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These are cast out by the Catholic bishops. For these things devised by heretics must no longer be attached to the Catholic canons; for they always wish to diminish the decision of those in Nicaea through contrary and lawless things. We say not only that one must not follow these things, but rather that they are to be condemned along with heretical and schismatic dogmas, just as was also done previously at the Synod of Sardica by the bishops before us. For it is more fitting for things done badly to be condemned than for things done contrary to the canons to have any validity, most honored brothers. But what should we do against such people at the present time? A synodical judgment is necessary, which we have long said must be assembled. For it alone is able to quell the movements of so many tempests; in order to obtain it, it is useful for the time being to defer the remedy to the will of the great God and of his Christ, our Lord. All things that have now been thrown into turmoil by the envy of the devil for the testing of the faithful, will be calmed. We ought to despair of nothing from our Lord, because of the firmness of the faith. For we ourselves are also considering many things, in what way an ecumenical synod might be assembled, so that by the will of God the turbulent movements may cease. Let us therefore wait for the time being and, fortified by the wall of patience, hope that all things will be restored by the help of our God. And all that you said you are enduring, we have learned by complete inquiry, even before, when our fellow bishops came together to Rome, although at different times, that is, Demetrius, Cyriacus, Eulysius, and Palladius, who are with us.” These were the letters of Innocent; from which it is possible to perceive what opinion he held concerning John. During this time a very great hailstorm broke out in Constantinople and its suburbs, and on the fourth day after this the emperor's wife died. And it seemed to many that these things happened because God was angry on account of John. For indeed, Cyrinus, the bishop of Chalcedon, who had especially reviled him, not long before died piteously, after both his legs were sawn off by physicians because of a misfortune that had befallen his foot. And Arsacius, having been in charge of the church of Constantinople for a short time, died. And while many were seeking his succession, in the fourth month after his death Atticus was ordained, a presbyter of the clergy of Constantinople, from among the conspirators against John. He was by birth from Sebasteia of Armenia, and from a young age he was educated in philosophy under monks of the Macedonian heresy; who at that time were distinguished throughout Sebasteia in this philosophy, being from the school of Eustathius, whom we knew in the preceding account to have become bishop there and leader of the best monks. But when he had reached manhood, he transferred to the Catholic church; and being prudent more by nature than by learning, he became successful in practical matters, capable both of plotting and of resisting plots, and his character was attractive, so as to be pleasing to many, but moderate with regard to ecclesiastical discourses, so that they were considered by the hearers neither worthy of being written down nor altogether devoid of learning; for being skilled, whenever he had occasion, he practiced the most esteemed writers among the Greeks; and by seeming to be an unlearned person when discoursing about these things, he often deceived the knowledgeable. And he was said to be earnest toward those of the same opinion, but formidable to the heterodox, and he could easily inspire fear in them whenever he wished, but changing again he would appear gentle. And those who knew the man say that he was such a person. But John became more distinguished even in exile; for having an abundance of money, since many others offered it and Olympias the deaconess

