BOOK IV.

THE SYNODS OF SARDICA AND PHILIPPOPOLIS.

 

Sec. 58. Date of the Synod of Sardica.

 

OUR inquiries concerning the Synod of Sardica must begin with a chronological examination of the date of this assembly. Socrates and Sozomen place it expressly in the year 347 AD, with the more precise statement that it was held under the Consuls Rufinus and Eusebius, in the eleventh year after the death of Constantine the Great; therefore after the 22d of May 347, according to our way of reckoning.

This was the most general view until, rather more than a hundred years ago, the learned Scipio Maffei discovered at Verona the fragment of a Latin translation of an old Alexandrian chronicle (the Historia Acephala, already cited), and edited it in the third volume of the Osservazioni Letterarie in 1738. This fragment contains the information that on the 24th Phaophi (October 21), under the Consuls Constantius IV and Constans II, in the year 346, Athanasius had returned to Alexandria from his second exile. As it is universally allowed, however, as we shall presently show more clearly, that this return certainly only took place about two years after the Synod of Sardica, Mansi hence saw the necessity of dating this synod as early as the year 344. In this he is confirmed by S. Jerome, in the continuation of the Eusebian chronicle, who, in accordance with the Historia Acephala, has assigned the return of S. Athanasius to the tenth year of the reign of the Emperor Constantius, in 346.

Many learned men now followed Mansi, the greater number blindly; others, again, sought to contradict him: at first the learned Dominican, Mamachi; 2 then Dr. Wetzer (Professor at Freiburg); and latterly, we ourselves in a treatise, Controversen über die Synode von Sardika, 1852.

Soon after there was a fresh discovery. Some of the Paschal Letters of S. Athanasius, which until then were supposed to be lost, were discovered in an Egyptian monastery, with a very ancient preface translated into Syriac, and were published in that language by Cureton in London, and in the year 1852 in German by Professor Larsow at the Grey Friars Convent in Berlin.

Among these Festal Letters, the nineteenth, intended for Easter 347, and therefore composed in the beginning of that year, had been re-written in Alexandria, as the introduction expressly states. This confirms the statement of the Historia Acephala, that Athanasius was already returned to Alexandria in October 346, and confirms the chief points of Mansi's hypothesis; while, on the other hand, it unanswerably refutes, by Athanasius’ own testimony, the statements of Socrates and Sozomen (which, from their dependence on each other, only count as one) with reference to the date 347.

As we said, Mansi placed this Synod in the year 344; but the old preface to the Festal Letters of S. Athanasius dates it in the year 343, and in fact we can now only hesitate between the dates 343 and 344. If the preface were as ancient and as powerfully convincing as the Festal Letters themselves, then the question concerning the date of the Council of Sardica would be most accurately decided. As, however, this preface contains mistakes in several places, especially chronological errors, — for instance, regarding the death of Constantine the Great, — we cannot unconditionally accept its statement as to the date 344, but can only do so when it corresponds with other dates concerning that time.

Let us, at all events, assume that Athanasius came to Rome about Easter 340. As is known, he was there for three whole years, and in the beginning of the fourth year was summoned to the Emperor Constans at Milan. This points to the summer of 343. From thence he went through Gaul to Sardica, and thus it is quite possible that that Synod might have begun in the autumn of 343. It probably lasted, however, until the spring; for when the two envoys, Euphrates of Cologne and Vincent of Capua, who were sent by the Synod to the Emperor Constans, arrived in Antioch, it was already Easter 344. Stephen, the bishop of the latter city, treated them in a truly diabolical manner; but his wickedness soon became notorious, and a synod was assembled, which deposed him after Easter 344. Its members were Eusebians, who therefore appointed Leontius Castratus as Stephen's successor, and it is indeed no other than this assembly which Athanasius has in mind, when he says it took place three years after the Synod in Encoeniis, and drew up a very explicit Eusebian confession of faith, the makrostikós.

The disgraceful behaviour of Bishop Stephen of Antioch for some time inclined the Emperor to place less confidence in the Arian party, and to allow Athanasius' exiled clergy to return home in the summer of 344. Ten months later, the pseudo-bishop, Gregory of Alexandria, died (in June 345, as we shall show later), and Constantius did not permit any fresh appointment to the See of Alexandria, but recalled S. Athanasius by three letters, and waited for him more than a year. Thus the See of Alexandria remained unoccupied for more than a year, until the last six months of 346. At length in October 346 Athanasius returned to his bishopric.

We see, then, that by accepting the distinct statements of the Paschal Letters of S. Athanasius and the preface, we obtain a satisfactory chronological system, in which the separate details cohere well together, and which thus recommends itself. One great objection we formerly raised ourselves against the date 344 can now be solved. It is certainly true that in 353 or 354 Pope Liberius wrote thus: “Eight years ago the Eusebian deputies, Eudoxius and Martyrius (who came to the West with the formula makrostikós), refused to anathematize the Arian doctrine at Milan”. But the Synod of Milan here alluded to, and placed about the year 345, was not, as we before erroneously supposed, held before the Synod of Sardica, but after it. We are somewhat less fortunate as regards another difficulty. The Eusebians assembled at Philippopolis (the pseudo-Synod of Sardica) say, in their synodal letter: “Bishop Asclepas of Gaza was deposed from his bishopric seventeen years ago”. This deposition occurred at an Antiochian Synod. If we identified this Synod with the well-known one of 330, by which Eustathius of Antioch also was overthrown, we should, reckoning the seventeen years, have the year 346 or 347, in which to place the writing of the Synodal Letter of Philippopolis, and therefore the Synod of Sardica. There are, however, two ways of avoiding this conclusion: either we must suppose that Asclepas had been already deposed a year or so before the Antiochian Synod of 330; or that the statement as to the number seventeen in the Latin translation of the Synodal Letter of Philippopolis (for we no longer possess the original text) is an error or slip of the pen. But in no case can this Synodal Letter alter the fact that Athanasius was again in Alexandria when he composed his Paschal Letter for the year 347, and that the Synod of Sardica must therefore have been held several years before.

 

Sec. 59. Object of the Synod of Sardica.

 

As the Synod itself says, it was assembled by the two Emperors, Constans and Constantius, at the desire of Pope Julius, with a threefold object: first, the removal of all dissensions, especially concerning Athanasius, Marcellus of Ancyra, and Paul of Constantinople; secondly, the rooting out of all false doctrine; and thirdly, the holding fast by all of the true faith in Christ.

The Synod, in another letter, says somewhat differently, that the three points concerning which they had to treat were: (1) the false doctrine taught by some; (2) the deposition of several bishops; and (3) the cruel acts of violence practised upon many bishops, priests, and other clerics. We easily see that in both these passages the second and third points hang together; and the object of the Emperors, as well as that of all those who had taken any part in assembling the Synod, was therefore the following: — first, that as the Western and Eastern bishops had hitherto considerably differed in their judgments of Athanasius and others, so now a great Ecumenical Council should give a final decision on this matter, in order that peace might be restored in Church and State; secondly, that as the continual machinations of the Eusebians, and especially their great levity in drawing up four different creeds in the course of a few months, had destroyed all the security and stability of the Church's faith, and made it appear as variable as the fashions, there was urgent need for a great synod to give a distinct decision upon this point also. In order, if possible, to secure the presence of many members at such a synod, Sardica or Serdica was chosen as the place of assembly; because this town, though indeed belonging to the portion of the Emperor Constantius, was situated nearly on the borders of the two divisions of the empire, and in the centre of the great whole.

 

Sec. 60. Members and Presidency of the Synod of Sardica.

 

The first to arrive at Sardica were the Western bishops, to whom many Greek bishops, zealous in the Nicene cause, had joined themselves; but the Eusebian party also, in obedience to the imperial summons, set out without delay, confident of being able there, too, to maintain their former decisions against Athanasius and their other adversaries. In this they relied chiefly upon the protection of the Emperor Constantius, and two officers of high standing, Musanius and Hesychius, whom he had sent with them to Sardica.

The ancient writers differ very much as to the numerical strength of the two parties present; but by comparison it can be decided with at least approximate accuracy. The Eusebians themselves in their synodal letter assert that they were eighty in number. Among the signatures to the letter, there appear, indeed, only seventy-three names; but these do not include the bishops, Maris of Chalcedon, Macedonius of Mopsuestia, and Ursacius of Singidunum, who, as we know from other sources, were present at Sardica. If we add these names, we have the number seventy-six on which Socrates and Sozomen are entirely agreed, the former of whom, moreover, appeals to the still earlier testimony of Sabinus of Heraclea. The most important of these Eusebians were Stephen of Antioch, Acacius of Caesarea in Palestine, Theodore of Heraclea, Marcus of Arethusa, Eudoxius of Germanicia, Basil of Ancyra (afterwards the head of the Semi-arians), Valens of Murcia, Demophilus of Bercea, and the previously mentioned Maris of Chalcedon, Macedonius, and Ursacius; Dianius of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who was not exactly a Eusebian, and the notorious Ischyras, were also in their company.

