they were ashamed, but also in it they shut up the people of the church in prison; when the Lord had freed everyone from the bonds of death, Gregory and those with him, as if fighting against the Savior and emboldened by the governor's protection, have made the day of freedom a day of mourning for the servants of Christ. 5.4 For the Greeks were rejoicing, put to shame by the day, but Gregory, perhaps fulfilling the commands of Eusebius's party, then forced the Christians to mourn through the affliction of their bonds. Therefore, through this violence the governor seized the churches and having seized them, delivered them to Gregory and the Ariomaniacs. And those who were excommunicated by us on account of their impiety boast in the seizure of the churches, while the people of God and the clergy of the Catholic church are forced either to have communion with the impiety of the Arian heretics or 5.5 not to enter the churches. For Gregory, through the governor, also inflicted no small violence and necessity upon the shipmasters and others who sail the sea, torturing and scourging, and binding others and casting them into prison, so that they might not even speak against his lawlessness, but might also receive letters from him. 5.6 And that he might not be satisfied with these things, but might also be glutted with our blood, he has made his most cruel accomplice, the governor, write a decree against me to the most pious Emperor Constantius, as if from the person of the people, containing malicious words, from which one must not only flee, but also expect a thousand deaths. And the one who wrote the decree is a transgressor from among the Christians and one who shamelessly worships idols, while those who signed it are 5.7 pagans and temple-wardens of the idols, and with them Arians. And, lest I become verbose in writing, there is a persecution here, and such a persecution as has never before happened against the church. For in the persecution before this, even one who was fleeing prayed and one who was in hiding was baptized, but now the great cruelty has surpassed even the Babylonian impiety. 5.8 For as they then did against Daniel, so now the admirable Gregory slanders to the governor those who pray in their houses and watches the ministers with all insolence, so that from such violence many are in danger of being unbaptized, and many are sick without visitors, and lament, considering such a calamity to be more bitter than their sickness. For since the ministers of the church are persecuted, the people, condemning the impiety of the Arian heretics, choose rather to be sick and in danger in this way than that a hand of the Arians should come upon their head.

6.1 Gregory, therefore, is an Arian and was sent to the Arians; for no one requested him except them alone; and for this reason, as a hireling and a stranger, he works dreadful and bitter things through the governor upon the people of the Catholic church as not being his own. 6.2 For since Pistus, whom the party of Eusebius had formerly established for the Arians, after we wrote concerning him, all of you, the bishops of the Catholic church, rightly anathematized and excommunicated him on account of his impiety, for this reason <the party of> the same man have now sent Gregory to the Arians. Then, lest they should incur shame a second time from our writing again against them, for this reason they used external violence against us, so that by gaining control of the churches they might seem to escape the suspicion of being Arians. 6.3 But in this also they were mistaken; for none of the people of the church is with them, except only the heretics and those cast out for a cause and as many as pretend on account of the governor's compulsion. But this is the theatrical plot of the party of Eusebius; these things the party of Eusebius had long been devising and composing, and now they have been able to accomplish them through the slanders which they slandered us with to the emperor. Of course they are not quiet even so, but

