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and with theologies incomprehensible to us they honor their own maker and ruler of all things, whom no mortal is able to praise worthily, because eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, these very things which God has prepared for those who love him; 10.4.71 of which having already been deemed worthy in part, men together with children and women, small and great, let us all together with one spirit and one soul not cease from confessing and praising the author of so many good things to us, who forgives all our iniquities, who heals all our diseases, who redeems our life from corruption, who crowns us with mercy and compassion, who satisfies our desire with good things, because he has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities, for as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our iniquities from us; as a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has had compassion on those who fear him. 10.4.72 Rekindling these things in our memories both now and for all time to come, and also keeping before our mind's eye night and day, at every hour and with every breath, so to speak, the author and presider of the present festival and of this joyful and most brilliant day, loving and revering him with all the power of our soul, and now rising up, let us with a great voice of our disposition beseech him, that sheltering us to the end under his fold he might preserve us, awarding from himself an unbreakable and unshakable eternal peace in Christ Jesus our savior, through whom to him be the glory for all the ages of ages. Amen. 10.5.1 Come now, let us next also set forth the translations of the imperial ordinances of Constantine and Licinius from the Roman tongue. COPY OF THE IMPERIAL ORDINANCES TRANSLATED FROM THE ROMAN TONGUE 10.5.2 "Considering long since that freedom of religion ought not to be denied, but that to the mind and will of each one authority should be given to care for divine things according to his own choice, we had commanded that the Christians also should preserve the faith of their own sect and religion; 10.5.3 but since many and various conditions seemed to have been clearly added in that rescript, in which such authority was granted to the same, perhaps some of them after a little were repelled from such observance. 10.5.4 When I, Constantine Augustus, and I, Licinius Augustus, had happily come to Milan and were considering all things that pertained to the public advantage and welfare, among the other things which we saw would be for the good of many, we resolved to establish first of all, those things by which reverence and awe for the Divinity are contained, that is, that we should give to the Christians and to all others free choice to follow the religion that they may wish, so that whatever divinity and heavenly power exists, may be propitious to us and to all who are living under our authority. 10.5.5 Therefore, with a sound and most upright reasoning we have decreed this our will, that to no one at all should be denied the authority to follow and choose the observance or religion of the Christians, and that authority be given to each one to give his own mind to that religion which he himself thinks most suitable for himself, so that the Divinity may in all things be able to grant us its customary favor and benevolence; 10.5.6 It was fitting to write that this has been our pleasure, so that, with the conditions entirely removed which were contained in our former letters sent to your Devotion concerning the Christians, and which seemed utterly sinister and alien to our clemency, these should be removed, and now freely and simply each one of those who has the same choice to observe the [religion] of the