Far more uncertain are the statements regarding the Western bishops, or rather the orthodox Nicene party, of whom Socrates and Sozomen report that about 300 bishops were present, and Socrates appeals for this to Athanasius. The latter, in his Apology against the Arians, says that “more than 300 bishops had agreed to what was decided in his favour at Sardica”. In another part of the same Apology, at the end of the Synodal Letter of Sardica, cited by himself, Athanasius gives the names of 282 bishops; but he says plainly in the preceding words, “that the decisions of Sardica were sent also to absent bishops, and received by them, and that the names of those who signed at the Synod, and of the others, were as follows”. Further on, at the end of c. 50, he adds, that “even earlier, before the Council of Sardica, about sixty-three bishops, i.e. in all 344, had declared for him”. We see from this whence Socrates and Sozomen derived their statements; but at the same time we see that they wrongly reckoned among the number those bishops also who, though not present in person at the Council, accepted and signed the decrees of Sardica. In another place Athanasius says that “about 170 bishops from the East and West had come together at Sardica”; and the context shows that by the Eastern bishops he understands the Eusebians, and therefore his words cannot have the meaning which Fuchs assigns to them in his Bibliothek der Kirchenversammlungen, i.e. that the number 170 did not include the Eusebian bishops, so that with these (who were about eighty) the whole number would be 250, as Theodoret states it.

If we, however, adhere to the statement of S. Athanasius, which is above all others worthy of credit, that the Eastern and Western bishops at Sardica numbered in all about 170, and then deduct from that number the 76 Eusebian (Eastern) bishops, we have 94 still remaining for the orthodox party.

There would be no need for this inquiry if the signatures to the synodal acts had come down to us whole and complete. But unhappily they were entirely lost, with the exception of one very defective list of fifty-nine bishops’ names, which S. Hilary, in his second Fragment, has appended to the Letter of the Synod of Sardica to Pope Julius. It is clear that this list is imperfect, from the fact that the names of bishops, whose presence at Sardica is otherwise known, are wanting. Later copyists and compilers appended this list to the Canons of Sardica also, and thus arose the statement which appears here and there, — for instance, in the Corpus Juris Canonici, — that the Canons of Sardica had been published by 59, 60, or 61 bishops; for some codices, instead of unus de sexaginta, as Hilary says, read unus et sexaginta, while others also include a Bishop Alexander of Acia (Achaia) in the list, whom Hilary leaves out.

Two other documents containing signatures of Sardica, one a letter from the Synod to the Christians in Mareotis, and the other a letter to them from Athanasius, were discovered about one hundred and forty years ago by Scipio Maffei in the library at Verona. The latter letter has sixty-one, and the former twenty-six or twenty-seven names of bishops; but that all the members of the Synod did not sign, is distinctly said in the Synodal Letter, for Bishop Vincent, in this list, remarks that he signed for the others also. The Ballerini had these documents printed in their edition of the works of S. Leo I; and by making use of these two lists of signatures, and the two others previously mentioned (at the end of the Synodal Letter to Pope Julius, and in Athanas. Apol. c. Arian, c. 50), as well as other statements, they made a list 9 certainly very near the truth, according to which 97 bishops of the orthodox party were present at Sardica. This number agrees so well with that which we obtained before, by subtracting the 80 Eusebian bishops from the 170 members of the Synod mentioned by Athanasius, that the result may now be considered as fairly certain. It also agrees admirably with the fact that the first list of bishops, given by Athanasius in his often cited Apology without naming any locality, accords almost entirely with the list obtained by the Ballerini; so that we can see that Athanasius had there noted, as was most natural, first those bishops present at Sardica, and afterwards those who had signed afterwards.

These orthodox bishops present at Sardica belonged, as the Synodal Letter to the Alexandrians says, to the following provinces and countries: Rome, Spain, Gaul, Italy, Africa, Sardinia, Pannonia, Mysia, Dacia, Noricum, Tuscany, Dardania, the second Dacia, Macedonia, Thessaly, Achaia, Epirus, Thrace, Rhodope (a part of Thrace), Palestine, Arabia, Crete, and Egypt. But in the signatures to the Encyclical Synodal Letter, in Theodoret, the following provinces are also named: Asia, Caria, Bithynia, Hellespont, Phrygia, Pisidia, Cappa- docia, Pontus, the other Phrygia, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia, the Cyclade Islands, the Thebaid, Libya, and Galatia. We might indeed allege in favour of this fuller list, that Athanasius himself says that there had been bishops present at Sardica from more than thirty-five provinces; but the Ballerini brothers have nevertheless declared this larger list to be false : first, because at that time Phrygia was not yet divided into two provinces, and there was therefore no second Phrygia; and secondly, because the bishops of those provinces, which are added in the larger list, were Eusebians.

Pope Julius did not appear in person, but sent two priests, Archidamus and Philoxenus, as his representatives, and he excused his absence by such cogent reasons, that the Synod, in their letter to him, say that "he had excused his non-appearance in the best and fullest way, on the ground that neither schismatics nor heretics should take advantage of his absence from Rome to work mischief, nor the serpent spread the poison of blasphemy; for it was best and most fitting that the priests (bishops) of all provinces should bring their reports to the head, namely, the chair of S. Peter".

On account of the absence of the Pope, Hosius took the presidency, and was head of the Synod. In this capacity he proposed the various canons, and signed the acts before all the others; and Athanasius speaks expressly of “the holy Synod, whose president was the great Hosius”. Shortly before, he had declared that “the bishops at Sardica had Hosius for their father”; and Theodoret, agreeing with him, writes, “This Hosius was bishop of Cordova; he was celebrated at the Synod of Nicaea, and took the first place among those assembled at Sardica”. Sozomen further designates the orthodox party at Sardica as Hosius’ party, and the Eusebians also express themselves quite in the same way, always declaring Hosius and Protogenes of Sardica to be the heads of the orthodox Bishops. Why they name the latter with Hosius is doubtful; perhaps because, as Bishop of Sardica, where the Synod was held, he specially influenced it, or perhaps because, from his age (he had been also at the Council of Nicaea) and personal worth, he stood out prominently; for his Episcopal See gave him no such special pre-eminence.

But if Hosius was president at the Synod of Sardica, the reasons may have been the same this time as before at the Synod of Nicaea, i.e. that he had a special commission for it from the Pope, and perhaps also from the Emperors; for neither did his Episcopal See give him any such pre-eminence. On the contrary, several of those present — for instance, Gratus of Carthage, Protasius of Milan, Verissimus of Lyons, and Maximus of Treves — held quite as important, and some even more important, Sees, to say nothing of S. Athanasius, Exarch of Alexandria, who, as being accused, could not preside. But, besides Hosius, the two Roman priests before mentioned probably took part in the presidency, somewhat in the character of assistants, as was also the case before at Nicaea; for which reason, in the list given by Athanasius, they signed immediately after Hosius.

Among the orthodox bishops of the Synod of Sardica, we find, besides Hosius, five more Spaniards: Anianus of Castolona, Castus of Saragossa, Domitian of Asturica, Florentius of Emerita, and Praetestatus of Barcelona. Gaul was represented by the bishops already mentioned, Verissimus of Lyons, and Maximus of Treves; Italy, by Protasius of Milan, S. Severus of Ravenna, Januarius of Beneventum (not the renowned S. Januarius of Beneventum, who had been martyred in 305), Fortunatian of Aquileia, Lucius of Verona, Sterconius from Apulia, Ursacius of Brescia, and Vincent of Capua. Macedonia and Achaia (Greece proper) had sent very many bishops; for instance, Athenodorus of Plataea, Dionysius of Elis, Hermogenes of Sicyon, Plutarch of Patras, and others. From Palestine we find two bishops, one of whom was named Arius; from Arabia, one bishop named Asterius; lastly, from the Asiatic island Tenedos, the Bishop Diodorus. Of bishops who had suffered persecution, Athanasius, Marcellus of Ancyra, and Asclepas of Gaza were present; Socrates names also Paul of Constantinople, but this is manifestly wrong, as is evident from a passage in the Synodal Letter of the Eusebians, which says that “the followers of Hosius hold communication with Paul also through Asclepas, and receive from and send letters to him”.

 

Sec. 61. The Eusebians take no part in the Synod.

 

While still on the road to Sardica, as soon as they learnt that Athanasius, Marcellus of Ancyra, and Asclepas had arrived there, the Eusebians took a step intended to frustrate all conciliatory designs. They held cabals of their own, and by threats extorted from all their adherents the promise, under certain circumstances, to take no part whatever in the Synod.

For when they found that Athanasius and Marcellus of Ancyra were come to Sardica, they could not but fear that, as both had been already acquitted at Rome under Pope Julius in 341, the sentence of deposition, passed upon them by the Eusebians, would be regarded as null, and, so long as nothing fresh could be proved against them, both would be received into fellowship by the Council. If this happened, they could not help further foreseeing that Athanasius and his comrades in misfortune would soon change the defensive for the aggressive, and would bring heavy charges against the Eusebians themselves. They therefore resolved to insist on Athanasius and the others deposed by them at Sardica being treated from the very first as excommunicate, on the ground that their reception would be a violation of the reverence due to the Eastern Synods, and entirely contrary to all Church rule. Besides this, they said, many of the former judges, accusers, and witnesses against Athanasius were dead, so that a fresh investigation was sure to end too favourably for him.

