155

and the priests themselves. And the Egyptians and Arabians and Cyprians were indignant, as if on behalf of the wronged Paulinus, but the Syrians and Palestinians and Phoenicians, and most of the Armenians and Cappadocians and Galatians and those near Pontus 7.11.3 sided with Flavian. Not least were the bishop of the Romans and all the priests towards the west angered, and they wrote the customary letters to Paulinus as bishop of Antioch, which they call synodical, but towards Flavian they kept silent, and they held in accusation and had no communion with those around Diodorus of Tarsus and Acacius of Beroea, who had ordained him. 7.11.4 Therefore, in order to decide these matters, they themselves and Gratian the emperor wrote, summoning the bishops from the east to the west. 7.12.1 And about this time, as those from the catholic church were taking possession of the houses of prayer, many disturbances occurred in many parts of the empire from those of the Arian heresy who resisted. But Theodosius the emperor, after a short time had passed since the previous synod, again summoned the leaders of the heresies then flourishing, either to be persuaded or to persuade 7.12.2 concerning the matters on which they differed. For he supposed that he would make all of one opinion, if he proposed to them a common discussion concerning the doubtful points of the dogma. And when they assembled (this was the year in which Merobaudes for the second time and Saturninus were consuls, when indeed he proclaimed his son Arcadius to reign with him), having summoned Nectarius, he conferred about the coming synod and commanded that the issue causing the heresies be brought to a discussion, so that there might be one church of those believing in Christ and one harmonious doctrine, according to which it is necessary to worship. 7.12.3 And Nectarius, becoming anxious on his own, made the emperor's intention clear to Agelius, 7.12.4 the head of the Novatian church, as to one who was of the same mind concerning the faith. But he, while exhibiting the virtue of his life through his works, was unskilled in elegance and subtlety of speech, and proposed in his place to consider what was to be done and to dispute, if it should be necessary, a man who was then one of his readers, Sisinnius by name, who afterwards was entrusted with the same episcopate, a man able to both understand and speak, and accurately knowledgeable in the expositions of the sacred books, and very learned in the things recorded by those who philosophized among 7.12.5 the Greeks and in the church. And he, then seeming to speak best, advised to avoid discussions with the heretics as causes of strife and contention, and to ask them if they accepted the teachers and instructors of the sacred words 7.12.6 who lived before the division of the church; "For if," he said, "they reject their testimonies, they will be cast out by their own people; but if they consider them sufficient for the proof of doubtful points, their books should be brought forward." For he knew well that the ancients, finding the Son to be co-eternal with the Father, did not dare to say that He had His generation from some 7.12.7 beginning. And since these things also seemed good to Nectarius, and the emperor having learned of it praised the counsel, he tested those from the other heresies, as to what opinion they held concerning the expositions of the more ancient writers. And when they were much amazed, he declared openly whether they would cease their inquiries based on what had been said by them and consider them trustworthy witnesses 7.12.8 of the dogma. But when dissension arose about this also among the leaders of the heresies (for they did not each hold the same opinion concerning the books of the more ancient writers), the emperor knew that, relying only on discussions of their own arguments, they were rejecting the proposal, and having blamed them for their opinion, he ordered each heresy to give him a written statement of its own dogma. 7.12. And when the day was at hand on which it was appointed to do this, there assembled at the palace on behalf of those who hold the Trinity to be homoousian, Nectarius and Agelius, and on behalf of the Arian heresy, Demophilus its leader, and of the Eunomian, Eunomius himself, and Eleusius the bishop of Cyzicus on behalf of those

155

καὶ αὐτοὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς. καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν καὶ ᾿Αράβιοι καὶ Κύπριοι ὡς ἐπὶ ἠδικημένῳ Παυλίνῳ ἠγανάκτουν, Σύροι δὲ καὶ Παλαιστῖνοι καὶ Φοίνικες, ᾿Αρμενίων τε καὶ Καππαδοκῶν καὶ Γαλατῶν καὶ τῶν πρὸς τῷ Πόντῳ 7.11.3 οἱ πλείους τὰ Φλαβιανοῦ ἐφρόνουν. οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ ἐχαλέπαινον ὁ ῾Ρωμαίων ἐπίσκοπος καὶ πάντες οἱ πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἱερεῖς, καὶ Παυλίνῳ μὲν ὡς ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αντιοχείας τὰς συνήθεις ἔγραφον ἐπιστολάς, ἃς συνοδικὰς καλοῦσι, πρὸς δὲ Φλαβιανὸν σιωπὴν ἦγον, καὶ τοὺς ἀμφὶ ∆ιόδωρον τὸν Ταρσοῦ καὶ ᾿Ακάκιον τὸν Βεροίας, τοὺς αὐτὸν χειροτονήσαντας, ἐν αἰτίᾳ ἐποι7.11.4 οῦντο καὶ ἀκοινωνήτους εἶχον. ὥστε δὲ τὰ περὶ τούτων διαγνῶναι, ἔγραψαν αὐτοί τε καὶ Γρατιανὸς ὁ βασιλεύς, συγκαλοῦντες εἰς τὴν δύσιν τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνατολῆς ἐπισκόπους. 7.12.1 Κατὰ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς καθόλου ἐκκλησίας καταλαμβανόντων τοὺς εὐκτηρίους οἴκους πλεῖσται πολλαχῇ τῆς ὑπηκόου ταραχαὶ συνέβησαν τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Αρείου αἱρέσεως ἀνθισταμένων. Θεοδόσιος δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὀλίγον τῆς προτέρας συνόδου διαλιπὼν χρόνον αὖθις τοὺς προεστῶτας τῶν ἀκμαζουσῶν τότε αἱρέσεων συνεκάλεσεν, ἢ πεισθησομένους ἢ πεί7.12.2 σοντας περὶ ὧν διεφέροντο. ὑπέλαβε γὰρ πάντας ὁμοδόξους ποιήσειν, εἰ κοινὴν αὐτοῖς διάλεξιν προθείη περὶ τῶν ἀμφιβόλων τοῦ δόγματος. ἐπεὶ δὲ συνῆλθον (ἔτος δὲ τοῦτο ἦν, ἐν ᾧ Μεροβαύδης τὸ δεύτερον καὶ Σατουρνῖνος ὑπάτευον, ἡνίκα δὴ συμβασιλεύειν αὐτῷ τὸν υἱὸν ᾿Αρκάδιον ἀνηγόρευσε), μετακαλεσάμενος Νεκτάριον ἐκοινώσατο περὶ τῆς ἐσομένης συνόδου καὶ τὸ ποιοῦν τὰς αἱρέσεις ζήτημα εἰς διάλεξιν ἄγειν ἐκέλευσεν, ὅπως μία τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς Χριστὸν ἐκκλησία γένοιτο καὶ δόγμα, καθ' ὃ δεῖ θρη7.12.3 σκεύειν, σύμφωνον. καθ' ἑαυτὸν δὲ Νεκτάριος ἐν φροντίσι γενόμενος ὡς ὁμόφρονι περὶ τὴν πίστιν δήλην ἐποίησε τὴν βασιλέως γνώμην ᾿Αγελίῳ 7.12.4 τῷ προϊσταμένῳ τῆς Ναυατιανῶν ἐκκλησίας. ὁ δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῦ βίου διὰ τῶν ἔργων φέρων, κομψότητος δὲ καὶ τερθρείας λόγων ἀτριβής, προεβάλετο ἀντ' αὐτοῦ τὸ πρακτέον ἰδεῖν διαλεχθῆναί τε, εἰ δεήσειεν, ἄνδρα τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν ἀναγνωστῶν τότε, Σισίννιον ὄνομα, ὃς ὕστερον ἐπετράπη τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπισκοπήν, ἱκανὸν νοῆσαί τε καὶ φράσαι καὶ τὰς ἐξηγήσεις τῶν ἱερῶν βίβλων ἀκριβῶς ἐπιστάμενον καὶ πολυμαθῆ τῶν ἱστορημένων ὑπὸ τῶν παρ' 7.12.5 ῞Ελλησι καὶ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ φιλοσοφησάντων. ὃς δὴ καὶ τότε δόξας ἄριστα λέγειν συνεβούλευεν ἀποφυγεῖν τὰς πρὸς τοὺς ἑτεροδόξους διαλέξεις ὡς ἔριδος καὶ μάχης αἰτίς, πυνθάνεσθαι δὲ αὐτῶν, εἰ προσίενται τοὺς πρὸ τῆς διαιρέσεως τῆς ἐκκλησίας καθηγητὰς καὶ διδασκάλους τῶν ἱερῶν λό7.12.6 γων γενομένους· «εἰ μὲν γὰρ τούτων», ἔφη, «τὰς μαρτυρίας ἀποβάλωσιν, ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἐξελαθήσονται· εἰ δὲ ἱκανοὺς εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τῶν ἀμφιβόλων ἡγήσονται, προΐσχεσθαι δεῖ τὰς αὐτῶν βίβλους.» εὖ γὰρ ᾔδει, ὡς οἱ παλαιοὶ συναΐδιον τῷ πατρὶ τὸν υἱὸν εὑρόντες οὐκ ἐτόλμησαν εἰπεῖν ἔκ τινος 7.12.7 ἀρχῆς τὴν γένεσιν αὐτὸν ἔχειν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τάδε καλῶς ἔχειν καὶ Νεκταρίῳ συνεδόκει, μαθὼν δὲ καὶ βασιλεὺς ἐπῄνεσε τὴν βουλήν, ἀπεπειρᾶτο τῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων αἱρέσεων, ὅπως ἔχουσι γνώμης περὶ τὰς τῶν παλαιοτέρων ἐξηγήσεις. τῶν δὲ μάλα θαυμασάντων ἀναφανδὸν ἐδήλωσεν, εἰ ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰρημένοις αὐτοῖς καταπαύουσι τὰς ζητήσεις καὶ ἀξιοχρέους ἡγοῦνται μάρ7.12.8 τυρας τοῦ δόγματος. διχονοίας δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦτο συμβάσης τοῖς προεστῶσι τῶν αἱρέσεων (οὐ ταὐτὰ γὰρ ἕκαστοι περὶ τὰς τῶν ἀρχαιοτέρων ἐφρόνουν βίβλους) ἔγνω ὁ βασιλεύς, ὡς διαλέξεσι μόναις οἰκείων λόγων πεποιθότες παραιτοῦνται τὴν πρότασιν, καὶ τῆς γνώμης αὐτοὺς μεμψάμενος ἐκέλευσεν ἑκάστην αἵρεσιν γραφὴν αὐτῷ διδόναι τοῦ οἰκείου δόγμα7.12. τος. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ ἡμέρα παρῆν, καθ' ἣν ὥριστο τοῦτο ποιεῖν, συνῆλθον εἰς τὰ βασίλεια ὑπὲρ μὲν τῶν ὁμοούσιον τριάδα δοξαζόντων Νεκτάριος καὶ ᾿Αγέλιος, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῆς ᾿Αρείου αἱρέσεως ∆ημόφιλος ὁ ταύτης προεστώς, τῆς δὲ Εὐνομίου αὐτὸς Εὐνόμιος, ᾿Ελεύσιος δὲ ὁ Κυζίκου ἐπίσκοπος ὑπὲρ τῶν