38

have been undertaken against the church, they have dared, fittingly God himself, having set forth a strange thing, wrought through him things neither known by hearing nor handed down by sight. 3.2.2 And what is newer than the wonder of the emperor’s virtue, gifted from the wisdom of God to the mortal race? Therefore, he continually proclaimed the Christ of God to all with all boldness, in no way concealing the saving name, but speaking solemnly about the matter; he made himself manifest, now sealing his face with the saving 3.3.1 sign, now exulting in the victorious trophy, which indeed he also set forth to be seen by the eyes of all on a very lofty tablet of a painting, set up before the royal vestibules, committing to the painting the saving sign above his own head, and making the enemy and hostile beast, who had besieged the church of God through the tyranny of the godless, to be carried into the deep in the form of a dragon. For the oracles in the books of God’s prophets proclaimed him a dragon and a crooked serpent. 3.3.2 Wherefore the emperor also showed to all, through an encaustic painting, the dragon under his own feet and those of his sons, pierced by a dart through the middle of its body and cast into the depths of the sea, in this way alluding to the unseen enemy of the human race, whom he indicated 3.3.3 had gone down into the depths of destruction by the power of the saving trophy placed over his head. But these things the flowers of colors suggested through the image; but wonder seized me at the emperor’s magnanimity, how by divine inspiration he depicted these things, which indeed the voices of prophets cried out somewhere in this way concerning this beast, saying, "6that God will bring"6 "6the great and terrible sword upon the dragon, the crooked serpent, upon the dragon, the fleeing serpent, and will slay the dragon that is in the sea."6 The emperor, then, depicted images of these things, truly putting imitations into the painting. 3.4.1 These things, then, were accomplished by him with pleasure, but the malice of envy, which was terribly disturbing the churches of God in Alexandria, and the schismatic evil of the Thebans and Egyptians, moved him not a little, with bishops clashing against bishops in every city, and peoples rising up against peoples, and all but striking one another with blows, so that now, in a frenzy, the desperate resorted to unholy deeds and dared to insult the emperor’s images, not, however, so as to rouse the emperor to anger, but rather to pain of soul, as he grieved exceedingly at the madness of the deranged. But there was also another, earlier disease than these, a most grievous one, which had long been disturbing the churches: the disagreement concerning the saving festival, some saying that they ought to follow the custom of the Jews, others that it was proper to observe the precise time and not follow, in error, those who were 3.5.2 alien to the grace of the gospel. And so in this matter, with the peoples everywhere having been at variance for a long time now and divine ordinances being confused, so that on one and the same festival, the irregularity of the time produced the greatest dissension among those celebrating the feast, some practicing asceticism with fasts and hardships, while others devoted their time to relaxation, no man was able to find a cure for the evil, as the strife was evenly balanced for those who were divided, but it was easy for the almighty God alone to heal these things, and Constantine appeared as his sole servant of good things on earth. 3.5.3 When he learned of what was being said and saw that the letter sent by him to those in Alexandria was ineffective, then, rousing his own mind, he said that he must fight this other war against the unseen enemy who was disturbing the church. 3.6.1 Then, as if marshalling against him a phalanx of God, he convened an ecumenical synod, summoning the bishops from all quarters with letters of honor to hasten. And the command was not a simple one, but there also cooperated