Walch is of opinion that Athanasius had unquestionably a just cause, but that equity demanded that he and his companions, Marcellus and Asclepas, should still be excluded at first from the Synod. But (1) the Roman Synod of 341, which declared these men to be innocent, and received them into the communion of the Church, must necessarily have had as much weight as the Antiochian Synod of the same year. (2) To this must be added, that the Emperors had themselves given permission to the Synod of Sardica to reinvestigate the whole matter, and this was, in fact, the object of the assembly. This implied that all judgments hitherto pronounced for and against Athanasius and his adherents, including that of Antioch, should be considered as suspended. Therefore the Synod of Sardica was bound to ignore all former proceedings, and to regard the matter as a res integra, and to treat Athanasius and his colleagues as if no sentence had yet anywhere been pronounced against them. (3) If, however, at Sardica, Athanasius and his friends had been treated as a party, then, in all fairness, their enemies, of whom they complained, must have been treated in the same way, and the exclusion of one party would have necessitated the exclusion of the other. (4) Lastly, not only was there a fully sufficient number of the former judges, accusers, and witnesses against Athanasius still living, — many more than were required for giving evidence, — but actually many of the most important of them were in the ranks of the Eusebians; for instance, Ischyras and those envoys whom the Synod of Tyre had sent to Mareotis. One of these six was dead, but all the others were present, as the Eusebian Synodal Letter itself relates. The voluminous Mareotic Acts of Inquiry, which contained the testimonies of so many witnesses, as also the Acts of the Synods of Tyre and Antioch, were certainly still available; and the Synod of Rome in 341 had heard and examined the testimony of no less than eighty bishops on the affair of Athanasius, so that there was clearly sufficient legal evidence at hand for a final decision. To all this the Eusebians might appeal, if they chose to proceed against Athanasius at the Synod, besides bringing their own charges against him.

In order to appear at Sardica as a firm and compact party, and to be able to hinder the accession of any of their colleagues to the Synod, the Eusebians had so arranged that they all occupied one house in the town. Notwithstanding this, two bishops who had come with them, Asterius from Arabia, and Arius (also named Macarius) from Palestine, immediately went over to the Synod, and related the intrigues already formed on the journey by the Eusebians. They affirmed at the same time that many other orthodox bishops were come in the company of the Eusebians, who would gladly have joined the Synod, if they were not hindered by violence and false representations. Naturally, the desertion of these two was highly inconvenient to the Eusebians, and therefore Athanasius rightly says that they were struck with fear. In fact, they did not long delay taking revenge on both, and immediately after the Synod of Sardica procured their banishment, through the Emperor Constantius. That the Synod of Sardica was entirely free, and not managed by imperial officials, was, moreover, in the highest degree contrary to the wishes of the Eusebians, as no court influence in their favour could be hoped for. The consternation of the Eusebians, however, was complete when they learnt that Athanasius and many others, bishops and priests, were ready to appear as their accusers, and witnesses of their violent conduct, and that there were even chains and irons forthcoming which would testify to this.

The Eusebians, on their side, say that "immediately upon their arrival at Sardica, they had heard that Athanasius, Marcellus, and other justly condemned offenders, who had been already deposed by synodal decision, were sitting in the midst of the church with Hosius and Protogenes, disputing with them, and, even worse, celebrating the holy mysteries. They had therefore demanded of those who were with Proto- genes and Hosius (in fact commanded them, mandavimus) that they should shut out the condemned from their assembly, and hold no communion with sinners. When this was done, they should meet together with them, the Eusebians, and hear what had been decided by earlier synods against Athanasius and the others. The adherents of Hosius, however, opposed this idea, and would not give up communion with those persons. This troubled them even to tears; for they could not, as they say, sit in an assembly with those whom their predecessors condemned, neither could they take part with profane persons in the sacraments. They therefore again and again repeated their demand to the Orthodox, begging them not to confound divine right, violate the tradition of the Church, give occasion for divisions, and place the many Oriental bishops and holy synods on a lower footing than that party. But the companions of Hosius paid no heed, but rather sought to assume the part of judges over the judges (at the former synods), and to bring the Eusebians themselves to trial". We see from this, also, that the Eusebians would not allow to the Council the right of trying afresh the sentences of the Synods of Tyre and Antioch, etc. During these quarrels, five Eusebian bishops, who had formerly been members of the deputation sent to Mareotis, proposed that a new commission of inquiry, composed of members of both parties (Eusebian and Orthodox), should be sent into those places where Athanasius had committed his offences, and should it be shown that they (the five bishops) had falsely accused him, they would unhesitatingly submit to condemnation; but if, on the contrary, their accusations were shown to be well-founded, then the five deputies of the Orthodox party, as well as the defenders and well wishers of Athanasius and Marcellus, should be thrust out of communion. The Eusebians further affirm that Hosius, Protogenes, and their friends had not, however, agreed to this proposal, but had rather sought by reference to the wishes and written edicts of the Emperor to frighten the Eusebians, and to force them through fear to take part in the Synod. Therefore they, the Eusebians, had now decided to return to their own homes, and, before leaving Sardica, to give a report of what had taken place to the rest of Christendom. That they did not speak the truth in this last point, but issued their circular letter from Philippopolis, and not from Sardica, will appear later : it is enough here to supplement the above account of the Eusebians by the following communications from the orthodox side.

The Orthodox bishops greatly desired that the Eusebians should appear at the Synod. They therefore repeatedly invited them, both by word of mouth and by letter, and represented to them in how bad a light they placed themselves by their non-appearance, as it must be supposed that they had no proof to bring of their charges against Athanasius, but were rather slanderers, as indeed they would have to be declared by the Synod. They were repeatedly told that Athanasius and his friends were ready to refute the charges raised against them, and to convict their enemies of slander. Hosius made yet another special attempt, which he thus relates in a subsequent letter to the Emperor Constantius: “When the enemies of Athanasius came to me in the church, where I generally was, I requested them to bring forward their proofs against Athanasius, and promised them all possible security and justice, observing that, in case they did not like to bring their proofs before the whole Synod, they should at least communicate them to me alone. I even added a promise, that if Athanasius was proved guilty, he should be rejected by us all; but if he was innocent, and could convict them of slander, and still they would not hold communion with him, I would induce him to travel with me to Spain”. Hosius adds, that Athanasius accepted these conditions without, any hesitation; but that the Eusebians, not having confidence in their own cause, refused them.

Athanasius himself says: “The Eusebians thought that under such circumstances (that is to say, if the whole affair was to be investigated anew, and the decisions of Tyre and Antioch no longer regarded as unalterable) flight was for them the lesser evil; for it was better to leave Sardica, than to be there formally convicted of slander. And if, after all, sentence was pronounced against them, the Emperor Constantius was their protector, and would certainly not allow their deposition”. In order, however, to have a fitting pretext for their flight, the Eusebians sent word by the priest Eustathius of Sardica to the Orthodox party, that the Emperor had sent them by letter the news of his victory over the Persians, and that this compelled their immediate departure (probably to offer him their congratulations). But Hosius was not deceived by this, and sent word to them: “If you do not appear and clear yourselves as regards the slanders which you have spread, and the accusations which have been brought against you, be assured that the Synod will condemn you as guilty, but will declare Athanasius and his associates to be innocent”. The Eusebians were, however, deaf to these words, and fled by night from Sardica.

 

Sec. 62. Energetic Action of the Synod of Sardica.

 

With the flight of the accusers, the whole proceeding against Athanasius and his friends might easily have been considered as finished; but in order to fulfil all justice, and to cut off from the Eusebians every possible pretext for further objections, the Synod resolved most carefully to investigate the whole affair, with all the testimonies already given, for and against Athanasius. The acts showed that the accusers were pure slanderers; that Theognis of Nicaea had, as was attested by several of his own former deacons, addressed malicious letters to the Emperors, in order to excite them against Athanasius; that Arsenius, said to have been killed by Athanasius, was still living; and that no chalice had been broken by the Athanasian priest Macarius. The Synod ascertained this through the testimony of many Egyptians, who had come to Sardica, and by an ancient Synodal Letter which had been addressed to Pope Julius by no less than eighty Egyptian bishops, in defence of Athanasius. No less was it shown that the Mareotic acts were very one-sided; that only one party — the enemies of Athanasius — were heard; that catechumens, and even heathens, were therein brought forward as witnesses against priests, their statements, however, being for the most part in direct contradiction to one another. Two former Meletian priests at the same time declared to the Synod that Ischyras, whose chalice Macarius was said to have broken (by order of Athanasius), had never been a priest, and that Meletius had had no church in that country (Mareotis).

The Synod also saw, from a letter written by Ischyras’ own hand, that he himself declared that at the time when, during divine service, his chalice was said to have been broken, he could not leave his bed on account of illness, and therefore could have held no service. The Synod at once proceeded to examine, secondly, into the complaints brought forward against Marcellus of Ancyra, causing his treatise to be read aloud, from which it discovered the wicked intrigues of the Eusebians, who had set down as decided and positive statements what Marcellus had said merely by way of inquiry. That which preceded and followed the incriminated passages was also read aloud, and the Synod was convinced of the orthodoxy of Marcellus, and that he had not, as they said, ascribed to the divine Logos a beginning from Mary, or maintained that His kingdom was not eternal. Marcellus had, as we saw before, made a distinction between the Logos and the Son : by the Son he understood the union of the Godhead with human nature, or the God-man, and to Him he ascribed His origin from Mary; whereas he declared the Logos to be eternal, and in the Father from all eternity (in fact, impersonal). According to this, it appeared to him that the kingdom of the Logos only was eternal, and that that of the Son ceases with the end of the world, since then all human corporeality ends.

