacle to everyone. She, between the renewed blows of the sticks, with streams of blood flowing over her body, said with a clear voice, 'Servants of the devil, though you reckon to disgrace me, this is my glory.' Because she was full of the knowledge of the Divine Scriptures, suffering in her body, already a martyr, she fortified others for martyrdom. She liberated her whole fatherland with her holy example. Her only son, who was still at a tender and delicate and who looked on the formidable punishments with fear, the beatings paining his eyes, she addressed with the authority of a mother, that he should be brave and that he would prove much stronger than his mother. When he had been given over to the beatings, she said, 'Remember, my son, that we were baptized in the name of the Trinity into the mother Catholic Church. Let us not lose the garment of our salvation, lest when he who invites comes he does not find the garment and he says to his servants, 'Send this one out into the darkness, where there is the weeping of eyes and the grinding of teeth.' 1 That fearful punishment never ends, so desire to have eternal life.' With such words she encouraged her son and he swiftly came to martyrdom. He was a noble young man, by the name of Majoricus, who in the struggle of persecution gave up this soul and swiftly seized on the palm of victory. Embracing his sacrifice the mother gave many thanks to God, and for the joy of future hope she chose to bury him in her own house, so that often upon this tomb she could pray to the Trinity, confidant that she would never be apart from her child. Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province, Book 5 1 Mt 22.10-13

Count Sebastian

Referam autem factum quod ipso gestum est tempore. Fuit comes quidam Sebastianus, famosi illius gener comitis Bonifacii, acer consilio, et strennus in bello; cuius Geisericus, sicut consilia necessaria habebat, ita et praesentiam formidabat, cupiens autem illum exstinguere, occasionem mortis de religione quaesivit. Cogitavit rex ut praesentibus episcopis atque domesticis suis, Sebastianum taliter conveniret. Sebastiane, inquit, scio quia fideliter nobis adhaerere iurasti, cuius veritatem sacramenti labores tui vigilantiaque demonstrant. Sed ut nobis connex semper iugisque maneat amicitia tua, hoc placuit praesentibus sacerdotibus nostris, ut euius efficiaris cultor religionis quam et nos et noster populus veneramur. Cui Sebastianus, rem inveniens miram multisque necessariam pro tempore acute, respondit: Quaseo, domine rex, ut nunc unus panis mundissimus ac similagineus afferatur. Qui cum ignorasset Geisericus Sebastiani victoriam, illico iussit afferri, Apprehendens itaque Sebastianus mundissimum panem, ita effatus est: Hic panis ut ad tantum decorem splendoris veniret, quo mensae regiae necessarius haberetur, discussa spuria furfuris, ex massa similaginis conspersus, per aquam transivit et ignem: idcirco et aspectu clarus, et esu sauvis habetur. Ita et ego mola catholicae matris commolitus, et cribro examinationis ut simila munda purgatus, rigatus sum aqua baptismtis, et igne sancti Spiritus coctus, Et ut hic panis de furno, ita et ego per officia sacramentorum divinorum, artifice Deo, de fonte mundus ascendi. Sed fiat, si velis, quod ipse, propono. Iste panis confrigatur in frustra, madidetur aqua, et iterum conspergatur, mittaturque in furnum, si melior exierit, faciam quod hortaris. Quam propositionem Geisericus cum omnibus qui aderant cum audisset, ita ligatus est, ut se solvere omnino non posset; quem alio generis argumento postea virum occidit. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae, Liber I Source: Migne PL 58.188b-189b

I shall tell here of a deed that occurred at the same time. There was a certain Count Sebastian, son in law of the famous Count Bonifacius, 1 acute in counsel and mighty in war, whose advice King Geiseric had need of, and yet his presence troubled him, and he came to desire to destroy him, and he sought an excuse for his death in religion. The King amid his Arian clergy and domestics contrived to have Sebastian come into his presence. He said to him, 'Sebastian, I know that you have sworn to adhere faithfully to us and your labours and vigilance demonstrate the truth of your oath, but that your friendship may endure firmly forever, it pleases our clergy gathered here that you adopt the religion which we and our people practice.' To this Sebastian, devising something wonderful and quite necessary to many in difficult times, shrewdly replied, 'Lord King, I would have bread most pure and made of the finest flour brought here.' Geiseric, ignorant of Sebastian's coming victory, ordered it brought. Sebastian took the bread and said, 'This bread, to come to such splendor that it would be fit for the royal table, had worthless bran shaken from the mass of flour and passed through water and fire, thus it became fair to see and sweet to taste. Likewise I in the mill of the Catholic Mother was ground and by the sieve of examination I was similarly cleansed to purity, moistened by the water of baptism and baked by the fire of the Holy Spirit. And just as this bread came from the oven, I, through the office of the Divine Sacraments, which have God as author, rose pure from the font. Let it be, if you wish, as I propose: let this bread be broken apart, softened with water, again moistened, and put in an oven; if it comes out better I shall do as you suggest.' Hearing this, Geiseric and those with him were like those fettered, utterly unable to free themselves. But later on, on some other grounds, he had the man killed. Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province, Book 1 1 Roman general and governor of the diocese of Africa