38

παρείληπται κατὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τετολμήκασιν, εἰκότως ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸς ξένον τι χρῆμα προστησάμενος τὰ μήτ' ἀκοῇ γνωσθέντα μήτ' ὄψει παραδοθέντα 3.2.2 δι' αὐτοῦ κατειργάζετο. καὶ τί νεώτερον ἢ τὸ θαῦμα τῆς βασιλέως ἀρετῆς ἐκ θεοῦ σοφίας τῷ θνητῷ γένει δεδωρημένον; τοιγάρτοι τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ σὺν παρρησίᾳ τῇ πάσῃ πρεσβεύων εἰς πάντας διετέλει, μηδὲν ἐγκαλυπτόμενος τὴν σωτήριον ἐπηγορίαν, σεμνολογούμενος δ' ἐπὶ τῷ πράγματι· φανερὸν ἑαυτὸν καθίστη, νῦν μὲν τὸ πρόσωπον τῷ σωτηρίῳ κατασφραγι3.3.1 ζόμενος σημείῳ, νῦν δ' ἐναβρυνόμενος τῷ νικητικῷ τροπαίῳ, ὃ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἐν γραφῆς ὑψηλοτάτῳ πίνακι πρὸ τῶν βασιλικῶν προθύρων ἀνακειμένῳ τοῖς πάντων ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρᾶσθαι προὐτίθει, τὸ μὲν σωτήριον σημεῖον ὑπερκείμενον τῆς αὑτοῦ κεφαλῆς τῇ γραφῇ παραδούς, τὸν δ' ἐχθρὸν καὶ πολέμιον θῆρα τὸν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀθέων πολιορκήσαντα τυραννίδος κατὰ βυθοῦ φερόμενον ποιήσας ἐν δράκοντος μορφῇ. δράκοντα γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ σκολιὸν ὄφιν ἐν προφητῶν θεοῦ βίβλοις ἀνηγόρευε τὰ λόγια. 3.3.2 διὸ καὶ βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ τοῖς αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ παίδων ποσὶ βέλει πεπαρμένον κατὰ μέσου τοῦ κύτους βυθοῖς τε θαλάττης ἀπερριμμένον διὰ τῆς κηροχύτου γραφῆς ἐδείκνυ τοῖς πᾶσι τὸν δράκοντα, ὧδέ πῃ τὸν ἀφανῆ τοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένους πολέμιον αἰνιττόμενος, ὃν καὶ δυνάμει τοῦ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς ἀνακειμένου σωτηρίου τροπαίου κατὰ βυθῶν ἀπωλείας κεχωρηκέναι 3.3.3 ἐδήλου. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἄνθη χρωμάτων ᾐνίττετο διὰ τῆς εἰκόνος· ἐμὲ δὲ θαῦμα τῆς βασιλέως κατεῖχε μεγαλονοίας, ὡς ἐμπνεύσει θείᾳ ταῦτα διετύπου, ἃ δὴ φωναὶ προφητῶν ὧδέ που περὶ τοῦδε τοῦ θηρὸς ἐβόων, "6ἐπάξειν τὸν θεόν"6 λέγουσαι "6τὴν μάχαιραν τὴν μεγάλην καὶ φοβερὰν ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα ὄφιν τὸν σκολιόν, ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα ὄφιν τὸν φεύγοντα, καὶ ἀνελεῖν τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ."6 εἰκόνας δὴ τούτων διετύπου βασιλεύς, ἀληθῶς ἐντιθεὶς μιμήματα τῇ σκιαγραφίᾳ. 3.4.1 Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν αὐτῷ καταθυμίως συνετελεῖτο, τὰ δέ γε τῆς τοῦ φθόνου βασκανίας δεινῶς τὰς κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ συνταράττοντα καὶ τὸ Θηβαίων τε καὶ Αἰγυπτίων σχισματικὸν κακὸν οὐ σμικρῶς αὐτὸν ἐκίνει, προσρηγνυμένων καθ' ἑκάστην πόλιν ἐπισκόπων ἐπισκόποις, δήμων τε δήμοις ἐπανισταμένων καὶ μόνον οὐχὶ συμπληγάσι κατακοπτόντων ἀλλήλους, ὥστ' ἤδη φρενῶν ἐκστάσει τοὺς ἀπεγνωσμένους ἀνοσίοις ἐγχειρεῖν καὶ ταῖς βασιλέως τολμᾶν ἐνυβρίζειν εἰκόσιν, οὐ μὴν ὥστ' εἰς ὀργὴν ἐγείρειν τὸν βασιλέα μᾶλλον ἢ πρὸς πόνον ψυχῆς, ὑπεραλγοῦντα τῆς τῶν φρενοβλαβῶν ἀπονοίας. Προϋπῆρχε δ' ἄρα καὶ ἄλλη τις τούτων προτέρα νόσος ἀργαλεωτάτη τὰς ἐκκλησίας ἐκ μακροῦ διενοχλοῦσα, ἡ τῆς σωτηρίου ἑορτῆς διαφωνία, τῶν μὲν ἕπεσθαι δεῖν τῇ Ἰουδαίων συνηθείᾳ φασκόντων, τῶν δὲ προσήκειν τὴν ἀκριβῆ τοῦ καιροῦ παραφυλάττειν ὥραν μηδὲ πλανωμένους ἕπεσθαι τοῖς τῆς 3.5.2 εὐαγγελικῆς ἀλλοτρίοις χάριτος. κἀν τούτῳ τοιγαροῦν μακροῖς ἤδη χρόνοις τῶν ἁπανταχοῦ λαῶν διενηνεγμένων θεσμῶν τε θείων συγχεομένων, ὡς ἐπὶ μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἑορτῆς τὴν τοῦ καιροῦ παρατροπὴν μεγίστην διάστασιν ἐμποιεῖν τοῖς τὴν ἑορτὴν ἄγουσι, τῶν μὲν ἀσιτίαις καὶ κακοπαθείαις ἐνασκουμένων, τῶν δ' ἀνέσει τὴν σχολὴν ἀνατιθέντων, οὐδεὶς οἷός τ' ἦν ἀνθρώπων θεραπείαν εὕρασθαι τοῦ κακοῦ, ἰσοστασίου τῆς ἔριδος τοῖς διεστῶσιν ὑπαρχούσης, μόνῳ δ' ἄρα τῷ παντοδυνάμῳ θεῷ καὶ ταῦτ' ἰᾶσθαι ῥᾴδιον ἦν, ἀγαθῶν δ' ὑπηρέτης αὐτῷ μόνος τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς κατεφαίνετο Κωνσταντῖνος. 3.5.3 ὃς ἐπειδὴ τὴν τῶν λεχθέντων διέγνω ἀκοὴν τό τε καταπεμφθὲν αὐτῷ γράμμα τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἄπρακτον ἑώρα, τότε τὴν αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ διάνοιαν ἀνακινήσας, ἄλλον τουτονὶ καταγωνιεῖσθαι δεῖν ἔφη τὸν κατὰ τοῦ ταράττοντος τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἀφανοῦς ἐχθροῦ πόλεμον. 3.6.1 Εἶθ' ὥσπερ ἐπιστρατεύων αὐτῷ φάλαγγα θεοῦ σύνοδον οἰκουμενικὴν συνεκρότει, σπεύδειν ἁπανταχόθεν τοὺς ἐπισκόπους γράμμασι τιμητικοῖς προκαλούμενος. οὐκ ἦν δ' ἁπλοῦν τὸ ἐπίταγμα, συνήργει δὲ καὶ