The third person whose affairs were investigated by the Synod of Sardica was Asclepas, Bishop of Gaza in Palestine, whom the Eusebians had deposed at Antioch. He produced the acts of the Antiochian Synod which had condemned him, and proved his innocence by the very words of his judges. At the same time, it appeared that the Eusebians had not only received back many who before had been lawfully deposed on account of Arianism, but had promoted them to higher offices in the Church; that they had practised many acts of violence against the orthodox, occasioned the destruction of many churches, imprisonments, executions, and mutilations of holy virgins and the like, and had stirred up the Arian heresy afresh. The Synod therefore declared innocent Athanasius, Marcellus, Asclepas, and their companions, especially the Alexandrian priests Aphton, Athanasius the son of Capiton, Paul and Plution, who had been deposed and banished by the Eusebians, and restored them all to their former offices and dignities, and proclaimed this publicly, in order that from henceforth no one should consider those who had intruded into their places, Gregory at Alexandria, Basil at Ancyra, Quintian at Gaza, as rightful bishops.

At the same time, the Synod pronounced the sentence of deposition and even excommunication upon the heads of the Eusebians, Theodore of Heraclea, Narcissus of Neronias, Acacius of Caesarea, Stephen of Antioch, Ursacius of Singidunum, Valens of Murcia, Menophantes of Ephesus, and George of Laodicea, who, from fear, had not appeared at the Synod because they had adopted the Arian madness, and had, besides, been guilty of other offences (slander and violence). Athanasius remarks incidentally in one place, that the Synod also deposed Bishop Patrophilus of Scythopolis, but he does not seem here to have spoken accurately; and the statement of Theodoret, that Maris, Valens, and Ursacius had confessed their unfair dealings as deputies at Mareotis, and had demanded pardon of the Synod, is probably as little worthy of reliance. We shall see further on, that with regard to both these bishops something of the sort took place some years later, whence it may be conjectured that Theodoret is here guilty of an anachronism.

 

Sec. 63. The pretended Creed of Sardica.

 

It was, as we know, the further task of the Synod of Sardica to give a definite explanation of the orthodox faith, which had become uncertain. Athanasius relates that some had sought to move the Synod to draw up a new creed, on the pretext that the Nicene was not full enough; but that the Synod did not agree to this, and, on the other hand, absolutely determined to draw up no new formula, declaring that of Nicaea to be sufficient, and entirely faultless and pious. Nevertheless, a pretended Sardican Creed soon got into circulation, which, however, Athanasius and those bishops assembled with him at Alexandria in 362 warned people against, and declared to be false. Bishop Eusebius of Vercellae (now Vercelli) was also present at this Alexandrian Synod, and added to his signature a remark in which he expressly declared himself against the pretended formula of Sardica. Theodoret gives a copy of this so-called Sardican formula at the end of the Encyclical Letter of the Synod; but the Historia Tripartita adopted a Latin translation of it, the work of the scholar Epiphanius. Its sense is throughout orthodox, and directed against the Arians, notwithstanding which, the expression hypostasis is confounded with ousia, and thus to the Three Persons of the Trinity only one hypostasis is ascribed; there are also mis-statements with regard to Valens and Ursacius, as though they had been Sabellians.

This Sardican formula is also mentioned by Sozomen; but it is only recently that any clear light has been thrown upon this matter, since Scipio Maffei discovered in the library at Verona an old Latin translation of nearly all the Sardican Acts, and his discovery was made known by the Ballerini and Mansi. In this translation, immediately following the Canons of Sardica, there is a short letter from Hosius and Protogenes to Pope Julius, and it is plainly this letter of which Sozomen gives a fairly detailed account. In this letter it is said, and it quite accords with Sozomen’s account, “that at Sardica the Nicene formula was accepted; but in order to make sophistical interpretations impossible to the Arians, it was further explained”. The Latin translation of the Encyclical Letter of Sardica follows this short letter, and to this is appended a translation of the Sardican formula in question. Though there are some passages in this version where the Greek text of Theodoret is plainly more correct, yet, on the other hand, it just removes that difficulty regarding the one hypostasis, as here it rightly stands, “unam esse substantiam, quam ipsi Graeci Usiam appellant” etc. On theother hand, the mis-statement with regard to Valens and Ursacius is also found here.

What is, however, far more important, is that, since this discovery, we can without hesitation join the Ballerini in their conjecture, that probably Hosius and Protogenes were of opinion that a fuller exposition of the Nicene formula ought to be drawn up at Sardica. Such a form they had already sketched out with this view, as well as an appropriate letter to Pope Julius. The Synod, however, did not agree to their plan; but, nevertheless, their draft came into the Acts, and was thus early considered by many as a genuine Synodal document, as, for instance, by the fourth General Council at Chalcedon, in its address to the Emperor Marcian.

The Synod had now completed the three duties laid upon it : it had declared itself concerning the right faith, and given a decision upon the deposition of Athanasius and his friends, and concerning the acts of violence which had been practised upon them. But it desired also to provide for the discipline of the Church, and therefore drew up a set of canons, many of which have become very famous, and obtained permanent force in the Church.

 

Sec. 64. The Sardican Canons.

 

According to the unanimous conclusion arrived at through the inquiries of late scholars, especially Spittler and the Ballerini, there can be no doubt that the canons of Sardica were originally drawn up in both languages, Latin and Greek, as they were intended both for Latins and Greeks. The Greek text is preserved to us in the collection of John of Constantinople, of the sixth century, and in several other manuscripts, from which it was first given to the press by the French Bishop Tilius in 1540, and later by Beveridge, Hardouin, and all modern collectors. Comments upon it were made in the Middle Ages by three learned Greeks, Balsamon, Zonaras, and Aristenus, whose works Beveridge has adopted in his famous Synodicon. On the other hand, we meet with the original Latin text in the three most celebrated ancient collections of Canons of the West, the Prisca, that of Dionysius Exiguus, and Isidore, the genuine and the false. These three, while differing distinctly from each other in the Latin translation of those canons which existed originally only in Greek, yet agree so strikingly here, that all three must have been based on one and the same original copy. These three Latin copies, moreover, while agreeing so remarkably with each other, yet so strikingly differ from the Greek text, even in the order of sequence, that their difference can only be sufficiently explained by supposing that from the first there existed two distinct originals, that is to say, an original Latin and an original Greek copy of the canons. In the Greek text, and in the Latin of Dionysius Exiguus, these canons run thus :

 

Can. 1.

“Bishop Hosius said: A prevalent evil and mischievous corruption must be done away with from its foundation. Let no bishop be allowed to remove from his own city to another. For the reason of such attempts is manifest, since in this matter no bishop has been found who would remove from a larger city to a smaller one. It is therefore evident that these men are inflamed with excess of covetousness, and are serving ambition and aiming at the possession of power. If it be the pleasure of all, let so great an evil be punished right harshly and sternly, so that he who is such shall not even be admitted to lay communion. All with one accord answered: Such is our pleasure”.

Can. 2.

“Bishop Hosius said: Even if any such person should show himself so rash as perhaps to allege as an excuse and affirm that he has received letters from the people, inasmuch as it is evident that a few personscould have been corrupted by rewards and bribes— [namely] persons who do not hold the pure faith— to raise an uproar in the church, and seem to ask for the said man as bishop; I judge that these frauds must be condemned, so that such an one should not receive even lay communion at the last. If you all approve, decree it. The synod answered: We approve”.

 

Can. 3.

“Bishop Hosius said: This also it is necessary to add —that bishops shall not pass from their own province to another province in which there are bishops, unless perchance upon invitation from their brethren, that we seem not to close the door of charity. But if in any province a bishop have a matter in dispute against his brother bishop, one of the two shall not call in as judge a bishop from another province. But if judgment have gone against a bishop in any cause, and he think that he has a good case, in order that the question may be reopened , let us, if it be your pleasure, honour the memory of St. Peter the Apostle , and let those who tried the case write to Julius, the bishop of Rome, and if he shall judge that the case should be retried , let that be done, and let him appoint judges ; but if he shall find that the case is of such a sort that the former decision need not be disturbed, what he has decreed shall be confirmed. Is this the pleasure of all? The synod answered, It is our pleasure”.

 

Can. 4.

“Bishop Gaudentius said: It ought to be added, if it be your pleasure, to this sentence full of sanctity which you have pronounced, that— when any bishop has been deposed by the judgment of those bishops who have sees in neighbouring places, and he [the bishop deposed ] shall announce that his case is to be examined in the city of Rome— that no other bishop shall in any wise be ordained to his see, after the appeal of him who is apparently deposed, unless the case shall have been determined in the judgment of the Roman bishop”.

 

Can. 5.

