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we have said. To Sardica, two hundred and fifty bishops came together, as the ancient narratives teach. And the great Athanasius also arrived, and Asclepas of Gaza, whom I mentioned before, and Marcellus of Ancyra, the metropolis of the Galatians, who was also a bishop at the great council. And their accusers also arrived, and those who led the heretical phalanx, who had previously been the judges of Athanasius and his party. But having learned of the council's firmness and its soundness in divine doctrines, they did not even enter the assembly when they were summoned, but fled away with the 101 unjust judges and the accusers. And the letters of the synod teach this better, which for the sake of clear instruction I will place in this history. "The holy synod, assembled in Sardica by the grace of God "from Rome and the Spains and the Gauls, Italy, Campania, "Calabria, Africa, Sardinia, Pannonia, Mysia, Dacia, Darda-"nia, the other Dacia, Macedonia, Thessaly, Achaia, Epirus, Thra-"ce, Rhodope, Asia, Caria, Bithynia, Hellespont, Phrygia, "Pisidia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Cilicia, the other Phrygia, Pamphy-"lia, Lydia, the Cyclades islands, Egypt, the Thebaid, Libya, Ga-"latia, Palestine, Arabia, to the bishops everywhere and fel-"low ministers of the catholic and apostolic church, beloved "brothers in the Lord, greeting. "Many things and many times have the Ariomaniacs dared against the "servants of God who keep the right faith. For "by introducing a spurious doctrine they have attempted to drive out the "orthodox; and they have now risen up against the faith to such an extent "as not even to escape the hearing of the most God-loving emperors. Therefore, 102 "with the grace of God cooperating, the most pious emperors themselves "have gathered us from various provinces and cities and have granted "that this holy synod be held in the city of Sardica, so that "all dissension might be removed, and with all evil belief driven out, "piety towards Christ alone might be preserved among all. For bishops "came from the East, urged also by the "most pious emperors, especially concerning that which they often rumored about "our beloved brothers and fellow ministers, Athanasius the "bishop of Alexandria and Marcellus the bishop of "Ancyrogalatia and Asclepas of Gaza. For perhaps the slanders have "reached even you, just as they have attempted to disturb "our ears, so that what they say against the innocent might be believed, and "they might conceal the suspicion of their own wicked heresy. But not "for long were they permitted to do these things. For there is the Lord who presides "over the churches, who for their sake and for the sake of us all "endured death, and through them has given to all "of us the ascent into heaven. "Long ago, therefore, the party of Eusebius and Maris and Theo-"dorus and Theogonius and Ursacius and Valens and Menophantus "and Stephen wrote to Julius our fellow minister, the bishop of the Roman 103 "church, against our aforementioned fellow ministers, "we mean, Athanasius the bishop of Alexandria and Marcellus "the bishop of Ancyrogalatia and Asclepas of Gaza. And bishops "from other parts also wrote, testifying on the one hand to "the purity of our fellow minister Athanasius, and on the other hand that the things done by "the party of Eusebius were nothing other than falsehoods and full of "slanders. And although especially from the fact that, when they were summoned by our "beloved fellow minister Julius, they did not appear, and from the things "written by the same bishop Julius, their "slander has become manifest (for they would have come if they had confidence in what they had done "and perpetrated against our fellow ministers), nevertheless, also from what "they have done in this holy and great synod, they have shown their "own conspiracy more clearly. For having come to the city of Sardica, "and seeing our brothers Athanasius and Marcellus and "Asclepas and the others,