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ᾐδέσθησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τοὺς τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀνθρώπους εἰς φυλακὴν καθεῖρξαν· ὅτε ὁ μὲν κύριος τοὺς πάντας ἐκ τῶν τοῦ θανάτου δεσμῶν ἠλευθέρωσεν, ὁ δὲ Γρηγόριος καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ ὥσπερ ἀντιμαχόμενοι τῷ σωτῆρι καὶ θαρροῦντες τῇ τοῦ ἡγε μόνος προστασίᾳ τὴν ἐλευθέριον ἡμέραν τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ δούλοις πένθος πεποιήκασιν. 5.4 οἱ μὲν γὰρ Ἕλληνες ηὐφραίνοντο δυσωπούμενοι τὴν ἡμέραν, ὁ δὲ Γρηγόριος ἴσως ἐντολὰς πληρῶν τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιον πενθεῖν ἠνάγκαζε τότε τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς τῇ κακώσει τῶν δεσμῶν. διὰ ταύτης τοίνυν τῆς βίας ὁ ἡγεμὼν ἥρπασε τὰς ἐκκλησίας καὶ ἁρπάσας Γρη γορίῳ καὶ τοῖς Ἀρειομανίταις παρέδωκε. καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐκκήρυκτοι παρ' ἡμῶν διὰ τὴν ἀσέ βειαν γενόμενοι ἐγκαυχῶνται τῇ ἁρπαγῇ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, ὁ δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ λαὸς καὶ οἱ κληρικοὶ τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας βιάζονται ἢ κοινωνεῖν τῇ ἀσεβείᾳ τῶν αἱρετικῶν Ἀρειανῶν ἢ 5.5 μὴ εἰσέρχεσθαι εἰς τὰς ἐκκλησίας. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῖς ναυκλήροις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς τὴν θάλατταν πλέουσιν οὐκ ὀλίγην βίαν καὶ ἀνάγκην ἐπέθηκεν ὁ Γρηγόριος διὰ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος βασανίζων καὶ μαστίζων, ἄλλους δὲ καὶ δεσμεύων καὶ εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἐμβάλλων, ἵνα μηδὲ ἀντιλέγωσι τῇ παρανομίᾳ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ γράμματα παρ' αὐτοῦ λαμβάνωσι. 5.6 καὶ ἵνα μὴ ἄχρι τούτων ἀρκεσθῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος ἡμῶν ἐμφορηθῇ, πεποίηκε τὸν ὠμότατον καὶ συνεργὸν αὐτοῦ ἡγεμόνα ψήφισμα ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ λαοῦ κατ' ἐμοῦ γράψαι τῷ εὐσεβεστάτῳ βασιλεῖ Κωνσταντίῳ ἐπίφθονα ῥήματα περιέχον, ἀφ' οὗ μὴ μόνον ἐστὶ φυγεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μυρίους θανάτους προσδοκᾶν. καὶ ὁ μὲν τὸ ψήφισμα γράψας ἐστὶ παραβάτης ἐκ Χριστιανῶν καὶ εἴδωλα ἀναισχύντως προσκυνῶν, οἱ δὲ ὑπογράψαντές εἰσιν 5.7 ἐθνικοὶ καὶ νεωκόροι τῶν εἰδώλων καὶ σὺν αὐτοῖς Ἀρειανοί. καὶ ἵνα μὴ πολὺς ἐν τῷ γράφειν γίγνωμαι, διωγμός ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα καὶ διωγμὸς οἷος οὐδέποτε γέγονε κατὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας. ὅλως μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῷ πρὸ τούτου διωγμῷ κἂν φεύγων τις προσηύχετο καὶ κρυπτόμενος ἐβαπτίζετο, ἄρτι δὲ ἡ πολλὴ ὠμότης καὶ τὴν βαβυλωνίαν ἀθεότητα ἐνίκη 5.8 σεν. ὡς γὰρ οἱ τότε κατὰ τοῦ ∆ανιήλ, οὕτω καὶ ὁ θαυμαστὸς Γρηγόριος νῦν τοὺς ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις προσευχομένους διαβάλλει τῷ ἡγεμόνι καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς μετὰ πάσης ὕβρεως παρατηρεῖται, ὡς ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης βίας πολλοὺς μὲν ἀβαπτίστους κινδυνεύειν, πολλοὺς δὲ χωρὶς τῶν ἐπισκεπτομένων νοσεῖν καὶ ὀδύρεσθαι πικροτέραν τῆς νόσου τὴν τοιαύτην συμφορὰν ἡγουμένους. τῶν γὰρ λειτουργῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας διωκομένων οἱ λαοὶ καταγινώσκοντες τῆς ἀσεβείας τῶν αἱρετικῶν Ἀρειανῶν αἱροῦνται μᾶλλον οὕτω νοσεῖν καὶ κινδυνεύειν ἢ χεῖρα τῶν Ἀρειανῶν ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῶν.

6.1 Ἀρειανὸς οὖν ἐστιν ὁ Γρηγόριος καὶ τοῖς Ἀρειανοῖς ἀποσταλείς· οὐ γάρ τις αὐτὸν ᾔτηται πλὴν μόνων αὐτῶν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὡς μισθωτὸς καὶ ἀλλότριος δεινὰ καὶ πικρὰ τοῖς τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας λαοῖς ὡς οὐκ οὖσιν ἰδίοις διὰ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος κατεργάζεται. 6.2 ἐπειδὴ γὰρ Πιστόν, ὅνπερ πρότερον οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον τοῖς Ἀρειανοῖς κατέστησαν, μετὰ τὸ γράψαι ἡμᾶς περὶ αὐτοῦ πάντες ὑμεῖς οἱ τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐπίσκοποι διὰ τὴν ἀσέβειαν εἰκότως αὐτὸν ἀνεθεματίσατε καὶ ἀπεκηρύξατε, τούτου ἕνεκα Γρηγόριον νῦν <οἱ περὶ> τὸν αὐτὸν τοῖς Ἀρειανοῖς ἀπέστειλαν. εἶτα, ἵνα μὴ καὶ δεύτερον αἰσχύνην ὀφλήσωσι γραφόντων ἡμῶν πάλιν κατ' αὐτῶν, διὰ τοῦτο τῇ ἔξωθεν βίᾳ καθ' ἡμῶν ἐχρήσαντο, ἵνα τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν περικρατήσαντες δόξωσιν ἐκφεύγειν τὴν τῶν Ἀρειανῶν ὑπόνοιαν. 6.3 ἀλλ' ἐσφάλησαν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ· οὐδεὶς γὰρ τῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶ μετ' αὐτῶν, εἰ μὴ μόνοι οἱ αἱρετικοὶ καὶ οἱ δι' αἰτίας ἐκβληθέντες καὶ ὅσοι διὰ τὴν ἀνάγκην τοῦ ἡγεμόνος ὑποκρίνονται. τοῦτο δὲ τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιόν ἐστι τὸ δραματούργημα· ταῦτα οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον ἔκπαλαι μὲν ἐμελέτων καὶ συνετίθουν, νῦν δὲ καὶ ἴσχυσαν πρᾶξαι διὰ τὰς διαβολάς, ἃς διέβαλλον ἡμᾶς βασιλεῖ. ἀμέλει οὐδὲ οὕτως ἡσυχάζουσιν, ἀλλὰ

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