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καὶ ἀνεπιλογίστοις ἡμῖν θεολογίαις τὸν σφῶν ποιητὴν καὶ πανηγεμόνα τῶν ὅλων γεραίρουσιν, οὔτις θνητὸς οἷός τε κατ' ἀξίαν ὑμνῆσαι, ὅτι δὴ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσεν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη αὐτὰ δὴ ταῦτα ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν· 10.4.71 ὧν ἤδη ἐν μέρει καταξιωθέντες, ἄνδρες ἅμα παισὶν καὶ γυναιξίν, σμικροὶ καὶ μεγάλοι, πάντες ἀθρόως ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι καὶ μιᾷ ψυχῇ μὴ διαλίπωμεν ἐξομολογούμενοι καὶ τὸν τοσούτων ἡμῖν ἀγαθῶν παραίτιον ἀνευφημοῦντες, τὸν εὐιλατεύοντα πάσαις ταῖς ἀνομίαις ἡμῶν, τὸν ἰώμενον πάσας τὰς νόσους ἡμῶν, τὸν λυτρούμενον ἐκ φθορᾶς τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν, τὸν στεφανοῦντα ἡμᾶς ἐν ἐλέει καὶ οἰκτιρμοῖς, τὸν ἐμπιμπλῶντα ἐν ἀγαθοῖς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἡμῶν, ὅτι οὐ κατὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἐποίησεν ἡμῖν οὐδὲ κατὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν ἀνταπέδωκεν ἡμῖν, ὅτι καθ' ὅσον ἀπέχουσιν ἀνατολαὶ ἀπὸ δυσμῶν, ἐμάκρυνεν ἀφ' ἡμῶν τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν· καθὼς οἰκτείρει πατὴρ υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ, ᾠκτείρησεν κύριος τοὺς φοβουμένους αὐτόν. 10.4.72 ταῦτα καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸν ἑξῆς ἅπαντα χρόνον ταῖς μνήμαις ἀναζωπυροῦντες, ἀτὰρ καὶ τῆς παρούσης πανηγύρεως καὶ τῆς φαιδρᾶς ταύτης καὶ λαμπροτάτης ἡμέρας τὸν αἴτιον καὶ πανηγυριάρχην νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν διὰ πάσης ὥρας καὶ δι' ὅλης ὡς εἰπεῖν ἀναπνοῆς ἐν νῷ προορώμενοι, στέργοντες καὶ σέβοντες ψυχῆς ὅλῃ δυνάμει, καὶ νῦν ἀναστάντες μεγάλῃ διαθέσεως φωνῇ καθικετεύσωμεν, ὡς ἂν ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτοῦ μάνδραν ἐς τέλος ἡμᾶς σκεπάζων διασῴζοιτο, τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ βραβεύων ἀρραγῆ καὶ ἄσειστον αἰωνίαν εἰρήνην ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ σωτῆρι ἡμῶν, δι' οὗ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς σύμπαντας αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. 10.5.1 Φέρε δή, λοιπὸν καὶ τῶν βασιλικῶν διατάξεων Κωνσταντίνου καὶ Λικιννίου τὰς ἐκ τῆς Ῥωμαίων φωνῆς μεταληφθείσας ἑρμηνείας παραθώμεθα. ΑΝΤΙΓΡΑΦΟΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΩΝ ∆ΙΑΤΑΞΕΩΝ ΕΚ ΡΩΜΑΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΤΤΗΣ ΜΕΤΑΛΗΦΘΕΙΣΩΝ 10.5.2 «Ἤδη μὲν πάλαι σκοποῦντες τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῆς θρῃσκείας οὐκ ἀρνητέαν εἶναι, ἀλλ' ἑνὸς ἑκάστου τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ τῇ βουλήσει ἐξουσίαν δοτέον τοῦ τὰ θεῖα πράγματα τημελεῖν κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ προαίρεσιν ἕκαστον, κεκελεύκειμεν τοῖς τε Χριστιανοῖς τῆς αἱρέσεως καὶ τῆς θρῃσκείας τῆς ἑαυτῶν τὴν πίστιν φυλάττειν· 10.5.3 ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ πολλαὶ καὶ διάφοροι αἱρέσεις ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἀντιγραφῇ, ἐν ᾗ τοῖς αὐτοῖς συνεχωρήθη ἡ τοιαύτη ἐξουσία, ἐδόκουν προστεθεῖσθαι σαφῶς, τυχὸν ἴσως τινὲς αὐτῶν μετ' ὀλίγον ἀπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης παραφυλάξεως ἀπεκρούοντο. 10.5.4 ὁπότε εὐτυχῶς ἐγὼ Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ Αὔγουστος κἀγὼ Λικίννιος ὁ Αὔγουστος ἐν τῇ Μεδιολάνῳ ἐληλύθειμεν καὶ πάντα ὅσα πρὸς τὸ λυσιτελὲς καὶ τὸ χρήσιμον τῷ κοινῷ διέφερεν, ἐν ζητήσει ἔσχομεν, ταῦτα μεταξὺ τῶν λοιπῶν ἅτινα ἐδόκει ἐν πολλοῖς ἅπασιν ἐπωφελῆ εἶναι, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐν πρώτοις διατάξαι ἐδογματίσαμεν, οἷς ἡ πρὸς τὸ θεῖον αἰδώς τε καὶ τὸ σέβας ἐνείχετο, τοῦτ' ἔστιν, ὅπως δῶμεν καὶ τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς καὶ πᾶσιν ἐλευθέραν αἵρεσιν τοῦ ἀκολουθεῖν τῇ θρῃσκείᾳ ᾗ δ' ἂν βουληθῶσιν, ὅπως ὅ τί ποτέ ἐστιν θειότητος καὶ οὐρανίου πράγματος, ἡμῖν καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπὸ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐξουσίαν διάγουσιν εὐμενὲς εἶναι δυνηθῇ. 10.5.5 τοίνυν ταύτην τὴν ἡμετέραν βούλησιν ὑγιεινῷ καὶ ὀρθοτάτῳ λογισμῷ ἐδογματίσαμεν, ὅπως μηδενὶ παντελῶς ἐξουσία ἀρνητέα ᾖ τοῦ ἀκολουθεῖν καὶ αἱρεῖσθαι τὴν τῶν Χριστιανῶν παραφύλαξιν ἢ θρῃσκείαν ἑκάστῳ τε ἐξουσία δοθείη τοῦ διδόναι ἑαυτοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ θρῃσκεία, ἣν αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἁρμόζειν νομίζει, ὅπως ἡμῖν δυνηθῇ τὸ θεῖον ἐν πᾶσι τὴν ἔθιμον σπουδὴν καὶ καλοκἀγαθίαν παρέχειν· 10.5.6 ἅτινα οὕτως ἀρέσκειν ἡμῖν ἀντιγράψαι ἀκόλουθον ἦν, ἵν' ἀφαιρεθεισῶν παντελῶς τῶν αἱρέσεων, αἵτινες τοῖς προτέροις ἡμῶν γράμμασι τοῖς πρὸς τὴν σὴν καθοσίωσιν ἀποσταλεῖσι περὶ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἐνείχοντο καὶ ἅτινα πάνυ σκαιὰ καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας πραότητος ἀλλότρια εἶναι ἐδόκει, ταῦτα ὑφαιρεθῇ καὶ νῦν ἐλευθέρως καὶ ἁπλῶς ἕκαστος αὐτῶν τῶν τὴν αὐτὴν προαίρεσιν ἐσχηκότων τοῦ φυλάττειν τὴν τῶν