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οὗτοι παρὰ τῶν καθο"7λικῶν ἐπισκόπων ἀποβάλλονται. τὰ γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν αἱρετικῶν εὑρεθέντα "7ταῦτα οὐκέτι τοῖς καθολικοῖς κανόσι προσαπτέον· ἀεὶ γὰρ διὰ τῶν ἐναν8.26.16 "7τίων καὶ ἀθέσμων τὴν βουλὴν τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ μειοῦν ἐθέλουσιν. οὐ μό"7νον λέγομεν τούτοις μὴ δεῖν ἐξακολουθεῖν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς μετὰ αἱ"7ρετικῶν καὶ σχισματικῶν δογμάτων εἶναι κατακριτέους, καθάπερ καὶ πρό"7τερον γέγονεν ἐν τῇ Σαρδικῇ συνόδῳ ὑπὸ τῶν πρὸ ἡμῶν ἐπισκόπων. τὰ "7γὰρ κακῶς πραχθέντα κατακρίνεσθαι μᾶλλον προσῆκεν ἢ ἄντικρυς τῶν 8.26.17 "7κανόνων γενόμενα ἔχειν τινὰ βεβαιότητα, ἀδελφοὶ τιμιώτατοι. ἀλλὰ τί "7κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων νῦν ἐν τῷ παρόντι ποιήσωμεν; ἀναγκαία ἐστὶ διάγνω"7σις συνοδική, ἣν καὶ πάλαι ἔφημεν συναθροιστέαν. μόνη γάρ ἐστιν ἥτις "7δύναται τὰς κινήσεις τῶν τοσούτων καταστεῖλαι καταιγίδων· ἧς ἵνα τύχω"7μεν, χρήσιμόν ἐστι τέως ὑπερτίθεσθαι τὴν ἰατρείαν τῇ βουλήσει τοῦ μεγά8.26.18 "7λου θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ, τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν. πάντα ὅσα νῦν τῷ "7φθόνῳ τοῦ διαβόλου πρὸς τὴν τῶν πιστῶν δοκιμασίαν τετάρακται, πραϋν"7θήσεται. οὐδὲν ὀφείλομεν τῇ στερρότητι τῆς πίστεως παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου "7ἡμῶν ἀπελπίσαι. καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς πολλὰ σκεπτόμεθα, ὃν τρόπον ἡ οἰ"7κουμενικὴ σύνοδος συναχθείη, ὅπως τῇ βουλήσει τοῦ θεοῦ αἱ ταραχώδεις "7κινήσεις παύσωνται. ὑπομείνωμεν οὖν τέως καὶ τῷ τείχει τῆς ὑπομονῆς "7ὀχυρούμενοι ἐλπίσωμεν πάντα τῇ βοηθείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἀποκατασταθῆναι. 8.26.1 "7πάντα δὲ ὅσα ὑμᾶς ὑφίστασθαι εἰρήκατε, καὶ πρότερον συνδραμόντων εἰς "7τὴν ῾Ρώμην τῶν ἡμετέρων συνεπισκόπων, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα διαφόροις χρό"7νοις, τουτέστι ∆ημητρίου, Κυριακοῦ, Εὐλυσίου καὶ Παλλαδίου, οἵτινες "7σύνεισι μεθ' ἡμῶν, τελείᾳ ἐρωτήσει μεμαθήκαμεν.» 8.27.1 Τάδε μὲν τὰ ᾿Ιννοκεντίου γράμματα· ἐξ ὧν συνιδεῖν ἔστιν οἵαν εἶχε περὶ ᾿Ιωάννου γνώμην. ἐν τούτοις δὲ παμμεγέθης ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει καὶ τοῖς προαστείοις χάλαζα κατερράγη, τετάρτῃ τε μετὰ τοῦτο ἡμέρᾳ ἡ 8.27.2 τοῦ βασιλέως γαμετὴ ἐτελεύτησε. καὶ τάδε συμβῆναι χαλεπαίνοντος τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ ᾿Ιωάννην τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐδόκει. καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ Κυρῖνος ὁ Χαλκηδόνος ἐπίσκοπος, ὃς αὐτὸν μάλιστα ἐλοιδόρει, οὐ πολλῷ πρότερον ἐκ τῆς συγκυρησάσης αὐτῷ περὶ τὸν πόδα συμφορᾶς ἑκάτερον σκέλος ὑπὸ τῶν 8.27.3 ἰατρῶν ἀποπρισθεὶς ἐλεεινῶς ἀπεβίω. καὶ ᾿Αρσάκιος δὲ ἐπ' ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ τὴν Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἐκκλησίαν ἐπιτροπεύσας ἐτελεύτησεν. πολλῶν δὲ τὴν αὐτοῦ διαδοχὴν μνωμένων τετάρτῳ μηνὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ τελευτῆς χειροτονεῖται ᾿Αττικός, πρεσβύτερος τοῦ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως κλήρου, ἐκ τῶν ἐπι8.27.4 βούλων ᾿Ιωάννου. ὃς τὸ μὲν γένος ἦν ἐκ Σεβαστείας τῆς ᾿Αρμενίας, ἐκ νέου δὲ φιλοσοφεῖν ἐπαιδεύθη ὑπὸ μοναχοῖς τῆς Μακεδονίου αἱρέσεως· οἳ δὴ τότε ἀνὰ τὴν Σεβάστειαν ἐν τῇδε τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ διέπρεπον ἐκ τῆς Εὐσταθίου διατριβῆς ὄντες, ὃν ἐπίσκοπον ἐνθάδε καὶ ἡγεμόνα ἀρίστων μο8.27.5 ναχῶν γενέσθαι ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ἔγνωμεν. ἤδη δὲ εἰς ἄνδρας τελῶν πρὸς τὴν καθόλου ἐκκλησίαν μετέθετο· φύσει δὲ μᾶλλον ἢ μαθήσει φρόνιμος ὢν ἐγένετο τῶν πρακτέων ἐπήβολος, ἐπιβουλεῦσαί τε καὶ πρὸς ἐπιβουλὰς ἀντισχεῖν ἱκανός, τὸ δὲ ἦθος ἐπαγωγὸς ὡς πολλοῖς κεχαρισμένος εἶναι, 8.27.6 μέτριος δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἐπ' ἐκκλησίας λόγους, ὡς μήτε γραφῆς ἀξίους νομίζεσθαι τοῖς ἀκροαταῖς μήτε παιδείας παντελῶς ἀμοίρους· ἐμμελὴς γὰρ ὤν, εἴ πῃ καιρὸν ἦγε, τοὺς παρ' ῞Ελλησιν εὐδοκιμωτάτους συγγραφέας ἠσκεῖτο· καὶ τῷ δοκεῖν ἰδιώτης εἶναι περὶ τούτων διαλεγόμενος καὶ τοὺς ἐπιστήμο8.27.7 νας πολλάκις ἐλάνθανεν. ἐλέγετο δὲ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ὁμοδόξους σπουδαῖος εἶναι, τοῖς δὲ ἑτεροδόξοις φοβερός, καὶ ῥᾳδίως μὲν αὐτοῖς ἡνίκα βούλοιτο δέος ἐμποιεῖν, αὖθις δὲ μεταβαλλόμενος πρᾶος φαίνεσθαι. καὶ τὸν μὲν 8.27.8 τοιόνδε γενέσθαι φασὶν οἵ γε τὸν ἄνδρα ἔγνωσαν. ὁ δὲ ᾿Ιωάννης καὶ φεύγων ἐπισημότερος ἐγένετο· χρημάτων γὰρ ἔχων ἀφθονίαν, ἄλλων τε πολλῶν προσφερόντων καὶ ᾿Ολυμπιάδος τῆς διακόνου