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εἰρήκαμεν. Εἰς δὲ τὴν Σαρδικὴν πεντήκοντα μὲν καὶ διακόσιοι συνῆλθον ἀρχιερεῖς, ὡς διδάσκει τὰ παλαιὰ διηγήματα. ἀφίκετο δὲ καὶ ὁ μέγας Ἀθανάσιος καὶ Ἀσκληπᾶς ὁ Γαζαῖος, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην, καὶ Μάρκελλος ὁ Ἀγκύρας τῆς Γαλατῶν μητροπόλεως, ὃς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς συνόδου τῆς μεγάλης ἐπίσκοπος ἦν. ἀφίκοντο δὲ καὶ οἱ τούτων κατήγοροι καὶ οἱ τῆς αἱρετικῆς προστατεύοντες φάλαγγος, οἱ πάλαι τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἀθανάσιον γενόμενοι δικασταί. ἀλλὰ τῆς συνόδου μεμαθηκότες τὸ ἀκλινὲς καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς θείοις δόγμασιν ὑγίειαν, οὐδὲ κληθέντες εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ συνέδριον ἀλλ' ἀπέδρασαν σὺν τοῖς 101 ἀδίκοις δικασταῖς καὶ οἱ κατήγοροι. καὶ τοῦτο ἄμεινον διδάσκει τῆς συνόδου τὰ γράμματα, ἃ σαφοῦς εἵνεκα διδασκαλίας ἐνθήσω τῇ συγ γραφῇ. "Ἡ ἁγία σύνοδος ἡ κατὰ θεοῦ χάριν ἐν Σαρδικῇ συναχθεῖσα "ἀπό τε Ῥώμης καὶ Σπανίων καὶ Γαλλίων, Ἰταλίας, Καμπανίας, "Καλαβρίας, Ἀφρικῆς, Σαρδανίας, Παννονίας, Μυσίας, ∆ακίας, ∆αρδα "νίας, ἄλλης ∆ακίας, Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλίας, Ἀχαΐας, Ἠπείρων, Θρᾴ"κης, Ῥοδόπης, Ἀσίας, Καρίας, Βιθυνίας, Ἑλλησπόντου, Φρυγίας,"Πισιδίας, Καππαδοκίας, Πόντου, Κιλικίας, Φρυγίας ἄλλης, Παμφυ "λίας, Λυδίας, νήσων Κυκλάδων, Αἰγύπτου, Θηβαΐδος, Λιβύης, Γα "λατίας, Παλαιστίνης, Ἀραβίας, τοῖς πανταχοῦ ἐπισκόποις καὶ συλ "λειτουργοῖς τῆς καθολικῆς καὶ ἀποστολικῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἀγαπητοῖς "ἀδελφοῖς ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν. "Πολλὰ μὲν καὶ πολλάκις ἐτόλμησαν οἱ Ἀρειομανῖται κατὰ τῶν "δούλων τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν τὴν πίστιν φυλαττόντων τὴν ὀρθήν. νόθον "γὰρ ὑποβάλλοντες διδασκαλίαν τοὺς ὀρθοδόξους ἐλαύνειν ἐπειρά "θησαν· τοσοῦτον δὲ λοιπὸν κατεπανέστησαν κατὰ τῆς πίστεως ὡς "μηδὲ τὴν ἀκοὴν τῶν θεοφιλεστάτων βασιλέων λαθεῖν. τοιγαροῦν 102 "τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ συνεργούσης, καὶ αὐτοὶ οἱ εὐσεβέστατοι βασιλεῖς "συνήγαγον ἡμᾶς ἐκ διαφόρων ἐπαρχιῶν καὶ πόλεων καὶ τὴν ἁγίαν "ταύτην σύνοδον ἐπὶ τὴν Σαρδέων πόλιν γενέσθαι δεδώκασιν, ἵνα "πᾶσα μὲν διχόνοια περιαιρεθῇ, πάσης δὲ κακοπιστίας ἐξελαθείσης, "ἡ εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν εὐσέβεια μόνη παρὰ πᾶσι φυλάττηται. ἦλθον "γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑῴας ἐπίσκοποι, προτραπέντες καὶ αὐτοὶ παρὰ τῶν "εὐσεβεστάτων βασιλέων, μάλιστα δι' ὅπερ ἐθρύλουν πολλάκις περὶ "τῶν ἀγαπητῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν καὶ συλλειτουργῶν, Ἀθανασίου τοῦ "ἐπισκόπου τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ Μαρκέλλου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τῆς "Ἀγκυρογαλατίας καὶ Ἀσκληπᾶ τοῦ Γάζης. ἴσως γὰρ καὶ εἰς ὑμᾶς "αὐτοὺς ἔφθασαν αἱ διαβολαί, ὡς καὶ τὰς ἡμετέρας ἀκοὰς ἐπεχείρησαν "παρασαλεῦσαι, ἵνα κατὰ μὲν τῶν ἀθώων ἃ λέγουσι πιστεύηται, τὴν "δὲ τῆς μοχθηρᾶς αὐτῶν αἱρέσεως ὑπόνοιαν ἐπικρύψωσιν. ἀλλ' οὐκ "ἐπὶ πολὺ ταῦτα ποιεῖν συνεχωρήθησαν. ἔστι γὰρ ὁ προϊστάμενος "τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν κύριος, ὁ ὑπὲρ τούτων καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντων ἡμῶν "θάνατον ὑπομείνας, καὶ δι' αὐτὰς τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἄνοδον πᾶσιν "ἡμῖν δεδωκώς. "Πάλαι μὲν οὖν ἔγραψαν οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον καὶ Μάριν καὶ Θεό "δωρον καὶ Θεογόνιον καὶ Οὐρσάκιον καὶ Οὐάλεντα καὶ Μηνόφαντον "καὶ Στέφανον Ἰουλίῳ τῷ συλλειτουργῷ ἡμῶν, τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἐκ 103 "κλησίας ἐπισκόπῳ, κατὰ τῶν προειρημένων συλλειτουργῶν ἡμῶν, "λέγομεν δὴ Ἀθανασίου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ Μαρκέλλου "τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Ἀγκυρογαλατίας καὶ Ἀσκληπᾶ τοῦ Γάζης. ἔγραψαν "δὲ καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων μερῶν ἐπίσκοποι, μαρτυροῦντες μὲν ἐπὶ "τῇ καθαρότητι τοῦ συλλειτουργοῦ ἡμῶν Ἀθανασίου, τὰ δὲ παρὰ "τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιον γενόμενα οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ ψεύδη καὶ συκοφαντίας "εἶναι μεστά. εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἐκ τοῦ κληθέντας αὐτοὺς παρὰ τοῦ "ἀγαπητοῦ καὶ συλλειτουργοῦ Ἰουλίου μὴ ἀπαντῆσαι, καὶ ἐκ τῶν "γραφέντων παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐπισκόπου Ἰουλίου φανερὰ τούτων ἡ "συκοφαντία πέφηνεν (ἦλθον γὰρ ἂν εἴπερ ἐθάρρουν οἷς ἔπραξαν "καὶ πεποιήκασι κατὰ τῶν συλλειτουργῶν ἡμῶν), ὅμως καὶ ἐξ ὧν "πεποιήκασιν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἁγίᾳ καὶ μεγάλῃ συνόδῳ, φανερωτέραν τὴν "ἑαυτῶν συσκευὴν ἀπέδειξαν. ἀπαντήσαντες γὰρ εἰς τὴν Σαρδέων "πόλιν, ἰδόντες τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἡμῶν Ἀθανάσιον καὶ Μάρκελλον καὶ "Ἀσκληπᾶν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους,