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Chapter XV
The Arian Heresy, Its Origin, Its Progress, and the Contention Which It Occasioned Among the Bishops.
Although, as we have shown, religion was in a flourishing
condition at this period, yet the churches
were disturbed by sore contentions; for under the
pretext of piety and of seeking the more perfect
discovery of God, certain questions were agitated,
which had not, till then, been examined. Arius
was the originator of these disputations. He was a
presbyter of the church at Alexandria in Egypt,
and was at first a zealous thinker about doctrine, and
upheld the innovations of Melitius. Eventually,
however, he abandoned this latter opinion,
and was ordained deacon by Peter, bishop of
Alexandria, who afterwards cast him out of the church,
because when Peter anathematized the
zealots of Melitius and rejected their baptism,
Arius assailed him for these acts and could not be
restrained in quietness. After the martyrdom of Peter,
Arius asked forgiveness of Achillas, and was
restored to his office as deacon, and afterwards
elevated to
the presbytery. Afterwards Alexander,
also, held him in high repute, since he was a
most expert logician; for it was said that he was not
lacking in such knowledge.
He fell into absurd discourses, so that he had the
audacity to preach in
the church what no one before him had ever suggested;
namely, that the Son of God was made out
of that which had no prior existence, that there was a
period of time in which he existed not; that, as
possessing free will, he was capable of vice and
virtue, and that he was created and made: to these,
many other similar assertions were added as he went
forward into the arguments and the details of
inquiry.
Those who heard these doctrines advanced,
blamed Alexander for not opposing the
innovations at variance with doctrine.
But this bishop deemed it more advisable to leave each party
to the free discussion of doubtful topics, so that by persuasion
rather than by force, they might cease
from contention; hence he sat down as a judge with some
of his clergy, and led both sides into a
discussion. But it happened on this occasion, as is
generally the case in a strife of words, that each
party claimed the victory. Arius defended his assertions,
but the others contended that the Son is
consubstantial and co-eternal with the Father.
The council was convened a second time, and the
same points contested, but they came to no agreement
amongst themselves. During the debate,
Alexander seemed to incline first to one party
and then to the others; finally, however, he
declared himself in favor of those who affirmed
that the Son was consubstantial and co-eternal with
the Father, and he commanded Arius to receive
this doctrine, and to reject his former opinions.
Arius, however, would not be persuaded to compliance,
and many of the bishops and clergy
considered his statement of doctrine to be correct.
Alexander, therefore, ejected him and the clergy
who concurred with him in sentiment from the church.
Those of the parish of Alexandria, who had
embraced his opinions, were the presbyters
Aithalas, Achillas, Carpones, Sarmates, and Arius,
and the deacons Euzoius, Macarius, Julius, Menas,
and Helladius. Many of the people, likewise,
sided with them: some, because they imagined
their doctrines to be of God; others, as frequently
happens in similar cases, because they believed them
to have been ill-treated and unjustly
excommunicated.
Such being the state of affairs at
Alexandria, the partisans of Arius, deeming it
prudent to seek the favor of the bishops of other
cities, sent legations to them; they sent a written
statement of their doctrines to them, requesting
them that, if they considered such sentiments to be
of God, they would signify to Alexander that he
ought not to molest them; but that if they
disapproved of the doctrines, they should teach
them what opinions were necessary to be held. This
precaution was of no little advantage to them; for
their tenets became thus universally disseminated,
and the questions they had started became matters
of debate among all the bishops. Some wrote to
Alexander, entreating him not to receive the partisans of
Arius into communion unless they
repudiated their opinions, while others wrote to urge a
contrary line of conduct. When Alexander
perceived that many who were revered by the appearance
of good conduct, and weighty by the
persuasiveness of eloquence, held with the party of
Arius, and particularly Eusebius, president of the
church of Nicomedia, a man of considerable learning
and held in high repute at the palace; he wrote
to the bishops of every church desiring them not to
hold communion with them. This measure
kindled the zeal of each party the more, and as might
have been expected, the contest was
increasingly agitated. Eusebius and his partisans
had often petitioned Alexander, but could not
persuade him; so that considering themselves insulted,
they became indignant and came to a
stronger determination to support the doctrine of Arius.
A synod having been convened in Bithynia,
they wrote to all the bishops, desiring them to
hold communion with the Arians, as with those
making a true confession, and to require
Alexander to hold communion with them likewise.
As
compliance could not be extorted from Alexander
Arius sent messengers to Paulinas, bishop of
Tyre, to Eusebius Pamphilus, who presided
over the church of Caesarea in Palestine, and to
Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis, soliciting
permission for himself and for his adherents, as they
had previously attained the rank of presbyters, to
form the people who were with them into a
church. For it was the custom in Alexandria, as it
still is in the present day, that all the churches
should be under one bishop, but that each presbyter
should have his own church, in which to
assemble the people. These three bishops,
in concurrence with others who were assembled in
Palestine, granted the petition of Arius, and permitted
him to assemble the people as before; but
enjoined submission to Alexander, and commanded Arius to strive
incessantly to be restored to
peace and communion with him.
Have mercy, O Lord, upon Thy servant
the translator Chester, and on Caryn and Jeff.