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insulting the blood of Christ; for he who does this contrary to the ecclesiastical rule, insults it. (And we say these things not because a chalice of schismatics was ever broken by Macarius, but because there was nothing at all there; for how could there be? where there was neither a Lord's house nor anyone of the Church there, but neither was it the time for the mysteries.) This is the notorious Ischyras, who was neither ordained by the Church and, when Alexander received the presbyters appointed by Meletius, was not even numbered among them; thus he was not appointed from that source either.

12.1 From where, then, is Ischyras a presbyter? Who appointed him? Was it Colluthus? For that is what remains. But it is known that Colluthus died as a presbyter, and his every ordination has become invalid, and all those appointed by him in the schism have become laymen 12.2 and are gathered as such, this is clear and doubtful to no one. How then could a private person, living in a small private house, be believed to have a mystic chalice? But at that time they called the private person a presbyter and bestowed this title on him because of the injustice against us, and now as a reward for the accusation they are procuring the building of a church for him. 12.3 Thus the man did not have a church, but as a reward for his malice and his obedience in making the accusation, he now receives what he did not have, and perhaps they have even granted him a bishopric; for he goes about boasting of these things and thus struts about against us. Thus, then, such great rewards are offered by the bishops to accusers and slanderers; naturally, for having had him as a co-worker in what they wanted, as a partner in their deeds, they thus also deemed him worthy of a like episcopate. But not yet these things; lend your ears still to the things then done by them.

13.1 Being powerless against the truth, although they were prepared against it, and since Ischyras proved nothing in Tyre, but was shown to be a slanderer and their own plot of slander was breaking down, they postpone the matter for proofs and announce that they will send men from among themselves to investigate matters in the Mareotis. 13.2 And those whom we openly begged off for many reasons, both as holding the opinions of Arius and for this reason being our enemies, they themselves sent secretly, using their power: Diognius, Maris, Theodorus, Macedonius, and two younger in age and character, Ursacius and Valens from Pannonia. And these men, after so great a journey which they endured in order to judge on behalf of our enemy, hurried again from Tyre to Alexandria, not even declining to be witnesses who were also judges, but openly undertaking every kind of plotting, and enduring every toil and every journey, in order to complete the plot being constructed. 13.3 And they left the bishop Athanasius detained in a foreign land, while they themselves entered the city of his enemy, as if revelling against the church and the people; and, what is more unreasonable, bringing with them Ischyras the accuser, they did not permit Macarius the accused to follow, but left him under guard in Tyre. For Macarius the presbyter of Alexandria was being led about here and there by them on this charge.

14.1 Therefore, entering Alexandria alone with the accuser, having him as a housemate, a table companion, and a drinking partner, and taking along Philagrius, the Prefect of Egypt, they went off to the Mareotis. And there they supposedly conducted the examination by themselves, as they wished, with the aforementioned man, not permitting the presbyters to be present though they begged many times. But the presbyters of both the city and the entire country demanded to be present, in order that 14.2 they might convict those suborned by Ischyras, showing from where and who they were. And they prevented the clergy from being present, but in the presence of heathens they inquired about a church, about a chalice, about a table, and about the holy things,

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ἐνυβρίζων τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ· ἐνυβρίζει γὰρ ὁ παρὰ τὸν ἐκκλησιαστικὸν θεσμὸν τοῦτο ποιῶν. (καὶ ταῦτά φαμεν οὐχ ὅτι κἂν σχισματικῶν ποτήριον κέκλασται παρὰ Μακα ρίου, ἀλλ' ὅτι μηδὲν ἦν ὅλως ἐκεῖ· πῶς γάρ; ὅπου μήτε τόπος κυριακῆς μήτε τις ἐκεῖ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἀλλὰ μήτε ὁ καιρὸς μυστηρίων ἦν.) οὗτος δέ ἐστιν ὁ πολυθρύλητος Ἰσχύρας ὁ μήτε ὑπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας χειροτονηθεὶς καί, ὅτε τοὺς ὑπὸ Μελετίου καταστα θέντας πρεσβυτέρους Ἀλέξανδρος ἐδέχετο, μηδὲ ἐκείνοις συναριθμηθείς· οὕτως οὐδὲ ἐκεῖθεν κατεστάθη.