Monasticism Comes To Rome

Nulla eo tempore nobilium feminarum noverat Romae propositum Monachorum, nec audebat propter rei novitatem, ignominiosum, ut tunc putabatur, et vile in populis nomen assumere. Haec ab Alexandrinis Sacerdotibus, Papaque Athanasio, et postea Petro, qui persecutionem Arianae haereseos declinantes, quasi ad tutissimum communionis suae portum Romam confugerant, vitam beati Antonii adhuc tunc viventis, monasteriorumque in Thebaide, Pachomii, et virginum ac viduarum didicit disciplinam. Nec erubuit profiteri, quod Christo placere cognoverat. Hanc multos post annos imitata est Sophronia, et alia: quibus rectissime illud Ennianum aptari potest: Utinam ne in nemore Pelio. Huius amicitiis fruita est Paula venerabilis. In huius cubiculo nutrita Eustochium, virginitatis decus: ut facilis aestimatio sit, qualis magistra, ubi tales disciulae. Rideat forsan infidelis lector, me in muliercularum laudibus immorari, qui, si recordetur sanctas feminas, comites Domini Salvatoris, quae ministrabant ei de sua substantia, et tres Marias stantes ante crucem, Mariamque proprie Magdalenen, quae ob sedulitatem et ardorem fidei, turritae nomen accepit, et prima ante Apostolos, Christum videre meruit resurgentem, se potius superbiae, quam nos condemnabit ineptiarum: qui virtutes non sexo, sed animo iudicamus; contemptaeque nobilitas ac divitiarum maiorem gloriam ducimus.  Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistula CXXVII, Ad Principiam Source: Migne PL 22 1089-1090

No noble lady at Rome in that time had made profession of the monastic life, or had dared on account of how peculiar and disgraceful it then seemed, even vile, to take up such a name among the people. From some priests of Alexandria, and from the bishop Athanasius, and then from Peter, who was fleeing the persecution of the Arian heretics, all seeking for refuge in Rome as the safest haven in which they could find communion, from these Marcella learned of the life of the blessed Antony, then still alive, and of the monasteries of Pachomius in the Thebaid, and of the discipline laid down for virgins and for widows. Nor did she blush to profess a life which she had learned pleased Christ. Many years after her example there was Sophronia and others, of whom it may be well said by Ennius: 'Would that never in Pelion's woods came the axes...' 1 Paula was the fruit of her venerable friendship, and it was in Marcella's cell that Eustochium, glory of virgins, was nourished. Thus it is easy to judge the quality of the mistress by such pupils. The faithless reader may perhaps laugh for my lingering on the praises of women, but let him remember the holy women who were companions of our Lord and Saviour and ministered to Him of their substance, and how the three Marys stood before the cross and especially how Magdalen, because of the ardor of her faith receiving the name of the tower, was the first, before all the Apostles, to merit seeing the risen Christ, and thus he will convict himself of pride rather than condemn me for ineptitude. By soul and not by sex we judge virtue, and by contempt of nobility and riches we rate glory. St Jerome, from Letter 127, To Principia 1 Ennius, Medea, fragment

Heretics And Counsel

Ego igitur, ut ante iam scripsi, Christi vestem in Romana urbe suscipiens, nunc barbaro Syriae limite teneor. Et ne putes alterius hanc de me fuisse sententiam, quid mererer, ipse constitui. Verum, ut ait Gentilis Poeta: Caelum non animum mutat, qui trans mare currit, ita me incessabilis inimics post tergum sequutus est, ut maiora in solitudine bella nunc patiar. Hinc enim praesidiis fulta mundi Ariana rabies fremit. Hinc in tres partes scissa Eccleisia ad se rapere me festinat. Monarchorum circa manentium antiqua in me surget auctoritas. Ego interim clamito, si quis cathedrae Petri iungitur, meus est. Meletius, Vitalis, atque Paulinus tibi haerere se dicere, possem credere si hoc unus assereret. Nunc aut duo mentiuntur, aut omnes. Idcirco obtestor Beatitudinem tuam, per crucem Domini, per necessarium fidei nostrae decus, passionem Christi, ut qui Apostolos honore sequeris, sequaris et merito: ita in solio cum duodecim iudicaturus sedeas: ita te alius senem cum Petro cingat: ita municipatum caeli cum Paulo consequaris, ut mihi litteris tuis, apud quem in Syria debeam communicare significes. Noli despicere animam, pro qua Christus mortuus est.   Sanctus Hieronymus, ex Epistola XVI, ad Damasum Papam   Source: Migne PL 22 358-9

I, therefore, as I have already written to you, having received Christ's garb in the city of Rome, am now kept on the barbarous edges of Syria. But do not think a sentence was passed upon me; that which I have merited I decreed for myself. Truly, as the heathen poet says: 'They change not mind but sky who race across the sea,' 1 and so the untiring enemy follows behind me, and greater are the assaults that I suffer in the desert. Here, supported by the protection of the world, the Arian frenzy raves. The Church is rent into three factions, each eager to seize me for its own. The influence of the monks is of long standing, and it is directed against me. I meantime keep crying out: 'He who is bound to the chair of Peter is mine.' Meletius, Vitalis, and Paulinus profess to cleave to you; I could believe if only one of them asserted this. So either two lie, or all of them do. Therefore I implore your blessedness, by our Lord's cross, by the necessary glory of our faith, Christ's passion, as you follow in honour the Apostles, that you may follow in merit: that you may sit enthroned with the twelve to judge, that with Peter you may in old age be girded by another, that you may follow Paul into the heavenly city. Tell me by letter with whom I am to communicate in Syria. Do not despise a soul for whom Christ died. St Jerome, from Letter 16, To Pope Damasus 1 Horace, Epistulae, Book 1, 11.27