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and when they transgressed against you and against the other churches, you will know from what is subjoined. For we have sent to you, so that your piety might also vote in agreement with what has been decreed by us and from these things you might know that the catholic church does not overlook those who transgress against it.]

41.1 The holy synod, assembled by the grace of God in Sardica, to the bishops and fellow ministers throughout Egypt and Libya, beloved brothers, greetings in the Lord. And before receiving the letters of your piety ... and because it was equal in all respects to the one before it, that is the one to the church of Alexandria, except for those things marked at the end, it was left unwritten so as not to repeat both the effort and the papers The holy synod, assembled by the grace of God in Sardica, to the bishops and fellow ministers of the catholic church everywhere, beloved brothers, greetings in the Lord.

42.2 The Ariomaniacs have dared many things and often against the servants of God who keep the right faith; for introducing a spurious teaching, they attempted to drive out the orthodox; and they rose up so much against the 42.3 faith that it did not even escape the notice of the piety of the most pious emperors. Therefore, with the grace of God working with them, the most pious emperors themselves gathered us from various provinces and cities and have granted that this holy synod be held in the city of Sardica, so that all dissension might be removed, and with all evil belief driven out, 42.4 piety toward Christ alone might be preserved by all. For the bishops from the East also came, they too being urged by the most pious emperors, especially on account of the things they frequently rumored about our beloved brothers and fellow ministers Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, and Marcellus, bishop of Ancyra in Galatia. For perhaps their slanders have also reached you, and perhaps they have tried to disturb your ears, so that you might believe what they say against the innocent, and they might conceal the suspicion of their wicked heresy. But they were not permitted to do these things for long. 42.5 For there is the Lord who presides over the churches, who for their sake and for all of us endured death and through himself has given to us all the ascent to heaven. For long ago, when those with Eusebius wrote to Julius our fellow minister, the bishop of the church of the Romans, against our aforementioned fellow ministers, namely Athanasius and Marcellus and Asclepas, bishops from other parts also wrote, testifying on the one hand to the purity of our fellow minister Athanasius, and on the other that the things done by those with Eusebius were nothing other than false and full of slander. 42.6 And although their slander became manifest especially from their not appearing when summoned by our beloved fellow minister Julius, and from the things written by the same Julius (for they would have come, if they were confident in what they had done and perpetrated against our fellow ministers), nevertheless, also from what they have done in this 42.7 holy and great synod, they have shown their own conspiracy more clearly. For having come to the city of Sardica, when they saw our brothers Athanasius and Marcellus and Asclepas and the others, they were afraid to come to judgment, and not once or twice, but many times though summoned, they did not obey the summonses, even though all of us the assembled bishops, and especially the most venerable Hosius, who on account of his age and his confession and because he has endured such great labor is worthy of all reverence, were waiting and urging them to enter into the judgment, so that what they had rumored and written against our fellow ministers in their absence, these things they might be able to refute in their presence. 42.8 But

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καὶ πλημμελησάντων καθ' ὑμῶν καὶ κατὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐκκλησιῶν, γνώσεσθε ἐκ τῶν ὑπο τεταγμένων. ἀπεστείλαμεν γὰρ ὑμῖν, ἵνα καὶ ἡ ὑμετέρα θεοσέβεια σύμψηφος τοῖς παρ' ἡμῶν ὁρισθεῖσι γένηται καὶ ἐκ τούτων γνῶτε ὅτι ἡ καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία οὐ παρορᾷ τοὺς εἰς αὐτὴν πλημμελοῦντας.]

41.1 Ἡ ἁγία σύνοδος ἡ κατὰ θεοῦ χάριν ἐν Σαρδικῇ συναχθεῖσα τοῖς κατ' Αἴγυπτον καὶ Λιβύην ἐπισκόποις καὶ συλλειτουργοῖς, ἀγαπητοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν. Καὶ πρὶν μὲν λαβεῖν τὰ γράμματα τῆς εὐλαβείας ὑμῶν ... καὶ διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὴν ἴσην κατὰ πάντα τῆς πρὸ αὐτῆς ἤτοι τῆς πρὸς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν Ἀλεξανδρείας πλὴν τῶν πρὸς τὸ τέλος σεσημιωμένων κατελείφθη ἄγραφος διὰ τὸ μὴ δευτερωθῆναι καὶ τὴν σπουδὴν καὶ τὰ χάρτα Ἡ ἁγία σύνοδος ἡ κατὰ θεοῦ χάριν ἐν Σαρδικῇ συναχθεῖσα τοῖς ἁπανταχοῦ ἐπι σκόποις καὶ συλλειτουργοῖς τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἀγαπητοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν.

