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was conceded to them to do, and terrible things were inflicted upon those forced to have communion as transgressors, whereas even if they were deemed to suffer the penalties of wickedness for these things which were indeed done under compulsion, others ought to have been the ones imposing the penalties, not those who had used force for the sake of imperial favor, who indeed had one defense for their transgression and one escape from the supplication, if they themselves also would go to meet those who had been forced. But not yet these things. Still the difficulty smoldered for the wretched ones, even if for the time being it was covered over in reality by gentle words and the patriarch's objection. For it seemed right to them to impose the ultimate penalties as on those who had committed the ultimate transgressions, but to the patriarch, who knew of the violence and the emperor's long-standing attack, so that those who resisted were accused even of sacrilege and indeed suffered the punishments of the sacrilegious, the things done out of violence were judged pardonable. But nevertheless he was concerned with the hospitals, while they, making pretense of the hierarchs, attributed the whole of the blame to the one who had been patriarch, as if it were not he himself, with no other accepting the honor of the throne. But rivalry, just as it affects the irrational, so indeed it affects the rational. And for this reason they somehow released the others from blame and censure, but they held more against him as one who had done wrong, and indeed the effort to not even count him among the reasonable was greater than any other business. For to what end was it necessary to be judged, and more so because the one preferred to the first deposed from the throne was a pastor, whether he was of sound judgment or not, unless they indeed wanted to render him useless, and to inflict the greatest pollution on the rest, and those whom for a time they had as supporters against him as orthodox when he erred, these they would later condemn as partners of one who had erred, so that one of the prudent men said at that time (this was Theoktistos of Adrianople) that now for his roasting they are using wooden spits as judges, but later they themselves also will be given to the fire and burned; which also happened later.

8. Then therefore, with the hierarchs making a pretense, and in every way making a pretense of Athanasios, the Patriarch of Alexandria, a man worthy of some great esteem, they set forth two thrones, one empty in honor and as a figure of the Patriarch of Constantinople, and the other having the Patriarch of Alexandria seated in front. And they appointed themselves as deputies by right of the patriarch who was already ill, and they convened a synod of hierarchs, with the Grand Logothete being present there, and with George of Cyprus and the rhetor Holobolos being present, who had just arrived in the city of Constantine from the monastery of the Great Field, and indeed the monk Theodosios Saponopoulos, whom the monastic life succeeded when the emperor had him among the protonotaries, and with many others presiding. And they wanted to examine the writings, not with a peaceful consideration, rather, approving what was sound and examining what was discordant; but because scandals were raised, even if the writers were of sound opinion, they did not see fit to investigate, but only that doctrines were spoken and writings were unfolded and sayings of the fathers were brought to the ear's hearing, considering these things a very great transgression, they judged those who did not even know what heresy was as having transgressed in the greatest matters, and they demanded declarations of faith from those who insisted they had not deviated from orthodoxy at all. If someone muttered anything, writing about dogmas, not blaming what was written, but the writer, they subjected him to the ultimate condemnations. And principally the Grand Logothete himself, who was breathing fire on behalf of the dogmas, as it seemed, offered his own composition to be burned, not because it was in error, as he himself indeed acknowledged under oath at the synod, writing impromptu on dogmas, but because he undertook to write and to compile sayings of the fathers that seemed somehow useful to him for what was then being done, these which many great men before had also used themselves for similar cases; 27 but nevertheless since it was not in

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σφίσιν ἐξεκεχώρητο πράττειν, καὶ τὰ δεινὰ ἐφῆπται ὡς παραβε βηκόσι τοῖς κοινωνεῖν ἀναγκασθεῖσιν, ὅπου γε κἂν εἰ κακίας δί κας ὑπέχειν ἐδικαιοῦντο διὰ ταῦτα ἃ δὴ καὶ βιασθέντων ἐπράχθη σαν, ἄλλους ἐχρῆν εἶναι τοὺς προστιμῶντας, οὐ τοὺς χάριν βα σιλικῆς εὐμενείας βιασαμένους, οἳ δὴ καὶ μίαν εἶχον τῆς μὲν πλημμελείας ἀπολογίαν τῆς δὲ προστροπῆς ἀποφυγήν, εἰ καὶ αὐ τοὶ χωροῖεν ὁμόσε τοῖς βιασθεῖσιν. ἀλλ' οὔπω ταῦτα. ἔτι δ' ὑπετύφετο τοῖς ταλαιπώροις τὸ χαλεπόν, κἂν τέως λόγοις ἡμέ 24 ροις καὶ τῇ τοῦ πατριάρχου ἐνστάσει ταῖς ἀληθείαις συνεκαλύπτε το. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἐσχάτων προστιμᾶν ἐδόκει ὡς πλημμελή σασι καὶ τὰ ἔσχατα, πατριάρχῃ δὲ τὴν βίαν εἰδότι καὶ τὴν πάλαι τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπίθεσιν, ὡς καὶ καθοσιώσεως τοὺς ἀνθισταμένους ἐγκαλεῖσθαι καί γε δὴ τὰ τῶν καθωσιωμένων εἰς τιμωρίαν ὑπέ χειν, συγγνωστὰ τὰ ἐκ βίας διεγινώσκοντο. πλὴν ἀλλ' αὐτῷ μὲν μέλον ἦν τῶν νοσοκομιῶν, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς ὑπο ποιούμενοι τὸ πᾶν τῆς αἰτίας προσανετίθουν τῷ γε πατριαρχεύ σαντι, ὥσπερ ἂν οὐκ αὐτὸς ἦν, ἄλλου μὴ καταδεξομένου τὴν τοῦ θρόνου τιμήν. πλὴν τὸ δύσζηλον, ὥσπερ ἀλόγοις, οὕτω δὴ καὶ λογικοῖς ἐφῆπται. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἀμη γέπη τῶν μώμων ἀνίεσαν καὶ τῆς μέμψεως, πλέον δ' ἐκείνῳ ἐπεῖχον ὡς ἀδικήσαντι, καί γε αὐτὸν μηδ' ἐν ἐπιεικέσι λογίζε σθαι σπουδὴ ἦν πάσης ἀσχολίας καθυπερτέρα. εἰς τί γὰρ ἔδει καὶ κρίνεσθαι, καὶ μᾶλλον διὰ τὸ εἶναι ποιμένα τὸν τοῦ θρόνου καθαιρεθέντα τοῦ πρώτου προτιμηθέντος, κἂν καλῶς εἶχε τῆς γνώμης κἂν μή, εἰ μή γε αὐτὸν μὲν ἐβούλοντο ἀχρειοῦν, τοῖς λοιποῖς δὲ προστρίβειν ἄγος τὸ μέγιστον, καὶ οὓς τέως εἶχον κατ' ἐκείνου συλλήπτορας ὡς ὀρθοσεβεῖς σφαλέντος, τούτους καταδι 25 κάζειν ὡς κοινωνοὺς ἐσφαλμένου καθύστερον, ὡς καί τινα τότε τῶν ἐχεφρόνων λέγειν (ὁ Ἀδριανουπόλεως δ' οὗτος ἦν ὁ Θεόκτι στος) ὡς νῦν μὲν εἰς ὄπτησιν τὴν ἐκείνου ὀβελοῖς ξυλίνοις χρῶν ται τοῖς κρίνουσιν, ὕστερον δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ πυρὶ δοθέντες καυθή σονται· ὃ καὶ γέγονεν ὕστερον.