“Bishop said: If a bishop deposed by his comprovincials (the bishops of the same region) has appealed to Rome, and the Pope considers a fresh examination necessary, then he (the Pope) shall write to the bishops living nearest the province in question, that they may thoroughly investigate the matter, and give sentence in accordance with the truth. But if the appellant can induce the Bishop of Rome to send priests of his own to constitute, with the appointed bishops, the court of second instance, and thereby to enjoy the authority belonging to himself (the Pope), — i.e. to preside in the court, as even the Gallican Marca allows to be the meaning, — it shall be open to the Pope to do so. But should he think the bishops alone sufficient for this court of appeal, he shall do what seems to him good”.

 

Can. 6.

“Bishop Hosius said: Importunities and excessive pertinacity and unjust petitions have caused us to have too little favour or confidence, while certain bishops cease not to go to the Court, especially the Africans, who (as we have learned) spurn and contemn the salutary counsels of our most holy brother and fellow bishop, Gratus, so that they not only bring to the Court many and diverse petitions (not for the good of the Church nor, as is usual and right, to succour the poor or widows or orphans), but even seek to obtain worldly dignities and offices for certain persons. This evil therefore stirs up at times not only murmurings, but even scandals. But it is proper that bishops should intercede for persons suffering from violence and oppression, afflicted widows and defrauded orphans, provided, nevertheless, that these persons have a just cause or petition. If, then, brethren dearly beloved, such be your pleasure, do we decree that no bishops go to the Court except those who may have been invited or summoned by letters of the God-fearing emperor. But since it often happens that those who are suffering from injustice or who are condemned for their offenses to deportation or banishment to an island, or, in short, have received some sentence or other, seek refuge with the mercy of the Church, such persons should be succoured and pardon be begged for them without hesitation. Decree this, therefore, if it be your pleasure. All said: It is our pleasure and be it decreed”.

Can. 7.

“Bishop Hosius said : our troublesome and oft-repeated importunities and unjust petitions have caused us to stand in less favour, and hindered our being able to be as free-spoken, as ought to be the case. For many bishops are in the habit of coming to the Imperial Court, especially the Africans, who, as we have heard, do not accept the wholesome advice of our colleague and brother Bishop Gratus, but so utterly despise it that some continually bring many different, and for the Church utterly useless, petitions; not, as it should be, for the care of the poor, the laity, and the widows, but in order to gain some worldly honours and advantages. This disorderly conduct occasions us harm, and brings scandal and evil repute, and I held it to be more fitting that a bishop should lend his help to one who suffers violence from another, to a widow to whom injustice has been shown, or an orphan robbed of his possessions, as these are fair grounds for a petition. If then, dear brothers, this seems good to you all, direct that no bishop shall come to the Court, with the exception of those whom our pious Emperor himself by letter summons thither. But as it often happens that persons in need of mercy, who on account of their crimes have been sentenced to transportation, or are bound by some other sentence, take refuge in the church, they must not be denied help, but without scruple or hesitation petition shall be made for their pardon. If this pleases you, then let all agree. And all answered : Let this also be decided”.

 

Can. 8.

“Bishop Hosius proposed another addition to the rule about the Court, saying : When it has been decided that a bishop shall incur no blame, if he has to bring petitions to the Court for those unfortunate people above mentioned, this shall also be decided by your wisdom, that in such a case he shall send a deacon for this purpose to the Court. For the person of a servant does not raise any jealousy, and he can return quicker with the commission given him by the Emperor. And all answered : Let this be decided”.

 

Can. 9.

Again, on the proposal of Hosius, a further addition to the rule with regard to the Court was made, namely : “If a bishop sends his petition to the Court to the metropolitan, the latter shall despatch a deacon with petitions to the Emperor, giving him, of course, at the same time letters of recommendation to those bishops who may then be at the Court”.

 

Can. 10.

“Should a rich man or a lawyer be proposed as bishop, he shall not be appointed until he has first discharged the office of reader, deacon, and priest, so that if he shows himself worthy, he may ascend by successive steps to the dignity of the episcopate. He shall, however, remain in each grade of the ministry for a considerable time, that his faith, the purity of his morals, his steadfastness and modesty may be known, and thus, after being found worthy of the holy priesthood, he may attain to the highest dignity. For it is not fitting or consistent with reason and good discipline that these offices should be undertaken boldly and with levity, so that a man should be lightly ordained bishop, or priest, or deacon; for in that case he might justly be considered a 'neophyte', whereas the holy apostle, the doctor of the Gentiles, seems strictly to have forbidden such hasty appointments. A lengthened probation, however, will serve to mould the character and conduct of each one with tolerable certainty”

.

Canon 11.

“If a bishop goes from one town or from one province to another, from a feeling of pride, more to serve his own ambition than the cause of godliness, and wishes to remain there a considerable time, although the bishop of that town may not be a learned man, yet the former shall not hold him in contempt, nor by preaching often put him to shame and cause him to be despised; for such conduct only gives rise to quarrels, and suggests a suspicion that he is seeking by such artful means to obtain the foreign See for himself, without scruple about leaving the church committed to him, and going over to another. There must therefore be a limit of time fixed for this sojourn in a foreign town; for not to receive a bishop at all would be cruel and unfriendly. Remember that our fathers have already directed that a lay-man, who is staying in a town, and does not appear at divine service for three Sundays, shall be excommunicated; and if this is ordered with regard to the laity, no bishop can be allowed to absent himself for a longer time from his church, or leave the people entrusted to him, except from necessity, or for some urgent business”.

 

Can. 12.

On the proposal of Hosius, the Synod decided upon a milder addition to the preceding canon, to this effect : — “Some bishops possess only a very little property in the towns to which they are appointed, but a good deal in others, so that they are able from it to support the poor. Therefore they shall be allowed, for the purpose of collecting their rents, to spend three Sundays, that is, the space of three weeks, upon those estates, in which case they shall appear at divine service in the neighbouring church, where there is a presbyter, and shall themselves officiate, that they may not omit to take part in the service; but in a town where the bishop of the diocese resides, they shall not often appear. In this way their affairs will suffer no harm, as they can themselves be present, while at the same time avoiding all suspicion of pride and vainglory, i.e. because not officiating in the cathedral of the other bishop”.

 

Can. 13.

“A deacon, priest, or other cleric excommunicated by his own bishop may not be received into communion by any other bishop; and any bishop who receives him, knowing of the circumstances, must answer for it to the synod”.

 

Can. 14.

Hosius proposed, that “if a bishop is of a passionate temperament, which ought not to be the case, and being very angry with a priest or deacon wants to cast him out of the Church, care shall be taken that such an one be not too hastily condemned, and deprived of communion”. All said: “He who has been excommunicated shall be allowed to have recourse to the metropolitan, or in his absence shall go to the nearest bishop, and pray that his cause may be thoroughly investigated; for the petitioner may not be refused a hearing. And the bishop who, rightly or wrongly, has decreed the excommunication shall not take it amiss that the affair should be investigated, and his sentence confirmed or amended. But until all has been thoroughly and faithfully investigated, and the consequent decision given, the excommunicated shall not demand communion. If, however, any clerics assembled for judgment observe in him haughtiness and pride, they shall reprimand him sharply and severely, so that the reasonable commands of a bishop may be obeyed, as he is not bound to tolerate arrogance and unjust blame. For as the bishop should show a sincere love and affection to his subordinates, so also must they fulfil the duties of their ministry towards him with uprightness”.

 

Can. 18

Januarius, who was, as appears from the Synodical signatures, bishop of Beneventum in Campania, proposed this rule, the meaning of which is, that "no bishop is allowed to decoy away a minister of the church belonging to another bishop, and ordain him for his own diocese.

 

Can. 15.

On the proposal of Hosius it is here ordered : that, “if the bishop of another diocese ordains a minister of the Church without the consent of his own bishop, such an ordination shall be invalid; and if some have presumed to do this, they shall be admonished and reprimanded by our colleagues and brother bishops”. 

 

Can. 16.

Aetius, bishop of Thessalonica, represented to the Synod, that in consequence of the size of his city many priests and deacons from elsewhere very often stayed there for a long time. The Synod therefore decided, on the motion of Hosius, that what was ordered above in canon 11 with regard to the bishops, namely, that they may spend three weeks in a place away from home, should also apply to the persons in question.

 

Can. 17.

As Olympius, bishop of Aenus in Thrace, further suggested, it was decreed that “if a bishop is banished unjustly, on account of his learning, or his belief in the Catholic faith, or for defending the truth, and being an innocent victim goes into another town to escape danger, he shall not be hindered from remaining there until he can return, or be freed from the ill-treatment to which he has been subjected”.

 

Can. 18

Gaudentius, bishop of Naissus in Dacia, is already known to us by the fourth canon, of which he was also the proposer. The present one runs: “Bishop Gaudentius said : Thou knowest, my brother Aetius (bishop of Thessalonica), that ever since thine appointment as bishop, peace has reigned. Now, therefore, in order that no more divisions may exist among the clergy, let it be decreed that both those appointed by Musseus and Eutychian shall be received, as no blame rests on them”.

