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10

to the others who were advocates of the apostolic doctrines. But neither did Arius endure to keep quiet. And he himself wrote to those whom he considered to be of the same mind. That the divine Alexander had written nothing false against him, Arius himself has testified in his letters to Eusebius of Nicomedia. I shall insert this also in my history, in order to make the partners of his impiety plain to those who are ignorant of them. "To his most beloved lord, a man of God, faithful, orthodox Eusebius, Arius, who is unjustly persecuted by Alexander the Pope, on account of the all-conquering truth, which you also defend, greeting in the Lord. 26 "As my father Ammonius was coming to Nicomedia, it seemed fitting and proper to salute you through him, and at the same time to remind you of your innate love and disposition which you have for the brethren for the sake of God and His Christ, that the bishop greatly ravages and persecutes us and sets every cable in motion against us, so as even to drive us out of the city as godless men, because we do not agree with him when he says publicly: 'Always God, always Son; at the same time Father, at the same time Son; the Son co-exists unbegottenly with God, He is ever-begotten, He is unbegotten-begotten; neither by thought nor by any atom does God precede the Son; always God, always Son; the Son is of God Himself'. "And because Eusebius your brother in Caesarea, and Theodotus, and Paulinus, and Athanasius, and Gregory, and Aetius, and all those in the East say that God pre-exists the Son without a beginning, they have been anathematized, with the exception only of Philogonius and Hellanicus and Macarius, heretical, uninstructed men, who say of the Son, some that He is an eructation, others a projection, others co-unbegotten. And of these impieties we cannot even bear to hear, even if the heretics should threaten us with a thousand deaths. But what do we say and think, and what have we taught and do we teach? That the Son is not unbegotten, nor a part of the unbegotten in any way, nor from any underlying matter, but that by will and counsel He subsisted before times and before ages 27 "full God, only-begotten, unchangeable; and before He was begotten or created or ordained or founded, He was not; for He was not unbegotten. We are persecuted because we said, 'The Son has a beginning, but God is without beginning.' For this we are persecuted, and because we said that He is from non-existing things; and this we said, because He is neither a part of God, nor from any underlying matter. For this we are persecuted; the rest you know. I pray that you may be well in the Lord, remembering our afflictions, truly fellow-Lucianist Eusebius." Of those enumerated by him, Eusebius was bishop of Caesarea, Theodotus of Laodicea, Paulinus of Tyre, Athanasius of Anazarbus and Gregory of Berytus, and Aetius of Lydda; Lydda is that which