12.1 Πόθεν οὖν πρεσβύτερος Ἰσχύρας; τίνος καταστήσαντος; ἆρα Κολλούθου; τοῦτο γὰρ λοιπόν. ἀλλ' ὅτι Κόλλουθος πρεσβύτερος ὢν ἐτελεύτησε καὶ πᾶσα χεὶρ αὐτοῦ γέ γονεν ἄκυρος καὶ πάντες οἱ παρ' αὐτοῦ κατασταθέντες ἐν τῷ σχίσματι λαικοὶ γεγόνασι 12.2 καὶ οὕτως συνάγονται, δῆλον καὶ οὐδενὶ καθέστηκεν ἀμφίβολον. πῶς οὖν ἰδιώτης ἄνθρωπος καὶ οἰκίσκον οἰκῶν ἰδιωτικὸν ποτήριον ἔχειν μυστικὸν πιστευθείη; ἀλλὰ τότε τὸν ἰδιώτην πρεσβύτερον ὠνόμαζον καὶ τὴν προσηγορίαν αὐτῷ ταύτην διὰ τὴν καθ' ἡμῶν ἀδικίαν ἐχαρίζοντο καὶ νῦν μισθὸν τῆς κατηγορίας ἐκκλησίας οἰκοδομὴν προ 12.3 ξενοῦσιν. οὕτως οὐκ εἶχεν ἐκκλησίαν ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ μισθὸν τῆς κακοηθείας καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὴν κατηγορίαν ὑπακοῆς νῦν, ἣν οὐκ εἶχε, λαμβάνει καὶ τάχα καὶ ἐπισκοπὴν ἀντ έδοσαν αὐτῷ· ταῦτα γὰρ θρυλεῖ περιιὼν καὶ οὕτω καθ' ἡμῶν βρενθύεται. οὕτω λοιπὸν τηλικαῦτα ἔπαθλα παρὰ τῶν ἐπισκόπων τοῖς κατηγόροις καὶ συκοφάνταις προστίθεται· εἰκότως, οἱ γὰρ συνεργὸν εἰς ἃ ἤθελον αὐτὸν ἐσχηκότες ὡς τῶν πραγμάτων κοινωνόν, οὕτως καὶ τῆς ὁμοίας ἐπισκοπῆς ἠξίωσαν. ἀλλὰ μήπω ταῦτα, ἔτι δὲ τὰς ἀκοὰς τοῖς τότε πραχθεῖσι παρ' αὐτῶν ἔνδοτε.

13.1 Μὴ δυνηθέντες πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καίτοι κατ' αὐτῆς παρεσκευασμένοι, καὶ ἐν Τύρῳ μηδὲν ἀποδείξαντος Ἰσχύρα, ἀλλὰ συκοφάντου δεικνυμένου καὶ τὴν συσκευὴν αὐτῶν τῆς συκοφαντίας λυούσης εἰς ἀποδείξεις ὑπερτίθενται καὶ ἐπαγγέλλονται πέμ 13.2 ψειν ἐξ ἑαυτῶν τοὺς κατὰ Μαρεώτην πολυπραγμονήσοντας. καὶ οὓς ἡμεῖς παρῃ τούμεθα φανερῶς διὰ πολλὰ καὶ ὡς τὰ Ἀρείου φρονοῦντας καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἡμῶν ἐχθρούς, ἀπέστειλαν αὐτοὶ κρύφα χρώμενοι τῇ δυναστείᾳ ∆ιόγνιον, Μάριν, Θεόδωρον, Μακε δόνιον, δύο νεωτέρους τὴν ἡλικίαν καὶ τὸν τρόπον Οὐρσάκιον καὶ Οὐάλην ἀπὸ Παννο νίας, καὶ οὗτοι μετὰ τὴν τοσαύτην ὁδόν, ἣν ὑπέμειναν, ἵνα δικάσωσι τῷ ἐχθρῷ, πάλιν ἀπὸ Τύρου καὶ εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἠπείγοντο, μηδὲ τὸ μάρτυρες οἱ δικασταὶ γε νέσθαι παραιτησάμενοι, ἀλλὰ πάντα τρόπον ἐπιβουλῆς ἀναδεξάμενοι φανερῶς καὶ πάντα κάματον καὶ πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ὑποστάντες, ἵνα τὴν κατασκευαζομένην συσκευὴν πληρώσωσι. 13.3 καὶ τὸν μὲν ἐπίσκοπον Ἀθανάσιον κατεχόμενον ἐπὶ ξένης ἠφίεσαν, αὐτοὶ δὲ εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ πόλιν εἰσῄεσαν ὥσπερ ἐπικωμάζοντες τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ τῷ λαῷ, καὶ τὸ παρα λογώτερον, Ἰσχύραν τὸν κατήγορον μεθ' ἑαυτῶν ἐπαγόμενοι Μακάριον τὸν κατηγο ρούμενον οὐκ ἐπέτρεψαν ἀκολουθῆσαι, ἀλλ' ἔμφρουρον ἀφῆκαν ἐν Τύρῳ· ἄνω γὰρ καὶ κάτω Μακάριος ὁ πρεσβύτερος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας ὑπήγετο παρ' αὐτῶν τῷ ἐγκλήματι.

14.1 Μόνοι τοίνυν μετὰ τοῦ κατηγόρου τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν εἰσελθόντες σύνοικον αὐτὸν καὶ συνέστιον καὶ συμπότην ἔχοντες καὶ τὸν ἔπαρχον τῆς Αἰγύπτου Φιλάγριον παραλα βόντες ἐπὶ τὸν Μαρεώτην ἀπῆλθον. κἀκεῖ δῆθεν ἐποιοῦντο τὴν ἐξέτασιν μόνοι, ὡς ἤθελον, μετὰ τοῦ προειρημένου, πολλὰ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους παρεῖναι παρακαλέσαντας οὐκ ἐπι τρέψαντες. ἠξίουν δὲ παρεῖναι οἵ τε τῆς πόλεως καὶ τῆς χώρας πάσης πρεσβύτεροι, ἵνα 14.2 τοὺς ὑποβαλλομένους ὑπὸ Ἰσχύρα διελέγξωσι, πόθεν καὶ τίνες εἰσί. καὶ τοὺς μὲν λειτουργοὺς ἐκώλυον παρεῖναι, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἐθνικῶν ἐξήταζον περὶ ἐκκλησίας, περὶ πο τηρίου, περὶ τραπέζης καὶ τῶν ἁγίων,