 

Can. 19

“Bishop Hosius said : It is my humble opinion, since we must be gentle and patient, and show compassion to all, that those who have at any time been raised by any of our brothers to a higher order in the ministry, if they will not return to the churches to which they were appointed, should for the future not be received; and that Eutychian should not assume the episcopal title, nor Musseus be considered a bishop, but that if they desire the communio laicalis (the spiritual rights of the laity, or status ecclesiasticus communis), it should not be refused them”. All said : “So let it be”.

 

 

Can. 20.

On the motion of Bishop Gaudentius, it was decreed: “From henceforth, if a bishop presumes to act contrary to what has been universally decided, out of pride and ambition rather than the desire of pleasing God, he shall be called to account, and deprived of his episcopal dignity. And this rule will be best made known, and most surely carried out, if each one of us bishops, who live near a high road, upon seeing a bishop pass by, inquires the object of his journey, and whither he is going. And if he finds that the bishop is on his way to the Imperial Court, he shall make inquiry concerning the circumstances mentioned above in the seventh canon. If he is travelling thither at the summons of the Emperor, no hindrance shall be put in his way; but if from vanity, as you were pleased to say before, or on account of certain petitions, his letters shall not be undersigned, nor shall any one hold communion with him”.

 

Can. 12 (of the Latin text).

“Bishop Hosius said: But some discretion is here requisite, brethren dearly beloved, in case some should come to those cities which are on the highway still ignorant of what has been decreed in the council. The bishop of such a city ought therefore to admonish him [a bishop so arriving], and instruct him to send his deacon from that place. Upon this admonition he must, however, himself return to his diocese”.

 

Sec. 65. Rule concerning the Celebration of Easter.

 

We have information concerning the further doings of the Synod of Sardica in the preface to the newly-discovered Paschal Letters of S. Athanasius, where it is said, under the date of 343, that “a plan was agreed upon at Sardica with regard to the feast of Easter”. A period of fifty years was fixed, during which time the Romans and Alexandrians were to celebrate Easter on a common day.

As is known, the Synod of Nicaea had not finally decided the difference between the Alexandrian and Roman regulation of Easter. It commanded, indeed, that Easter should always be kept after the spring equinox; but the equinox itself was placed by the Romans on the 18th, by the Alexandrians on the 21st March, and regarding this difference the Council of Nicaea gave no decision. It was indeed practically settled by the order that the Bishop of Alexandria should calculate the time of Easter, and should give notice of it to the Pope for general publication. Theoretically, however, the difference remained, and necessarily soon afterwards entailed a fresh negotiation.

According to the testimony of the preface, this took place at Sardica; but even here the difference was not entirely, but only temporarily removed by a mutual understanding between the Greeks and Romans as to the time of Easter for the next fifty years; not, therefore, by the appointment of a new and common cycle, but only by an agreement for the next fifty years to meet present exigencies. Doubtless, in this matter, both sides had to make concessions from time to time, of which we know the following. According to the Alexandrian computation, Easter for the year 346 should have fallen on the 27th Phamenoth, 23d March; but Athanasius, in his eighteenth Paschal Letter, says that “the holy Synod of Sardica had discussed this question, and all had agreed that Easter should be celebrated eight days later, on the 4th Pharmuthi, 30th March, the Roman time”.

There was a second difference between the Romans and Alexandrians touching the year 349. According to the Alexandrian computation, Easter should that year have fallen on the 28th Pharmuthi, 23d April. The Romans, however, as says the preface to the Festal Letters of S. Athanasius, stated that “they possessed a tradition as ancient as the time of St. Peter, that they were not to go beyond the 26th Pharmuthi, 21st April”; and, for the sake of peace, the Alexandrians with the Romans agreed to place Easter on the 30th Phamenoth, 26 th March. But soon after this, harmony was again disturbed, and already in the years 350, 360, and 368 the Roman and Alexandrian calculation of Easter again varied, so that the decision of Sardica, as to the fifty years' uniformity of celebrating Easter, was never fully carried out.

 

Sec. 66. The Sardican Documents.

 

Besides all those hitherto mentioned, we possess three important documents proceeding from the Synod of Sardica. The first and fullest of these is the Encyclical Letter, to which we have so often referred, from the Synod to all the bishops of Christendom, preserved by Athanasius in Greek, and by Hilary of Poitiers in Latin; and it is not improbable that this was drawn up and published in both languages by the Synod itself. It was indeed intended alike for the East and West, and the Synod itself consisted of about an equal number of Greeks and Latins.

The chief contents of the Encyclical Letter in question, of which we give the sense though not the exact words, are as follows : “The godly Emperors have summoned the Synod of Sardica for the three purposes already known, and the Eastern bishops (the Eusebians) have also made their appearance, partly in obedience to the Imperial command, and partly for the purpose of substantiating afresh their former charges against Athanasius and Marcellus. But when they saw these two, as well as Bishop Asclepas of Gaza, present, they feared to enter into an investigation, although they were repeatedly invited and challenged to do so. What alarmed them still further was, that other bishops and priests, who had been ill-treated by them, intended, some in person and others through acquaintances, to raise complaints against them, and even to produce the chains with which they had been bound. For the rage of the Eusebians had been carried so far, that many bishops — for instance Theodulus (probably of Trajanople)— could only save themselves from death by flight. Besides this, deputies from several communities also appeared at Sardica to report the acts of violence which had been perpetrated among them in driving away the orthodox bishops and priests, and introducing others of Arian views. Under such circumstances, the Eastern bishops found it advisable to leave Sardica, thus sufficiently betraying the badness of their cause. Notwithstanding this, the whole affair was carefully examined by the Synod, and the acts themselves showed the Eusebians to be malicious slanderers and false accusers, since Arsenius still lives, and no chalice is broken; but the Mareotic acts were drawn up with gross unfairness. The attack upon the orthodoxy of Marcellus was shown to be equally unjust, and Asclepas was also able to prove his innocence, from the acts drawn up by his enemies. Moreover, it appeared that the Eusebians had not only received back many who had been legitimately deposed for Arianism, but had even raised them to higher offices in the Church. The heads of this party are, Theodore of Heraclea, Narcissus of Neronias, Stephen of Antioch, George of Laodicea, Acacius of Caesarea, Menophantes of Ephesus, Ursacius of Singidunum, and Valens of Murcia, who even on the journey to Sardica formed private cabals and hindered the other Eastern bishops from joining the Synod, as two of their number, the bishops Macarius and Asterius, who came over to the Synod, testified. Now that the Eusebians have again left Sardica, and their offences, consisting of slanders, acts of violence, false letters, blows, imprisonments, insults of holy virgins, and destruction of churches, have been proved, and — what is worst of all — after they have again revived the Arian heresy, the Synod has declared Athanasius, Marcellus, and Asclepas innocent, and deposed and excommunicated the chief of the Eusebians. From this time, then, no one shall hold any communion with them; and every bishop shall subscribe the decision of the Synod of Sardica as though he had been there present in spirit, in order that peace may be preserved everywhere and by all the servants of the sanctuary”.

The second document left to us by the Synod of Sardica is their letter to the diocese of Alexandria, which Athanasius again gives in Greek, while it is omitted by Hilary. It runs as follows: “Their evil conscience did not allow the friends of Arianism to take part in the Synod; and the sentence of Pope Julius (at the Roman Synod) in favour of Athanasius, which was based on the testimony of eighty bishops, was justified. Therefore all the members of the Synod acknowledged the lawfulness of communion with Athanasius, while the Eusebians, on the contrary, had hesitated to take part in it unless Athanasius was from the very first excluded. But the Mareotic acts were too false and one-sided; Ischyras had himself exposed their untruthfulness. The charge against Arsenius was also proved false; but nevertheless, his enemies had not been quiet, but had invented new and malicious accusations. Athanasius and the Synod had demanded an investigation concerning this, but their accusers had taken flight, thus plainly showing their evil consciences. The Alexandrians, who have already suffered so much for the true faith, should persevere in this constancy, even if they should be persecuted afresh by the Arians. The Synod has done its part in caring for them, and has therefore applied to the Emperors, with petitions that those hitherto persecuted may obtain freedom, and that no secular powers shall be able to judge ecclesiastics, and oppress the faithful on religious pretexts. The Alexandrians are exhorted by the Synod by no means to acknowledge Gregory, who has never been a lawful bishop, and was deposed at Sardica, but to receive Athanasius on his return with joy. The Synod further declares to them that the priests Aphthon, Athanasius the son of Capito, Paul, and Plution, who were driven away by the Eusebians, have also been again received by the Synod, and declared innocent; they too should therefore receive those persons with kindness. Finally, they might see what was finally decided against the heads of the Eusebians from the supplement to the Encyclical Letter given above”.

The Synod addressed similar letters to the other churches whose bishops they had declared innocent, and ordered to be reinstated.

