402

While some had borne witness, others had fallen away from their testimony, and had practiced the unlawful rite of idol worship, who also by necessity had taken part in sacrifices, therefore, having fallen away and sacrificed and transgressed, they approached the confessors and martyrs, so that they might obtain mercy through repentance, some of them being from among the soldiers, and others from the clergy of various orders, both of the presbyterate and the diaconate and others, a disturbance arose among the martyrs and no small commotion, 3.142 some saying that those who had once fallen away and denied and had not persevered in courage nor struggled ought not to be deemed worthy of repentance, so that those who still remained, paying less attention to the penance because of such a quick pardon granted to them, might not turn aside, and come to the denial of God and the unlawful rites of Hellenism. And what was being said by the confessors themselves was reasonable. And those who said this were Meletius and Peleus and several other martyrs and confessors with them. Therefore, having shown zeal for God, it is clear that they † were moved when they said these things. But they said that if indeed, after the persecution had ceased, after a sufficient time, penance should be given to the aforesaid in a time of peace, if they should truly repent and show forth the fruit of their repentance, not, however, that each should be received into his own clerical order, but after an interval of time be gathered into the church and into communion, but in the order of the laity and not in clerical orders. And this was truth-loving and full of zeal. 3. But the most holy Peter, being compassionate and as the father of all, begged and implored, saying: let us receive them as they repent and let us assign them a penance to sit beside the church, and let us not turn them away from the clerical orders either, as the word that has come to us contains, lest it become a shame to them and through the protraction of time those who once out of cowardice and weakness were assailed and shaken by the devil might be completely turned aside and not be healed, as it is written, "that the lame not be turned aside, but rather be healed." And Peter's argument was for mercy and love for mankind, and that of Meletius and those with him was for truth and zeal. From this, through the appearance of the seemingly pious position from both sides, the schism occurred, with some saying one thing, and others another. For when the 3.143 Archbishop Peter saw that Meletius and his followers resisted the counsel of his love for mankind, being carried away by an excessive divine zeal, Peter himself made a curtain in the middle of the prison, spreading out a garment, that is, a blanket or a cloak, and proclaimed through a deacon that "Whoever is of my opinion, let them come over to me, and whoever is of Meletius' opinion, to Meletius." And the multitude was divided along with Meletius, both of bishops and monks and presbyters and other orders; but very few were with Archbishop Peter, both bishops and a few others. And so these prayed by themselves and those by themselves, and likewise each performed the other sacred rites separately. And it came to pass that Peter bore witness, and the blessed one was perfected, leaving Alexander as his successor in Alexandria. For he succeeded to the throne after the aforesaid Peter. But Meletius and many others fell under exile, being exiled to the mines of Phaeno. And then, therefore, the confessors who were being dragged away * with Meletius, and Meletius himself in prison and on the journey, passing through each country and each place, appointed clerics, both bishops and presbyters and deacons, and built his own churches, and neither did these have communion with those, nor those with these. And each inscribed in his own church, those who succeeded from Peter having

