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He commanded the bishops of the provinces to assemble in Bithynia and, when 318 holy fathers had gathered, among whom were also some priests and deacons, and indeed also monks (when the great Athanasius was also present there, still being enrolled in the order of deacons), the most Christian emperor himself also arrived at Nicaea and, sitting together with those holy fathers, he permitted them to inquire into the things said by Arius and to discern if they deviated at all from the right doctrine. And they, having inquired and carefully examined, decreed that the Son is 21 of one substance and of equal honor and co-eternal with the Father, and they proclaimed Arius and those who thought like him to be outside the assembly of the orthodox. And among those who held the views of Arius was also Eusebius of Pamphilus, who was bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, who afterwards is said to have departed from the doctrine of Arius and to have agreed with those who decreed that the Son is co-eternal and of one substance with the Father, and to have been received into communion by the divine fathers. Thus, then, these things are found recorded by some; but he himself makes them doubtful through what he is found to have written in the Ecclesiastical History. For in many places in the said writing he is found to be Arianizing, for instance somewhere near the beginning of the book, introducing David saying, "He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created," he says that the Father and Maker is considered as Maker and universal sovereign, commanding with a royal nod, while the divine Word, second to him, ministers to the fatherly commands. 22 And after a certain point he says this one is as it were the power and wisdom of the Father, and has been entrusted with the second place of the kingdom and rule over all. And again after a little, also that there is a certain pre-cosmic substance, living and subsisting, which ministered to the Father and God of all in the creation of generated things, and Solomon says in the person of the wisdom of God, "The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways" and so forth. And after many more things he says, "And upon all these things, as the Word of God pre-existing and being made substance before all ages, having received venerable honor from the Father, he is to be worshipped as a god." These things and others show Eusebius to be of the same mind with the Arianizing doctrines, unless someone should say that the writing of these things was labored by him before his conversion. For he is found in the acts of the first council championing the right doctrine. The holy council, then, having decreed that the Son is 23 of one substance and co-eternal, immediately set forth the divine symbol of faith, theologizing in it concerning the Father and the Son and making its end up to "of whose kingdom there shall be no end." For the theology concerning the Holy Spirit was afterwards added in the second council when the inquiry concerning this was held, which was convened against Macedonius. But the emperor, equal to the apostles, delighted at the concord of the fathers, gave them his right hand. And since some bore the marks of their confession for the Savior in their bodies, he kissed their maimed limbs and parts and declared them blessed because of their wounds. And when libelli were given to him against certain bishops, he neither read them nor brought them for inquiry, but in the presence of all he burned them to ashes with fire, saying, "Even if I had been an eyewitness of some high priest sinning, I would have covered him with my purple robe." From there, having brought those divine fathers to the royal city founded by him, and having deemed it worthy of their blessing, and having arranged for the holy Alexander to be ordained in it as the second patriarch 24 (for the memorable Metrophanes had passed away), he allowed each to depart to his own diocese, having treated them kindly with honors and gifts. And the emperor's mother, the blessed Helen, having reached a deep old age (for she is said to have lived eighty years), departed to the heavenly mansions, whom her son royally entombed. And he, campaigning against the Persians