42.2 Πολλὰ μὲν καὶ πολλάκις ἐτόλμησαν οἱ Ἀρειομανίται κατὰ τῶν δούλων τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν τὴν πίστιν φυλαττόντων τὴν ὀρθήν· νόθον γὰρ ὑποβάλλοντες διδασκαλίαν τοὺς ὀρθοδόξους ἐλαύνειν ἐπειράθησαν· τοσοῦτον δὲ λοιπὸν κατεπανέστησαν κατὰ τῆς 42.3 πίστεως, ὡς μηδὲ τὴν εὐσέβειαν τῶν εὐσεβεστάτων βασιλέων λαθεῖν. τοιγαροῦν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ συνεργούσης καὶ αὐτοὶ οἱ εὐσεβέστατοι βασιλεῖς συνήγαγον ἡμᾶς ἐκ διαφόρων ἐπαρχιῶν καὶ πόλεων καὶ τὴν ἁγίαν ταύτην σύνοδον ἐν τῇ Σερδῶν πόλει γενέσθαι δεδώκασιν, ἵνα πᾶσα μὲν διχόνοια περιαιρεθῇ, πάσης δὲ κακοπιστίας ἐξελαθείσης 42.4 ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν εὐσέβεια μόνη παρὰ πάντων φυλάττηται. ἦλθον γὰρ καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑῴας ἐπίσκοποι προτραπέντες καὶ αὐτοὶ παρὰ τῶν εὐσεβεστάτων βασιλέων, μάλιστα δι' ἅπερ ἐθρύλουν πολλάκις περὶ τῶν ἀγαπητῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν καὶ συλλειτουργῶν Ἀθανασίου ἐπισκόπου τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ Μαρκέλλου ἐπισκόπου τῆς Ἀγκυρογαλατίας. ἴσως γὰρ καὶ εἰς ὑμᾶς ἔφθασαν αὐτῶν αἱ διαβολαί, ἴσως καὶ τὰς ὑμετέρας ἀκοὰς ἐπεχείρησαν παρασαλεῦσαι, ἵνα κατὰ μὲν τῶν ἀθώων ἃ λέγουσι πιστεύσητε, τὴν δὲ τῆς μοχθηρᾶς αὐτῶν αἱρέσεως ὑπόνοιαν ἐπικρύψωσιν. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπὶ πολὺ ταῦτα ποιεῖν 42.5 συνεχωρήθησαν. ἔστι γὰρ ὁ προιστάμενος τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν κύριος ὁ ὑπὲρ τούτων καὶ πάντων ἡμῶν θάνατον ὑπομείνας καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ τὴν εἰς οὐρανὸν ἄνοδον πᾶσιν ἡμῖν δεδωκώς. πάλαι μὲν οὖν γραψάντων τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιον Ἰουλίῳ τῷ συλλειτουργῷ ἡμῶν τῷ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἐκκλησίας ἐπισκόπῳ κατὰ τῶν προειρημένων συλλειτουργῶν ἡμῶν, λέγομεν δὴ Ἀθανασίου καὶ Μαρκέλλου καὶ Ἀσκληπᾶ, ἔγραψαν καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων μερῶν ἐπίσκοποι μαρτυροῦντες μὲν τῇ καθαρότητι τοῦ συλλειτουργοῦ ἡμῶν Ἀθανασίου, τὰ δὲ παρὰ τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιον γενόμενα μηδὲν ἕτερον ἢ ψευδῆ καὶ συκοφαντίας εἶναι 42.6 μεστά. καὶ εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἐκ τοῦ κληθέντας αὐτοὺς παρὰ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ συλλειτουργοῦ Ἰουλίου μὴ ἀπαντῆσαι, καὶ ἐκ τῶν γραφέντων παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰουλίου φανερὰ τούτων ἡ συκοφαντία πέφηνεν (ἦλθον γὰρ ἄν, εἴπερ ἐθάρρουν οἷς ἔπραξαν καὶ πεποιήκασι κατὰ τῶν συλλειτουργῶν ἡμῶν), ὅμως καὶ ἐξ ὧν πεποιήκασιν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ 42.7 ἁγίᾳ καὶ μεγάλῃ συνόδῳ φανερωτέραν τὴν ἑαυτῶν συσκευὴν ἀπέδειξαν. ἀπαντή σαντες γὰρ εἰς τὴν Σερδῶν πόλιν, ἰδόντες τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἡμῶν Ἀθανάσιον καὶ Μάρ κελλον καὶ Ἀσκληπᾶν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐφοβήθησαν εἰς κρίσιν ἐλθεῖν, καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ οὐδὲ δεύτερον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις κληθέντες οὐκ ἐπήκουσαν ταῖς κλήσεσι, καίτοι πάντων ἡμῶν τῶν συνελθόντων ἐπισκόπων καὶ μάλιστα τοῦ εὐγηροτάτου Ὁσίου τοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸν χρόνον καὶ τὴν ὁμολογίαν καὶ διὰ τὸ τοσοῦτον κάματον ὑπομεμενηκέναι πάσης αἰδοῦς ἀξίου τυγχάνοντος ἀναμενόντων καὶ προτρεπομένων αὐτοὺς εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν κρίσιν, ἵν' ἅπερ ἀπόντων τῶν συλλειτουργῶν ἡμῶν ἐθρύλησαν καὶ ἔγραψαν κατ' αὐτῶν, ταῦτα 42.8 παρόντες ἐλέγξαι δυνηθῶσιν. ἀλλ'