The third Synodal document is the letter from the Sardican bishops to Pope Julius. “The Pope had had good reasons for not being present in person at the Synod, and it was best and fittest that the priests (bishops) from all the provinces should make their reports to the head, that is, the chair of St. Peter. But as all which took place at Sardica had been partly recorded in the acts communicated to the Pope, and could be in part accurately reported by the deputies, the priests Archidamus and Philoxenus, and the deacon Leo, it seemed superfluous to treat of it in this letter also. The Orientals, who called themselves bishops, although many among them were tainted with the deadly poison of the Arian heresy, had, from mistrust of their own cause, refused to appear at the Court, as they had done before also at the Roman Synod. But it would have been unjust to give way to them and to refuse communion with Athanasius and Marcellus, to whom so many bishops gave favourable testimony. The Synod had had to treat of three subjects, for even the august Emperors had allowed a fresh investigation of everything. First of all, the true faith was to be treated of; then the case of those persons who had been deposed, and the justice of whose deposition was to be examined; and finally, the violence practised by the Eusebians upon many, of whom those who had died under it were undoubtedly to be regarded as martyrs. There were even then some in prison for no other fault than that they had rejected the Arian and Eusebian heresies, and would have no communion with their adherents. The Eusebians, however, had not only received back those who had been lawfully deposed, but had promoted many of them to higher offices in the Church. The Pope might hear also what was decided with regard to the ungodly and foolish youths (adolescentibus) Ursacius and Valens. Both had pertinaciously sown the seeds of false doctrine, besides which Valens had left his See and attempted to force himself into another (probably Aquileia), thereby raising a tumult, in which a brother bishop, named Victor (or Viator), who could no longer fly, was trampled upon, and died in that town a few days after. The Pope would sanction the letter from the Synod to the Emperors, and he might, moreover, make known the acts of the Synod to the bishops of Sicily, Sardinia, and Italy. Marcellus, Athanasius, and Asclepius (Asclepas) had been received into communion by the Synod, but Ursacius and the others had been deposed and excommunicated”.

How joyfully Pope Julius agreed to these decisions we see from his letter to the Alexandrians in the oft-mentioned Apology of S. Athanasius. There is a doubt about the genuineness of the three so-called Sardican documents translated into Latin, which Scipio Maffei has discovered in the codex at Verona, often before mentioned. The first of these is a letter from the Synod to the Christians at Mareotis, of which the contents run thus : — “From the Synodal Letter to the Alexandrian Church you will already know what took place at Sardica. The Synod, however, has written a special letter to you to comfort you, because you have suffered so much from the heretics, especially from Gregory (the pseudo-bishop of Alexandria). You should bear all these troubles patiently, as did the Apostle Paul. The Mareotic priest Ingenius has indeed also shown much courage, and better times are now coming, for the Synod has already applied to the Emperors that they should no longer allow such things. The Synod has declared Athanasius innocent, and deposed others. Concerning Gregory (of Alexandria) it is needless to write; he has been long since deposed, and whoever has been hitherto deceived by him should repent”.

The second document is an alleged letter from S. Athanasius to the same Mareotic Churches : — “The Synod had praised the steadfastness of the faithful in Mareotis, and had had much sympathy with them. It had written to them also separately, although the letter to the Alexandrian Church applied as well to the Christians in Mareotis (as belonging to the See of Alexandria)”. The foregoing document is copied almost word for word, and only transferred from the oratio directa to the indirecta. At the close it is signed not only by Athanasius, but also by a great number of the other bishops present at Sardica.

The third document is another letter from S. Athanasius, but addressed to the Church at Alexandria. In it he thanks God that his innocence had been acknowledged, and then speaks of the wickedness of his enemies; how they had not had the courage to take part in the Synod of Rome in 341; of their subsequent behaviour at Sardica, and how they had been deposed. It is here said, among other things, that they had said in so many words : “What have we in common with you? You are Christians, but we are enemies of Christ”.

The Alexandrians should not have allowed themselves to be misled by such people; but now that the Synod had spoken, those who had been led away should return. At the end the deposition of the Eusebians is again mentioned, and the conclusion of the first letter is repeated here as in the second.

These extracts show, I think, quite sufficiently the spuriousness of these documents. Is it possible that the Eusebians would have said of themselves : “We are enemies of Christ?”. But apart from this, the whole contents of these three letters are lame and feeble. The constant repetition of the same words is intolerable, and the whole style pointless and trivial. To this it must be added, that the whole of Christian antiquity knew nothing of these three documents, which only exist in the codex at Verona, so that we cannot acknowledge them as genuine.

 

Sec. 67. The Cabal of the Eusebians at Philippopolis.

 

In strong contrast to the genuine Synodal Letter of Sardica is the Encyclical published by the Eusebians from Philippopolis after their separation from the Synod, and which is also preserved to us by S. Hilary. It is addressed first of all immediately to Gregory (the Eusebian bishop) of Alexandria, Amphion of Nicomedia, Donatus (the schismatic) bishop of Carthage, and others, and then generally to all the bishops, priests, and deacons of Christendom. In the very beginning, the thesis which the Eusebians insisted upon in their quarrel with the Orthodox at Sardica is brought forward, namely, that a sentence once pronounced by the Church, especially regarding the appointment and deposition of a bishop, should remain unalterable. It is then stated that Marcellus of Ancyra, that terrible heretic, had put forth and published in a book fearful blasphemies against Christ, ascribing to the kingdom of Christ a beginning and an end, as though He Himself had only become the Image of God by the Incarnation; that Marcellus had falsely interpreted the Holy Scriptures, and had united the errors of Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, and Montanus; that he had already been admonished on this account by the Synod of Constantinople in 335, under the Emperor Constantine, and when this proved useless, had been condemned; that Protogenes of Sardica and the bishop of Syracuse had also signed the document which was published at that time by the bishops against Marcellus, and yet they had now received him into communion. Marcellus, it was added, when anathematized in the East, had sought his fortune in a foreign land, where he might deceive the simple; but no one should hold communion with him or his companions. The Encyclical here turns to Athanasius, saying that he had profaned the divine mysteries, had broken in pieces a holy chalice and altar, overthrown a bishop’s chair, destroyed a church (belonging to Ischyras), and imprisoned a priest; also that he was accused of many acts of violence, such as the murder of a bishop and the like, and had, during the holy days of Easter, raged like a tyrant in Alexandria, and sought by military and civil force — i.e. by imprisonments and corporal punishments — to obtain the victory for his party. He did not appear at the Synod of Caesarea, but had been condemned at Tyre; he had appealed to the Emperor, who had, however, recognised his guilt and exiled him. After his return from exile he had acted worse than before, had reinstated condemned bishops, even promoted unbelievers (that is to say, those who had only shortly before been baptized) to bishoprics, and set at nought all law; nay, when through the Synodal decree at Antioch another was appointed in his place, he had, with the help of the heathen, set fire to a church, destroyed an altar, and then taken flight

It was added that, after their return from banishment, Paul of Constantinople and Marcellus of Ancyra had perpetrated most terrible outrages; the latter had caused priests to be stripped and dragged about the forum, had hung the sacred Host round their necks and desecrated it, and had publicly robbed of their clothes and put to shame virgins dedicated to God. At Gaza, Asclepas had destroyed an altar, and occasioned many disturbances; and at Adrianople, Lucius, after his return, had caused the Hosts consecrated by (Arian) priests to be thrown to the dogs. Athanasius had deceived Pope Julius and other Italian bishops by false letters, so that they had received him into communion (at Rome in 341), and because they had incautiously done this, for their own sakes they would not now abandon him. Asclepas had been deposed from his See seventeen years before, and after him Paul and Lucius; and now, after many of the former judges, accusers, and witnesses were dead, they artfully demanded a fresh trial in foreign parts, and wanted those very Western bishops, who had their own interests to guard, because they had received them so incautiously, to be their judges. This was, however, contrary to all ecclesiastical discipline, and they were seeking to introduce something quite new, namely, ut Orientales episcopi ab Occidentalibus judicarentur. Athanasius had while still bishop agreed to the deposition of Asclepas, and Marcellus also would hold no communion with him. Further, Paul had been present when they deposed Athanasius in 341, and had been one of those who signed the sentence against him; now, however, they were all united, and each forgave the other. Athanasius had hoped after the death of his former judges to obtain a more favourable sentence, and Julius, Hosius, and Maximus of Treves had for this purpose brought about the meeting of the Synod of Sardica. They themselves, the Orientals, had appeared there, but had been compelled to separate, because the other party had from the first received Athanasius and Marcellus into communion, and had rejected all their proposals. A great number of impious men from Constantinople and Alexandria had been present at Sardica to support the cause of the murderer, church destroyer, chalice breaker, etc. What kind of synod this was, had already been proved by the fact that Protogenes of Sardica, who had formerly joined in the anathema against Paul and Marcellus, now held communion with them. In like manner they had granted a place in the synod to Dionysius of Elis, whom they had themselves deposed; Bassus of Diocletianapolis, banished for his crimes to Syria, had been by them consecrated bishop; and Protogenes now held communion with John (or Aetius?) of Thessalonica, although he had formerly shunned all communion with him as a concubinarius. The orthodox party had desired to force them, by reference to the edicts of the Emperors, to take part in the Synod, but this had been impossible; they could not possibly receive Athanasius and Marcellus into communion. Their order now was that no one should hold communion with Hosius, Protogenes, Athanasius, Marcellus, Asclepas, Pope Julius, and their associates, nor write to them, or receive letters from them. Let the Synod rather, in accordance with the most ancient laws of the Church, condemn Bishop Julius of Rome, Hosius, Protogenes, Gaudentius (of Naissus), and Maximus of Trèves on account of their communion with Athanasius, Marcellus, Paul of Constantinople, and other offenders, and because they had introduced a new heresy, namely, that of Marcellus.