8. Τότε δ' οὖν ὑποποιούμενοι μὲν ἀρχιερεῖς, ὑποποιού μενοι δὲ παντοίως καὶ τὸν Ἀλεξανδρείας πατριάρχην Ἀθανάσιον, ἄνδρα πολλοῦ τινὸς ἄξιον, θρόνους τε προτιθεῖσι δύο, ὃν μὲν κενὸν εἰς τιμὴν καὶ σχῆμα τοῦ πατριάρχου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, ὃν δὲ τὸν Ἀλεξανδρείας προκαθεζόμενον ἔχοντα. καί γ' ἑαυτοὺς καθιστῶσιν εἰς δικαίῳ τοῦ πατριάρχου ἤδη νοσοῦντος τοποτη ροῦντας, σύνοδόν τε συγκροτοῦσιν ἀρχιερέων, παρόντος μὲν ἐκεῖσε καὶ τοῦ μεγάλου λογοθέτου, παρόντος δὲ καὶ Γεωργίου τοῦ Κυπρίου καὶ τοῦ ῥήτορος Ὁλοβώλου, ἄρτι ἐκ τῆς τοῦ με γάλου Ἀγροῦ μονῆς ἐπιδεδημηκότος τῇ Κωνσταντίνου, καί γε τοῦ μοναχοῦ Θεοδοσίου Σαπωνοπούλου, ὃν ἐν πρωτονοταρίοις ἔχοντος τοῦ κρατοῦντος ὁ μοναχὸς διεδέξατο βίος, καὶ ἄλλων πλείστων προκαθημένων. καὶ τὰ τῶν γραφέντων εὐθύνειν ἠβού λοντο, οὐκ εἰρηνικῇ σκέψει μᾶλλον, τὸ μὲν ἀσφαλὲς ἐγκρίνοντες τὸ δ' ἀπεμφαῖνον εὐθύνοντες· ἀλλ' ὅτι τὰ σκάνδαλα ᾔρετο, κἂν 26 καλῶς οἱ γράφοντες εἶχον τῆς δόξης, οὐχ ὅπως ἔκρινον ἐξετάζειν, ἀλλὰ μόνον ὅτι καὶ δόγματα ἐλαλήθησαν καὶ γραφαὶ ἀνεπτύχθη σαν καὶ λόγοι πατέρων εἰς ἀκοὴν ὠτίου ἐτέθησαν, μεγίστην ταῦτα παραβασίαν ἡγούμενοι, τοὺς μηδ' ὅ τι καὶ αἵρεσις εἴη γι νώσκοντας ὡς τὰ μέγιστα παραβάντας ἔκρινον, καὶ μηδὲν ὀρθοῦ ὅλως παρεκκλῖναι διατεινομένους λιβέλλους ἐζήτουν πίστεως. εἰ δ' ἔγρυξέ τις περὶ δογμάτων γράψας, οὐ τὸ γραφέν, τὸν γρά ψαντα δ' αἰτιώμενοι καταδίκαις ὑπῆγον ἐσχάταις. καὶ προηγου μένως αὐτὸς δὴ ὁ τῶν λογοθετῶν μέγας, ὁ καὶ πῦρ πνέων ὑπὲρ δογμάτων, ὡς ἐῴκει, παρεῖχε τὸ σύγγραμμα καίεσθαι, οὐχ ὅτι ἔσφαλταί οἱ, καθὰ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ἔνορκος ἐπὶ τῇ συνόδῳ διωμο λόγει, αὐτόθεν λογογραφοῦντι περὶ δογμάτων, ἀλλ' ὅτι γρά φειν ἐπῄει καὶ συντάττειν πατέρων ῥητὰ χρήσιμά πως δοκοῦντά οἱ πρὸς τὰ τότε τελούμενα, ταῦτα καὶ πολλῶν πρότερον καὶ με γάλων αὐτοῖς δὴ συγχρησαμένων ἐφ' ὁμοίαις ταῖς ὑποθέσεσιν· 27 ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐπείπερ οὐκ ἐν