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Βιθυνῶν συνελθεῖν τοὺς τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν ἐπισκόπους ἐκέλευσε καί, ἀθροισθέντων τιʹ καὶ ηʹ ἁγίων πατέρων, ἐν οἷς ἦσαν καὶ ἱερεῖς τινες καὶ διάκονοι, ἀλλὰ μέντοι καὶ μοναχοί (ὅτε καὶ ὁ μέγας Ἀθανάσιος ἐκεῖ παρῆν τῷ τῶν διακόνων ἔτι κατειλεγμένος ὢν τάγματι) καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ χριστιανικώτατος βασιλεὺς ἀφίκετο πρὸς τὴν Νίκαιαν καὶ συγκαθίσας τοῖς ἱεροῖς πατράσιν ἐκείνοις ἐπέτρεπε ζητῆσαι τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Ἀρείου λεγόμενα καὶ διαγνῶναι εἴ τι τῆς ὀρθῆς ἐκκλίνουσι δόξης. οἱ δὲ ζητήσαντες καὶ ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσαντες τὸν μὲν 21 υἱὸν ὁμοούσιον καὶ ὁμότιμον καὶ συναΐδιον ἐδογμάτισαν τῷ πατρί, τὸν Ἄρειον δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνῳ ὁμόφρονας τῆς τῶν ὀρθοδόξων ὁμηγύρεως ἐξεκήρυξαν. Ἦν δὲ τῶν τὰ Ἀρείου πρεσβευόντων καὶ ὁ Παμφίλου Εὐσέβιος, τῆς ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ Καισαρείας τυγχάνων ἐπίσκοπος, ὃς μετέπειτα λέγεται ἀποστῆναι τῆς τοῦ Ἀρείου δόξης καὶ ὁμογνωμονῆσαι τοῖς συναΐδιον τὸν υἱὸν καὶ ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρὶ δογματίζουσι καὶ δεχθῆναι παρὰ τῶν θείων πατέρων εἰς κοινωνίαν. οὕτω μὲν οὖν ταῦθ' ἱστορούμενα παρά τινων εὕρηται· ἀμφίβολα δ' ἐκεῖνος αὐτὰ δι' ὧν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησιαστικῇ ἱστορίᾳ εὕρηται συγγραψάμενος τίθησι. πολλαχοῦ γὰρ ἐν τῷ εἰρημένῳ συγγράμματι ἀρειανίζων καταλαμβάνεται, αὐτίκα περί που τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ βιβλίου τὸν ∆αβὶδ εἰσάγων λέγοντα "αὐτὸς εἶπε, καὶ ἐγενήθησαν· αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο, καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν," φησὶ τὸν μὲν πατέρα καὶ ποιητὴν ὡς ποιητὴν πανηγεμόνα νομίζεσθαι βασιλικῷ προστάττοντα νεύματι, τὸν δὲ τούτου δευτερεύοντα θεῖον λόγον ταῖς πατρικαῖς ὑπουργοῦντα ἐπιταγαῖς. 22 καὶ μετά τινα λέγει τοῦτον ὡσανεὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑπάρχοντα δύναμιν καὶ σοφίαν καὶ τὰ δευτερεῖα τῆς κατὰ πάντων βασιλείας καὶ ἀρχῆς ἐμπεπιστευμένον. καὶ αὖθις μετ' ὀλίγα καὶ ὅτι ἔστιν οὐσία τις προκόσμιος ζῶσα καὶ ὑφεστῶσα ἡ τῷ πατρὶ καὶ θεῷ τῶν ὅλων εἰς τὴν τῶν γενητῶν δημιουργίαν ὑπηρετησαμένη, καὶ ὁ Σολομὼν λέγει προσώπῳ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίας "κύριος ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ" καὶ ἑξῆς. καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα πλείονα φάσκει "καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις, οἷα θεοῦ λόγον προόντα καὶ πρὸ αἰώνων ἁπάντων οὐσιωμένον, τὴν σεβάσμιον τιμὴν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς εἰληφότα, προσκυνεῖσθαι ὡς ἂν θεόν." ταῦτα καὶ ἕτερα τοῖς ἀρειανίζουσι δόγμασι δεικνύουσιν ὁμόφρονα τὸν Εὐσέβιον, εἰ μή τις φαίη πρὸ τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς αὐτῷ πονηθῆναι τούτων τὴν συγγραφήν. εὕρηται γὰρ ἐν τῷ πρακτικῷ τῆς πρώτης συνόδου ὑπερμαχῶν τοῦ ὀρθοῦ δόγματος. Ἡ μὲν οὖν ἁγία σύνοδος τὸ ὁμοούσιον καὶ συναΐδιον ἐπὶ 23 τοῦ υἱοῦ δογματίσασα καὶ τὸ θεῖον αὐτίκα τῆς πίστεως ἐξέθετο σύμβολον περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ θεολογήσασα ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ μέχρι τοῦ "οὗ τῆς βασιλείας οὐκ ἔσται τέλος," τὸ τούτου τέλος ποιησαμένη. ἡ γὰρ περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος θεολογία μετέπειτα προσετέθη ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ συνόδῳ τῆς περὶ τούτου γενομένης ζητήσεως, ἣ κατὰ Μακεδονίου συνῆκτο. Ὁ δ' ἰσαπόστολος αὐτοκράτωρ ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν πατέρων ὁμονοίᾳ ἡσθεὶς ἐδεξιοῦτο αὐτούς. καί τινων τῆς ὑπὲρ τοῦ σωτῆρος ὁμολογίας φερόντων τὰ στίγματα ἐν τοῖς σώμασι, κατησπάζετο τὰ πεπηρωμένα τούτων μέλη καὶ μόρια καὶ αὐτοὺς διὰ τὰς πηρώσεις αὐτῶν ἐμακάριζε. δοθέντων δὲ λιβέλλων αὐτῷ κατά τινων ἐπισκόπων, οὔτ' ἀνέγνω τούτους οὔτ' εἰς ζήτησιν ἤνεγκεν, ἀλλ' ἐνώπιον ἁπάντων πυρὶ αὐτοὺς ἀπετέφρωσεν, ἐπειπὼν ὅτι "κἂν αὐτόπτης ἐγενόμην ἀρχιερέως τινὸς ἁμαρτάνοντος, τῇ πορφυρίδι μου ἂν αὐτὸν συνεκάλυψα." ἐκεῖθεν εἰς τὸ παρ' αὐτοῦ κτισθὲν βασίλειον ἄστυ τοὺς θείους ἐκείνους μεταγαγὼν πατέρας καὶ τῆς ἐξ αὐτῶν εὐλογίας ἀξιώσας αὐτὸ καὶ χειροτονηθῆναι παρασκευάσας ἐν αὐτῷ δεύτερον πατριάρχην 24 τὸν ἱερὸν Ἀλέξανδρον (ὁ γὰρ ἀοίδιμος Μητροφάνης μετήλλαξε τὴν ζωήν), ἀφῆκεν ἕκαστον εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἀπελθεῖν παροικίαν, τιμαῖς τε καὶ δωρεαῖς αὐτοὺς φιλοφρονησάμενος. Ἡ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως μήτηρ ἡ μακαρία Ἐλένη εἰς γῆρας βαθὺ καταντήσασα (ὀγδοήκοντα γὰρ λέγεται ζῆσαι ἐνιαυτούς) πρὸς τὰς οὐρανίους ἀπῆρε μονάς, ἣν ὁ υἱὸς βασιλικῶς ἐθησαύρισεν. ἐκεῖνος δὲ κατὰ Περσῶν ἐκστρατεύων