402

τινῶν μὲν μαρτυρησάντων, ἄλλων δὲ τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἐκπεσόντων, καὶ τὴν ἀθεμιτουργίαν τῆς τῶν εἰδώλων θρῃσκείας πραξάντων, οἳ κατ' ἀνάγκην καὶ θυσιῶν ἐφήψαντο, παραπεσόντες οὖν καὶ θύσαντες καὶ παραβάντες προσῆλθον τοῖς ὁμολογηταῖς τε καὶ μάρτυσιν, ὅπως τύχωσιν ἐλέους διὰ μετανοίας, οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ στρατιωτῶν ὄντες, οἱ δὲ ἀπὸ κληρικῶν ὑπάρχοντες διαφόρου κλήρου, πρεσβυτερίου τε καὶ διακονίας καὶ ἄλλων, κίνησις ἐγένετο ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν μαρτύρων καὶ τάραχος οὐχ ὁ τυχών, 3.142 τῶν μὲν λεγόντων τοὺς ἅπαξ παραπεσόντας καὶ ἀρνησαμένους καὶ ἐν ἀνδρειότητι μὴ παραμείναντας μηδὲ ἀγωνισαμένους μὴ δεῖν ἀξιοῦσθαι εἰς μετάνοιαν, ἵνα μὴ καὶ οἱ ἔτι περιλειφθέντες ἔλαττον φροντίσαντες τῆς ἐπιτιμίας διὰ τὴν τοιαύτην θᾶττον γενομένην αὐτοῖς συγχώρησιν ἐκτραπῶσι, καὶ εἰς ἐπαρνησιθεΐαν καὶ ἀθεμιτουργίαν Ἑλληνισμοῦ ἔλθωσι. καὶ ἦν εὔλογον τὸ παρ' αὐτῶν τῶν ὁμολογητῶν λεγόμενον. ἦσαν δὲ οἱ τοῦτο λέγοντες Μελίτιος καὶ Πηλεὺς καί τινες ἄλλοι πλείους τῶν μαρτύρων καὶ ὁμολογητῶν ἅμα αὐτοῖς. ζῆλον τοίνυν τὸν ὑπὲρ θεοῦ ἀναδεδειγμένοι δῆλον ὅτι † ἔπασχον ταῦτα λέγοντες. ἔφασκον δέ, εἰ ἄρα μετὰ τὸ παύσασθαι τὸν διωγμὸν μετὰ χρόνον ἱκανὸν δίδοσθαι τοῖς προειρημένοις μετάνοιαν ἐν καιρῷ γενομένης εἰρήνης, ἐὰν ἐπ' ἀληθείας μετανοήσωσι καὶ καρπὸν τῆς μετανοίας αὐτῶν ἐπιδείξωνται, οὐ μὴν ἵνα ἕκαστος δεξιωθῇ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ κλήρῳ, ἀλλὰ μετὰ χρόνου διάστημα συνάγεσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν τῇ κοινωνίᾳ, ἐν τῷ τάγματι δὲ τῶν λαϊκῶν καὶ οὐκ ἐν κλήροις. καὶ ἦν φιλάληθες καὶ ζήλου πλῆρες τοῦτο. 3. Ὁ δὲ ἁγιώτατος Πέτρος, εὔσπλαγχνος ὢν καὶ ὡς πατὴρ πάντων ὑπάρχων, ἐδέετο καὶ καθικέτευε λέγων· δεξώμεθα αὐτοὺς μετανοοῦντας καὶ τάξωμεν αὐτοῖς μετάνοιαν εἰς τὸ παρακαθέζεσθαι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, καὶ μὴ ἀποστρέψωμεν αὐτοὺς μήτε τῶν κλήρων ὡς ὁ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐλθὼν λόγος περιέχει, μή ποτε εἰς αἰσχύνην αὐτοῖς γένηται καὶ διὰ παρολκὴν τοῦ χρόνου οἱ ἅπαξ ἀπὸ ἀνανδρίας καὶ ἀσθενείας ὑπὸ διαβόλου ἐπισεισθέντες καὶ παρασαλευόμενοι τελείως ἐκτραπῶσι καὶ μὴ ἰαθῶσιν, ὡς κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον «μὴ ἐκτραπῆναι τὸ χωλόν, ἰαθῆναι δὲ μᾶλλον». καὶ ἦν μὲν τοῦ Πέτρου ὁ λόγος ὑπὲρ ἐλέους καὶ φιλανθρωπίας καὶ τοῦ Μελιτίου καὶ τῶν ἅμα αὐτῷ ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας καὶ ζήλου. ἐντεῦθεν διὰ τοῦ προσώπου τῆς ἀπὸ ἀμφοτέρων δοκούσης εὐσεβοῦς ὑποθέσεως τὸ σχίσμα γεγένηται, τῶν μὲν τοῦτο φασκόντων, τῶν δὲ τοῦτο. ὅτε γὰρ εἶδεν ὁ 3.143 ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Πέτρος, ὅτι ἀντέστησαν τῇ βουλῇ τῆς αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίας οἱ περὶ τὸν Μελίτιον, ζήλῳ θεϊκῷ περισσοτέρως φερόμενοι, καταπέτασμα αὐτὸς ὁ Πέτρος ἐποίησε μέσον τῆς φυλακῆς, ἱμάτιον ἐκπετάσας τουτέστι λωδίκιον εἶτ' οὖν παλλίον καὶ κηρύξας διὰ διακόνου ὅτι οἵτινές εἰσι τῆς ἐμῆς γνώμης παρελθέτωσαν πρός με καὶ οἵτινες τῆς Μελιτίου γνώμης τυγχάνουσι πρὸς Μελίτιον. καὶ διῃρέθη τὸ μὲν πλῆθος ἅμα Μελιτίῳ, ἐπισκόπων τε καὶ μοναχῶν καὶ πρεσβυτέρων καὶ ἄλλων ταγμάτων· ὀλίγοι δὲ παντελῶς ἅμα Πέτρῳ τῷ ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ ἐγίνοντο, ἐπίσκοποί τε καὶ ἄλλοι ὀλίγοι. καὶ λοιπὸν οὗτοι κατ' ἰδίαν ηὔχοντο καὶ οὗτοι κατ' ἰδίαν, καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἱερουργίας ὡσαύτως ἕκαστος ἰδίᾳ ἐπετέλει. Γίνεται δὲ Πέτρον μαρτυρῆσαι, καὶ ἐτελειώθη ὁ μακάριος, διάδοχον καταλείψας Ἀλέξανδρον ἐν τῇ Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ. αὐτὸς γὰρ διαδέχεται τὸν θρόνον μετὰ τὸν προειρημένον Πέτρον. Μελίτιος δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ ἐξορισμῷ ὑπέπεσον, ὑπερορισθέντες ἐν τοῖς Φαινησίοις μετάλλοις. καὶ τότε λοιπὸν οἱ συρόμενοι ὄντες ὁμολογηταὶ * ἅμα Μελιτίῳ, καὶ αὐτὸς Μελίτιος ἐν τῇ εἱρκτῇ κατά τε τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν, καθ' ἑκάστην χώραν καὶ καθ' ἕκαστον τόπον διερχόμενος καθίστα κληρικούς, ἐπισκόπους τε καὶ πρεσβυτέρους καὶ διακόνους, καὶ ᾠκοδόμει ἐκκλησίας ἰδίας, καὶ οὔτε οὗτοι τούτοις ἐκοινώνουν οὔτε ἐκεῖνοι τούτοις. ἐπέγραφον δὲ ἕκαστος ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἐκκλησίᾳ οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ Πέτρου διαδεξάμενοι ἔχοντες