is now called Diospolis. Arius boasted that he had these on his side; but he called his opponents Philogonius, the president of the church of the Antiochians, and Hellanicus of Tripolis, and Macarius of Jerusalem, stitching together slanders against them, since they said the Son was eternal and pre-eternal, and of the same honor and substance as the Father. After receiving this letter, Eusebius also vomited forth his own impiety. He writes thus to Paulinus, the leader of the Tyrians: "To my lord Paulinus, Eusebius, greeting in the Lord. "Neither the zeal of my lord Eusebius on behalf of the true word has been passed over in silence, but has reached even to us, nor your silence on this matter, my lord. And as was to be expected, on account of my lord 28 "Eusebius we were gladdened, but on account of you we are grieved, considering the silence of such a man to be a defeat for us. Wherefore I exhort you, knowing that it is unbecoming for a prudent man to think one thing and keep silent about the truth, having stirred up your reasoning with the spirit, to begin to write about this, which is profitable both for you and for those who hear you, especially when you are willing to write according to the sequence of scripture and in the footsteps of its words and intentions. For that we have neither heard of two unbegottens, nor of one divided into two

10

ἄλλοις ὅσοι τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ἦσαν δογμάτων συνήγοροι. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ὁ Ἄρειος ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν ἠνέσχετο. Ἔγραψε δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς πρὸς ἐκείνους οὓς ὁμόφρονας ἔχειν ἡγεῖτο. ὅτι δὲ οὐδὲν ψευδὲς κατ' αὐτοῦ γέγραφεν ὁ θεῖος Ἀλέξανδρος, αὐτὸς Ἄρειος ἐν τοῖς πρὸς Εὐσέβιον τὸν Νικομηδείας μεμαρτύρηκε γράμμασιν. ἐνθήσω δὲ καὶ ταύτην τῇ συγγραφῇ, ἵνα καὶ τοὺς κοινωνοὺς τῆς ἀσεβείας δήλους τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι ποιήσω. "Κυρίῳ ποθεινοτάτῳ, ἀνθρώπῳ θεοῦ, πιστῷ, ὀρθοδόξῳ Εὐσεβίῳ "Ἄρειος ὁ διωκόμενος ὑπὸ Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ πάπα ἀδίκως διὰ τὴν "πάντα νικῶσαν ἀλήθειαν, ἧς καὶ σὺ ὑπερασπίζεις, ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν. 26 "Τοῦ πατρός μου Ἀμμωνίου ἐρχομένου εἰς τὴν Νικομήδειαν, "εὔλογον ὀφειλόμενον ἐφάνη προσαγορεῦσαί σε δι' αὐτοῦ ὁμοῦ τε καὶ "ὑπομνῆσαι τὴν ἔμφυτόν σου ἀγάπην καὶ διάθεσιν, ἣν ἔχεις εἰς τοὺς "ἀδελφοὺς διὰ τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτοῦ, ὅτι μεγάλως ἡμᾶς "ἐκπορθεῖ καὶ ἐκδιώκει καὶ πάντα κάλων κινεῖ καθ' ἡμῶν ὁ ἐπίσκο "πος, ὥστε καὶ ἐκδιῶξαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ὡς ἀνθρώπους ἀθέους, "ἐπειδὴ οὐ συμφωνοῦμεν αὐτῷ δημοσίᾳ λέγοντι· "ἀεὶ θεός, ἀεὶ υἱός· "ἅμα πατήρ, ἅμα υἱός· συνυπάρχει ἀγεννήτως ὁ υἱὸς τῷ θεῷ, ἀειγενής "ἐστιν, ἀγεννητογενής ἐστιν· οὔτε ἐπινοίᾳ οὔτε ἀτόμῳ τινὶ προάγει "ὁ θεὸς τοῦ υἱοῦ· ἀεὶ θεός, ἀεὶ υἱός· ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐστι τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ υἱός". "καὶ ἐπειδὴ Εὐσέβιος ὁ ἀδελφός σου ὁ ἐν Καισαρείᾳ καὶ Θεόδοτος καὶ "Παυλῖνος καὶ Ἀθανάσιος καὶ Γρηγόριος καὶ Ἀέτιος καὶ πάντες οἱ "κατὰ τὴν Ἀνατολὴν λέγουσιν ὅτι προϋπάρχει ὁ θεὸς τοῦ υἱοῦ "ἀνάρχως, ἀνάθεμα ἐγένοντο, δίχα μόνου Φιλογονίου καὶ Ἑλλανικοῦ "καὶ Μακαρίου, ἀνθρώπων αἱρετικῶν ἀκατηχήτων, τὸν υἱὸν λεγόντων "οἱ μὲν ἐρυγήν, οἱ δὲ προβολήν, οἱ δὲ συναγέννητον. καὶ τούτων "τῶν ἀσεβειῶν οὐδὲ ἀκοῦσαι δυνάμεθα, ἐὰν μυρίους θανάτους ἡμῖν "ἐπαπειλῶσιν οἱ αἱρετικοί. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τί λέγομεν καὶ φρονοῦμεν καὶ "ἐδιδάξαμεν καὶ διδάσκομεν; ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγέννητος οὐδὲ "μέρος ἀγεννήτου κατ' οὐδένα τρόπον, οὔτε ἐξ ὑποκειμένου τινός, "ἀλλ' ὅτι θελήματι καὶ βουλῇ ὑπέστη πρὸ χρόνων καὶ πρὸ αἰώνων 27 "πλήρης θεός, μονογενής, ἀναλλοίωτος· καὶ πρὶν γεννηθῇ ἤτοι κτισθῇ "ἢ ὁρισθῇ ἢ θεμελιωθῇ, οὐκ ἦν· ἀγέννητος γὰρ οὐκ ἦν. διωκόμεθα ὅτι "εἴπαμεν· "ἀρχὴν ἔχει ὁ υἱός, ὁ δὲ θεὸς ἄναρχός ἐστιν". διὰ τοῦτο διωκό "μεθα, καὶ ὅτι εἴπαμεν ὅτι ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων ἐστίν· οὕτως δὲ εἴπαμεν, καθότι "οὐδὲ μέρος θεοῦ ἐστιν οὐδὲ ἐξ ὑποκειμένου τινός. διὰ τοῦτο διωκό "μεθα· λοιπὸν σὺ οἶδας. ἐρρῶσθαί σε ἐν κυρίῳ εὔχομαι, μεμνημένον "τῶν θλίψεων ἡμῶν, συλλουκιανιστὰ ἀληθῶς Εὐσέβιε." Τούτων τῶν ὑπὸ τούτου καταλεχθέντων Εὐσέβιος μὲν Καισα ρείας ἐπίσκοπος ἦν, Θεόδοτος δὲ Λαοδικείας, Τύρου δὲ Παυλῖνος, Ἀναζαρβοῦ δὲ Ἀθανάσιος καὶ Γρηγόριος Βηρυτοῦ, Ἀέτιος δὲ Λύδδων· Λύδδα δέ ἐστιν ἡ νῦν καλουμένη ∆ιόσπολις. τούτους μὲν οὖν συμ φώνους ἔχειν ὁ Ἄρειος ἐσεμνύνετο· ἀντιπάλους δὲ κέκληκε Φιλο γόνιον τῆς Ἀντιοχέων τὸν πρόεδρον καὶ Ἑλλανικὸν τὸν Τριπόλεως καὶ τὸν Ἱεροσολύμων Μακάριον, συκοφαντίας κατὰ τούτων συρράψας, ἐπειδήπερ ἀΐδιον καὶ προαιώνιον ἔφασαν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὁμότιμόν τε καὶ ὁμοούσιον. ταύτην δεξάμενος Εὐσέβιος τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἤμεσε καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν οἰκείαν ἀσέβειαν. γράφει δὲ οὕτω πρὸς Παυ λῖνον τὸν τῆς Τυρίων ἡγούμενον· "Τῷ δεσπότῃ μου Παυλίνῳ Εὐσέβιος ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν. "Οὔτε ἡ τοῦ δεσπότου μου Εὐσεβίου σπουδή, ἡ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀληθοῦς "λόγου, παρεσιωπήθη ἀλλ' ἔφθασεν ἕως καὶ ἡμῶν, οὔτε ἡ σοῦ ἐπὶ "τούτῳ σιωπή, δέσποτα. καὶ ὡς ἦν ἀκόλουθον, ἐπὶ μὲν τῷ δεσπότῃ 28 "μου Εὐσεβίῳ ηὐφράνθημεν, ἐπὶ δὲ σοὶ λυπούμεθα, στοχαζόμενοι καὶ "τὴν σιωπὴν ἀνδρὸς τοιούτου ἧτταν ἡμῶν εἶναι. διὸ παρακαλῶ "εἰδότα σε ὡς ἀπρεπὲς ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ ἀλλοῖα φρονεῖν καὶ σιωπᾶν "τἀληθῆ, ἀνασκαλεύσαντι τῷ πνεύματι τὸν λογισμὸν περὶ τὸ γράφειν "περὶ τούτου ἄρχου, λυσιτελοῦντος καὶ σοὶ καὶ τοῖς ἀκούουσί σου, "μάλισθ' ὅταν κατὰ ἀκολουθίαν τῆς γραφῆς καὶ τοῖς ἴχνεσι τῶν "λόγων αὐτῆς καὶ τῶν βουλημάτων ἐθέλοις γράφειν. ὅτι γὰρ οὔτε "δύο ἀγέννητα ἀκηκόαμεν οὔτε ἓν εἰς δύο διῃρημένον