At the end of this Encyclical the Eusebians add their confession of faith, which, without counting an unimportant addition, is word for word identical with the fourth Antiochian formula. Finally, anathema is pronounced against strict Arians, against those who teach the doctrine of three Gods, or who do not distinguish between the Persons of the Trinity, or who say that the Son was not born, or that Christ is not God, or, that He is of the nature and not of the will of the Father.

Socrates relates that the Eusebians had retreated from Sardica to Philippopolis, and had there held a cabal, and rejected the omooúsios, but had embodied the formula and doctrine of anomios in their letters, which they sent everywhere. This is so far wrong, that the Eusebian symbol not only does not contain the expression omooúsios, but undeniably has hardly even a tinge of Semi-Arianism, and certainly not that decided Arian hue which belongs to the expression anomios. On the contrary, precisely the chief point of Anomaean doctrine — i.e. that the Son is etéras ousias from the Father — is there anathematized, and S. Hilary of Poitiers, in his work De Synodis did not scruple to interpret this symbol in an orthodox sense.

The words of the Eusebians themselves: placuit nobis de Sardica scribere, which we read in this Encyclical, contradict the statement of Socrates, that they had issued it from Philippopolis. Tillemont and Eemi Ceillier maintain that the Eusebians here convict themselves of a lie, as in another part of their letter they intimate that it had been composed later than the Encyclical of the orthodox; and as the latter speaks of the previous departure of the Eusebians from Sardica, it is impossible that it could have been written there. But in our opinion this argument does not hold good, for the words of the Eusebians : uque (the orthodox) vulgo omnibusque gentibus id quod inter nos fuerat referebant, do not necessarily refer exactly to the Encyclical of the orthodox; they might previously and in other ways have spread the news. Besides, in the passage in question, even the text itself is not quite certain, and perhaps instead of gentibus should be read gentilibus, which would agree quite well with what immediately precedes it, and with a former statement that Athanasius had promoted heathens to bishoprics.

It is, moreover, universally known that the Eusebians first issued their Encyclical not from Sardica, but from Philippopolis, and the dispute is only as to whether they so far acted bona fide, considering themselves to be the true Sardican Synod, or whether they purposely intended to deceive and to impose upon the readers of their Encyclical, by representing their changeling as the genuine offspring of Sardica. It is usually said that they were successful in this in Africa, where, in consequence of their cunning, only a Semi-Arian Council of Sardica was known. The case then stands thus : As the orthodox bishop of Carthage, Gratus, was himself present at the Council of Sardica, the Eusebians, as we know, sent their Encyclical to the Donatist bishop of Carthage. To this the Donatists referred later, stating that the Synod of Sardica had recognised them; while S. Augustine, on the other hand, could only remark: Sardicense Concilium Arianorum fuit. It is concluded from this that he only knew of an Eusebian Synod of Sardica, and nothing of an orthodox Synod. However true this may be, it was not in consequence of the cunning of the Eusebians in dating their letter from Sardica; for Augustine, in his letter to Eleusius, plainly says, that until then he had not seen the Encyclical in question, and in a hasty reading of it had only observed that the Synod had rejected Athanasius and Pope Julius. He would, however, examine this document at greater leisure. If he did so, he must have found from the Eusebians' own letter that a Synod of the orthodox had also taken place at Sardica; and as every one who read the Encyclical itself must have arrived at this conclusion, the supposition that the Eusebians wanted thereby quietly and cunningly to put the orthodox Synod out of sight, and substitute themselves, is not borne out. The truth is rather, that, without denying the existence of the opposite party, they laid claim to having formed the true Synod of Sardica themselves.

 

Sec. 68. Is the Synod of Sardica Ecumenical?

 

Finally, it must be asked whether the Synod of Sardica is to be reckoned among the General Councils or not; a question which has already been much agitated, and which I have expressly discussed in the year 1852, where I have shown that the ecumenical character of this Synod certainly cannot be proved. It is indeed true that it was the design of Pope Julius, as well as of the two Emperors, Constantius and Con- stans, to summon a General Council at Sardica, but we do not find that any such actually took place; and the history of the Church points to many like cases, where a Synod was probably intended to be ecumenical, and yet did not attain that character. In the present case, the Eastern and Western bishops were indeed summoned, but by far the greater number of the Eastern bishops were Eusebians, and therefore Semi-Arians, and, instead of acting in a better mind in union with the orthodox, they separated themselves and formed a cabal of their own at Philippopolis.

We cannot indeed agree with those who maintain that the departure of the Eusebians in itself rendered it impossible for the Synod to be ecumenical, or it would be in the power of heretics to make an Ecumenical Council possible or not. We cannot, however, overlook the fact that, in consequence of this withdrawal, the great Eastern Church was far more poorly represented at Sardica, and that the entire number of bishops present did not even amount to a hundred. So small a number of bishops can only form a General Council, if the great body of their absent colleagues subsequently give their express consent to what has been decided. This was not, however, the case at the Synod of Sardica. The decrees were no doubt at once sent for acceptance and signature to the whole of Christendom, but not more than about two hundred of those bishops who had been absent signed, and of these, ninety-four, or nearly half, were Egyptians. Out of the whole of Asia only a few bishops from the provinces of Cyprus and Palestine signed, not one from the other Eastern provinces; and even from the Latin Church in Africa, which at that time numbered at least three hundred bishops, we meet with very few names. We cannot give much weight to the fact that the Emperor Constantius refused to acknowledge the decrees of Sardica; it is of much greater importance that no single later authority declared it to be a General Council Natalis Alexander is indeed of opinion that because Pope Zosimus, in the year 417 or 418, cited the fifth canon of Sardica as Nicene, and a Synod held at Constantinople in 382 cited the sixth as Nicene, the Synod must evidently have been considered as an appendix to that of Nicaea, and therefore its equal, that is, must have been honoured as ecumenical. But we have already shown how Zosimus and the bishops of Constantinople had been led into this confusion from the defects of their manuscript collections of the canons.

Athanasius, Sulpicius Severus, Socrates, and the Emperor Justinian were cited in later times for the ecumenical character of this Synod. Athanasius calls it a megali synodos ; Sulpicius Severus says it was ex toto orbe convocata; and Socrates relates that “Athanasius and other bishops had demanded an Ecumenical Synod, and that of Sardica had been then summoned”. It is clear at the first glance that the two last authorities only prove that the Synod had been intended to be a general one, and the expression "great Synod" used by Athanasius, cannot be taken as simply identical with ecumenical. While, however, the Emperor Justinian, in his edict of 346, on the three chapters, calls the Synod of Sardica ecumenical, he yet in the same edict, as well as in other places, does not reckon it among the General Councils, of which he counts four. To this must be added, first, that the Emperor is not the authority entitled to decide as to the character of an Ecumenical Synod; and secondly, that the expression universale concilium was employed in a wider sense in speaking of those Synods which, without being general, represented a whole patriarchate, as we have already explained above.

The Trullan Synod and Pope Nicholas the First are further appealed to. The former in its second canon approved of the Sardican canons, and Pope Nicholas said of them : omnis Ecclesia recipit eos. But this in no way contains a declaration that the Synod of Sardica was ecumenical, for the canons of many other Councils also—for instance, Ancyra, Neocaesarea, and others—were generally received without those synods themselves being therefore esteemed oecumenical. Nay, the Trullan Synod itself speaks for us; for had it held the Synod of Sardica to be the second General Council, it would have placed its canons immediately after those of Nicaea, whereas they are placed after the four ancient General Councils, and from this we see that the Trullan Synod did not reckon the Sardican among those Councils, but after them.

To this it must be added, that the highest Church authorities speak most decidedly against the Synod being ecumenical. We may appeal first to Augustine, who only knew of the Eusebian assembly at Sardica, and nothing at all of an orthodox Synod in that place which would have been clearly impossible, if it had at that time been counted among the ecumenical synods. Pope Gregory the Great and S. Isidore of Seville speak still more plainly. They only know of four ancient General Councils — those of Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon. The objection of the Ballerini, that Gregory and Isidore did not intend to enumerate the most ancient general synods as such, but only those which issued important dogmatic decrees, is plainly quite arbitrary, and therefore without force.

Under such circumstances, it is natural that among the later scholars by far the greater majority should have answered the question, whether the Synod of Sardica is ecumenical, in the negative, as have Cardinal Bellarmin, Peter de Marca, Edmund Richer, Fleury, Orsi, Sacharelli, Tillemont, Du-Pin, Berti, Ruttenstock Rohrbacher, Remi Ceillier, Stolberg, Neander, and others.

On the other hand, Baronius, Natalis Alexander, the brothers Ballerini, Mansi, and Palma, have sought to maintain the ecumenical character of the Synod; but as early as the seventeenth century the Roman censors condemned the direct assertion of Natalis Alexander on the subject.

 

BOOK V.

THE INTERVAL BETWEEN THE SYNOD OF SARDICA AND THE SECOND GENERAL COUNCIL